Chapter 21
The appearance was identical to the Priscilla Muton he had first met, but there was a subtle difference.
It seemed sharper somehow…?
Unlike Priscilla, who always dressed plainly, Claire was now adorned in a glamorous yet elegant style, making her impression comparatively striking.
The cold green eyes that stared directly at him were also different from Priscilla’s.
‘So this is Franz Ravello’s daughter!’
The duke immediately realized her identity and smirked slyly.
He had intentionally invited and come all this way out of curiosity about Claire.
‘Hmm, not bad.’
The beauty of Priscilla Muton, which he had once regarded as his pride, seemed to have been reborn more splendidly, and he was pleased.
Her resemblance to her aunt was excessive, probably because her father was her twin…
Feeling Claire’s frown in response to his unpleasant gaze, which appraised her like a piece of meat, the duke didn’t bother to hide his discomfort.
‘You haven’t changed, Brian Muton.’
Still as rude, revolting, and repugnant as ever.
She recalled how, when she was younger, he had flaunted her as a trophy, only to discard her as she aged and put her to work instead.
Theodore shielded her further behind him and spoke up.
“Duke, what do you think you’re doing?”
“…Ah, my apologies, Your Highness. It’s been a while since we’ve last met. How have you been?”
The duke finally peeled his gaze away from Claire and forced a formal smile as he addressed Theodore.
“I was surprised to see Your Highness at today’s party. I hadn’t expected your attendance.”
“You don’t seem particularly pleased by my presence.”
“Haha, how could that be? Your Highness is a close friend of my son.”
“Perhaps you haven’t yet heard that I have severed ties with Eric Muton.”
At Theodore’s remark, the room fell silent.
Claire looked up at him with a slightly surprised expression. He had been so close to Eric, and now they were estranged?
The duke’s lips trembled slightly as he forced himself to respond calmly.
“Even so, it doesn’t erase the bond between us, does it?”
“Well, I believe it came to a complete end about a year ago.”
Brian Muton’s expression hardened. Several nobles began to murmur among themselves.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Claire stepped forward to diffuse the situation.
“His Highness prefers to keep things clear and unambiguous. He understands that it prevents discomfort in the long term.”
“Do I?”
Claire discreetly pressed her elbow against Theodore’s side and smiled.
Taking the hint, Theodore closed his mouth.
Brian Muton glanced briefly at Claire before ignoring her entirely.
“Haha, it saddens me to hear Your Highness say that.”
He dismissed the matter entirely.
“…?”
“Oh, you haven’t yet greeted my wife, have you? Allow me to introduce her.”
Claire watched in disbelief as the duke nonchalantly called over Charlotte Muton.
‘What is he playing at now?’
A moment ago, he had approached her, calling her Priscilla Muton, but now he pretended not to have heard a word.
Watching her former husband shamelessly introduce Charlotte, Claire quickly grasped his intentions.
‘He’s refusing to speak to an illegitimate child in any official capacity.’
Brian Muton was a man who valued his reputation above all else.
Even if he had come all this way out of curiosity about the illegitimate daughter of Franz Ravello, he had no intention of being openly associated with her in front of everyone.
Such an association would only harm his own interests.
‘Cunning bastard.’
Cursing him inwardly, Claire turned her attention to his current wife.
A young and beautiful woman, blushing as she looked at the Crown Prince of the Trisanne Empire, while linked arm in arm with the duke, who was old enough to be her father.
Charlotte Muton.
Before her death, Priscilla Muton had met her once.
Not to pull her hair out in a fight, but to kindly advise her to stop living as the mistress of an older duke.
But when Claire, who had approached with a touch of pity, finally met her, Charlotte had said,
‘You should have kept your husband under control.’
‘…Lady Fennec, what did you just say?’
‘What wrong have I done? Isn’t it obvious that the duke would prefer me to a stiff and unyielding woman like you?’
From that single encounter, Priscilla Muton had realized.
Charlotte Muton was no different from Brian Muton.
There was no need to sympathize with her impoverished background or understand her actions as mere youthful ignorance.
‘Still, I don’t hate her that much.’
It wasn’t as if she had loved Brian Muton anyway.
In fact, she found it amusing that someone would be desperate to possess such a pathetic man.
‘You can have all of Muton, Charlotte.’
And when Muton inevitably falls, may you taste hell alongside him and come to your senses.
“By the way, Your Highness, did you come alone without a partner?”
Brian Muton asked, wrapping his arm ostentatiously around Charlotte Muton’s waist.
Theodore stared at him impassively for a moment before replying.
“Lady Ravello is my partner.”
“Pardon…? Surely, you jest?”
The duke glanced back and forth between them in confusion before laughing.
“Haha, well, occasionally straying from the norm isn’t all bad. Still, be mindful of potential consequences.”
Displeased by the insinuation in his choice of words, Theodore replied coldly.
“You needn’t worry. I won’t make the same mistakes as the duke.”
“……”
Brian Muton’s lips twitched violently.
Claire could roughly guess the words he had just swallowed with difficulty.
No doubt it was something along the lines of calling him a ‘cheeky bastard,’ as he always had.
“Well then, I’ll excuse myself now.”
Unwilling to show any further conflict with the Crown Prince of the Trisanne Empire, the duke left first.
Watching his retreating figure, Claire let out a hollow laugh.
Their meeting had ended more anticlimactically than she had expected.
She knew all too well why that had happened.
‘He completely looks down on me, Brian Muton.’
When she was Priscilla Muton, he had treated her as a tool but at least acknowledged her as a fellow noble.
But now, as the illegitimate daughter of Franz Ravello, barely inheriting the Ravello name, she was nothing more than a curiosity to him—not someone worth addressing directly.
In some ways, it was fortunate. But in another sense, it stung her pride.
Because it painfully reminded her once again that she couldn’t stand on equal footing with Brian Muton.
‘This can’t go on, not like this…’
Her nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists tightly, but suddenly, a warm sensation wrapped around her wrist.
“Are you all right?”
Theodore, slightly tilting his head, looked down at her.
His piercingly blue eyes entered her view, clearing her mind a bit.
“Yes, I’m fine. But why the sudden formality…”
“Ah.”
Theodore rubbed the back of his neck.
“I must have picked it up while speaking to the duke.”
“…Is that so?”
Claire smiled softly. She was reminded of the young Theodore, who had once tried so hard to sound mature.
‘How have you been, my lady?’
‘Your Highness? We just met yesterday. Isn’t such a greeting a bit too formal?’
‘…Is that so?’
‘Yes, please feel free to speak casually.’
But Theodore had never once spoken casually to her.
It must have been due to Eric Muton’s influence, fostering hostility toward her. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Unaware of her thoughts, Theodore spoke calmly.
“Stay by my side for the rest of the evening.”
“Yes.”
Claire obediently replied.
Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no further interaction with Brian Muton.
Claire could only watch as her ex-husband paraded around the party with his young new wife by his side.
***
After the party, Claire returned to the estate in Theodore’s carriage.
She stepped down first, taking the hand Theodore offered, and bowed politely.
“Thank you for escorting me, Your Highness. Please have a safe journey back.”
“Of course.”
As he turned as if to leave, Theodore suddenly grabbed her hand again.
“Wait.”
Claire looked at him, bewildered.
“What is it?”
“After all, I think I prefer you.”
“Excuse me?”
Claire tilted her head in confusion at his cryptic words. The moonlight cast shadows on his face, accentuating the faint smile on his lips.
He bent slightly toward her. As his face suddenly drew closer, Claire involuntarily flinched.
In a low, pleasant voice, he whispered.
“As my lover.”
“…What?”
Claire’s eyes widened in shock. Thinking it might be a joke, she searched his expression, but Theodore’s gaze was sincere.
He meant it.
‘But why all of a sudden?’
Flustered, Claire tried to pull her hand away, but Theodore held her fingertips firmly and spoke.
“I want you to become my fake lover.”
“Fake…?”
“Yes, I need someone to act as my lover so others won’t bother me.”
Her fresh green eyes blinked slowly. Calmly assessing the situation, Claire asked.
“Why me?”
—
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