Madame Violeta was a frequent guest at the tea parties of high-ranking ladies in society.

Her specialty was to quickly observe the interests and habits of the ladies at tea parties and present them with highly satisfactory dresses and accessories that reflected these.

This was one of the reasons why her dresses commanded such high prices.

She was also popular among the ladies for entertaining them with interesting stories, helping to alleviate the boredom of those with plenty of time on their hands.

Violeta looked at the clock and began to busily prepare to leave.

It was time for the tea party of her biggest client, Lady Ingrid.

Lady Ingrid was a woman who had entered as the second wife of Marquis Ingrid when the baronial family was in decline.

As the wife of a much older marquis, the often lonely Lady Ingrid particularly enjoyed the love stories Madame Violeta told.

She was a valuable customer who usually placed generous dress orders when Violeta told interesting stories.

“I greet you, Lady Marquise.”

Upon arriving at the marquis’s residence, she politely bowed to Lady Ingrid.

“Madame, let’s skip the formalities and come sit down quickly.”

Even before Violeta could sit down and the maid could pour tea, Lady Ingrid urged her impatiently, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Tell me quickly. Why did you visit the duke’s house yesterday?”

Lady Ingrid already knew about Violeta’s visit to the duke’s house. Violeta pretended to be surprised and led the conversation.

“Oh my, your ladyship’s sources are indeed very fast.”

“Isn’t there no lady at the duke’s house to fit Violeta’s dresses?”

Casius was the only duke in the empire.

For Madame Violeta to be frequenting the mansion of such a unique duke. Casius didn’t even have a fiancée known to the public. Perhaps because of this, Lady Ingrid’s eyes were shining with curiosity.

“Well, you see, Duke Torpeo…”

As Lady Ingrid and the other ladies at the tea party looked at the madame with curious eyes, she began to enthusiastically detail what she had seen and heard.

“He has taken a mistress. And a commoner woman at that.”

“That Duke Torpeo?”

“Please, tell us more, Madame.”

The ladies opened their eyes wide, unable to believe the words coming from Madame Violeta’s mouth, and focused their attention on her. Violeta was very pleased with the ladies’ interest.

“Ah, the duke had an accident and lost his memory, nearly dying, and she nursed him back to health with all her heart. They fell in love without knowing he was a duke, and I hear they’ve already promised to marry?”

Encouraged by the ladies’ interest, Violeta continued her chatter.

“But there’s a difference in status, isn’t there? Right now, that lady is staying as the duke’s mistress.”

“Is that cold duke different towards that commoner?”

The ladies, forgetting all decorum in the face of the duke’s unexpected love story, began to shower the madame with questions.

“Oh my, don’t even mention it. I could hardly believe my own eyes!”

“Madame, please tell us more details.”

“He’s completely lost his mind over his mistress. Even during the dress fitting, the duke’s gaze was so hot I thought I might melt. He’s so infatuated with his mistress that he disregards time and place.”

The madame spoke passionately as if the scene was unfolding before her eyes.

“Even during the fitting, he said he couldn’t bear other men looking at his mistress, so he finally made up a reason to avoid exposure.”

“A reason? What was it, Madame?”

“He told us to turn around. Even thinking about it now makes me blush.”

“Madame, please tell us quickly!”

As if knowing the perfect timing to keep the ladies on edge, Violeta paused before continuing in a whisper.

“Well… There were red marks on the lady’s body… The duke couldn’t contain himself even during the fitting, so we had to change the design to cover her entire body.”

“Oh my. How scandalous.”

“My, I had no idea that cold duke could be so passionate towards a woman.”

The ladies’ faces flushed hot at Violeta’s vivid story, as if the scene was unfolding before them.

They all busily fanned their faces, as if trying to cool down the heat rising in their cheeks.

“I wonder what kind of woman she is. For the Iron Duke to lose his mind over a mistress like that.”

“Indeed. I’d love to see Lady Laria’s expression if she heard this. Hohoho.”

As it was common for high nobility marriages to be alliances between families rather than love matches, such topics were always a staple gossip at ladies’ tea parties.

The ladies at the tea party were so absorbed in the story of the duke’s passionate affair, vicariously satisfied, that they lost track of time.

“Oh my, can this story be just for me? I must meet Lady Laria as soon as possible.”

Starting from this tea party, the story of the duke’s passionate love for his mistress began to spread rapidly throughout the capital.

Through the mouths of the noble ladies.

After the fitting ended and the maids left, Adeline felt like she was about to burst into tears that she had been holding back.

When they were left alone after everyone had withdrawn, Adeline gave the duke a resentful look.

“What exactly do you want?”

Adeline asked the duke, trying hard to swallow her sobs.

She couldn’t understand what the duke was gaining by going this far.

Adeline furiously scratched at the hot red marks she felt on her collarbone, finding them extremely unpleasant.

Seeing the scratches forming around the red spots, the duke suddenly grabbed Adeline’s wrist.

As Adeline twisted her body this way and that, trying to pull her hand free from the duke’s grasp, he restrained her other hand as well.

“What exactly is the problem?”

Sparks flew in the duke’s eyes as he met Adeline’s gaze.

“Didn’t I even change the design personally when you said the dress was humiliating?”

Adeline felt a surge of emotion at the duke’s words, claiming he had changed the dress for her sake.

He was a man desperate to torment her.

She knew that changing the dress design constantly, kissing her anywhere in front of the servants, and causing her embarrassment were all actions meant to provoke her.

‘You’re saying you changed it for my sake?’

Adeline felt all the emotions she had been suppressing rising up and mixing together.

“I told you I would wear it as it was! It would be a hundred times better to wear that dress than to show this kind of behavior in front of the servants!”

Adeline thrust out her body, showing off the red marks that had bloomed on her skin.

“So you’re saying it would be better to wear that dress. Are you trying to tell me I was wrong for changing the dress for your sake?”

“…”

“I’m the benefactor who even saved your life, you know.”

The duke pressed close to Adeline, looking down at her.

His arrogantly shining red eyes seemed to say, ‘What are you going to do about it if you’re upset?’

“I’ve treated you as the duke’s mistress. Doesn’t that mean you should fulfill the role of a mistress to me?”

Mel and Duke Torpeo, who had spent a season together, were so different.

Even though they were the same person, Adeline couldn’t bridge the gap between the two.

“Do you no longer have any feelings as Mel? Why are you doing this?”

Adeline pushed him away with all her might. Despite using all her strength to push him away, the duke didn’t budge an inch.

“How ridiculous. I am Duke Torpeo. Not the Mel you were trying to take advantage of.”

The duke felt extremely wronged by Adeline rejecting him as if all of this was his fault. He released his grip on Adeline’s shoulders and grasped her neck.

“Shouldn’t I be the one to wring this delicate neck and vent my anger, not you?”

His face moved even closer to Adeline’s. The duke wanted nothing more than to devour Adeline before him.

“Don’t provoke me, Del.”

Despite the duke’s voice speaking through gritted teeth in anger, the hand gripping Adeline’s neck was infinitely gentle. The duke barely held onto Adeline’s neck as he explored her lips.

However, as Adeline continued to resist, the duke gripped her jaw tightly.

“Do you want to be treated like a noble lady even now?”

As Adeline’s eyes met directly with the duke’s, she read complex emotions in his gaze.

Resentment, sadness, tenderness

But contrary to his eyes, the duke only spoke words laced with thorns.

“If you want to reveal yourself as a Credion and go to the crown prince, keep refusing.”

Adeline couldn’t refuse the duke’s threat. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

Looking back, it was all Adeline’s doing. She had stayed at his villa without permission. She had pretended to be his lover and deceived him. She had lied to him again even after his memory returned.

As Adeline resigned herself, their exchanged breaths began to grow more intense.

The heat enveloped them both as the duke unknowingly began to push Adeline roughly.

– Thud.

Adeline soon dropped her arm that had been holding the duke’s wrist, as if giving up on everything. Tears began to roll down Adeline’s cheeks.

Soon, Adeline’s tears fell onto the duke’s hand that was grasping her neck.

As her cold tears touched his hand, the duke began to regain his senses.

“Go to bed now. I have urgent work to attend to, so I won’t be coming in tonight.”

In truth, the duke had no work that needed to be dealt with tonight. He simply knew that if he shared the bedroom with her tonight, he wouldn’t be able to control himself.

The duke strode away from Adeline.

“Escort the lady.”

Opening the door of the toilette room and entrusting Adeline to the servants, the duke disappeared just like that.

As soon as Adeline entered the bedroom, all strength left her body.

Slumped by the door, Adeline kept recalling the events of the day.

‘Is this really the best way?’

She simply couldn’t shake it off.

It was a wrong relationship from the start. One that would only deepen the rift between them.

Adeline found this situation endlessly sad. She felt utterly pathetic for feeling relieved that she didn’t have to sleep with him tonight, even in this situation.

‘The Mel I knew is truly gone.’

Adeline realized that she had unconsciously equated the amnesiac Mel with the duke.

If she had truly been a commoner Del, and not a baron’s daughter, perhaps they wouldn’t have become so estranged.

As Adeline sank into impossible imaginings, her eyes seemed to fall into a deep abyss.