CHAPTER 42……………………………………………..
“Everything went exactly as Vision predicted.”
Inside the moving carriage, Jane looked genuinely impressed.
Trisha had instructed her to find out the current trends in high society, so she had attended multiple gatherings—and everywhere, people couldn’t stop talking about Regina.
Of course, all of it was negative.
Since it had been expected, Trisha felt no particular excitement.
“Serves her right.”
“That’s true.”
Trisha had assigned Lilia to Regina just in case.
She knew from her previous life that Regina had treated all the maids Trisha had assigned to her with disdain.
And Regina did not deviate from Trisha’s expectations even slightly.
“She really made a mess of things.”
The news that she had taken a necklace, an heirloom of the Dane family, and thrown it into the trash had become the hottest topic in high society.
“Although that necklace was fake.”
Trisha had instructed Lilia to carry a fake necklace in advance, and Lilia had followed the advice perfectly.
As a reward, Trisha paid off all the debts owed by Lilia’s family.
“Lilia Dane will be fine from here on out.”
Even Count Adeline, who had once chased after Lilia unilaterally trying to make her his mistress, had been dealt with.
“By the way, what about Countess Adeline?”
Jane asked, suddenly remembering, and Trisha lightly shook the teacup she was holding.
The tea inside sloshed gently without spilling.
“Well…”
They weren’t close enough to share such detailed information, so Trisha didn’t know the exact situation either.
“What’s certain is that this incident will lead the Adeline couple to divorce.”
“Oh, that makes sense. Honestly, I was a bit shocked.”
“Why? Because you didn’t expect Count Adeline to do such a thing?”
“That’s probably it. Except for Miss Lilia Dane, he’s never had a scandal. And he’s shown so much care for his wife.”
As Jane said, the scandal had shocked high society.
Count Adeline had been seen having a clandestine meeting with his mistress during the New Year’s ball, in broad daylight before others.
It was impossible to know why he, who had always been careful, suddenly engaged in such behavior…
“Highly likely, Countess Adeline set this up herself.”
At that moment, Jane, still full of questions, asked:
“But is divorce even possible because of this?”
“It’ll be difficult.”
Trisha answered bluntly and explained the situation.
“Although he’s been criticized by the whole social scene for causing a scene at the New Year’s ball, it’s hard to take this all the way to divorce.”
“My goodness… even with such blatant infidelity?”
“As you said, Count Adeline has built a certain image over the years.”
Because of that image, public opinion would likely let him slide at least once.
“Especially gentlemen empathize more with the Count than with the Countess, so it’s even more so.”
“That’s truly terrible.”
“But…”
Trisha continued, her lips curving in a faint smile.
“If this wasn’t the first incident, the story would be different.”
The fact that Countess Adeline triggered this incident at the New Year’s ball was likely thanks to evidence obtained at Viscount Wedein’s banquet.
The invitation Trisha had gotten from Millard’s guild would have been the key for Countess Adeline.
“Since the incident has already happened, Count Adeline will be keeping a low profile for now.”
This would make it difficult to obtain evidence needed for divorce immediately.
Once the New Year’s ball fades from memory, finding additional evidence would have little effect.
“So, if there was previously collected evidence, combining it with this New Year’s ball incident would allow it to be made public and lead to divorce.”
Countess Adeline was clever, so she would ultimately succeed in obtaining a divorce.
With this, Trisha would have accomplished the task given by Hestia.
It was beneficial in many ways, but what mattered most to Trisha at that moment was something else.
Trisha smiled faintly at Jane, who expressed a desire for the Countess’s divorce, and then fell into thought.
“Edwin’s been compromised by Regina, huh?”
The conversation between the two on the day of the New Year’s ball had reached Trisha purely by chance.
A low-ranking palace employee she had secretly bribed happened to overhear their discussion.
“What could the weakness be?”
Even Trisha in her previous life had no idea.
She had some guesses, but nothing certain.
“Jane, I think we need to do some further investigation. Can you handle that?”
“Of course! That’s my specialty!”
Jane’s confident voice earned a small smile from Trisha.
At that moment, the carriage stopped, presumably having reached their destination.
“From here, you’ll need to use this, Jane.”
Trisha took out a wig and mask from her bag and put them on.
She neatly arranged her hair under a tight net, then put on a brown wig—completely disguising her long hair.
Jane also wore a simple wig and a mask covering half her face.
“Where could this place be?”
Jane wondered, but didn’t ask. If Trisha didn’t explain, there must be a reason.
Even a careless word could reveal their identities.
“This way.”
Trisha handed over something like an invitation, and a staff member guided them inside.
Like the secret guild they had visited before, the shabby exterior contrasted with a lavish, party-like interior.
“You’ll stay here.”
Trisha left Jane at the bar near the entrance and whispered something to the bartender before leaving.
From now on, Jane had to act alone.
“Countess Adeline’s invitation made this much easier.”
The place they visited was one of the most exclusive nighttime social clubs in Eppelverno—no one could enter without an invitation, and no one could obtain one without revealing their identity.
Hence, Trisha had needed the Countess’s help.
“Lady?”
Someone spoke to Trisha.
Instead of being wary, she smiled softly.
“Oh, quite proactive, I see.”
The woman was a stunning blonde. Given the setting, it was unlikely that it was her real hair.
“Would you like a drink if you have time?”
“Hmm…”
Trisha, appearing slightly troubled, touched her chin and whispered:
“If I drink, might I get to taste a cookie with falcon feathers in it?”
“……”
The blonde’s eyes shifted—what had been mild curiosity became deeper, more intense.
“I thought you were just beautiful, but you’re interesting too.”
She clapped, drawing everyone’s attention.
“This party ends here.”
At her words, the atmosphere shifted immediately.
This biweekly nighttime social club awarded huge prizes to anyone who could find the party’s host.
The rules were simple.
Find the host hiding among guests and speak the password. The password had to be pieced together from the invitation and hidden hints around the venue. Even if one found the host, the wrong password meant the chance was lost.
If no one won, the prize rolled over to the next event, accumulating into an even larger reward.
“The winner of this prize is this young lady!”
The blonde pointed at Trisha, and all eyes turned toward her.
Amid glances of envy, jealousy, and subtle admiration, Trisha stood firm.
Showing weakness would make her prey for the social hyenas.
“Please come this way.”
The host led Trisha to a tented space.
She received a note and stared silently at the host.
“You might think ‘that’s all?’ but you’ll soon see otherwise.”
The note indicated that sending a letter to the address written on it would earn the prize.
For real nobles, it was just entertainment—not the money itself, but the thrill of winning the wager.
As Trisha exited the temporary space, a crowd immediately swarmed her.
“How did you know?”
“How much is the prize?”
“I heard it’s a pretty large cumulative sum!”
Before Trisha could recover from the questioning, a new person appeared.
He seemed uninterested in money and stared at Trisha intently.
“What a beautiful lady. Even with a mask, you shine.”
“……”
Trisha was momentarily speechless.
Because she had a sense of who he was.
“Even the mask should be proper.”
It was her husband of several years, Edwin.
