Our Summer Isn't Over Yet - Chapter 13

“Did Dylan have any external appointments today?” Mia asked, swallowing a light sigh. The servant replied immediately, “No, he doesn’t have any appointments, but he has guests.”

“Who is it?”

“Several family heads arrived early this morning.”

At the servant’s news, Mia slowly opened and closed her mouth, repeating the action. She could easily predict the reason for their visit. They seemed to be here to add their opinions regarding the inheritance of the Richard family. The topic had already started to surface at the royal banquet, and she had expected them to visit Dylan soon, but they seemed to have moved a bit earlier than anticipated.

During the ongoing war, the aristocratic society had undergone many changes. It was now almost embarrassing to recall the times when Dylan was called a fool for giving up his inheritance in exchange for a few businesses, as wealth was now the primary concern of the nobles. With frequent friction between the wealthy upper class and the traditional aristocratic faction, Richard’s position was in the middle.

In other words, Dylan was a potential threat to the traditional aristocrats at any time. It wasn’t hard to understand why the traditional aristocrats had gathered to persuade Dylan to continue the Richard inheritance by any means.

Going to the main residence and encountering them would undoubtedly lead to troublesome situations, but she also worried that Dylan might handle everything if she went too late.

“I think I should go to the main residence. You don’t need to follow me; I can go alone.”

Unlike the annex, the main residence was bustling with activity. The main residence servants briefly bowed to Mia, who appeared without any attendants, and then focused on their tasks. Passing by them, Mia ascended the stairs leading to Dylan’s office. Just then, the nobles who had finished their conversation were coming down.

Upon discovering Mia, they bowed deeply.

“We greet the Duchess.”

“It’s been a while, everyone.”

They were hastily trying to compose their expressions, but from their stiff mouths and low voices, it was clear that their conversation with Dylan had not gone as they had hoped.

Seeing the intensity in their eyes, it felt like a pointless argument was about to erupt. Deciding it was best to leave before that happened, Mia nodded slightly, but then someone spoke up.

“Duchess, couldn’t you persuade His Excellency?”

It was a rather blatant question. Mia didn’t add any further words and pretended not to understand, asking, “What are you talking about?” They knew that fact as well, so they sighed and busied themselves with passing the buck to each other. Then, someone restrained their emotions and explained.

“His Excellency Richard and the Duchess have made great contributions in this war, haven’t they?”

“Indeed.”

“We have just come from telling His Excellency that it would be good to request the royal family to withdraw the declaration that he would not inherit, as compensation for this.”

It was a noble elegantly phrasing that they were about to start taking sides in earnest, but Mia wasn’t one to take those words at face value. “It seems Dylan didn’t accept it.”

“His Excellency is saying that because he doesn’t know the situation on land well, as he was busy commanding the war.” “Is that so?”

“Since the war, those who are not nobles have become even more rampant. If the Richard family takes the center in such a situation, wouldn’t the noble families be able to unite more firmly?”

If the existing nobles valued the honor and name of their families, now the trend was to value wealth even more. Not only could one now enter parties that only nobles could attend if they had money, but they could also buy their status. It had even reached the point where commoners were saying it was better to accumulate wealth than to have a mere empty name, so it was only natural that the existing nobles were anxious.

“It’s not a bad proposal for the Duchess either.”

“Why is that?”

“If the Dukedom is inherited, you will be able to live in a much better mansion than this small residence, and you will also be able to have a townhouse in the capital, so you will be able to live a more affluent life.”

The subtle smile that had been lingering on Mia’s lips slowly began to disappear.

“As you know, non-hereditary nobles cannot have estates. Nor can they have mansions in the capital.”

It was something Mia knew well too. Even if one had money, a non-hereditary noble, or someone who was not a traditional aristocrat, could not have a private residence in the capital. It was a law that was created as soon as Dylan gave up his inheritance in the past.

“If the Dukedom is not inherited, the Duchess may have to live a more uncomfortable life than she does now. The merits of war do not last forever.”

They were saying that if Dylan retired, they would not be able to live in this residence and would have to live somewhere other than the capital. For a noble, moving away from the capital was tantamount to declaring that they would become obsolete.

As she remained silent, all the nobles thought that the young Duchess agreed with their story.

Other nobles, not the one who had been leading the conversation, added various words under the guise of caring for her.

“How about exaggerating your achievements a little? If you add a story that the Duchess went near the battlefield and wholeheartedly participated in the war, everyone will support Richard.”

The nobles nonchalantly spoke, even though they knew very well that she had been in the capital throughout the war. “That’s a good idea too. And how about exaggerating the fact that the Duchess lost her voice and regained it?”

“Oh! That’s right. It would be quite useful to promote that Doctor Murad couldn’t cure the lost voice, but Doctor Hippolyte did.” At the continued remarks, Mia clenched her fists tightly, closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them.

The real Seydimia was said to have lost her voice shortly after birth. To become like her, Mia had also gone through many things to forcibly lose her voice. For example, eating poison or being consumed by complete fear.

If it were the real Seydimia, what they were saying would be a ‘miracle,’ but for Mia Blair, her stand-in, it was just ‘survival.’ “If that happens, only good stories will come out about the Richard family. The prestige will also be much better, so it’s the best direction.” “Even if a child is born between the two of you, this would be much better. A child of a non-hereditary family is no different from a commoner.” Mia remained silent throughout those words.

Then, a noble with a stern impression made an excessive remark.

“In short, wouldn’t it have been difficult for the Murad-in Duchess to settle here without the help of His Majesty the King and His Excellency Richard? So, thinking of it as a reward for that, and thinking about the future, it would be better to persuade His Excellency…” “Ahem.” The nobles who heard the excessive words coughed one after another, trying to smooth over the situation. A moment of silence fell. “We just said that thinking about the future of Richard and the future of Hippolyte, so I hope you don’t take it too badly.”

Someone stepped forward to tidy up the situation.

As Mia showed a tired expression and let out a short sigh, someone walked down from behind. Everyone’s eyes turned to that side. Light red hair came into Mia’s view.

“What are you all doing here? …Ah, it’s been a while, Duchess.”

“It’s been a while, Marquis Luke has also visited.” “It’s been a long time. It’s already been three years since I saw you because of my daughter’s matter.”

The family heads, recalling that Mia had been in trouble due to what Marquis Luke’s daughter had done in the past, glanced at each other. They quickly left, ending with a short addition to Mia, hoping she would consider what they had just said.

Only after everyone had disappeared did Mia open her mouth calmly.

“How is Lady Luke doing? I haven’t heard any related news because she doesn’t do any external activities.”

“She is reluctant to go outside and stays only in the mansion. The doctor said that was better too. I was very rude last time.” Enabel Luke, the only daughter of the Marquis Luke family and the fiancée of Dylan Richard’s cousin, Rodrigo Miller.

She was also the woman who made the absurd claim that Dylan should take responsibility for her after Rodrigo’s death due to Dylan’s unreasonable tactics.

Enabel, with such feelings, naturally didn’t like Mia, who married Dylan. While Dylan was at the battlefield, she not only caused a ruckus at the banquet hall, but also swung a glass and slashed Mia’s face.

It wasn’t a deep wound, but it was an incident that could have been immediately taken to trial since the Marquis’s daughter had injured the Duchess. But Mia didn’t want the matter to escalate.

Mia, recalling the events of that time, ran her fingers over the spot where the scar had been, which was now gone without a trace.

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