The Duchess's Dangerous Love Life

chapter 26

Adele was strolling near the knight’s training grounds when they were suddenly disrupted by a noisy voice.

When she turned her head to find out where it came from, her eyes met with a blonde woman.

She glared at Adele fiercely, then grabbed the iron gate and shook it. The knights pushed the woman away.

“You can’t do this to me!” she shrugged off the hands that were restricting her. “Move! Don’t you know who I am?”

The knights continued to pull the woman away from the door. Adele saw the rough situation and made a motion to stop them, but she was afraid of the riot, so she decided against it. Instead, Lina whispered in her ear and told her who the woman was.

“That woman is Miss Irie from the count’s family.”

Adele struggled to remember that name, she was sure she heard it somewhere. Then realization struck.

That woman, Irie, she is…

“Who is she? How dare she enter the palace!” Irie pointed a vicious finger at Adele. The knights intercepted her offending limb and answered on their mistress’s behalf.

“She is the Lady of the Maktus family. Please show your respect.”

But she just scoffed, “Lady? I am Noah’s fiancée!”

That’s right. She was Noah’s fiancée. Out of the blue, Adele recollected about the time she first saw this woman.

It was when her mother-in-law was still alive. In the afternoon tea-time, her mother-in-law and her husband, Enon, were sitting at the round table.

‘Now that Enon has gotten married, it is now Noah’s turn.’

Adele poured jasmine tea into her mother-in-law’s cup. They looked at her and smiled.

‘Enon couldn’t get married and Noah can’t marry before his brother, but now he can.’

In the Astrian Empire, the younger brothers were encouraged not to marry until the eldest son has been wedded. It wasn’t exactly a law, but more of a custom. If you don’t follow it, then it would reflect badly upon yourself and your family. How bad was the eldest son be that he couldn’t get married before his younger brother?

Enon, who was sitting to Adele’s left, bowed his head with a gloomy look on his face.

‘It is all because of my flaws.’

‘It’s okay, it’s in the past. In the end, you have gotten a nice wife for yourself.’ Madame Maktus looked at Adele and smiled warmly. Adele dropped her head.

‘Ah, I almost forgot. Butler, put the portraits down on the table.’

At her instructions, the butler opened a box and placed a bunch of portraits on the table. All of them were ladies that were beautiful in appearance and had a splendid or sophisticated appearance.

Graceful and gentle, their faces were the polar opposite of Adele. Her mother-in-law took Adele’s hand as she scanned the portraits.

‘My child, who do you think would be a good match for Noah?’

‘I’m not sure.’ When Adele hesitated, her father-in-law, who was touching his mustache, opened his mouth.

‘The woman in the yellow dress looks fine to me.’

‘Tsk. I wasn’t asking for your opinion!’ The Madame scolded her own husband.

‘But, why!’

‘These matters are to be decided by the lady!’

At the mother-in-law’s resolute attitude, the father-in-law only harrumphed and kept his mouth shut. Adele struggled to contain her laughter at their bantering.

Still, her mother-in-law did not forget the matter at hand.

‘My child, choose one.’

‘Me?’

‘Why, of course! Aren’t you the lady of the Maktus family now? I will inform Noah to meet the woman you chose.’

Adele hesitated and selected a portrait of a gorgeous blonde woman. Among the portraits, it was the most different face from herself. Her father-in-law was taken by surprise when he saw the portrait.

‘Don’t think too much.’

She felt puzzled by his words, ‘Yes?’

‘Noah did not oppose your marriage because he hated you.’

‘Oppose? Did he initially oppose to our marriage?’ At Adele’s words, the mother-in-law pinched her husband’s side. Then she directed her attention back to her and smiled awkwardly.

‘Well, there was a time when he was against your wedding, it was probably because of their deep brotherhood.’ Madame Maktus graciously replied.

At that, Lord Maktus made his disagreement known, ‘Bah! What do you mean ‘deep brotherhood’? Noah went to the academy at the age of 12 and grew up without even seeing Enon—’

‘Haha!’ She glared at her slow-witted husband, ‘Perhaps it was because he felt like he had lost his older brother, that’s why he opposed your marriage, but it was only for a short while. Not a cause for worry.’

Then she let out forced smile.

Unfortunately, she had this uncooperative person for a husband.

‘It wasn’t just for a short while, he was against it until they got married! Then, what did he say? He said he’d find a girl for Enon himself!’

The mother-in-law threw a sharp gaze to the father-in-law. Then her father-in-law shut his mouth and shook his head. She beat her own chest, lamenting. I can’t live up to my name!

Adele bit her mouth at the shocking fact. Then the door to the living room opened.

‘Noah has arrived.’

Following the maid’s words, Noah walked into the living room. ‘You called for me?’

‘Yes. Sit here.’

As the topic changed, the visibly delighted mother-in-law smiled broadly and pointed to the chair. Noah sat next to Enon, placing his sword in the opposite direction.

Wearing black clothes, he felt a sense of dissonance as he sat down at the tea table colored in mint and light pink.

He felt like a carnivore forced to get along with a bunch of herbivores.

‘I thought I told you to leave your sword outside the castle.’

Noah’s expression did not change at his mother’s words. She broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly tried to salvage the situation.

‘Right, do you see these portraits?’

‘Yes.’

‘These are the women for you to choose from. Do you see someone you like?’

Noah frowned, then raised his head. He stared into Adele’s light brown eyes and opened his mouth.

‘No.’

‘Take another look. Oh, how about this woman here?’

His mother showed him the portrait that Adele had chosen earlier.

‘This is Miss Irie, isn’t she a gorgeous and sophisticated beauty?’