“...you know?”
“Yes, I received the same message two months ago.”
That letter was the first thing that made Ethan suspect Camille of an affair. Jack was assigned to investigate Camille and find out who sent the message. She turned out to be the Marchioness Nadia Le Roy.
Nadia had openly approached Ethan when he was still single.
She was not the only one, but her boldness set her apart. She seemed to think that Ethan was undoubtedly attracted to her, and that rejecting him was just a game.
Ethan's brow furrowed in a deep knot.
Thinking about Nadia made him sad.
She likely attended Viscount Rochefort's party last night, saw Ethan and Camille together, and wrote this letter immediately after returning home.
The last message wasn't as detailed as this.
She must have thought I didn't believe her for lack of evidence.
“But what is the importance of this letter? What do you think the Duchess’s tears have to do with it?” Victor asked.
“……”
Ethan remained silent for a moment, remembering something Camille had said at the beginning of their marriage: “Nadia Leroy insulted me in front of everyone!”
At the time, Camille was upset about everything.
She would complain to Ethan about the smallest things, often exaggerating or lying.
Her brother had always gone easy on her, but Ethan had no intention of allowing such behavior in his home. He often responded coldly to her complaints, and that day was no different.
“Maybe it's just your imagination. Who dares insult the Duchess Dumont?
“It's not my imagination! She said I was not fit to be a duchess!”
Ethan opened the drawer to get his cufflinks, ignoring Camille's loud voice behind him.
“Ethan, did you hear what I said?”
“...I heard you.”
“Then why don't you respond? Don't you believe me? She really said that!”
Her whiny voice made his headache worse.
It was a very busy time, and he didn't sleep well. Ethan was very upset.
“Is this really something to be upset about? "It doesn't seem quite wrong."
“……”
He heard Camille's muffled gasp from behind him. Then he realized he made a mistake.
Every time he responded this way, Camille would burst into tears and make a fuss. Honestly, he didn't have the energy to deal with it right now; He had to leave soon.
But instead of the expected explosion, there was a different sound that broke the silence.
Tack-!
When he turned around, Camille had left.
She left the room, leaving the door ajar behind her.
After that day, Camille never came to him to complain again.
Although similar incidents had happened many times before, Ethan remembered that day.
'...If I think about it, this was when Camille and I started to really drift apart from each other.'
He was relieved that the nagging complaints had stopped, but there was also a strange feeling of unease lurking deep inside him. He had only recently begun to understand this feeling.
“Despite everything, I live with you in the same house, under the same roof. You seem to forget that sometimes.”
Why did these words, uttered so casually by Camille, upset him so much? More than she was crying and screaming.
If Nadia has publicly insulted Camille in the past, she likely did something similar last night.
Although the current Camille didn't seem like she would cry just for words, the idea of losing her in an argument was also difficult to imagine.
However, it was also true that he couldn't think of any other reason for Camille to cry.
I'll find out soon enough.
Ethan raised his head and spoke to Victor,
“Call Jack for me”
***
When I finished getting ready for bed and was leaning on my pillow and reading a book, I heard a knock on the bedroom door.
“Did you forget something, Mary?” I asked, assuming it was the maid.
But the face that appeared when the door opened was surprising.
“Reading in bed?” Ethan asked as he entered.
“Ethan”
I instinctively started to sit up, but Ethan raised his hand.
“You can stay where you are.”
“I can't do that,” I answered as I got out of bed and put on my robe. Ethan's expression looked a little annoyed.
“Are we really that formal with each other?”
Realizing that my actions might seem unnatural to Ethan, I felt a little embarrassed. But from my perspective, I've only known him for about two months.
Standing in front of him in my nightgown, especially since it was so thin and revealing in this world, was uncomfortable.
“Since it's been a while since you last visited my room, it seems appropriate,” I said coldly, deciding that honesty might dispel any doubts. I deliberately tightened my robe and crossed my arms.
“So what brings you here?”
“……”
Ethan frowned at me, then suddenly tightened his tie and opened the top button of his shirt. My collarbone stuck out clearly through the messy collar, causing me to involuntarily widen my eyes.
"What do you do?"
"What do I do?" Ethan asked in confusion as he took a step closer to me.
I was terrified, so I took a step back.
"… What do you do?"
He looked at me in amazement. I thought he was about to undress, but it seemed like he just wanted to loosen his tie.
"Nothing. So, why are you here? What's going on?" I asked with a deliberately indifferent expression to hide my embarrassment.
“Victor told me you were crying earlier. Is that true?”
"Crying? Me? Who said that?" I answered, confused by his sudden question.
Ethan's frown deepened, “According to Victor, when he saw you in the hallway this morning and asked you about the party, you started crying...”
“Oh...”
I suddenly remembered. At first, I hesitated to answer because I remembered Ethan's strange behavior at the party. But then Victor asked me if something had happened, with an expression of genuine concern for some reason.
At that moment, a rash thought came to my mind.
Should I test the skills I've been practicing?
When I previously asked Victor to help me divorce Ethan, my tearful pleading was of no avail, hurting my pride.
Since then, I've been practicing in front of a mirror, and it seems to have worked for Viscountess Grandbert.
I remembered my disappointment at losing tickets to my favorite concert in my previous life, and I bit my lip gently. My eyes quickly filled with tears.
"… my lady?"
Victor then looked genuinely surprised and unsure of what to do.
“Oh, this works great,” I thought with relief as I left the scene.
After that, I completely forgot about the incident.
“Camille?” Ethan's puzzled look brought me back to the present.
I turned my head to avoid his eyes.
“I didn't realize Victor saw me. It's embarrassing.”
“…Then why were you crying?”
“……”
I remained silent, still avoiding his gaze.
I couldn't say specifically, "I was testing whether Victor would believe my fake tears."
“Did something happen at the party and I wasn't looking?”
“What? Oh...”
His question suddenly brought to mind the incident that happened with Nadia and her group.