While they were dining without a single noise, Irene was surprised.
She thought that a woman who couldn't even mention her family name would have terrible table manners.
Diana was elegantly cutting the meat without clashing the tableware.
Her perfect posture, as if she had popped out of an etiquette textbook, made Irene feel strangely twisted.
"Father."
Clang. The knife fell, hitting the plate. Gasp. Irene, who swallowed her breath, hurriedly bowed her head to the duke.
"I'm, I'm sorry."
The duke glanced at Irene and shifted his gaze to Diana.
He was a duke who had no interest even in his own son. But the duke's reaction was different to Diana's words. He nodded as if telling her to go ahead and speak.
"It's just that, do you know where your eldest son is right now?"
"Cough."
Irene almost spat out the salad she was eating. Oh my, young lady! The servants were in an uproar, but the two nobles and Diana showed little reaction.
'Eldest son? Is that how you refer to that lunatic? Right now?!'
He was a man that even the duke had disowned as his child. But what was surprising was that the duke was accepting everything Diana said.
"Aren't you in contact with him?"
"I'm not receiving anything at all? He's not sending anything to me either. Do you not know, Father?"
"Ahaha, sister-in-law. Father and elder brother have never been in contact in the first place."
Felice, who abruptly intervened, acted friendly. The duke's eyebrows twitched, but he affirmed those words without much comment.
"Then where on earth is he. This man."
At Diana's muttering, Felice smiled and spoke as if comforting Diana.
"He'll come soon. Don't worry. Sister-in-law. With a beauty like you at home, would he have strayed?"
Irene looked at Felice in surprise. Although he always smiled with a kind face, he never made such empty words.
Moreover, Diana brushed off Felice's words as if they were nothing. Irene didn't like that either. The things she had never received, Diana was receiving as if they were a given.
"Ah, Father. Can I continue to keep the warehouse key?"
"Sure."
"That key is also together with the keys to the other warehouses, so feel free to explore. Sister-in-law. You'll become the lady of our family anyway. You can keep them as much as you want."
What are you saying?! Fire spewed from Irene's eyes. I'm the one who will become the lady!
Irene, who had clenched her fists, gradually felt something strange as the meal progressed.
She was supposed to ostracize that woman, but she was gradually being ostracized herself. By the time she fully realized it, the meal was already over.
When she looked across with vacant eyes, her eyes met Diana's.
Chuckle− How naive. Under Diana's gaze looking down on people, Irene's pretentious expression was stripped away.
[This is the timeline separator]
Diana, returning to her room, chuckled as she looked at Irene like a hissing cat. No matter how much she bared her claws, it wasn't even stinging at that level.
'Should I find out what tricks she used?'
It wasn't a common occurrence for everyone to show one-sided favor to one person, nor was it common to show one-sided hostility.
Unless one was a fool, one could immediately tell. That the servants who praised Irene enjoyed it.
Hostility was familiar, but it seemed better to deal with it before Rodrick arrived, as it was bothersome.
No, but where on earth is this man? The messenger had already come to say that the conflict at the northern border had been resolved. This means he has strayed.
Diana, who was pursing her lips sullenly, discovered Daren waiting in front of her guest room.
"Oh, Sir Daren? Is it your shift now?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Sir Daren is on duty alone? Ah, does that mean Sir Daren does the work of more than two people?"
"...Yes, that's right."
Daren answered slowly as if embarrassed. He was a diligent man, just as much as his decent appearance. Diana looked at him with satisfaction.
The knights who had been escorting her with a sloppy and delinquent attitude bowed to Daren.
"We'll be going then. Take care."
"Take care."
"Sure."
Of course, the knights left without a single word of greeting to Diana.
Daren frowned at the sight, but couldn't make a big deal out of it because Diana was there.
After the knights disappeared, Diana, who had been staring at their backs, asked.
"Those guys, which unit do they belong to?"
"They are the senior knights of the 2nd Knight Order."
"They're not directly under Rodrick, right?"
"Our unit has all been taken out by the commander."
Ah, right. That was the case. That's why she was surprised when Daren remained.
It would be more convenient to have an adjutant when working. She was touched that he left a figure who was like his right-hand man by her side.
It felt like Rodrick's consideration for her. Her heart became warm.
"Sir Daren."
"Yes."
First, let's confirm. Diana approached Daren without a word.
Daren took a step back as she got too close. But Diana grabbed his arm, and he couldn't back away any further.
Leaving a distance that a single fist could pass through, Diana's pink eyes moved busily.
Daren broke out in a cold sweat at the gaze staring intently at him.
"Um. This."
If the commander finds out, it'll be big trouble! Daren swallowed his words. The perceived distance felt too close, as if their breaths would touch.
"Ah, sorry. Was it unpleasant?"
"No, that's not it."
Daren stammered, unlike himself.
"I just wanted to confirm something. Sir Daren, have you been irritated or upset with me lately?"
"No."
At the firm answer, Diana stepped back and smiled.
"Is that so?"
Certainly, she felt nothing from Daren. She had checked up close just in case. The ominous energy she had faintly felt from the maids and court ladies was absent.
Then, where should we start?
Diana, lost in thought, didn't know. What kind of scandal would occur between them.
It took no time for a rumor, vulgar and dirty, to spread.
The rumor that started under the surface didn't rise above the water right away, but the malice toward Diana only continued to pile up visibly.
Search "seduce" at redcatty [.] com to read ahead up to chap 70.