MFWSP 49

Chapter 49

“And a message arrived from the imperial palace.”

Rei handed over the envelope she had been holding.

Tearing open the red seal and checking its contents, I found a lavishly decorated invitation inside, adorned with gold and silver paint.

“A victory banquet invitation regarding the war with Tarwa.”

I spoke.

“Who delivered it?”

“The chamberlain himself. I think he brought at least a dozen attendants.”

“They’re putting on quite the show.”

I looked over the invitation again.

The script beneath the glittering gold and silver embellishments was in the empress’s handwriting.

“She must be trying to hide her displeasure over her stepson’s victory by throwing a grand banquet.”

“That’s right. According to my palace connections, she’s even pouring the Marquis of Ludes’ money into this event. Rumor has it she’s such a loving mother that she cherishes her stepson like her own blood.”

“She probably started that rumor herself.”

At Rei’s comment, Morve muttered under his breath.

He, Aken, and Jurik had held ill feelings toward the imperial family ever since Apellemion’s regent was chosen five years ago. Those feelings had only worsened after their last visit to the palace.

“They’ve summoned even the heads of families from their territories, so we’ll see plenty of unfamiliar faces.”

The end of the Kahnav War carried significant weight.

Though the empress had discouraged noble support, no one could deny that a defeat would have endangered the entire empire.

Thus, this banquet was bound to be tedious.

It would mostly be a chance for the many family heads to excuse themselves for not supporting Carsiel.

“You’ll be attending as well, won’t you, Duke? Should I send a reply?”

“…”

I didn’t answer, lost in thought.

It was proper etiquette to attend, but I had more urgent matters to deal with.

“Is the Duke of Serve and his family really not attending?”

I asked Rei.

“They haven’t confirmed, but he’s been sending word that he’s busy for several days now.”

“A clear sign he doesn’t intend to come.”

I recalled a memory from a past life.

Because the Kahnav War ended swiftly this time, this life had already deviated from my second one.

In my second life, the Duke of Serve had sent troops to Kahnav, aiding Carsiel’s victory and attending the victory banquet as a proud member of the returning army.

That was also when Grace was introduced into the capital’s social circle. During the months the war dragged on, she had prepared for her journey and visited the “Black Valley” with her own escort.

In other words, she had acquired the red and blue fruits.

It must’ve been easy for her. In my first life, I had studied the flow of magic long enough to pinpoint the location of those fruits.

Grace, having read the original story, would have known this. With enough time and manpower, she could’ve scoured the Black Valley and retrieved the two fruits just in time to save the empire.

But this time, the war had ended far too soon.

Because of that, Grace hadn’t obtained the fruits yet, and therefore, she likely wouldn’t be able to make it to the capital for the banquet.

Of course, I had no intention of letting those fruits fall into her hands.

“But apparently, the Duke of Serve isn’t in his territory either.”

Rei continued.

“What do you mean?”

“One of my palace colleagues has a sister working as a maid in the Serve duchy. She says the duke left recently with a large escort, claiming he was visiting Viscount Tygen, who had been ill. He even brought his daughter, who was recently sick.”

“Viscount Tygen? He went there?”

Rei nodded, and I frowned.

Grace was moving quickly.

The “Black Valley” was land of ancient mages, technically part of the empire but claimed by no territory.

It was laced with untamed spells, making it inaccessible even to the imperial family.

Only two noble houses had lands bordering the valley.

The Marquess of Adelon, and the Viscount of Tygen.

Without going through one of those two houses, it would take months just to find the valley’s entrance.

Most reliable guides in the area also belonged to those two houses, so anyone looking for something in the valley had no choice but to go through them.

In my second life, Grace had partnered with the Tygen family.

Naturally.

While the Adelon family knew the valley better, they were notorious for being picky about outsiders entering their land.

“And no word from the Adelons?”

I asked.

Rei shook her head.

“Your letter was sent ten days ago, but there’s been no reply.”

I bit my lower lip in frustration.

Had I been too late?

Right after reclaiming my family from Julius, I had written to David of the Adelon family.

The message had been simple: I was ready to claim the reward from our wager, so I requested he guide me to the Black Valley.

I had added that I would leave for Adelon as soon as I received a reply.

“So it’s a refusal.”

Muttering to myself, I absentmindedly fidgeted with the imperial invitation when there was a knock at the door.

“Excuse me, Duke. I was told to deliver this immediately if anything came from Adelon.”

A servant entered, holding a pink envelope.

“Give it here.”

I quickly tore it open and read the contents.

The sender was David Adelon.

_“To the esteemed Duke of Apellemion,

I cannot express how thrilled I was to receive your letter. Though we only met once, I can’t forget your dazzling smile—”_

“Pointless fluff.”

I skimmed through the rest in haste, searching for the real message beneath all the praises about my beauty and wisdom.

Finally, I found it.

He said he couldn’t get permission from the marquess, so he wasn’t able to invite me to Adelon right now.

“…”

I read the rest of the letter with a complicated expression.

“…Therefore, I look forward to seeing you again at the imperial victory banquet.”

There was even a part that sounded suspiciously like a love confession. And two lines below that was a curious ending:

“The son of Adelon accepts the outcome of our wager.”

“Wait, isn’t David the third son of the Marquess of Adelon? The one known for making countless women cry since childhood…?”

Peeking over my shoulder, Morve grimaced after reading the sender’s name.

“My lady, please don’t judge him by his face! The Adelons are a family obsessed with bets and gambling.”

“Ay, you inherited your mother’s bad habit of falling for pretty faces. Didn’t the late duke seduce Nikela just with his looks…?”

Aken and Jurik offered serious warnings as well.

I ignored them and re-analyzed the letter.

He rejected the visit, but accepted the wager’s result?

And he still asked to meet?

“If you really want a handsome man, I’ll find you one. This guy’s reputation is too—”

“Send him a reply, Rei. Tell him I’ll meet him.”

I cut off Morve’s protests and spoke to Rei. Aken and Jurik both stared at me blankly.

“I’ll go whenever, wherever, under whatever conditions he wants. I’m the one in a hurry, after all.”

“Yes, Duke.”

Their eyes grew wide at each word I spoke, but I didn’t have time to explain. I was busy.

“And order an extravagant dress. One that’ll stand out more than anyone else’s at the banquet.”

If I had to attend, I may as well do it with full dignity.

The last time I mingled in society, I had been hanging off a Pegasus, disheveled and frantic—definitely not my best look.

“They said the banquet lasts five days, right? Tell David I’ll arrive on the day he gets there. If I miss him, I’ll regret it for life.”

“Yes, Duke.”

As he had written, I had won the wager against the son of Adelon.

So—

“The spoils of war are mine to claim.”

Muttering to myself, I left the study and headed to my room for preparations.

“If she says she’ll regret it for life… is he that handsome?”

“She just called a man ‘spoils of war’…”

“She must really want him… Our precious princess…”

Their confused muttering followed behind me, as if they had completely misunderstood something major.