Love and Devotion

Selene’s day began, as usual, with no deviation from her routine.
Waking up in the morning, drinking a glass of lukewarm water, asking Gwendolyn to comb her hair, neatly tying it into a single ponytail, and then heading to the piano room.
Despite wearing a thin linen dress due to the recent hot weather, the heat would quickly rise as she tirelessly played the piano.
Selene usually never opened the windows to maintain a constant temperature, humidity, and noise level for a precise piano sound, but today it was excessively hot, so she rarely allowed the wind in.
‘There.’
Now, the perfect state for piano practice was set.
Selene, sitting in front of the piano, took off her silk gloves and placed her slender hands on the glossy white keys.
Although the chirping of the birds was a bit noisy, the scene of the curtains billowing richly in the wind was not bad, as it reminded her of a scene from a book she had read yesterday.
Selene was the type to supplement the sensitivity and emotions she couldn’t fill through people with nature, landscapes, and beautiful creations.
That was also the reason she regularly visited art museums.
Art museum.
As she mulled over the word, the man naturally came to mind.
Theron Cox, with whom she had recently visited the art museum.
In fact, Selene hadn’t expected Theron to refuse her proposal.
The proposal to engage in the act of rubbing lips for the purpose of improving her piano skills or gaining inspiration for understanding the piece.
Theron Cox had occasionally looked at her lips as if they were ripe fruit.
Whether it was because he was really in love with her, or because her lips were naturally red and drew attention, he seemed to have sufficient interest.
But he refused.
Spouting a sermon-like lecture about how it was not something a gentleman who respected a lady should do.
Selene was a little surprised that Theron had refused her proposal, but she wasn’t offended, as she had told him.
Everyone can have different thoughts.
It just became a little more troublesome.
Her determination to try kissing was still there, so she had to find someone else, but the number of men approaching her had decreased since she received Theron Cox’s bouquet, and above all, Selene still disliked men.
Even more so, the act of rubbing lips with such people.
Because of that, one thing became clear.
Theron Cox, who had certainly approached her in a slightly different way than others, and to the extent that she was implicitly admitting she had misunderstood him badly, was a comfortable and not-so-bad subject.
‘Although I’ll have to look for a new subject to try kissing.’
Selene, who had let the thought of Theron fly away with the wind, continued her piano practice with sincerity.
She slowly took her hands off the keys around sunset.
Selene stood up from the piano stool with a reluctant face.
Today was the birthday party of Evelyn’s fiancé, Rupert, so she had to attend.
Recalling the unpleasant incident that had occurred in this mansion a few days ago, she wanted to pretend she had forgotten she had to attend, but in that case, it was obvious that Evelyn would come and bother her all day the next day.
In that case, it was better to stay at the party for the minimum amount of time, say hello to Evelyn, and disappear immediately.
“My lady, Lady Evelyn sent a dress as a gift this morning, so please change and go.”
Returning to her bedroom, Gwendolyn handed her a pretty, square box.
This was surely a gift of apology and also a summons to the party.
“I’ll go with my hair like this. I’ll be back in less than an hour anyway.”
“You can’t do that. You know what the grand madam values.”
At the words ‘grand madam,’ Selene shut her mouth, which was about to complain.
Selene’s grandmother, Beatrix, was always a difficult person for her.
Although her only remaining family after her parents’ death were her grandmother, uncle, and Evelyn, Selene still found Beatrix difficult.
If anything, her uncle, Orlando, was more comfortable.
Although her uncle was a soldier, he didn’t have a stiff personality, and even though he had been plagued by rumors about the title with his father, he was moderately kind to Selene.
After her parents passed away, she felt that he tried to take even more care of her.
But Beatrix had a naturally quiet personality and exuded a cold atmosphere, so Selene had been nervous in front of her since she was young.
Her grandmother, who seemed to have no room for a needle to enter, was a dignified high noble who always kept her back straight and her hair neatly combed, regardless of her growing age.
The fact that Selene had acted like an adult since she was young and had maintained excellent etiquette and dignity was also due to Beatrix’s influence.
She wasn’t the nagging type, but Selene found her cold gaze more frightening than a hundred scoldings.
Evelyn, her other granddaughter, seemed not to find Beatrix as difficult as she did, perhaps due to her clueless and cheerful personality, but Selene was not like that.
Evelyn would look at Selene and say that she found her grandmother so difficult because they were of the same kind.

“You know what, Selene? When I see you and grandmother, you both have the same quiet, indifferent expression, it’s like you’re looking at each other through a mirror.”

Selene didn’t really agree.
If they were the same kind of person, she should have felt comfortable, but every time Selene faced her, she felt short of breath, as if she were wearing a ridiculously tight corset.
Even though that difficult grandmother was recuperating in an annex far from Cantora.
The annex, that’s right.
Her grandmother was there.
Come to think of it, that was a good counterargument.
“Grandmother isn’t here.”
Selene said, erasing the image of her grandmother’s stern gaze from her mind.
Gwendolyn smiled gently.
“She may not be in this mansion, but the grand madam is always interested in you, my lady Selene.”
“I doubt it. Grandmother probably doesn’t want to be bothered with family matters anymore.”
Selene really thought so.
The death of the beloved Duke and Duchess of Ashcombe must have been a devastating event for her as well.
As much as her young daughter was shocked and went crazy over the piano.
The loss of her beloved second son.
Selene knew that Beatrix’s health had deteriorated rapidly after the list of war dead announcing the sad news was delivered.
It would be hard enough for her to recover from her grief and her aging body in the annex, so why would she be interested in her granddaughter in the capital, whose connection had become faint with the death of her child?
“Love is not something you can just stop caring about because you want to. Your eyes and heart are constantly drawn to it.”
“Does grandmother love me?”
Selene replied nonchalantly.
At the childish question, Gwendolyn chuckled.
“Of course. Lady Selene is the trace of her beloved son in this world.”
“…”
“And the reason Lady Selene acts like such an impeccable noble, even while finding the grand madam difficult, is because you love and respect your grandmother.”
Unbeknownst to her, Selene’s hair had been elegantly twisted up by Gwendolyn’s skilled hands.
“Gwen, you have a tendency to see the world too beautifully.”
“Hehe. If I’m wrong, my lady would have been cooped up in the piano room since the day the grand madam moved to the annex, practicing like a recluse without meeting anyone, right?”
Selene couldn’t refute it.
No matter how much she wanted to cut herself off from the world and just play the piano, what had been ingrained in her by her frightening grandmother since she was young was the elegant dignity of a high noble and the endurance for it.
A responsibility and a mission for what she had inherited.
Selene, with her eyes cast down, wiped her forehead.
“I’m tired.”
In the mirror, Gwendolyn’s benevolent smile, as if soothing a whining child, was reflected.
“No matter how the world changes, the Ashcombe ducal family will not change. Love and devotion, that is what made this great ducal family.”
Love and devotion.
Yes, that’s what made the Ashcombe ducal family what it is now.
Recalling her ancestor, whom she didn’t even know the face of, who had received the ducal title for reforming the slums.
Her father had also continued and expanded charitable works, following in his footsteps.
“This would be a good finishing touch.”
Gwendolyn, who was carefully choosing from a drawer in the mirror, took out a hairpin studded with dense crystals.
“It’s very pretty.”
Gwendolyn smiled with satisfaction.
“Pretty enough to make anyone fall in love.”