Eric continued speaking calmly while fiddling with his hat.
"It's not easy to see a friend who I thought was in a poorer situation than me suddenly surpass me and marry into a better family in a better situation."
"Well, I didn't mean to go that far. I was a little grumpy..."
The rumor spread faster than expected, reaching the man's family in the blink of an eye.
All Aileen did was chat with a few ladies.
Eric nodded towards her who was crying.
"Then there is no problem? Fortunately, the Young Lady's parents were also very satisfied with this marriage. Baron Helm is gifting part of the land he owns to the Lady's parents. Isn't it being sold at a fairly high price?"
"Why are you doing this to me?"
Aileen couldn't understand at all.
The man who smiled sweetly and held out his hand was still smiling, but she could feel it now.
The sticky hostility that seeps into her skin.
Eric, who was looking at Aileen in fear, slowly opened his mouth.
"I was just a little annoyed."
"Yes?"
"I am a person who hates when plans don't go as planned."
There is nothing more unpleasant than seeing the horse he has chosen move as it pleases.
"I thought about how this matter got out of my hands..."
He took a step toward Aileen.
When the cane he was holding in his hand hit the floor with a thud, Aileen flinched and sat down on the spot.
Eric slowly bent down and looked at her expressionlessly.
"It seems like things started to go wrong when the Lady touched the maid who was next to Isabella."
What kind of maid is that?
He secretly moved Hugh Blake to get the maid and even left useless traces here and there to retrieve the girl who had already been sold.
"Just as the Lady whipped thr maid for being jealous of Isabella, don't I need someone to vent my anger on for ruining my plans?"
"Ah..."
Eric looked down at Aileen, who was starting to tremble and whispered.
"Young Lady is a person who wants more than your abilities, so wouldn't it be right for you to go to a place that pays a good price? This is an opportunity I personally gave you, so you shouldn't miss it."
Eventually, a terrifying scream rang out from behind the door he leisurely turned and exited.
Eric went downstairs with a nonchalant expression on his face and left the mansion holding the transaction form that had just been signed.
Not long after, his luxurious carriage stopped in front of a mansion with a luxurious garden.
"Rosalyn."
Rosalyn, who was walking in the garden with a gloomy expression, frowned when she smelled a faint scent from him as he approached.
"You smell like perfume."
"Is that so?"
Eric lifted his sleeve and sniffed it. Rosalyn's voice suddenly became sharp.
"Who on earth are you meeting and coming back from?"
In response to her grumpy questioning, Eric smiled sweetly and smoothed Rosalyn's hair.
"I just met a business partner. I didn't even think about perfume."
Rosalyn lowered her raised eyes.
Certainly, the scent was too faint to suggest that he had been with another woman for a long time.
If it had been the scent used by cheap prostitutes, it would have been much thicker and more intense, but it wasn't that kind.
Eric wrapped one arm around her shoulder as if to comfort her.
"I told you. I don't have a lady in mind yet. For me, carrying on the legacy of the former merchant owner who passed away is more important than anything else."
"I know that, but..."
Rosalyn's voice softened.
"I'm sure there are plenty of fox-like women who will attack you just by looking at your background or your assets. It's better to be careful. There is nothing more damaging to an aristocratic society than being swept up in a scandal."
"I know very well."
Eric answered her advice in a soft voice.
"Don't worry too much, I know it well."
Rosalyn blushed at the soft voice addressed to her and turned to speak.
"Go in. My father was waiting for you. He has a lot of opinions to share about business that will advance into the imperial capital."
The man who nodded with a friendly smile towards Rosalyn had a refreshing look on his face that was uncharacteristic of someone who had just thrown someone's life into the gutter.
***
"I see you, Viscountess Mancini. My name is Maxwell Minor, and I am the leader of the Marchioness Xavier's Order of Knights."
"It is an honor to meet you, Lord Maxwell."
"The Marchioness offered words of consolation for the disaster you had experienced and told me to escort you so you could reach the imperial capital safely."
Is it the Marchioness's will, or is it Her Royal Highness's direct will?
The Viscountess received the words with a smile on her face as he stated her firm stance that she was only helping as a Marchioness, not as a Princess.
"I am very grateful to the Marchioness for her sincerity and thoughtfulness."
She slowly reached out her hand and grabbed me, pulling me forward.
"This is my cute relative who will be heading to the imperial capital with me. Isabella, say hello."
"My name is Isabella Harper."
The knight's eyes turned to me for an instant.
He looked at the young lady with a family name he had never heard of, Harper, for a moment and then politely greeted her.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Isabella. I will take you by carriage."
At a glance, the knight commander's eyes lit up as he looked at Hugh following me.
Soon the Viscountess and I got into the carriage and we heard the coachman's signal announcing departure.
The woman who was looking out the window suddenly opened her mouth.
"It's surprising, but I've been away from the imperial capital for too long. Yes? When I listened to people's complicated situations. I blocked my eyes and ears out of fear of feeling uneasy, but then I realized that a lot of things have changed."
A strange emotion appeared on her face as she watched the scenery outside pass quickly by.
"It seems like Her Highness the Princess wants something from me."
"Because she used the name Marchioness?"
"She's giving me the Marquis private army."
The woman nodded lightly and explained to me.
"If she had sent the Princess's knights to protect you and me, that would be a grace given as the Princess of the empire. Although it is a debt, the debt that a noble owes to the royal family is, in any case, a favor that cannot be repaid."
It meant that it was a favor given without compensation and did not have to be liquidated.
"But since we moved the Marquis's private army, of course, the story will be different."
"Isn't It just a matter of convenience?"
At the light question, the Viscountess shook her head with a faint smile.
"There are no particular restrictions on the Princess's knights going to and from other territories. However, if they are the Marquis's private army, they must be inspected and report our passage at every corner we go and at the territory we pass through. Many nobles will know that I have been favored."
"..."
"If she had no intention of putting me in debt, there would be no reason to send them."
The Viscountess glanced at my expression and, perhaps because she thought I was nervous, took my hand and stroked it affectionately.
"Don't worry. She is a person who knows morality. Even if she wants to make me indebted to her, she's not the kind of person who wants something outrageous."
"But, if it's something that might get you in trouble..."
"Actually, I have some idea."
When I tilted my head at the Viscountess's words, she continued speaking again.
"It is probably time for Her Highness's children to prepare for their debutantes. If she stays in the ecliptic anyway, I think she's trying to entrust her children to me."
Come to think of it, the imperial family consistently demanded a wife.
I became tired once again when I thought that even things that I thought were insignificant had meaning.
The countless meanings buried in seemingly simple things confused my mind.
'Just because you made the first step well, it would be best not to be overly proud. The nobles of the imperial capital are different from the innocent people here.'
The smug look on his face as he said that was not something to look at, but he was definitely right.
The fight was completely different from the young wildcats here, who often raise their fur and howl.
"Don't worry too much. What is clear is that even if your father hears about you, he cannot touch us until we get to the ecliptic."
She seemed to notice the pale shadow on my face and comforted me.
I nodded with a smile.
"I'm not worried. Madam cares for me like this."
If I was going to get scared and back off anyway, I didn't even start.
For me, no matter where I ran, it was a dead end, and I had no choice but to move forward.
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