A long silence followed.
Only the ticking, moving sound of the pendulum clock filled the room.
In that leisurely, beautiful space, only Duke Gloria alone seemed to be experiencing the passage of a different time.
How much time had passed?
After rubbing his chin in silence for a while, as if deep in thought, something seemed to occur to him, and the corner of his mouth slowly curled upward.
“Right. This cannot be said to be solely our side’s problem.”
“You found it already!”
As if she had been waiting, Diana lifted her head.
“It was Princess Liselotte’s first time coordinating a subjugation as well. She could make a mistake.”
“Exactly. If we sent a letter, should they not have checked it and discussed it again on their end? This is clearly House Keilos’ fault. If anything, we are the victims.”
Perhaps because he had been hounded by the Eastern nobles all night, Duke Gloria’s gaze, fixed on empty space, was fierce.
“To dare embarrass me at a banquet. A child raised in the Imperial Palace knows nothing of how the world works, so she must be taught.”
Diana adjusted the thin shawl that had slipped into a familiar drape around her shoulders.
Leaving behind Duke Gloria with his brightened expression, Diana slowly made her way into the garden to attend the tea time.
The young ladies who had begun their tea time early in the garden noticed and greeted her.
She lowered her head apologetically for arriving late and sat in the seat prepared for her.
“I am very late, am I not?”
Despite having waited quite a long time, the young ladies did not voice a single complaint.
“We arranged the meeting on short notice. It was such a shame that you left early yesterday.”
“Exactly. It seemed His Highness the Crown Prince was worried as well, since he ended the banquet early.”
At their conversation, Diana drooped her head weakly.
“I am sorry every time. My health has been better lately, so I attended, but it feels like I only ended up ruining the atmosphere.”
The young ladies all waved their hands in denial.
“What are you saying? There are still two full days left of the banquet.”
“That’s right. Strictly speaking, the atmosphere was good until that person arrived.”
There was no subject.
They spoke around it as “that person”, but everyone tacitly knew the target was Liselotte.
In high society, they had been calling her that for quite some time already.
Even now, the young ladies carefully watched Diana Gloria’s reaction.
The rumors about the East collapsing had not shaken her reputation.
The fact that she was Valen’s fiancée also remained unchanged.
Knowing this, the young ladies had likely rushed over from noon onward to curry favor with her.
One of them glanced around the otherwise empty garden and lowered her voice.
“I hear that this time, that person approached you with her sights set on an aide?”
“Even when she was in the Capital before, she approached people who showed interest in Lady Diana.”
Startled, Diana hurriedly waved her hands.
“Approached? It must have just been a coincidence. She is married now, after all. There must have been something she found even more appealing.”
At Diana’s firm refusal, the young lady grew awkward, pretended not to notice, sipped her tea, and glanced aside.
“Well… she does have a strangely magnetic way of drawing people in. Seeing how she charms everyone, men and women alike, even knowing what kind of person she is…”
In the tea time that had been filled with nonstop chatter, a sudden silence fell.
Another young lady, flustered, scolded her with a look, and she hastily offered an apology, pretending ignorance.
“I am sorry. Since Lady Gloria said it was not the case… I was being insensitive, was I not?”
“No. It seems you were right. That must be why Hedmilton, who said he liked me, went straight to House Keilos the moment I rejected his confession.”
Diana recalled the last time she had seen Hedmilton in the Imperial Palace’s waiting room and smiled bitterly.
The young ladies opened their mouths as if realizing something.
Amid them, Diana merely lifted her teacup, acting innocent.
***
Early afternoon, just past noon.
Liselotte was suddenly engaged in an internal struggle with a velvet case.
Inside the palm-sized case was a necklace made of a purple sapphire set on a chain.
Snap. Closing the case, Liselotte looked up at the person who had brought this excessive gift.
“And this is… what, exactly?”
“It is jewelry.”
That was not what she was asking.
Despite having come so abruptly, Eren showed no sign of agitation.
She set the velvet case down on the table and nodded.
“That is fortunate.”
“What is fortunate about it? Why are you giving me this? It is not my birthday today, and you have not wronged me in any way.”
He had suddenly handed her a gift in his office before as well. This time was no different.
Last time it had been in the North, so was this the Capital edition or something?
Leaving her bewildered, Eren frowned slightly, as if he did not understand.
It was a small habit of his that surfaced whenever he was thinking.
“You said you liked jewelry.”
“I do like it, but there is no reason for me to receive it.”
“Does one need a reason to give a gift?”
‘Well, no, not really.’
Since a rough guess came to mind, Liselotte let out a pained sound and pressed her forehead.
“If this is because, when we got married, I said I liked jewelry, then…”
“Was that not an ordinary condition?”
“…You mean the request to fill a room with jewelry?”
“My predecessor also frequently gifted jewelry to his wife. So it was a condition you were entitled to ask for.”
So that was why he had accepted those demands she had listed as if throwing a tantrum because she did not want to marry.
It was groundwork laid by the previous generation.
It seemed that in the North, there was some kind of tradition of gifting jewelry to one’s wife.
If that was the reason…
‘Shameless as it is, I will take it!’
Even to an untrained eye, what Eren gave her was expensive.
It was delicacy enough to satisfy even the eyes of the original Liselotte.
‘Just in case. This was a gift he gave of his own accord, after all.’
Just as she was awkwardly hugging the case to her chest.
“Your Highness, Your Highness!”
Crash. With a hurried knock, Ail burst into Liselotte’s room.
Hedmilton, his cheeks flushed bright red, came along as well.
Seeing Eren, they looked taken by surprise and promptly greeted him with proper courtesy.
“Your Highness, we did not realize you were here.”
“What is all this commotion about?”
As if he had been waiting for Eren to ask, Ail beamed and held up a sheet of paper stamped with the temple’s seal.
“Your Highness! The High Priest said that upon hearing you were in the Capital, he moved his schedule forward!”
“Really? The date?”
It was the most welcome news she had heard.
Since the High Priest was an extremely busy man, she had been planning to adjust her schedule instead.
After quickly skimming the letter at a glance, Ail suddenly froze with a smile on his face.
Far more composed than when he had entered, Ail replied as if delivering a notice.
“Today.”
“That’s too soon.”
Liselotte glanced out the window toward the sky.
It was already afternoon.
As expected, the answer she had anticipated flowed from Ail’s mouth.
“From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. He says he can give you exactly one hour.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Hedmilton’s eyes widened.
“…It is 3 o’clock right now.”
“So it is.”
“The Rovans estate is in the East.”
“I am aware of that as well.”
From the side, Hedmilton stared fixedly at Ail, his gaze so unmoving it was almost oppressive.
But Ail steadfastly looked straight ahead and continued his report.
“If we call the High Priest to the Rovans estate and then travel using a teleportation magic stone from our side, I think we can roughly make it.”
“We can use a teleportation magic stone?”
Hedmilton, who had been blankly staring at Ail until now, widened his eyes.
Seizing the opportunity, Ail placed a hand over his chest and explained in a very gentle tone.
“The North does not impose stingy restrictions on the use of teleportation magic stones like those Eastern penny-pinchers. The North where teleportation gates can be opened anytime. You can enjoy that as well.”
For some reason, it felt as though a promotional slogan for House Keilos was floating behind Ail.
