Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 26 Part 4

Pedro, who had fallen to the floor, looked up at his brother with a stunned expression. Evan’s eyes were filled with resentment.

When Duke Nestor asked what had happened, Evan, still fuming, began to explain.

“Caroline came to the palace. I don’t know what she discussed with Duke Mecklen, but it’s clear she’s hostile toward us now. She told me to ask my brother why the business was ruined.”

Instead of going straight to Pedro, Evan had first checked what Eleanor’s business was about. He found out that her store was located in a highly coveted spot, and upon further investigation, he discovered that one of Pedro’s acquaintances—someone he had always disliked—had helped her.

“So I just tracked down that friend of yours and confronted him. He wouldn’t admit when he met Eleanor, so I trashed his shop…”

“What?”

Pedro, who had been silent until then, suddenly stood up. Seeing his usually meek brother visibly shocked, Evan smirked.

“What? Does it make you angry to see your friend treated like that? You should be ashamed. If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to keep a commoner like that around… Ow!”

Thud—!

It took only a moment for Pedro to transform into an enraged bull.

Not only had his brother wrecked his friend’s shop, but he had also insulted him without hesitation. Pedro retaliated with a punch.

As Evan fell to the floor with a loud crash, Duke Nestor shouted, “Pedro!”

The sudden fight between brothers left the household staff at a loss, shuffling their feet in distress. What an unexpected disaster, especially during a meal to send off the young master on his long journey.

When Duke Nestor ordered everyone out, the servants quickly cleared the room.

“Both of you, sit down immediately. Evan, sit over there.”

“……”

“Are you going to ignore your father’s command!” Duke Nestor, thoroughly angered, shouted.

Despite their poor relationship, the brothers had no choice but to obey their father. Reluctantly, Evan moved to the other side of the table, facing Pedro.

Tension filled the space between the two brothers as they glared at each other. Duke Nestor finally broke the heavy silence.

“I also heard that the Princess of Hartmann made a great success recently. And I know about Caroline’s humiliation.”

“……”

“But Evan, you were wrong to act as you did.”

“Why are you only blaming me?”

Evan retorted sharply as soon as he was criticized. Once again, his father wasn’t on his side. But when Duke Nestor raised his voice, Evan had no choice but to fall silent.

After taking a moment to calm himself, Duke Nestor continued, “Sure, there’s nothing good about making an enemy of Caroline.”

Considering the time and money they had invested, it was hard to dismiss her.

“But there’s no need to maintain ties with her forcibly either. I’ve told you repeatedly—use people as much as needed, and when they’re no longer useful, discard them.”

“……”

“Caroline is already in Duke Mecklen’s bad books after being put in confinement. I don’t know how she managed to get a business opportunity, but she lost to Princess Hartmann.”

“But you know she won’t give up easily, father.”

“So what?”

Evan paused at his father’s sharp retort.

“Do you think the situation will change just because she refuses to give up? You must not have heard the rumors from the tea-tasting event yet. People are saying Caroline embarrassed the nobility. She promoted it as a luxury tea called ‘Princess,’ but when it turned out to be something commoners could easily buy, do you think the nobles would let it slide? You think a tarnished reputation can be easily restored?”

To the nobility, for whom honor was paramount, such a blow was crippling.

Duke Nestor clicked his tongue in disapproval. “For a while, no noble will want to do business with her.”

“……”

“And what about the Balkan Trading Company? Wasn’t that involved too? But does Marquis Delph value Caroline highly?”

He did not.

“No one in the Balkan Trading Company truly trusts each other. Even we are only in it for the money, and they must know that. It’s not surprising if someone were to stab another in the back at any moment.”

Evan’s expression darkened as he listened to his father’s words.

Duke Nestor turned briefly to Pedro, who sat on his right. Pedro, whose cheek was swollen, remained silent, just like Evan.

“I think Pedro made the right choice this time.”

“Father.”

Pedro tried to explain that it wasn’t like that, but Duke Nestor ignored him and looked at Evan.

“I once told Duke Ezester that Princess Hartmann might turn out to be a golden opportunity. Both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are openly supporting everything she does, and everyone in the palace knows it.”

Where there was the scent of money, Duke Nestor would follow.

The duke declared, “Take this opportunity to sever ties with Marquis Delph and Caroline.”

“…What do you mean?” Evan’s face turned pale with shock.

Desperately, Evan stepped closer to Duke Nestor. “I’ve worked so hard until now. Forget Caroline, but we haven’t even fully figured out all of Marquis Delph’s businesses yet. And there’s so much dirty money flowing there—are you saying we should give all that up? Just like that? What about everything we’ve invested?”

“It’s a waste, of course. But if Caroline knows about Pedro’s connection to Princess Hartmann, then it’s obvious they won’t trust us anyway,” said Duke Nestor as if it were the most natural conclusion.

He continued, “Besides, thanks to the princess’s business, I’ve gained a new perspective. Luxury goods for the nobility can also be very desirable to the lower classes. It seems that their admiration for nobles manifests in their desire to consume such luxury items.”

The idea of commoners coveting noble-only items was unsettling, but considering the money, the potential market wasn’t entirely unappealing.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to sweep up their money. If Pedro can learn from Eleanor and use her methods, wouldn’t that be ideal?”

“Father.”

Pedro tried to argue that it wasn’t like that, but Duke Nestor disregarded him and turned his attention to Evan.

“Let’s expedite the matter with the Balkan Trading Company. The spy we placed there is still the financial manager, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Tell him to hurry up and proceed. Have him take the documents and get out quickly.”

“……!”

Evan suddenly felt as though he had been dealt a heavy blow.

It seemed like something completely absurd had just happened.

With a dumbfounded expression, Evan stared at Pedro, who stood next to the laughing Duke Nestor. His brother, as always, simply remained silent with an innocent look on his face.

That, more than anything, added fuel to Evan’s anger.

He sharply shouted at everyone, “Then what does that make all the effort I’ve put in so far?!”

***

Kaham’s Bracelet was famous enough that Eleanor couldn’t be unaware of it.

She had heard stories about it curing the sick, helping people find their lost loved ones, or even being a relic that found its own master. These tales were ones she had come across long ago.

Eleanor asked Ernst, “Is it alright not to give this bracelet to His Majesty?”

“Why are you bringing that up now?”

Ernst paused as Lennoch’s name naturally slipped from Eleanor’s lips.

It was purely a gift he wanted to give her. But seeing the image of the two of them being affectionate that he had briefly forgotten, Ernst’s mood plummeted instantly.

Unaware of Ernst’s growing gloom, Eleanor tilted her head again.

‘Originally, this should have been presented to Lennoch.’

After the border dispute with Bahama, Tatar, the commander of Bahama, gifted Kaham’s Bracelet to the Emperor of the Baden Empire.

That evening, after Ernst had returned from offering the relic to the Emperor, Caroline had been quite displeased. Eleanor clearly remembered how much she had grumbled as soon as she heard about it.

‘Could this, too, have changed because of me?’

She had expected that her altered actions in this life would lead to changes in the future. Even so, she hadn’t anticipated that it would affect things this far.

Seeing that Ernst hadn’t immediately given it to Lennoch, it seemed that in this life, Tatar had gifted it not to the Emperor but to Ernst.

Eleanor, unable to understand, looked down at the bracelet. “I already apologized in front of His Majesty before, but this is a gift to make up for how poorly I’ve treated you all this time.”

“…Really?”

“I apologize again. I promise it won’t happen again,” Ernst answered seriously.

Because of that, Eleanor felt something strange.

They had completely ended things between them. Moreover, she was currently standing in opposition to his mother. Yet even while watching her in that position, Ernst wasn’t angry.

It wasn’t indifference either. This was… something else.

“I want to ask you something.”

“……?”

“Did you know His Majesty from before?”

An inexplicable tension passed through Eleanor.

“When I saw you before, you seemed quite familiar with him.”

Ernst brought up an issue he had been contemplating for a long time. It was a sense of incongruity he had felt for some time.

“When I think about it, there are some strange parts. His Majesty agreed to the divorce too easily, you left the family and joined Hippias, and then you became the Director here in the palace. Everything has happened so easily.”

“It was because His Majesty was kind to me. I’m still grateful.”

“I’m not looking for a formal answer.”

Eleanor tried to avoid it, but Ernst blocked her firmly.

His eyes shone sharply. “I’m asking about the relationship between the two of you that I don’t know.”

“……”

“His Majesty treats you differently from others.”

It was a very subtle difference, but that subtlety sparked suspicion.

The Emperor was just as rational as Ernst himself. Though his way of expressing himself differed, when it came to work, he didn’t allow any gaps.

But with Eleanor—

“He’s very emotional.”

At times, he even showed an inexplicable closeness.

“There’s a sense of obsession.”

As he continued, Ernst swallowed dryly.

At first, he had only come to talk about Caroline and give her a gift. But when he saw Eleanor bringing up Lennoch after receiving the bracelet, the jealousy he had momentarily set aside returned.

“Perhaps the two of you…”

He almost asked if they were seeing each other seriously, but Ernst hesitated.

He felt wounded already, even without hearing an answer.

He wished she would just get angry.

Ask him what he was talking about.

But Eleanor remained in a strangely long silence.

Neither denial nor confirmation.

“…It can’t be, right?” Ernst asked again, his voice now noticeably weaker.

One was a princess of Hartmann, and the other was the Emperor of Baden. Though they had similar backgrounds as members of royalty, it didn’t make sense that the Emperor would accept a woman who had divorced Ernst.

No, considering Eleanor’s cold demeanor towards him, it didn’t seem like she was the type to let a man stay by her side so easily.

‘Damn it.’

As he thought that far, Ernst finally realized.

She was free now. There were no children between them, and even their physical relationship had been kept clean.

On paper, they were also completely separated, making them strangers. If she wanted to, she could meet a man whenever she wanted.

Suddenly, his mind cleared as if he had been doused in cold water.

‘If I’d known this, I wouldn’t have signed back then.’

A belated sense of regret washed over him.

Seeing someone who had once been his wife showing signs of starting anew with someone else felt unpleasant and irritating.

“His Majesty and I have been friends since childhood. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I hope you don’t misunderstand. I’m only asking as a friend.”

He wanted her to say it in her usual calm manner.

Even if they remained nothing more than casual acquaintances who drank tea together sometimes, he would be satisfied for now.

So just say no.

The anxious Ernst clenched his fist tightly. His eyes were fixed on Eleanor’s lips.

The lips that seemed like they would stay closed forever finally curved gently and opened.

“I love him.”

“……!”

Ernst’s eyes widened.