The Duke's Unwanted Wife

Alana’s return to the royal palace was silent. There was no one to welcome her, as sad as it was. At least when she went to the Duke’s mansion, she was welcomed by the Duchess, no matter how reluctant the other party was. Sebastian wasted no time to send her off with the excuse that he was busy and it wasn’t like she could extend her stay. It was for a brief moment but she wondered if she could ask her father to propose an engagement between them. It was a ridiculous idea but if it could happen, she wouldn’t mind it.    

    

Since everyone was preparing for the Queen’s birthday, no one paid attention to the forgotten and unfavored third princess. But there was no reason to lament as she already had clothes and jewelries to wear for the event. In the past, she didn’t want a stake in society. Now, she wanted to carve a place for herself, not take the place of another woman.    

    

The first step to doing that was to prepare a gift for the Queen. In her last life, a nobleman gifted the Queen a rare jewelry set that was made by a famous craftsman. In this life, Alana got the chance to procure it first. Although she felt slightly guilty, she decided to just do it. Unlike the nobleman, she didn’t have access to a lot of resources. She could only rely on the Duke and the funds she managed to gather since coming back to the past.    

    

However, the peaceful days soon came to an end when she received an unrequited visitor. He was quite pompous in his approach, infringing her palace like it was nothing more than an extension of his. But, that was what it was. The crown prince’s presence was nothing more than a curse for his sister.    

    

“You seem well. How was your trip?”    

    

“It was wonderful. Lord Sebastian said he would take me to other places after the celebrations are over” she smiled, holding her teacup. He eyed her and watched her manners. He had never had tea with her before and she had never received etiquette training so he was suspicious as to where she got the skills.    

    

“I hear you’re favored by the Grand Duke. were you treated well in his home?”    

    

“They were most welcoming”    

    

“I see. The nobles are quite curious about the relationship between the Grand Duke and his wife. Perhaps you can tell your beloved brother a little bit”    

    

If she didn’t know him, she would think her step brother had a penchant for gossip. He was most likely scheming something and if she were to carelessly give him information, he would use it against all of them.    

    

“They have a very respectful relationship”    

    

“You don’t seem too sad that the man that you love is married to another woman. Is it true that you have moved your interest to Lord Sebastian?”    

    

He was just trying to provoke her now.    

    

“It was his duty as a noble to marry Lady Natalia and I respect his decision. I also have a duty to marry properly so if I’m favored by Lord Sebastian, I have no objections to marrying into a good home”    

    

“It would seem my sister has finally started to recognize what is good. But Lord Sebastian isn’t the kind to just submit and marry someone like you”    

    

“That decision is left to Lord Sebastian, right? He normally wouldn’t enter the palace but he came because of me. It counts for something, right?”    

    

It wasn’t like Alana didn’t know the First Princess was interested in Sebastian. It was exactly why she was curious about him. Sebastian had the opportunity to marry the best women in the high nobility of the kingdom but he had stayed unmarried for a long time. He was best known for being a sister lover.    

    

“Sister is also right. The preparations for my mother’s birthday are underway. I hope sister isn’t feeling too neglected?”    

    

“It has always been like this. I am used to it”    

    

It was a simple chat but the two threw daggers with their words and their eyes. The crown prince who didn’t consider his unfavored sister someone interesting before began to reconsider. When the guests started coming in for the queen’s birthday celebration, Alana used the chance to introduce herself to the nobles that came in. they gave her several strange looks and belittled her with their words but Alana was determined not to give up.    

    

On another side of the palace, Natalia reached her brother’s room.    

    

"You're came back quite quickly"    

    

"I just met and entertained my husband's vassals for the first time. Do not use that tone with me"    

    

"But handling nobles is your talent. Why are you acting like it took ten years off your life?"    

    

"Might as well have" she grumbled.    

    

"I'm hungry. Where's breakfast?"    

    

"Seeing how well you eat, I'm surprised you haven't put on any weight yet"    

    

"Bastian, it would seem like you need to make an early trip to your ancestors"    

    

"So violent. I guess marriage doesn't really calm women down. I was scammed"    

    

Natalia rolled her eyes. The breakfast tray was brought in and they settled down to eat. In the middle of their breakfast, they were interrupted by Gerald. Once they heard who the visitor was, Natalia choked on her food. Before Sebastian could freak out, she used her magic and took a deep breath. Fredrich entered to see her purple face gradually turning back to normal and Sebastian glaring subtly at him.    

    

"Is there anything this humble lord can do for the Grand Duke?"    

    

"When my wife said she was going to have breakfast with her family, I thought I should say hello as well"    

    

"Is that so? How nice of you"    

    

It didn't take a genius to tell that the smile Sebastian gave was fake. Natalia ignored the two and continued eating her breakfast. She picked into Sebastian's uneaten food and ate his too while he was busy exchanging cold words with the Duke.