TROTG 18

Abigail was confident that, as long as Kiern maintained proper decorum with her, she could become his most reliable ally.

That was why the Rua mother and daughter were a problem that had to be dealt with. At any moment, they could become embroiled in scandal and tarnish her reputation.

Elizabeth, in particular—growing more radiant by the day—posed a considerable threat to Abigail.

She had already seen it countless times at Ingrid gatherings: Kiern was noticeably gentler only with Elizabeth. Even so, he never crossed the line, so Abigail had merely watched.

But the scandal she heard from James about the party was not something she could overlook.

And to make matters worse, Kiern had caught her in the act.

He was not the kind of man who would ignore harm done to him by others. So when he found out, Abigail assumed that if there truly was something between him and Elizabeth, he would react.

In a way, it worked out. If he behaved like some lowly man blinded by love, she had every intention of discarding him first.

Men like that tended to do nothing but foolish things.

However, even after that day, Kiern made no move against her. It was too quiet—far too quiet.

Did that mean Elizabeth wasn’t his? Had Abigail made a needless move against something that wasn’t even worth guarding against?

If so, then what happened that day might have been her mistake—like throwing a stone into a calm lake and disturbing the other party for no reason.

Abigail frowned, wondering if her instincts had failed her. Perhaps she should have dismissed it the moment she realized the source of the rumor was James.

The thought that she might have targeted the wrong person because of James’s provocation made her click her tongue in regret—but only briefly.

It was something she would have had to do eventually anyway. Abigail had already figured out long ago that Elizabeth harbored feelings for Kiern.

She had intended to warn her not to overstep at least once, so it hadn’t been entirely unnecessary. Still, the lingering unease remained.

Abigail briefly recalled her conversation with James—the moment he subtly probed her after hearing about her engagement.

“Miss Abigail, don’t you think you should reconsider this engagement? From what I see, there’s something going on between Lady Rua and the young duke.”

“I’m not so sure. They’ve always been close.”

“You’re being naive. A man and a woman can’t just be friends—unless one of them is hiding their feelings.”

“…In any case, I’m the fiancée. Even if his heart lies elsewhere, his body will belong to me.”

“I didn’t expect you to be so progressive. In that case, why don’t you take a lover as well? I wouldn’t mind, if it were me.”

“How vulgar. I’ll pass.”

Abigail had long known that James had feelings for her. Though he was now infamous as a Casanova in high society, he hadn’t always been such a degenerate man in his youth.

It was only after Abigail rejected him that he began to go astray—meeting any woman he could, as if trying to forget the pain of rejection.

He acted as if to provoke her, but Abigail ignored him. In fact, she was grateful he distanced himself on his own.

He was a man irrelevant to her, and his behavior only made him seem more pathetic.

From the start, the problem was that someone like him had dared to set his sights on her. At the very least, he would need to be a marquis to be worthy of comparison.

Those who rose suddenly to power through luck meant nothing to Abigail. She was not someone who would act on such trivial affection and jeopardize matters.

After that, James lingered around her, constantly irritating her.

And yet, he was still desperate to win her heart—how absurd.

It was, in fact, because of James that Abigail had begun to be wary of Elizabeth.

“At the last banquet, Kiern and Miss Elizabeth were having a secret rendezvous on the terrace. The atmosphere was something else.”

“What trick are you trying to pull this time?”

“It’s no trick—it’s the truth. When I so much as touched Lady Rua’s waist, he looked ready to kill me. Still want to go through with the engagement?”

Even knowing it might be a ploy to sabotage her engagement, Abigail couldn’t help but be bothered.

What if Kiern, like that foolish James, also turned out to be a fool—someone who would do something reckless for love?

Those blinded by love often became foolish. Like moths drawn to flame, they destroyed not only themselves but even their families.

What if Kiern lost his senses and chose a woman whose only merit was her face?

To be certain, Abigail had tested Elizabeth—and when Elizabeth behaved as though there truly was something between them, Abigail’s insides twisted with irritation, prompting her to torment her.

After all, if he did have feelings for her, tormenting the weaker one would effectively torment them both.

But in the end, she had been caught by Kiern, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been played by James. It had been a foolish mistake.

Abigail was certain now—James had deliberately led Kiern there.

Just then, as tea was served, Stella spoke up.

“By the way, have you heard the news?”

“What news?”

“That the Marchioness of McQueen’s death was actually caused by her husband’s affair.”

“Ah, that.”

Abigail responded indifferently, having already heard the topic to death at the earlier gathering.

Stella eagerly continued.

“How foolish. Ending her life over something as trivial as an affair.”

“She must not have been able to bear the betrayal of a husband she trusted. Everyone knew how close the McQueen couple was.”

“What about you, Miss Prairie? What would you do if your husband took a mistress and brazenly brought her into the house?”

At Stella’s probing question, Abigail took a sip of tea before answering.

“Well, I’ve never been married, so I can’t say I know how that would feel.”

“True, it must seem like a distant matter to someone about to be engaged. But what would you do if it did happen?”

At Stella’s persistent questioning, Abigail paused, holding her teacup in thought.

As Stella said, everywhere one went, the scandal of the McQueen couple was the talk of the town.

After the Marchioness died, the Marquis had openly brought his mistress into the estate.

Apparently, he was so infatuated with her that he had lost his senses.

That must be why he installed the mistress as his official wife before his late wife’s body had even fully decayed.

Abigail found it pitiful. She couldn’t understand why anyone would throw away their life, their honor, and their pride over something like love.

If anything, it would be better to keep a mistress and leave the position vacant.

It was an emotion Abigail would likely never understand. Not only had she never met a man who stirred her so deeply, but she also had far more valuable priorities than love.

“Well, even if such a thing happened, I wouldn’t mind as long as it didn’t come to light. Many nobles keep mistresses—it’s hardly a serious flaw.”

“And if it were discovered?”

“I’d conceal it—thoroughly, so it wouldn’t interfere with my life.”

At Abigail’s cold tone, Stella flinched. Yet Abigail smiled again as if nothing had happened.

“As long as it doesn’t stray beyond the cage—so long as the rumor doesn’t pass beyond the castle gates—I would overlook it.”

“I see. You’re colder than I expected, Miss Prairie.”

“If that’s the path with the least trouble, I don’t mind being called cold.”

At her indifferent reply, Stella murmured quietly,

“You’re the complete opposite of my daughter. If she saw her husband’s affair, she’d probably try to kill herself.”

“Miss Elizabeth sounds like a romantic.”

“She’s foolish. Why would she throw her life away?”

At Stella’s sharp retort, Abigail glanced at her.

She couldn’t discern Stella’s intention in suddenly bringing up the McQueen scandal.

Abigail assumed Stella was unaware of the subtle tension between Elizabeth and Kiern.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have brought her own daughter into such a topic.

At the very least, Abigail knew well that Elizabeth was not the type of woman who could live as someone’s mistress. If it came to that, she would likely break and destroy herself.

Even Abigail didn’t think Elizabeth was that brazen.

The problem was Kiern.

Abigail didn’t trust men very much. It was all too common for nobles to secretly keep mistresses.

It was far easier, she thought, for a couple to simply take what they wanted and discard what they didn’t.

Then Stella casually added,

“Actually, I’ve been looking for a marriage match for Elizabeth lately.”

“Oh? Really?”

Abigail asked with a faint smile.

So that’s what she was getting at all along.

From the McQueen scandal to talk of her daughter’s marriage—it was easy to misunderstand, intentional or not. Abigail assumed it was the latter.

“Yes. Thanks to the Duke personally arranging things, I’m quite relieved. Though thinking of sending her off leaves me both relieved and a little sad.”

“That’s only natural for a mother. Still, if it’s a match carefully selected by the Duke, it should be a good opportunity for Miss Elizabeth.”

“Actually, it’s about that matter that I wanted to ask you for a favor, even though it may be shameless of me.”

“A favor?”

“Yes. Elizabeth is completely inexperienced when it comes to such things. As you know, before joining the Ingrid gatherings, the only boy her age she ever interacted with was young master Kiern. So she finds formal matchmaking meetings quite uncomfortable.”

“That’s true. Lady Rua did seem particularly uneasy speaking with young gentlemen.”

She was referring to how Elizabeth couldn’t hide her discomfort at crude jokes.

At that moment, Stella said with a hopeful expression,

“If you could help arrange a more natural meeting, it would be a great help. I’m certain she’ll just eat and leave otherwise, so I’d like to support her a bit more.”