Opinions were wildly divided.
Not only was the aide from the “trashy” navy, but her family background was exceptionally humble.
Despite holding a hereditary title, she was merely a First-Rank Knight.
Some hailed it as a humble, fitting move for a war hero, while other nobles openly scoffed in public, “Has Grand Duke Berk lost his mind?”
However, most of the high-ranking nobles, well aware of his formidable standing within the Kingdom of Ivanes, wisely kept their counsel.
Commoners, on the other hand, were captivated by the news that his chosen partner was an aide from the quasi-nobility.
Everywhere one went, the sole topic of conversation was Grand Duke Curtis Sean Berk’s upcoming marriage.
Reporters swarmed the Royal Escort Guard building, a throng ranging from the official ‘Royal Gazette’ to major and minor daily newspapers, even the most sensationalist tabloids.
Unusually, the royal family did not bar access to the Escort Guard regarding this matter.
Their stance seemed to be: “Report whatever you wish.”
However, as Chloe Amboise was conspicuously absent from work, there was nothing for them to glean.
Newspaper reporters then targeted the Escort Guard members themselves but found no scoops there either; most of the guards were utterly bewildered.
After one particularly persistent tabloid hounded them, it did manage to print a few words that some squad leaders had let slip in their dazed state.
‘Even if His Highness the Prince were to marry twice, it wouldn’t be more surprising than this…’
‘Chloe marrying His Highness… isn’t this a workplace disaster?’
The tabloid that printed the latter remark was promptly shut down for slander against the Crown.
Eventually, reporters circled back, seeking out the nobles who had attended the banquet that day.
With considerable effort, they managed to secure an interview with an anonymous noble who had been present in the reception room when the Grand Duke’s marriage announcement was made.
‘Darling!’ That audacious headline adorned the interview.
Through the newspaper, the anonymous noble divulged every brazen and cunning display of affection Chloe Amboise had directed toward Grand Duke Berk.
They also added that the King, initially saddened that he had not been privy to such a significant family matter, had chastised Grand Duke Berk but ultimately blessed the couple’s union.
In some circles, rumors began to circulate that Chloe Amboise was pregnant.
Speculation suggested the overly hasty marriage announcement was a cover-up for an illegitimate child.
However, that hypothesis died down faster than anticipated, thanks to Chloe Amboise’s grueling overtime schedule, which had been conveniently leaked by an anonymous Royal Escort Guard member.
“Any baby in there would be shaken loose by a schedule like this,” the guard who provided the schedule had quipped.
Crude jokes about the two of them “sticking together” every day under the guise of overtime also became popular in noble salons, but these quickly fizzled out.
After all, were the members of the Royal Escort Guard not the sons of historic noble families, privy to such matters?
In some corners, the “Chloe Amboise Masochist Theory” secretly emerged.
How could anyone love a boss who worked them to the bone like this, unless they were utterly mad?
As for the official response issued by the Royal Escort Guard on the matter:
‘For the peace of the proud Kingdom of Ivanes, every member of the Royal Escort Guard serves His Majesty the King day and night, and considers that fact an honor.’
The populace, however, simply began to pity the Royal Escort Guard.
Naturally, the King was furious.
“How could matters devolve into such absurdity?!”
The newspaper clutched in the King’s hand struck the floor.
The Chamberlain, expertly reading the volatile mood, retrieved the paper.
It contained an interview Grand Duke Curtis Sean Berk had given the previous day concerning his marriage, its arrogant contents laid out as follows:
‘As I am not the King, I have no reason to choose a bride swayed by money or profit.
I chose the path of a soldier to keep the person I love by my side.’
Shortly thereafter, the Grand Duke had announced he would hold the wedding the very next week.
“Treating a royal wedding so lightly!”
The procedures for a royal wedding were immense.
Even a king could not accomplish such a thing in a flash.
However, the interview stated that Prince Frederick, known to be close to Grand Duke Berk, was actively assisting with the preparations.
The King was enraged.
“Guards!
Ban Grand Duke Berk from entering the Royal Palace for a week!”
Direct royal marriages were customarily held at the Royal Palace.
The King intended to thoroughly thwart Grand Duke Berk’s unilateral declaration.
But, seemingly still unsatisfied, the King erupted in another fit of rage.
“Even a prince must have his limits when it comes to disgracing his father! New chapters come out on g.com first.
What on earth am I to do about this situation?”
“My apologies, Your Majesty.
It seems I have unintentionally caused an inconvenience to the Royal Family of Ivanes.”
The King’s lament was met by the beautiful woman seated before him.
Her light brown hair was tightly braided, and her features were perfectly sculpted—kind, yet captivating.
Her gorgeously dressed appearance hinted at an extraordinary status.
It was the Duchess Isabelle of Glintland—she who had traveled a long way to Ivanes for a marriage with Curtis.
The King had intended to show Isabelle’s portrait on the day of the diplomatic banquet, then arrange for her to meet Curtis in person.
That was the very reason the banquet had been dubbed a matchmaking session.
But on that day, Curtis had revealed his intention to marry his aide, and the banquet had fizzled out.
Isabelle had been forced to return from the event empty-handed.
“I have no words.
I intended only to be considerate of the Duchess who traveled so far.
I never imagined it would become such an embarrassing situation.”
From that morning, the King had deliberately sought her out to feign a furious tantrum in her presence.
His aim was to somehow dispel the embarrassment of Curtis making a fool of him, and in doing so, committing a blatant discourtesy to Glintland.
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?
It may be an awkward thing to say, but thanks to that, I actually had a good rest.”
At Isabelle’s soft answer, the King feigned a weary touch to his forehead.
“Please be generous in your understanding, Duchess Glintland.
Even as the pinnacle of a nation, not everything goes according to my will.”
Isabelle, however, was outwardly maintaining her pretense as a diplomatic envoy.
Even with the King’s transparent charade on full display, she could not simply retort, ‘So what?’ Instead, she offered a sympathetic smile.
“I understand, Your Majesty.
Perhaps Prince Frederick of Ivanes also judged that, since the Grand Duke’s lover has been officially recognized, it would look too unseemly for the entire Royal Family to oppose the marriage.”
“Who cares about appearances!” he fumed.
“To openly declare that a member of the Royal Family doesn’t care about national interests—such insolence!”
Isabelle smiled bitterly at the King’s words.
For someone who claimed indifference to appearances to then invoke the dignity of the Royal Family was, to any observer, deeply ironic.
Was not the King of Ivanes, who spoke so grandly of national interests, the very man who kept someone of Grand Duke Berk’s caliber sidelined within the Royal Family due to petty jealousy?
But because of that very jealousy, Isabelle was able to be here.
Her life would have otherwise rotted away with hatred in the countryside.
She spoke kindly to the King, feigning comfort.
“So, is this not a good thing for the Royal Family?”
“What?
Are you mocking me now?” The King’s eyes widened.
Suppressing the urge to snort, Isabelle spoke carefully.
“Because prioritizing personal gain over national interest is hardly a virtue in a ruler.”
The King’s face relaxed slightly.
“Due to the Grand Duke’s high-spirited actions, the citizens of Ivanes will look up to Your Majesty’s nobility all the more.”
At Isabelle’s words, the corners of the King’s mouth twitched.
The very reason he kept Curtis in check was precisely his jealousy of any talent or popularity that surpassed his own.
How anxious had he been, fearing Curtis Sean Berk would covet his throne even after his ascension?
But Isabelle was indirectly suggesting that a war hero who also displayed an attitude of prioritizing the national interest would be far more threatening.
“Besides, it is a bit improper for me to say this, but…”
When Isabelle feigned hesitation, the King urged her, “No, it is fine.” Isabelle then whispered, covering her mouth with her fan as if shy.
“I hear the rank of the woman who will become the Grand Duchess is technically noble, but woefully insufficient to be the wife of a ruler.”
“…That is true,” the King conceded.
“People are, by nature, inclined to tear down those whose origins are humble the higher they climb.”
This was something Isabelle had experienced to her very core.
She smiled brightly, then subtly placed her hand on the King’s arm.
At the unexpected touch of such a beauty, the King’s face flushed bright red.
“…That is why I tried to connect my younger brother with a blessed union such as yours, Duchess.
Ahem,” the King cleared his throat.
All Isabelle could do here was help the King save face.
Only then could she hope to get what she wanted.
“It cannot be helped.
He says he already has someone he loves; what can I, whom he has never met, do?”
“Love, you say, but there’s no telling if that love is real.”
“Even so, there is no opening for me now.”
More accurately, she should have said “for Glintland.” But in such matters, men like the King were always bound to grow wary if a woman appeared even slightly too clever.
Thus, Isabelle simply played the role of a woman who had expected a marriage with a wonderful Grand Duke from a distant country, only to be disappointed.
However, she had not the slightest intention of giving up so easily.
She moved a little closer to the King and whispered lowly.
No man, she knew, disliked a beautiful woman closing the distance.
Isabelle knew her own beauty better than anyone, and she also knew how weak and pitiful she looked when she furrowed her thick eyebrows as if in sorrow.
“Royalty, by its nature, must sacrifice personal matters for the national interest.
My own embarrassment pales in comparison.”
She appeared to be comforting the King while simultaneously disparaging Grand Duke Berk.
She smiled faintly.
“Since it has come to this, I suppose I must sincerely congratulate His Highness the Grand Duke on his blessed marriage.”
“Congratulate him, indeed,” the King scoffed.
“That fellow will regret it to his dying day when he beholds the Duchess’s beauty.”
The King of Ivanes, as he said this, could not tear his eyes away from her face and rounded shoulders.
It seemed he did not even realize how unbecoming his behavior was.
‘Perhaps swaying the King might prove faster than winning the Grand Duke,’ Isabelle thought, but she immediately banished the idea from her mind.
“You leave me at a loss for words, Your Majesty.
You are truly magnanimous.”
Isabelle carefully chose words calculated to please the King, who was known to be on poor terms with his younger brother.
After some time spent in this manner, a smile was hovering on the King’s face.
“Since things have turned out this way, how about staying in Ivanes a little longer?
The official diplomatic talks have not yet begun, have they?
There are many quite decent young men in Ivanes besides that fellow.”
Hearing him go on, it seemed he had taken quite a liking to the Duchess of Glintland, who had so deftly uplifted his spirits.
Should she call it fortunate?
Isabelle, too, had no intention of returning immediately just because the marriage talks were canceled.
She replied with a calm smile.
“It would be my honor.”
“If you need my help while staying in Ivanes, please do not hesitate to ask.”
“I am already enjoying a most comfortable stay, thanks to Your Majesty.”
As they continued this agreeable exchange, quite some time passed.
When the King finally rose, brimming with excitement, he spouted nonsense to the very end.
“Compared to you, Duchess, the Grand Duke’s fiancée doesn’t even measure up.
Young people who chase free love these days never really last…”
It was utterly ridiculous.
Was he suggesting she wait for the Grand Duke to divorce, then become his second wife?
Of course, she did not openly sneer in the King’s presence.
She merely bowed politely to His Majesty, adopting a humble posture.
“I shall take my leave now.
Today’s meeting was most enjoyable.”
Before long, the King departed the VIP room, thoroughly satisfied.
‘BANG!’
The door slammed shut.
Isabelle violently threw the fan she was holding.
“Damn it all!” she cursed.
The gesture was in stark contrast to her gentle demeanor.