Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 21 Part 7

After finishing tea time, Eleanor returned to her office.

Pedro had tried to follow her to her office, but Evan stopped him before he could get that far. Lennoch had also attempted to engage her in conversation about work as she made her way back, but Eleanor drew a clear line, claiming she was too busy.

‘He looked like he had a lot to say.’

Eleanor smiled faintly, thinking of Lennoch standing awkwardly alone as the others dispersed. She had deliberately acted more formal in front of others, considering his position and the eyes of those watching.

She wondered if she had been too harsh, but when she remembered Vivia, who had been keenly observing everything with her sharp eyes, Eleanor decided it hadn’t been excessive at all.

‘It was fortunate Lennoch was there.’

Vivia had been putting on a facade, trying hard to appear sophisticated and cultured to impress the Emperor. She had even offered Eleanor kind words on occasion, which was surprising, though her tone had a constant undercurrent of tension.

Eleanor sensed that if the Emperor hadn’t been present, a major conflict would have erupted—not just between her and Vivia, but involving Pedro as well. Though Vivia had responded to Pedro’s attempts at conversation, the contempt in her eyes was undeniable.

Lost in thought, Eleanor opened the door to her office.

“Eleanor! Why are you so late?”

Brianna, who had been waiting for her, quickly stood up to greet her.

“I had a few things to take care of,” Eleanor replied in a gentle tone. “Have you eaten?”

“I just had tea instead. The Empress Dowager fed me so much earlier, I’m still full.”

Eleanor silently agreed with Brianna’s complaint. It seemed like the imperial family had a tradition of serving too much food during meals. Brianna had endured the same experience with the Empress Dowager that morning, just as Eleanor had with Lennoch.

When the maid tried to offer more tea, Eleanor shook her head, declining. She and Brianna sat down together, enjoying the quiet afternoon, until Eleanor spoke up.

“Oh, I ran into Lady Vivia just now.”

“Vivia?” Brianna’s voice immEdeately took on an irritated tone as she set down her cup. “What was she doing there?”

“She said she was here to see the Emperor. We ran into each other in front of his office.”

“That’s ridiculous. Did she even get permission from the audience chamber?”

Even when they served as ladies-in-waiting to the Empress Dowager, they always had to go through the audience chamber to meet the Emperor.

Eleanor shook her head. “I don’t know about that. Judging from her behavior, it seemed like she used her father, Marquis Delph, as an excuse.”

“How typical. She’s always been like that.” Brianna clicked her tongue in frustration. “She gave Mrs. Müller such a hard time. I can’t tell you how much trouble she caused for the whipping boy.”

“The whipping boy?”

Eleanor paused and then let out a quiet “Ah” as it dawned on her.

Hartmann didn’t use whipping boys. However, in Baden, some nobles employed whipping boys to discipline their children. When a noble child failed to complete their homework or caused trouble, the whipping boy would take the punishment on their behalf. These whipping boys were usually either the children of poor commoners or young servants of the family.

“I never needed a whipping boy. I was an excellent student,” Brianna said, not shy about praising herself.

“Vivia’s whipping boy always had bandages wrapped around their hands. I don’t know if it was on purpose or not, but every time the wounds would start to heal, Vivia would cause another incident, and the bleeding would never stop. Eventually, Mrs. Müller stopped punishing the boy.”

“……”

“In that way, Vivia was completely different from her sister, Edea.”

“Did you know Edea well?” Eleanor perked up at the mention of a familiar name.

“Not well, but somewhat? Vivia was nothing compared to her sister. Edea was truly smart, even in my eyes. Whenever Marquis Delph met my father, he would always praise Edea. I think that’s why Vivia didn’t get along with her sister.”

“I see.”

“I believe it was right after Edea became Empress that Vivia went abroad for her studies. Vivia is not very bright, but she’s greedy. She becomes extremely jealous when there’s something she can’t have.”

As she listened to Brianna, Eleanor couldn’t help but wonder about something.

‘How much did Caroline know about Vivia in my previous life?’

And what had Caroline hoped to gain from Marquis Delph?

Eleanor recalled how Caroline had been so delighted when rumors of Vivia’s engagement to the Emperor had circulated in her previous life. It left a strange feeling in her chest.

In a soft voice, Eleanor asked Brianna another question, “What kind of person was Mrs. Müller?”

“Mrs. Müller?”

Brianna, who had been about to raise her teacup, froze. Her heart ached at the mere mention of the name. Remembering the recent, unfortunate death of Mrs. Müller filled her with sorrow.

Noticing the slight glimmer of moisture in Brianna’s eyes, Eleanor quickly apologized. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. If it’s too difficult to talk about—”

“No, it’s fine.” Brianna wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “I just didn’t expect her to pass away so suddenly. She was always so healthy.”

“……”

“She passed recently, due to illness. They say her body became frail in her final days.”

“Illness?”

“It was a heart condition. I heard she suddenly clutched her chest before she passed.”

Eleanor’s expression shifted subtly.

It sounded eerily similar to the death of Edea, as Lennoch had described. Edea, too, had died from sudden cardiac arrest. But Eleanor knew better than to jump to conclusions, just because the symptoms were the same.

As Eleanor remained silent, Brianna continued, “I wasn’t even able to attend her funeral. It’s my fault. I should have kept in touch more often.”

“It’s not your fault, Lady Brianna. You’re not to blame.”

“But I’m still upset. Mrs. Müller was so kind to me.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Brianna began to cry. Eleanor stopped thinking and hurriedly searched for a handkerchief.

While Brianna wiped her tears, Eleanor gently comforted her. Sensing that no words would soothe her at the moment, Eleanor remained silent and waited for Brianna to finish crying.

After a while, Brianna calmed down, sniffling as she resumed speaking in a halting voice. “Even my father didn’t know. Apparently, they held a quiet funeral without informing anyone.”

“I see.”

“And do you know what’s even more upsetting? I didn’t know this, but Madam Caroline—she already knew.”

“……?”

“My father said Madam Caroline’s name was listed among the attendees at Mrs. Müller’s funeral.”

***

Ernst frowned at his unexpected visitor.

He wasn’t fond of the Nestor family, to say the least. Neither the Duke nor his son, Evan, pleased him. Evan had inherited his father’s cunning, which made him an unsavory colleague.

But if he had to pick the worst of the lot, it would undoubtedly be this person.

“Ernst, you look like you’ve lost some weight since I last saw you.”

“……”

“Got anything to eat? Oh, here, I brought a gift. I picked this up while passing through the famous volcanic region of Lubraith. It’s a stone with holes in it—pretty cool, right? Bet you’ve never seen a rock like this before!”

“……”

“Haha, no need to say anything, I can tell you’re moved. I knew you’d love it.”

Pedro handed Ernst the stone, grinning broadly. Ernst merely stared at the stone in silence.

“It’s really just a rock.”

“Haha, of course, it’s a rock.”

Ignoring Pedro’s loud laughter, Ernst set the stone aside. His head began to throb at the mere sight of this man. Unlike Evan, who took a hint and left when it was clear he wasn’t welcome, Pedro had no sense of awareness and didn’t know when to quit.

‘I should’ve just dealt with Evan instead.’

Realizing that arguing with Pedro would only tire him out, Ernst returned to his work, pretending Pedro didn’t exist.

Pedro, however, was undeterred.

“Mind if I borrow a chair?”

“Ah, yes.”

Ernst’s aide, Vincent, quickly fetched a chair for Pedro. This was the first time Vincent had met the eldest son of the Duke of Nestor, and he found the encounter rather bewildering. Pedro seemed like an oddball—someone who didn’t quite fit in.

Unbothered by Vincent’s impression of him, Pedro sat down next to Ernst without hesitation.

“Still drowning in work, I see?”

“I can’t afford to fall behind,” Ernst replied curtly, his quill scratching across the paper without pause.

Pedro watched him work for a moment before speaking again, a broad smile on his face. “By the way, I met that woman from the Hippias family earlier—Lady Eleanor, right? She’s the princess of Hartmann, isn’t she?”

“……!”

Snap.

The sound of a quill breaking filled the room. Ernst stared blankly at the broken quill in his hand until Vincent, accustomed to such incidents, quickly fetched a replacement.

Oblivious to the tension in the air, Pedro leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands behind his head.

“She’s a sharp one.”

“……”

“I met her along with Lady Vivia from the Delph family. The two couldn’t be more different. That whole ‘Princess of Decadence and Indulgence’ rumor—it should be about Lady Vivia, not Lady Eleanor. The way Lady Vivia dresses is way over the top.”

Although Pedro’s tone was lighthearted and playful, Ernst took the comment seriously. His lips twitched as he finally spoke.

“Where did you meet her?”

“Huh? We had lunch with His Majesty. But she barely ate. Is she sick?”

‘Sick?’

Once again, the quill in Ernst’s hand snapped in two.

Watching from a distance, Vincent sighed quietly to himself. If Ernst kept breaking quills at this rate, he would soon run out.

“My apologies, Your Grace. It seems we’ve run out of quills.”

“……”

“I’ll go get more.”

Vincent left the room to fetch more supplies, his thoughts drifting to the same old problem. Whenever the conversation turned to Ernst’s former wife, things always ended this way.

While Vincent was gone, Pedro glanced at Ernst’s desk. “Why don’t you use that one?”

Pedro pointed to a red quill that sat neatly on the corner of the desk. It was a gift Eleanor had given Ernst some time ago, but it had remained unused, more of a decorative piece than anything else.

Following Pedro’s gaze, Ernst glanced at the quill before responding, “It’s not for that.”

“Then what is it for?”

“……”

“It looks perfectly usable to me. Wait a second—this is one of Ostade’s pieces, isn’t it? His 127th work, I think? This must have cost a fortune. It’s incredibly durable, not something that would break easily.”

For Pedro, appraising the value of items had become second nature. His sharp eyes gleamed as he sized up the quill.

“Who gave it to you?”

Ernst didn’t answer. Instead, his expression grew more puzzled. He couldn’t figure out how Eleanor had managed to purchase such a high-quality item.

If Pedro’s evaluation was correct, the quill was worth a great deal of money.

‘Now that I think about it, why did she give me a quill?’

Most people, knowing Ernst’s reputation as a warrior, would typically gift him daggers or other weapons. He had assumed Eleanor would do the same, but now he found himself confused.