Chapter 196

Misunderstandings, Lies, and Truths (2)

Ezet slipped out of Edmond’s side and greeted the two.

“You’re Marquis Bath, aren’t you? Nice to meet you.”

“I didn’t expect the Duchess of Jaxen to visit us, following Her Majesty and Count Spencer. I should have told her to stay up a little longer.”

“Oh, no. I can’t help it if she’s sleeping.”

The Marquis Bath stood up as if he were about to wake up his sleeping wife; Ezet quickly dissuaded him.

“I’ll be back next time if she’s resting. I’ve had a lot of trouble…”

“Come this way, Duchess of Saxony.”

The patient is sleeping, so it’s too much to visit. The Empress called Ezet, who was just about to go back. When Marquis Bath ordered the maid, Edmond and Ezet’s share of tea came out.

“You came all the time, so we can sit down and talk. Say hello to the Marquis of Bath.”

“Are you sure that’s okay? Interfering with Marchioness sleep is…”

“But the soundproofing in the palace bedroom is reliable. When you close the door, the sound doesn’t leak out.”

Ezet, who recalled that she had been hanging out with her husband in an empty room, slightly blushed. It probably won’t wake the Marchioness sleeping in the bedroom unless she makes a fuss. Ezet agreed and sat next to the Empress.

“Welcome, Edmond.”

When he called Edmond, who was still standing by the door and engaged in a childish snowball fight with Daniel, he quickly ignored the presence of the man he had been staring at and came to Ezet’s side.

“The sofa is a little small for me to sit on.”

“No, you can sit on that couch over there!”

Edmond, who came next to Ezet, naturally winked at the Empress as if to step aside, and surprised Ezet slapped him on the back of his hand and pointed to the sofa opposite him.

Edmond sat on the sofa opposite her, looking reluctant. He wanted to sit next to Ezet, but he couldn’t help it because the Empress was the guest.

“But… why are you sitting next to me?”

“This is where I was sitting.”

Daniel, sitting next to Edmond, picked up the finished teacup and handed it to the maid. The maid soon followed the warm tea into a new cup and put it in front of Daniel.

“Now this is….”

“Edmond.”

Ezet, who saw her husband’s forehead narrowing, quietly called his name. Then she moved her lips quietly and added, ‘Stay calm.’

Edmond closed his mouth and looked at the red tea in front of him. Of all things, the person he doesn’t want to meet the most is sitting next to him, and he feels uncomfortable, but if he makes a fuss here, Ezet will feel troubled. Edmond cleared his throat and leaned back on the sofa.

So the Marquis of Bath sat on the upper seat, the Empress and Ezet on the left sofa, and Edmond and Daniel on the other couch on the other side.

Marquis Bath, who expected a friendly tea time with precious guests who came to visit his sick wife, somehow rolled his eyes with tension reminiscent of calmness before the storm.

The Empress, Ezet, and Daniel were drinking tea quietly, but Edmond was the only one who didn’t touch the teacup.

“The Duke of Jaxen, have tea. It’s a new product that was made by modifying our property.”

“Thank you for your recommendation, but it’s hard to taste it because I can’t stomach it right now.”

Edmond refused without seeing Marquis Barth’s face. Ezet gave a hint, but Edmond pretended not to know.

“Duke of Jaxen, do you hate tea?”

“No.”

“Then are you feeling sick?”

“Yes.”

Four people paid attention to Edmond, who gave a firm answer without hesitation.

“There’s a face here that makes the tea taste bad.”

At that remark, Marquis Bath turned pale.

“A face that makes the tea taste bad?”

The Duke of Jaxen, known for his love of his wife, would not point to his wife. The royal family and the Jaxen family have a strong relationship, so the Empress cannot say it.

Marquis Bath glanced at the young count next to him. The mere appearance of his face at the ball could not have meant a beautiful young man who would make the hall blossom. Marquis Bath turned pale.

“Are you talking about me?’

Among the five people sitting here, he was the lowest in terms of beauty or likability.

Marquis Bath, who had no idea why Edmond was keeping Daniel in check, did not doubt that he was the one the Duke of Jaxen disliked.

‘Why don’t you like me? It’s my first time exchanging greetings with the Duke of Jaxen.’

Of course, he saw his face from afar while attending the banquet but couldn’t even say hello. The Duke of Jaxen was always by his wife’s side or talking to the emperor or empress, so there was no room to intervene. When he tried to get close to the right timing to speak to him, he would go back on the way.

‘Cause of your wife?’

Marchioness Barth was the main culprit who bullied the Duchess of Jaxen along with Countess Devon. When he heard that she had been humiliated only by trying to find fault with the Duchess of Jaxen at the banquet hall, he felt bitter inside and outside about Marchioness Barth.

It was the railroad trade that accounted for the most significant percentage of top trade under Marquis Barth.

The Duke of Jaxen, who has never been seen before, has begun to show his face at an external event, so the competition will get fiercer, but it scratches the inside of his pampered wife on a plate that she doesn’t want to see. When he first heard the story from his wife, the marquis felt like he was being beaten with a rake. Next, he was upset to hear that she tried to build his pride by making such a loss in trade and eventually returned without building her pride.