I was not familiar with the style of upper-class speech, but it was not so foreign to me that I could not understand it. So I nodded my head secretly and focused my attention on the conversation of the noble ladies.
“You know how it goes. Sometimes, when you're writing, it's hard to convey tone, and you end up saying all kinds of things...”
“Exactly. Since Lady Elegance is also a writer, she has probably gone through this many times herself.”
With each passing comment from the noble ladies and young ladies gathered around Lady Elegance, a clearer picture of her began to form.
In short, the elegant lady wrote down everything she could—the things she should and shouldn't say—and once she had set a goal, she meticulously dissected it to the bone...but it was not necessarily of her own volition.
“It means she was acting on someone else's orders.”
Does “someone” mean the Empress? Or is there someone else pulling the strings?
As I listened in silence, a particularly experienced-looking gentlewoman finally spoke.
Ladies, haven't you heard? She appears to have nothing to do with this latest incident. They say that “that character” is a huge fan of manga, just like us... It is impossible for a character like that to do that.
“True. They might even be angrier than anyone else...”
From that, I could tell that Lady Elegance was indeed under the influence of the Empress.
Also, the nobles of Klitan now believed that the Empress was not behind this latest incident.
I pretended to take a sip of tea, focusing more on the conversations going on around me.
“But really, was Lady Elegance ever the type with a strong sense of purpose? I never got that impression.”
Then an elderly noblewoman who had been silent until now joined them.
She added, holding the cup of tea gracefully and elegantly:
“I remember when she first appeared. In the barony of elegance, full of stunning beauties, she suddenly appeared wearing a very luxurious dress.”
What followed was more interesting than I expected.
Baron Elegance's poor family had three daughters.
On the day of their introduction to society, the eldest and youngest - both known for their beauty - came in worn patchwork dresses. The second daughter, who was less beautiful in many aspects, arrived in a luxurious dress that rivaled the dresses of wealthy noble families.
There were many rumors at the time, one of them being that a powerful nobleman, impressed by the second daughter's exceptional writing, had decided to sponsor her.
“I even heard that the family introduced Mrs. Elegance to ‘that person.’ After that, her pen seemed to move faster.”
“Hmm, that sounds about right. Although it was so long ago that I can barely remember. Over 30 years ago...”
Although we waited a long time for this, the topic quickly faded away.
Maybe it was because the case involved the Empress, which made people extremely wary of speaking out?
There must be something else.
Even after the tea party was over, the story of “that family” stuck with me.
* * *
After the tea party, I stayed in the capital for a few days to gather information, but I did not discover anything of particular interest.
If there is anything I could find...
“Princess Dorothea and Marchioness Stefan became close to Her Majesty shortly before Lady Elegance became the Empress’s official spokeswoman.”
That was something the Marchioness Ambrose had casually hinted at about Princess Dorothea and the Marchioness Stefan.
“In the end, I am indebted to the Marchioness Ambrose once again.”
However, since the Stefans' name has come up again, this is no longer just speculation.
Which means the next step…was probably to share what you found, right?
Although my stay was short, I was strangely attached to the Imperial Villa in the capital. However, I left and returned to the Grand Duchy of Blair.
“Where is his mercy?”
“He's inside.”
Liam, who was standing in front of the classroom – perhaps on some errand – adjusted his glasses the moment he saw me.
“Would you mind waiting a moment please?”
"Huh? Oh, sure."
Was it just my imagination, or had his behavior become strangely more polite than it had been before?
Anyway, after leaving me outside, he entered the study room – and then suddenly pulled out all the helpers who were inside.
“Thank you very much, Assistant Liam...”
“If I had stayed there just one more hour, I might have met my great-grandfather in the afterlife...”
The helpers, completely exhausted, clung to Liam as if he were their savior, and thanked him with tears of joy. But when they saw me, they quickly straightened up and started pretending that everything was fine.
“Ahem. Good day.”
"Hey. It's been a while. Have you all been busy with work?"
I asked just in case I was coming at a busy time, and was prepared to come back later if necessary, but their reaction was surprisingly… strange.
"Oh, no! Not at all. We just finished everything, haha!"
“Even if we were still working, we wouldn't dare stand in your way. We can get the rest of our work done through our own studies.”
“But still...”
“Well, have fun then.”
They turned on their heels and practically ran away as if they were fleeing from ghosts.
I could faintly hear things like “Finally, I can rest…” and “I miss home-cooked meals…” – but well, that’s how working people are, so I ignored it.
“Your Highness, I am coming.”
She grabbed the slightly open door handle and entered the study room.
I immediately found myself face to face with a mountain of papers piled so high that they seemed as if they would reach the ceiling.
“You are here.”
“…Did something happen while I was away?”
His calm tone didn't match the scene in front of me, and I didn't bother to hide the horror in my voice as I asked.
“…What’s all this about?”
“Winters in the north are harsh. To prepare for the next huge wave, we have used 40% of the Grand Duchy’s budget. Here are the detailed reports for that.”
“Oh…”
Just imagining the sheer amount of work that would entail made me dizzy. She approached him with a worried face.
“Didn't you sleep?”
"It's been about three days. But I can last up to a week. As long as I take a ten-minute nap every now and then, I'll get through it."
Wait, what? Are you saying it's okay to not sleep for a week?
We spoke the same language, but I couldn't understand a single word.
Moving closer to him, the Duke seemed worse off. Was it those deep dark circles under his eyes? Thinking about it, he actually looked a little thinner.
He told me I was overworking myself and needed to rest, but he looked like he was about to die.
“It's like a walking corpse... albeit an incredibly beautiful one.”
I stared at him in amazement, decided to ignore the original reason for coming for a moment, and asked him cautiously:
“Hmm… are you really okay?”
Anyone who sees him like this will hesitate to broach the subject of work.
But instead of answering, he tilted his head slightly, as if he did not understand the question.
"Hmm? I'm fine. This is something that can be controlled. It happens like this every year. Honestly, compared to last year, this isn't so bad."
...What was it like last year if it wasn't considered bad? My mind has malfunctioned.
But even as I stared at him in shock, he didn't care and simply asked,
“Anyway, what brings you here?”
I wanted him to relax, but he clearly wasn't going to, so I gave up.
She looked into his hard eyes, then pulled out a chair and sat in front of his desk.
“I came to tell you what I found in the capital. I only returned today. Not that you know, but...”
“I knew.”
He interrupted me suddenly.
“I did not contact you because I did not want to appear to be pressuring you for intelligence information...”
“……”
“I hope you didn't think I didn't know.”
His voice was quieter than usual, and for the first time, he even sounded…a little shy.
Were his earlobes… turning red?
The sunset may be unusually strong today.
This must be my imagination.