Masid. She was talking about him.
That arrogance that made him think everyone, from the Head of the House down to the servants, was beneath him.
People like that were bound to trip and fall on their own someday.
Thinking of Masid, who was not even present, Liselotte resolved that one day she would drive him out of House Keilos.
Just then, knock, knock. A sound came from the window being tapped.
Perched by the window was a hawk from House Gloria, a letter clutched in its beak.
Ferento, who was closest, went over to receive the letter.
Perhaps they were keeping a close eye on this matter, because the reply had come unusually fast.
“Just a moment. The paper knife is…”
As Ferento glanced around after taking the letter, Liselotte simply tore the envelope open with her hands.
At the same time, thud, thud, a petal or two slipped out through the torn opening.
“Why are there flower petals in the letter…?”
An ominous feeling swept over the back of her head.
This had to be some long-dead ancestor she had never met, sounding a warning to her.
Sure enough, the letter made it clear, in rounded, bubbly handwriting, that it had been written by yet another person.
[Hello, this is Diana Gloria♥
When I saw you step in personally during the last negotiations, Princess Liselotte, I learned so much~♬
So I’ve decided to take full responsibility for the border region damage recovery from now on!!
From here on out, please contact me directly, without any changes!
If there are other negotiations, I’d really love to attend those together as well~!
If you’re okay with it too, Sister (it’s okay if I call you that, right?), let’s meet together then!]
It seemed perfume had been sprayed on the letter as well, because a strong scent mixed with the floral fragrance spread through the office all at once.
For the first time, Liselotte realized that even when something was utterly ridiculous, cold sweat could break out down your back.
Ferento, unaccustomed to perfume, was the first to sniff at the air, wrinkling his nose.
“Oh… That’s powerful.”
The faintly wriggling crease between his brows betrayed a truth he had not quite managed to hide.
Whether it was because of the scent that stabbed straight into her nose, or because of the contents of the letter, Liselotte felt lightheaded.
Pressing a hand to her forehead, she let out a small groan.
She had no idea where to start pointing things out.
‘Seriously… why would Lady Gloria, who has never once handled negotiations or anything like that, suddenly take on the role of an aide…’
And on top of that, the way she had completely demolished even the most basic formalities with that “Sister” address.
In private settings, calling someone Sister might be fine.
If that was how she wanted to address her, Liselotte had no intention of stopping her.
After all, if she was going to marry her older brother anyway, she would end up calling her something like that regardless.
But official matters were a different story altogether.
Staring at a letter that felt like it had bundled public and private matters together and detonated them into the air, Liselotte cried inwardly.
‘Being kind to the female lead in this life seems like a lost cause.’
Was a villain destined to play the villain to the female lead for an entire lifetime?
With her head slumped deeply as she stared at the letter on the table, Ail and Ferento peeked over from behind her.
Ail stepped up beside her and, lifting a finger slightly, deftly slipped the letter away.
“Ail!”
Despite Liselotte snapping her head up and calling out, he had already scanned the contents and swiftly carried the letter over to Eren.
‘Right. Your Lord is Eren, huh.’
It was not wrong, but it was not something she particularly wanted shown.
Wasn’t it bad enough that things were already strained with the East, without pouring oil on the fire and fanning the flames?
Ail’s voice, sounding even more composed than usual, offered a serious piece of advice.
“Grand Duke. It might be better for your peace of mind if I go and arrange a negotiation meeting again this time as well.”
“…For now, sending a reply refusing is the priority.”
Perhaps he truly had nothing to say in response, because Eren read through the letter with an even colder gaze.
Petals scattered loose and dropped from the letter, one after another.
The more they fell, the more rigid Eren’s expression became.
If things deteriorated further with the East, the future would be difficult.
Resolving the situation came first.
Liselotte held out one hand with resolve.
As if waiting for it, Ail handed her a fountain pen, and Ferento laid fresh stationery out on the table.
They even swallowed their saliva as they whispered to Eren,
“Your Highness, she seems rather angry. Shouldn’t we stop her?”
“She can handle this level of argument on her own.”
“No, you can’t just egg her on like that.”
“Even if the Grand Duchess gets angry, she’s not much of a threat.”
“Well, compared to you, Your Highness, that’s true. Still, it’s not all right.”
With their conversation serving as background noise, Liselotte’s handwriting began to grow increasingly harsh.
[Greetings.
This is Liselotte Keilos.
Matters of cooperation, and matters following joint subjugation, cannot proceed without the approval of the Heads of each House, as well as the laws of each region.
I fully understand your desire to be of help; however, for the time being, restoring the damaged regions must take priority. I therefore request that the responsible party be changed to someone with relevant experience.]
That was enough. She’d held back plenty.
Liselotte folded the letter briskly and handed it to Ferento.
He hurriedly took the letter and passed it to the hawk.
Once it was sent, a fleeting thought crossed her mind for a brief moment — perhaps she should have written it a little more gently. It lasted about 0.1 seconds.
‘No. Everyone in the Empire already knows we’re not on good terms anyway.’
Did Duke Gloria even know that Diana had sent that letter?
With Hedmilton stepping aside and aides being replaced one after another, it felt increasingly likely this had happened simply because Diana had insisted on taking it on herself.
After the hawk flew off, Liselotte, who had been sitting quietly, spoke firmly to them.
“Do not arrange any meeting. Under no circumstances.”
“Pardon? Ah, you mean negotiations with House Gloria?”
When Ail perceptively asked back, Liselotte nodded.
“Yeah. Absolutely not.”
That evening, late at night while she was resting in her room, a reply arrived from Diana.
[I know how dangerous subjugations are, and I also know how hard things must be for you in the North because of that. Since everything was handled so cleanly in the North before the subjugation, my father had very high expectations for this cooperation and the recovery that follows. So I hoped we might meet again like we did during the previous negotiations, but… I suppose it can’t be helpedㅠㅠ. I’ll hand things over to another aide!]
Liselotte flung the letter to the floor with a slap and clicked her tongue.
‘Expectations, my foot. Everyone knew that he had essentially signed the cooperation agreement reluctantly in the first place.’
Liselotte staggered and roughly threw herself onto the bed.
As Marsha cleared the table, she asked,
“Aren’t you going to reply to the letter?”
What was there to say, anyway?
Just as that thought crossed her mind, the last line of the letter resurfaced.
‘Didn’t she say a different aide?’
Again, it wasn’t Hedmilton.
Liselotte sprang up from the bed and sat back down in the chair.
“I’ll reply. It’s late, but please bear with me.”
“It’s fine. The hawk does everything anyway.”
Marsha nodded briskly, as if wondering what the problem was.
Sitting back down at the table in a hurry, Liselotte pondered what to write, then sent a brief message.
[Greetings,
This is Liselotte Keilos.
Thank you for your understanding. We will do our best in the North. If it isn’t an imposition, may I ask whether something is happening in the East? The aide in charge keeps changing, so I wanted to ask.]
And then, a response arrived from Diana that was faster and more concise than ever.
“No. Nothing is happening.”
***
The next day, the moment she opened her eyes, a new aide had sent a letter early in the morning.
[I am Mirkena, newly assigned to oversee the recovery from the subjugation damage in the East. I look forward to working with you.]
The aide really had changed again.
Liselotte’s instincts were screaming.
‘This is a problem!’
Damage recovery or whatever else — at this rate, it felt like things would only keep getting delayed.
Deciding this wouldn’t do, Liselotte quickly got herself ready early in the morning and headed for Eren’s office.
Unfortunately, he was not there.
The butler standing by the door promptly informed her of his whereabouts in his stead.
“His Highness will be at the training grounds for the morning.”
