The maid's eyes lit up at her muttered words as if welcoming her.
"Oh. Is this a letter from the Duchess of Temnes?”
Her curiosity and her young voice made Irena chase after her.
“I want to be alone, so go out. I will take care of the preparations to receive the guests in the afternoon.”
The maid closed the door with a disappointed expression and disappeared.
At the castle of Valmonde, Irena had a close friend and her maid. However, there are also people who have never been outside the area around Castle Valmonde.
She wanted to go on a trip in a more relaxed manner, but she was afraid of what the Duke of Vermont would say, so she couldn't say it out loud. However, for some reason, the Duke of Vermont first ordered Irena to go alone, saying that he would provide her with an escort and attendant. She was secretly excited about the brief freedom she was granted for the first time in her life.
Irena vaguely guessed that the reason was because of Valquiterre.
Her friends who were by her side also had a fair complexion due to their noble status.
If she had accompanied Irena to Rowen, it would have been difficult to keep the noble ladies who had been staying in the capital for a long time from going to the royal ball.
It was considered a tradition for Vermonters not to debut in the capital's social circles, but not all vassal nobles did not participated in the debutante.
The mansion that became the temporary residence was located on a main road where the townhouses of local nobles were gathered, and those who were saved through the salon served Irena.
But under the Duke of Vermont's breath, Irena was a puppet who did her father's will.
She bought dresses and jewels, she was introduced to a salon, she received beauty treatments, and she had to accommodate every day to the ambitions of the Duke of Vermont. Seeing his daughter like that, her father smiled with satisfaction.
'If you become Queen, it will only be a matter of time before Temness and such are destroyed.'
'Father. Have you forgotten that Claudel married Rowen? Besides, the King is a half-cousin to the Duke of Temnes, right?'
When it comes to the Marshal's family, the Duke of Vermont's strength did not decline even as he got older, and he was like cast iron dug from deep in the ground. He was a very respected lord when he ruled the land of Valmonde with his unwavering stubbornness and will, but whenever politics or Temnes came up, he was illogical and became furious.
Anyway, the King's Birthday event, which had been carefully prepared, went smoothly. She only ate once in the Hanging Gardens after being summoned by Valquiterre, who wanted to personally give her an invitation to the ball. The prom ended without Irena dancing or talking to him once. The problem was that nothing happened.
‘This can’t be happening. You can't do this to me!'
The Duke of Vermont was furious as if he had been defrauded. Irena could tell that the whole time she was dining with Valquiterre, he was not even as interested in her as her fingernails.
Still, he had sent out the invitation so loudly, and since the Duke of Vermont was in the presence, she thought he would ask her for the first dance, even in the formal attire, but her expectations were completely wrong.
Considering the social custom of conveying one's true intentions through attitude rather than words, the King's attitude of not even asking for a dance seemed to be drawing a line in front of many nobles that he would not even tolerate rumors that something was going on between Irena and him privately.
The Duke gave such a person even a platinum armor of his choice from the treasure trove of the castle of Valmonde.
'My father is older now too.'
Maybe it was because he was anxious about the issue of Vermont's succession.
It was impossible for the Duke of Vermont, who was calculating and self-interested, to give treasure as a gift first, as if he was trying to win favor without hesitation, given his personality.
Vermont never loses money.
'Now that this has happened, he can't go back empty-handed. At this point, I guess I'll have to find Vermont's successor and take him in.'
In the end, Irena had already faced the Duke of Vermont's backlash four times, and the guest that Madame Arnanti was bringing this afternoon was her fifth. After the royal ball, she saw one almost every week.
'At this point, it’s natural for introductions to stop.'
Perhaps because there were quite a few aristocratic families whose fortunes had grown in the aftermath of the war, she was still in demand in the marriage market.
“What kind of person will come today?”
Every opponent Irena has met so far has had problems.
'Is the rumor true that Vermont smeared the castle with fire and gold?'
They want to gauge her family's wealth.
'If you have the port at your disposal, isn't it only a matter of time before you get rich?'
It was questionable whether they came to watch the match or to look for investors for the top business.
'Your ex-husband went to war and died right after the wedding. Even though you're a widow, you're no different from a virgin, right?'
The only person who was interested in her was that the direction of the question was crooked.
'What man would like his wife who was tamed by another man?'
Didn't he shamelessly say something completely outside of common sense to Irena's face and watch Irena's reaction?
"Ha. Is there a way to avoid confrontation?”
What kind of nonsense will she hear today? The more she thought, the more she sighed.
"It would be nice to have something interesting to say.”
The letter Claudel sent was as many as eight pages long.
It was a long time ago that the sisters went on an outing to the kingdom's capital together, but Irena and Claudel did not have a chance to meet separately.
This is because the Duke of Vermont cracked down on Irena's outings for her dramatic appearance, as the capital's social circles were stirred by Valquiterre's invitation of the father and daughter to the royal castle.
Moreover, Claudel, who was now the Duchess of Temnes, not a member of the Vermont family but a royal relative, had to follow her husband and show her face in one place or another almost every day.
As a result, she only sent and received short messages, and on the day of the prom, other than a brief conversation in the lounge, she was upset because she did not see Claudel.
[To my dear Irena. How have you been? In Rowen, the seasons do not change, so the days are still hot and flowers are blooming everywhere.]
As Irena read the letter written in Claudel's pretty handwriting, a smile naturally appeared on Irena's lips. Claudel's letter contained trivial stories.
[Hannah has a lover. The opponent... Don't be surprised. My sister also knows this person. No, I should say you don't know anyone. Anyway! He is Rohan Hindenburg, who wrote Hindenburg’s Continent Explorer.]
Irena was surprised. Claudel had no interest in relationships between men and women and was very dull. Before her marriage, several men showed interest in Claudel at the Castle de Valmonde, but she did not even notice. Because of that, Claudel couldn't even hold the man's hand and just left for her husband's house.
“It’s amazing. If Claudel knows, doesn’t everyone in the castle know?”
Hannah acted as if she would spend her whole life looking at Claudel, but the fact that she was dating someone was surprising to her.
[Every time Rohan stops by the Castle, the only maid disappears, but I pretend not to notice. The people of Rowen Castle are kind to me. Not at first though. Even if Hannah leaves for the Sol Continent with Rohan, I now have many people who will serve me.]
If Claudel had already imagined it that far, Hannah's love life must have been quite serious.
“Are you curious? It’s more interesting than selling books.”
She was wondering when she was going to read it all, but as she went through each page of the thick letter, it was already over.
[Because Valmonde is too far. I hope I get another chance to meet my sister before you go back home. I will write another letter.]
Irena could feel happiness in Claudel’s long-written daily life.
“I’m glad you’re doing well.”
When she thought of Claudel, she thought of the man who stood by her side as if he was threatening to monopolize her.
As she remembered Kaian, Irena became bitter.
She had never felt like this until she saw her sister and her husband together. However, after seeing the two people who were so infatuated with each other, for some reason, every time she saw a confrontation, she compared the other person to the Duke of Temnes.
Perhaps it was thanks to Claudel that Valquiterre quickly realized that she was not very interested in him.
Before she knew it, Irena had come to think that Claudel and Kaian were her ideal couple. If she tries to find a relationship like that with her impressive ideals stuck in her head, will she be able to find a partner that will satisfy her? She didn't have to go far; Irena herself had a completely different personality from Claudel.
"No. Don't think too negatively. Do I know anything? I wonder if there will be a good person to face today.”
Irena got up energetically and sat down at her desk.
She couldn't say as much as she wanted to say because telegrams cost per letter, but she could write as many letters as she wanted, so if it wasn't urgent she would write a reply rather than a telegram.
"I would like to write a reply to the noble Duchess.”
Irena dipped her pen in ink and quickly began writing her letters.
As he approached Rowen Castle, Valquiterre was filled with new emotions.
“I don’t even remember how many years it’s been.”
He has never been here since Kaian went off to war. Last time, he invited Kaian to the prom hunt and came to the castle secretly, but he couldn't go in and could only look around, so it was ambiguous to say that he came to the castle.
However, the closer he got to the picturesque Rowen Castle, the more different the atmosphere of the castle remained in Valquiterre's memories.
He frowned as he saw the crowd crowded around the castle's moat.
"I told you a long time ago that I don’t need the crowd’s hospitality.”
As he approached with a frown, to his surprise, there was no water in the moat, which was supposed to be lapping and reflecting the intaglio stone decoration of the castle wall whenever a light breeze blew.
It turned out that all the people who thought they were waiting for him were busy looking under the moat. His eyes naturally followed people's gazes and frowned.
“What on earth is that?”
Valquiterre was dumbfounded as he looked at the dirty, black figure wandering under the moat.
“You’re ruining my castle.”
"Oh. Is this a letter from the Duchess of Temnes?”
Her curiosity and her young voice made Irena chase after her.
“I want to be alone, so go out. I will take care of the preparations to receive the guests in the afternoon.”
The maid closed the door with a disappointed expression and disappeared.
At the castle of Valmonde, Irena had a close friend and her maid. However, there are also people who have never been outside the area around Castle Valmonde.
She wanted to go on a trip in a more relaxed manner, but she was afraid of what the Duke of Vermont would say, so she couldn't say it out loud. However, for some reason, the Duke of Vermont first ordered Irena to go alone, saying that he would provide her with an escort and attendant. She was secretly excited about the brief freedom she was granted for the first time in her life.
Irena vaguely guessed that the reason was because of Valquiterre.
Her friends who were by her side also had a fair complexion due to their noble status.
If she had accompanied Irena to Rowen, it would have been difficult to keep the noble ladies who had been staying in the capital for a long time from going to the royal ball.
It was considered a tradition for Vermonters not to debut in the capital's social circles, but not all vassal nobles did not participated in the debutante.
The mansion that became the temporary residence was located on a main road where the townhouses of local nobles were gathered, and those who were saved through the salon served Irena.
But under the Duke of Vermont's breath, Irena was a puppet who did her father's will.
She bought dresses and jewels, she was introduced to a salon, she received beauty treatments, and she had to accommodate every day to the ambitions of the Duke of Vermont. Seeing his daughter like that, her father smiled with satisfaction.
'If you become Queen, it will only be a matter of time before Temness and such are destroyed.'
'Father. Have you forgotten that Claudel married Rowen? Besides, the King is a half-cousin to the Duke of Temnes, right?'
When it comes to the Marshal's family, the Duke of Vermont's strength did not decline even as he got older, and he was like cast iron dug from deep in the ground. He was a very respected lord when he ruled the land of Valmonde with his unwavering stubbornness and will, but whenever politics or Temnes came up, he was illogical and became furious.
Anyway, the King's Birthday event, which had been carefully prepared, went smoothly. She only ate once in the Hanging Gardens after being summoned by Valquiterre, who wanted to personally give her an invitation to the ball. The prom ended without Irena dancing or talking to him once. The problem was that nothing happened.
‘This can’t be happening. You can't do this to me!'
The Duke of Vermont was furious as if he had been defrauded. Irena could tell that the whole time she was dining with Valquiterre, he was not even as interested in her as her fingernails.
Still, he had sent out the invitation so loudly, and since the Duke of Vermont was in the presence, she thought he would ask her for the first dance, even in the formal attire, but her expectations were completely wrong.
Considering the social custom of conveying one's true intentions through attitude rather than words, the King's attitude of not even asking for a dance seemed to be drawing a line in front of many nobles that he would not even tolerate rumors that something was going on between Irena and him privately.
The Duke gave such a person even a platinum armor of his choice from the treasure trove of the castle of Valmonde.
'My father is older now too.'
Maybe it was because he was anxious about the issue of Vermont's succession.
It was impossible for the Duke of Vermont, who was calculating and self-interested, to give treasure as a gift first, as if he was trying to win favor without hesitation, given his personality.
Vermont never loses money.
'Now that this has happened, he can't go back empty-handed. At this point, I guess I'll have to find Vermont's successor and take him in.'
In the end, Irena had already faced the Duke of Vermont's backlash four times, and the guest that Madame Arnanti was bringing this afternoon was her fifth. After the royal ball, she saw one almost every week.
'At this point, it’s natural for introductions to stop.'
Perhaps because there were quite a few aristocratic families whose fortunes had grown in the aftermath of the war, she was still in demand in the marriage market.
“What kind of person will come today?”
Every opponent Irena has met so far has had problems.
'Is the rumor true that Vermont smeared the castle with fire and gold?'
They want to gauge her family's wealth.
'If you have the port at your disposal, isn't it only a matter of time before you get rich?'
It was questionable whether they came to watch the match or to look for investors for the top business.
'Your ex-husband went to war and died right after the wedding. Even though you're a widow, you're no different from a virgin, right?'
The only person who was interested in her was that the direction of the question was crooked.
'What man would like his wife who was tamed by another man?'
Didn't he shamelessly say something completely outside of common sense to Irena's face and watch Irena's reaction?
"Ha. Is there a way to avoid confrontation?”
What kind of nonsense will she hear today? The more she thought, the more she sighed.
"It would be nice to have something interesting to say.”
The letter Claudel sent was as many as eight pages long.
It was a long time ago that the sisters went on an outing to the kingdom's capital together, but Irena and Claudel did not have a chance to meet separately.
This is because the Duke of Vermont cracked down on Irena's outings for her dramatic appearance, as the capital's social circles were stirred by Valquiterre's invitation of the father and daughter to the royal castle.
Moreover, Claudel, who was now the Duchess of Temnes, not a member of the Vermont family but a royal relative, had to follow her husband and show her face in one place or another almost every day.
As a result, she only sent and received short messages, and on the day of the prom, other than a brief conversation in the lounge, she was upset because she did not see Claudel.
[To my dear Irena. How have you been? In Rowen, the seasons do not change, so the days are still hot and flowers are blooming everywhere.]
As Irena read the letter written in Claudel's pretty handwriting, a smile naturally appeared on Irena's lips. Claudel's letter contained trivial stories.
[Hannah has a lover. The opponent... Don't be surprised. My sister also knows this person. No, I should say you don't know anyone. Anyway! He is Rohan Hindenburg, who wrote Hindenburg’s Continent Explorer.]
Irena was surprised. Claudel had no interest in relationships between men and women and was very dull. Before her marriage, several men showed interest in Claudel at the Castle de Valmonde, but she did not even notice. Because of that, Claudel couldn't even hold the man's hand and just left for her husband's house.
“It’s amazing. If Claudel knows, doesn’t everyone in the castle know?”
Hannah acted as if she would spend her whole life looking at Claudel, but the fact that she was dating someone was surprising to her.
[Every time Rohan stops by the Castle, the only maid disappears, but I pretend not to notice. The people of Rowen Castle are kind to me. Not at first though. Even if Hannah leaves for the Sol Continent with Rohan, I now have many people who will serve me.]
If Claudel had already imagined it that far, Hannah's love life must have been quite serious.
“Are you curious? It’s more interesting than selling books.”
She was wondering when she was going to read it all, but as she went through each page of the thick letter, it was already over.
[Because Valmonde is too far. I hope I get another chance to meet my sister before you go back home. I will write another letter.]
Irena could feel happiness in Claudel’s long-written daily life.
“I’m glad you’re doing well.”
When she thought of Claudel, she thought of the man who stood by her side as if he was threatening to monopolize her.
As she remembered Kaian, Irena became bitter.
She had never felt like this until she saw her sister and her husband together. However, after seeing the two people who were so infatuated with each other, for some reason, every time she saw a confrontation, she compared the other person to the Duke of Temnes.
Perhaps it was thanks to Claudel that Valquiterre quickly realized that she was not very interested in him.
Before she knew it, Irena had come to think that Claudel and Kaian were her ideal couple. If she tries to find a relationship like that with her impressive ideals stuck in her head, will she be able to find a partner that will satisfy her? She didn't have to go far; Irena herself had a completely different personality from Claudel.
"No. Don't think too negatively. Do I know anything? I wonder if there will be a good person to face today.”
Irena got up energetically and sat down at her desk.
She couldn't say as much as she wanted to say because telegrams cost per letter, but she could write as many letters as she wanted, so if it wasn't urgent she would write a reply rather than a telegram.
"I would like to write a reply to the noble Duchess.”
Irena dipped her pen in ink and quickly began writing her letters.
***
As he approached Rowen Castle, Valquiterre was filled with new emotions.
“I don’t even remember how many years it’s been.”
He has never been here since Kaian went off to war. Last time, he invited Kaian to the prom hunt and came to the castle secretly, but he couldn't go in and could only look around, so it was ambiguous to say that he came to the castle.
However, the closer he got to the picturesque Rowen Castle, the more different the atmosphere of the castle remained in Valquiterre's memories.
He frowned as he saw the crowd crowded around the castle's moat.
"I told you a long time ago that I don’t need the crowd’s hospitality.”
As he approached with a frown, to his surprise, there was no water in the moat, which was supposed to be lapping and reflecting the intaglio stone decoration of the castle wall whenever a light breeze blew.
It turned out that all the people who thought they were waiting for him were busy looking under the moat. His eyes naturally followed people's gazes and frowned.
“What on earth is that?”
Valquiterre was dumbfounded as he looked at the dirty, black figure wandering under the moat.
“You’re ruining my castle.”
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