# 50
“Hmm, I'll stay for a while and then leave.”
Since the Russell family is Harold's matrilineal family, I was trying to build a good relationship with them.
This way, if Harold died one day, I would have a stronger position to control Basin.
“Although Harold will never die of the disease.”
I will make sure of that.
When I was about to leave after finishing my preparations, an unexpected guest arrived.
“Oh my God, Duchess.”
“Mrs. Russell, what brings you here?”
“Why else? I wanted to accompany my special friend, the Duchess, and chat alone while walking together.”
Mrs. Russell winked cheerfully.
Since I was going to attend her gathering anyway, I simply agreed.
As we walked out, she linked her arm with mine in a friendly way and started chatting.
“Seeing you two together today, it seems that you two are really as passionate as the rumors say.”
Her cheeks were red like ripe apricots.
Since she was not invited to the wedding, this was probably the first time she had seen Harold and me together.
"It's a little awkward. We were trying to be discreet."
“Oh, love is not something that can be easily hidden.”
"This is correct."
She laughed like a satisfied cat and leaned closer.
Then, with a curious expression, I asked,
“By the way, is there any good news?”
“What kind of good news?”
"Oh, don't pretend you don't know. A child, of course. Seeing as the Duke's passion earlier, things should be just as hot in the bedroom, right?"
“…!”
At the mention of “hot in the bedroom,” I was immediately reminded of my therapy sessions with Harold.
'W-Why am I thinking about that now?'
Barely managing to maintain a neutral expression, I called to Mrs. Russell.
“Ma’am, this is not necessarily a conversation for public places.”
“Oh, my apologies! But really, no good news yet? I thought it would happen soon.”
She spoke loudly, her eyes looking openly at my flat stomach expectantly.
“No baby yet.”
“Oh… I see.”
She sighed, clearly disappointed.
“Sigh, if a child had come soon, unwanted pests wouldn’t have wandered around the Bisen family.”
“Pff!”
At that moment, I heard a chuckle from the side and turned around.
Ella was covering her mouth, struggling to hold back her laughter.
“Lady Ella, are you laughing at me now?”
Mrs. Russell tapped her fan gently on her lips, showing her displeasure.
She frowned in annoyance, but through the gap of the fan, I could see the slight curve of her lips.
For her, this was a sweet opportunity to build a close relationship with me.
Ella's golden eyes widened in surprise.
"Ha? Me? Laughing? At what?"
“Are you pretending you didn't? I clearly heard you laughing while you were listening to our conversation.”
Ella's voice trembled, and tears gathered in her golden eyes.
As a reader, I saw Ella the most. I could easily predict what would happen next.
Mrs. Russell was emotional, and Ella was good at playing innocence.
She knew exactly how to make herself look like a victim in any situation.
'Especially with someone like Ms. Russell, Ella always twists things in her favor.'
If things continue like this, Ella will soon be able to turn the situation around in her favor.
If that happened, not only would Mrs. Russell be affected, but she might also be dragged into it.
After all, I was the villain who once tried to poison Ella. It wouldn't take much to cause problems for me.
“Ms. Russell, I'm fine. Let's just leave it.”
Before Ella could fully control the situation, I stepped between them.
It is always better to prevent problems before they start.
“Duchess… well, if you insist.”
Mrs. Russell frowned as if she did not understand why I had stopped her.
But she had no intention of going against me, so she retreated quietly.
'Now, only Ella remains.'
Ella shuddered and cringed as our eyes met.
"I'm innocent. I didn't really hear you two talking."
Tears ran down her cheeks.
I gently dabbed the area under her eyes with a tissue.
In high society, appearances were what mattered, so I smiled as if there was no problem between us.
“…!”
Ella's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't expect me to react this way.
Her pink lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
I spoke calmly.
“I don’t know what you heard or why you laughed. But I don’t want to continue this conversation.”
“…”
“You were on your way somewhere, weren't you?”
“Yes...”
“Then, go on.”
I put the handkerchief in her hand.
Ella looked at the light pink fabric for a moment before walking past us.
'Hugh!'
I still don't know why Ella laughed at our conversation, but at least the situation was resolved.
Even though I may not have shown it, my heart was pounding, worried that I might have handled it the wrong way.
I wanted to collapse from stress.
But we were still outside, and people were watching.
I turned to Mrs. Russell.
“Ma’am, let’s go too.”
She followed me quietly.
But as soon as we got away from the crowd, she spoke in a slightly annoyed tone.
“Duchess, why did you let Lady Ella go unpunished?”
“…”
"She laughed at the news that you weren't pregnant yet. She's caused you so much trouble in the past! Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to put her in her place?"
Mrs. Russell clearly did not understand why I let it go.
“If we paid it, we would be the ones to suffer.”
“Huh?”
I frowned.
“That young lady—no, I mean...”
She quickly adjusted her expression, but couldn't find the right words.
I understood her reaction.
Only Diana and I, the reader, knew Ella's true nature.
To high society, Ella was considered a quiet and gentle noblewoman.
From their perspective, this situation seemed like the perfect opportunity to humiliate me.
“I was just kidding. I simply wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble, Mrs. Russell.”
“Oh, you just wanted to avoid trouble.”
She finally seemed to understand and laughed softly.
'I'm glad I dealt with it quickly.'
I repeated the thought in my head as I watched her reaction.
Then, I suddenly thought of Harold.
If Harold were here, he would have believed me right away…
'Three hours seems really long.'
Since I've been spending most of my time with Harold lately, his absence has been strangely noticeable.
I glanced toward the forest before entering the Russell family's tent.
The ladies attending Mrs. Russell's tea-time were all closely associated with her family.
They praised me excessively as if they had planned it in advance.
At the same time, they kept mentioning how supportive Ms. Russell was of me.
“Lady Russell has vehemently denied all negative rumors about you, Duchess.”
“Thanks to her, we all realized that Duchess Diana was a truly wonderful person.”
“Oh, there is no need to mention such things.”
Mrs. Russell laughed, feigning modesty.
For the first 30 minutes, this was tolerable, but after an hour, it felt like my ears were going to come off.
'I was expecting this, but this is too much.'
By now, I had stayed the minimum amount of time required, so I told them I was leaving.
“You're leaving already?”
“I didn't sleep much last night.”
Unfortunately, that wasn't a lie. I had been up all night treating Harold.
“Oh—if so, I understand. By the way, Duchess, I have something for you.”
Mrs. Russell smiled slyly and pointed to her maid.
“I have prepared some herbs and essences that can help with pregnancy. Just a small token of appreciation for your presence today, Duchess.”
“Thank you for the gift, Countess Russell.”
“I sincerely hope that you will conceive an heir soon—before the Duke’s health deteriorates further.”
I sent the gift to Besen's tent through a servant.
“Ana, are there other servants planning to get pregnant?”
Harold and I didn't need them, but the herbs were valuable and useful.
I remembered a chef who recently came to thank me after his successful pregnancy. That thought made me smile.
“There is a maid who is about to get married. She plans to have a child right away. But, madam, you won’t take her back?”
"no."
“Well, I guess that makes sense~ You and Your Highness have been sticking together every day lately.”
Anna gave me a sly smile, and I felt goosebumps.
It was an inevitable misunderstanding, but I'll never get used to that look.
“I don't feel like going back yet, so I'm going to walk around...”
I quickly turned around and started walking without looking back.
“Ah! Madam, wait for me!”
I quickened my steps, but Ana, who was running after me, quickly caught up with me.
Ignoring her, I continued walking aimlessly.
“Ma’am, don’t your legs feel tired?”
When I finally looked back, Ana's face was covered in sweat.
'Thinking about it, I've walked a lot.'
Because of my divine power, I never felt pain, so I didn't even realize it.
“Let's go back.”
"Yes!"
Anna's face lit up at my words, and I gave a guilty smile.
“Ana, if you start to feel pain, tell me.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm, it's okay.”
‘I will sneak into her room while she is sleeping and secretly heal her with divine power.’
While I was planning my cunning plan, I looked around.
The open space was wide enough to accommodate most of the capital's nobles. If I wasn't careful, I could easily lose track of where I was.
'I must ask the servant for instructions.'
The royal servants stationed here were supposed to know the layout of the entire area.
I decided to stop looking for my way back and look for a servant instead. I told Anna my plan.
“Madam, I see some servants to the left! But...”
As soon as she said “servants,” I turned my head excitedly.
“…They seem to be searching for something.”
* * *