CHAPTER 23
A few days later, I was once again waiting for the date of the tea party.
Just as casually as always—after all, it was Osborne who had invited me.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
“Miss, a letter has arrived from the Arahan family…?”
“Oh, that must be the letter telling me to come pick up my clothes.”
“…Clothes?”
“…There’s something like that. The wig and outfit I wore when we went down to the village. Could you bring those?”
“…You’re not planning on causing trouble again, are you…?”
“I’m just picking up clothes. What trouble could there be?”
Maya sighed deeply before leaving the room. Only after the door closed did I finally open the letter from Rath Arahan.
As expected, it said the clothes were ready and that I should come collect them. There was also a neatly written note detailing the location of the salon.
And along with that—
“Would you like to have dinner together…?”
“…What is this about having dinner together…?”
“Oh, by the way, a letter also came from the Imperial Palace.”
“…Huh?”
Finally. It’s come. The thing that shouldn’t have come…!
I took the letter from Maya, and instantly, my head began to throb.
Why did I have to get involved…?!
But it was already too late. Carefully, I opened the seal and read.
“…Would you like to have dinner together tonight…?”
Why was everyone suddenly so obsessed with dinner today? All I wanted was to eat quietly at my own estate.
“Oh my…! His Majesty has invited you to dinner…!”
Maya looked far more excited than I felt, unable to hide her astonishment. But for me, it was anything but pleasant.
Why was I being dragged into this instead of the main character, Osborne?
sigh…
“Well… I suppose I should attend the Emperor’s invitation first.”
With that decision made, I picked up a pen and wrote a reply to the Arahan family. The contents were simple: I already had a prior engagement—one with Emperor Karlcia Senil Morc.
Perhaps His Majesty had summoned me because of the incident at the noble ball. But then why send a letter through Arahan? He could have contacted me directly.
“Please ask Jerome to send this letter to the Arahan family.”
“Understood~ Oh, I’ll leave the clothes here!”
While I was writing, Maya placed the prepared outfit on a chair and hurried out.
Once she left, I stood and picked up the box.
After about thirty minutes of walking, I arrived at the village, still as lively as ever. Noble carriages passed by, merchants shouted to advertise their goods—it was bustling with life.
Browsing the market brought a strange sense of relief.
Must be the instincts of a former commoner.
If I had possessed the role of a nameless extra, I might have settled down somewhere like this. But Elizabeth, surrounded by enemies on all sides…
Maybe quietly doing as I’m told, dying peacefully, and returning to my original world would be the best outcome.
Eventually, I reached the salon, where Madame greeted me warmly. It seemed Arahan had made arrangements in advance.
“Oh, you’ve come after receiving the letter.”
“Yes.”
She handed me the prepared box, explaining that it was the outfit ordered by the Duke. I turned to leave—
Then stopped.
“Um, Madame.”
“Hm? Do you need something else?”
This shop’s name was definitely Baguette Salon.
I remembered it clearly because the name sounded like baguette. It was the salon Osborne frequently visited in the original story. And by coincidence—or perhaps fate—this was also where Arahan had ordered my clothes.
Only now did I realize it.
First, I’ll order Elizabeth’s outfit just like in the original… then switch it with Osborne’s later.
“No, I’ll take care of it next time. Thank you.”
“Hehe, alright. Please convey my thanks to the Duke.”
I answered briefly and left the shop. I hadn’t lost much time, but before heading to the Imperial Palace, I returned home and sent a separate letter to Baguette Salon to place an order.
“…But it’s fine to open this, right…?”
Since it was supposedly my outfit, I lifted the lid.
And froze.
The fabric was unmistakably luxurious. I didn’t even need to fully take it out to know how expensive it was. The massive gemstone embedded in the chest practically screamed diamond.
The faint pink, off-shoulder dress shimmered under the light, the jewel at its center impossible to ignore. Clearly, Arahan had chosen it with Elizabeth’s love for extravagance in mind.
“…I should thank them later.”
Lost in thought, I quickly changed once I arrived back at the Count’s estate and headed for the dinner Karlcia had invited me to.
I had a rough idea of how the conversation would go. It made me uneasy—but this was the result of doing my job too well.
After a short ride, I arrived at the Imperial Palace. It hadn’t been long since the Imperial Ball, yet exhaustion already weighed on me.
Guided by the maids, I walked toward the garden where dinner had been prepared.
With every step, my unease grew.
…Why is my bad feeling never wrong?
“…Duke?”
“It’s been a while, Young Lady.”
It hadn’t been that long since we last met. So why was Rath Arahan here?
“Please, take a seat.”
Again, casually. As if nothing were wrong.
Had I made a mistake?
“The reason I invited you today is because of the noble faction ball.”
“I understand Marquis Soboron invited both His Majesty and me again.”
“Indeed. We had two objectives. First, to confirm that Luciela had shifted allegiance to the noble faction. We succeeded—she attended not merely as a saint, but as one of them.”
I nodded, recalling the whispers from that night.
“The second matter concerns goods being secretly smuggled among the nobles.”
“…Smuggling?”
This wasn’t in the original story.
“Yes. The auction for those goods will take place at the charity event hosted by Marquis Soboron’s wife.”
“…What?!”
So that’s why Karlcia invited me.
They were concerned about information leaks. Letters could be intercepted. Mistakes could happen.
Which meant only one thing.
I would be attending the charity event—with the Emperor.
This wasn’t some spy mission. I just wanted to die quietly as a villainess.
“So you plan to uncover the smuggling routes? The source and distribution?”
“Yes. The items are dangerous—”
“Drugs?”
“…Huh?”
Karlcia turned toward me, startled.
“Well… weapons?”
The silence that followed confirmed it.
Both Arahan and Karlcia stared at me.
In that moment, I realized how little they thought of Elizabeth.
She wasn’t ignorant. As a noble, she had been educated like anyone else. But people only saw the villainess obsessed with luxury.
“…Yes. Weapons.”
“But weapon distribution is regulated by class,” I continued. “So you suspect they’re secretly gathering non-Imperial soldiers and arming them?”
Silence.
I sipped my tea.
“You really are different now.”
“…Pfft—!”
I spat out my tea in shock.
Disaster.
I was supposed to be Elizabeth.
“Tsk.”
Karlcia handed me his handkerchief. I wiped my mouth quickly.
I need to be careful.
“Haha… Well, that’s the gist of it.”
Awkward laughter filled the air.
“Let’s end the discussion here and eat,” Arahan said.
And so, I ate beside Karlcia Senil Morc, feeling like I was trapped in a corporate dinner.
Once this charity event was over—
I’d start acting like a proper villainess.
