Chapter 29

Even before he heard the tip from her, Ober believed that the new owner was not Marianne.

There were so many women in the world who had dark brown hair and green eyes. Of course, there were not many with such clear eyes, but there were still a lot of women with that color mix of hair and eyes.

“You know, there are countless women like her in this vast empire.”

“Marquise Chester wanted to check her by herself, so she invited that woman to the tea party. She received a reply today, which said she would love to attend. If you want to check her out yourself, please come to the main reception room tomorrow at noon.”

Ober praised her and sent her back.

Until that moment, he imagined an optimistic future desperately. He thought that the emperor, who heard some rumors about getting around in the northern social circles, was playing with a girl after bringing her to the palace.

But that girl was none other than Marianne.

Her dark brown hair just roasted chocolate, her clear green eyes that could be visible from afar, the shadow of her slender body and the maid who served her were familiar to him. That maid’s intelligence report about the new owner was correct. Ober felt like he had been deceived.

He felt instinctively that something went wrong when the woman got off the wagon.

‘…Eckart, you mean bastard! How dare you take away my woman again?’

Barely cursing out his half-brother, he quickly turned back from the balcony.

“Marquis?”

“Step aside!”

The waiter, who was waiting with the newly-picked wine and glass on the tray, staggered when Ober pushed him aside.

He left without looking back. As if to show his impatience, he hastened his steps to the main building.

He had to check her right away.

The tea party was held in the parlor of the main building of the mansion.

When she entered the parlor through the open door, helped by Cordelli, what occurred to her mind more than anything else was, ‘If I go to a too gorgeous place, I can be short of breath.’

There were masterpieces and glass artifacts filling the walls everywhere, the chandelier shone brightly with crystals hanging around — the ornate rugs laid out so as to cover the floor, the long marble table laced with a woven lace rug, and the refreshment trays and ice buckets of wine and drinks made of gold. Even the half-open window handles and the edges of the chair were carved in gold of the family crest.

If somebody showed a picture of this room to a commoner or a poor noble family, they would certainly reply that it was one of the chambers of the Imperial Palace that they had only heard about. Even Marianne, cited as one of the five noble women in the empire boasting of the most extravagant lives, felt overwhelmed. But she didn’t feel afraid or jealous. The interior of the parlour and the attire of the guests were so luxurious that they seemed to demonstrate their conceited lifestyle as much as they could.

How could she describe them? She felt all of their luxury would be gone tomorrow when the party was over.

“The last guest has arrived here!”

Some guest shouted with a hilarious voice. The guests, who gathered in twos and threes, turned their attention to the person immediately.

Marianne came to her senses when their attention was focused on her. Fortunately, she wasn’t new to such attention.

“Let me introduce Marianne, the daughter of Duke Kling and Lennox as well as Duke Wales.”

Cordelli revealed Marianne’s identity with a clear voice. As her announcement was the same as the one that was already reported in the public bulletin, they began to whisper to each other immediately.

“Oh my god, the bulletin was true. How could this happen?”

“Look at that dress. The lace on her chest. Is that the work of the royal designer, Mrs. Margarita? I heard that Roxanne wanted the designer to choose one for her next time… How can she come here with that dress?”

“I do not know. It looks like the emperor gave her it as a gift.”

“That’s too bad. I heard that she grew up in the northern corner without knowing which way the wind was blowing. How could she know the value of those gifts? Her nickname like ‘the Spring of the North’ is just a name only.”

“Watch your language! I heard she used to be a woman favored by the marquise’s son Ober.”

“It doesn’t matter. She is the emperor’s fiancee now. By the way, she is really pretty. In fact, I wondered how beautiful she was because she captivated the best two grooms of our time.”

“I’ve never seen such bright green eyes. She is so beautiful in my eyes. Ober or the emperor will feel the same, I think.”

Numerous feedback from exclamations to praises were heard here and there among the guests.

Mariane quickly examined the guests from the head table down to the lower ones, such as musicians with violins, old men with pocket watches, young or old knights wearing knights’ uniforms, painters washing their brushes in front of the easel in one corner and the ladies dressed fashionably in the capital as well as young girls that were her age.

What attracted her attention was a girl who sat at the end of the table.

She was seated at a table closest to the head table.

‘She looks as if she’s shooting eye arrows.”

In fact, that girl was sharply staring at her.

Marianne examined her closely because she might have seen that girl somewhere in the past, but did not know her. She looked about the same age as her, but a little younger. She looked cute with a pretty blonde and very pale lime eyes like a doll. Without hardly blinking her eyes, she stared at Marianne, and that made her uncomfortable.

“Miss Roxy, it’s not good manners to stare at somebody like that.”

At that moment, she heard an unfamiliar voice behind her. That blonde girl called Roxy stood up from her seat. Marianne slowly turned halfway.

The woman who had just entered the entrance was Marquise Chester. Her dark red hair and gray eyes, apparently passed down to her son Ober, swept before her eyes like an illusion.

If she was the later emperor’s concubine, she might be old enough to be in her 40s, but she looked much younger as if she were in her 30s. Her voluptuous figure and slender eyes emitted a dangerous yet attractive aura. Ober looked a lot like her in various aspects.

“Are you Estel?”

Marianne, who was trying to greet her lightly, was surprised at her remarks.

“…Madame?”

“Oh, sorry. Lady Marianne. I am mistaken as you take after Estelle so much. Actually, she can’t come here.”

Mrs. Chester smiled as if it was not a big deal and covered her mouth with a fan.

But Marianne’s eyes trembled a lot. She never expected Mrs. Chester to call that name which was so special and precious to her.

“Do you know my mother?”

“Of course. Very well.”

Mrs. Chester paused for a moment on purpose.

“I know her very well.”

It seemed as if her short answer condensed lots of information in it.

Marianne barely calmed down her trembling eyes. She was now in enemy territorye. She had to pull herself together here. She wanted to ask about her mother right away, but she felt that Mrs. Chester wouldn’t let her know anything. And there were too many people who could overhear things. After hesitating for a moment, Marianne finally decided to introduce herself politely instead of asking questions.

“This is Marianne from the Kling and Lennox family. Thank you for inviting me to this place.”

“You’re welcome. Roxy, would you come and support me?”

The girl sitting at the end of the table approached her slowly. There was some ridicule on her cute face.

Even though she was right next to her, Mrs. Chester called Roxy who was seated far from her for a certain reason. She wanted to show who was her favorite girl in this place.

And that girl seemed to know it well.

“If you don’t mind, can I help you?” Marianne said, deliberately smiling, and supported her arms. The girl approaching stopped and stared at Marianne sharply like before.

“You’re rude!” the girl shouted in an angry voice.

“Was your name Roxy?”

“Don’t call me Roxy recklessly. You’re not close enough to call me Roxy. We’ve never met before, right?”

“Well, yes, you’re right. May I ask who you are?”

“I do not like it! You already know me. Are you going to tease me?”

Obviously Roxy said they had never met before, then she said Marianne knew about her. Teasing her? Who was teasing whom?

Marianne looked at Roxy with a perplexed expression. Roxy was not familiar with her at all, so Marianne didn’t know why she was so wary about her.

“Miss Roxy, this is not the mansion in Lonstat.”

Luckily, Mrs. Chester cut in as a moderator. Though Marianne didn’t know her full name, she was probably from the Lonstat family. Roxi stepped back with an annoyed look.