Chapter 1
***
Ines hurriedly schooled her expression and greeted her.
“I am very honored that the Marquees came to my individual exhibition.”
“I invited the Countess of Brierton, of course I should come.”
The voice of the Marquess of Attlee was as high as it could be.
“I don’t know how much I was looking forward to this individual exhibition. But when I came here, it was much better than I thought.”
“I’m flattered.”
“Oh, you don’t have to be too humble.”
The Marquess waved her hand and continued gently.
“They were all very nice paintings. In particular, the unique transparent color of the Countess was very beautiful.”
“…….”
Facing the friendly gaze of the Marquess of Attlee, Ines felt sorry.
The other person showed her pure kindness.
However she had a pathetic jealousy just because there used to be a relationship between the Marquess and the Duke.
‘Wait. Jealousy?’
Ines paused for a moment.
‘……I see.’
She was now jealous of the Marquess of Attlee.
Meanwhile, the Marquess, who had no idea of Ines’s complicated mind, happily spoke.
“The Countess chose ‘Return’ as the theme of this individual exhibition, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
“If I say that it was a subject that seemed to implicitly express the Countess’s life, am I too presumptuous?”
The Marquess smiled at Ines.
“Actually, you’re unique in many ways.”
“What? What do you mean…….”
“As the Countess already knows, Kaldorov has a higher percentage of women entering society than Lancaster.”
The Marquess who said so looked rather bitter.
“Nevertheless, none of Kaldorov’s women has achieved as much as the Countess.”
“That… Marquess?”
“Just, I had a lot of thoughts.”
Ines blinked her eyes.
The Marquess had a really complicated look on her face.
‘Well, it’s not that I don’t understand how you feel, but…….’
To be honest, Ines had such concerns.
In Lancaster alone, Ines had clashed with established artists several times.
Ines, who had been agonizing for a while, opened her mouth carefully.
“But what I’ve achieved, I’m not the only one who’s done it.”
“What?”
“The Duke of Sussex and Her Majesty the Queen helped me establish myself as an artist in Lancaster.”
The Duke of Sussex.
Enoch.
When she thought of the name, her heart throbbed for no reason, but Ines continued in a grateful and energetic voice.
“Because you invited me to Kaldorov this time, I was able to hold an individual exhibition like this.”
“That’s…”
“So if you look at it carefully, I’m at least helped by three people.”
Ines continued, counting her fingers.
“Her Majesty the Queen, the Duke of Sussex, and the Marquess of Attlee.”
“Oh, is that right?”
The Marquis of Attlee’s eyes went wide.
Ines nodded eagerly.
“Of course. Besides, I was able to get a successful divorce because His esteemed Majesty made a wise decision.”
Then a gentle smile spread over the Marquess’s face.
“I’m happy that the Countess said so. It’s my pleasure to support talented artists.”
“…….”
In response to the friendly reply, Ines felt once again confused.
The Marquis of Attlee was very much like Enoch.
Maybe that was why they hit it off.
……to the point where there was even talk of marriage.
“Anyway, winning the divorce suit in that conservative Lancaster. It’s really cool.”
“That’s too much of a comment, Marquess Attlee.”
“What do you mean too much? I hope one day, Andrea will grow up to be like the Countess.”
The Marquess continued in a rather excited voice.
“Your life is about people who carve out for themselves.”
“No, I…….”
“Although the Countess spoke modestly, I still respect you very much.”
Then, facing the Duke, Ines felt her conscience poked.
‘….Marquess Attlee is a really nice person.’
Because of useless jealousy, she felt pathetic for herself, who kept on being wary of the Marquess.
In a stuffy mood as if a stone was stuck in her chest, Ines took a champagne glass from the servant passing by.
As she was sipping cold champagne, she felt a little stuffy.
Meanwhile, Enoch was looking closely at Ines.
‘Aren’t you drinking too much?’
The champagne Ines sipping was as sweet as juice and easy to drink lightly, but apart from that, it was somewhat high in alcohol.
‘She’s been preparing for the solo exhibition all night for a few days, so even with that much alcohol, I’m sure she might feel sick.’
Worryingly, Enoch approached Ines.
“The Count of Brierton, the champagne….”
But Enoch’s words were interrupted in the middle.
“Oh, it’s been a while. Duke of Sussex.”
It was because Marquess Attlee greeted Enoch in a welcoming voice.
The Marquess had a long relationship with Enoch.
“Long time no see, Margaret. No, you’re now the Marquess of Attlee, aren’t you?”
Enoch also responded kindly.
“Come to think of it, where is the Maquis?”
“He hasn’t come yet. He is a very busy person.”
The Marquess’ eyes were full of affection for her husband when she mentioned him.
“But he said that he wouldn’t come too late. You’ll be able to see his face.”
“That’s a relief.”
Just a moment ago, Ines thought she was pathetic, jealous of the married woman.
“…….”
Watching the two have a friendly conversation, Ines once again felt her stomach twisted.
Enoch’s attitude was also somewhat different from that of others.
‘The Duke has never been very close to others…….’
‘Aren’t you having a pretty friendly conversation with the Marquess of Attlee?’
Just in time, the Marquess brought it up mischievously.
“It reminds me of the past. I fell in love with the Duke of Sussex’s face, and I asked him for a marriage proposal, didn’t I?”
“If you say so, I think the listeners will misunderstand.”
“What do you mean misunderstanding, it’s not a complete lie, is it?”
“You have to consider that the Marquess was only fifteen years old at that time.”
“Well, the way I see it hasn’t changed much, even at the age of 15.”
The Marquess of Attlee shrugged her shoulders playfully.
“It seems that time doesn’t have an effect on the duke. You’re still handsome like before.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Oh my God, you don’t even deny that you’re handsome?”
When the Marquess teased him like that, Enoch replied with a brazen face.
“It’s actually a compliment I’ve heard a lot.”
“I’m amazed, really.”
So the two continued their conversation amicably.
There was a friendly atmosphere unique to them who had been close for a long time.
……something Ines could never have.
“…….”
To hide her complex feelings, Ines sipped champagne absentmindedly.
“But I won.”
The Marquess shrugged her shoulders.
“While the Duke of Sussex, who denied me, is still single, I met my husband, the nicest and sweetest man in the world.”
Ines tried to think as rationally as possible.
The Marquess has been married for a long time now, and her love at the young age of 15 has already been settled.
So she knew that the Marquess of Attlee would never get involved with Enoch again.
Even though she knew that…
‘I feel nauseous.’
Ines eventually decided to leave this position.
“I’m going to get some fresh air.”
“What? But…….”
Enoch tried to dissuade Ines, but Ines stepped back lightly.
Then she faked a smile.
“I’m afraid I’ll get in the way of you two sharing your reunion after a long time.”
“Countess?”
“I’ll see you again in a little while.”
Leaving only a light greeting, Ines walked away with a light step.
“What?”
At that moment, the Marquess sensed a deep sense of incompatibility.
Enoch only looked helplessly at the direction in which Ines disappeared.
He wasn’t even thinking about resuming the conversation.
“……Your Excellency.”
“…….”
“The Duke of Sussex!”
Only after the Marquess had called several times did Enoch come to his senses.
“Oh, yes. Did you call me?”
The Marquess, who looked at Enoch with an understanding gaze, sighed and pointed to the door with a fan.