Chapter 44

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nThere are three teddy bears with ribbons that look cute as if they were carefully made in their own way.

n“If it’s Lady Astelle…”

n“Yes, the daughter of the Duke of Reston.”

nThe deposed empress was in this castle was a fact known to everyone who lived in the castle.

nThe guards also heard that the deposed empress was looking after her grandfather and nephew.

nIt said that the deposed empress had a special fondness for her little nephew.

nThe commander of the Guards Army listened to Hannah’s explanation and nodded silently.

n“All right, this way please.”

nHannah and the maid went through the gates to the outbuildings to the east.

nIt was time for her to pass through the garden corridor leading to the annex.

nAs Hannah was walking on the flat flagstones that covered the corridor’s path, she stumbled and accidentally dropped the basket.

n“Ahh…”

nAs the basket fell to the floor, a small glass bottle popped out and rolled.

nIt was a glass bottle with purple petals.

nHannah, startled, quickly picked up the glass bottle, packed the basket, and left.

n***

n“Please hold a tea party.”

nThe next day, Astelle went to see Vellian and asked for it.

n“… I beg your pardon?”

nVellian wondered what he had heard now.

n‘Tea party?’

nAstelle, who was sitting opposite him, asked a question in a very natural manner.

n“Have you been to the tea room in the garden?”

n“No, I haven’t.”

n“It was very beautiful in the middle of the acacia flower garden. I want to have a tea party in that tea room.”

nVellian smiled after a brief pause and said, “That’s right. Then you can have a tea party if you want…”

n“But I can’t send out invitations because there aren’t any ladies I know here. So the Count will host a tea party for me.”

n“Pardon? No! I mean… why me, Lady Astelle?”

nVellian looked at Astelle with a puzzled look.

nThe tea party was a social gathering for noblewomen.

nNo nobleman ever hosted a tea party.

nWell, it’s not legally prohibited, but it was customary anyway.

nIf a man were to host a tea party, the nobles of the capital would see him as a strange person.

nAstelle said in a calm voice.

n“Have you forgotten what happened last time at the inn? You disguised the pharmacist as a maid to steal my luggage and medicine box. She sent me to the public bath and looked through my clothes.”

n“……”

nAstelle smiled as she watched Vellian’s gentle-looking face harden.

n“I told you back then. I’ll get help from you later. Don’t you remember that too?”

n“That…”

nVellian stuttered blankly, then lowered his head and sighed.

n“Excuse me, Lady Astelle.”

nHe put one hand on his forehead and let out a pained sound.

n“You will leave after completing the will of the late empress dowager, but I have to live in the capital for the rest of my life and work in the Imperial Palace.”

nThere was no way Astelle would go out and do something like a tea party for no reason.

nVellian knew what had just happened.

nTheor was almost kidnapped by a maid. On the day of the incident, he was told in detail the circumstances surrounding it.

nEven if Vellian wasn’t told anything, he could guess who the culprit was.

n“Have you ever thought about how difficult it would be for the rest of my life if I had a hostile relationship with the mother of the future empress?”

n“Is this something I should think about?”

nAt Astelle’s brazen question, Vellian was at a loss for words.

nAstelle said with a friendly smile in front of Vellian’s dazed face.

n“……”

n“You’re getting a strange misunderstanding. I’m not going to harm the Marchioness. It’s just a tea party. I want to invite the Marchioness to be friends.”

n“Friends?”

nVellian stared suspiciously as if he would not believe such nonsense.

nAstelle did not give up and spoke in a serious manner.

n“I want to openly and frankly tell her about what happened with Lady Marianne, and clear up any misunderstandings. I don’t want to be an enemy of the Croychen family.”

nAstelle confessed frankly.

n“But if I were the one holding the tea party, the Marchioness and her daughter would not be attending. That’s why I’m asking you.”

nVellian looked at Astelle with his suspicious eyes.

nThere was not a single lie on her well-groomed face.

nBut he was Vellian and he was not easily fooled.

n“Then can you swear to me, Lady Astelle? You will never do anything to the Marchioness.”

n“Sure.”

nAstelle placed a hand on her chest with an innocent expression, as if she had never lied.

nAnd she swore seriously.

n“I swear on my father.”

n“Hey… I know that you had a bow to your father, the Duke of Reston.”

nVellian glared at her with a suspicious look.

n“Then, can’t I take someone else?”

n“Who are you going to swear on?”

n“I do not know… how about my grandfather, the Marquis of Carlenberg?”

nVellian pondered over who Astelle valued the most, and chose her maternal grandfather, the Marquis.

nHe thought about Theor, but he couldn’t bet the five-year-old child.

nAstelle swore obediently.

n“I swear on my father and grandfather. I won’t touch the Marchioness until the tea party is over.”

nVelian still had a grumpy face with no doubts, but when he heard Astelle’s oath, he couldn’t argue anymore.

n“I see. I believe you because you say that far.”

n“Thank you.”

nAstelle smiled contentedly.

nBecause Astelle will never use her hand anyway.

n‘I don’t have to touch it myself.’

nThe Marchioness was quick-tempered and violent.

nSuch a person was the type to self-destruct without having to attack.

nShe only needs to create an opportunity to self-destruct.

nShe didn’t care if she couldn’t keep her oath.

nHer father, the Duke of Reston had cut ties with her.

nAnd it wasn’t just her maternal grandfather, the Marquis of Carlenberg, whom she called ‘grandfather’.

nThe deceased former Duke of Reston was equally a grandfather to Astelle.

n“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything.”

nAstelle swore calmly and concealed her inner feelings.

n“And if this goes well, I will not ask Sir Vellian such a difficult request in the future. I will completely forget about your work at the inn back then.”

n“… I wish I could believe those words.”

nVellian muttered helplessly.

n“Thank you for listening to my request. I was interrupting a busy person. I will leave now.”

nIt was when Astelle got up to say thank you. Vellian asked with a puzzled expression.

n“Are you going to invite His Majesty as well?”

nAstelle looked back at him as if asking what this was.

nIt seems that he really hated doing Astelle’s request.

nSeeing that he deliberately mentions his name, knowing that she doesn’t like meeting Kaizen.

nAstelle flatly refused.

n“This is a tea party held to relieve old feelings, so there’s no need to bring the Emperor. Don’t tell His Majesty.”

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nThe Marchioness looked at the luxurious envelope and asked nervously.

n“A tea party invitation?”

nIn the afternoon, an invitation to a tea party was delivered in the name of Vellian.

nIt was a polite request to attend because there will be a tea party in the tea room in the garden.

n“Did you say that the woman had been to the main palace?”

n“Yes. It is said that the Count and Lady Astelle talked to each other alone.”

nThe maid who brought the invitation answered the question of the Marchioness.

n‘What had she planned?’

nShe wasn’t stupid either.

nThere was no reason for Vellian, the emperor’s aide, to suddenly hold a tea party here.

nWhy did a nobleman host a tea party in the first place?

n‘It must have been her.’

nIt was clear that she had ordered Vellian to hold a tea party.

nThe Marchioness was watching what Astelle was doing in the annex.

nOne of her maids that she placed as a spy reported that Astelle had met Vellian.

nAnd today, the invitation to the tea party came.

nAs anyone can see, it was Astelle’s work.

nBut why?

nThe Marchioness was unsure of her intentions.

nShe asked the maid again as she tapped the tabletop with an anxious hand.

n“Did you say you saw the purple petals?”

n“Yes, Madam. I saw it with my own two eyes.”

nThe maid said once again what she had seen.

nAstelle’s maid, who came out of the castle, dropped something from the basket, and it was a flower petal in a glass bottle.

n‘Purple petals in a glass bottle.’

nThat ominous purple was the color of death.

nThe small purple petals, often called the monk’s hood, were famous for their powerful poison.

nEven the Marchioness, who was ignorant of herbal medicine, knew how poisonous the flower was.

nAstelle’s maid has bought purple petals in a glass bottle.

nThe only evidence she had was the maid’s eyewitness report, but the Marchioness couldn’t think of any other purpose there.

n‘This is obviously… she’s a bad girl trying to get revenge on me.’

nShe was told that Astelle knew medicinal herbs and that she carried a bunch of medicine bottles.

nPoor Marianne tried to inspect that woman’s suspicious drug, but she was framed and suffering.

nWhat kind of hobbies does that woman have?

nShe’s like a pharmacist, that’s what low-level women do.

n‘In the North where I grew up, such sassy women were slaughtered as witches, and Astelle had good reason to seek revenge.’

nYeah right, that must be revenge. She must have known that the Marchioness was the mastermind behind the kidnapping of her nephew that happened a few days ago.

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