DENSE MARQUIS

[What the hell did this lady just sputter? She just spouted a whole mouthful of rubbish.] Aristia thought incredulously.

Now she had a change of heart.

[It would have been better if her hair made her look like she had a rotten vegetable on her head.] She grumbled inwardly.

"What do you mean Duchess Matilda?" One of the noblewomen asked.

"The Marquis needed an heir, which the Marchioness failed to provide." Duchess Winston replied.

The Duchess didn't need to say more as they all understood.

Wasn't the Duchess saying that since the Marchioness couldn't give birth to a child for the Marquis, he had to resort to keeping a mistress or impregnating another woman outside in order to get what he couldn't get from the Marchioness?

While some agreed with the Duchess, some didn't. But regardless, none said a word.

Aristia wondered, [What if the Duke was the one who cheated on the Duchess? Would she still be sitting and saying this calmly right now? Her husband could even be keeping a mistress even with their child, who knows?]

[But I'm not sure about the Marchioness. After all, she could be a supporter of this, maybe she gave her consent. She could have even been the one to make the suggestion so that her husband would have an heir.] But that was highly unlikely, as which woman would consent or even suggest that her husband sleep with another just for the sake of providing an heir. And the fact that the Marchioness didn't even attend to the tea party as she was probably sorrowful convinced her the more.

Aristia would have also thought that the Marchioness couldn't be blamed for her inability to give birth to a child, after all, the Marquis could be the problem, if the Marquis hadn't had a child from another woman.

Soon, the nobles shifted from the topic of the Marchioness to other topics.

***

After the tea party, Aristia bid farewell to her cousins and boarded her family's carriage as they all left the Anton estate to return home. Once they arrived, the family separated in different directions. Aristia walked to her room to take a bath with Alaric, as had been the usual occurrence.

Aristia had actually convinced herself that it wasn't a big deal for her to take a bath with Alaric. How did she manage to convince herself? Simple, anytime it was time to take a bath, she'd be reminded of the triplets; Andy, Summer and Mae. They took all their bubble baths together, splashing water around and playing with their rubber duckies.

They made messes, but they had fun. So much so that Aristia's parents always said that they were a thousand times more childish than she'd ever been as Aristia had always been mature for her age.

After Aristia and Alaric were done with dressing up, they changed into their night clothes and got into bed. Yup. Alaric sleeping in her room was also a regular occurrence. He even suggested moving in but Aristia firmly rejected it and even threatened him that they'd stop bathing and sleeping together if he tried it. Even his cute pout couldn't change her mind. A girl needed her personal space, after all. Ahem. Even though she was just five years old at the moment.

***

In a mansion in a certain fief, a woman was seen staring out of the window at the starless sky as she stared into space. Even when she heard the sound of a carriage approaching, she sat still and made no movement. No reaction could be seen from the once cheerful woman except for her occasional blinks, momentarily closing her despair and sorrow filled eye. She seemed to be in deep thought, but at the same time thinking of nothing at all.

In another part of the same mansion, a man could be seen coming out of the carriage and heading into the mansion. He frowned as he only saw his Butler who welcomed him. He shook his head as the other person who usually welcomed him home cheerfully didn't do so anymore. The younger man stopped and turned to the Butler.

"What about the boy and the Marchioness, Butler?" He asked.

"The Young Master is asleep. The Madam has been in her room and is yet to come out." The Butler replied honestly.

On hearing this, the Marquis frowned. Was his wife who used to greet and welcome him home every time he returned, the same person his butler was referring to? What was wrong with her? Was it because of his affair?

'But I have apologized to her. We did not love each other anyway.' He thought as he continued in the direction of his room. It had been a month since he found out about the child and brought him home.

***

"What?! The Marchioness ordered to change rooms?!" The Marquis asked in shock. His wife had been sleeping in a separate room ever since she found out about his affair, but her things were still in their shared room.

But now...

When they got married, the Marchioness was actually the one who suggested that they sleep in the same room just like other married couples, and now she was actually changing rooms. The Marquis was perplexed. He had thought that the Marchioness would gradually get over the feelings of humiliation she felt from knowing that her husband's affair and child had been known by other nobles, but the Marchioness didn't even join him for breakfast, lunch or dinner and she was always in her room. The Marquis sighed and rubbed his forehead as he headed to his study.

"Inform the Madam that I shall join her for dinner."

"Yes, Master." And the Butler left to fulfill the orders.

On reaching the Marchioness room, the Butler knocked on the door and spoke, "It is the Butler, Madam." After some time had passed and he heard no response, he was about to knock again when he heard her reply in a low voice.

"What is the matter, Butler?"

He didn't receive permission to enter the room, so he could only relay the message from the outside. "The Master has asked that he join you for dinner."

"Inform the Marquis that I have already had dinner and his presence is not wanted." She said curtly, then he heard nothing.

The Butler noticed the change in address. Before this incident, the Marchioness would always refer to the Marquis as 'My Husband' or 'George', but now it had changed to 'The Marquis' or 'My Lord'.

Sighing, the old Butler shook his head as he left, muttering to himself. He could only say that this was the Marquis' fault, as even he could clearly see the Marchioness feelings. But he was only a servant and could not say anything. Besides, it was their personal matter. The Marquis would have to figure it out himself, and think of ways to win back the Marchioness and return her to her once cheerful self.

He relayed the Marchioness' answer to the Marquis who stared briefly at him before nodding.

"Did she really say that?" He asked and the Butler nodded. He remembered that the Marchioness would usually be the one to remind him to have breakfast and dinner and she would always wait for him so that they would eat together.

"Master, when would you like to have dinner?" The Marquis was snapped out of his thoughts and back to reality by the voice of his Butler.

"I am not hungry. You can leave." He said in a voice that left no room for discussion. Strangely, he had no appetite anymore. He focused on his work instead.

In the Marchioness room.

She continued to stare out of the window at the night sky. Then, she sighed and stood up, walking over to her bed to lie down.

Upon lying down, she sighed again and covered herself with a blanket, closing her eyes and going to sleep.