As Long As You Are Happy

“… What did you just say?”

Seine’s light green eyes turned fierce.

“What did you say you heard from the Percy Viscounty again?”

“Uhm.”

The maid, who had yet to even change out of the attire she wore out the estate, parted her lips. 

“I had gone to the viscounty on an errand for the madam.”

“So?”

“I heard from the maids there that the Duke of Winfried had brought a woman they had never seen before to the charity auction.”

“… He brought a woman.”

“Yes, and, apparently, they seemed to be on very friendly terms.”

“Ha.”

Seine sighed. The faint sound of her teeth grinding against each other could be heard. 

“You may leave.”

Seine turned her head away.

The maid glanced at her.

“Uhm, should I report who she is…”

“I know who she is. Leave.”

Wanting something in return for her information, the maid pursed her lips a couple of times before lowering her head and leaving the room. 

Who else could it be?

Now left alone, Seine gripped the quill she had been holding even tighter. 

Irina Leonid. 

It must have been her. 

‘That means he must have played around with her while I was stuck in my estate.’

“We have received a letter from the Duke of Winfried. Seine.”

Even though her father had always been lenient with her, his expression hardened. 

“I never expected you to do something so shameful.”

“…..”

“For the time being, reflect on the err of your ways in your room and write out a copy of your book of etiquette. You are not to leave your room until you have written five copies.”

“What? That’s too much, father! To not allow me to leave just because I said a few crass things…”

“Seine.”

With an expression that looked sterner than before, Count Florence grabbed Seine by her shoulders. 

“It is not your fault for misunderstanding her.”

“… Of course not, how could that be the case?”

“You had acted like any other proper aristocrat should in that situation.”

Seine grinned to herself. 

“But it is your fault for getting caught by the duke.”

“…..”

“Leave and do not think to step out of your room until you’ve perfected your aristocratic demeanour, Seine Florence.”

The tea party she had been waiting for so long to attend had been cancelled and she had already been grounded in her room for days. 

‘He had abandoned me and made his first appearance in society with that woman.’

Seine shuddered as she chewed on her fingertips. 

Oh. 

She covered her besmirched hands a step too late but her fury had yet to subside. 

To have been grounded, forced to transcribe and her own tea party cancelled. 

She could put up with all that.

Just as her father said, this was punishment for failing to handle the situation like a true aristocrat. 

‘But…’

She could not stand the fact that he had made his first appearance in society with a woman who was not her. 

‘When he clearly knows what his first partner would mean to others.’

The  figure, central society was the most interested in right now, was none other than the Duke of Winfried.

The Lord of the East, the War Hero. 

Furthermore, he belonged to a family that had long monopolised the most successful of businesses. 

Now, it was said that their image had been slightly blemished because of the war but no one had ever truly found the Duke of Winfried to be an actual threat. 

In fact, many thought that he would return with as much intensity as a fuel-fed flame. 

That was why people had been eyeing him with rapt interest the day the duke returned to the capital. 

Who would it be?

Who would be the first woman he would escort?

“I will be the one standing by the duke’s side.”

Seine had been confident. 

Although it had been a promise made 2 generations ago, an engagement promise could not be taken lightly. 

Even her father, mother, brother and his friends also talked about it as though their engagement had been set in stone. 

“Mind your manners, Seine. The future duchess shouldn’t be acting like a roadside mutt.”

“I know you’re having a hard time. But to become the flower of the eastern society, these are only the basics. Now, play it again.”

“If not you, who else would be the Mistress of the Winfried Duchy? Everyone else already thinks of you as the Duchess of Winfried.”

Hadn’t everyone tell her since she was a child that she was the only one meant to be the Winfried’s mistress?

‘Then why else would I continue to visit the duchy even though they were in the midst of fighting a war?’

It was all so that she could get closer to the duke and show the others.

That she was the future Duchess of Winfried. 

That was what was supposed to happen. 

The duke must also be well aware. 

And yet he had taken his first step into society with someone who was not her. 

“…..”

Tears welled up in the corner of Seine’s eyes. 

If she did not become the duchess…

“Seine?”

When she turned her head at the sound of an unexpected voice she found a man standing by her door. 

“Brother.”

The moment she spotted her brother who always took her side, Seine relaxed. 

“Why are you crying?”

Dior, who had brought snacks for his younger sister, placed the plate of treats atop the closest table. 

“What’s the matter, hm?”

“… Brother.”

Rising from her desk, Seine clung onto her brother.

“Is transcribing really that difficult?”

“It’s not.”

“Were you that upset that your tea party was cancelled? I’ll tell father about the tea party so that you can hold another one, yeah?”

“That’s not it…”

Being much older than Seine, Dior cared for his sister as though she was their family’s treasure. 

He would fulfil all her ridiculous wishes and accept all her complaints as if he could not win against her. 

As long as she wished for it, he would make the impossible possible. 

“I heard that the Duke of Winfried had attended Viscount Percy’s charity party with a strange woman for some reason.”

Like he was having a hard time believing what she just said, Dior’s expression crumpled. 

“I am supposed to be the mistress of the extinguished duchy. Not some woman who had popped out of nowhere.”

The tears Seine had been holding back burst out.

“But now everyone is going to talk about how the duke is going to marry her.”

“Seine.”

“This is so upsetting, brother. Really upsetting. How am I supposed to show myself at parties from now on?”

Seine shook her head.

Already, she could hear the sound of people mocking her ringing in her ears. 

“And that’s all they’re going to talk about. I’m going to become a laughingstock…”

Hmph, her whimpers echoed throughout the room. 

The moment his sister who was 12 years younger than her burst into tears, Dior patted her back without a word and firmly decided. 

“Don’t be too upset. You still have your brother.”

Dior wiped Seine’s tears away before swearing to himself.

“I shall meet the duke myself and have a good talk with him. Once he realises the weight of his position, I’m sure he will distance himself from her.”

“Really…?”

“Of course. Is there anything I cannot do for you?”

Dior smiled kindly. 

“And why don’t you take yourself shopping for the first time in a while tomorrow? I’ll convince our father for you, hm?”

It was only at that moment could Seine bring herself to smile.

***

“You’ve never been downtown, have you?”

Sitting on the windowsill in the drawing room on the first floor and drinking water, Delphia widened her eyes.

“Yes.”

Irina nodded.

“I’ve never been to normal parts of the city, much less the downtown area.”

“Ah, oh. But you’ve been living in the capital.”

Worrying whether or not Irina might be upset if she mentioned the slums, she glossed it over. 

“I heard from the guards around here that people from the slums would often enter the city to buy goods and children would leave to sell some items.”

“You’re right.”

Even though they lived in the slums, that did not mean its inhabitants lived there every living moment of their life. 

They would leave to buy things and their children would sell flowers and provide shoe-cleaning services. 

“But I… Ben had never given me permission.”

“…..”

“And we are not allowed to head downtown as that is where aristocrats frequent. Anytime people from the slums try to enter, they are blocked by the guards.”

They didn’t used to be blocked. 

However, as the war dragged on and it became almost impossible to earn a living as a commoner, the number of pickpockets targeting aristocrats increased. 

Several people hailing from the slums had been arrested and people from the slums as a whole were banned from entering areas frequented by aristocrats.

‘People coming into the inn often complained about how they got caught trying to enter.’

But at the same time, they would share tricks on how to trick the guards or the different alleys one could dodge into to avoid them. 

They talked about how they would earn loads of money if they managed to collect and sell the items discarded in the area. 

They said that they could buy a day’s worth of bread using that money. 

But almost all of them could not get past the guards. 

“That’s why I have never been there.”

She had been unconscious when she was brought to the estate and the charity auction had been held outside the capital. 

“Well.”

Having downed the remaining amount of water, feeling refreshed, Delphia placed her bottle down before smiling. 

“If that’s the case, Miss Irina, would you like to go today?”

“Today?”

“Yes! Let’s get going right now!”

Delphia, who had been swinging her legs, jumped down from the windowsill with a grunt. 

“But, you’re supposed to be having lessons now, no?”

The viscountess was currently absent only because she had left to get the currency used in the area and a map. 

Class would soon continue the moment she returned. 

Furthermore, though the viscountess was certainly a kind woman, she was relentlessly strict when it came to class.

“I have a great idea.”

Delphia winked at Irina playfully and, at the same time, the Viscountess of Alphington had returned with a map. 

“I found it. I took a little longer than I thought I would, let’s continue… Oh, Dame Delphia.”

“How have you been, madam? I merely dropped in to say hello because I noticed Miss Irina here when I was passing by.”

Flashing a refreshing smile, Delphia picked up the bag she had brought and placed it on the table.

“You’re conducting class here because there’s already a map in the room.”

“That’s right.”

The Viscountess of Alphington nodded as she looked at the large painting drawn over the wall.

“It isn’t common to find a map of the continent of that size displayed like this around here.”

In the drawing room on the first floor, there hung a map large enough to cover one side of the wall. 

For how many generations of the Wnifried duchy had this map been displayed?

Because of the map, classes on geography were often held here.

“In any case, dame. What are you doing here?”

“Did you know, madam?”

“Huh?”

The instant Delphia posed her question, only more questions aroused. The viscountess was momentarily taken aback.

“Miss Irina said that she has never been downtown before!”

Could it be that she had planned to just tell her outright in the first place?