Chapter 46 - The Return
"My! What a wonderful day this is! To think the Duchess McLeod has returned to us!"
"...I am the Marchioness Rousel now."
"Oh, that’s right, you are. And where is the Marquis?"
The Viscountess, the evening's hostess, shifted her large frame and peered behind Opal. Her booming voice echoed throughout the hall, drawing everyone’s attention. Opal maintained her smile and studied the Viscountess’s expression to gauge her true intentions, but she could see no malice. It seemed the woman simply did not think, but surprisingly, that type could be the most difficult to handle.
"My husband is a very busy man and cannot seem to leave his desk... That is why I have imposed upon you like this, without an invitation. Am I a bother?"
"Not at all! You are always most welcome!"
When Opal answered with a hint of loneliness, the Viscountess's face clouded with sympathy. Opal felt a pang of guilt for deceiving the relatively good natured woman, whose only flaw was an astonishingly loose tongue, but she reasoned it was not so bad. Their conversation would make the Viscountess the talk of society for a while. And the household butler would surely not be reprimanded for admitting an uninvited Opal. Seeing the hostess rush to deny her apologetic question, Opal felt a wave of relief.
It seemed Hubert had not told anyone that Opal and Claude had planned to return to their home country. And as she had not run into any acquaintances on her journey, her return had not yet reached the ears of high society. So, rather than announcing her presence by writing letters or strolling through the park, Opal chose to make a sudden appearance at a soirée. High society was glamorous and venomous, and most people flocked to whatever was newsworthy. Just as she predicted, once she moved away from the Viscountess, a great number of people gathered around her.
Everyone showered Opal with praise, desperately trying to get closer to her. Opal responded with a placid smile, but her heart was quite cold. Eight years ago, because of the awful rumors, the women had scorned her, and the men had hurled obscene words at her. Yet because of her status and fortune, the invitations had never ceased, and Opal, out of sheer stubbornness, had continued to attend. Now, she thought it had been foolish. She then realized that nothing had changed even now. She had simply acquired even greater status and fortune than she had back then.
Formerly the Duchess McLeod, now the Marchioness Rousel. And her wealth was still growing. Eight years ago, she thought she was fighting for her own honor. Now, she was fighting for Beth's honor. Or rather, it was probably for her own satisfaction. She could easily provide Beth with financial support without doing any of this. Just as she was thinking this, Lord Keimont, the source of Beth's suffering, approached her.
"It has been a while, Marchioness. Do you remember me?"
"...Yes. It has been a long time, Lord Keimont."
"You paused for a moment, didn’t you? That hesitation is proof."
She had paused because she was surprised by Lord Keimont’s overly familiar attitude, but his next words surprised her even more. Lord Keimont, a school friend of Hubert’s, was in his mid thirties, yet he was far too childish. What’s more, she had only ever danced with him once at some ball eight years ago. She had thought him conceited back then, but it seemed he was even more so now.
"Lord Keimont, is it not quite a difficult thing to remember someone with whom you have danced but once eight years ago?"
"Then we shall have to dance again, so you can remember more clearly."
The sarcasm was lost on Lord Keimont, and before Opal could refuse, she was forcefully led to the dance floor. Come to think of it, she remembered giving in and dancing with him because of his pushiness back then too. Perhaps Beth had also resisted at first, but eventually gave in. As Opal was pondering this, an unbelievable whisper reached her ear.
"—What did you say?"
"I said, if you’re lonely, I don’t mind keeping you company."
"Lonely?"
"Divorced by Hubert, then married to some doddering old man. That must be boring, right? I can show you a good time. Something you’ve probably never experienced with Hubert. He’s such a stick in the mud."
She had not intended to cause a scene tonight. She had crashed this uninvited soirée to meet the current Lord Keimont in person, thinking there were things a background check could not reveal. She had even checked their schedules in advance, believing it best not to encounter Hubert or Lady Marienne. And yet, she could not bear it, not because of anger, but because of disgust and nausea. Though the music was still playing, Opal abruptly pulled away from Lord Keimont and headed for the exit.
"Marchioness?!"
She ignored Lord Keimont's surprise and did not stop walking even as she was exposed to curious stares, taking care not to disturb the dancing couples. The reason she hadn't felt such revulsion eight years ago was probably not because they were both younger, but because Lord Keimont, for all his vanity, had still barely been within the realm of a respectable young man. She met up with Nadia, who was waiting in a separate room, and felt a sense of relief upon stepping outside the mansion. Then, the carriage she had expected to wait for pulled up before her immediately. She climbed in and was stunned.
"Claude?!"
"Hello, Opal. You’re back earlier than I expected."
"That is... more importantly, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you sooner, of course."
"Oh, it seems I’m in the way."
Though she was happy, Opal sent him a suspicious look, and Claude feigned a wounded expression. But then he smiled at Nadia, who had grumbled to herself.
"My apologies, as always, Nadia."
"I’m enjoying myself."
"Oh my..."
Nadia grinned in reply, then sat in the opposite seat and closed her eyes. It was a gesture that said she was not listening, but she was surely listening intently. Still, Claude did not mind if Nadia heard, so he continued.
"I had a feeling you might cause some sort of commotion, Opal. I wanted to be ready to rush over at any time, but it seems that wasn’t necessary."
"How rude. I didn’t cause any commotion. ...This time, I just left in the middle of a dance."
"Leaving Lord Keimont abandoned on the floor?"
"How did you know it was Lord Keimont?"
"Perhaps because you don’t let unimportant people affect your emotions. You went to see Lord Keimont tonight, so the only person who could have angered you is him, correct?"
Listening to Claude’s smile and his low, calm voice, the murky feeling of nausea within Opal began to fade. She let out a sigh of relief and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Claude."
"Of course. I love you, Opal."
"That’s out of nowhere."
"You think so?"
"But, I love you too."
"I know."
"...Well, do you know this? Apparently, Marquis Rousel is a doddering old man."
Embarrassed to continue the current topic, Opal changed the subject. Nadia snorted with laughter and quickly covered her mouth, while Claude sighed as if in resignation.
"Are there still people who believe that information?"
"I used to believe it too. That Marquis Rousel was an elderly man."
"My agent has been the same since my grandfather’s time. It seems there are still people even in Sosylle Kingdom who don’t know that my grandfather and uncle passed away... I see. So that means you’ve remarried a much older man, as far as they’re concerned."
"Yes, it seems so. For status and fortune."
Apparently, Hubert had not told anyone about Marquis Rousel’s true identity either. It was to be expected, since he never cared for socializing in high society to begin with.
"Amazing. Just how high are you planning to climb, Opal?"
"Oh, I plan to aim for His Majesty King Alessandro next."
"So you’re going to cast me aside. How sad. I’ll still love you, though, Opal."
When Opal made a joke, Claude played along. But she could not reply to the confession that followed and averted her gaze.
"Hm? You’re not going to say it back this time?"
"Don’t expect to hear it every time."
"I see, what a shame."
When she peeked at him, Claude was smiling playfully. Claude was utterly indulgent with Opal, and Opal was utterly weak to that indulgence. Opal, who had been holding her chin up defiantly, could no longer hold back a laugh, and Claude laughed even louder. Nadia watched them with her eyes wide open, a happy expression on her face.