I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 31

“The Duchess of Floyd opposed it?!”

Minaz was speechless.

“Did she misread the colors or something?”

The duchess herself was so calm that it raised suspicions.

Everyone’s attention turned to Jin Sky.

“Since the majority has been reached, further voting is meaningless.”

Sky, who had been observing, spoke with a smile.

“Not that majority rule was ever the point of this vote.”

It was a sharp remark.

Once the most crucial vote was cast, the rest was essentially settled.

As if to confirm this, the emperor’s gaze was fixed on one person.

“Duchess, is that your opinion?”

The emperor asked solemnly, his voice low and heavy.

Even in the tense atmosphere, the Duchess of Floyd remained unwavering.

“Yes.”

Her voice, heard for the first time, carried a strange power.

“I’ve been separated from my son for so long, I haven’t even been able to fulfill my role as a mother. At the very least, allow me to meet him and discuss the marriage.”

Her tone was polite yet commanding.

Hearing this, Minaz recalled something her predecessor once said:

“You speak so boldly, but when you stand before that person, you’ll be speechless. There are people in this world who cannot be stopped.”

When questioned about why he allowed the marriage between the two houses, her father had answered just like that.

Back then, she had scoffed at the idea—but now, having met the emperor herself, she understood. He spoke curtly and left the meeting hall.

Once the emperor departed, the Duchess of Floyd rose gracefully.

“Are you out of your mind?”

The Duke of Calabria stormed toward her, shouting.

“You cherished the princess so dearly—what kind of joke is this? We agreed on this when you left for the north!”

“I was summoned and asked for my opinion, so I gave it.”

“What do you mean? This is—”

“Silence.”

The duchess’s sharp words shut him up.

“Listen carefully. Do whatever you want when I’m not around—I don’t care.

But don’t you dare summon me under the guise of respect and turn me into a puppet.”

“So you’re sending our son into danger?”

“I only said I want to meet Lian.”

She looked at her stiffened husband with disdain.

“You still have something to protect.

At least preserve your dignity.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

Minaz, stunned, hurried after her.

“Duchess! May I visit Floyd to discuss something?”

The duchess slowly turned.

Minaz was nervous she might refuse, but her voice was calm.

“I’ll be staying in the capital, Lord Abrot.”

“May I know where you’ll be staying?”

“I’m busy meeting someone for now. I’ll contact you once I’ve settled.”

Meeting someone?

Minaz asked cautiously.

“May I ask who that is?”

The duchess replied immediately.

“Baroness Eleanor.”

Minaz stiffened, and the duchess asked again.

“Do you know where she is?”

Her gaze was like a hawk targeting prey.

Minaz felt a chill down his spine.

‘Why does she want to meet her?’

But judging by her eyes, guessing was pointless.

If she went now, the capital would soon be shaken by Baroness Eleanor’s obituary.

‘She can’t die yet.’

To Minaz, the baroness was a rare variable he had just secured.

It was better she stayed alive until he figured out how to use her.

But since everyone knew where she was, hiding it seemed pointless.

“If it’s about her whereabouts, you should ask Duke Phaedra.”

Minaz decided to step back.

‘That capable man will protect her well enough.

He wouldn’t want to lose what he just gained by catching Rian off guard.’

“Duke Phaedra?”

The duchess frowned.

“So the rumors are true.”

As someone who controlled the nation’s distribution network, she had heard of the affair between Duke Phaedra and Baroness Eleanor even from the distant north.

“Ask him directly.”

She nodded and left the hall.

As Minaz watched her leave, a disgruntled voice rang in his ears.

“What are you thinking?”

Minaz looked at Claude’s scowling face and smirked.

“Why are you angry? It worked out well.”

“Well? What part of this is well? If the oath still binds them, none of this matters!”

“Then why didn’t you oppose it?”

Claude grimaced, unable to respond.

Duke Bormia approached with a smile, looking at Claude’s sour expression.

“Your upright nature wouldn’t allow you to support something wrong, even if it failed.”

Claude tried to retort, but Minaz’s attention had shifted.

“Oh? Look!”

“That’s Count Calabria.”

Lian was entering Eogainos.

Looking around, the Duchess of Floyd had already left.

Minaz considered telling Lian that the duchess was looking for Baroness Eleanor, but Zeppelin got there first.

“His Majesty is looking for you, Commander.”

Lian nodded in understanding.

The three watched Lian’s broad back disappear with Zeppelin, their expressions dark.

Knock, knock.

Biancasta, buried under her blanket, heard a knock.

She had suffered so many nightmares that she couldn’t tell if this was real or a hallucination.

“Young lady, you have a visitor.”

The maid’s curt voice confirmed it was real.

Biancasta didn’t respond, so the door burst open.

“How long are you going to lie there? You have a guest.”

“I don’t want to see anyone right now.”

Her weak voice earned a snappy reply.

“But they’re insistent.

Please get up.”

The maid’s attitude was just as forceful.

Shunned by the empire and even her own family, Biancasta wasn’t treated like a noble lady even at home.

The maid strode in and pulled off her blanket.

“Look. They asked me to give you this.”

Unless the visitor was royalty, the maid wasn’t polite to Biancasta’s guests either.

She must’ve been bribed handsomely to even bother notifying her.

Which meant the visitor wouldn’t leave easily.

To get rid of her quickly, Biancasta sat up.

“Who is it?”

“No idea. They said you’d know from this.”

Biancasta’s eyes trembled as she saw what the maid handed her.

A book with a red leather cover.

[The Villainess’s Secret]

Below the title was the author’s name: Baroness Eleanor, along with her signature.

“What should I tell her?”

The maid, eager to leave, urged the pale Biancasta.

Eleanor sat in the carriage, constantly adjusting her slipping glasses.

She wore a cheap blonde wig, lensless glasses, and reeked of overpowering perfume.

Anyone would mistake her for a worn-out street woman rather than a refined noble.

Graham had followed her instructions to prepare a disguise perfectly.

“The young lady says you may enter.”

“Didn’t she say she was too sick to get up?”

“I convinced her somehow.”

The maid boasted, holding out her hand.

“Pay me first.”

Eleanor silently handed over ten gold coins.

Watching the maid gleefully pocket them, she frowned.

Letting a suspicious guest meet a bedridden noble lady?

‘A maid of a marquis family sells loyalty for ten gold.

No—she never had loyalty to begin with.

The rumors that Biancasta isn’t treated like a proper noble at home must be true.

Being labeled a villainess is a disgrace in a house that values honor.’

“Follow me.”

Eleanor was led into a dim room.

Though the furnishings were luxurious, the air was heavy and stale from unopened windows.

In the center stood a ridiculously large and ornate bed.

On it, the room’s owner stared at Eleanor with terrified eyes.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Eleanor lifted her chin slightly and spoke.

“Well, it’s only natural to look like that when the person you tried to kill shows up.”

Her cold voice echoed through the room.

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