‘Phew. The Viper Lady.’

I tried to act as if everything was fine in front of the Duke’s people, but it wasn’t. Being alone in the carriage made me feel even more so.

I’m a person with virtually no experience in high society. But my opponent is a skillful viper overflowing with social experience.

If I let my guard down for a moment, it was clear that the viper would bare its fangs and sink its teeth right into my neck.

‘Still, if Countess Yekert keeps bothering Countess Stemun more than necessary, the Imperial family will step in. Her time as the center of high society will soon come to an end.’

If even the maids were gossiping about it, it must have reached the ears of the Imperial family. They’re probably just waiting to see how long she’ll act arrogantly before seizing the opportunity to cut her down.

My job today was to get through the tea time without giving Countess Yekert any reason to find fault with me and leave safely.

Thanks to gracing the front page of the newspaper, suspicions about the hidden intentions behind Yezar’s and my marriage would have subsided, but the level of interest would have risen high.

She’ll probably ask about trivial details of our love story, starting with when we first met. Although I had coordinated our stories when talking with him, it seemed better to refrain from speaking as much as possible.

After all, it’s natural for a wife not to want to reveal much about her private life with her husband.

‘It’s troubling that I’m getting used to thinking of myself as a wife. When the time comes for all this to end, I’ll need to conclude it cleanly without being clingy.’

Always guarding my heart and reminding myself to hold onto my reason to prevent my feelings from deepening further, I felt the carriage arrive at the Yekert mansion.

Fully psyching myself up, I carefully descended from the carriage. I was greeted by a row of servants lined up. When I went to the Stemun mansion, only one butler came out to guide me.

Here, it seemed they had called all the servants, as even their voices were different. But upon closer inspection, all the servants’ expressions were lifeless.

‘How is it that not a single one is smiling? They all have their lips tightly pressed and eyes cast downward.’

I had heard details about Countess Yekert’s temperament from the maids, but I didn’t expect the servants’ atmosphere to be like this.

However, in contrast to the servants’ expressions, the Yekert mansion was the epitome of splendor. From the garden and fountain that seemed to have money poured into them, to the marble floors and statues.

It was completely different from when I went to the Stemun mansion. As I stood there in shock, a servant approached and bowed.

“The Duchess of Perhaem has arrived. I will guide you to the tea room.”

His attitude was impeccable, but his eyes were too lifeless. I even began to wonder how Countess Yekert treated her servants.

‘No, Julieta. I should worry about myself first. I’m practically walking into the lion’s den right now.’

I was going to be the easiest prey at this tea time. Rather than worrying about someone else, it was time to worry about my own imminent situation.

I walked step by step, recalling the proper noble posture I had learned until my ears were sore, keeping my back straight.

‘It’s okay. The current me has no flaws to pick at. I’ve memorized and perfectly relearned etiquette.’

Relaxing my body that was stiffening from tension, I entered the mansion. Following the servant’s guidance, the dazzling interior of the mansion unfolded. My gaze was automatically drawn to rare objects that were difficult to see elsewhere.

‘It seems like a space designed to completely intimidate anyone who enters.’

Thinking this, just as I arrived in front of the tea room, I could hear cheerful laughter coming from beyond the door. Fortunately, the atmosphere didn’t seem bad.

I had expected a tense atmosphere with cold words being exchanged instead of gunfire. But it didn’t seem to be that bad.

The servant opened the door and told me to enter. As I thanked him and stepped inside, everyone’s gaze in the room fixed on me. I could feel my body stiffening involuntarily.

‘It’s okay. The gazes fixed on me now are just wooden dolls 1, 2, and 3. Yes, the wooden dolls 1, 2, and 3 that I’ve already shattered. Just wooden dolls.’

Repeating this to myself made me feel better about the churning in my stomach. Soon, a lady who recognized who I was greeted me warmly.

“My goodness. Are you the Duchess of Perhaem? I heard you would be attending this tea time.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Julieta Perhaem of the Perhaem Duchy. I’ve come in response to Countess Yekert’s kind invitation.”

As I answered with a smile, the noble ladies began to praise Countess Yekert.

“As expected of Countess Yekert. To invite someone so rarely seen like this.”

“Oh my. This is only natural for Countess Yekert. Who wouldn’t respond to the Countess’s invitation? To be able to meet such precious people in one place.”

“That’s right. I never imagined I’d be able to see the rumored Duchess of Perhaem and even Her Majesty the Empress at the same place. I’m truly honored to be invited to this gathering.”

I was letting the pleasant, flattering words go in one ear and out the other, but the mention of Her Majesty the Empress caught my attention.

‘Her Majesty the Empress? What does that mean?’

Her name wasn’t on the list of tea time attendees. There had been no indication of this even this morning.

My gaze naturally turned to one spot. It wasn’t difficult to find her. Her dazzling silver hair like scattered stars and mysterious purple eyes exuded an unapproachable aura.

‘Ah, so that’s her.’

The way she elegantly lifted her teacup was as delicate and pure as a single flower. As described in the novel, Bertisha Hermine, the female lead beautiful enough to instantly capture the hearts of two men, caught the eye even among so many people. The moment her gaze met mine, I quickly greeted her.

“Glory to the long-standing Empire. I greet Your Majesty the Empress.”

“Please raise your head, Duchess of Perhaem.”

Even her voice was slender and pretty. Just as described in the novel, it was like the rolling of jade beads. As I raised my head, she smiled gently, and it was so beautiful that I couldn’t continue speaking.

‘My goodness. Yezar, did you love such a beauty?’

I could understand why the psychopathic Crown Prince had married Bertisha without caring about her humble family background. She had the kind of appearance that gave such persuasiveness.

“We should thank Countess Yekert. I urgently requested to attend today to meet you, Duchess.”

Huh? Wait, what did Bertisha just say?

“You’re saying Your Majesty attended this gathering to meet me?”

“Yes. I wanted to meet the Duchess of Perhaem.”

At that, the noble ladies around us held their breath. It seemed they intended not to interrupt our conversation. Everyone seemed curious about why she, the Empress, wanted to meet me.

But even I couldn’t understand the reason. I wondered what reason she could have for wanting to meet me. I found myself pondering if I had unknowingly formed a friendship with her.

But no matter how much I thought about it, there was nothing. Even in business matters, I had delegated to others, so there was no occasion for me to meet new people personally.

‘I don’t understand why the female lead would come here to meet me in the midst of her busy schedule.’

If there was any connection, it would be Yezar. But Yezar wasn’t even facing her at the moment.

Yezar had said he found it painful and disliked the situation of Bertisha sending letters, so he deliberately didn’t reply.

In such a situation, why would she come to meet me? Why?

“Is there a reason?”

To my cautious question, she answered with a bright smile.

“Well, you’re the wife of my dear friend. Everyone knows, don’t they? When we were young, Camileo, the Duke of Perhaem, and I often spent time together, just the three of us.”

At that, the noble ladies who had been quietly holding their breath spoke up.

“Yes, the three of you were very close.”

“It was lovely to see. The way you looked after each other as you went about.”

And then, as they went around together, rumors spread that Yezar and Camileo were in a secret relationship, turning them into homosexuals among the young ladies.

Recalling that absurd rumor again made my head spin. I made a mental note to ask Wizlet about this in detail when I met him later. It wasn’t content suitable for writing in a letter.

“It was a good time. We relied on each other purely, without regard for family or anything else. I thought that wouldn’t change, but…”

Her eyes were fixed directly on me. At that moment, I felt as if I had become an uninvited guest between them. Clearly, Bertisha was smiling as she looked at me, but something felt off.

“As we grew up, it seems secrets developed. I was so surprised to hear the news that the Duke of Perhaem was marrying a lover he had never mentioned.”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t mentioned it, but that there was nothing to mention to Bertisha. Our marriage was a contract marriage, after all.

“And then he kept his wife so well hidden, never showing her. I became curious, so I came to meet you. Seeing you in person makes me very glad. Don’t you feel the same, Duchess?”