"Oh my, such rudeness. I had to doubt my own ears."
"She just couldn't let go even after the marriage."
People whispered while glancing at Rose. Some were intent on currying favor with her.
"……."
Rose merely sipped her tea, calm as if nothing had just happened. Her noble expression showed not a trace of disturbance.
Cordelia was beginning to feel like she was sitting on a cushion of thorns.
She wanted to question Rose too.
To ask if His Grace truly loved her, if it was even possible for him to love anyone.
But thinking of her father and her family, she held back again and again.
No—the truth was she didn't want anyone to see her ugly self, brimming with jealousy.
"Excuse me for a moment……."
She stood, pretending to go to the washroom. She struggled not to stumble as she made her way toward the door.
But the moment she opened it and stepped into the corridor—
"…Ah."
Cordelia ran into the one person she truly did not want to face.
Dane Schmaichel was standing there.
Cordelia immediately noticed that his clothes were a similar color to his wife's, as if they had coordinated.
"Do not announce my arrival."
"Yes, Your Grace."
He quietly instructed the servant. Then, leaning against the wall, he began watching the room through the slightly cracked door.
"……."
Even though he had seen her, Dane showed no reaction. A fleeting glance was all she got.
To him right now, Cordelia was no different from the other servants standing in the corridor.
"…Greetings, Duke Schmaichel."
Cordelia managed to greet him, suppressing her trembling voice.
Kkeudeok.
Dane merely tilted his head without a word. Then he resumed observing the room—precisely, Rose, who sat at the center.
As always, his face was as cold as ice. But now, someone else was reflected on that polished surface.
That alone was unbearable for Cordelia.
"How can you be so heartless? I was once your wife, Your Grace."
She found courage she had never had before and spoke to him.
Even knowing it was futile. Perhaps because this might be her last chance, she acted recklessly.
"Did that mean nothing to you? No—rather, you must have wished I would leave."
Sseuk.
Dane, who had been silently staring ahead, finally looked at Cordelia.
It was an attitude that said he had no desire to converse, but he would respond because he knew she wouldn't leave otherwise.
"Do you want an honest answer?"
"……."
Cordelia remained silent. Knowing how cruel his honesty could be, she couldn't bring herself to listen.
"You made the choice. I watched. That is all."
She wished he would at least get angry. But to him, she was nothing more than a nuisance.
The knowledge that none of her words or actions could have any effect on him.
I am nothing to him.
That drove Cordelia mad.
"You think I'm foolish, don't you? How could you possibly understand how I feel?"
Cordelia spoke, feeling her vision blur.
"Please, I hope the day comes when you feel even half of what I feel."
Dane's gaze shifted slightly. It deepened, as if foretelling a distant future.
Instead of dismissing her as nonsense—
"Perhaps that day will come."
he replied briefly.
"Ah……."
Even though he had agreed with her for the first time, Cordelia felt despair.
Because she immediately understood what his answer meant.
What she could never accomplish—someone had already succeeded in changing him, and he was willingly embracing that change.
"Oh……."
The bridge of Cordelia's nose grew hot. Tears finally streamed down her cheeks.
"Euheuk……."
She couldn't hold back any longer and began to weep.
The servants in the corridor watched her with anxious faces. She knew it was unbecoming of a lady, but she couldn't stop.
"Remember this."
Dane took a step toward her. It was the gait of a predator gliding closer.
"The only reason you can cry like this before me right now,"
His blue eyes gleamed so intensely they almost looked white.
"is because you have siblings."
"…What?"
At first, Cordelia didn't understand his words.
But the next moment—
"Give my regards to your father."
Dane's cryptic remark made her heart plummet. Every fine hair on her skin stood on end, goosebumps erupting violently.
"What did you just… say?"
Jeobeok.
Dane walked past her and into the room.
His retreating figure was brimming with menace. He seemed to carry the scent of blood as he walked away.
"……Ah."
Cordelia stumbled and nearly collapsed. She would have, had a servant of the Holland household not caught her from behind.
"Miss, are you alright?"
"…The carriage."
Cordelia managed to say in a voice that seemed ready to break.
"Take me to the carriage."
An ominous, blood-red shadow was closing in before her eyes.
**
Just a few minutes earlier.
The tea party was beginning to wind down.
'Huu.'
Rose sighed inwardly with relief.
Sitting with her back ramrod straight this whole time had made her ache. The added tension compared to usual played a part too.
'I made it through.'
She hadn't expected the Viscountess Edbar to be so aggressive. Those eyes trembling with jealousy and lingering attachment were burned into her memory.
In her past life, the Viscountess Edbar had acted the same way toward her.
The only difference was that back then, Rose could only cry without being able to say a word, while now she had completely shut her down.
"It's about time we wrapped up. Shall we all mingle freely for a bit?"
The Countess Holland addressed everyone. People rose in small groups and began exchanging greetings with those at other tables.
"Duchess Schmaichel, do you perhaps remember me? We studied together at the Academy before."
"Is His Grace the Duke well? Would it be alright to send some marten pelts we acquired this season to your residence?"
People wanted to greet Rose or make themselves known to her, even just a little.
To think that she, who had been a wallflower just a few months ago, would now stand at the pinnacle of power.
It was astonishing anew. But she didn't let it show and handled it with composure.
"Sister!"
And the expected uninvited guest arrived.
"Rose, Sister!"
It was Daisy Vikander, marching straight up to the table.
'She came, as expected.'
She had openly told Sonya that she was attending Countess Holland's tea party, so it was only a matter of time before it reached Daisy's ears.
Rose was certain Daisy would show up at this tea party. And she was exactly right.
"Lady Daisy."
The Countess Holland, who had been standing guard at Rose's side the entire time, stopped Daisy.
"This is not a private setting. Please use proper forms of address."
"Ah……."
Daisy's face fell at the firm reprimand. Then she stared at Rose, as if asking for help.
"……."
Rose silently gazed at Daisy with a calm expression. Of course, she had no intention of helping her.
Unable to bear Rose's silence and the piercing stares of those around her, Daisy finally opened her mouth.
"Duchess… Schmaichel."
Rose nodded silently. Daisy's face twisted as if wounded, then—
"How could you not contact us even once? Father and Mother waited so long for you."
She whined in a pitiful tone. She had habitually started with informal speech, then caught herself, aware of the surrounding eyes—the awkward correction was obvious.
"Did they?"
Rose was unfazed by Daisy's sullen reaction.
'Was she going to keep helplessly taking it? Or was she going to fight back?'
Recalling Dane's words, she replied calmly.
"If that were the case, they could have contacted me first."
Waiting for her to reach out—it was laughable.
In her past life, the Vikander family had never been curious about Rose. Whether she lived or died in Schmaichel Castle, they couldn't have cared less.
"…Th-that's why I'm here. Even if you left the family, we're still sisters."
Daisy smiled awkwardly. Then her trembling eyes swept over Rose's dress.
"Anyway, sis… the Duchess still loves extravagant dresses, I see."
It was one of the wicked tactics her stepmother and Daisy employed.
They would dress Rose in cheap gowns that looked flashy on the surface but lacked substance, while Daisy wore elegant dresses of premium fabric.
So that when the two sisters stood together, Rose's plainness was all the more glaring.
"Extravagance is a word used when one purchases expensive things beyond one's means."
Rose lifted her chin slightly and looked down at Daisy.
"It's a word that does not exist in the Schmaichel household."
It was an arrogant statement.
But Rose did not hesitate to say it. Nor did she fear the consequences it might bring.
"Lady Daisy, mind your manners before the Duchess."
"No matter if you're sisters, this is going too far."
Just as expected. Rather than blame Rose, people reproached Daisy.
"My, that's quite different from what I'd heard. Rumors really do tend to exaggerate."
"It seems Lady Daisy is the one who needs etiquette lessons. I can see how generously the Duchess Schmaichel has handled things all this time."
More and more people were gathering to watch. But the atmosphere was entirely different from before.
In the past, the tea parties Rose could attend were limited, mostly ones where her stepmother's influence was strong.
Everyone there had taken Daisy's side and criticized Rose. But now, things were different.
"Why is everyone……."
Daisy looked around, flustered. It seemed quite distressing that no one was taking her side.
Watching her, Rose thought.
'Power really is a wonderful thing.'
Dane was right, as expected.
'To insult my wife is to insult me.'
She realized anew how powerful the Schmaichel authority was, and what kind of shield a family's name could be.
At the same time, she understood just how disadvantaged a position she had been fighting from all this time. Her past self, dancing to the tune her stepmother and Daisy had set, was pitiful beyond words.