Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 6 Part 5

Leaving the palace wasn’t difficult. Though the number of guards had doubled due to the frequent comings and goings of external visitors, the security wasn’t strict with the empire’s own nobles.

The carriage, having fully exited the palace, sped through the city, crossing intersections and passing red-brick houses and streets lined with blue roofs. It only stopped after two more blocks, in front of an iron gate painted with a dye mixed from milk and powder, where the horses snorted heavily as they came to a halt.

A servant, who seemed to have been waiting, rushed out as soon as the carriage arrived.

“Miss!”

“Hello, Hans!” Norah opened the window and greeted him with a bright smile and a giggle.

“Where’s Mother?”

“She’s waiting inside,” replied the servant politely as he took Norah and Eleanor’s hats.

Following the servant’s guidance into the mansion, Eleanor was surprised by the unexpectedly simple interior.

‘The Duke of Mecklen’s estate was indeed extravagant.’

Caroline had lavishly decorated even the staircase with intricate carvings, regularly changing the surrounding paintings and sculptures every week. In comparison, Norah’s house seemed almost plain. There were no seasonal flowers, nor were there any famous paintings adorning the walls. The display cabinets, which should have been filled with various ornaments, were empty.

“Mother!”

“Welcome, dear.”

Norah hurried over and embraced her mother. While Norah was barely in her early twenties, her mother appeared to be around the same age as the Empress Dowager.

“This is Lady Eleanor, the one I told you about. She’s been so kind to me.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Grace von Hilda.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Madam. I’m Eleanor von Mecklen.”

Eleanor responded to Lady Hilda’s warm greeting with a smile of her own. Norah’s father is Count Hilda. The Hilda family was old and established, but they hadn’t been politically active, so they weren’t often mentioned at court. Eleanor thought that Norah’s cheerful personality must have come from the affection of her mother, Countess Hilda.

“I don’t see the Count.”

“He was invited to dine with His Majesty this evening. I hope you’ll understand.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

Countess Hilda spoke with smoothness and grace as she apologized for her husband’s absence, and Eleanor was impressed by her manners. Countess Hilda then personally led Eleanor to the dining room.

“There isn’t much prepared, but I hope you’ll enjoy it.”

“Thank you, Madam.”

Contrary to her words, the table was laden with an impressive array of dishes, almost as luxurious as what one would find in the palace. Eleanor felt warmth in her heart at the unexpected hospitality.

While Norah cut into her lamb cutlet, Countess Hilda placed the main dish in front of Eleanor. The meal proceeded in a lively atmosphere, and they were enjoying the final course—a dessert—when Countess Hilda, watching Eleanor eat her apple cake, suddenly remarked.

“It’s quite remarkable.”

“What is, Mother?” Norah asked, beating Eleanor to the question.

Countess Hilda, startled by her own words, couldn’t hide her embarrassment. “Nothing, I apologize. It might have been a rude thing to say…”

“It’s alright, Madam,” Eleanor calmly reassured her, seeing how embarrassed Countess Hilda was by her own comment.

“My apologies, Madam.”

“It’s fine, but I am curious now. What did you find remarkable?”

“Well, it’s just that…” Countess Hilda hesitated. Had Eleanor not reassured her again, she might not have heard the answer that evening.

Finally, after several reassurances, Countess Hilda spoke again. “I didn’t expect you to resemble her so much.”

“Resemble who?”

“It’s not so much in appearance… I’d say it’s more in the atmosphere.” Countess Hilda smiled awkwardly. “You’re very much like the former Duchess of Mecklen.”

“What?” Norah’s eyes widened in surprise.

Countess Hilda waved her hand, seeing that Eleanor, like her daughter, was equally astonished. “Oh, you probably wouldn’t know. The former Duchess of Mecklen is different from the current Duchess Dowager. It’s a complicated story, so I’ll leave it at that. I apologize for stirring your curiosity.”

The current Duchess Dowager of Mecklen was Caroline. But the idea that she resembled Caroline was far from anything Eleanor had ever heard before. As she reconsidered who Countess Hilda might have been referring to, Eleanor’s expression shifted slightly.

‘Could it be…?’

“Are you perhaps talking about the former Duchess Mecklen from House Hippias?”

“Oh, you know about her?” Countess Hilda asked, surprised.

Eleanor carefully placed her fork down without making a sound. “I only know a little—that the first wife of the former Duke of Mecklen was from the Hippias family.”

Eleanor had stumbled upon this information purely by chance. Caroline was the Duke’s second wife. The word had briefly surfaced in one of the many letters passing to and from Caroline, slowly revealing itself over two years. However, Eleanor didn’t know the full story.

She knew that the former Duke’s first wife was from the Hippias family and that she had a son. But who that son was or where he was, no one in the mansion seemed to know. With nothing more than circumstantial evidence, Eleanor could do little.

Countess Hilda nodded. “That makes this easier to explain.”

They moved to the reception room as tea was served, and Countess Hilda, sipping her tea, began to recall the past she had almost forgotten.

“The former Duchess, ah, to avoid confusion with the current Duchess Dowager, I should tell you her name. She was Rachel.”

Rachel von Hippias. The former Duchess of Mecklen before Caroline.

“That’s different from what I’ve heard?” Norah, her eyes full of curiosity at hearing this story for the first time, asked her mother.

Countess Hilda gave her inquisitive daughter a gentle look before continuing. “There was an unfortunate incident. Few people know about her now. The Hippias family completely erased her from history.”

Norah nodded. Even if one didn’t know every noble’s name, it was essential to be familiar with the names of high-ranking aristocrats as basic etiquette. The fact that she hadn’t heard of Rachel indicated that her existence had been thoroughly concealed by her family.

With Eleanor remaining silent, Norah took the opportunity to ask another question. “And where is she now?”

“…I don’t know.” Countess Hilda smiled bitterly.

Even if she wanted to answer, Countess Hilda herself had no idea where Rachel was. After the Hippias family thoroughly hid Rachel, Countess Hilda never heard of her again.

“But you mentioned earlier that I resembled her…” Eleanor, who had been listening to the mother-daughter conversation, finally spoke up, more curious about the resemblance Countess Hilda had mentioned than about any new information about Rachel.

“You and Rachel have a very similar aura.”

“Rachel and I?”

“Yes.”

Countess Hilda set her teacup down and studied Eleanor closely. Fine, fair blonde hair, blue eyes, a long neck like a deer’s, and slender wrists all gave an impression of delicacy, but the firmly pressed lips and sharp, intelligent gaze showed a strong will that wouldn’t easily yield.

Seeing something in her, Countess Hilda nodded. “If I didn’t know you were a princess of Hartmann, I would have thought you were a distant cousin of the Hippias family.”

“……!”

“The two of you certainly resemble each other.”

***

“Thank you all for coming today. It truly brings me joy.”

The Marquis of Liege raised his champagne glass and expressed his gratitude to the gathering. Thanks to the unexpectedly large turnout for the poetry reading, the Marquis of Liege’s reputation was spared any embarrassment. With a satisfied smile, he called for a toast.

“Lady Brianna!”

‘Again?’ Brianna, who had been greeting guests beside her mother, frowned at the voice. An unwelcome man had arrived. It was Childe from the Ezester family. Remembering how she had once stepped on him with her pointed heels, Brianna shot him a pointed glare as he approached.

“What brings you here?”

“Why, to see the poet, of course. If I could see him, I’d be ready to dive into hell itself.” Childe’s last words were a line from one of Gillion’s poems.

Brianna snorted at his pretentious quote. She knew exactly what this playboy was up to. He was clearly using Gillion’s love poems, which were popular with women, to score some points.

With a snap, Brianna closed her fan loudly, signaling her disinterest. “Go find your seat. And if you don’t want to end up in trouble again, mind your manners with the other ladies.”

“Isn’t that a bit harsh? What did I do wrong…?”

“You’ve done plenty wrong.”

Someone else joined the conversation. Both Brianna and Childe turned to see Evan standing there. Approaching Childe,

Evan continued in a soft tone, “Luring women with lies, weighing their hearts, and stirring up trouble—if that’s not wrong, then what is?”

“Did I force them? They came to me of their own accord.”

“Blaming others now, are you? That’s exactly how a criminal thinks.”

“What did you say?” Childe, fuming, looked ready to strike Evan, but Brianna stepped in to block him. She had no intention of letting the poetry reading her family was hosting be ruined by their fight.

Thanks to Brianna’s intervention, the two stepped back, but the tension between them remained palpable.

‘Drama, even here,’ Brianna thought.

The situation was complicated. The lady Evan liked had chosen Childe, leading to a tangled relationship. To make matters worse, the lady’s father had tried to arrange a marriage between her and Evan, prompting her to run away. No wonder Evan was always growling at Childe whenever he saw him. After all, who would be happy to see someone else take what was theirs?

But Brianna had no patience for their personal drama, so she ordered them to return to their seats.

“Just you wait,” Childe muttered, glaring.

Evan responded with a crooked smile.

As they turned and parted ways, their goals differed. Childe headed toward Baron Gillion, while Evan set his sights on the Marquis of Liege.