# 17
**Chapter Seventeen**
I followed Mrs. Mayer towards the group of ladies.
“Ladies, I have arrived,” Mrs. Mayer greeted first, and all eyes turned to us. As soon as they saw me behind her, they were clearly surprised. Mrs. Mayer turned half-turned and introduced me.
“As you all probably know, this is the Duchess of Wessen, Lady Diana.”
The ladies greeted me first, and I gave them a slight bow in response to their greeting. Their looks, as expected, were not very welcoming.
'Yes. I think there is no escape from that.'
Memories of what happened between Diana and those women flooded into my mind. The middle-aged woman with brown hair has a daughter who was drowned in water because of “Diana.” The light green-haired woman, who looked a bit older than Diana, had her hair pulled by her once… and most of the others had also been exposed to some sort of mess caused by Diana, either directly or indirectly.
'...Diana, couldn't you have lived a little more peacefully?'
I felt cold sweat running down the back of my neck, as if I was in the middle of enemy territory.
However, none of them publicly rejected me or showed hostility towards me, perhaps because it was Madame Mayer who brought me, and because I bore the title of Duchess of Wessenne.
But that's all my title can protect me from.
“I heard that Madame Montpelly is designing a new style of dress,” said one of them.
“It may create a new trend in high society, as it did last time.”
“…”
The moment I joined the conversation about dresses, there was a brief silence—about three seconds.
One of the women, who caught my gaze, smiled embarrassedly and nodded.
“Yes. That madam can definitely do that.”
"Oh, have any of you tried the strawberry cake from the pastry shop opened by the retired Imperial Chef? I haven't been able to try it yet. They don't take reservations, and I keep missing it."
“It's so hard to get a place. I've barely been able to get one lately.”
"Oh my god, really? I'm so jealous, lady."
“I heard they're moving to a new dessert next week. I wonder what it will be?”
“Maybe macarons? The chef’s specialty was macarons, anyway.”
“…”
Once again, there was an eerie silence in the air after my speech.
“Yes, the Imperial Chef's macarons were always excellent,” one of them finally said.
“When there was a banquet at the palace, everyone was eating macarons. By the way, have you heard the rumors about Baroness Mathilde?”
Whenever I tried to join the conversation, they would repeat with a smile but quickly change the subject, so I could not complain publicly.
When I stopped talking, their conversation flowed smoothly again. The heaviness in my chest increased as it became clear that they were intentionally directing the conversation away from me.
I looked at Mrs. Mayer, but she was observing the situation without interfering.
'You won't help me here.'
Maybe that's what Harold meant when he said Mrs. Mayer was testing me.
And it wasn't just her. Of course, the other major nobles present at this ceremony were also watching.
They all wanted to know if I was still the troublesome monkey who disrupted social gatherings or if I had become more polite.
'correct. I am the Duchess of Wesen.'
With that thought, the fake smile on my face became more natural.
When I just smiled and didn't try to join the conversation, the ladies who were leading the conversation started looking at me nervously. Their shifting eyes were full of confusion, as if they weren't sure how to deal with the fact that I wasn't acting like the old Diana.
I did not avoid their gaze; Rather, I stared at them with confidence.
The more I did this, the more upset they became.
Finally, one of them spoke.
“Duchess, have you heard of Lady Strella?”
“I've been busy with family matters since my marriage. Can you tell me?”
The noblewomen, as if they had never tried to exclude me, now acted as if everything was normal. Ms. Mayer joined the conversation seamlessly as well.
'So, I didn't need to be careful and try to fit into their conversation anyway.'
As Harold said, none of these women had a higher status than me. All I had to do was make them watch their words around me.
Suddenly, I felt that someone was watching me, and when I turned around, I saw Harold's back walking in the opposite direction.
'Wasn't there someone looking at me from there?'
I shook the strange feeling off and went back to talking to the ladies.
“Sorry, ladies.”
While we were talking lightly, Ella approached. She must have just arrived and come to greet Mrs. Mayer, the hostess of the party.
With rosy cheeks, Ella greeted Mrs. Mayer respectfully. But when she saw me, she clearly backed down.
Her golden eyes filled with tears that rolled down her cheeks.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” One of the ladies asked.
“...Yes. Thank you for your concern. But I remembered something annoying, and now my legs feel weak. I don’t think I can walk.”
Ella looked at me, shaking as if she was terrified.
Something annoying. Her words clearly reminded everyone of the time Diana tried to poison her.
The fun atmosphere quickly turned cold.
The ladies looked back and forth between Ella and me, clearly uncomfortable, and fell silent.
“Can someone call my fiancé, Kayden, please?” I asked.
“Of course, ma'am.”
She seemed perfectly fine the last time we met, and now suddenly she's terrified?
Honestly, I was amazed.
'...Could she be doing this because she doesn't like how I get along with the ladies?'
The thought seemed plausible, knowing Ella.
At that moment, a servant arrived with Caiden.
Kayden looked concerned as he helped Ella, checking on her condition.
“Ella, are you okay?”
“Yes. I was just surprised.”
Ella leaned against him, smiling weakly.
Her expression was clearly troubled, and Kaiden frowned deeply with concern.
“Duchess, what did you do to my fiancée this time?”
Kayden's cold gaze fixed on me. His look was like, “You're back to your actions, aren't you?” However, I felt a faint trace of relief behind it.
'...Am I imagining things? Why would Kayden feel at ease at a time like this?'
“I haven't done anything today, sir. You should hurry up and take your fiancée somewhere to rest. She says she's struggling to stand.”
Kayden's frown deepened, but instead of checking on the clearly disturbed Ella, he asked again.
“Are you sure you didn't do anything to her?”
“Yes. Everyone here is watching.”
“The Duchess is telling the truth. She was just talking to us,” Mrs. Mayer backed up my words, adding weight to my explanation.
'Oh, great help.'
“…I understand. I misunderstood. My apologies, Duchess,” Kayden nodded in my direction before turning back to Ella, carefully supporting her as they walked slowly, mindful of her alleged weakness.
As I watched them, I couldn't help but think, 'Even in this world, a hero is still a hero.' If Diana had seen this, her eyes might have widened with jealousy, but I just stared at it all dispassionately, feeling like I was just an observer in the story.
Then, Kaiden suddenly turned around.
“…!”
I flinched, surprised. His gaze settled directly on me.
“…”
He stared for a moment, his nose wrinkling as if something about me bothered him.
'Wait, does he still have feelings left for her or something?'
Horrified by my wild guess, I quickly looked away. 'I'll never exchange glances with him again,' I promised myself as if I was sprinkling salt for good luck.
Even though Ella left with Kayden, the embarrassment she brought lingered in the air. The atmosphere, which had just begun to improve, was now completely shattered.
'We finally had a good time...'
At that moment, Mrs. Mayer tapped her fan gently under her lips and called to me.
“Duchess, there is something I have been meaning to ask you about for a while.”
“Come in, lady,” I replied, smiling brightly, sensing an opportunity to break the frozen atmosphere.
“I wondered if the scent of the Duke's perfume had passed on to you, but since the scent still lingers, I guess that's not true?”
“Oh, no. I mentioned once that I liked the smell, and Harold gave it to me as a gift,” I said. Although it would be more accurate to say that it was “sprayed on me,” rather than that I chose to put it on.
As soon as I finished speaking, sounds of surprise echoed around the group. Even Mrs. Mayer, who rarely shows much emotion, widened her eyes.
Why are they all so shocked?
"The Duke must really care about you, Duchess. I mean, the fact that he's touching you with his bare hands is already something special, but…"
“What?”
“Don't tell me you didn't know about this perfume?”
‘What about this perfume…?’ I kept my mouth shut, staring at Mrs. Mayer with eyes wide and curious like a squirrel’s, afraid I would say something stupid if I spoke too soon.
“That perfume? No one but the Duke himself is allowed to wear it.”