MLS Chapter 2

When Lorena stepped out of the study, she was met with an unexpected sight.

“Arisa?”

The woman with black hair, who had been speaking with someone in the hallway, turned to face her. It was Arisa Menendo de Carencho, the only daughter of the Count of Menendo and one of the few friends Lorena had made in Bessen.

Lorena smiled warmly and approached her friend.

“What brings you here? I wasn’t told you were coming.”

“I was invited.”

Arisa scrunched her nose playfully. She stood with her arms crossed, exuding an air of arrogance as Lorena took a step closer.

Then, Lorena saw the woman standing behind Arisa, and her smile slowly faded.

Olivia Quintana.

Her husband’s seventh mistress. The bartender from the Alborada Hotel, who had been photographed drinking whiskey with Vaye just two days ago. That very photo now sat in Lorena’s bedside drawer.

“…How?”

Lorena couldn’t comprehend the situation. It was Arisa who had sent her the photo of her husband’s infidelity.

And this wasn’t the first time. For the past seven years, Arisa had willingly acted as Lorena’s eyes and ears. She had collected evidence of the Duke’s secret affairs, sending them to Lorena, seemingly sharing in her suffering as a loyal and supportive friend.

So why was Arisa here, standing with ‘her’? They appeared disturbingly close, as if they shared a bond Lorena hadn’t noticed.

“…You said you were invited, Arisa. But I didn’t send you any letters today.”

Lorena decided to focus on one thing at a time. Still wearing her smile, she addressed Arisa.

“What brings you here?”

“Olivia told me this was her first time visiting the Duke’s estate, so I decided to accompany her.”

“And by whose invitation?”

As if expecting the question, Arisa gave a sly smile, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons, a trace of mockery in her gaze.

“Why, the master of Levantes himself, of course. His Grace permitted Olivia to come with me.”

“Pleased to meet you, Duchess.”

Olivia stepped forward, her gaze moving up and down Lorena’s figure, a blatant evaluation that made Lorena feel a deep sense of humiliation.

“I’ve heard so much about you. There isn’t a soul in society who doesn’t know the Duchess of Levantes. You’re as beautiful as the rumors say. Truly the most stunning woman in Bessen.”

The woman, who stood half a head taller than Lorena, gave a slight bow, but it wasn’t out of courtesy.

Olivia Quintana leaned in and whispered to Lorena.

“Poor ‘señora’,” Olivia whispered.

“…You’re being quite rude. Would you mind stepping back?” Lorena’s voice was calm, but a tension ran through her words.

“If I were you, I would’ve at least tried to flatter my husband.”

Lorena’s cheek twitched slightly. Olivia must have overheard the conversation from the study.

With a mocking laugh, Olivia continued.

“Vaye gave you your last chance. You’re the one who foolishly wasted it.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“It’s just so unfortunate. You’re so beautiful, yet you’ve never figured out how to use what you have.”

“…”

“Tears, smiles, fragrance, even that soft body of yours—you should have used them. If you had, His Grace might have thought differently. Men can be cruel or kind depending on how women handle them. And your husband, in particular, is no exception.”

Olivia Quintana had a voluptuous figure. Her sun-kissed skin was smooth like polished stone, and her thick eyelids and slightly parted full lips exuded sensuality. Her striking beauty only lent more credibility to her cutting words.

“My Lady.”

It wasn’t just Arisa who had been watching the scene unfold. Samuel, the head butler of the estate, approached and bowed courteously to Lorena.

“His Grace is awaiting his guest. May I have permission to escort Miss Quintana?”

“…”

“My Lady?”

Samuel pressed, his smile betraying a hint of amusement. He seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.

Lorena stood in silence, observing the three people before her. No one stood by her side.

Olivia Quintana brushed past Lorena with casual grace.

“You might not have been discarded if you’d tried just a little harder. Such a pity. Good luck, ‘señora’.”

The heavy floral scent of Olivia’s perfume pounded in Lorena’s head. Arisa followed, flashing a triumphant smile as she passed without a word.

Lorena glanced around her.

The Levantes estate felt like a solid prison enclosing her. Sunlight filtered through the glass windows, casting shadows like prison bars across the hallway, trapping her at her feet.

A shiver ran down her spine for no reason. She quickly moved to step out of the shadow’s grip.

‘Discarded?’

There was no reason for Lorena to be discarded. The trust between Klein Bank and the House of Levantes remained strong, and her husband was set to invest a significant sum in her father’s proposed venture soon.

That very night, they were to dine together at a hotel in the city’s busy district and return to the estate afterward.

Nothing had happened, and nothing would.

Lorena exhaled a bitter sigh, her shoulders drooping. It was just another continuation of the resignation she had lived with for the past seven years.

‘I’ll have to speak with Vaye about Olivia Quintana again… later.’

If only there had been a child.

If she had given birth to an heir, securing her position within the family.

If she could have endured her place by focusing on a beloved child instead of a husband who didn’t care for her… But that would never happen. It never would.

Her throat tightened with the threat of tears, and she bit her lip hard, forcing thoughts of her husband’s mistress out of her mind.

In the seven years she had lived as the Duchess, Lorena had trained herself to empty her thoughts. It was the only way to digest the knot of emotions that churned inside her.

Samuel, the unusually cheerful butler, gestured down the hall with a wave of his hand.

“Shall I escort you to your room, ‘señora’ I’ll have some herbal tea prepared for you.”

“…Yes, thank you, Samuel.”

The butler, who had always seemed disapproving of her, was unusually kind today. That was the only comfort Lorena found in her otherwise miserable day.

‘It’s fine. This is nothing.’

‘I’ve endured worse until now.’

With that thought, she straightened her aching back, determined to keep herself composed.

That evening, a sudden message arrived at the estate while the Duke was away.

Lorena’s father, Vicenzo Klein, had been arrested by the police.

* * *

Her last memory was of drinking tea brought by the butler and lying down on her bed. By the time she was jolted awake in the early dawn by a loud, impolite knock at her bedroom door, the world had already turned upside down.

Wrapping a shawl around herself, she hurried into the living room, which looked like a storm had passed through it. Armed police officers and soldiers were ransacking the Duke’s estate.

“What is the meaning of this? Do you even know where you are…?!”

“We are acting under the orders of the Commissioner to thoroughly investigate the Duke’s residence.”

“What? Why? Does my husband know about this?”

“Of course, señora.”

The officer said in a cold, rigid tone, his cap pulled low over his brow.

“Your father, Vicenzo Klein, was arrested last night on charges of espionage.”

“What…?”

“He spread false information to deceive investors and was also found to have embezzled tens of millions of pesecas under the guise of managing the private assets of royal family members. His Grace, the Duke, was summoned for questioning early this morning and gave his permission for us to search the estate.”

Lorena’s face turned pale. The accusations of espionage and embezzlement made no sense to her at all.

“Under orders from the King to investigate all related parties, we are confiscating and searching all locations Mr. Klein visited or was planning to visit. We ask for your full cooperation.”

“Wait, explain more—”

“Oh, and señora, you are not exempt. You were the last person Mr. Klein spoke with by phone yesterday morning. I suggest you be mindful of your words and actions from now on. In Bessen, the punishment for espionage is execution, señora.”

In Bessen, anyone caught spying for a foreign nation was publicly executed by firing squad without exception. Lorena felt a chill down her spine as her teeth began to chatter.

‘How… How could this be happening…?’

Panicked, Lorena glanced around, searching for help.

But no one came to her aid. Even the servants’ gazes had changed—there was a cold distance in their eyes as they looked at her.

In less than an hour, soldiers with guard dogs swarmed the estate, documenting every one of her movements.

The sky grew dark with storm clouds, and soon a torrential downpour followed. Thunder and lightning alternated, rattling her with fear.

“Speak clearly, madam. Is there or isn’t there a confidential agreement between Mr. Vicenzo Klein and the Ingerd Republic government to investigate Bessen’s financial and military secrets?”

“There’s no such thing! My father came to Bessen solely at my husband’s invitation…!”

“They aren’t asking because they don’t have evidence, ‘señora’! If you don’t want to be tied up as an accomplice with your father, you better tell the truth. Isn’t your elder brother, Alfonso Klein, the Finance Minister of Ingerd? And you’re telling me there’s no connection between the Ingerd Republic and Klein? Look the investigator in the eye and give a proper statement!”

“I ‘am’ answering truthfully. I haven’t lied. If you have evidence, present it, Investigator. I’ll refute it all.”

Lorena’s years of training in noble decorum kept her standing tall.

She bit her lip, desperately trying to avoid showing any signs of distress before the officers.