Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 20 Part 6

“How is it that a young man can’t even manage his expression properly while speaking to an elder? If you have so many complaints, why did you come to the party?”

“……”

Henrik’s habitual smirk had led to a misunderstanding. His youthful appearance only fueled the assumption that he was inexperienced. Though young to be the head of a noble family, Henrik had no intention of allowing others to belittle him for it.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, he replied, “I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to give such an impression. My expression may have caused a misunderstanding…”

“Enough. I’ve learned all I need to know about the House of Hippias. It seems that basic manners aren’t taught there.”

“…That’s going too far.”

Henrik objected, but Captain Huger, the head of the 3rd Knights Division, responded with a derisive snort, “This is why problems always arise when children lead noble houses.”

“……”

“Without proper guidance from an elder, what could you possibly have learned? You can’t even manage a basic conversation.”

Henrik’s arms trembled with frustration. He didn’t want to bring shame to his family. His dream was for the name Hippias to be spoken with pride, but right now, it felt like all his hopes were being trampled on. He wanted to shout that it wasn’t true, but Henrik held his tongue.

“I don’t know who the former head of the House of Hippias was, but it’s a pity. A noble house now led by an inexperienced boy—no wonder there’s trouble.”

As Huger ridiculed Henrik, treating him like a child, a cold voice came from behind him.

“Are you talking about me?”

“……!”

Huger froze in shock at the voice. Turning around, he realized who had spoken.

“D-Duke!”

It was Duke Mecklen.

Captain Huger, now drenched in sweat, quickly turned to face Ernst. The situation had turned dire. Of all places, he had encountered his superior here. Huger desperately wanted to leave, but Duke Mecklen was staring directly at him.

In a cold voice, Ernst continued, “You were talking about a young, inexperienced noble who became the head of his house after the death of the previous head. That perfectly describes me.”

“N-no, Your Grace! I would never dare to insult you!” Huger stammered, panicking inside. This was a disaster.

“How could I possibly say something so foolish about Your Grace? It was all a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

Ernst’s voice grew colder. Huger quickly realized that the Duke wasn’t going to let this go easily.

‘Damn brat.’

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Once before, Huger had been caught speaking ill of Ernst in front of the former Duchess. After that, the Duke had given him such a hard time that he had vowed never to get on his bad side again.

Now dripping with sweat, Huger suddenly grabbed Henrik’s shoulders and embraced him in a show of camaraderie.

“I was just offering some New Year’s advice to this young man. We were having a friendly conversation, but I guess it was misunderstood. Right, Lord Henrik? Isn’t that what happened?”

“…Is that so?”

“Of course! Earlier, I was just joking. In fact, I’ve never met such a polite and handsome young man like Lord Henrik here. The future of the House of Hippias looks very bright! Ha ha ha!”

Huger’s change in tone was as swift as lightning. Now acting overly friendly, he patted Henrik on the head as if they were close friends.

Henrik, who had been about to push him away in disgust, froze when he saw Eleanor walking toward them with a red-haired woman. If he made a scene now, she might see it.

“…Thank you for your kind words.”

“Ha ha, yes, yes. Your Grace, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Seeing that Henrik had let the matter go, Huger quickly made his escape. After bowing respectfully to Duke Mecklen, he hurriedly disappeared. Ernst watched him leave for a moment before turning to Henrik, who had stepped forward to introduce himself, only to be halted.

“That’s alright.”

“Still… I am Henrik of the Hippias family.”

Even though he was trying to be polite and introduce himself, Ernst simply nodded and walked away, heading in the opposite direction from where Eleanor was approaching. Henrik stood there, staring after Ernst’s cold, retreating figure.

“Henrik?”

“Sister.”

Henrik’s tight expression relaxed when he heard Eleanor’s voice behind him. After saying the word ‘sister’ a few times, it was beginning to feel more natural to him.

Eleanor tilted her head, sensing a change in Henrik’s demeanor. “Did something happen?”

“No, nothing at all.”

It seemed Eleanor hadn’t seen the man who had been with him earlier. Henrik decided to keep it to himself for now, worried that telling her would only make things worse. He now knew that the man who had helped him was the Duke, and since he would likely see him again when visiting the palace, Henrik thought it best not to dwell on it.

With that thought, he remained silent, and Eleanor didn’t press further. Instead, she called the red-haired woman standing beside her closer.

“Let me introduce you. This is Lady Brianna of House Liege.”

***

After leaving the party hall, Ernst walked down the dimly lit corridor. The lively atmosphere inside didn’t suit him. Not that he had any pressing matters to attend to elsewhere—his knights were all fulfilling their duties, and the Emperor was currently occupied with foreign dignitaries at a banquet.

He had planned to return home, but instead, Ernst’s steps led him elsewhere.

‘Hippias.’

The scene he had just witnessed replayed in his mind. Initially, he had only intended to catch a glimpse of Eleanor, who was now part of the House of Hippias.

‘To think she left Mecklen only to become the sister of a boy like that.’

Henrik, fumbling and struggling in his encounter with Huger, hardly seemed like the reliable protector Eleanor might need. If that’s how things were going to be, Ernst couldn’t help but think that he would have been the better choice. A strong, established house like Mecklen would offer far more security than the insignificant House of Hippias.

“…Ha.”

What am I even thinking?

Ernst stopped abruptly, realizing how ridiculous his thoughts were. She had left him. Why did he care enough to even make such comparisons? Though the feeling was fleeting, Ernst found himself momentarily laughing at his own absurdity.

Roughly running a hand through his hair, he walked toward his office. Even though his usually neat hair was now disheveled, Ernst didn’t care and continued onward. When he opened the door to his office, he was surprised to find someone inside.

“Your Grace?”

“…What are you doing here?”

Ernst had assumed no one would be there, thinking his aide would still be at the party. Surprised by the unexpected encounter, Ernst found his aide, Vincent, standing awkwardly.

“I’ve been doing some cleaning. There were too many important documents for me to entrust to the servants, so I decided to take care of it myself.”

Since Ernst had been away, Vincent had taken it upon himself to clean the office, organizing papers, dusting off shelves, and tidying up. Now that Ernst was back, Vincent was a little embarrassed by his timing.

“You’ve done well.”

“No, Your Grace, it’s nothing.”

Vincent waved away the praise, feeling awkward. He hadn’t expected Ernst to commend him for such a trivial task. 

Seeing that his superior wasn’t going back to the party but rather taking a seat at his desk, Vincent discreetly observed him. “Was the party not to your liking?”

“Just the same faces as always.”

Ernst’s tone made it clear that he found the party dull. Sensing Ernst’s disinterest, Vincent commented sympathetically, “Still, there must have been many who wished to greet Your Grace. I heard quite a few nobles came from the provinces.”

“If they were just there to show their faces, that would have been better.”

“……”

“I already have enough on my plate. I don’t need the added headache of unnecessary socializing.”

Though Ernst’s words were subtle, Vincent could tell he was expressing his exhaustion with managing relationships. Realizing this, Vincent wisely refrained from encouraging further party participation and instead quietly resumed his cleaning.

As Ernst leaned back in his chair, enjoying a brief moment of rest, his eyes fell on a gift box sitting on the desk.

“What’s this?”

“Oh, that…”

Vincent hesitated, caught off guard by the question.

‘Did he forget?’

It was the gift Eleanor had given him. Vincent had retrieved it from among the piles of paperwork and placed it neatly on the desk.

Though Ernst and Eleanor were now divorced, Vincent had felt uneasy about simply throwing away something that had been given as a gift. However, seeing Ernst’s stern face now, Vincent began to regret not disposing of it earlier.

“It’s the gift Lady Eleanor gave you.”

“……”

“It was… a birthday present, I believe.”

For a moment, Ernst froze. He remembered the chaotic day he had received it. He had been running late to a meeting and hadn’t paid much attention. Eleanor had brought him both divorce papers and this gift, which he had carelessly tossed aside.

Ernst’s face hardened like stone.

“…Should I throw it away?”

“……”

Ernst didn’t answer. Instead, he opened the gift. Inside was a quill pen. It was a simple, unremarkable pen, but Ernst stared at it with an unreadable expression.

‘Why is he reacting like this?’

Vincent wasn’t sure what was going on. Did Ernst dislike the pen? Would he order it to be thrown away?

Bracing himself for Ernst to erupt in anger, Vincent waited in silence. But then, to Vincent’s surprise, Ernst carefully placed the quill pen into the pen holder on his desk. The deep wine-colored feather matched the intricately carved gold handle of the pen holder perfectly.

Even though Ernst had set the pen aside, it seemed he had no intention of using it. Resting his chin on his hand, Ernst sat silently, staring at the pen for a long time.