CH 50

Chapter 50 (Is it called Snowbird?)

“Lariette, are you here!”

Erzebuth welcomed Lariette with a bright smile. It was such an honor to see the princess greeting you directly in front of the door.

She naturally turned her bangs back and exposed her face, and she looked more handsome than the last time. A navy blue men’s suit over a baggy shirt was very suitable.

Lariette gasped for a moment and took a deep breath at the beauty that turned most men into squid. It was because the sharp eyes that curved towards her were particularly cool.

“Thank you for inviting me, Princess.”

Lariette came to her senses and bowed her head politely. Then, Erzebuth raised her eyebrows as if displeased and asked the question.

“Princess?”

“Ah, Erzebuth.”

Lariette hastily corrected the name. But even that, Erze didn’t like it, and said with a firm voice.

“It’s not Erzebuth, it’s Erze.”

“Haha. Thanks for inviting me, Erze.”

Lariette burst into laughter at the unexpectedly cute behavior and greeted her again.

In the Empire, the name Erze was usually given to men. There was a famous general in history called Erze, so he wanted the boy to grow up to be so brave.

However, Lariette thought that the nickname was well suited to Erze. Not just because of her good looks, but because of her dignified attitude.

“Yeah, good girl.”

Erze raised the corners of her lips and smiled as if she liked it. With that she stroked Lariette’s hair.

No, it was clear that it was her heart, not her head, that was stroked. Because if it weren’t for it, my heart wouldn’t be beating so fast and my mind would be hazy. Lariette trembled again in her head.

If it had been done by another man, it was an act I would have hated, asking How  dare you touch my hair. However, it was not very unpleasant because Erze’s hand was so soft. Rather, it was a good thing.

“Then, this way.”

Erze beckoned gracefully and guided Lariette into the garden.

Currently, Lariette was at the tea party at the invitation of Erze. It was a new feeling to receive an invitation that I didn’t receive even when I was Princess Blanche.

In spite of the invitation of the princess, the place was not the Imperial castle, but the residence of Count Osman. Erze explains that her close friends always gather here, and she wants to introduce them to Lariette.

“They are all nice people, so they will like you.”

“I hope they like me. I don’t want to hurt Erze’s friends.”

“Who doesn’t like you? You’re so cute.”

Indeed, Erze must have been a natural playgirl. Otherwise, there’s no way she would be able to say something like this.

‘Asrazan, forgive me even if I look away for a moment! It’s not love, it’s longing!’

Lariette closed her eyes tightly and thought. It was like an excuse. The reality was that I was just excited because Erze was so cool.

Soon we arrived at the inner garden. It was not as good as that of the Duke Kandel garden, but it was very beautiful that the flowers were in full bloom and the trees were well arranged.

In the center of the garden was a large table lined with lace cloth. The ladies who were sitting around found Erze and got up. Their eyes filled with interest turned to Lariette.

“Come on, say hello to everyone. This is my new friend, Lariette.”

“Hello, this is Lariette. It is such an honor to meet you.”

Lariette greeted each other with a friendly smile. It was a greeting that did not fit the etiquette, but since she abandoned the Blanche title, there was nothing to add.

The first of Erze’s three friends to greet her was a familiar person.

“Lariette, how have you been? Another new accessory arrived yesterday. Come see it.”

“Take care, Jenvier. I’ll stop by the boutique soon.”

Madame Charbet and Jenvier smiled as they said they would always vacate their reservations for Lariette. And the next person was greeted.

“Hello. This is Juana Osman. It is an honor to meet you here too.”

“It’s been a while, Lady Osman.”

“Call me Juana. Our princess likes to call each other by names.”

Count Osman’s eldest daughter, Juana, with curly red hair, answered with a blank expression. It was a blunt tone, but there was no emotion in her voice for Lariette.

She, too, was someone Lariette already knew. They often met at parties, but that wasn’t the only reason.

The reason Lariette remembers Juana’s name correctly is that she was the banquet  big rumor a few years ago.

‘They said she rejected the prince’s dance request.’

The current Lariette thought it was possible, but when she first heard the rumors, she was quite surprised.

Not surprisingly, it was customary for the highest-ranking person to perform the first dance at a party. And there was no way to turn down the application for the first dance.

Rejecting the prince’s dance request, which must be the highest rank at any person in the party, meant that she refused the first dance in front of everyone. Even if it was an insult to the royal family, there was no excuse.

Juana even replied, ‘I don’t really like dancing with the Crown Prince’ to the Crown Prince who asked the reason. There was no problem because Erze took care of it, but since then, Juana has been called the ‘Crazy Red-Haired Lady’.

The rumors were so loud that Lariette, who had never been close to her, was worried about her, but Juana didn’t really care. However, it was still annoying, but she just said it went well and didn’t leave the party.

‘I haven’t heard much about how she has been since then, but she has become friends with Erze.’

Lariette turned her head, thinking that Juana’s emotionless and honest attitude matched Erze well. And a beautiful woman came into view.

She was the first person I saw. The woman with her shiny platinum hair hanging down long and looking at me with big pink eyes similar to Lariette’s hair color had a pretty face.

The long eyelashes and drooping eyes were as cute as a deer, and when the silly expressions overlapped, the person looked really pitiful. She blinked blankly and slowly opened her pretty lips.

“Lariette, if you don’t have a last name… Are you a commoner? How did you become close with Princess Erze?”

Her voice was clear without any malice, but the content itself was so direct that it was rude to the point of embarrassment.

It was Lariette, who had already revealed that she had known acquaintances with both Sheria and Juana. Even if she did not reveal her surname, it was difficult to think of her as a commoner.

Normal aristocrats were very proud of their status, and it was a great shame to be misunderstood as commoners. It was usually said to insult the other person on purpose.

But for that, this beautiful woman’s face was only bright. Considering that even her tone of voice is innocent, Lariette guessed that she didn’t know the social situation well after I debuted.

“Lady Mirchen. Watch your mouth.”

“Bu-but I was just curious because she didn’t have a last name….”

The woman was startled by Juana’s point and looked at Erze. Lariette wondered if she had ever heard of the surname Mirchen, but couldn’t remember. Apparently she was the lady who debuted after she left Blanche mansion.

“Sheria. It’s a rude question.”

“Oh, sorry if I offended you. Because I don’t know yet… I’m so sorry, Lariette.”

“It’s okay. It can be misunderstood.”

When Erze agreed, the woman, Sheria, bowed her head apologetically. Lariette smiled as if nothing had happened and accepted the apology. I was just embarrassed because it seemed that the situation had become awkward for nothing.

Fortunately, a pleasant conversation continued after that. When Sheria made a mistake, others immediately stepped in and fixed it, and she was not arrogant and  apologized, so there was no problem.

So far it is.

* * *

A few hours later, they headed to the front door of the mansion to return home.

Sheria followed after Erze, who was walking ahead, while Lariette and Juana took a few steps back together. Soon Juana broke the awkward silence and opened her mouth.

“I don’t really like saying things like this behind the back.”

The voice was so small that only Lariette could hear it. “Huh,” she sighed and continued slowly.

“Sheria Mirchen joined our tea party a few weeks ago. Erze pitied her for having a rough time with her late debutant.”

“Oh, I see.”

Somehow, I thought she was the only one who didn’t get along well. Lariette thought so and nodded her head lightly.

“It would be convenient to keep a reasonable distance. No matter how unfamiliar with the social world, even if she was a lady of a baron, she didn’t really notice. Did they say ‘Snowbird’ in today’s conversation? Well, this is just her backstory, I’m not very close to her, so you can judge yourself.”

Juana shrugged her shoulders and finished her final words.

“I’m just warning you because I’m sorry that you’re going to suffer during the judgment period.”

She moved quickly without looking back. She also didn’t like the situation at all.

Lariette said nothing in an ambiguous position and followed her. The front door where the carriage was waiting was right in front of us.

Then, suddenly, there was a small commotion in front of me. Sheria was surprised.

Lariette wondered what was going on, so she opened her eyes and walked quickly. As she walked out the front door, a familiar figure caught her eye in front of the carriage that had come to pick her up.

“Lariette.”

It was Asrahan in splendid robes, perhaps because he had been to the Imperial Palace. He smiled at Lariette, his eyes bent finely.

“I had some free time so I came to see you.”

I miss you. Asrazan added kindly. It was a familiar sight to Lariette, but to others it was a shocking scene.

“The Duke of Kandel…?”

“I see the princess. It’s been awhile Madame Charbet.”

Erze opened her mouth wide as if in disbelief, and looked back at Sheria. It was the gaze that she was aware of such a huge situation. Sheria, who thoroughly protected her image, laughed awkwardly.

“Asrazan, why are you here…. Oh, first of all. These are my new friends. This is Lady Juana Osman.”

“I see, I’m Duke Kandel. Osman’s first daughter, Juana.”

Juana also did not hide her surprised face and bowed her head politely.

Asrazan, who would normally have ignored them, greeted them kindly just because they’re Lariette’s friends. In fact, even if it was gentle, it was enough to nod his head lightly.

“And this is Lady Sheria Mirchen.”

Lariette waited for Sheria’s greeting, but strangely, it didn’t come right away. When she turned her head to look at her puzzled by it, Sheria finally came to her senses and opened her mouth.

“I, I’m Mirchen’s second daughter, Sheria. Please call me Sherry!”

Her beautiful face was dyed pink and stared blankly at Asrazan.

Illustration 

* * *

It was a very enjoyable day.

Although the exhaustion that had accumulated recently weighed on Doha’s body, and Gibralfaro caught him like a mouse during a meeting, it was a pleasant day for Doha nonetheless.

Just for the one reason that I have an appointment with Lariette.

Doha hummed and changed into the clothes of a low-ranking priest. But his dark eyes and blurred pupils under his sharp eyes showed that he was in bad shape.

Joshua wanted to stop him from going out, but he couldn’t speak. It was because he seemed so sensitive that he would explode at any moment.

Anyone who touches Mikhail Doha Bellion in that state will see blood.

At least, he didn’t have to be in a position to explode. Joshua wanted to live a long life, so he quietly left his side.

After getting ready to go out, Doha headed downtown with a foreign smile on his face. He changed the carriage twice because he didn’t want to be found in the temple.

However, the place he arrived was not on the hill he usually went to with Lariette, but on a dark road on the outskirts of the city. Most of the buildings that had not been inhabited for a long time had collapsed, and the atmosphere was eerily cold.

Doha stood blankly in the middle of the ruins building. The eyes were more out of focus than before. The curled corners of his lips were smeared with madness.

“I’m sick and tired of it.”

He closed his eyes and muttered. Beautiful silver hair fluttered in the wind.

And in an instant, like a fleeting moment, black seals popped out of the air.

They appeared in an instant without a single sign and aimed at Doha’s neck without hesitation.

The sharp blades of the sword rained towards him without mercy. Doha slowly opened his eyes, and when he opened his eyes, the sword was already so close that it could not be avoided.

Whispers like sighs continued.

“I’m really tired of dying….”

Doha flicked his fingers lightly without blinking an eye. Then suddenly a light flashed around him.

“Ahhh-!!”

“Aaaaah!!”

The bodies of the assassins melted in the intense light. They had no choice but to scream.

Doha frowned in displeasure even at that scream. Then he grabbed the sword that one of them had dropped.

Aaaaah-!

With a smooth sound, the blade cut the assassins’ throats. The sound of round things rolling on the floor followed.

Red blood rose high in the sky and poured down Doha’s body. White clothes, hair and skin. He let out a low breath, wiping the blood from his face with his hand.

I have to go see Rie.

The clothes soaked in blood were very troublesome.