49.
Upon arriving at the royal castle, Anita and Lancelot decided to adjust their remaining schedule in Hixen.
They chose to cancel all their plans and return to Shavalon first thing tomorrow morning.
This decision was driven primarily by Lancelot’s intentions.
“More than half of the servants at the Duke Edenbahir Residence have been dismissed. Furthermore, I must prepare to bring George Pager in, and we need to hire an estate manager to work alongside him. It would be far more efficient to handle these household matters than to deal with those in Hixen who spend their time lost in alcohol, dance, and drugs.”
Anita fully agreed with Lancelot’s proposal.
While settling the matters he enumerated was important, above all else…
‘I want to check the contents of the vault as soon as possible.’
After making significant changes to their schedule, Anita went to visit Countess Adelaide.
Meeting Countess Adelaide at the royal castle was a truly joyful and exciting affair. In this vast castle, the only women she knew were Countess Milena, the Queen, and Countess Adelaide.
Countess Adelaide, who welcomed her warmly, expressed disappointment at the news of Anita’s early departure.
“In that case, it is as if the introductions to the other noblewomen have been skipped entirely.”
“Making good female friends was a matter you particularly emphasized, Countess. It is truly a pity that I will not be able to follow through.”
After contemplating for a moment, Countess Adelaide glanced at her watch and made a suggestion to Anita.
“If it is acceptable to you, Duchess, I will introduce you to some noblewomen who may be of help. It won’t take long. Would you care to enjoy tea for a short while, perhaps three hours, before you depart?”
It was a somewhat sudden proposal, but coming from Countess Adelaide, it seemed fine.
They say you can tell a person by the company they keep.
If they were acquaintances of Countess Adelaide, there was little need to worry.
“That sounds lovely. However, I would be burdened if there were too many…”
“I will limit it to three.”
“Thank you.”
The tea party was arranged very quickly under the pretext of Anita’s farewell.
At the table sat…
“I’m truly surprised. Having a conversation among women and leaving me out? Wasn’t I, Countess Milena, the hands and feet of the Duchess? My whole body was itching with a mountain of questions I wanted to ask anyway!”
Countess Milena had naturally inserted herself.
Countess Adelaide looked at her with disapproval but did not kick her out or raise her voice. Anita had felt it even before arriving at the royal castle; it seemed Countess Adelaide found Countess Milena bothersome, but did not exactly loathe her.
She naturally ignored Countess Milena and introduced the woman standing on the far right.
“Let me introduce you, Duchess. This is Viscountess Grisha.”
Viscountess Grisha, who had her long blonde hair pinned up, was a beauty so stunning it made one’s eyes widen.
‘The one they called the greatest beauty in Hixen…?’
Her pink cheeks, which formed an exquisite harmony with her abundant hair, reminded Anita of a delicate hydrangea. Anita had never seen a beauty like Viscountess Grisha in her life.
“It is an honor to meet you, Duchess. You are truly… as much of a beauty as I caught glimpses of at the ball.”
Viscountess Grisha, who greeted her humbly, stepped back with a shy smile.
“This is Baroness Yujir. She is a distant relative of mine from the Kingdom of Hespain.”
The second woman, with brown hair, grabbed Anita’s hand with an enthusiastic gaze.
“I have devoured every story. I have been counting the days until I could meet you, Duchess.”
“A… story, you say?”
“The romance between the Duke and yourself, Duchess.”
Ah…
As Anita found herself unable to say anything, Countess Adelaide gave a short warning.
“Baroness Yujir.”
“The Duchess is my role model. Please, do enlighten me.”
Enlighten her on what? How to lose a biological father and marry a high-ranking man? Would it not be a major problem if she learned that and put it into practice?
“My goodness, how ridiculous. There are truly so many peculiar women in Hespain, aren’t there? I suppose I still have a long way to go.”
Countess Adelaide naturally brushed off Countess Milena’s backhanded comment and introduced the final noblewoman.
Wait, the final participant of this tea party was not a noblewoman, but…
“This is…”
“Sister!”
“This is Miss Sasha House, also from the Kingdom of Hespain. I invited her because I heard she has been close to the Duchess since childhood.”
It was a young lady younger than her. Anita hugged Sasha with a feeling of delight.
“Sasha!”
“Why is it so hard to see you? Do you have any idea how often I’ve visited to try and see you, Sister?”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy lately.”
“Well, I figured as much. From marriage to lawsuits… it seems there is a lot of news to hear. More than that, I heard some surprising news on the way here. I heard you have a long-standing connection with Major Bimark Paulofna?”
It was such an unexpected name to come out of Sasha’s mouth that Anita could not help but ask back.
“Who did you hear that from? Not many people would know about that.”
“Who else? I heard it from the Major himself. Oh, did you not know, Sister? I got engaged to the Major at the end of last year.”
Anita’s eyes widened at the unexpected news.
“What? Engaged?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? A political engagement. If there are no major issues, we plan to marry next spring.”
Bimark’s marriage. And furthermore, to Sasha, the younger sister of her close friend, Claunia.
‘This is the first I’m hearing of this… Why didn’t Major Bimark tell me?’
Just because they hadn’t seen each other for a few years didn’t mean they hadn’t exchanged letters.
On the contrary, Bimark had contacted her quite diligently and regularly. The interval was at most two months, and at least fifteen days. He looked after her as if she were truly his own sister.
Was that why? She felt a bit hurt that she heard the news of such a big event—an engagement and marriage—from Sasha’s lips rather than Bimark’s. As if her feeling of him being like family was just a delusion of Anita’s own.
Still, it was clearly a joyous occasion. Anita put on a bright smile and held Sasha’s hands.
“Congratulations, Sasha. Do you have any questions about Major Bimark? If you have any, feel free to ask. I will tell you everything I am able to answer.”
“No, thank you.”
Sasha swiftly rejected her kindness.
“Men are all the same, aren’t they? I have no expectations, so I have nothing to ask. With how handsome he is, who’s to say he doesn’t have a mistress?”
At the blank expression that showed neither favor nor hostility, Anita spoke, feeling somewhat flustered.
“The Major is not that kind of person. He is kind, he doesn’t lie, and he has a great sense of responsibility. I am certain you two will make a good couple.”
“If you say so, then that is a relief.”
She had tried her best to persuade her, but the reaction was lukewarm.
While she was deliberating on what else to say to put Sasha at ease, Countess Milena, who had been fiddling with her fingernails, interjected with a tone of being bored to death.
“Ah. How long do you intend to talk only about things the two of you know? Five women have gathered; can’t we have a more enjoyable conversation?”
Starting from that moment, the women who had been listening quietly began to speak one by one.
Their conversation slowly expanded, starting with the engagement of Bimark and Sasha.
Of course, the main dish was the romance between Lancelot and Anita. Even Countess Adelaide, who had been trying to look elsewhere as if she were uninterested, gave her full attention to every word Anita said.
‘How embarrassing.’
Furthermore, weaving in appropriate lies here and there was a task in itself.
That ‘the Lancelot’ had knelt and begged her to marry him, that ‘the Lancelot’ had sworn eternal love, that to ‘the Lancelot’ social status difference was of no importance…
‘Does Lancelot know that adding lies to the truth is harder than just telling the truth?’
A fake marriage feels like a more difficult play than I thought.
Thanks to that, the conversation went on longer than expected, and they ended up enjoying dinner together and parting late at night.
As the drinks began to flow, Anita excused herself, claiming her husband was waiting, and hastily fled the tea party.
*Click.*
Having stepped out of Countess Adelaide’s room, Anita leaned her weary body against the closed door.
“Phew.”
Was it alright? Did I make a mistake?
I was careful with every single word so I wouldn’t look timid…
‘Still, it’s a relief they treated me comfortably. If I had been any more nervous, I would have looked like a fool.’
So not all nobles despise me. As she thought of the faces of the noblewomen who had seemed genuinely joyful, her tired heart seemed to melt away.
It was at that moment that a bright light illuminated her left cheek.
Is it a servant? Anita turned her head, squinting her eyes against the bright light.
“…Lancelot?”
He was standing where her gaze landed. Lancelot.
Anita asked with a dazed expression.
“How are you here… could it be that you were waiting for me here?”
He turned around instead of answering.
“Let’s go back.”