The Perfect Bride - Chapter 50

…Marrying Natalie Daus. And divorcing. Marrying Natalie Daus. And divorcing….

He admitted it. Natalie was certainly shaking something.

But Ian’s judgment was that she didn’t feel like a fatal flaw that would topple a painstakingly built tower.

“No. My bride will remain Natalie Daus.”

At last, Ian spoke, and a faint, unreadable smile deepened on Aster’s face.

“The plan won’t change. A year from now, I’ll be a divorced man who has lost his right to succession, and she’ll receive her rightful compensation.”

“…Right. If you say so, then that’s how it will be.”

The prince was as confident as always. Aster decided it was time to stop talking about this matter.

“You should at least do that for the baron’s daughter who got caught up in this through no fault of her own. A year is plenty of time to shake up her life. Don’t make it any harder for her.”

When Ian slightly furrowed his brows, Aster chuckled and changed the subject.

“Even if you don’t, her life already seems complicated enough.”

“Did you hear something?”

“Earl Gorton. Anthony Gorton is digging around here and there. Especially about you and Miss Daus. He was even poking into my mansion’s servants.”

Anthony Gorton—wasn’t he the prosecutor in charge of David’s case?

“Do you know what his intention is?”

What intention. He’s just taking out his anxiety on a young woman.

He thought of himself as a crusader for justice, but in reality, he was just another greedy old man terrified of the changing times, lashing out in an attempt to make everyone stay put.

“That idle old man still has nothing better to do,” Ian muttered with disdain.

It must be quite a shock for everything he had built up, seen, heard, and learned over a lifetime to be shaken—but that wasn’t Ian’s concern.

“Make sure to thoroughly warn the staff to keep their mouths shut.”

“Try not to shout with Charlotte. Even Malik House, for all its vaunted security, isn’t immune to gossip!”

Ha. This bastard is beyond help.

Just as Ian was about to yank out Aster’s annoying mustache and kick his shin like he would punish a soldier—

“Your Highness!”

Marcus burst into the room with a grim face. Aster, too, was a man blessed with lifelong luck.

“Miss Daus has been attacked!”

Attacked? Natalie was unlucky again today.

***

The carriage carrying Natalie’s party stopped in front of the market. Just before getting out, Natalie hurriedly opened her mouth.

“Mrs. Bate.”

Mrs. Bate, who had been glancing nervously out the window, turned to her.

“I’m not here for some shady meeting. I’m going to apologize to someone I troubled in the past, so please don’t mention this to the Duchess…”

She was worried that Dorothy might get caught up in trouble if someone misunderstood why a lady had gone to the market.

“You can just say I had something to apologize for regarding the David trial. There won’t be anything that could bring shame to the ducal family.”

“……”

“People of high society rarely wander around the printing district. So no one will recognize my face. I’m not especially conspicuous-looking, after all…”

“Understood, Miss Daus.”

“So what I mean is, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“…Even so, you must not take off your hat.”

“Of course.”

Though her stiff expression and tone had been uncomfortable at first, Mrs. Bate had turned out to be a reliable guardian.

Unlike the outwardly kind servants, she genuinely focused on taking care of Natalie. Her extreme taciturnity and bluntness were strengths in their own way—befitting the person entrusted with the annex by the Duchess.

Of course, since she was the Duchess’s person, she’d never be as easy to talk to as Donna.

‘Well, all the servants are strangers in the end.’

Still, the mere thought of confiding in Donna sent shivers down her spine. All rumors started with the servants. Just thinking of those knights who acted like they had personally observed her was exhausting.

Natalie stepped out of the carriage with all sorts of messy thoughts.

The largest market in Dwan, Derville, served as the boundary between the government district that housed the Parliament building and the so-called slums known as the East Side.

In other words, a single wrong turn in Derville could easily land you in a ‘dangerous street,’ so caution was paramount.

Even putting that aside, Derville’s sanitation was so poor that it was truly no place for a lady to set foot.

Dirty and maze-like, Derville.

But Natalie walked forward without hesitation, as though she were stepping into her hometown.

‘I used to rule Derville in my own way.’

While other ladies strolled around Nesbell Park, Natalie dressed as a boy and roamed the printing district tucked into a corner of Derville. Judging by how little the scenery had changed, she was confident she’d find Benjamin’s publishing house soon.

“Miss, we’ve been here already.”

“…Really?”

But that confidence didn’t last even thirty minutes.

When she turned awkwardly to look at Mrs. Bate, her face was full of disbelief. They had ended up once again at the small fountain where five narrow alleys converged.

‘That’s strange. Did I get the name wrong? I’m sure it was something White…’

Large and small offices clustered like a beehive in a single building, and most had no signs, so she had to knock on each door to check. It wasn’t easy in a skirt. She couldn’t keep asking the guard for help either.

‘If I knew it’d be this hard to find, I should’ve shamelessly asked Sir Peeble for help.’

Meanwhile, the bumpy streets were plastered with tabloid papers and posters, mixed with unidentified filth. They were filled with denunciations of the prince and the baron’s daughter.

Mrs. Bate noticed Natalie’s gaze occasionally lingering on the ground and said, “Miss, it would be best to return for today. You’ve only just recovered from a fever, you shouldn’t push yourself.”

“Let’s just ask one more person and go,” Natalie replied, murmuring as she nodded calmly.

Just then, a middle-aged woman with a kind expression passed by carrying a basket of eggs. Natalie stopped her.

“Excuse me, ma’am. May I ask you something?”

“Hm? Me? Mm, sure.”

Fortunately, the middle-aged woman felt no wariness toward the polite young lady.

“Do you know someone named Benjamin Wald? He makes magazines.”

“Hmm. Well. I don’t know.”

“It’s a magazine with ‘White’ in the name. They serialize novels.”

“There are dozens of magazines like that, miss. Ah, wait. White? Do you mean ‘White Pen’?”

White Pen. That was definitely the name. Natalie’s face brightened.

“Yes! That must be it. Do you happen to know where White Pen’s office is?”

“Oh dear, that I don’t know. But at the entrance of Derville, there’s a guard named Mr. Derby. Try asking him.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Oh my, but miss…”

As Natalie bowed slightly, grateful for the unexpected help, the middle-aged woman gave her a sly smile and scanned her face.

With a look of burning curiosity, the woman asked, “You’re very pretty. Are you the young miss of some noble family sneaking out? I’ve got a nose for these things.”

“No, ma’am. I’m just from the countryside, so Dwan feels unfamiliar.”

It wasn’t a lie.

“Hmm, well, all right. But are you unwell? You look pale. When you’re like that, you should eat some hot soup with lots of ham in it. It helps.”

Thankfully, she didn’t press further. Natalie could sense Mrs. Bate’s subtle relief.

Thinking it had been a while since she’d had such a warm, casual chat, Natalie bowed once more to the kind middle-aged woman.

“Thank you for your kindness, ma’am. I’ll be going now.”

White Pen. Since she’d made some progress, she planned to return to the ducal house for today. It was just as she turned away from the middle-aged woman.

“Hey…! Wait!”

A shout mixed with heavy breathing came from the mouth of an alley.

She instinctively turned her head to the side and saw a blond-haired man running toward the fountain—more precisely, toward her.

Derville sometimes had deranged vagrants roaming around.

A lunatic? Natalie frowned, but just then, the guard disguised as a porter stepped in front of her like a shield.

The man, upon seeing the guard, stopped about ten paces away. With a startled face, he quickly raised both hands high, trying to show he meant no harm.

“Miss Daus…! Natalie! It’s me!”

Then he cluelessly started shouting her name aloud.

‘Damn it. Who is this that knows me?’

Natalie and her party simultaneously grimaced at their identity being suddenly exposed. Still oblivious to the situation, the man kept shouting, trying to sound friendly.

“It’s me, me! Roger Heaton! Oh, is it because it’s been so long you didn’t recognize me?”

Roger Heaton? Natalie furrowed her brow deeply and looked closely at the man’s face.

“Natalie, let’s talk! I kept sending letters—why didn’t you reply? Did you not get them? That’s it, isn’t it? Ow! You bastard! Do you know who I am…!”

The moment Roger called out Natalie’s name again, the guard rushed in and subdued him. But by then, they had already drawn the attention of many in Derville.

‘That’s Roger Heaton…?’

Natalie was so shocked, she was left speechless for a moment.