Chapter 19
“Erica, I plan to move up the date of the regular meeting.”
I made sure my expression didn’t change. I recalled Priscilla’s insistence on my attending breakfast.
‘Perhaps Priscilla already knew about this.’
That’s why she made her offer to me first. To get ahead of everyone. It meant she understood how crucial this meeting was.
‘If not now, there might not be another chance to remove my father.’
At the very least, removing him early would spare me from seeing him cling to power.
I glanced quickly at Priscilla, then looked away. I tried to read her expression, but as usual, she was smiling elegantly. I set down my utensils and looked at my father.
“Very well, Father.”
“You must prepare thoroughly.”
“Father, may I ask the reason?”
“I intend to announce your political marriage on that day. Then we’ll begin the formal procedures, so be aware.”
“…Understood. Then, will someone from the Regulus family be present?”
My father closed his mouth for a moment and looked at me. His brief gaze made me feel uneasy, as it was clear he was trying to discern my intentions.
“They will come.”
“…Then my fiancé will be there too.”
“Of course, the parties involved cannot be absent on such an occasion.”
“I see. And what about the hunting competition?”
After the Perotius Festival, there was a hunting competition for the family’s youth. Usually, the regular meeting followed this competition.
“I’ll switch their dates.”
“Very well.”
This meant only four days remained until the meeting. In some ways, this worked in my favor.
A political marriage required the elders’ approval, as it was a bond between two families. Of course, my father could inform them at the meeting, but time wouldn’t allow for that. This meant the agreement between the families was still verbal.
‘It seems he wants to finalize my political marriage before Cain grows stronger.’
So…
‘Whoever moves first wins.’
My father couldn’t dream that I’d bring a fiancé myself. Wasn’t this the time for the dog and the wolf?
Despite the tight timeline, I was satisfied that I could bring Didier into the family early.
I sipped the tea in front of me, hoping my thoughts hadn’t shown on my face. I set down the cup and looked at my father.
“Very well, I’ll prepare accordingly.”
“Good, work hard.”
With those final words, my father drank his tea slowly.
Priscilla, seeing this, glanced briefly and spoke in a soft tone.
“Did you like the tea I prepared?”
“…Priscilla, you made it?”
“Of course, you know how much I think of you.”
“It tastes good.”
What a serpentine woman. As if she was born a wolf by mistake.
To an onlooker, my father seemed like a stern husband and Priscilla a pampered wife. What an oddity.
‘A truly laughable scene.’
How could they act so perfectly while knowing what each hid? Unable to bear the scene, I rinsed my mouth with tea and turned my face away from them.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
“Oh, you’re leaving already? Stay longer. The dessert hasn’t been served yet.”
“…”
“Do as Priscilla says.”
“…Alright.”
I felt even more stifled by my father’s support for her. Instead of taking digestion medicine when I returned to my room, I might need to empty my stomach entirely.
The maids brought pudding adorned with dried fruits and nuts. It looked delicious, but now it was like sweet poison.
Silence resumed, with the clinking of utensils filling the room. The pudding sat untouched in front of me and my father, while Priscilla’s was already gone.
“It tastes wonderful. I should request this again.”
“…Do so if you wish.”
It was strange that my father agreed to everything Priscilla said. Did she have something over him? But he wasn’t that type. How could I describe this bizarre scene?
At that moment…
My eyes met Priscilla’s, who was sitting across from me.
She smiled innocently, as if urging me to respond to her offer.
‘Right, it’ll be hard to meet her alone now.’
With the regular meeting moved up, and since I was no longer the heir, why should I bear all this work?
I sighed and looked at Priscilla again.
Her eyes didn’t leave me. When I frowned slightly, her lips moved silently.
What do you think?
An ambiguous word without context. She wasn’t asking for my opinion.
It was as if she was saying: Isn’t this enough for you to join me?
‘What an impressive woman.’
She knew well that I had no choice but to take her hand. If the meeting hadn’t been moved up, I might have considered her offer more, but…
‘In this urgent situation, with time so tight.’
Taking this serpentine woman’s hand was the best option.
Priscilla elegantly raised her teacup, sipped, and looked at me. My pressing issue now was canceling the political marriage.
So, I decided to postpone thinking about the consequences of accepting her offer.
I raised my cup, sipped, and met her gaze. That morning, an alliance formed between two adversaries to face a common enemy.
* * *
I was inspecting the carriages with a frown. Carriages filled with daily supplies and various items.
‘With all this piled-up work, why assign me this?’
And why me, of all people?
To clarify, we need to go back to lunchtime.
After a breakfast that upset my stomach, I had a light lunch in my room and reviewed documents. Moving up the regular meeting and delaying the hunting competition required a lot of paperwork.
Like lists of retainers to notify about the meeting.
Despite my busyness, I couldn’t ignore the piling documents. My body was trained to work.
Then Riel came.
“Miss, the family head requests you.”
“…My father?”
“Yes, he said it’s urgent and asked you to come to his office.”
“Alright, Riel. I’ll go now.”
“I’ll escort you.”
“No need.”
Riel was Riel. Always formal and stern, but he prioritized me. To me, he was like an older brother, while Arin was my friend.
Both were dear to me.
I set down the documents, removed my glasses, and stood. I headed toward where Riel was.
“Let’s go, Riel.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Riel followed me as if truly escorting me, scanning the soldiers stationed in the palace.
“Don’t you feel something off?”
“…Yes, Miss.”
“Me too. Why did their numbers suddenly increase?”
Some were skilled too. Until breakfast, the numbers weren’t this high. By lunch, they’d quietly increased.
This meant…
‘My father is planning something.’
Why stop the sloppy guard and suddenly add skilled ones? And why summon me to his office now?
“Riel, do you know anything?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything.”
“Alright, no problem. If you’re free, keep an eye on the palace. Tell me immediately if anything happens.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Riel wasn’t supposed to be idle, but my words always came first for him, even before my father’s orders. I couldn’t remember since when, perhaps there was a reason.
‘I don’t recall clearly.’
I glanced at Riel for a moment, then continued walking. I didn’t want to hear my father’s scolding for being late.
I reached the office.
Knock, knock.
After a light knock, I heard my father’s voice telling me to enter. The office was as usual, but something about my father’s demeanor was off.
‘He doesn’t seem angry, but happy. Or is he afraid?’
What was going on?
Had something happened after breakfast? I approached him, gauging his mood.
“Father, did you call for me?”
“Yes, Erica.”
“Is there something you’d like me to do?”
“…Go now and inspect the carriages entering the palace. With the meeting approaching, who knows what might come in. Check even for a small rat.”
“…Understood.”
I bowed slightly and left the office. I wondered why he assigned me this, but I had to go.
So, I ended up with tasks like this.
‘I inspected the carriages for three hours and found nothing suspicious.’
I bit my lips. I was certain my father was planning something while I was away.
‘I need to return to the palace.’
As I was about to delegate the task to the manager beside me…
I saw someone running toward me from a distance.
I clenched my teeth.
