He had embarrassed himself in front of his mother, so he had to provide some explanation along with his greeting.

Before leaving, Nelia adjusted her attire and left the room.

On her way down, she met Ton, who kindly informed her that Duke Hart and his mother were in the study.

Standing in front of the study, Nelia took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Soon, the door was opened from the inside with the sound of footsteps. The Duke was the one who opened the door.

When the Duke recognized that the person who had knocked was Nelia, his eyes widened slightly.

“You’re up early, Nelia.”

Not really early, but…

Nelia hesitated before responding.

“Yes, I thought I should pay my respects to the Duchess.”

With a loud noise from inside, the main character who was intending to greet appeared.

“The person who just came, is it Miss Nelia? Silly, move aside.”

The Duchess pushed the Duke aside and greeted her with a bright face.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Nelia.”

The Duchess extended her hand, clad in a silk glove.

When Nelia nervously grasped the extended hand, the Duchess moved it up and down considerably.

She wondered if the Duchess was pretending to shake hands, squeezing hard to cause discomfort, but there were no such signs. Her grip was a little tight, but the silk glove was so soft that it felt good to the touch.

Having completed the handshake, the Duchess showed Nelia an apologetic expression.

“I was out of line earlier.”

“Ah, no…”

When Nelia brought up the previous incident, she became embarrassed and avoided eye contact as she replied.

Regardless of Nelia’s attitude, the Duchess didn’t mind and led her by the hand she was holding.

“We shouldn’t be standing here, let’s sit down and talk, shall we?”

“Yes…!”

Without realizing it, Nelia nodded her head.

But Duke Hart stopped his overexcited mother from leading Nelia away.

“Mother.”

“Why?”

The Duchess asked with a sullen face.

“Please, just leave for today. I’ve already told you roughly.”

The Duke was grimacing, not in character.

No, he had been furrowing his brows like that yesterday… Nelia hastily erased the thought. What was she thinking in broad daylight?

“Miss Nelia, would you prefer that too……?”

The Duchess looked at Nelia wistfully. Her expression was pitiful, like a person being tormented.

How could she say yes to that face.

“No, I… I want to have a conversation with the Duchess.”

“Ohoho. Did you hear that, Silly? Miss Nelia wants to have a conversation with me.”

The Duchess, as if it was the most delightful thing, smiled cheerfully and glanced at Duke Hart.

Then she led Nelia again and sat her down on the sofa.

“Mother, please maintain some dignity.”

The Duke frowned. Only then did the Duchess clear her throat, straighten up her posture.

“Oh, mind my manners. Please understand. I’m just so happy to meet Miss Nelia.”

The Duchess smiled modestly. She was completely different from the person who was causing a ruckus before.

Looking at the Duchess, whose expressions changed freely, Nelia thought she seemed like a magician.

The Duchess, batting her long eyelashes, opened her mouth.

“Actually, I came here after hearing about Miss Nelia.”

“From whom…?”

Judging from the Duke’s reaction, it didn’t seem like he was the one who said it.

The Duchess smiled gracefully like a magnolia.

“From Count Clint.”

The Duke’s worries hit the nail on the head.

‘I was a little worried that the Count might blabber unnecessary things to our mother.’

“It’s a good thing that the Count spoke about Miss Nelia. Otherwise, I might have missed this auspicious occasion.”

Nelia, who had been a little dazed, asked in confusion.

“Excuse me……? What occasion?”
“Such good news! Our Silian is finally getting married, if this isn’t good news, then what is?”

Swallowing her saliva, Nelia coughed awkwardly.

“Oh my, are you okay, Miss Nelia?”

The Duchess hurriedly patted Nelia’s back.

However, in Nelia’s mind, only the word ‘marriage’ was floating around.

Nelia felt resentful.

‘Why is this hussy doing this to me!’

The Duke intervened upon seeing Nelia’s lost expression, akin to a squirrel who had lost its way.

“Stop it, mother.”

At the Duke’s interference, the Duchess hit her chest with her small hand.

“You’re suffocating me! How can you hide such a pretty lady and pretend not to know.”

“I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d do this.”

“What have I done…!”

The Duchess made a face as if she was speechless.

“So, are you saying you won’t marry Miss Nelia?”

“It means not to interfere. We’ll handle our own issues.”

The Duke said, brushing back his hair. Annoyance was mixed in his voice. Nelia was unfamiliar with this irritable attitude. However, the Duchess didn’t seem to care, instead retorting with a clicking of her tongue.

“Don’t joke with me. It’s natural for an elder of the family to interfere. And is this the only tea you have here?”

“It’s prepared to the highest quality.”

“It might be the highest quality from your mouth. To treat your mother like this after so long, Silian. Miss Nelia must be disappointed.”