I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 34
Blaine was flabbergasted at the sight of Eleanor, who stood there in a shirt, her long, straight legs exposed.
But Eleanor was completely unruffled, even as she watched him turn beet red and fidget.
“What’s the big deal? Everything is covered. We wear much shorter clothes when we play crotte.”
Crotte was a type of water golf, a sport enjoyed by imperial nobles. Blaine also enjoyed crotte and had often played against women who wore short pants and boots because they had to get into the water.
But the situation was different now.
They were alone in a dark room. Even if more of her was covered, a white shirt was too much of a stimulus for the rather innocent Blaine.
Moreover, Eleanor was stunningly beautiful and voluptuous.
He somehow felt guilty toward Lian just by looking at her.
“Just change your clothes first, please!”
Blaine threw the clothes he had brought with him and turned away. The room fell silent as Eleanor, without a word, went into the bathroom to change.
“I’m sorry. Those were the only clothes I could get my hands on.”
Blaine, who had regained his composure, apologized. He had brought a black dress that a maid would wear.
“It’s better than nothing, isn’t it? Thank you. I wouldn’t show up in the middle of the night and demand the Marchioness of Bologna’s gown.”
Eleanor’s down-to-earth remark was quite unexpected.
‘She’s a woman I can’t figure out.’
One moment, she’s wearing a fancy dress and dominating high society, spreading rumors with men, and the next, she’s looking lonely or calmly accepting and wearing a maid’s dress.
Which is her true self?
As Blaine was lost in thought, Eleanor asked him a question.
“What’s the situation outside?”
“The Duchess is reinforcing the mansion’s security, saying the capital is in turmoil. The entire wall and all the entrances are swarming with the Duchess’s guards right now.”
Eleanor’s voice, full of worry, came from behind the door.
“What do we do then? I need to get away as soon as possible.”
“Let’s hide here for now and look for an opportunity to leave.”
He waited in silence for a moment, but Eleanor did not come out of the room. As he grew anxious, her low murmur echoed.
“It won’t zip up.”
“What? It won’t zip?”
Blaine tilted his head. He had purposely chosen a dress that seemed a little too big for Eleanor since he didn’t know her size. There was no way it wouldn’t fit her slender frame.
“That can’t be. Are you wearing it wrong?”
Then Eleanor mumbled something under her breath.
“What was that? I can’t hear you.”
“The buttons won’t close from the middle of the torso!”
When Eleanor yelled, Blaine realized something. Eleanor’s body shape was indeed quite unique.
While he was speechless, Eleanor changed back into her original clothes and came out of the room.
“This won’t work. If you can’t get other clothes, I’ll just wash and wear my own.”
It was then, as Eleanor held up her clothes and approached Blaine, that his trained ears picked up a faint presence again.
“Someone’s outside…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the door burst open.
Blaine froze, staring at the Duchess of Floyd, who stood there with a confident look.
“I heard voices and came to see what was going on…”
The Duchess of Floyd trailed off, her noble, purple eyes scanning the room.
The two stood facing each other in the dimly lit room.
Clothes were scattered on the floor, and Eleanor was in a single shirt.
The Duchess’s gaze fell on Eleanor’s entire body and then on Blaine’s pale face.
‘I’m screwed.’
Blaine felt an immense sense of hopelessness. This situation and their appearance were far too suspicious.
Eleanor might be arrested and killed by the soldiers right here.
And if she died, he would have to prepare for a bloody battle with the empire’s greatest knight, who would surely come chasing after him with a sword.
As the two stood frozen and speechless, facing a threat to their lives, the Duchess of Floyd’s question fell.
“That woman…?”
The Duchess’s piercing gaze was so sharp that it made him want to confess a crime he didn’t even commit.
Blaine, who was stammering in a panic, suddenly remembered something.
‘The Duchess has never seen Eleanor before.’
As soon as that thought came to him, a loud voice involuntarily came out.
“This woman is… my… my lover!”
Even to his own ears, it sounded like a ridiculous statement. The Duchess frowned, looking from one to the other.
“Your lover?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The Duchess’s eyes were filled with disbelief. Her raised nose, wrinkled brows, and twisted lips.
The combination of those expressions could only be interpreted by Blaine as, ‘How could you possibly land a woman like that?’
Blaine, his pride wounded, retorted defensively.
“What’s wrong with that? I’m a pretty well-known knight in the capital these days.”
“I’d like to praise you, but unfortunately, I’ve received this.”
The Duchess took out a small scroll from her long dress and threw it at Blaine.
As he and Eleanor unrolled it, their expressions hardened.
It was a portrait that looked exactly like Eleanor.
‘She already knew.’
Her identity had been exposed from the beginning.
“Are you telling me you’ve fallen for the same woman who had a scandal with my son?”
“It’s all a misunderstanding. Lian got involved for a bit, but our love has never wavered.”
He tried to push the “lover” story, but the Duchess only frowned even more.
“Is that a play that’s popular in the capital these days?”
“…Why do you think that?”
“Tsk, tsk. It makes no sense. You’re saying her love for you never wavered even when she saw my son.”
This was something a doting mother would say, but Blaine looked as if he had been struck a blow.
“That’s enough. Leave us.”
“Can’t I stay?”
“You wait outside, and when Lian comes, you can play with him.”
Blaine bristled at the Duchess’s tone, which was like she was talking to a child.
“Duchess of Floyd. I’m twenty years old now.”
“Hmm, has it been that long already?”
It seemed like a courageous act of rebellion, but the Duchess didn’t even snort.
“Hmm. How about I share a memory of you when you were fourteen? I believe it was at the party of Count Carans. You were so surprised by the first flamingo you saw that you…”
“I’m leaving.”
There seemed to be no point in staying, as all that would happen was that his past would be revealed.
It would be better to go out and find Lian.
‘Please don’t die. If you die, Lian will kill me, too.’
After giving her a look that conveyed this sentiment, Blaine left the room.
‘If I survive, I have to ask what happened at Count Carans’ party.’
This was the thought that occurred to Eleanor when she was left alone with the Duchess. Her life was on the line, but perhaps because she had become numb to repeated threats, her mind was calm.
“So you’re the woman in the rumors who had a scandalous affair with my son.”
A cold voice echoed in the room. An air of intimidation unique to high-ranking nobles emanated from the Duchess.
“I hear you’re a commoner and a widow from a mediocre family.”
The words could have been seen as an insult, but Eleanor had a high tolerance for them, having weathered all sorts of storms in high society. This was nothing compared to the verbal abuse from her former mother-in-law, Baroness Donatemaice.
“I’ve been told you seduced my son, spent a night with him, and used the scandal to make money. And then you calmly moved on to the Duke of Phaedra?”
There were some distortions, but Eleanor listened quietly. In her experience, talking back often prolonged the criticism.
The Duchess’s cold words of condemnation continued.
“So why did you come back here? To stir up Lian again? Or are you trying to seduce Blaine this time?”
The Duchess’s words stopped there. She slowly approached Eleanor, who remained silent with a blank expression.
One step, then another. As she got closer, Eleanor involuntarily swallowed.
“And you spent the Night of Deneb with my son.”
The Night of Deneb.
The Duchess knew?
Eleanor, who had been calm all this time, flinched slightly.
“That’s what Lian wrote in his letter. Judging by your expression, you seem to know what that means.”
The Duchess was now very close. In the dark room, only her purple eyes were clearly visible.
“If he went that far, it means he’s truly serious about you.”
The Duchess stared intently at Eleanor, then lifted her chin with the tip of her index finger.
“He was always so aloof. What did you see in him?”
I’d like to ask you the same question.
Eleanor thought to herself in response to the Duchess’s rhetorical question.
“An exceptional character I don’t know about? Or this beautiful appearance?”
Since they went into the bedroom right after they first met, it probably wasn’t her character or personality.
Eleanor, who was tense from the hand stroking her chin and cheek, swallowed.
“You’re not saying anything.”
The Duchess raised an eyebrow and withdrew her hand.
“It would be a good idea to say something. What should I do with you?”
It sounded like a question to herself, but Eleanor couldn’t let the Duchess come to a conclusion. If she kept her mouth shut, she might not live to see tomorrow morning.
“If you don’t like me, please protect me.”
“What?”
“If you protect me, I’ll leave this place right away before the Count arrives.”
The Duchess seemed completely taken aback by this. She un-furrowed her brow, then narrowed it again, repeatedly pursed her lips, and then asked a question.
“You’re going to leave my son?”
It wasn’t like she had come here expecting a relationship with Lian in the first place. Eleanor just answered honestly.
“I came here because this was the only place I had to go.”
“Why? From what I’ve heard, the whole capital is buzzing with people trying to invite you to parties.”
“…The dangers lurking behind the welcome are endless.”
After saying this, Eleanor glanced at Biancasta, who was lying on the bed. Biancasta was so small and the room was so dark that the Duchess hadn’t noticed her presence yet.
“It’s difficult to find rest. Where there is sweet honey, there are bees.”
“If that’s the only way to survive, I have no choice but to risk everything.”
The Duchess’s eyes lit up at Eleanor’s defiant answer.
“Are you threatening me right now?”
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