Chapter 18

“My name is Reinhart Kloud, the deputy chamberlain of the Interior Ministry. It is an honor to see you.”

The man standing at the forefront bowed lightly. His formal suit was neat and he looked like he was in his 30s. If he was the deputy chamberlain of the imperial family, he would certainly a high nobleman with the title of earl and above.

“My name is Marianne.”

She replied while holding the hem of her dress and bending her knees slightly.

She didn’t mention on purpose that she was the daughter of the Kling family because she felt it was not necessary to reveal her identity when she didn’t know if he was an ally or enemy.

He also did not use the honorific title Lady, assuming she might be an earl’s daughter.

However, he used very polite language. As she had been always accustomed to nice treatment, she didn’t think his behavior was suspicious.

“I hastily arranged the accommodation for you at the emperor’s urgent order today, so you might find lots of things lacking here. As soon as the day breaks tomorrow, let me perform some maintenance checks. Please understand until then.”

“Thank you for caring for me.”

“I am sorry, but I cannot stay in this mansion all the time because of my other duty. If you need anything, please let me know through Countess Reinhart, the temporary chief maid.”

The woman, who appeared to be her age, moved two steps forward. Her elegant dress showed the latest trends in the capital. Even though she had a gentle smile, she looked conceited.

“I’m Charlotte. You can call me comfortably.”

“Hope I’m in good hands, Mrs. Charlotte.”

Mrs. Charlotte looked slightly puzzled at that, but smiled in no time.

“Then I’ll go back. Have a relaxing night.”

“I have to go for an urgent business, too. Don’t worry as I’ll be back tomorrow!”

Kloud and Colin said goodbye one by one and got back on the carriage that Marianne rode. She had no time to ask them why they brought her here. Aside from Kloud, Colin almost ran away, which she realized before long when the carriage was disappearing in the distance.

“Are you two in the back in the same group?”

Mrs. Charlotte changed the topic. The people she pointed to were Cordelli and Iric, standing behind her.

“Yes, they are my bodyguard and maid. This is Iric, and this is Cordelli.”

“Nice to meet you. Ms. Cordeli, you can use a small room next to the bedroom on the second floor of the main building. Sir Iric, you can use the knights’ room in the annex.”

“Can’t they stay in the main building?”

Iric, who had been shut up so far, opened his mouth for the first time.

“Why? Are you worried about the lady?”

“Well, if I am close to her, it is easier for me to cope with any contingencies.”

“All of the security guards here in the Elior Mansion are regular members of the Imperial Knights.”

“I know that.”

Iric’s stern answer sounded icy. When Marianne turned around to appease him, the chief maid laughed.

“Oh, he is a very loyal knight. Good. You can use the far right room on the third floor of the main building. As you insist, you have to take into account that the room was not cleaned.”

“Thank you.”

Iric bowed to her. Mrs. Charlotte selected two maids to escort Cordelli and Iric to their rooms.

Marianne followed her to the bedroom on the second floor. The room was in a clean and neat condition. After watching the maids unpacking her packages for a while, the chief maid left the room saying she would show Marianne around the mansion tomorrow.

It was already late at night. Marianne simply washed herself with warm water and went to bed straight away. The fluffy blankets and bed were so comfortable, compared with those at her previous inn. She looked back at her day, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

‘Why did they bring me to this mansion among the others? If somebody suddenly comes to stay here, he will surely draw the attention of other people here. Did the emperor do something that could invite other peoples’ suspicion? He wouldn’t do this recklessly. Isn’t it better to announce our wedding as late as possible? I need some more practice to tempt Ober. Is my father doing well? He will be surprised to find out that I’m going to marry the emperor. I would like to meet him as soon as possible to give him a briefing. If Sir Colin comes here tomorrow, let me ask him to arrange my meeting with my father quickly…’

As she was really tired, she fell asleep in no time.

* * *

When she woke up, it was right before noon the next morning. Partly because the blanket was so comfortable, and partly because she was too tired, she seemed to have slept in.

She pulled the string connected with the silver bell as she watched the sun dimly shining through the curtains.

“Are you awake, lady? Good morning. Oh, no, it’s already afternoon!”

Cordelli greeted her with a cheerful voice. While the other maids called the servants to prepare the washing water and clothes, Cordelli put a cup of hot tea and a piece of paper on the bedside tea table.

“Mrs. Charlotte prepared the tea in person. I hope you like it.”

Marianne, leaning on the bedside, reached out for the teacup. She held a mug of fresh jasmine in her right hand. After sipping it, she felt the temperature was right and the tea water was clean.

Feeling good, she unfolded a bunch of paper on the tea table with her left hand. It was an imperial bulletin issued this morning. Perhaps it was delivered by Mrs. Charlotte out of courtesy, but she found it very helpful. Since she decided to make a deal with with the emperor, she had to keep abreast with the imperial news.

While Marianne was leisurely reading the bulletin’s title and key announcements, she almost spit out the tea in her mouth.

“Cough! Cough!”

“Lady, Are you okay?”

When she choked on tea, Cordelli quickly picked up her teacup and tapped her back anxiously. While she coughed up as if she couldn’t breathe properly, she did not take her eyes off the title.

What a crazy thing this is!

Instead of screaming, Marianne kept coughing until tears came out. She would have felt like crying even if she hadn’t choked on the tea.

She remembered telling Colin last night that she wanted to meet her father as soon as possible before her wedding news was announced to the public, saying her father didn’t know anything about it. She knew Colin clearly replied he would give it a thought.

“You told me you would think about it! You lied! What a cheater!”

Marianne screamed loudly before stopping her coughs.

Those who watched her anxiously behind Cordelli looked at her with a surprised expression, but she didn’t care.

In the end, Cordelli quickly let them out of the room and comforted her.

“Please, calm down. Just relax and look at you. Your hands are trembling violently. If you hold the paper hard, you will be hurt. Open it slowly.”

Her fingertips that crumpled the bulletin were trembling, and they were so pale.

She slowly opened her hand, following Cordeli’s advice. Several colored marks were clearly visible on the palm of her hand..

“Oh my god… Doesn’t it hurt?”

Cordelli took a washcloth soaked with water and wiped her palm gently. She blew off the heat on her palm and shook her head.

“By the way, what do you mean by the cheater? Who dares to cheat on you?”

“…Yes.”

“He is such a fool! Just tell me who he is. Let me inform Sir Iric about this immediately.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Why? Is that crook much better at fencing than Sir Iric?”

She murmured to herself, ‘Well, I don’t know that, but he can bring dozens or even hundreds of knights as good as Iric.’

But she couldn’t tell Cordelli and gnawed her lips. She didn’t tremble as much as before, but her sense of betrayal was still there. She couldn’t put up with it.

Although she didn’t know its impact to the emperor exactly, it was a dangerous deal for herself. She came to the capital after deceiving not only Ober but also the residents at the mansion, her friends, and even her father. She couldn’t be more desperate back then. She had bet everything on the deal. Things didn’t work out as planned, and now she found herself in a situation where she had to marry the emperor. As long as she could save her father and defeat Ober, however, she was willing to risk anything. No matter what happened to her, she felt things would work out better for her than to die. But she paused a moment and thought to herself.