Kailai Manor was located in the most prosperous area of the Imperial Capital, its luxury far surpassing that of Harris Manor.
Standing at the manor’s main gate, Tia couldn’t even see the villa inside.
Following Margaret, Tia rode a carriage through the manor’s courtyard under the lead of a maid, arriving at the villa’s main hall.
The Duchess had been sitting in the seat of honor since early morning.
She looked to be about fifty and had maintained herself quite well.
Her brows and eyes were steeped in the majesty of someone who had wielded power for years.
The moment she saw Tia, her gaze fixed on her.
After a brief moment of being stunned by her beauty, she slowly looked her up and down, as if appraising a commodity waiting to be sold.
“You’re Tia?” she asked after finishing her appraisal.
Perhaps because she had held a high position for so long, her voice naturally carried a hint of laziness and arrogance.
Tia lifted her skirt in a curtsy, then smiled.
“Yes, Duchess.”
The Duchess looked at her, a flicker of an unreadable light appearing in her eyes.
“You really are as beautiful as the rumors say. Have a seat.”
After thanking the Duchess, Tia carefully took a seat.
As for Margaret, she didn’t have the right to sit in the Duchess’s presence.
Following that, the Duchess began questioning Tia—from family background to upbringing, from talent to character—grilling her on every detail, big and small.
Tia answered with a smile, neither servile nor overbearing, leaving no gaps.
After a round of questions, the Duchess’s arrogance gradually receded a little.
“Hmph, not bad. I thought you’d be as rude as those lowly nobles, but it turns out I underestimated you.” She offered a rare compliment, then immediately changed the subject.
“Do you know why I invited you here?”
Without holding a grudge over the Duchess’s backhanded compliment, Tia thought for a moment and replied, “Is it about the arranged marriage meeting?”
The Duchess smiled.
“That’s right. Most of my children are just over twenty and still unmarried. I think you’re quite good, and it would be suitable for you to be with them.”
Tia blinked but said nothing.
Seeing this, the Duchess’s smile gradually faded.
Resting her chin on her hand, a hint of displeasure showed in her eyes.
“What? You’re not willing?”
Tia sighed.
“I appreciate the Duchess’s kindness, but when it comes to marriage matters, I wish to decide my own fate.”
The Duchess’s expression darkened slightly, and her voice turned colder.
“Decide your own fate? Miss Tia, didn’t your father bring you to the Imperial Capital to find you a marriage partner? What, my children aren’t good enough for you?”
The atmosphere in the hall instantly froze.
Margaret clenched her hands, her gaze darting between Tia and the Duchess, afraid they would start arguing over this.
Unfortunately, her status was too low for her to say anything.
Tia looked up and met the Duchess’s eyes.
There was no fear in her gaze, only calmness.
And it was precisely that gaze that infuriated the Duchess even more.
“The Duchess misunderstands. The Duke family is certainly distinguished, but no matter how good it is, I still have to be willing.”
The Duchess’s face darkened completely.
“You…”
Before she could finish, footsteps sounded from outside the door.
A young woman strode in, her face also bearing an air of arrogance.
“Mother, I heard that Miss Tia has arrived?”
Her eyes fell on Tia and froze.
After a brief moment of being stunned by her beauty, her expression became severely twisted, almost writing jealousy all over her face.
“So you’re Miss Tia?”
Tia nodded slightly. “Mm.”
“You’re pretty enough, but let me tell you, our Duke family isn’t a place for lowly nobles like you to enter. I suggest you get lost while you still can!”
Her words left Tia silent.
Margaret’s eyebrows shot up in anger, while the Duchess’s face turned even uglier.
She had invited Tia to the manor precisely because she had heard of her reputation and wanted to see if she matched her children’s standards.
And now her own daughter was saying this—wasn’t that slapping her own face?!
“Victor! Withdraw!”
Startled by her shout, the young woman gave her a surprised look, then snorted coldly.
She turned and glared at Tia a few times before silently leaving the hall.
It was easy to guess that after leaving, she would go speak ill of Tia to the other Duke children to tarnish her image.
The Duchess couldn’t be bothered with that.
She took a deep breath and looked back at Tia.
“Miss Tia, you need to think carefully. In the Imperial Capital, offending the Duke’s mansion is not a wise choice.”
Since soft measures wouldn’t work, she would use hard ones.
Now the Duchess didn’t care about anything else.
She felt that if Tia didn’t agree to her, it meant she looked down on the Duke family.
And anyone who dared to offend her in the Imperial Capital would come to no good end!
Tia blinked, about to reply, when a sarcastic voice came from the entrance of the hall.
“Heh, the Duchess sure puts on airs.”
Upon hearing this, almost everyone turned to look at the hall entrance.
Standing there was a woman in uniform.
She appeared to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Apart from her uniform, she wore no other adornments, yet she possessed an air of nobility that could not be ignored.
Tia didn’t know who this person was, but the moment the Duchess saw her, her face turned pale, and her lofty demeanor vanished in an instant.
“You… why are you here?!”
She scrambled to her feet, almost running to greet her.
“Her Highness the Eldest Princess sent me.”
“Her Highness the Eldest Princess?!”
Despite already bracing herself, the Duchess paused in her steps, a thin sheen of sweat forming on her forehead.
As for Tia, she was dumbfounded.
The Empire’s Eldest Princess—she had heard of that name before coming to the Imperial Capital.
Rumor had it that she was the King’s most beloved princess.
However, after experiencing an assassination in her childhood, she had never left the palace again.
By chance, she had become the most mysterious member of the royal family.
But being mysterious didn’t mean she was easy to provoke.
As the Empire’s Eldest Princess, anyone who offended her would come to no good end—including many of the Imperial Capital’s dukes.
So, what was the relationship between this woman before her and the Empire’s Eldest Princess?!
While Tia was confused, the woman bypassed the Duchess and, under the latter’s bewildered gaze, came before Tia.
Smiling, she asked, “Are you Tia?”
“You?”
The moment that word was uttered, both Tia and Margaret were somewhat surprised.
The Duchess’s face remained pale, her gaze darting between Tia and the woman.
Tia and Margaret didn’t know who this woman was, but she did.
She was the Empire’s Eldest Princess’s attendant—sometimes even the Princess’s mouthpiece!
Her words were the Princess’s words!
And she was being so respectful to Tia—didn’t that mean the Eldest Princess had taken a liking to Tia?
At this thought, the Duchess’s sweat traced a path from her forehead down her cheek, finally dripping onto her collar, though she seemed oblivious.
If the truth was what she imagined, then her earlier attitude toward Tia could be considered great disrespect.
At that point, Tia only needed to whisper a few words in the Princess’s ear, and Duke Kailai would likely lose power.
Once he was out of power, those they had offended before would absolutely not let them off…
The Duchess sank into her terrifying fantasies.
In reality, faced with the woman’s question, Tia nodded, confirming her identity.
Seeing this, the woman smiled slightly.
“Miss Tia truly lives up to your reputation. I am an attendant to the Eldest Princess. You may call me Isa.”
“Lady Isa, if I may ask, why have you come here…”
“Lady? I’m no lady, just an attendant to the Eldest Princess. Miss Tia, please just call me by my name. As for why I’m here…”
Isa declined Tia’s title with some trepidation. As she spoke, she turned to the Duchess and said coldly, “I heard that Duchess Kailai intended to make things difficult for Miss Tia.”
The Duchess frantically shook her head and waved her hands in explanation.
“Lady Isa, you’re mistaken! I only, only invited her for a visit, and by the way…”
“By the way, forced her to marry one of your children?”
Isa interrupted, her words carrying a biting sharpness.
The Duchess opened her mouth but found no words.
She had indeed initially intended to force a marriage, making Tia marry one of her children.
But now she had no such intention at all.
She even regretted inviting this minor noble from the City of Haila.
If she had known that Tia was connected to the Empire’s Eldest Princess, she would never have provoked her!
“Duchess, did you not know that Miss Tia is a guest of our Eldest Princess?”
The hall fell into dead silence.
The Duchess’s body began to tremble slightly.
“I… I really didn’t know…”
Isa raised her hand and waved it gently.
“Enough. I didn’t come specifically to accuse you. Since you truly didn’t know, Her Highness the Eldest Princess is magnanimous and won’t hold it against you.”
“However, this matter can’t just be brushed aside so easily. After all, you offended a guest of our Eldest Princess…”
Isa didn’t finish her sentence, but the Duchess, being a shrewd person, naturally understood her meaning.
She stepped forward and nodded repeatedly.
“Yes, yes, yes. Her Highness the Eldest Princess is magnanimous. I was the one who was thoughtless. After this, I will personally visit Earl Harris to offer my apologies!”
Then, turning to Tia, she said with a pleading tone, “Miss Tia, please forgive my rudeness. In the future, no matter what difficulties you encounter in the Imperial Capital, you can contact me. If there’s anything I can help with, I will definitely give it my all!”
A man who knows when to bend and when to stand.
The Duchess Kailai’s attitude made Tia look at her with a bit more respect.
Tia did not choose to completely offend Duchess Kailai.
She gave her a slight nod, indicating her forgiveness.
This earned her a grateful look from the Duchess.
“Let’s go, Miss Tia.”
Seeing that matters were settled, Isa grabbed Tia’s wrist and smiled.
“It’s too stuffy here. Let me take you out for a stroll and meet my lady on the way.”
Tia certainly wouldn’t refuse, but deep down, an inexplicable sense of crisis welled up.
A person who could make the Duchess apologize on the spot—the Empire’s Eldest Princess wielded power that ranked among the highest in the Empire.
Dealing with someone like that would not be easy.
And for her to want to see her at this juncture…
It probably wasn’t that simple.
Could it be that she had also taken a liking to her?
And if she refused her, would she be able to walk out of the Imperial Capital Palace unscathed?
With these doubts flashing through her mind, Tia felt like she had a huge headache.
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