The King’s Consolation
It was said that the King kept dropping by the Royal Guesthouse on the pretext of consoling the Glintland Duke after her marriage negotiations had fallen through. Among those visits, the number of times he pretended to be drunk and collapsed toward Isabelle was beyond counting. As for the number of times he had crawled into her bed, by her own account, that had happened twice.
“And you put up with that?”
At Chloe’s incredulous question, Isabelle gave a small, airy laugh.
“Do you think that’s such a great matter to a woman with a child?”
At that, Chloe looked back and forth between Curtis and her.
Curtis merely shrugged.
Just moments ago, when he had made it clear to the Duke that he was well aware she had a hidden child, he had meant it as a warning to give up and get lost.
Apparently, all he had done was stoke that Duke’s stubbornness.
“Whether you have a child or not, it is a great matter!”
“Your Highness.”
Isabelle swept her luxuriant hair back and lightly propped her chin in one hand. The pose was so enchanting that even Chloe nearly found herself captivated by her beauty for a moment.
“You are, astonishingly enough, still unmarried, are you not?”
“What? What are you talking about? I am married to this man right beside—”
But Isabelle cut Chloe off.
“Your Grace. The bloodstains you left on the royal bedding made quite a spectacle. It seems His Majesty and a great many others were fooled by it, but I don’t fall for such things.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“No matter how married he may be, if a man truly loves his lover, he does not leave other people to imagine the circumstances of their bedchamber.”
“That…”
“The same applies even if the two of you married for mutual benefit. Plenty of nobles marry after drawing up contracts. And there are any number of people who share a bed without love.”
“We also—!”
But Chloe’s desperate protest lost all force before Isabelle’s smile.
Isabelle threw her head back and laughed as though she truly found it hilarious, then spoke again.
“Whether there is love or not is irrelevant. If you had shared a bed, there would be no reason to hang the sheets out like that when the mansion was crawling with the King’s household spies. You could simply have taken advantage of whatever happened in the bedroom, indulged each other’s lust, and not come out for three days.”
“….”
“To me, it looked like nothing so much as the two of you shouting to the whole world that you hadn’t slept together.”
Is… is this the insight of a woman with a child?
Chloe was at a loss for words.
Curtis, however, was expressionless. Judging by his silence, Chloe could only assume this was not a point he had ever particularly considered.
Isabelle picked up the glass of water on the small table beside her chair, took a sip, and dabbed at the corner of her mouth.
“Though I can’t fathom why anyone would act that way after marrying a young man with this much wealth, status, and even a decent face.”
At that, Chloe, who had unconsciously tucked in her chin and made a look of appalled disbelief, found her eyes meeting Curtis’s once again.
The difference from moments before was that this time, his expression seemed perfectly readable.
It was a smug little look, as if to say, See?
Watching the two of them, Isabelle smiled sweetly.
“When I was told to marry that man, I did at least think it was fortunate he wasn’t some disgusting old codger. It was far too early for me to think that.”
“…If you admit your crime, I will at least do what I can to ensure you are completely separated from my brother.”
“Your Grace.”
At Curtis’s words, Isabelle turned her head and answered without losing her smile.
“I don’t need efforts. I only like certainties.”
“….”
“I told you this much only because Her Highness compared that King to food waste. I still have nothing to discuss with either of you.”
Why was it?
The smile that had looked as sharp as a blade until just moments ago now seemed astonishingly drained.
“Whether I’m killed here on circumstantial evidence alone, or confess my crime and become a criminal who insulted the Grand Ducal House. Even if I barely avoid punishment and return to Glintland, what awaits me as the price of failure is still death. The result waiting for me is the same.”
Chloe was troubled, and at the same time, flustered.
She no longer knew what they were supposed to do.
When she thought about it, Isabelle was right. Even if she admitted her crime, she would merely become a criminal of Ibanes. And if what she said was true, even if she escaped guilt and returned to Glintland, only death awaited her there.
Then what on earth were they supposed to do?
It was Curtis who spoke then.
“Isn’t Soleria what you need?”
All of a sudden?
Chloe was left wondering what in the world he was talking about, but astonishingly, the smile that had been on Isabelle’s face until a moment ago vanished as if washed clean away.
Chloe blinked.
After a brief silence, Curtis continued.
“Soleria is land I don’t need. To the King of Glintland, Soleria without me is not particularly useful land either. What he finds attractive is my fortune, and the future Soleria that will grow wealthy because of that fortune.”
“….”
“But you wanted Soleria.”
Then return it, why don’t you?
If you dislike me, I would at least like you to return Soleria to Glintland.
The two passacaglias Curtis and Isabelle had danced.
Of the conversation they had shared then, that had been the only part that left Curtis with a question.
To the King of Glintland, having Soleria returned without Curtis would only be a headache.
Then that was probably Isabelle’s own wish.
Thought of that way, it made sense.
No matter if her child was being held hostage…
Of course, he could not say that here.
His Grand Duchess was still tilting her head with a foolish look on her face.
Making people look like fools was not his hobby…
…Was it not?
Was it?
Curtis gave his head a slight shake to clear the thought, then continued.
“If you want it, I can return a petty marcher marquisate as many times as necessary. Or I could even grant you the title of Soleria Marcher Marquis. That authority is tied to my birth.”
“….”
“But I doubt Soleria itself is what you truly want. So speak properly. Then I will help you.”
Only then did the woman’s frighteningly rigid face loosen.
Still, she was not easy.
“Your Grace of Ibanes. If you had been, at the very least, the Grand Duke of Theresemania or Cataract, I would likely have cooperated with you actively.”
“….”
“Unfortunately, you are not. So I will not give you a definite answer.”
Isabelle straightened the posture that had looked almost indolent, crossed her legs, and placed her hands on her knee.
She would not say it outright, but even Chloe could tell this meant she was at least willing to consider a negotiation.
“Instead, I’ll tell you one thing.”
“Speak.”
“I spoke as though I were the only one who knew until a moment ago, but His Majesty has likely also guessed by now that the two of you have not shared a bed.”
Curtis furrowed his brow.
Isabelle said expressionlessly,
“A butler is a position that comes to know far more than one might expect. I hear the two of you have not slept in the same bed even once since the wedding.”
“…Even if my brother guesses that, it is hardly—”
“Your Grace. I said I would tell you one thing, and now you’re making me tell you two.”
Her tone all but treated him like an idiot, but neither of them could protest against Isabelle.
Looking at the speechless Grand Ducal couple, Isabelle replied without emotion.
“There is a difference between a private individual merely guessing and a witness known as a butler giving testimony. If this matter is not properly resolved, the next scandal will break through the butler’s mouth.”
Chloe’s cheeks grew hot.
Even without looking at the man, she knew he must be wearing an expression much like her own.
It was only after they returned to the office that Curtis opened his mouth.
Since the investigation was still ongoing, they could not return to the Berk Ducal Residence today either.
Strictly speaking, Curtis could have gone back, but the story he had heard from Isabelle la Glintland had clearly caught him by the ankle.
As if making sure everyone heard, the man declared, “I cannot leave only the Grand Duchess to sleep in the aide’s office,” and said that he, too, would spend the night in his office.
Thus the place where the two of them eventually settled was Chloe’s aide’s office.
Curtis was sitting on the floor, leaning his back against Chloe’s bed.
For reference, he was not sitting directly on the bare floor.
If he had been, Chloe would first have suspected that the man had lost his mind.
With perfect nonchalance, he had spread the small Royal Guard-issued blanket Chloe used over her knees when working overtime on top of the carpet, sat down on it, and then opened his mouth.
“That woman has a son.”
“You mentioned that.”
“He’s five years old, and I suspect he’s being held hostage.”
Chloe’s face filled with consternation.
She was not shocked, however. It was well within the realm of what she could have anticipated.
According to Curtis, who spoke calmly, the Duchess of Glintland had originally been a fallen provincial noble.
She was of a collateral branch of the royal family, but an extremely distant one. If one counted her degrees of kinship with the current King of Glintland, it would apparently be around the sixteenth degree.
Isabelle’s mother had been the daughter of a ruined noble family.
Beautiful in appearance but poor and with nowhere to depend on, the woman became the mistress of a provincial noble.
Only after his legal wife died did he remarry, but Isabelle had been born before her mother’s formal marriage and was therefore an illegitimate child, so she still did not receive decent treatment.
She inherited her mother’s beauty and did marry, but her partner was an exceedingly old man.
It was only natural that her husband died half a year after the wedding.
On top of that, her husband left her no property.
In the end, Isabelle moved to another city.
And there, she began living a life entirely different from before.
She seduced married men, of course, and became a mistress who received living expenses. And naturally, when her partner tired of her, she moved on to another man.
Among the men who had passed through her hands, at least three were publicly known.
She succeeded in seducing a young Count’s son and receiving a proposal from him, but when his mother slapped her, Isabelle could not restrain herself and spat at the woman, which led to her being brought to trial.
And astonishingly, Isabelle fell in love.
With the court administrator who prosecuted her.