The news of the Duchess of Efreni’s return came with a request for her presence, so Petronilla departed for the Efreni estate without delay. Petronilla was dressed in a black dress fitting for the occasion, and knocked on the door of the Efreni home. As usual, the butler welcomed her first.

“Lady Petronilla, it has been a long time.”

“Yes. It has been a long time, Butler.”

“The Duchess is waiting. Please come on in…”

Petronilla stepped forward, and carefully asked the butler. “When did the Duchess arrive?”

“It has not been long, my Lady.”

“Is her current state alright…” Immediately after speaking the words, Petronilla reflected on her statement. There was no way that the Duchess could be alright. Her only son had passed on, so how could she?

However, the butler replied calmly, showing no sign of change in his disposition. “She does not seem to be alright.”

“Indeed… she would not be.”

“If my Lady provides a source of strength to the Duchess, I could not be happier.”

“Rather, the Duke seems to have gone somewhere, as I cannot catch sight of him.”

“He has entered the Imperial Palace due to political affairs.”

“…”

Even though his only wife had returned after losing their only son in a foreign country, he was in the Imperial Palace because of political affairs… Petronilla laughed internally at the fact. Was he unaware of the situation, or was he stuck in a rut? Either way, he was making a dire mistake.

—

“Duchess, it is I, Petronilla.”

“My Lady?” a weak voice came from inside the room. “Please come in.”

Petronilla opened the door and went inside. As if she had just finished taking a bath, the Duchess’ appearance was neat and tidy, but she could not hide the desolate look on her face. Petronilla asked after her, imagining that the Duchess had been through a lot of heartache.

“Are you alright, Duchess? You seem to be suffering greatly.”

“Because my only son has already passed on,” the Duchess of Efreni answered matter-of-factly, as she offered Petronilla a seat. “Please sit down.”

“Thank you, Duchess.” Petronilla sat down and formally began to go over everything that had happened.

“The Duchess had left me in charge of the household, but since I am an outsider, I tried not to intervene as much as possible. The butler took care of most of the work, and I only helped with the big issues.”

“That was why I was able to trust my Lady. Even if my Lady had not done a good job, it would have been better than entrusting it to the mistress,” the Duchess of Efreni murmured cynically, and asked her, “Has my Lady been doing well?”

“I was doing well, but there was some noise here and there.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Her Majesty, the Empress was almost assassinated,” Petronilla answered directly. “The assassin has been captured, and is being interrogated to obtain a confession.”

“Then, has a suspect not been arrested yet?”

“Marchioness Ethyller is in custody.”

“She is?” the Duchess of Efreni asked, frowning slightly. Strictly speaking, Rosemond was the adopted daughter of the Efreni family, so she was also the adopted daughter of the Duchess of Efreni, but she seemed to be mostly uninterested in the news. What interest could she have in a daughter brought in by her husband for political reasons?

Petronilla explained, “His Majesty the Emperor heard a conversation she had about trying to harm Her Majesty. Because of that, she was detained immediately. This is not a misdemeanor, and it is not the first time, either.”

“I see.”

“You do not seem surprised.”

“I am not that interested in her, my Lady. She became a member of this family purely because of my husband desired it. Marchioness Ethyller never even came to greet me as her adopted mother, so I thought she did not want a normal mother-daughter relationship.”

“…”

Petronilla had nothing to say about the political aspect, and kept her mouth closed. When the Duchess of Efreni noticed this, she no longer dwelled on the subject. The Duchess of Efreni then changed the topic, “Is there any other news from the Palace?”

“…” At the moment, Petronilla wondered if she should carry out the plan as it was. This was a noblewoman who had lost her son. It seemed too cruel and inhumane to tell her that her deceased son had been born out of rape. But…

-I cannot drag things on.- Petronilla decided to open her mouth. “There is an indecent rumor circling around.”

“An indecent rumor, you say?”

“…” Petronilla hesitated once more. But this was more of a calculated action on her part, to amplify the curiosity of the Duchess of Efreni, rather than the last struggle of morality within her.

As expected, the Duchess of Efreni asked curiously, “Whatever is it, my Lady?”

“Should I tell this to the Duchess… It is vexing.”

“Is it related to me somehow… Perhaps it is a story related to my son?”

“Rather than that…”

“Whatever it is, please let me know, my Lady. I should know about this even more.”

At the request from the Duchess of Efreni, Petronilla pretended to contemplate before opening her mouth. “It is such a horrible story…”

“What is it?”

“The Duke of Efreni married the Duchess, despite his status as the son of a Baron.”

“Yes, that is so.”

“I was told that there was a lot of talk about that.”

“Because it was such an unprecedented event.”

“The Duchess married the Duke out of love, right?”

The Duchess of Efreni raised one eyebrow at Petronilla’s strange words, and asked, “Why are you suddenly asking me about that?”

“Duchess.” Petronilla let out a small sigh and continued, “I do not know where the strange gossip began, but there are rumors that the Duke raped the Duchess, and as a result was forced to wed due to being with child.”

“… I beg your pardon?”

“I also heard about it as well…”

The Duchess of Efreni shuddered pitifully and muttered to herself, “Who brought up such a rumor… Is that not ridiculous?”

Petronilla responded, “Yes, it is ridiculous, for the Duchess…” Petronilla lowered her voice and continued, “If the Duchess really married the Duke Efreni out of love, that is.”