Chapter 68
Several noble ladies who had been listening clicked their tongues and criticized Clara.
“Lady Martis, your words are far too harsh! It feels as if you’re treating us like outsiders who weren’t invited to the duke’s residence…!”
“Oh, I’m just trying to point out that it’s because you haven’t seen the ‘air conditioner,’ that’s all,” Clara replied.
“Even so, your tone is excessive! You should speak more politely and wisely…”
“That’s because I’m of commoner origin. I hope you’ll forgive me for that. What I have in abundance isn’t grace, but money,” Clara said.
“What did you say? You’re proud of that?”
Usually, being from a commoner background would get her scolded, but how could she be so rude?
It seemed she no longer cared about the judgment of those around her.
“I heard that the Empress even fell asleep because she was so comfortable at the Duke Clotilde’s residence.”
“Really?”
A few noble ladies who had not particularly criticized Melanie began to show interest.
Natalie tried to redirect the conversation back to herself and offered Clara a graceful smile.
“It seems you’re reading too much into the fact that Her Majesty the Empress was resting due to not feeling well.”
“Her Majesty herself said she was so comfortable. After all, there’s an ‘air conditioner’ at Duke Clotilde’s residence, so it makes sense she would drift off to sleep,” Clara explained.
“Wait… an ‘air conditioner’?”
“You see, Lady Baiha, you’ve never been invited to Duke Clotilde’s residence, so you wouldn’t know,” Clara said confidently, lifting her chin.
In an instant, everyone attending the gathering focused on her.
“The weather in the Empire is hot right now, isn’t it?”
“Hot? It’s just pleasantly warm and sunny,” a noble lady replied.
“Oh dear, Lady Baiha really does have a capital-centric way of thinking,” Natalie snapped at Clara’s comment.
“The Baiha family estate is in the southern Empire. Compared to there, the capital’s weather is really mild, you know?” Clara countered.
“Hmph, comparing southern Empire weather to the capital? You didn’t even consider the perspective of Her Majesty, who came from the northern continent, did you?”
“What do you mean…”
Natalie was momentarily speechless, unable to respond.
Seizing the silence, a curious noble lady beside them spoke up.
“So, Lady Clotilde was chosen for the Wings of Harimines because of this ‘air conditioner’? What is that exactly?”
“It’s for people suffering from the heat. It’s a magical artifact that blows cool air!”
“Cool air… artificially? Is that even possible?”
“It’s a combination of wind and ice magic. Quite an ingenious idea, isn’t it!”
Noble ladies with some knowledge of magic nodded in admiration at Clara’s explanation.
‘Artificially creating cold wind? So what?’
But Natalie still didn’t grasp the concept.
Clara, noticing Natalie’s confusion, looked at her with a mocking smile.
“Luckily, I’m friends with Lady Clotilde, so I could see it myself. Since it’s something the world has never seen before, I understand why it’s hard to imagine how amazing it is.”
Then Scarlet, unwilling to be outdone, added her own comment.
“I’m friends too, and I’ve already experienced the ‘air conditioner.’ Watching a movie at the home theater on a hot day without going outside felt like heaven!”
“But we also installed a home theater in our mansion…”
By this point, the crowd’s curiosity had shifted from why Lady Clotilde was chosen for the Wings of Harimines to what exactly this air conditioner was that made her stand out.
‘What’s with the atmosphere?’ Natalie bit her lip. The situation was not unfolding as she had intended.
“I heard that air conditioners aren’t commercially available yet, but Melanie has installed them in some of the newly built theaters,” Clara explained.
“Oh, the theater they built in our estate is similar to a home theater…”
Even the group that had subtly agreed with Natalie earlier now sided with Clara and Scarlet.
‘I couldn’t even get the crown’s attention as my family’s flower, and I wasn’t chosen for the Wings of Harimines,’ Natalie thought bitterly.
Not only that, she realized, ‘And now I’ve become a foolish person who can’t even consider someone else’s circumstances?’
The other noble ladies acted as if they had never supported Natalie, leaving her alone, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge Melanie’s achievements.
‘Air conditioners, fans… That commoner talks well because she sells goods. But will people really respond? They might show some temporary interest, but it’ll fade soon enough.’
Contrary to Natalie’s expectations, news spread quickly that the Empress had enjoyed the air conditioner and fan.
After the Harimines Week, in the middle of summer, temperatures in the Phyraizen Empire had risen higher than usual.
“Wow… it’s really cool. Actually, it’s almost cold,” someone remarked.
“It’s fortunate that fans were made this summer. What would we have done without them?”
The theaters built in remote regions became natural advertisements for the air conditioner. Those who visited wanted to order one themselves, and the nobles in the capital who hadn’t traveled there were even more eager.
“Air conditioners are currently unavailable, but fans can be purchased immediately,” was the announcement.
Air conditioners were expensive and difficult to obtain due to high demand, but fans were cheaper and could be received quickly.
Since the Empire’s summer heat could be handled with just fans, they quickly became widespread. Even those uninterested in theaters purchased magical artifacts, with at least one fan per household becoming standard.
Although Melanie was pleased, she couldn’t help feeling a tinge of disappointment.
‘It’s nice, but what I wanted initially wasn’t to become part of the Wings of Harimines—I wanted to reform the marriage system…’
Empress Miriel, thanks to the air conditioner and fans Melanie gifted her, was maintaining the clearest state of mind she had experienced all summer.
Even as the weather grew hotter than when she visited the Clotilde residence, she remained steady.
“I’m so glad to see you in such good health,” the Emperor said.
Seeing the Empress retain her clarity even in the hottest part of the day brought the Emperor joy, and the Empress smiled as well.
“I’m happy to finally be able to fulfill my role properly,” she said.
Recovering from the exhaustion caused by the unbearable heat, she reviewed some documents.
The Emperor, finding her diligence admirable yet concerning, said, “Take a little more rest. Why are you working so hard?”
He naturally glanced at the documents she was reviewing. They all pertained to the marriage system.
“Actually, the issues with the marriage system were suggested by Lady Clotilde. Of course, I’m grateful for the air conditioner and fan, but it’s not wrong to say the system has problems, is it?”
In the Phyraizen Empire, marriages were not between individuals but between families.
The documents listed cases of harm caused by systemic flaws: a young lady forced into marriage despite her fiancé’s death, leading to her suicide; engagements broken by mutual consent but blocked by the family, leading to unhappy marriages and infidelity…
‘Were there really this many cases?’
The Emperor frowned at the documents, seeing the flaws laid bare.
“An issue we should objectively discuss in a council,” he declared.
A few days later, he brought up marriage reform at a palace council meeting.
“Many suffer when their prospective spouse suddenly changes. Even if the individuals’ feelings have changed, they must still follow the family’s will, not their own.”
“Hmm…”
The noble heads were indifferent, thinking the reforms wouldn’t affect their influence much.
However, seeing Empress Miriel more lively than before, the Emperor was determined. Duke Clotilde strongly supported the reforms.
“Yes, this is a problem that must change,” he asserted.
At that moment, the one person who opposed without hesitation was Count Beldert.
“You’d think the heads of houses would have the wisdom of experience, but if young people conduct marriages recklessly, it could be disastrous!”
‘Ah, so with the Ingda Marquisate falling, Polius Youngblood wanted to secure Lady Clotilde again,’ someone noted.
‘Tsk, tsk, that’s what happens when you mistreat your wife and drive your eldest child away.’
Even those slow to catch up now understood the situation. With Count Beldert forcefully opposing, it was impossible to ignore.
‘If the marriage system changes, Count Beldert will go absolutely berserk,’ they thought.
Ironically, his opposition became the decisive factor.
Seeing Beldert’s reaction, the other heads of houses readily agreed to the marriage reforms.
They felt a sense of superiority, thinking, ‘If my child were like Damian, I wouldn’t behave like Count Beldert.’
