The Survival Strategy of the Contract Duchess - Chapter 123

“That’s a truly amazing idea. To ask, considering the people who work there.”

Having said all he wanted to say and returning to his usual expression, Kyler looked at Lydian with a smile and Lydian nodded in response.

They were truly enigmatic people. They seemed different yet had similar aspects, and both had unique qualities that made them fascinating to get to know.

“Come to think of it, I think Midienna said something to me about the banquet when she brought it up.”

Lydian frowned, as if suddenly remembering something.

Midienna was always listening to the stories about Sasha that circulated among the ladies. Though they might not know it, she was always trying to reflect on her past actions.

It was good that the true nature of Marquis Ibern and his wife, as well as her sister Elina, had been revealed, but as a result, Sasha had become an innocent young lady.

They said she lacked the qualities to sit in the position of a Duchess, a position that should inspire tension and awe.

And MMidienna, concerned about this, had suggested that she should throw a grand banquet at the Duke’s residence to help her.

“Then, please check on it later and let us know.”

“Why bother? We can just call her.”

Without hesitation, Lydian immediately called the head chamberlain.

The awkward relationship between the three had long been resolved. Midienna, who had eagerly waited for Kyler to come to the Imperial Palace, making sure to encounter him on his path, had spent a long time after hearing Kyler’s heartfelt words.

She avoided Kyler and even Lydian for a while, deeply contemplating, and gradually tried to spend time with Lydian, while completely distancing herself from Kyler.

It was only about two months ago that she became able to face Kyler without any discomfort. She no longer stared at Kyler with burdensome eyes.

She was probably regretting her past actions of feeling uncomfortable with Sasha and keeping her in check. Kyler was the person who, next to Lydian, most keenly felt her change, so he could naturally accept her opinion favorably.

“Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived.”

Following the head chamberlain’s announcement, the door opened and Midienna appeared. She quietly glanced at Kyler’s direction and gave a light nod. Kyler rose from his seat and greeted her with courtesy.

“Duke Ignote is here, so what brings you to call for me?”

Midienna said, looking at Lydian with a slight smile. She sat down naturally across from Kyler, showing no discomfort at all.

The tension that used to hang in the air when the three of them gathered had disappeared. Midienna’s gaze, which used to constantly turn to Kyler whether Lydian noticed or not, was now fixed on Lydian.

“Kyler has brought some very good news. I thought the Empress should hear it too.”

Only then did her gaze shift and turn to Kyler.

Their eyes met as he looked at Midienna, but her calm eyes did not waver.

“What is it?”

“Next month marks the first anniversary of Sasha and my wedding. To commemorate this, Sasha wants to hold a banquet at the Duke’s residence.”

At Kyler’s words, Midienna wore a slight smile on her face. It seemed the Emperor’s words that she was worried were true.

Midienna glanced at Lydian briefly before looking back at Kyler.

“I mentioned it to Your Majesty before. That it would be good to hold a banquet. It seems the Duchess also had thoughts about that. I’m glad.”

There was no falsehood in her smile. While Kyler was nodding, Midienna, as if seeking permission once more, looked at Lydian and carefully spoke.

“When I mentioned the banquet to Your Majesty before, there was one thing I said. That if Ignote held a banquet, I would like to give a grand gift in my name.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected remark, Kyler missed the timing to respond. Seeing him staring at her intently, Midienna spoke again.

“I’ve been a little concerned because I haven’t had a proper opportunity to apologize for what I did wrong in the past. If possible, I thought that if the Imperial Family gave a meaningful gift to celebrate the first banquet, the surrounding evaluations of the Duchess might change a little.”

The ‘meaningful gift’ she was talking about was probably the same as the ‘grand gift’ mentioned earlier.

Kyler was relieved that she was already thinking about it. The relationship between the three had returned to where it should be, but the relationship between Sasha and Midienna was something Kyler couldn’t interfere with.

If Sasha still harbored negative feelings towards Midienna, who was in a higher position, it was something Kyler couldn’t resolve.

In the worst case, he was considering requesting the Emperor to prevent the Empress from attending the banquet.

But it was Sasha who first mentioned the attendance of the Emperor and Empress. So, he was initially relieved, and after meeting the Empress, he confirmed that there was no need to worry about them anymore.

Anyway, a grand and meaningful gift.

“I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure she will gratefully accept it. If such meaning is added, it would be even better.”

Kyler nodded and calmly replied.

“Then, with your permission, I will prepare a rather grand banquet. I would be grateful if you could attend.”

“Of course, I have to go. Whose banquet is it? Sasha’s banquet. I’m looking forward to it.”

Lydian called her by her first name in a friendly manner. Having seen her bold side many times while talking to him during her visits to the Imperial Palace, Lydian treated her almost the same as Kyler.

Unlike Kyler, who didn’t think much of hearing her call her name, Midienna glanced at him. Kyler could feel that her gaze was slightly displeased.

“Oh? Ah.!”

And at the same time, Lydian, reading that look, said, “Ah,” and started laughing out loud.

“So?”

“I’ll leave first.”

As Lydian tried to explain, Midienna quickly rose from her seat. She gave a perfunctory greeting to Kyler and quickly left the office.

“She was jealous of me calling the Duchess by her first name.”

“Ah!”

Kyler’s mouth slightly opened at the unexpected words. Jealousy, depending on the subject, was an amusing situation, but the fact that she was jealous for the Emperor was meaningful in itself.

“It was only natural that she was jealous of Sasha when she saw you with Sasha back then but one day, when she saw me smiling at Sasha, she felt the same way. No, she said she felt even dirtier.”

Kyler simply nodded at the story of the past, conveyed in blunt language.

The heart that looked at him unchangingly had the power to move people. There was no way she wouldn’t have felt the Emperor’s gaze, who had consistently looked at him even in such extreme situations.

“My thoughts changed after talking to Kyler, which is how I was able to become like this now but she still didn’t like it when I called her name, saying I seemed to be treating the Duchess affectionately.”

A conversation with him? Ah, she must be talking about that day. The day he gave a long speech, urging her to please give up her feelings for him and find someone who truly loved herself.

He had almost forgotten about that time because he had been urgently moving to find Sasha, following Midienna’s guidance right after.

It seemed that had been the trigger. And the jealousy she had felt towards Lydian before must have helped.

“That’s a relief. So, you’ve been getting along well since then?”

At Kyler’s words, Lydian scoffed.

“Yeah. Actually, I might have been more clueless about how to break through the situation than you were. Thanks to you stepping in, it was resolved smoothly.”

Lydian couldn’t guarantee what would have really happened to Midienna if things had gone wrong. She had been riding a runaway train towards a cliff without even realizing it.

Still, Kyler felt a sense of pride in his chest that he had been somewhat helpful in resolving this matter.

Although Sasha liked it, he had forced himself to create a waterway and build a pavilion at the Duke’s residence because he felt that he wasn’t giving her enough compared to what he had received from her.

First of all, Sasha had come to him, who was about to get married haphazardly, and allowed him to make a self-chosen marriage. Of course, he hadn’t decided to marry her because he loved her at the time, but he eventually came to love her, so that day’s encounter was almost like fate.

And it was Sasha who had stopped him when he was about to just pass by an oddly dressed young lady. It could be said that Sasha had given him that opportunity.

And she didn’t press him, who had brought her to the Duke’s residence and hadn’t properly taken care of her, but instead, she pulled herself together and brought vitality to the Duke’s residence’s employees.

Perhaps even she herself was at her limit at that time. Both of them had finished their wandering and returned to this place. Both had endured well, and eventually, they were able to return safely to their places, using each other as a pivot.

And although it was, he who had spoken to Midienna, thanks to her being close to Lydian, Midienna must have already suspected his feelings.

Just conveying it in words was meaningless. In the end, he had to feel it himself. Midienna, realizing that the anger she felt when seeing Lydian treating Sasha affectionately was jealousy, was able to change herself in that way.

“The fact that everything has been resolved in the best direction that is the most grateful thing.”

Finding stability was a good thing. The two friends smiled comfortably at each other.

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