Chapter 3: The Beautiful Girl Named Yuliana

According to the information I gathered from the maid Aira, the beautiful girl seated among the relatives at the wedding was the daughter of Duchess Paula Lautavaara’s cousin.

And not just any daughter — she was an illegitimate child born from a mistress.

Apparently, after her mother died, the girl was taken in by her father, where she suffered abuse.

Unable to bear it, the duchess brought the girl, whose name was Yuliana, into the ducal household when she was eight years old and raised her there.

Since she was never officially registered as an adopted daughter of the ducal house, her status technically remained that of a viscount’s illegitimate daughter.

But in practice, there was no doubt she was treated as a true daughter of the ducal family.

At present, Lady Yuliana was seventeen years old, one year younger than me.

She possessed beautiful pink-blonde hair, perfectly straight without even the slightest wave, cascading down her back like a waterfall.

Her eyes sparkled like jade, and beneath her well-shaped nose rested enchanting lips curved in a smile.

Raised between the handsome ducal brothers — both of whom possessed silver hair and deep sapphire eyes — Yuliana had apparently blossomed into a stunning beauty in no time at all.

And according to servants who had served the family for years, it was surprisingly early when the older and younger brothers, who had once treated her as a younger sister, began looking at her with the eyes of men in love.

Recently, it seemed the elder brother, Lord Niklas, held the advantage.

The servants often spotted him strolling through the garden at dusk alone with Lady Yuliana.

However, Lord Olivier, the younger brother who still refused to give up, would apparently join them, sandwiching Yuliana between the two brothers while they enjoyed tea together in the gazebo.

“Ah, ah, that gazebo over there.”

“It appears the three of them are enjoying tea together again today.”

As a newlywed bride, I first attempted to send word requesting a morning greeting with the groom’s parents.

However, they kindly informed me that since I must surely be exhausted, the greeting would instead be postponed until the afternoon.

And so, I spent the morning gathering information from Aira, then had lunch, and around the time afternoon tea approached, I headed toward my mother-in-law Paula’s chambers.

On the way there, Aira intentionally guided me through a corridor from which one could secretly observe the gazebo where the three of them were drinking tea.

Thus, I was able to conduct a discreet inspection of the enemy camp.

I had at least managed to exchange greetings with the elder brother, Lord Niklas, yesterday.

However, Lady Yuliana had never once been introduced to me.

And yet despite that, while I was changing clothes after returning from the reception hall to the ducal residence, that woman deliberately entered the room assigned to me and cried:

“Lady Kastehelmi! My brother is normally a kind and truly wonderful person!”

“Please! Please don’t misunderstand him!”

Since no one had introduced her, I had no idea who she even was.

The maids helping me change looked troubled but said nothing, and fortunately the butler Glen Peltra quickly arrived to retrieve her.

But during that entire exchange, I never said a single word.

Ah, truly.

I am now endlessly grateful to the heavens that I kept my mouth shut back then.

Even though there were plenty of seats available in the gazebo, Lady Yuliana happily sat squeezed between the two ducal brothers on the bench.

At times she lightly struck the elder brother Niklas on the shoulder.

At other times she gently stroked Lord Olivier’s cheek with her fingertips.

And that younger brother had only yesterday sworn eternal love to me before the gods themselves.

But apparently vows to the gods meant absolutely nothing.

Rather than greeting his new bride or even speaking to her, he sat there grinning happily while some mysterious woman stroked his cheek in the gazebo.

At least, that’s how it looked to me.

‘Gross!’

I wanted to scream it at the top of my lungs!

Though naturally, I did not.

After all, I am supposedly regarded as the very embodiment of a proper lady.

Originally, I had hoped to greet the duke and duchess together, but the head of the ducal house, Duke Sigmund, was absent due to work obligations.

Thus, Duchess Paula alone received my greeting.

“Lady Kastehelmi, I truly am terribly sorry.”

“That girl’s name is Yuliana.”

“She is the daughter of my cousin, and we took her in quite some time ago and have been raising her within the House of Lautavaara.”

“My two sons have adored Yuliana like a younger sister ever since they were young, and it seems neither the brothers nor the sister have quite managed to grow out of that relationship.”

Saying that, Lady Paula pressed one hand against her cheek and released a heavy sigh.

‘Younger sister,’ huh…

Personally, I rather doubted those creepy brothers viewed Lady Yuliana as merely a sister, but apparently that was how Duchess Paula chose to see things.

“Please forgive the rude question, but when you say ‘quite some time ago,’ how old was Lady Yuliana when she came here?”

“I believe she was eight years old when we took her in.”

“Does that mean she was officially registered as an adopted daughter of the ducal house?”

At my question, Duchess Paula’s eyes widened.

“Good heavens, certainly not.”

She began laughing softly.

“Many people seem to wonder whether that girl became our daughter, but that is not the case.”

“We are merely taking care of her until she can stand on her own.”

“That is precisely why we did not introduce her to you at yesterday’s ceremony.”

Hmm.

But she was seated right there among the relatives in the very front row, wasn’t she?

“If that is the case, then are you perhaps planning to welcome her as Lord Niklas’s wife?”

The atmosphere around the duchess shifted slightly.

So I immediately tilted my head with an innocent smile, emphasizing my supposed ignorance.

“My apologies.”

“Before marrying into this house, I spent most of my time helping with my family’s affairs, so I fear I may be somewhat ignorant of social matters.”

“I never had the opportunity to speak with Lord Olivier before the wedding, and I only learned of Lady Yuliana’s existence after arriving here.”

“No, it’s quite alright.”

“We are the ones at fault for failing to explain things properly.”

The duchess’s demeanor immediately softened, and she gently shook her head.

“We all love Yuliana very dearly.”

“Others may find it strange, but my sons treasure her deeply as their younger sister.”

“And since Yuliana will one day marry into another household, I simply wish for everyone to watch over them warmly until then.”

As expected of a duchess.

The absolute pinnacle among noble ladies!

Her stance was perfectly clear:

Yuliana was their beloved younger sister, so naturally her two older brothers doted on her.

And she had no desire whatsoever for outsiders to interfere.

Understood.

“Lady Paula, I also believe the best thing is to watch over them warmly.”

I spoke sincerely.

“I was able to witness the close bond between the siblings earlier, and I too thought their sibling relationship was something truly precious.”

If they openly behaved like that in front of everyone, then there were probably plenty of people in the past who had criticized them for it.

However, as today’s conversation with the duchess made abundantly clear, she had no intention of allowing outsiders to comment on what she believed to be sibling affection.

And therefore, I too intended to refrain from interfering.

“Lady Yuliana is already at an age where she could marry at any time.”

“That means the amount of time the siblings can continue spending happily together may already be limited.”

“So I sincerely hope they continue getting along, enjoying themselves, and creating wonderful memories together while they still can.”

“My!”

“Lady Kastehelmi truly understands our feelings!”

Duchess Paula exclaimed emotionally.

Though honestly, that reaction alone made it obvious she had probably received countless warnings and criticisms from others over the years.

And equally obvious was the fact that she had ignored every single one of them.

Well… I could understand that much, at least.