Chapter 159

Marianne instinctively realized that this was not just a private talk or her dwelling on her own misfortune. Mrs. Chester, like a snake attracting prey, was setting the way for Marianne to arrive at a predetermined truth and answer.

“You bet. Empress Alessa went through a terrible thing when she was still just a princess. Her heart was broken by sharp things. I wonder how she felt when she found out about her closest friend’s death…”

Marianne’s expression hardened, “… What did you mean when you said she found out about her closest friend’s death? ”

“Miss, you know Empress Frida, right?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Do you know she is also Duke Hubble’s elder sister?”

“Yeah. I know.”

“Then, do you also know that Duke Hubble had another sister?”

“Really? Well… Ah! Yes. But she was…”

“Yes. She was Lady Michaela, namely Marquise Blanchefort. She went missing nineteen years ago. Since then, Marquis Blanchefort’s health has gradually declined. He has been completely retired from the central political stage for a long time. Everybody tries very hard not to mention his name because they don’t want to annoy Duke Hubble.”

Michaela Hubble von Blanchefort was the youngest sister of Duke Hubble and the sister of the late Empress Frida. It was purely because of Michaela that the Blanchefort family, who had no special characters or achievements, rose from a common baron family to the level of a marquis established himself in the central politics. Empress Frida and Duke Hubble did not seek her groom among the prestigious noble families because they planned to make her groom the central figure of a prestigious family.

“Mrs. Blanchefort had a very pretty daughter. She was Lady Rosetta. Empress Alesa called her Rose fondly. I’ve met Rosetta several times. She was a lady who looked like a full blown summer rose. ”

Rosetta, who had a very powerful noble family on her mother’s side, grew up in splendor.

Her cousins and brothers were either children of a duke or imperial family members, so she didn’t lack anything, materially or spiritually.

“Lady Rosetta often visited the palace with her mother. She was most intimate with Princess Alessa and naturally got along well with her other cousins. Crown Prince Cassius was a very attractive young man. I assure you that all the daughters of noble families adored him during those days.”

“What you mean is …”

“Yes. Lady Rosetta also adored Cassius very much. So much so that she wanted to be his wife and become the next empress.”

“But isn’t marriage forbidden between cousins under Aslan laws?”

“Of course. However, there have been exceptions, like for Cremer VI. A cousin was adopted as a daughter by an aristocrat relative which changed her family status then she was accepted as his wife. After that, marriage between cousins was more strongly avoided, but that was a long time ago. It was not unusual for Miss Rosetta, who loved Cassius very much, to dream of being the next empress. ”

“In other words, she believed she could be an exception, right?”

“In fact, there were a lot of people around her who weren’t bothered with that kind of workaround. Perhaps her uncle, Duke Hubble, was the most pleased with that option because he had no daughter.”

The easiest and most powerful alliance in politics was one of marriage. Duke Hubble had only one son, but his elder sister Frida already had two daughters and two sons after marrying Frei V. In order to influence the next imperial family, it was necessary for the Hubble family to unite with one of them. Fortunately, his sister Michaela’s daughter, Rosetta, had Cassis in mind. Although Rosetta was not his biological daughter, she was a much better choice than any other girl of a noble family without his family’s blood.

“Duke Hubble, Marquise Blanchefort, and even Empress Frida tacitly agreed that Cassius and Rosetta should get married. People soon believed that Lady Rosetta would be the next empress. Could any other daughter of the noble family compete with Rosetta, who was the duke’s cousin as well as the empress? No way. But you know, the late empress was not Lady Rosetta. To the lady who grew up with the princess and possessed everything she wanted, the failure of her first love must have been a huge pain.”

“So, Lady Rosetta had sickness of the mind…”

“Oh, did everyone say that Rosetta had sickness of the mind because the late Emperor Cassius chose the princess of Lennox as his wife instead of her?” Mrs. Chester giggled again behind the fan. Her laughter was much more eerie and cheerful than before. “If she really had suffered from that, I would never have missed Lady Rosetta like I do now. That lady was really a loud and outgoing character. She was not the type of woman who could lead a stupid life of staying put in her own room, crying and despairing after her beloved was taken by somebody else.”

Marianne got an ominous feeling. She seemed to know how Alessa felt when she found out about the death of her best friend, whose life, as Mrs. Chester described, was a stupid one.

“Rosetta’s love was a one-sided love, but what do you think the lady who was betrayed by her tender feelings did?”

“No way…”

“Yes. She ended her life nicely with her own hands. ”

Marianne frowned as she couldn’t stand it anymore. Ironically, Mr. Chester’s words were perfect to elicit that response from her, but she didn’t feel happy or fortunate at all.

“The person who first discovered Lady Rosetta’s suicide was Empress Alessa. As I heard later, Rosetta stabbed herself in the heart. Obviously, she didn’t want to leave any room for suspicion as far as her suicide was concerned. Oh, how nicely she ended her life! She clearly sent the signal that if she couldn’t have Cassius, she would make him never forget her. Unfortunately, the late Emperor Cassius seemed to have forgotten her easily, but I can’t help but compliment her courage. She didn’t want to allow herself to be the shame of her family, right? I can’t help but be captivated by her courage. ”

Marianne felt pressed by a strange terror. She had never met someone like Mrs. Chester who spoke with such an exhilarated voice while describing such terrible things.

Her nasty and strange fear soon turned into fervent anger toward Mrs. Chester.

‘Was Mrs. Chester so happy while sending condolence flowers to my late mother? Did she laugh secretly at my father’s funeral? Did she smile even while hearing that her maid was crying and hung herself by the cherry tree in the garden? How can a human being really do that? If this woman is really a human, how could she do such cruel and merciless things?’

Mrs. Chester continued, “I heard that Empress Alessa reacted hysterically whenever she saw sharp things, so I was so happy to know that she received the sword sent by Duke Hubble. I’m so fortunate that I can send her any gift now.”

Mrs. Chester’s sharp eyes curved gently. Marianne opened her mouth hard as if she was chewing sand.

“So, that’s why Duke Hubble often showed hostile feelings to the imperial family?

“I do not know,” said Mrs. Chester, shrugging. She continued, “Duke Hubble is a very cold-hearted politician. He’s not stupid enough to turn his back on the imperial family because he lost a niece who wasn’t his blood. It is true that the late emperor was very wary of the nobles trying to strengthen their power.”

Marianne and Mrs. Chester were alone in the room, but Mrs. Chester bowed down a little and put her lips around Marianne’s ear. With surprisingly calm breathing, she whispered, “But who knows if he lost something so precious before that in the same very nasty way? Think of the wound. You know, it’s more painful when someone pokes his finger into an open wound than the first cut of a blade. It is also painful to pretend that it’s okay when it really hurts.

“Let me tell you this for your reference. There are only three people who have suddenly died in the Hubble family. Duke Hubble’s wife died from illness, the Marquise Blanchefort went missing, and Lady Rosetta who was known to have died from mental illness. Among them Duke Hubble’s wife was the only one whose cause of death was clear as she died from the Kinnis epidemic. ”

Each of word she spoke broke Marianne’s heart, but Mrs. Chester was smiling while telling such terrible stories. Marianne couldn’t read her heart properly.

“Madame, Why are you telling me all this?”

“Oh, I think I talked too much as I was reminiscing about things of the past. Were my episodes too dull and stuffy for a young lady to listen to?”

“… No, not at all. I always learn a lot from you.”

“If you think so, that’s good. Just forget it as what I’ve told you so far is just my dwelling on my misfortune. Okay, shall we choose a gift? I have to send it by the end of today to meet the deadline.”

Mrs. Chester hurriedly passed her, as if she was impatient.

Marianne watched the hem of her dress dragging behind her. The afterimages of the collar of her dress, as red as blood, flashed through her mind.