Chapter 27

“You asked me if the Marquise’s tea party was an important ceremony, right?”

Marianne nodded, dropping her tea cup on the tray. Mrs. Charlotte sighed.

“The daughters who lost her favor at that tea party ruined debutante balls without exception. Entrepreneurs lost their clients. Some nobles saw the rank of their knights reduced. There are quite a few artists on the streets who couldn’t sell their works. Young daughters often found it difficult to find their mates because their ruined reputation.”

“That’s ridiculous. It’s just a tea party. It’s not a test.”

“Nope, it’s a test. And it’s only the marquise who decides to give them a pass or fail. Once they lose her favor, that’s it. It’s no use donating huge wealth or offering to serve her like a maid.”

While listening to her, Marianne made a very displeased expression.

“She is too harsh.”

“But she has maintained such a domineering attitude for decades. You have to accept it.”

It was a certain fact and reality that the leader of the high society in the capital was Marquise Chester. And it was clear that what she wanted was not expensive paintings or fancy jewelry.

Her salon was rather close to a political party. The only difference was the gender of its members and its meeting place. However, in terms of impact, it was as influential as the cabinet meeting of the Imperial Palace.

“In the end, it’s like a declaration of war.”

“Yes, although it’s a little bit different from the general declaration of war.”

“Anyway, this is an invitation to the battlefield, right?”

Waving the invitation, she laughed emptily. It was in her dream last night that she would be full steel her mind before going into the battlefield, but she never expected she would be attacked so quickly and blatantly.

“If you don’t want to go there, you can refuse.”

“If I do so, I’ll be tagged as a rude and stupid woman in the northern area because I was well-raised without any difficulties all my life.”

Mrs. Charlotte was a bit embarrassed by her harsh tone. This naive lady always surprised her at unexpected moments, even though she had dealt with so many daughters from noble families.

“Well, what they are saying is not always true. If anybody dares to say that to a royal family member like you, they will be punished for insulting the royal family.”

Marianne silently read the invitation again. She was not sure if it was the marquise’s own handwriting. It was written in a fairly elegant font, which said the tea party date was tomorrow. Such short notice was often regarded as rude. But it looked like the marquise didn’t care about it. In a sense, it looked like a threat that she would not give Marianne enough time to prepare.

“Mrs. Charlotte!”

After turning it over in her mind, Marianne opened her mouth again.

“I have to write a reply.”

“Are you going to attend?”

“Sure. I can’t give up even before I start.”

When she reached out, Mrs. Charlotte took back her invitation.

Marianne removed the blanket and woke up. Cordelli adjusted her untied gown.

Iric turned back in surprise. Everybody around her in this mansion was nice to her.

Once she went out of the mansion, however, she might be faced with dozens of people who were not nice to her. She had to be accustomed to the cruel situation.

“And one thing, I would like to ask you a favor,” she said.

At that moment, she recalled what the emperor had told her and smiled bitterly.

“You have to pay the price for what you know and what you don’t know.”

* * *

“That’s all, Sir Kloud.”

“Good job!”

Kloud encouraged and sent out a senior servant who just finished briefing him. He again carefully reviewed the report, a summary of what he had already confirmed.

The renovation of the mansion continued during the past few days when Marianne’s life was at stake. There was a major renovation. The Elior Mansion was well maintained even when there was no owner, but since there was a new owner, it needed major renovation.

Besides, the new owner was very special. She was the emperor’s fiancée who would become the future empress. If there were any defects or shortcomings in the renovation, it was certain that those involved would be dragged before the emperor and haave their necks cut.

The existing features of the garden were all changed, and all the rooms in the seven annex building were cleanly refurbished. Especially in the case of the main building, if anything was old or damaged, they were replaced with new ones. The number of servants and maids who were primarily hired to fill the short staff at the mansion was well over one hundred now. More shops were added in order to facilitate the supply of increased foodstuffs, firewood, and sundries.

“It was originally a great mansion, but now it’s almost like a small imperial palace.”

“Well, it is already part of the Imperial Palace because it is the residence of the future empress.”

Responding politely, Kloud looked at the woman who wrapped her shoulders.

She was his wife, Mrs. Charlotte.

“Thanks a lot for your great job, Sir Kloud. You worked day and night for the past several days. Didn’t the emperor tell you anything about a special vacation for you?”

“It’s going to be difficult for the time being.”

“Oh my god! I didn’t think the emperor was so mean. He is such a terrible employer.”

Mrs. Charlotte sat down next to him with a joke. Kloud put down the report he was reading, and filled the teacup for her.

“Does the daughter of the duke go to sleep early?”

“Yeah. She is up and running now, but she hasn’t yet overcome fever completely. She was busy all day long. Let me see. After breakfast, she wrote to Marquise Chester, and while reading the public bulletin, she kept asking about the situation in the capital. She checked the dress she was going to wear at the party. She was very surprised that the dresses the emperor gave her fitted her perfectly. I was also surprised. I don’t know if it was a coincidence or if he had the dress craftsmen design for her.”

“Hummmm…”

“Anyway, I measured her and ordered some additional items. In the afternoon, I showed her around the mansion as she said she was not familiar with the structures of the mansion. She even went to the annex building for a first-hand look. Before going to bed, she took some books from the library and read them before falling asleep. I don’t know how she got energized like that.”

Anyway, she seemed to adjust herself well to the daily routines at the mansion.

Kloud asked again, while reviewing his report to the emperor.

“Is there anything else special?”

“Well…”

She recalled what happened this morning.

“In fact, I came here to see you because of that.”

He put down his cup and looked at her with a serious look.

“She told me this morning that she had a favor to ask me. When I asked, she asked me to spread a rumor in and out of the mansion.”

“Rumor?”

“Yes, a rumor that there seems to be a bit of trouble between her and the emperor.”

“Trouble… ”

That kind of rumor was certainly strange. Although the engagement announcement was unprecedented, the emperor spared no care for her. And she also moved into this mansion with a calmer attitude than he imagined.

“Well, her request is not that difficult for me to accept. The day she entered this mansion, she made a big fuse by running to the emperor in pajamas, even calling him a cheater. Besides, after receiving him in the parlor, she suddenly collapsed and was sick over three days. I tried my best to stop any strange rumors from getting around. If you leak out a rumor on this, it will snowball and spread like wildfire.”

“It looks like you already have the rumor ready.”

“But don’t you think that kind of rumor is not good for both the emperor and the daughter? I guess all the rumors about her when she was in Lennox would soon spread in the capital.” Mrs. Charlotte said in a slightly excited tone. Marianne was so suspicious.

She was also well versed in the rumors about high society in other areas.

And to her knowledge, Marianne was like a northern princess whose heart Ober had been trying to win until last month.

Then how come she changed her mind overnight and accepted the emperor’s proposal? Was she forced to take it instead of accepting it voluntarily? Threat? Her own request? Aside from her reason to come up to the capital, did she have a different man in mind, not the emperor? What if that person were Ober, the illegitimate child of the imperial family? What if the rumor was not about the trouble between her and the emperor, but about the troubling reality of her love?

Mrs. Charlotte didn’t have any definite answer to these questions.