Even the Devil Regrets it - Chapter 72

The Earl and Countess of Barnett let out a sharp breath as they stared at the red-haired woman their son had brought with him.

When Tristan asked them for a moment of their time, they hadn’t expected much. But instead, he showed up with a strange woman.

“She’s pregnant?”

The Countess of Barnett’s voice trembled with disbelief as she asked the question.

“Yes. The bloodline of the Barnett family is growing inside this belly,” the red-haired woman answered calmly.

Although the question had been directed at their son, the answer came from the woman beside him. The Countess glared at Tristan as if she could tear him apart. Tristan stood frozen between his mother, seething with rage, and his father, whose face was flushed red and blue, drenched in cold sweat.

The only one who looked unbothered was Aileen.

Where did he find such an ill-suited woman? The Countess of Barnett couldn’t suppress her anger and had to take several deep breaths just to stay composed.

“We’ll make sure you’re taken care of, so once the child is born, you must leave. Actually, it would be better if you went abroad. We’ll help you find a place…”

“Didn’t he tell you?”

Aileen tilted her head slightly and interrupted the Countess without a hint of hesitation.

The Countess of Barnett clenched her fists, furious again at the woman’s attitude, but forced herself to ask with a controlled voice.

“Tell us what?”

“No matter what either of you says, we’re getting married. Tristan even gave me a notarized vow in writing.”

“What? He gave you what?”

The Earl of Barnett, who had been silently watching, finally spoke up.

He had been quietly proud of his son lately, seeing him take initiative in building trade with the Western Continent. But now he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

A notarized vow had legal authority. If they wanted to invalidate it, they would need to go through a legal battle.

It could be overturned with enough money and time. The problem was the damage it would do to their reputation.

Especially in the Kamina Empire, where pregnancy was seen as a divine blessing.

That meant suing a pregnant woman was considered far more disgraceful than an ordinary lawsuit.

As it was, things were already complicated from the rumors that had spread after a tense incident involving Juliana at the Clemence Marquessate’s banquet. If someone dug into this woman’s past and revealed her origins, it would cause tremendous harm to the Barnett family.

Not only would their reputation be ruined, but if the Duke of Ortis, who had married into the family without knowing any of this, demanded to dissolve the marriage and return what he had received, it would be a disaster.

“Have you completely lost your mind?”

The Earl shouted at Tristan, his voice booming with anger. The situation had become a complete mess.

The Earl had been planning to expand the family’s influence through this new venture and even hoped to form an alliance with a marquess or duke through marriage. And now, his foolish son had not only gotten a fallen noblewoman pregnant but had even written her a promise of marriage.

“You shouldn’t raise your voice in front of a pregnant woman, Father.”

“What?”

At Aileen’s sweet tone and the way, she addressed him, the Earl’s expression twisted.

“Father? Who told you that you could call him that?”

The Countess, unable to hold back her rage any longer, raised her voice.

“Oh my, there’s no need to shout. I can hear you just fine. The baby might get startled, Mother.”

Aileen replied without a change in expression, calm and composed.

“Wha… What did she just say?”

“She is carrying my child. What’s done is done. Just accept it.”

Tristan finally stepped in, speaking in a resigned tone.

But instead of calming things down, his words only added fuel to the fire already blazing in the room.

“And what exactly are we supposed to accept?”

Smack.

The Earl, unable to control his fury, slapped Tristan across the face.

“Robert! What are you doing?”

The Countess screamed in shock, horrified that her only son had just been struck.

Tristan, who had never been hit before in his life, stood shaking with humiliation and fury.

Aside from Juliana, the Barnett family had always appeared united, warm, and loving. But now the room echoed with shouts and blame.

Amid the chaos, Aileen sat quietly, as if watching a fire across the river. She wanted to munch on the cookies in front of her as she watched, but managed to restrain herself.

Even if people pretended everything was perfect on the outside, once you looked inside, every family was a mess.

A faint, barely noticeable smirk tugged at Aileen’s lips.

Three days later, a tea party was held in the glass conservatory located in the western wing of the Grand Duke’s estate.

For the three countess families who had received Juliana’s invitation, it was their first official visit to the palace. Their faces showed a mix of anticipation and nervousness.

Including the countesses and their daughters, around ten people entered the conservatory and let out admiring gasps.

“My goodness, this is absolutely stunning.”

“I never imagined there would be a place like this in the Grand Duke’s estate.”

Lady-in-waiting Anita guided the noblewomen and their daughters to their seats. While the guests looked around in amazement, Juliana entered the room.

As soon as they saw her, everyone stood and greeted her with graceful manners.

“We greet Your Grace. Thank you so much for the invitation.”

“No, the pleasure is mine. I should apologize for not inviting you sooner.”

Juliana responded with calm elegance, making eye contact with each of them as she spoke.

The noblewomen, quietly taken aback by her poise and flawless demeanor, could only admire her in silence.

While the maids arranged the tea and refreshments, glances full of quiet curiosity and silent judgment moved swiftly around the room.

They understood why the Grand Duchess had arranged this tea gathering. It was clear she intended to choose one of the young ladies from the three invited countess families to serve as her lady-in-waiting.

Becoming a lady-in-waiting to the Grand Duchess was considered a great honor, and the guests were already beginning to compete with subtle glances and polite words.

The Gilliam, Blenchard, and Aynard families were all powerful noble houses in the North. Though they maintained formal alliances, they watched each other like hawks, always ready to compete.

“I heard Her Grace personally designed this conservatory, is that true?” the Countess of Blenchard asked with a warm smile.

At first, it sounded like a casual compliment. But considering how rarely information about the Grand Duke’s estate made it outside, it likely meant she had paid a large sum to gather even that small detail.

She may have tried to uncover more about the palace, but the only thing she managed to learn was that Juliana had designed the conservatory herself. Even that small fact had been shared hastily, just to appear better informed than the others.

That one comment was enough to reveal much about the Countess’s character.

“Yes, this conservatory was the very first thing I poured my heart into after arriving in the North,” Juliana replied.

Everyone lifted their gaze to the tall, arched glass ceiling. The sky was exceptionally clear that day, and sunlight poured in through the crystal panels.

Since conservatories like this were a dream for many noblewomen, soft sighs of admiration and envy filled the air.

“It must be quite lonely in such a new and unfamiliar place. Do you perhaps need someone to talk to?” asked the young lady from the Gilliam family, her eyes gleaming with purpose.

She had waited for the right moment and jumped in quickly, clearly hoping not to lose ground to the Blenchards. Her question was bold and direct, clearly an attempt to present herself as a potential companion.

“I’ve never really felt lonely,” Juliana replied. “I have many attendants I can speak comfortably with, and I spend a great deal of time with His Grace. There’s not much room left for loneliness.”

“Oh…”

The cheeks of the Gilliam girl turned red, as if her imagination had suddenly wandered off.

Juliana noticed the innocence in her expression and allowed a small smile to form. The girl had likely practiced that question at home, but it had not gone as planned.

Given time, she might learn to smile like her mother, hiding her real thoughts behind a perfect expression. For now, she was still a young and inexperienced noblewoman with emotions easy to read.

“To hold a conversation with Her Grace, one must have proper education and refined culture. Our Melanie, for example, is more than prepared.”

The Countess of Aynard interrupted, clearly unwilling to let the Gilliam girl take the spotlight for too long.

She lifted her chin with pride and cast a haughty glance around the group. Even without anyone’s agreement, she kept going with full confidence.

“Melanie is fluent in three languages. She has mastered world history and even studied legal codes. I believe we can all agree that there is no young lady in the North who can compare to her.”

The other noblewomen frowned slightly, their expressions clearly showing that this was not the first time they had heard such words. Their faces seemed to say, “She’s doing it again.”

It was easy to tell just how proud the Countess was of her daughter.

One might expect Juliana to grow curious about the girl after such high praise, but she felt nothing of the sort.

Instead, a strange discomfort began to creep into her thoughts, and her expression started to tighten.

There was something off about Melanie Aynard. Although she sat with perfect posture and smiled politely, her presence stirred something unsettling in Juliana’s chest.

She could not understand why she felt that way, but after a moment of thought, she found the answer.

Melanie reminded her of herself in the past.

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