Chapter 96. There Is a Rose Garden in the Imperial Palace (4)
“How is it?”
Pernsiana hastily gathered up the hair that had grown noticeably longer over the past few days and turned lightly in front of Illeas. The hem of her black dress, which softly hugged her body, wrapped around her and then fell away again.
“It’s… fine.”
“Fine?”
“It suits you well.”
Unlike Illeas, who looked vaguely uncomfortable, Luaire replied neatly.
This time, Pernsiana gave Luaire a slightly sour look. Hearing compliments like that from someone who looked like him made her feel strangely unsettled.
“What I gave you—did you memorize it all?”
“I’m working on it… It feels like I’m about to split into two different people, though.”
Pernsiana jerked her chin toward the messy pile stacked on the desk. It was a bundle containing simple genealogies of noble families and royal etiquette notes Illeas had given her.
The etiquette itself wasn’t difficult, but memorizing all the noble lineages was a real challenge. On top of that, solidifying her fabricated identity was no small task either.
Pernsiana grumbled that her tongue was about to twist itself into knots, but Illeas didn’t give his usual teasing response. He simply looked at her with that same vaguely sulky expression.
‘What’s with him?’
As she lifted her black hem to glance down, Illeas lightly smacked her hand. Pernsiana blinked in surprise, staring at him. His face remained unreadable—flat, subdued, and vaguely irritated.
“I’ve submitted your recommendation letter, and your interview’s been scheduled. If nothing goes wrong, you’ll pass easily—but be careful anyway.”
“Mm… What if I fail?”
“You’re only worrying about that now?”
“Of course I’m worried!”
Even if she said it boldly, she couldn’t help the anxiety gnawing at her. Tugging at her hair nervously, Pernsiana fretted until Illeas flicked her nose with a laugh.
“With Curtis Altessia himself writing your recommendation, who would dare fail you?”
“S-still…”
Pernsiana muttered, glancing down at the still-unfamiliar black skirt. She had prepared the neat outfit for the palace maid selection exam, but since she’d only ever worn either men’s clothes or overly extravagant dresses, she just couldn’t get used to it.
Illeas looked like he was about to say something when a knock came at the office door.
Startled, Pernsiana hurriedly grabbed her outer coat to step aside, while Luaire opened the door. The visitors were Camella Hartman and Kicia Rogien.
“Oh my, I hope we’re not intruding?”
“N-not at all. I was just—urk!”
“No, please come in, both of you.”
Pernsiana, who had been about to excuse herself, let out a strangled sound as Illeas tugged on her collar. She glared at him, but Illeas was already greeting the guests with a pleasant smile.
“The ones who helped Camella and me—oh?”
Kicia Rogien looked utterly shocked to see Illeas there.
“Huh? You two know each other?”
While Camella looked surprised, Illeas smoothly gestured for them to sit at the reception table. Luaire brought out tea.
“We… happened to travel together in the carriage to Pomilas.”
“I had no idea you were acquainted! Anyway, these are the ones. Thank you both so much.”
“Think nothing of it.”
“Ah, truly! Truly, I am so, so gra—grateful! Th-thank you very much!”
Kicia’s stiff voice quickly softened into a bashful murmur. Pernsiana blinked wide-eyed at the sudden scene, while Illeas received the thanks with graceful ease and continued the conversation skillfully.
“Please, no thanks are necessary. We’re simply happy everything worked out well.”
“The truth is,” Camella said with a bright smile, “we wanted to invite you to our wedding.”
Kicia whipped her head around in shock. Judging by her reaction, this hadn’t been discussed beforehand. Her surprised face quickly turned bright red.
“C-Camella!”
“What? You weren’t planning to get married?”
“I-I was, I mean—I just—”
As the young man grew teary-eyed, Camella pulled a thick card from her pocket and held it out. The paper was embossed with elegant patterns and decorated with gold and silver foil. Illeas smiled knowingly.
“So your marriage has been arranged already. Congratulations.”
“His father finally gave in.”
Even her smile carried a victorious edge. Pernsiana bit her tongue, dying to ask how exactly she’d managed to change his mind.
“Thank you as well for protecting my violin, Lord Seyran.”
“Oh dear, I didn’t think anyone knew about that.”
“I found out later. I was quite rude, wasn’t I? Thank you so much for your help.”
After offering her gratitude and soothing the still-sniffling Kicia, Camella left the office. As soon as the door closed behind them, Pernsiana spun toward Illeas.
“How did she change his mind?!”
Illeas had already been grinning knowingly from the moment their backs turned, as if he’d known the whole story beforehand.
“That Kicia poured oil all over his father’s vault room.”
“Oil!?”
“Yup. Told Baron Hartman that if he didn’t apologize, she’d burn everything to the ground. She did such a thorough job of soaking it all that the room was completely ruined and had to be relocated.”
“Good heavens…”
“And she said if he didn’t willingly agree to the marriage, she’d send a letter to His Majesty returning his baronial title. Apparently she’d already stolen his seal that morning and mailed the letter off, so he had no choice but to consent right away.”
“So Baron Rogien…”
“I think even just threatening to kill herself would’ve worked, but well, what can you do? The baron ended up weeping and begging Baron Hartman to please, please marry their children.”
Illeas clearly found the story hilarious—he couldn’t stop laughing as he told it. Pernsiana pictured the two who had just left: Kicia beaming with joy, Camella’s cheeks flushed with happiness.
“In the end, everyone won.”
“Won? Who?”
“We did too. Now that it’s settled, Baron Rogien has no choice but to break ties with Marquis Duha and join our side. He used to be close to Duha, so now he’ll be walking on eggshells here. And a nervous commander of the palace guards is no small thing, you know!”
That meant one weight of influence had shifted to their favor. Pernsiana quickly did the math in her head, then let out a relieved sigh and smiled.
“That’s really a relief…”
“But things don’t usually go this smoothly. Most of the time, they don’t. Got it?”
“Wh-what? It’s already over!”
“I’m saying be careful when you meddle in other people’s affairs. Even after you enter the palace, don’t go sticking your nose into every tragic story you hear, trying to play savior. Keep your head on straight.”
Illeas’s tone suddenly sharpened as he continued, asking if she thought there was a single person in the palace without a tragic backstory. Pernsiana frowned, then lightly kicked him in the shin before grabbing her things.
“Ah! Perns! Hey!”
“Since the outfit’s checked, I’ll be on my way. Sir Luaire, thank you for your hospitality.”
Her kick was fierce enough to make him yelp, yet she still bowed with such grace it made Illeas’s eyes widen.
Illeas spluttered, but Luaire calmly saw her out. Once Pernsiana left and the door closed completely, Luaire gave Illeas a look of quiet exasperation.
“You could’ve just said you were worried about her.”
“What? I’m not worried! I just don’t want to deal with the mess if she causes trouble again!”
“…”
“And you—weren’t you against her before? Why are you suddenly being so friendly, huh? Suspicious, aren’t you?”
“What’s this about ‘factions’ now?”
“You were! You kept saying to kick her out!”
“I’m not foolish enough to cling to a lost cause. What’s done is done…”
“Done is done?”
Luaire closed his mouth and shook his head, clearly finding Illeas hopeless. Illeas shouted after him indignantly, but Luaire didn’t even blink, simply saying he’d organize the documents before disappearing deeper into the office.
