Chapter 45: I Stole Yooju's First Love
I found Tatyana's changing facial expressions fascinating.
The people around her seemed unaware, but from where I was sitting across from her, I could tell how angry she was.
It was clear that she hadn't yet broken the habit of biting her lips until they bled.
I deliberately took out a handkerchief and offered it to her.
"That habit of yours, you still haven't gotten rid of it, have you?"
Her pale face flushed like a ripe apple.
The other ladies, who had been unaware of the tension, now sensed Tatyana's mood.
For a brief moment, we exchanged glances.
Both Tatyana and I knew that her look was far from friendly.
"It's only natural, given that we've known each other since we were young."
I never thought I'd hear a 'thank you' from Tatyana while tormenting her.
I suppressed a burst of laughter and took the lead in the conversation again.
"By the way, what were you talking about before I arrived?"
"We were discussing the upcoming hunting festival hosted by the royal family."
"Oh, the hunting festival."
The women exchanged glances and spoke cautiously.
Even if the nobles' power rivaled that of the emperor, they would be wary of gossiping about Aster in front of me, the emperor's lover.
"Are you two planning to attend the hunting festival?"
I smoothly moved on to the next topic. They all let out a slight sigh of relief and responded in lively voices.
"I have a bad back, so I'll rest. What about you, Lady?"
As I said this, I turned my gaze to Tatyana.
"What about you, Tatyana?"
"I, I... I think I'll rest this time."
Her dejected appearance was uncharacteristic of Tatyana.
I rested my arm on the table and exaggeratedly feigned surprise.
"Perhaps His Highness the Duke doesn't like you attending the hunting festival?"
Tatyana's face stiffened at the sudden mention of the Duke.
I couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing her caught in the past events that had tormented me was too much to bear without laughing.
The other ladies also watched her with great interest.
Before her marriage, Tatyana was the belle of the social scene.
Her clothes were always the talk of the year, and any jewelry she wore sold out quickly.
Everyone planted golden chrysanthemums in their gardens to emulate her favorite flower.
After her marriage, however, she reduced her social activities and became a recluse.
There were many rumors about her seclusion, but they were just whispers.
Unfortunately, Andrew's reputation in the social scene was already poor before their marriage.
If I asked whether she thought the Duke disliked her attending the festival, what would she say?
Moreover, the world's original constraints were now weaker.
The color drained from Tatyana's face.
I deliberately smiled at her.
"No, no. Andy said it's fine for me to go..."
"Is that so? I thought the Duchess would attend as well. What a pity."
Her expression was almost on the verge of tears.
Tatyana abruptly stood up.
"I'll be going now. Enjoy your time."
Seeing her rush away, forgetting even her dignity, I couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.
I had probed to see if she would bring her personal physician to the hunting festival, and I got more than I expected.
Feeling quite pleased, I deflected the questions from those trying to pry more information out of me.
As I watched her retreating back, I recalled the past when I was young.
Meeting Andrew, the son of a penniless baron, subjected me to endless gossip.
Rumors about Andrew also circulated, so I tried to keep a low profile.
I didn't attend any of the academy's events.
All I wanted was to be quietly happy with Andrew.
"Why isn't Karina attending the academic festival?"
Tatyana's question, thrown out in front of everyone, disrupted my life.
"Just because. I don't really want to attend."
"Is it because of your boyfriend? Isn't that a waste?"
At the time, I didn't understand why Tatyana brought up Andrew.
I had decided not to attend, and it had nothing to do with Andrew.
"No, it's because I don't want to attend."
"Is it because Andrew is jealous of Karina's greatness? Isn't that a waste for you? Why are you so dependent on a man?"
Andrew wasn't the type to be jealous over such things, and I wasn't worried about it.
"That's not it. Don't jump to conclusions."
Tatyana slumped her shoulders and apologized.
At that moment, I felt the surrounding people's gazes turn cold.
I thought, 'My reputation will suffer again.'
It wasn't until much later that I learned the impact of her words on Andrew.
Andrew was branded as a failure who envied a woman's success.
Perhaps our relationship began to sour from that point.
The rumors spread like wildfire.
It was worth going to places where the gossipy ladies and Tatyana were present.
"It's been quite a mess lately."
"Really? What's the latest rumor?"
"That the Duke tried to control the woman, giving her everything, but got betrayed."
I lounged on the sofa, flipping through documents while Lily told me the latest social gossip.
Her story went like this:
The Duke, deceived by the seemingly innocent Tatyana (Lily emphasized this point several times), appointed the man she recommended as the head of the knights.
It turned out that the knight was in a secret relationship with Tatyana.
"The Duke, feeling betrayed, became even more obsessed with her. He confined her to the house and refused her tearful pleas to attend the hunting festival."
Analyzing what Lily said, the initial part about Tatyana was just minor gossip that not many would know.
But the latter part was different.
The Duke, without the world's protection, would likely see the seeds of doubt I planted grow and spread throughout the social scene.
I had returned the favor in the same way Tatyana had done before.
"But will she really attend the hunting festival because of this?"
"What if she ignores it?"
Tatyana might be able to ignore it, but Andrew couldn't.
His position was very precarious.
Initially, the nobles supported him to counterbalance the emperor.
Aster deliberately gave Andrew the right to have a private army to sow discord between them.
A small number of these soldiers were even allowed to stay in the capital.
As if he could become a close confidant at any time.
'The nobles turned on him then.'
Thanks to this, Andrew was under the scrutiny and interest of both the noble faction and the imperial faction.
In such a delicate situation, a small scandal provides both sides with ammunition.
Thus, while Tatyana could ignore the scandal, Duke Gloucester could not.
Aster found the recent events quite amusing.
The political scene, which had been quiet for years, suddenly became turbulent.
"I hear the Duke is suffering from some strange rumors lately?"
Aster smiled and asked Andrew.
The Duke's face stiffened slightly as he reported.
"It's not a significant issue for Your Majesty to worry about."
The problem was that the rumors were too dirty.
Aster tapped the table with his fingertips and continued.
"So, will the Duchess attend the hunting festival this time?"
Andrew's thick eyebrows twitched.
But Aster ignored him, flipping through documents and speaking casually.
"Better to attend. If the scandal grows, it will affect the royal family."
It was essentially a command to attend.
After that, Aster remained silent, and Andrew left the office after receiving the approval.
The knights he had been given were excellent resources. But Aster often summoned Andrew to the palace under the pretext of these knights.
At first, Andrew thought Aster was just tormenting him with trivial matters.
But as time passed, he noticed the nobles' increasingly suspicious gazes.
'What a slippery character.'