105. Rain
Desperation makes the way.
Emilia felt those words in her mind as she stood before the statue of a roaring lion.
After thinking about it for several nights, she found the safest and most certain way to reach him.
It is here, at Palazzo Riccardi, that shr will meet Her Royal Highness the Queen.
'If you need my help, just let me know. We made a deal with Prince Meyer. You and I are in the same boat after all.'
Queen Yvonne said so and gave the ring to her on Hardius's behalf. The King and Queen were well aware of their relationship and were powerful and trustworthy enough to be chosen by Hardius as Emilia's guardian.
Above all, she had given birth to three children. The fact that she was a woman who was well-versed in pregnancy and childbirth was reason enough to come here.
Emilia, pressing her anxiously beating heart with her hand, handed a small card to the guard guarding the entrance. It was the royal pass she had received along with the gift.
Fortunately, the guard recognized the Queen's handwritten signature at a glance. The large iron door opened as if it had been waiting, and Emilia strode inside.
As she walked down the driveway, Emilia felt her legs shaking even more than when she had come to receive His Majesty the King's bounty.
When she finally arrived at the hall, past the small pond and the large fountain, an attendant came over and checked her passes and searched her body as per the procedure.
“This way.”
The flowing footsteps gradually brought relief to Emilia.
Finally, in front of the reception room, Emilia was seated in the waiting area. She stared blankly at the cute statues and flower arrangements, mentally trying to figure out what to say in front of Her Majesty the Queen.
The door opened too quickly and suddenly. Emilia's body jerked up without her knowing it.
When Queen Yvonne suddenly appeared with the familiar scent of perfume, Emilia couldn't help but be greatly surprised. Naturally, she expected the maid to come out first.
“T, the eldest daughter of Bern... Greetings to Your Majesty the Queen...”
She was surprised and was reciting the greeting that the attendant should have done on her behalf.
“Yes. Just come in.”
The Queen smiled and grabbed her arm.
Thud, the door closed behind her.
The face that smiled gently without any sense of caution began to be sharply engraved deep into Emilia's heart beyond her trembling pupils.
“That’s funny. When young Meyer asked me to give it to you, I actually wondered if it was really necessary.”
Yvonne continued, glancing at the card Emilia was clutching tightly.
“Prince Meyer is meticulous and careful. I didn’t think he would let you come all the way here.”
“...”
“Now, tell me. What kind of dire situation must have occurred for you to come to me so suddenly? It must have taken a great deal of courage for an ordinary person like you to use that card.”
A soft voice was urging the collapse that had begun in a corner of her chest.
“I, I...”
As if she had encountered a sailing ship on a drifting raft, Emilia let out the tears she had been holding back like a waterfall.
"Really?"
The coral earrings hanging from her plump earlobes jingled loudly.
“They just backed down? Without any conditions?”
"... Yes."
Kaitlyn couldn't close her mouth. Her eyes, blinking wildly, were filled with an expression of utter disbelief.
“...Are you saying that a mob of nearly 200 people... were just fired? Right now?”
Erdua wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief and opened his mouth.
"Yes."
"Ha!"
Grojean felt his heart pounding as he heard a cry that was neither a sigh nor a cheer.
This incident was completely unplanned, like the ball in Luen. Things that are improvised on the spur of the moment tend to bring about crises big and small, and the cleanup is never easy.
As expected, Kaitlyn was not overjoyed. Grojean waited for the right moment and opened his mouth to Erdua instead of Kaitlyn.
“Anyway, isn’t the situation already sorted out?”
“Yes. It was resolved neatly.”
Erdua answered with a much more relaxed look in his eyes, as if dealing with an aide was much easier than with a Duchess.
“But there’s one problem. The situation has calmed down, but too many people have suddenly left, so three furnaces are out of operation and have stopped.”
"Yes."
Kaitlyn chimed in, as if talking to herself.
“There is such a problem. Hardius must have known this would happen, so why did he make it like this?”
“I also thought that he would only weed out the ringleaders and those in charge, like Andrei, and then compromise and reinstate the rest. But to fire everyone... I, too, am bewildered by this, as it is something I have never heard of.”
Kaitlyn tried not to frown.
She should be happy that the thorn in her side, including the ringleader, has disappeared as she had hoped. She should be proud of her son, who has accomplished something almost impossible, but why does she feel so uneasy?
Kaitlyn's head snapped towards Grojean.
“You should have gone with me... Now that I think about it, why on earth did Hardius go alone?”
Grojean had to swallow dry saliva again at the sight of Erdua tilting his head as if he was suspicious of something. Kaitlyn looked at Erdua again.
“Did Hardius say something else? He wouldn’t have sent you here without any countermeasures when the furnace stopped working.”
“...Yes, His Excellency said that he would return to Nowak after the second steel mill was completely restored to its original state. He also made an urgent request to Madsm. He asked you to call a board meeting to fill the large-scale vacancies with new personnel. He also asked me to attend the board meeting and explain the situation.”
“Yes, that comes first.”
Kaitlyn, who had been thinking about something for a while, called the butler.
“What’s my schedule like?”
The butler took out a note with his schedule written on it and began reading it out loud. Before he could finish reading, Kaitlyn raised her hand to stop him.
“No, just tell me what’s urgent and important right now.”
“...You should attend the opening ceremony of the new ‘Lien Arcade’ on Mepix Street this afternoon. Twenty percent of the merchants are our main customers, so it would be a good idea for you to attend.”
“Yes, fine. I have to go to Nowak anyway, so I guess I can call a board meeting tomorrow. Get ready.”
"All right."
As soon as the butler disappeared, Kaitlyn turned her eyes to Grojean.
“Can I see you for a moment?”
At the signal that they wanted to talk alone, Erdua quickly gave up his seat.
“You go to Eringer right now.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, I think you’ll have to watch over Hardius again for the time being. Something seems a bit odd. The fact that he left you behind and went alone...”
"All right."
Kaitlyn let out a short sigh.
“I thought I wouldn’t have to ask you this since I got rid of that kid... Even though he’s my son, I really don’t know what’s on his mind. In a way, it’s not suspicious at all, but I feel uneasy for some reason.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll watch from a reasonable distance and let you know if I see anything unusual.”
“Yes, I trust you. Go ahead. I have to start preparing now to attend the opening ceremony.”
That afternoon, Kaitlyn arrived at Mepix, the bustling area of Nowak, as scheduled.
The newly built 'Lien Arcade' was a new type of shopping street with a roof covering the space between buildings. Thanks to extensive advertising in the newspapers a few months in advance, a large number of nobles and wealthy citizens flocked to the store on the opening day.
After cutting the ribbon, which can be called the highlight of the opening ceremony, Kaitlyn walked along the splendid street while chatting with several ladies.
“This year’s Elport graduation was like a cake without cream. The valedictorian couldn’t attend!”
“Yes, you don’t know how disappointed my cousin was when he came back that day. He said he thought he would see Prince Meyer in his navy uniform.”
“During the entrance ceremony, there was a huge fuss in the newspapers. Prince Meyer was chosen as the class president and stood at the very front of the students... He looked just like an elegant leopard, didn’t he?”
“Would it be just Prince? Actually, everyone was secretly looking forward to it. I mean, Princess Leichnen. I heard she became so pretty?”
Kaitlyn listened to everything with a calm smile on her face. The news she heard from Eringer still left her with an uneasy feeling.
Then a young man approached Kaitlyn. Dressed in a plain frock coat, he greeted her politely and handed her something.
It was a letter.
“A gentleman asked me to make sure to tell Madam something.”
"Huh?"
Kaitlyn tilted her head and took the envelope. Before she could ask, “Who?” the man had leisurely disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Kaitlyn, who had been staring blankly at the empty space, looked down at the envelope and carefully tore open the strangely flimsy opening.
There was a thin piece of paper inside, so thin that it was embarrassing to even call it a letter.
But when she read what was written inside, Kaitlyn couldn't help but freeze as if she had been struck by lightning.
The ladies tilted their heads as if they found it strange when they saw Kaitlyn turning pale. Kaitlyn stood up unsteadily from her seat, not even trying to hide her feelings.
“Excuse me... just a moment.”
She looked around, struggling to keep her staggering body upright.
“Oh, Ophelia...”
Kaitlyn trembled and searched desperately for the maid.
In a daze, she remembered that she had allowed the boy to browse the arcade while she spoke to the ladies.
Kaitlyn staggered, clutching her chest. Her heart was racing, almost like it was going to explode. She felt dizzy. She couldn’t breathe. She had to keep inhaling to get oxygen into her lungs.
This can't be happening!
She had herself shoved into the shadows of a deserted alley and was holding her breath with her hands against the wall. With trembling hands, she once again took out the shocking letter that was impossible to believe.
I know what you did to Kanoa and her bastard.
Kaitlyn was so terrified that she collapsed on the spot.
“It was delivered safely.”
To deliver the news, Grojean had to run all night to Eringer. Hardius nodded absentmindedly and leaned against the edge of the desk.
How could that be possible?
Grojean stared blankly at his master's face, which showed not a trace of tension.
“The lady is very suspicious of you. Letter, she can’t even imagine that you’re the one who planned this... But wasn’t the Eringer situation resolved too easily?”
“Yeah, she’ll think it’s weird. Shr’ll start to doubt me someday.”
Contrary to the words, the master's expression was peaceful.
“I’m... a little worried.”
In front of the unresponsive master, Grojean began to pour out his worries without realizing it.
“...There are too many mountains to climb. Even if the Hutton planted in Kramwitz succeeds in catching Jetson and other evidence, Mrs. Meyer will definitely try to cut off her tail. There is no way a confidant like Jetson would betray his master so easily and reveal the whole truth.”
“...”
“Even if things go well and the Madam is successfully brought to trial... would the court dare to sentence the Duchess to prison so easily? It’s such an old case, and even then, it’s about the death of a government official and an illegitimate child...”
“Don’t worry, Grojean.”
Hardius's eyes flashed coldly.
“Didn’t I tell you? I don’t care about justice or truth. The letter is just bait. To lure Mrs. Meyer into a bigger trap.”
As he spoke, Hardius stretched his arm somewhere on the desk. There was something Grojean had never seen before.
“If you keep flapping your wings hard, you’ll eventually run out of energy. Like a fish on a skewer.”
Just as Hardius was muttering indifferently and picking up the Pegasus statue, a knock was suddenly heard at the door.
“I am a messenger from the Ricardi Palace. I have urgent news to convey to Prince Meyer.”
Grojean's head turned towards his master in surprise. Hardius also began to stiffen at the completely unexpected news.
As he opened the door, a man with such ordinary clothes that it was hard to believe he was a royal messenger appeared.
“A message from Her Majesty the Queen.”
Grojean quickly received the letter, checked the royal seal, cut open the envelope with a knife, and handed it straight to the owner.
Hardius, who sensed that this was a serious matter, took the letter out of the envelope with his stiff hands.
The elegant handwriting that was clearly the Queen's own began to pour down like a shower. The heart of the man reading it also poured down.
It was also the moment when young Meyer received the most shocking news of his entire life.
Desperation makes the way.
Emilia felt those words in her mind as she stood before the statue of a roaring lion.
After thinking about it for several nights, she found the safest and most certain way to reach him.
It is here, at Palazzo Riccardi, that shr will meet Her Royal Highness the Queen.
'If you need my help, just let me know. We made a deal with Prince Meyer. You and I are in the same boat after all.'
Queen Yvonne said so and gave the ring to her on Hardius's behalf. The King and Queen were well aware of their relationship and were powerful and trustworthy enough to be chosen by Hardius as Emilia's guardian.
Above all, she had given birth to three children. The fact that she was a woman who was well-versed in pregnancy and childbirth was reason enough to come here.
Emilia, pressing her anxiously beating heart with her hand, handed a small card to the guard guarding the entrance. It was the royal pass she had received along with the gift.
Fortunately, the guard recognized the Queen's handwritten signature at a glance. The large iron door opened as if it had been waiting, and Emilia strode inside.
As she walked down the driveway, Emilia felt her legs shaking even more than when she had come to receive His Majesty the King's bounty.
When she finally arrived at the hall, past the small pond and the large fountain, an attendant came over and checked her passes and searched her body as per the procedure.
“This way.”
The flowing footsteps gradually brought relief to Emilia.
Finally, in front of the reception room, Emilia was seated in the waiting area. She stared blankly at the cute statues and flower arrangements, mentally trying to figure out what to say in front of Her Majesty the Queen.
The door opened too quickly and suddenly. Emilia's body jerked up without her knowing it.
When Queen Yvonne suddenly appeared with the familiar scent of perfume, Emilia couldn't help but be greatly surprised. Naturally, she expected the maid to come out first.
“T, the eldest daughter of Bern... Greetings to Your Majesty the Queen...”
She was surprised and was reciting the greeting that the attendant should have done on her behalf.
“Yes. Just come in.”
The Queen smiled and grabbed her arm.
Thud, the door closed behind her.
The face that smiled gently without any sense of caution began to be sharply engraved deep into Emilia's heart beyond her trembling pupils.
“That’s funny. When young Meyer asked me to give it to you, I actually wondered if it was really necessary.”
Yvonne continued, glancing at the card Emilia was clutching tightly.
“Prince Meyer is meticulous and careful. I didn’t think he would let you come all the way here.”
“...”
“Now, tell me. What kind of dire situation must have occurred for you to come to me so suddenly? It must have taken a great deal of courage for an ordinary person like you to use that card.”
A soft voice was urging the collapse that had begun in a corner of her chest.
“I, I...”
As if she had encountered a sailing ship on a drifting raft, Emilia let out the tears she had been holding back like a waterfall.
***
"Really?"
The coral earrings hanging from her plump earlobes jingled loudly.
“They just backed down? Without any conditions?”
"... Yes."
Kaitlyn couldn't close her mouth. Her eyes, blinking wildly, were filled with an expression of utter disbelief.
“...Are you saying that a mob of nearly 200 people... were just fired? Right now?”
Erdua wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief and opened his mouth.
"Yes."
"Ha!"
Grojean felt his heart pounding as he heard a cry that was neither a sigh nor a cheer.
This incident was completely unplanned, like the ball in Luen. Things that are improvised on the spur of the moment tend to bring about crises big and small, and the cleanup is never easy.
As expected, Kaitlyn was not overjoyed. Grojean waited for the right moment and opened his mouth to Erdua instead of Kaitlyn.
“Anyway, isn’t the situation already sorted out?”
“Yes. It was resolved neatly.”
Erdua answered with a much more relaxed look in his eyes, as if dealing with an aide was much easier than with a Duchess.
“But there’s one problem. The situation has calmed down, but too many people have suddenly left, so three furnaces are out of operation and have stopped.”
"Yes."
Kaitlyn chimed in, as if talking to herself.
“There is such a problem. Hardius must have known this would happen, so why did he make it like this?”
“I also thought that he would only weed out the ringleaders and those in charge, like Andrei, and then compromise and reinstate the rest. But to fire everyone... I, too, am bewildered by this, as it is something I have never heard of.”
Kaitlyn tried not to frown.
She should be happy that the thorn in her side, including the ringleader, has disappeared as she had hoped. She should be proud of her son, who has accomplished something almost impossible, but why does she feel so uneasy?
Kaitlyn's head snapped towards Grojean.
“You should have gone with me... Now that I think about it, why on earth did Hardius go alone?”
Grojean had to swallow dry saliva again at the sight of Erdua tilting his head as if he was suspicious of something. Kaitlyn looked at Erdua again.
“Did Hardius say something else? He wouldn’t have sent you here without any countermeasures when the furnace stopped working.”
“...Yes, His Excellency said that he would return to Nowak after the second steel mill was completely restored to its original state. He also made an urgent request to Madsm. He asked you to call a board meeting to fill the large-scale vacancies with new personnel. He also asked me to attend the board meeting and explain the situation.”
“Yes, that comes first.”
Kaitlyn, who had been thinking about something for a while, called the butler.
“What’s my schedule like?”
The butler took out a note with his schedule written on it and began reading it out loud. Before he could finish reading, Kaitlyn raised her hand to stop him.
“No, just tell me what’s urgent and important right now.”
“...You should attend the opening ceremony of the new ‘Lien Arcade’ on Mepix Street this afternoon. Twenty percent of the merchants are our main customers, so it would be a good idea for you to attend.”
“Yes, fine. I have to go to Nowak anyway, so I guess I can call a board meeting tomorrow. Get ready.”
"All right."
As soon as the butler disappeared, Kaitlyn turned her eyes to Grojean.
“Can I see you for a moment?”
At the signal that they wanted to talk alone, Erdua quickly gave up his seat.
“You go to Eringer right now.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, I think you’ll have to watch over Hardius again for the time being. Something seems a bit odd. The fact that he left you behind and went alone...”
"All right."
Kaitlyn let out a short sigh.
“I thought I wouldn’t have to ask you this since I got rid of that kid... Even though he’s my son, I really don’t know what’s on his mind. In a way, it’s not suspicious at all, but I feel uneasy for some reason.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll watch from a reasonable distance and let you know if I see anything unusual.”
“Yes, I trust you. Go ahead. I have to start preparing now to attend the opening ceremony.”
That afternoon, Kaitlyn arrived at Mepix, the bustling area of Nowak, as scheduled.
The newly built 'Lien Arcade' was a new type of shopping street with a roof covering the space between buildings. Thanks to extensive advertising in the newspapers a few months in advance, a large number of nobles and wealthy citizens flocked to the store on the opening day.
After cutting the ribbon, which can be called the highlight of the opening ceremony, Kaitlyn walked along the splendid street while chatting with several ladies.
“This year’s Elport graduation was like a cake without cream. The valedictorian couldn’t attend!”
“Yes, you don’t know how disappointed my cousin was when he came back that day. He said he thought he would see Prince Meyer in his navy uniform.”
“During the entrance ceremony, there was a huge fuss in the newspapers. Prince Meyer was chosen as the class president and stood at the very front of the students... He looked just like an elegant leopard, didn’t he?”
“Would it be just Prince? Actually, everyone was secretly looking forward to it. I mean, Princess Leichnen. I heard she became so pretty?”
Kaitlyn listened to everything with a calm smile on her face. The news she heard from Eringer still left her with an uneasy feeling.
Then a young man approached Kaitlyn. Dressed in a plain frock coat, he greeted her politely and handed her something.
It was a letter.
“A gentleman asked me to make sure to tell Madam something.”
"Huh?"
Kaitlyn tilted her head and took the envelope. Before she could ask, “Who?” the man had leisurely disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Kaitlyn, who had been staring blankly at the empty space, looked down at the envelope and carefully tore open the strangely flimsy opening.
There was a thin piece of paper inside, so thin that it was embarrassing to even call it a letter.
But when she read what was written inside, Kaitlyn couldn't help but freeze as if she had been struck by lightning.
The ladies tilted their heads as if they found it strange when they saw Kaitlyn turning pale. Kaitlyn stood up unsteadily from her seat, not even trying to hide her feelings.
“Excuse me... just a moment.”
She looked around, struggling to keep her staggering body upright.
“Oh, Ophelia...”
Kaitlyn trembled and searched desperately for the maid.
In a daze, she remembered that she had allowed the boy to browse the arcade while she spoke to the ladies.
Kaitlyn staggered, clutching her chest. Her heart was racing, almost like it was going to explode. She felt dizzy. She couldn’t breathe. She had to keep inhaling to get oxygen into her lungs.
This can't be happening!
She had herself shoved into the shadows of a deserted alley and was holding her breath with her hands against the wall. With trembling hands, she once again took out the shocking letter that was impossible to believe.
I know what you did to Kanoa and her bastard.
Kaitlyn was so terrified that she collapsed on the spot.
***
“It was delivered safely.”
To deliver the news, Grojean had to run all night to Eringer. Hardius nodded absentmindedly and leaned against the edge of the desk.
How could that be possible?
Grojean stared blankly at his master's face, which showed not a trace of tension.
“The lady is very suspicious of you. Letter, she can’t even imagine that you’re the one who planned this... But wasn’t the Eringer situation resolved too easily?”
“Yeah, she’ll think it’s weird. Shr’ll start to doubt me someday.”
Contrary to the words, the master's expression was peaceful.
“I’m... a little worried.”
In front of the unresponsive master, Grojean began to pour out his worries without realizing it.
“...There are too many mountains to climb. Even if the Hutton planted in Kramwitz succeeds in catching Jetson and other evidence, Mrs. Meyer will definitely try to cut off her tail. There is no way a confidant like Jetson would betray his master so easily and reveal the whole truth.”
“...”
“Even if things go well and the Madam is successfully brought to trial... would the court dare to sentence the Duchess to prison so easily? It’s such an old case, and even then, it’s about the death of a government official and an illegitimate child...”
“Don’t worry, Grojean.”
Hardius's eyes flashed coldly.
“Didn’t I tell you? I don’t care about justice or truth. The letter is just bait. To lure Mrs. Meyer into a bigger trap.”
As he spoke, Hardius stretched his arm somewhere on the desk. There was something Grojean had never seen before.
“If you keep flapping your wings hard, you’ll eventually run out of energy. Like a fish on a skewer.”
Just as Hardius was muttering indifferently and picking up the Pegasus statue, a knock was suddenly heard at the door.
“I am a messenger from the Ricardi Palace. I have urgent news to convey to Prince Meyer.”
Grojean's head turned towards his master in surprise. Hardius also began to stiffen at the completely unexpected news.
As he opened the door, a man with such ordinary clothes that it was hard to believe he was a royal messenger appeared.
“A message from Her Majesty the Queen.”
Grojean quickly received the letter, checked the royal seal, cut open the envelope with a knife, and handed it straight to the owner.
Hardius, who sensed that this was a serious matter, took the letter out of the envelope with his stiff hands.
The elegant handwriting that was clearly the Queen's own began to pour down like a shower. The heart of the man reading it also poured down.
It was also the moment when young Meyer received the most shocking news of his entire life.
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