One of the ladies gathered around the marchioness’s table spoke up.

“Today, Lady Lysianthus is also attending the social gathering, right?”

The ladies reacted to this.

Although it was embarrassing to bring it up first due to etiquette, their interest in the ‘Lady Lysianthus’ was deeper than anyone else’s.

“Yes, that’s correct. An official invitation was sent from the temple. They say the lady is indeed the legitimate daughter of His Grace the Duke.”

“Madam, did you also receive that official letter? I was surprised when I received a letter suddenly early in the morning.”

Most of the noble families Lady Marchioness invited today were generally those close to central power.

Therefore, most of them received official letters directly from the temple.

Lady Cyan, who had been discussing for a while, cautiously brought up the topic.

“Being the legitimate daughter, it must be… something like that, right?”

Although there was no clear subject, the ladies immediately understood what ‘that’ was.

Some ladies who valued their dignity raised their teacups, pretending to cough.

Even though it was said that illegitimate children were common, from the perspective of the ladies, a husband’s extramarital child was an unpleasant existence.

For some ladies, especially when the lady’s lineage surpassed that of the husband, such issues often led to significant disputes over property.

The most problematic was when, of course, the legitimate wife’s offspring was only a daughter, and the illegitimate child happened to be a son.

Of course, the Lysianthus Duchy had somewhat different issues.

On the momentarily quiet table, someone with a meaningful smile said,

“But it’s a pity about Delphinium Viscountess.”

“Oh, why Delphinium Viscountess?”

“You didn’t know?”

The lady who spoke first showed a surprised expression.

“Delphinium Viscountess is the Duke’s younger sister. If there had been no successor in the Lysianthus Duchy, one of Delphinium Viscount’s sons might have inherited the ducal title.”

“Ah.”

The lady who had just asked sighed. Those who knew about this fact were simply listening to the story with interest.

“Well, what can we do even if it’s regrettable? If Delphinium Viscountess’s offspring were not the legitimate children of the late Duchess, we might have been able to find some fault. But anyway, His Grace the Duke would want to pass territory and title to his own bloodline, even if he had daughters.”

“Isn’t that something unknown?”

“Unknown, you say?”

The lady who had attracted curious glances trembled.

She timidly continued her words with a slightly anxious expression.

“What I mean is, His Grace the Duke might still want to pass the family to a male, even if he has a daughter. In reality, even if there is a daughter, there are cases where a nephew is adopted as the heir… ”

“Hmm. It makes sense.”

Certainly, such a culture had not yet been established in the kingdom. The recent change in the law allowing women to inherit titles was influenced by the empire and occurred quite recently.

“If it were the legitimate offspring of the Duchess, His Grace the Duke would undoubtedly want to pass the family to that child.”
“Well, His Grace was well-known for deeply loving his wife. It’s said that he lived alone without remarriage for as long as six years.”

The topic shifted back to the pure love story of the Lysianthus Duke.

Most of the noble ladies gathered here were not much different in age from Elodie and the Duke. Thanks to this, most of them were direct witnesses to the romance of the two people when they were young.

“The Duchess was truly a wonderful person. This incident makes me remember her again.”

“That’s true. Even His Grace…”

Moreover, most of them liked Elodie.

Although, from a status perspective, Luke was an impressive bridegroom, second only to the prince, he was so devoted that there was no room for jealousy or anything else.

Besides, Elodie’s status was not any less noble. The Duke and Duchess were a popular couple in the social circle.

While discussing the past of the two, Countess Ruvigny subtly interjected.

“But from what I’ve heard, it seems that His Grace wasn’t necessarily devoted.”

“What?”

The other ladies widened their eyes like startled rabbits at Countess Ruvigny’s words.

The Lysianthus Duke, not a devoted and pure romantic?

“What did you hear?”

“No, it’s just that… Actually…”

Countess Ruvigny deliberately paused for a moment. She was a woman who enjoyed the attention directed towards her during such gossip sessions.

Once the ladies’ curiosity had grown enough, Countess Ruvigny spoke again.

“This is something I heard separately, but the person who brought the lady is actually a former maid of the late Duchess.”

“What?”

As Countess Ruvigny spoke, the other ladies stared at her with eyes wide open.

The Lysianthus Duke brought a former maid as his bride? Was the lady the beautiful and shy daughter of the marquis?

“What was her name?”

“Who knows? Ariya Hilton. She was quiet and shy, but the Duchess really liked that lady-in-waiting, right?”

“Oh, right. I remember.”