Unlike his tone, which carried a nuance of disappointment, the Duke's face was composed, as if he hadn't expected it at all. He did not take his eyes off me even while drinking his beverage.
"Is there not even room to consider?"
“Yes.”
"You're firm. I like that even more."
There was no need to answer. I answered by remaining silent.
"It wouldn't be polite to force something on someone who says they don't want to, so I'll be going today."
The Duke rose to his feet. The word 'today' was quite irritating, but he did not go out of his way to ask again.
"I'll see you again. It was nice meeting you, Lady Elliot."
"Farewell, Duke Deisha."
I tried to organize my thoughts as I watched the back of the carriage carrying the Duke depart.
'What on earth is the meaning of their appearance earlier than I remember, and the Duke's visit that was not there back then?'
There must be a turning point that changed things.
'I need to find out what the trigger was.'
Before I knew it, a red sunset was filling my field of vision.
***
"Welcome, Lady Elliot."
"Thank you for the invitation, Marchioness Engrail."
"You must have been quite busy, so thank you for accepting the invitation."
The Marchioness de Angrail came out to the door herself to greet me with a welcoming smile. It was the first time I had met the Marchioness since the day of the meeting. I bowed respectfully to her in gratitude.
"Thank you for your help last time."
"I just did what I ought to have done."
She led me inside and waved her hand as if it were no big deal.
“Oh my!”
As I entered the drawing room, guided by the Marchioness, Baroness Vizdel, who seemed to have arrived earlier and was chatting with others, stood up with a welcoming look.
"Lady Elliot!"
The Baroness ran to me in one swift motion and grabbed my hands with both hands.
"I heard the news. You must have been through a lot of emotional distress."
Her face was filled with worry for me. I don't know if it was because she was close to being an artist, or if it was just her nature, but she was incredibly innocent and unpretentious for someone to be considered a noble.
"Baroness, Lady Elliot has just arrived. Shouldn't we give her some time to take a seat?"
"Oh my, look at me. I'm sorry, Young Lady. I was so happy to see you that I couldn't help myself..."
Baroness Vizdel blushed with apology and didn't know what to do.
"I'm really sorry, Lady Elliot."
"It's alright. Thank you for your concern, Baroness Vizdel."
At my smile, the Baroness seemed to finally feel relieved, letting go of my hand and stepping aside.
I took a seat as guided by the Marchioness Engraile. I could feel that everyone was watching me, even though they pretended not to.
Even though the appointed time had not yet passed, there were no empty seats to be found at the prepared tables. It was more than enough to guess what had made them work so diligently.
Only those holding the rank of Marquis or higher were allowed to attend meetings held at the Imperial Palace. Nobles of lower rank were only informed of the results decided at the meetings. I was curious about how they went back and forth and wanted to find out as much as possible.
'They must have come to scout which side would be most advantageous for them.'
Judging by the atmosphere, I seemed to be the latest. I showed my courtesy by giving them a slight nod.
"I apologize. I said I was hurrying, but it seems I am a little late."
"No, Young Lady, we actually arrived a little earlier than scheduled."
"I see. I am glad to hear that I wasn't late. Thank you for your kindness, Madam."
"My husband is the Count of Baggins."
She spoke with a confident expression, as if it were only natural that I knew the name. She appeared to have considerable pride in the family she belonged to.
As she expected, I knew Count Baggins. This was because he belonged to the elite class among the clients using the trading company. Count Baggins owned many mines. Most of the resources extracted from the mines were traded with the Pison Trading Company. Although I had never met him in person, I kept the personal details of a top-tier client in mind.
'Wasn't Count Baggins old?'
Although she was wearing heavy makeup, the woman before me looked to be in her early twenties at most. Count Baggins already had a son who was over forty. Was she his second wife?
'Well. It shouldn't matter.'
Whether she was a second wife or not, I had no interest in other people's family affairs. Whoever she was, it was enough to respond to kindness with kindness and to malice with malice.
"So you are Countess Baggins. It is nice meeting you."
"I am the one who is delighted to meet you in person, Young Lady, whom I have only heard about in rumors. Hohoho."
The woman laughed boisterously at my response. I replied to her reaction with a calm smile.
I took my eyes off her and naturally scanned the surroundings. There were about six tables in the hall.
They were placed there, and 4 to 5 women were sitting at each table.
Whether it was due to the consideration of the Marchioness Engraile or if this was originally the nature of the gathering, those assembled here were mostly young aristocratic women. Among them were some familiar faces, as well as quite a few unfamiliar ones.
"This was your first time in a place like this, wasn't it, Young Lady?"
"Yes, Marchioness."
In the case of small-scale tea parties, if one had already undergone or was about to undergo a coming-of-age ceremony, they could attend even before making their social debut.
Usually, aristocratic ladies would introduce their daughters to acquaintances and use it as a rehearsal for their social debut.
In my case, before my debut in society, there was no one to take me to tea parties, and after my debut, since there was no particular reason to attend, this was the first time.
'If I hadn't gotten entangled with Sis, I still wouldn't have intended to attend.'
To survive in aristocratic society, appropriate social interaction was necessary. In fact, even if there had been no matter with Sis, I intended to engage in social activities around the time of Landt's coming-of-age ceremony.
'It was just a matter of timing.'
"Everyone is around the same age as Young Lady, so just think of it as a casual chat."
“Thank you for your consideration.”
"I'll be right back after chatting with the others for a moment, so please enjoy yourselves."
The Marchioness stood up and moved to another table. As the host of the gathering, she could not stay at one table for too long.
"Lady Elliot, did you receive the item I sent you last time?"
"I received it well. I should have thanked you as soon as we met; it is my oversight."
"No, it wasn't a big deal. It's nothing."
Baroness Vizdel waved her hand dismissively and blushed. Before receiving the summons from the Imperial Palace, a small gift arrived from Baroness Vizdel as a return for a previous present. As she had said, it was nothing special.
However, it was impossible to pass by without saying hello.
"I have been so preoccupied that I was unable to greet you in person. Thank you for the gift, Baroness Vizdel."
"I was the one who was worried that I might have been disrespectful to someone who has just gone through such a major ordeal."
"Come to think of it, wasn't the woman hanged in the square a few days ago the young lady's nanny?"
Countess Baggins, who had been listening to the conversation between Baroness Vizdel and me with a displeased look, quickly joined in.
"How heartbroken you must have been, Lady Elliot."
She spoke to me as if to comfort me, her face filled with sorrow. As if she understood how I felt very well.
"I was really shocked. How can someone wearing a human mask be so vicious? It gave me goosebumps."
Although the tables were divided into several sections, it wasn't to the point where I couldn't hear sounds coming from other tables.
Countess Baggins' slightly high-pitched voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone present.
"To think that you kept a woman like that close by as a nanny..."
Several women frowned at Countess Baggins's words. She paid no heed and continued to chatter away.
"Lady Elliot seems too kind. It is a waste to even hang a woman like her. If it were me, I would never have let her die peacefully."
"Stop it, Countess Baggins."
When Baroness Vizdel, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward to stop her, Countess Baggins flared up and shouted.
"Did I say something wrong? I merely intended to comfort Lady Elliot, who must have suffered a great deal of emotional distress. Didn't you ask how the Lady was doing as soon as she arrived, Madam? Yet you are cornering me as if I were the only one who said something wrong. Isn't that right, Lady Elliot?"
Countess Baggins wore a confident expression, as if she had done nothing wrong. On the other hand, Baroness Vizdel blushed in embarrassment.
It was an all-too-familiar pattern. I nodded, suppressing the sneer that threatened to break through.
"Yes."
At my answer, Countess Baggins wore a triumphant expression. She scoffed at Baroness Vizdel.
After looking at me as if to say something, she spoke to me even more warmly.
"You have no idea how heartbroken I was the moment I heard the news about Young Lady."
"Thank you for thinking of me that way, Countess Baggins."
"Oh my, you're welcome. Hohoho."
When I responded in kind, Countess Baggins' face lit up.
Those reactions of hers were all too familiar to me.
Those who cling to the side of the powerful, attempting to secure their own interests with all manner of sweet talk, and are the first to turn away if it does not seem to be in their best interest.
"As you know, Young Lady, my husband and the Pison Trading Company have been close for quite a long time. I also... I want to stay close.”
“It’s an honor.”
"Oh my goodness, it is truly an honor for me!"
She burst into a satisfied laugh like a well-fed wildcat. I continued speaking, maintaining a gentle tone.
"However, I would prefer that you do not mention my nanny any further."
"... Yes?"
Countess Baggins asked back with an awkward smile, as if she had misheard something. I gave her an even deeper smile.
I had no intention of being swayed by people like this, just like back then.
“It’s inconvenient.”
Countess Baggins' face flushed red from bewilderment to embarrassment. Several women who had been watching the table where I was sitting giggled softly.
Ignoring Countess Baggins, whose face was turning red and then blue as she could not bring herself to openly vent her anger at me and could not control her boiling rage, I turned my gaze to the girl who had been cowering without saying a word throughout the gathering.
"It's been a while, Levina."
"Oh. It's been a long time, Lady Elliot."
Levina opened her eyes wide, as if she hadn't expected anyone to speak to her.
"Oh dear, didn't we agree to call each other by our names?"
"Well, that's..."
"It's Bjornne, Levina."
"B-Bjornne."
With a face bright red with embarrassment, Levina stammered out my name.
For generations, the Viscount family of Asteia has maintained a free-spirited nature as its family tradition... to the extent that Levina's father, the current Viscount of Asteia, took a commoner as his wife without any opposition from the family.
The free-spiritedness of the Second Prince, who ran away from the palace as soon as he became an adult to learn alchemy, is likely due to his maternal lineage.
Whether it was because of it or due to her mother's influence, Levina was closer to an ordinary commoner girl than a typical noblewoman. She was naive and still unaware of the ways of the world.
'No one expected that someone like her would become the wife of Marquis Lethan. Not even she herself.'
Marquis Lethan was a rough and free-spirited man, to the point of being called the "Beast of the West." While this may have been partly due to the nature of the West, which was prone to frequent conflicts because it shared a border with the Inayari tribe, Marquis Lethan was fundamentally a fight maniac who enjoyed fighting.
The fact that he fell in love with Levina at first sight, practically kidnapped her, took her to the West, and made her his wife was famous enough to be talked about for years to come.
'Come to think of it, there isn't much left.'
If my memory serves me right, Levina and Marquis Lethan will meet at the upcoming New Year's party. I remembered it clearly because it was the first New Year's party I had attended since becoming the Crown Princess.
I examined Levina's face closely once again. Her neat forehead, small but plump lips, and large, innocent-looking eyes were quite pretty, but she wasn't exactly beautiful enough to warrant kidnapping.
'Is it a case of being blind?'
It is said that when you are blinded by love, even pockmarks look like dimples. To Marquis Lethan, Levina might have appeared as a peerless beauty. In any case, the important thing was that she would later become the Marchioness Lethan. There was nothing to lose by getting close to her.
'Come to think of it, I might not be much different from that woman.'
Pretending to drink tea, I raised my cup and looked at Countess Baggins. Her flushed face had subsided, but the way she glared at me so openly suggested she was determined to get revenge.
'Tsk, I've lost a customer.'
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