So the Duchess Disappeared

42. Late at night in the bedroom,

There was someone with a more slippery tongue than Alejandro.

“Oh my! The atmosphere is too ominous.”

Helen, who had no sense of timing, squeezed in between them.

Though she was oblivious in everything, at this moment, Helen seemed to be like a savior to Alejandro.

He silently applauded Helen’s courage.

“Let’s stop such boring talk, Your Grace. Please tell us about the Yellow City.”

Helen added a playful laugh, elongating her words.

She seemed genuinely interested in the duke.

He couldn’t figure out the dynamics between Psyche and Clint, so he casually threw the question to lighten the heavy mood.

Of course, there might be a bit more personal interest in Clint.

Thinking that it was essential to change the atmosphere between them, Alejandro quickly chimed in.

“Hahaha, yes. Your Grace, shall we share a story we all know?”

Upon hearing this, Clint glared at Alejandro as if he could kill him.

He tried his best to avoid eye contact with Clint, who seemed to be thinking he might die here with just a gaze.

Fortunately, Helen quickly followed up on Alejandro’s words.

“Really? I’m so curious about the lives of the nobles in the Yellow City.”

Helen asked with sparkling eyes, fixated solely on the duke.

Clint, not pleased with Helen’s behavior, took a sip of his drink and turned to look at Psyche again, responding.

“I see. Lady, or should I say, Your Grace, must be well aware of the life in the Yellow City.”

Pointing directly at Psyche, Alejandro once again felt a sense of impending doom.

“Um, my lord, I mean, Your Grace, never talks about his time in the Yellow City. Perhaps there are only unpleasant memories. So, I apologize for asking, and…”

Helen’s words trailed off, and Clint’s face became even more menacing.

Alejandro felt like crying.

“Oh. Was life in the Yellow City not satisfactory for you?”

Clint asked Psyche again.

Alejandro felt like the conversation, which he had carefully directed, was spiraling back to its starting point.

“Regarding life in the Yellow City…”

Psyche, seemingly determined to remain silent and dismissive, spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

“It’s nothing worth Your Grace’s interest.”

“It’s intriguing, though.”

‘Ah…’

Alejandro just wanted to disappear from this place.

He realized he shouldn’t have gotten involved in the emotional battle between the higher-ups.

Psyche’s choice of words, “intriguing,” didn’t seem like a pleasant one for Clint.

But Alejandro had long given up on the dynamics between them. He decided to focus only on eating in front of him, as he couldn’t contribute to lightening the atmosphere anymore.

After all, he never wanted to get involved in the emotional disputes of those above him.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Your Grace seems to have dried up emotionally.”

“Rather than that… My husband is more inclined in that direction.”

Psyche grinned, receiving Clint’s words with a smile.

“Oh, really. Do you two have any encounters in the Yellow City?”

In the end, it was Helen who intervened between them again.

“…”

Seizing the moment when Clint was momentarily speechless at the mention of ‘my husband,’ Helen delved in.

“Enough of boring talk. Is there any interesting news from the Yellow City these days?”

Helen asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Having regained his composure, Clint deliberately averted his gaze from Psyche.

“News from the Yellow City…”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Psyche completely lost interest in Clint, focusing only on poking at her plate with a fork.

“It seems there isn’t much news lately.”

“Even old news will do! This place is so remote that news from the Yellow City rarely reaches us.”

Helen asked with a displeased expression.

“Old news, then.”

Muttering, Clint, as if remembering something, spoke again.

“There’s a viscountess named Rachel.”

“…!”

At those words, Psyche’s gaze was naturally drawn to him.

She hadn’t expected to hear the name ‘Rachel’ again in this place.

Even now, recalling that name infuriated her; she didn’t like that Clint brought it up.

“She got married and apparently held a more splendid banquet than the princess herself.”

“Oh my! How grand are the banquets in the Yellow City? They must be incredibly luxurious and extravagant, right?”

Helen responded with excitement, like a girl dreaming.

Psyche was somewhat surprised.

She hadn’t thought she would hear the name ‘Rachel’ again here.

Thinking back, she found it hard to believe that the agitated woman who couldn’t distinguish between heaven and earth in front of her had given up on Clint and married another man.

“Who is her partner?”

Psyche couldn’t help but break her silence out of curiosity.

“She married Viscount Marsen.”

“…”

Psyche still found it puzzling.

However, she didn’t appreciate Clint bringing up Rachel’s story here, especially when it was clear that he wanted to separate them.

Despite her intention to create a clear boundary between them, Psyche felt uneasy about exposing Rachel’s story here.

“But, aren’t you done eating?”

Helen, trying to sound friendly, quickly changed her tone and asked, “Should I show you out? Claude will guide you. Have a pleasant evening.”

Without making eye contact with Clint, Psyche quickly excused herself, feeling uneasy about the unfolding situation.

Clint tried to follow her, but Helen insisted on hearing more stories about the Yellow City, effectively preventing him from leaving.

Ignoring the laughter between Helen and Clint, Psyche left the place, leaving them behind.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Ha… I’m really tired.”

As soon as she left the dining table, Psyche thought of quickly washing up and going to sleep.

Feeling thoroughly exhausted due to Clint’s visit that had disrupted her peace, Psyche didn’t intend to leave the dining table so abruptly.

But to have Rachel’s story brought up in a gathering where they met after a long time – it was something she couldn’t endure.

“The baby… it comes to mind.”

Her mood sank for no apparent reason.

Dealing with Clint alone was burdensome enough, but thinking about a dead baby made it seem like her body and mind wouldn’t hold up.

Psyche sat quietly on the bed, tapping her cheeks lightly.

“Let’s not dwell on it.”

She deliberately swallowed her emotions and shook her head.

“Oh, I wonder if Shiret has fallen asleep?”

Thinking that Shiret, who had to eat dinner and sleep alone while welcoming Clint’s party, was on her mind.

Having spent so much time alone, it bothered her even more.

She thought she should see Shiret quickly and return to bed early.

She pulled a cord to summon a servant.

“Is Shiret asleep?”

“Oh, she kept whimpering about wanting to see the lord and just fell asleep.”

“Oh, really?”

Psyche, who was about to put on her robe to leave, sat back down upon hearing that Shiret had fallen asleep.

Although she felt sorry to hear that Shiret had fallen asleep while whining, Psyche didn’t want to disturb her by going to the room and waking her up.

“Alright then. Take good care of her so she doesn’t wake up. Tomorrow, as soon as she wakes up, let me know. I’ll go see her.”

“Oh, Shiret will be thrilled!”

“Yeah.”

Psyche felt a little better thinking about seeing Shiret in the morning.

“Aren’t you going to sleep, my lord? Should I bring some tea to help you relax?”

“… No. I’m tired. I can sleep right away. Just go.”

With those words, the servant bowed politely and left the room.

Watching the servant leave, Psyche quickly took off her robe and laid it on the table.

“The time is already…”

It was already deep into the night.

She was curious about whether Claude had wrapped up the dinner with Clint’s party well, but she trusted Claude and decided to get some sleep.

Knock, knock.

Just as she was about to enter the bed.

Someone knocked on the door. Startled, she quickly pulled the blanket down.

“Huh? Did Shiret wake up?”

Thinking that it might be Shiret, Psyche hurriedly came out of the bed.

“Come in.”

Soon, the door opened.

Naturally, she thought it was a servant returning, but to her surprise, it was none other than Clint.

Psyche quickly wrapped her robe around herself, feeling shocked.

She unknowingly let out a sharp sound.

“Are you crazy?”

“… “

Clint quietly came in and closed the door with a loud sound.

“Where do you think this is for you to come in?”

Slightly smiling, Clint spoke.

“Is it not allowed for a husband to enter his wife’s room?”