“…What is this nonsense?”

The Duchess furrowed her brow and looked around at her group in disbelief.

The Duchess’s ladies-in-waiting seized the opportunity to snap back.

“It seems she’s too nervous on the day of becoming the daughter-in-law of the Duke’s family. She’s talking nonsense.”

“Even so, to be so inconsiderate… This young lady is truly unworthy of the position of mistress of the Duke’s household.”

It was a familiar scenario.

During my time as the wife of Duke Fedegrin, the one who tormented me most frequently wasn’t Lucas, who rarely came home, but his mother, the Duchess.

Including the noblewomen she kept around her like maids.

“I was already feeling sorry for my son for arranging such a downgrading marriage, and now you show such an unreliable side even on a day like this?”

“A downgrading marriage?”

As I slowly repeated those words, the Duchess glared at me.

“Of course! If it weren’t for my son being so kind and innocent, how could a child from a fallen family like you ever be matched with a family of our caliber? Absolutely impossible.”

The Duchess sneered sharply and continued.

“So think of this as the greatest fortune of your life, and serve my son well. Do you understand?”

“I’m not so sure, Duchess.”

“Yes, that’s why- Huh? …What did you just say?”

“My maternal grandfather was a renowned music master. My mother was a lady who set an example for all ladies with her character and refinement.”

“Hah! So what? For a family that has fallen so low, living worse than merchants!”

“On the other hand, a Duke who has affairs almost every day, and a Duchess who borrows cash from moneylenders because she lacks funds for her extravagance.”

As I enunciated each word clearly, the Duchess’s eyes widened instantly.

“Isn’t a family with such people living under one roof more degraded?”

A silence fell as if time had stopped.

The ladies-in-waiting looked back and forth between me and the Duchess with shocked faces.

The Duchess, her eyes bulging as if they might pop out, roared.

“You, you… You crazy girl! What nonsense are you spouting?!”

The Duchess, who put on all sorts of refined airs as the mistress of a noble family, was actually struggling to manage the interest on borrowed money.

Before I came back in time, it was the money I earned with my music that filled that hole.

And this time…

Well. She’ll have to find another way.

“You! Do you think you’ve become the real mistress of the Duke’s family just because you’re marrying Lucas?! Don’t make me laugh. You’re nothing more than a concubine taken in by our noble Fedegrin family!”

The Duchess pointed her finger at me, her eyes bulging.

I lightly dodged the finger that was about to poke my face.

“My corset is too tight. I think I need to get some fresh air.”

“Wh-what? Has she really gone mad?! Apologize for what you just said. Now!”

“Well then, I’ll see you at the main ceremony later.”

“I told you to come here! That crazy girl?! Hey!”

“Oh my, goodness, goodness. Miss Ariana! Have you really gone mad?”

“You’ll collapse at this rate, Duchess! Good heavens, how can there be such an ill-mannered girl?! This is why those raised in poverty are-!”

Leaving behind the Duchess’s rants and the ladies’ chatter, I left the room.

“Miss, Miss! The Duchess has collapsed!”

Sophie, who came out of the room a beat late, whispered in an excited voice.

“She was grabbing the back of her neck like this as she fell! And there was foam in her mouth!”

“Is that so?”

As I walked into the corridor, I smiled slightly.

“She’ll have to come to her senses before the main ceremony.”

Otherwise, she’ll miss the most interesting spectacle.

As I moved, checking the time with less than thirty minutes left, a man approached quickly from the opposite direction.

“Client. It’s me!”

It was an employee of the information guild, Yorr.

Seen in the bright light, he was a quite sturdy-looking young man who stared at me blankly.

“My goodness, you look truly radiant and beautiful today… No, that’s not it! There’s somewhere you need to go right now!”

If this person is like this with me… That’s all there is to it.

Swallowing the feeling of “it can’t be”, I followed the employee.

At the place we reached…

“Sob, he really said that while looking straight at me. That I’m vul-vulgar… Ugh!”

“Oh, Ellie. Don’t cry, okay?”

I saw a woman burying her face in the broad chest of a man who was comforting a delicate woman.

“I’ll teach him a proper lesson. How could he say such things to his own sister… So cheer up now, Ellie. Okay?”

“Duke…”

“Ah… Ellie.”

“Ha…”

The secluded room quickly became saturated with a sticky heat.

I stared at the scene in a daze.

It wasn’t that I felt betrayed at this point. That part seemed numb, no longer feeling any sensation.

I just felt a bit dumbfounded.

“We’ve already obtained evidence… but I thought you should see it with your own eyes.”

The Yorr employee whispered, watching my reaction. I slowly nodded.

“Thank you. For bringing me here.”

I was truly grateful. To those two people as well.

For perfectly igniting my already firm resolve.

As I stepped back into the corridor, this time I saw Edward walking from the opposite end.

“Ariana! The ceremony is about to start, why are you here?!”

I couldn’t help but smile as I faced my brother, who approached grumbling angrily.

“Where is the Duke? Damn it, the wedding is right around the corner, why is everything so chaotic… Why are you smiling?”

“Just because I’m happy.”

“About what?”

“That my dear family members are all gathered in one place like this.”

“What nonsense are you suddenly… Stop talking nonsense and go keep your place! Damn it, why did the Duchess suddenly collapse? Is there some curse on this wedding… And who managed the guest list?”

Edward muttered to himself, his face paler than usual.

“Why on earth is that person in the guest seats…”

He looked dazed, as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Damn it, that’s not what’s important right now. Ariana, where on earth is your husband-to-be?!”

Just then, footsteps were heard from the direction I had come from.

I turned my head and saw Lucas striding towards us from a distance.

His hair and waistband were strangely disheveled, as if he had just finished his business with Elena.

“Ah, there he is.”

Edward muttered, as if relieved.

Then he quickly whispered to me.

“Ariana. You’re about to become a member of the Duke’s family, so as your brother, let me give you one last piece of advice. You must serve the Duke as if he were heaven. Understand? This is a connection we’ll never have again, so be prepared to dedicate yourself to the Duke’s family and support your husband with all your-”

“Lucas.”

My voice cut off Edward’s words and rang out clearly.

Lucas, who had approached me, looked at me with a slightly bewildered expression.

“…Yes?”

I tapped my lips while looking at Lucas.

“There’s lipstick smeared here.”

The pink traces brazenly smeared on Lucas’s lips.

Of course, it must have been Elena’s.

Lucas’s eyes widened for a moment. But soon he casually wiped his lips.

“Oh my, I must have gotten some fruit juice on me somewhere.”

Seeing his shameless behavior, I suddenly became curious.

‘Elena aside, you. Did you love Elena that much?’

Enough to do such a thing even right before your wedding.

Enough to embrace that child despite enduring the thrill of possibly being caught by anyone…

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, some memories came to mind.

Lucas and I didn’t have frequent conjugal relations. To be precise, our attempts repeatedly ended in failure.

Because Lucas’s manhood often failed to function.

“Damn it! You, try wearing some perfume next time.”

I thought it was because of my lack of charm as a woman.

However, it wasn’t that we had no marital relations at all.

Sometimes Lucas would take me to a secluded garden. To a garden where guests were still lingering and chatting.

“In… in a place like this?”

Or in an empty room where servants might pass by. In a dim corridor.

“…Ha.”

Recalling old memories, I let out a sigh of realization.

Looking back, there was a common thread in all the days when Lucas and I had relations.

The common thread that they were all situations where ‘we shouldn’t be caught’.

‘…So that’s how it was.’

I laughed in exasperation, as if sighing.

A place where people might see. Or a secret meeting with his wife’s sister.

The man who had been my husband was so sexually dysfunctional that he couldn’t feel arousal without that level of thrill.

And then, after barely managing to get it up…

“…It ended, quite quickly.”

Having sorted through old memories, I stared at Lucas and said.