Chapter 109 …
“D-Duchess!”
The moment Mrs. Perkin spotted Ivy in the distance, she began waving her hands like a madwoman before Ivy had even reached the gate.
Frowning at her near-hysterical behavior, Ivy spoke coldly from the other side of the large gate.
“At this late hour, to come to someone else’s estate without permission and cause a disturbance—you should be ashamed of yourself as the mistress of a noble house.”
Despite the sharp reprimand, Mrs. Perkin only grinned and nodded eagerly.
“Oh my, I’m terribly sorry. But I simply couldn’t bear not delivering this news to you right away!”
“I’m not the slightest bit curious about your news, so leave at once. Have you forgotten that you’re under house arrest?”
“But wasn’t that just an order the young princess gave on a whim?”
“Whether she is young or old, it is an imperial command personally issued by the princess. If you don’t leave immediately, I’ll report you for defying it. Keep that in mind.”
After delivering the firm warning, Ivy turned away without hesitation.
‘You were desperate to drag down the princess before. And now you’re going to abandon me after I even took risks for you?’
Grinding her teeth inwardly, Mrs. Perkin slammed her fists against the gate and called out urgently.
“W-Wait a moment, Duchess! This time I really carried out what you ordered properly! I didn’t make mistakes like before!”
“…Like before? What do you mean by that? It sounds like you’re trying to pin whatever scheme you concocted on me. That won’t work.”
At Ivy’s reply, Mrs. Perkin put on an exaggeratedly wronged voice, as if she had been waiting for this.
“Why are you pretending not to know? Yesterday, on your way out of the imperial palace, you gave me orders. You told me to frighten the princess—without causing her direct harm—and make her confess she would give up the throne! You even told me to hurry since His Majesty will be returning soon.”
“When did I ever say such nonsense—”
But Mrs. Perkin, her face flushed with theatrical excitement, was much faster to continue.
“As you instructed, a few hours ago I sent letters to the noble ladies of the charity society, telling them to come to the imperial palace tonight! Under the pretext of preparing a lantern festival to welcome His Majesty and the knights’ return!”
The lantern festival was an Eastern Empire tradition that began with families lighting lanterns in front of their homes while waiting for knights to return from campaign.
When the emperor personally went to war, high-ranking noblewomen would sometimes keep lanterns lit until dawn while awaiting the knights’ return.
However, as wars between the Eastern and Western Empires grew too frequent, the custom gradually faded. After Zeuscia ascended the throne, the lantern festival had not been held at all.
Partly because Ivy, the central figure among the noblewomen, had influence—and partly because Zeuscia disliked such formalities.
“Mrs. Perkin, that’s enough slander. I swear to the Lord I never gave you such absurd instructions. And a lantern festival? His Majesty won’t reach the capital until the day after tomorrow. What exactly are you plotting by preparing it today?”
Even under Ivy’s icy, almost murderous gaze, Mrs. Perkin beamed brightly, as if thoroughly amused.
“That’s because we plan to release dogs in front of the princess’s bedroom while pretending to prepare the lantern festival.”
“Dogs?”
“Yes. I heard the princess is terribly afraid of dogs. Fortunately, keeping animals has recently become fashionable among the capital’s nobility, so every lady agreed to bring her pet dog. Since it was the Duchess’s command, I’m sure they bought or borrowed one if they didn’t have any.”
Explaining in a cheerful tone as if sharing pleasant news, Mrs. Perkin finished with a sinister look in her eyes.
“Chased by frightening dogs while in her nightclothes and laughed at by the other ladies and servants—this should be just enough to scare her without going too far, just as you originally ordered, wouldn’t it?”
The moment she faced that vicious expression, Ivy let out a hollow laugh.
‘She’s really lost her mind if she thinks she can frame me by causing another incident.’
Anyone else might have been caught in this insane scheme—but she was Ivy Lipchik.
After confirming the red ring shining on her finger, Ivy signaled to the private soldier waiting in the distance.
“Open the gate.”
At the command, the knights rushed forward and opened the massive gate, the heavy barrier between Ivy and Mrs. Perkin disappearing with a loud rumble.
“Of course, considering our long-standing relationship, if you show me a little sincerity, I might choose not to reveal anything we just discussed.”
With a sly smile, Mrs. Perkin extended her hand as if proposing a secret deal.
Since she had already fallen out of the duchess’s favor, she was blatantly trying to secure a hefty payoff before leaving.
“….”
Instead of responding to the obvious ploy, Ivy approached Mrs. Perkin with elegant steps.
When the distance between them was close enough to grasp hands, Ivy stopped and spoke in a low voice.
“I may be a bad person for harboring ill thoughts toward a child, but you’ve crossed the line by a mile, Misery Perkin.”
“…Pardon? What do you—”
“More than anything, you underestimated me.”
Smack—
Before she could even process the words, Mrs. Perkin’s head snapped to the side.
She was genuinely shocked.
Being slapped by the most elegant woman in the Eastern Empire—who never dirtied her own hands—had not been part of the scenario.
“D-Duch—?”
“Get out of my estate at once. I don’t wish to exchange another word with trash like you.”
As if she had touched something filthy, Ivy brushed off her hand and shot Mrs. Perkin a look of contempt.
“Not only did you fail to repent, you once again plotted to harm a member of the imperial family and tried to pin the blame on me. You will certainly pay the price for this.”
Leaving the clear warning behind, Ivy turned to the two knights who had opened the gate.
“Sir, drive that woman as far from my estate as possible.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“And you—prepare to head to the imperial palace immediately.”
They say misunderstanding is free. With Zeuscia absent, Ivy firmly believed she was the adult closest to the princess in the Eastern Empire after the emperor.
‘That child—no, the princess—said I’m the prettiest, after all.’
If she saved Orpherila from that ridiculous scheme, she could surely wash away the disappointed expression the girl had shown earlier.
‘Before Zeuscia returns, I’ll resolve everything Mrs. Perkin set in motion and make sure the princess doesn’t suspect me. And then…’
She wanted to see that bright, smiling face again—just like when they first met in the sky garden.
Hurrying into the carriage, Ivy secretly practiced a gentle smile, hoping to arrive at the imperial palace as quickly as possible.
Perhaps thanks to my incredible concentration, by the time I finished writing the letter, the sky had already turned pitch black.
‘Ah, I feel so proud! At this rate, that demon hag will definitely like it—…wait! Wasn’t that a puppy just now?’
It sounded like a whimpering puppy from beyond the door.
A chill ran down my spine, and my body stiffened without me realizing.
“Ber—”
I was about to call him when I quickly clapped both hands over my mouth.
‘Right, Verdandi went to Hestia.’
A few minutes ago, I had asked Verdandi to retrieve the pretty stone that Miss Minari had left at the front desk.
He was the only person around me who could leave the palace right now, and more importantly, I was certain Verdandi wouldn’t pry into the gift’s origin or open the enclosed letter.
“I will go and return immediately.”
Trustworthy Verdandi’s eyes had sparkled as if he was simply happy to be entrusted with the task.
I had been about to see him off with a smile when I belatedly noticed that the back of his neck was completely exposed.
What if something serious happened to him again because of the dragon mark wrapped around his neck?
Inside the imperial palace, it was known that Verdandi was my guard—but outside, it was obvious what kind of treatment a dragonkin might receive.
“W-Wait a moment, Verdandi!”
Stopping him first, I led Verdandi into the dressing room and, after much deliberation like I was channeling Sister Chichi, picked up a soft, fluffy white cloak.
“Wear this! Put this on before you go.”
