Chapter 100
Rietta was thoroughly enjoying the long-awaited private time she had been so eager for. She had even instructed Lea beforehand to decorate the Goddess’s Garden with red roses, filling it with blooms of love just for this moment.
She deliberately chose flowers that carried the language of love, and her heart trembled, hoping Theodore would notice. Both the desire to be recognized and the embarrassment coexisted within her. Rietta watched Theodore absentmindedly as he sipped his tea.
“He must have endured five years at Leopold’s garrison… How can he be this handsome? He said he doesn’t like sweets. Then what should I prepare next time?”
Even though she hadn’t promised herself a “next time” with Theodore, she was already daydreaming. Since he had made time for her this once, she mistakenly assumed he would drink tea with her again. She was indulging in the delusion that, if they spent more time together, he would eventually fall in love with her.
Compared to her excitement, Theodore grimaced as he sipped the black tea he had chosen instead of cookies—it tasted almost like chewing on fresh flowers. But out of consideration for Rietta sitting across from him, he forced himself to maintain a neutral expression. Bitter and astringent as it was, the tea did not suit his taste. It reminded him, all of a sudden, of Charlotte’s favorite lemon tea.
…Thinking of Charlotte made him suddenly miss her. He quietly set his teacup down.
“So, what brings you here?”
Rietta, momentarily lost in Theodore’s impressive and handsome face, coughed lightly to regain her composure. Following the plan she and Lea had devised the night before, she first offered an apology.
“I wanted to apologize for speaking carelessly about the slums the other day. I didn’t consider that it might have upset you.”
“I didn’t expect you to still be concerned about that. I’m fine.”
The response was not what she had expected. Indeed, when he first heard her careless words, he hadn’t been pleased—but afterward, he had completely forgotten it, preoccupied with concern for Charlotte, who was in Nostrie. Seeing Theodore accept her apology so calmly, Rietta exhaled in relief and moved on to the next stage of her plan.
“Thank you for accepting my apology. Oh, by the way, I heard that Lady Blanche attended yesterday’s joint conference as a witness.”
“!”
“I understand you are acquainted with the Marquis Blanche, so does that mean you’re also close to Lady Blanche?”
“Yes. We grew up together.”
Rietta smiled broadly. This was the answer she had been hoping for.
“Really? Then, could you perhaps arrange an opportunity for me to meet her sometime?”
Theodore, who had been staring at his teacup the entire time, slowly turned his gaze toward Rietta. The sudden meeting of eyes made her shoulders flinch. Her heart began pounding violently. Each beat seemed to make her mind go momentarily blank. Taking a brief pause, she continued speaking.
“I really want to meet her, but I haven’t had the chance yet.”
“Why not?”
“Huh?”
“You could have simply sent an invitation or a letter.”
Theodore, who had been silent or giving short responses until now, finally questioned her when Charlotte’s name came up. The comment stung Rietta’s pride slightly, but keeping the conversation going was more important.
“The truth is, there was an incident some time ago.”
“An incident?”
At the word “incident,” Theodore’s tone rose slightly.
“Did something happen to Lady Blanche?”
“Oh, that…”
Unaware of what was coming, Rietta began her practiced performance with Lea, putting all her effort into acting distraught. She blinked her golden eyelashes rapidly, letting her gaze fall diagonally downward. She intentionally lengthened her words and added a trembling tone to her voice, presenting herself as fragile and pitiable.
“Lady Blanche… previously tried to poison me…”
“What are you saying?”
But nothing of what Rietta was saying registered in Theodore’s eyes. Poison? Who—Charlotte?
“Charlotte tried to poison the Saint? Who dares to utter such nonsense?”
“Nonsense…” Rietta realized something was wrong. Theodore had interrupted her mid-sentence, but she had clearly said, “Lady Blanche tried to poison me.” Normally, the response would have been, “Is that really true?” But instead, Theodore immediately dismissed it as nonsense and expressed displeasure that Charlotte was even mentioned in such a rumor.
There was no way Charlotte would have tried to poison the Saint. Theodore thought so. More than thinking—he firmly believed it.
“Could it be that Marquis Blanche already told him?”
Rietta began to panic. She considered the possibility that Marquis Blanche might have already explained the whole situation to Theodore.
If Theodore already knew all the facts, his response should have been different—he would have pointed out that it was false or asked why she was lying. Yet, Theodore seemed unaware that Charlotte had even been involved in the incident. That meant he hadn’t heard about it yet. Then…
“Does he trust Charlotte more than me, the Saint?”
Realizing this thought made Rietta feel an uncontrollable surge of anger and jealousy.
Her plan with Lea had been as follows: first, apologize for speaking carelessly about the slums without considering his background, then bring up the false accusation that Charlotte had been implicated in the poisoning incident.
Specifically, she planned to say: “Lady Potry spread false rumors that Charlotte tried to poison the Saint. Because of that, relations with Lady Blanche have been strained.”
Earlier that morning, she had casually chatted with Lady Potry, subtly letting slip that Charlotte had taken a non-biological child as her daughter.
Given how easily news spread through her, within a day or two, everyone would know that Charlotte now had a daughter.
“When Marquis Potry learns that Lady Blanche not only spread the poisoning rumor but also that Charlotte has a daughter, his anger will turn toward Lady Potry. I’ll appear as someone merely concerned for Charlotte… and then I can add a few more lies naturally.”
Lady Blanche had been subjected to many rumors over time. The poisoning incident, shouting at Lady Beyesa’s tea party, spilling tea on Lady Libro’s head—though Rietta didn’t believe Blanche actually did any of these things, she was very concerned… Something like that.
Of course, she didn’t expect to easily ruin Theodore and Charlotte’s relationship. Still, rumors were excellent tools to sow doubt, and even if they were close, they had been apart for five years—there might be some gap to exploit.
But Theodore didn’t even finish listening. He immediately sided with Charlotte. On his twisted face, Rietta felt an unbreakable trust.
“Do you know who spread such groundless rumors?”
“Ah, that…”
Unable to respond, Rietta faltered. Theodore muttered as if to himself, barely finishing his sentences. Only now did she understand why Marquis Blanche hadn’t explained the situation in detail. Slowly realizing that Charlotte had fled north under the false accusation of poisoning the Saint, Theodore muttered to himself.
“Unaware of that, and you casually requested a partnership…”
“A partnership request?”
At that moment, Rietta felt as if she had been hit in the head with a hammer. The final stage of her plan had been to ask Theodore to be her partner for the title conferment ceremony. But he had already requested a partnership—for Charlotte!
“You mean… the partner for the title conferment?”
“Yes. I requested a partnership.”
Theodore was so focused on Charlotte that he didn’t notice Rietta’s face flush red and then turn pale. His mind was only on discovering what had happened to Charlotte during the five years she was away on the expedition. He stood up.
“Excuse me, but may I go ahead first?”
“Huh?”
“I just remembered something I had forgotten.”
Rietta nodded dumbly, but thought: Wait… could he be going to that woman?
She rushed to stop him, but Theodore had already left the Goddess’s Garden. Rietta, awkwardly standing, sank back into her seat.
This wasn’t what she wanted. She had planned to subtly hint at negative rumors and ask questions she had been curious about—how Charlotte had been during her return to the capital, if she was nervous about the upcoming title ceremony, whether she disliked other sweets, and casually establish a reason to greet her next time they met.
Rietta clenched her fists tightly. Her reflection in the now-cold tea looked completely distorted.
“Why! Why would he like that woman so much?!”
“Mark!”
As soon as Theodore returned to the Paladin training ground, he went straight to find Mark. Mark had been eyeing men’s perfume and scented oils to cover the persistent bloodstains that wouldn’t go away.
With nothing else to do, Mark was leisurely looking through a catalog his sister had sent when Theodore approached at frightening speed, making him flinch.
What is it? Is he angry because I’ve been slacking off in training? Or did Lady Blanche reject his date request? That would really be a problem.
“Commander, you shouldn’t give up just because you were rejected once.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, it’s good if that’s not the case. What do you need?”
Since the matter involved high society, it would have been best to ask a young lady or noblewoman. But the only woman close to Theodore was Charlotte, and next was Mark’s sister, Lady Molly.
“Could you ask Lady Molly to find out what rumors Charlotte has been involved in?”
