MC has every reason to think that the Duke and Serenia are together

It’s not just about MC knowing about transmigration tropes and naively assuming that Serenia would end up with the handsome and powerful man that invited her into his home. It’s not just about the rumors about those two either. It’s about their actions. The duke took in an unmarried young woman of mysterious origins. He went so far as to secure the help of the imperial princess to get Serenia recognized and accepted by the nobility. Anyone with an ounce of logic would assume that they are an item and are not able to marry only due to societal expectations/pressure concerning the Duke’s future bride’s heritage. Also, MC was made to feel unwelcome and like an interloper by the maids antagonistic attitude and her being greeted by the head butler and not even an aide. Which is rather disrespectful .The duke didn’t even show up, giving everyone the impression that the MC being here is of no consequence and “unintentionally” putting her position into question before she even set one foot into her new home . And if the staff that lives there already assumes Serenia is the Duke’s mistress, it’s not a far stretch to think that they were not careful in their interactions with each other but rather chose to act oblivious to how their relationship is perceived. Which again is disrespectful to the future duchess, as it makes it harder to establish dominance over her future household. Which is seen by the “altercation” MC had with that maid. It was stressful for her to already have to fight the first day for her position with the staff itself. Them not clarifying the rumors, and actually perpetuating them with their inaction by not having Serenia move somewhere else and the duke calling her his partner in front of everyone, also makes MC the laughingstock in society as well. It at least would make MC uncomfortable attending social gatherings with the duke and Serenia, getting the side eye and having to listen to hidden ridicule. Of course this misunderstanding between MC and the duke is hilarious, but you have to wonder that not even his aide, who seems like a sensible man, wouldn’t make the duke aware that these suspicious circumstances between him and Serenia are the main reason for MC feeling uncomfortable and disinclined to form a bond with the duke. Maybe because the aide assumes that the duke and Serenia are really together after all. For that matter, Serenia herself is a very intelligent woman, which she proved by verbally destroying this one noble girl at the ball. Wouldn’t she also know that her being there would make MC think that their was a relationship between her and the duke? I mean she’s aware of the rumors after being confronted about it. This seems to hint at that she knows why the MC is so skittish. She even tells the duke that there might be a misunderstanding, but she never clarified what this misunderstanding was about. The duke here is portrayed as being socially unaware of this. Which is odd, considering that he had enough social awareness to secure the support of the crown princess in order for Serenia not to be ostracized and shamed by the nobility. He’s aware enough to cave to demands concerning him needing a bride. I really like this webtoon, but with what we’ve seen so far, I think it would work better if the duke and Serenia were actually a little sweet on each other. Or at least Serenia, who’s socially aware of the implications much more, but doesn’t clarify due to her wanting MC to continue to misunderstand and halt the relationship between the duke and MC from developing further. It just would make more sense from what we know about the characters already. I even get why MC assumed that they were scary people. MC of course exaggerated how evil they would be, but her first real impression of the duke was that he didn’t care enough for his future bride to be respected by the household. He didn’t even care enough to greet her. They didn’t even meet once beforehand. What is MC supposed to think about a man who made her an offer of marriage, not even in person, without ever meeting her first? He didn’t court her to establish if their tempers align, if there could be affection and if she’s even able to take over a duchess duties. Of course MC thinks that this sham of an engagement is about the duke quieting his advisors and winning some time into establishing a plan to take Serenia on as his real bride with the least amount of social fallout. The first time seeing Serenia, she witnessed a woman who is poised, self confident and very intelligent in how she socially destroyed this girl at the ball with a few well chosen words. MC thinks that the duke and Serenia are an item for good reasons. Why wouldn’t she think that Serenia would be able to destroy her as well to get her out of the picture. After all, MC feels like an interloper between a man who doesn’t (at first glance) seem to at least respect his future bride, and a woman of very strong character. Of course the fantasies about being killed were over the top, everything else wasn’t though. After learning that both Serenia and the duke didn’t fit her imaginations of them being horrible to her, she still has no reason to think that there is no romantic relationship between Serenia and the duke. Because no one ever addresses the elephant in the room. Lol, the duke and Serenia don’t even talk about it to each other. They even perpetuate the rumors with their actions and inactions.