Chapter 73 : 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐀 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞
✦ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕𝟑 ✦
❝𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐀 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞❞
⟪ 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒌 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆. ⟫
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“I don’t believe this is a tale best discussed here,” Johannes spoke with detached calm.
“Is that so? Then perhaps… there are better places,” Laura Hatzfeld replied, her voice dipped in subtle suggestion.
With a graceful smile, she led him into the secluded expanse of the Late Night Garden—known to many as a clandestine haven for whispered affairs between noblemen and women, hidden beneath moonlight and roses.
In truth, Laura had grown accustomed to this path. Every man she’d tangled with had either a wife or a fiancée, and always—always—they met in the shadows of gardens.
Johannes did not resist. He followed her steps, perhaps out of courtesy, perhaps out of calculation. And once they reached the heart of the garden, bathed in silver light, Laura stretched out her delicate hand toward him.
But Johannes deftly avoided her touch.
Laura’s breath hitched in her throat. “Duke…?”
Was he shy? Hesitant, perhaps?
That’s what she believed—up until that moment.
“There’s no need to feel guilty,” she said softly, stepping closer with practiced poise. “They all feel the same at first.”
Her gaze swept upward, admiring his chiseled features. He was, once again, painfully handsome.
A man like him… wasted on a commoner?
As her hand inched again toward his chest—
“Daughter of the Marquis of Hatzfeld,” came his voice—frozen steel, slicing through the moment.
Laura froze mid-motion. “…Yes? Please speak, Duke.”
A hollow laugh escaped his lips.
“Have some dignity. Know your place.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“I didn’t remain silent because I was unaware of what you did. If you still wish to walk among the nobles of high society, the very least you could do is offer my wife an apology.”
A flicker of disbelief passed over her features. But still, she persisted. “If I apologize, then… might you show me mercy?”
Everyone knew about Laura’s tainted history—her romantic entanglements, her recklessness. But out of courtesy, nobles rarely aired such filth in public.
Today, however, things were different.
As Laura turned to glance at the growing crowd of nobles who had wandered curiously into the garden, a shiver of dread climbed her spine.
⋆｡°✩
I blinked, struggling to process what I was witnessing.
When Edward Windsor asked if I’d orchestrated all of this through him, I hadn’t understood what he meant. But now—it was all too clear.
Laura Hatzfeld had dared to seduce my husband. Openly.
The nobles who had come to admire the famed Eden Blanc had instead found a scandal blooming before them.
Murmurs rippled through the gathering like wind stirring leaves.
“Oh my… what on earth is she doing?”
“Did she really approach Duke Schultz? Is she bold—or simply foolish?”
Nobles. So fond of drama, especially when it wasn’t their own.
Johannes cast a glance around, then turned to Laura.
“Lady Hatzfeld. This is not the reason you summoned me here, is it?”
She stammered, her lips trembling. “I— I…”
“You invited Baron Berto here before, didn’t you?” His voice dropped to a chilling tone. “Is this… your habit?”
Her silence was answer enough.
He looked down upon her—not as a man scorned, but as a judge delivering verdict.
Suddenly, I understood why he’d been so composed during the banquet—why he’d shown her no emotion. Every woman there had been part of the same little circle. They’d tried to shame me as a group, to hide their misdeeds behind silk and lace.
But Johannes had seen through it. That’s why he’d suggested I come to the garden—among people. To let the truth breathe.
Laura Hatzfeld’s games were now unmasked. And he hadn’t even needed to raise his voice.
It was humiliating enough… yet had he not arrived when he did, it might have become far worse.
A scandal whispered through the halls for weeks—my torn dress, the fall, the implication.
Now, he looked at me.
Was he waiting for me to react?
“I ended up being used in this scheme,” I said quietly. “But I won’t apologize for what I didn’t know. Your Highness.”
I stepped forward, brushing past Edward with a faint smile. A tired chuckle escaped him, but I paid it no mind.
All around me, the nobles held their breath.
I stood tall before Laura Hatzfeld, now pale and shaken.
“Daughter of the Marquis of Hatzfeld.”
“…”
“Do you have something to say to me? What possessed you to approach my husband like that? Was it because I’m a commoner? Because you believed that made me… lesser?”
Laura stared at me, then sharpened her expression in one last act of defiance.
“If you apologize now, I’ll pretend none of it happened,” she said coolly. “Of course, my husband will still face consequences for staining the name of the Schultz family.”
Even now… no remorse.
Suddenly, she spun to the crowd and raised her voice.
“It was Duke Schultz who approached me first! He was the one who showed kindness—who wanted a private meeting!”
She looked to her allies—certain they would defend her.
She found Baroness Vermont, a fragile-looking woman.
“You—please! Tell them what happened! Didn’t the Duke say something… misleading?”
The Baroness flinched, her voice trapped in her throat. All eyes fell upon her.
Then, she glanced at Johannes… and finally spoke.
“I… I don’t know. The Duke was courteous to everyone. But I suppose… he may have been a bit warmer to Lady Hatzfeld.”
“What?!” Laura’s shriek pierced the air. She clutched Baroness Vermont’s shoulder. “Don’t lie to save yourself! Tell the truth!”
Desperate. Clawing for salvation.
But the Baroness stood firm.
“No. None of us saw anything improper. Isn’t that right, ladies?”
The ladies hesitated—but the truth had already taken root.
Madam Han spoke next, louder than expected.
“…I don’t recall anything beyond the fact that the Duke and Duchess appeared happily married.”
“Y-You’re lying! My wife told me—!”
A new voice interrupted her. Stern. Final.
“Young lady. Accept the truth. I understand your disappointment at not marrying Duke Schultz. But this? This is disgraceful. Jealousy doesn’t justify such cruelty.”
Jealousy.
The word hung in the air like perfume and poison combined.
Gasps. Murmurs. Whispers.
Then—the fatal blow.
“You were the one who deliberately ruined the Duchess’ dress, weren’t you?”
“…W-What…?”
The nobles recoiled. Even they could not stomach such pettiness.
Laura Hatzfeldt’s face went pale. Her knees trembled.
“All of us were witnesses,” the wife continued. “We never liked the Duchess much—but never would I have thought you’d stoop this low.”
And with that—Laura fell.
A collective gasp echoed as her body crumpled to the earth.
I stared down at her. I would receive no apology today. Not here. Not now.
Johannes spoke softly beside me.
“…We should have someone escort Lady Hatzfeld back home.”
✦ 𝓔𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝟕𝟑 ✦
