Chapter 284 "I can only find someone willing to coax you..."
It was a late spring night, and the rain was pouring down, the cold biting to the bone. I was sitting by the fireplace in the living room, closing the last ledger, when the door opened, and there appeared the Duke of Avanna, soaking wet. He took off his drenched hooded coat, which a maidservant received with utmost respect.
I stood up in surprise. "What brings you here? Is there important news that you need to deliver in person?"
The carved door closed behind him. He was dressed in pure black riding attire and high-top, thick-soled boots, looking dashing, though the smell of blood was hard to conceal.
I politely handed him the hot towel that was originally prepared for me by the maid. He took it without hesitation and elegantly wiped the rain off his face.
“I think you have the potential to be a good wife and mother,” he said.
"Speak, is there any urgent news?" I asked directly.
"Is this all you see?" He rubbed his forehead, and seeing my displeasure, added, "I suppose so."
What is it?
"The internal strife in the West is over, it has just ended."
I quickly pulled him down to sit, picked up a pen and paper, and scribbled down notes. "Tell me why it ended, and what happened?"
"I'll tell you about that later. I came here in the rain for just one thing."
"What's up?"
His expression was solemn and serious, which startled me a little.
Is the Western Frontier going to attack our capital and take it over?
He suddenly knelt at my feet and said, "I want to propose to you. I am very serious and willing to sign a prenuptial agreement with you. I will give you half of my property and ask the most prestigious nobleman to be the witness of the agreement."
I chuckled and said, "Why are you suddenly saying this? There's no way we're going to get together, so don't waste your time on me."
"Why? Is there something wrong with me? I do have a short temper sometimes, but I'm willing to change and try my best to control myself so I don't lose my temper in front of you."
“I appreciate your kindness,” I said with a smile, “but we’re not a good match. I’m not your type. You’re better suited to a different kind of woman.”
"I've been on hundreds of blind dates, but you're the most suitable one for me."
“You are suited to a woman who appears sexy, passionate, and charming, but is actually rational, intelligent, considerate, and speaks tactfully.” I tried hard to recall what his mistress was like. “She is not domineering at all, respects your ideas, and even treats you as her god. More importantly, she grew up in a similar environment to you, and the similarities in food, clothing, housing, and transportation make your relationship extremely comfortable.”
His expression gradually changed, and after I finished speaking, he calmly asked, "Did someone mention Julia to you?"
Julia? That must be the name of his mistress.
"So there is such a person." I smiled and said, "Then you should cherish him."
"I will break up with her, definitely."
“I’m the complete opposite of that kind of woman,” I laughed. “I’m domineering, assertive, and sometimes only think of myself. I’m really not suitable for you. You’ve been with her for over ten years, which proves you’re a good match. Why not continue?”
As far as I can remember, she said they had been together for more than ten years.
His face was extremely grim, his brows furrowed, and his eyes blazing with anger. "Who told you about her?"
I comforted him, "Don't get angry. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It allows both of us to think things through and see if it's suitable for us."
He was still kneeling on the ground when he suddenly grabbed my legs. "Give me a chance. I swear I will really cut ties with her."
“I believe you,” I said gently. “It’s just that we’re really not ready to get married right now. Let’s talk about it again in a few years.”
He left the living room in a daze, and I didn't dare ask him how the internal strife in the West had ended.
Looking at the large, carved round mirror hanging on the wall, I reached out and touched my neck.
The next day at noon, I received news that Bernot was preparing to come to the capital. It seems that the internal strife in the East has also subsided.
"Why did you rush here? Have you no shame?" I muttered to myself, and at the same time I understood why the Duke of Avanna had come in the rain last night.
He was afraid that Bernard would arrive first, and that we would get back together.
"You're overthinking it," I said, grooming my eyebrows in front of the mirror. "That old man, I've disliked him for a long time."
Years ago, when he was still an invincible handsome prince, I was already a little annoyed by him, let alone now.
I am the woman he can summon and dismiss at will, and he is a high and mighty prince who abuses his beauty.
Before evening, I gave two letters to my bodyguard. One was for my mistress Julia, written anonymously, telling her that the Duke of Avana intended to marry the woman with superpowers and that she should find a way to do so quickly, or she would lose this powerful ally. The other was for Benoit's newest mistress, telling her that King Benoit was preparing to reconcile with the woman with superpowers, and that everything she had done would be for nothing. I also told her that King Benoit had previously proposed to the woman with superpowers and wanted to marry her as his second wife.
Information is relatively scarce on this continent; even men might not have access to timely information, let alone women. Therefore, I'd wager that the two men's infidelity was kept secret from their two mistresses. Even if the mistresses vaguely knew something, they weren't entirely certain. After all, the two men were incredibly shrewd; they must have kept it a complete secret.
The bodyguard disappeared with the letter. The current bodyguards are ones I found myself, not ones assigned by Bernard and Aurora. Their bodyguard force has been disbanded. I have some money now and can hire my own bodyguards. I found the new bodyguards through the Infiltrators.
Aurora is only willing to return half of the troops to me, that's fine, it's better than not returning half at all.
I was surprised to find the lights still on when I entered the printing factory late at night. It was a very cold early spring night, and very few people were working overtime. Nathan was checking each printing plate one by one under the lamplight. The dim light illuminated his handsome face, and his long, dark eyelashes cast butterfly-like shadows.
"Why isn't it done yet? Is someone slacking off?" I asked as I approached.
Nathan was startled by my question, then laughed and replied, "There are a few movable type blocks that have problems, and the printed results are not very clear. I'm currently checking which ones they are."
"Isn't this the printing department's responsibility?" I asked.
"Yes, but their supervisor is sick today, and it won't be enough time to check tomorrow, so I'm checking for them."
“You’ve really worked hard,” I sighed. “You’ve been doing distribution work, advertising, and now you’re even helping with printing.”
He chuckled, "I'm just killing time anyway."
He then asked me, "Why are you so late?"
“I’m just killing time anyway,” I said with a smile as I checked the movable type blocks with him. An hour later, the inspection was complete. We picked out three or four blocks that weren’t very clear and put them in a basket. The craftsmen would remake them tomorrow.
At the entrance of the printing factory, in front of the carriage, Nathan asked me, "I heard that the Duke of Avanna proposed to you, and King Bernard is also planning to get back together with you?"
I laughed and said, "You're quite well-informed."
“Your news has always been very important to me,” he said with a smile.
I smiled, wanted to say something but ultimately didn't, and got into the carriage and left.
A few days later, I heard that Bernard had been intercepted by his mistress on the way. The young mistress rushed over, crying and clinging to Bernard, begging him to come back with her. He refused. She stood on the edge of a cliff, crying that she would jump. He still wouldn't let her, and she actually jumped. Luckily, the guards acted quickly, preventing her from falling completely, and she ended up hanging from a branch protruding from a crevice in the rocks. Bernard was terrified and had no choice but to go back with her.
Julia, on the other hand, rode swiftly to the capital. By the time I received news of Bernard's return to the East, Julia had already entered the capital. I heard that she had been traveling day and night, which is why it took her three or four days to arrive.
“Grandma, that Lady Julia is so sexy.” Mia especially liked to use the phrase “so sexy.” “She wears a long, off-the-shoulder dress, showing off her long legs. What respectable woman dresses like that? But the Duke of Avanna is quite susceptible to this. He was initially very angry about her sudden arrival, but she calmed him down in half an hour. This woman’s sweet talk is amazing.”
“Of course.” I said, looking at the ledger and calculating the advertising fees. “They’ve been able to stay by the Grand Duke’s side for ten years. They can’t be sitting idly by. If they didn’t have some skills, they would have been pushed out by others long ago.”
Not just anyone can be a Grand Duke's mistress; only the most capable can hold that position.
"Oh, Grandma, what am I going to do in the future? I don't know how to coax men," Mia said dejectedly. "Sometimes I'm also in a bad mood and need a man to coax me."
"What else can you do? You can only marry a man who is willing to pamper you."
“But that can only fool you for a while, not forever,” Mia said dejectedly. “I’ve heard that once a man gets a woman after marriage, he’ll go looking for a mistress, since his wife won’t dare to divorce him anyway.”
“That’s not how it works,” I said. “Men are the beneficiaries.”
"Then what do we do?"
"You can earn more money, then find a man who is a little poorer, and use money to control him. If he is obedient, give him more; if he is disobedient, give him less. Never give him all at once. For the sake of money, he will definitely be obedient to you, at least on the surface."
Advising her against marriage is impossible. Every woman on this continent gets married, unless she becomes a mistress. The only advice is to make more money; money is more reliable than men.
Mia narrowed her eyes and fell into deep thought.
At the weekly dinner party, I saw Julia. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, at most her features were regular, but she was incredibly sexy. Even in a fully covered, impeccably dressed evening gown, her sexiness radiated from within. Narrow, soft shoulders, a pert and shapely bottom—I'd never seen a woman with such a shapely bottom. And then there was her exquisite makeup: thick, long eyelashes, and vibrant red lipstick—utterly alluring. The jewels and fragrance she wore were intoxicating.
The key is that she speaks in a gentle and pleasant way, praising me to the skies, and then sits obediently next to the Duke, appearing both sensible and virtuous.
I smiled faintly and spoke politely, maintaining a distant and courteous demeanor towards the Duke of Avana. A clear sense of disappointment flickered in the Duke's eyes. I pretended not to notice, but a hint of fleeting joy flashed in Julia's eyes.
“I’m leaving in a few days. May I invite you to dinner one more time?” the Duke of Avanna asked me. He had invited me twice before, but I had declined.
“I’ve been quite busy lately,” I said with an elegant smile. “Your Grace, since you refuse to tell me the inside story of the negotiations in the Western Regions, I can only send people to inquire. This back and forth has taken a lot of time and energy, and I really don’t have the energy to eat. I’m sorry.”
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Author's Note: Thank you all for your support~~ It's almost over~~
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