Chapter 50

Spring rain fell for quite some time, and then early summer arrived. Countless letters announcing the start of full-scale social gatherings crossed the threshold of Polshared.

As Yvonne idly skimmed through the pile of letters on a silver tray, one bearing the royal crest caught her eye.

Reading her gaze, Jane opened her mouth with a face that looked full of things to say.

“Her Majesty the Queen, who has recovered, is opening a salon at the Queen’s Palace this time. Everyone is already in an uproar. They’re all desperate to go because the Queen’s Palace has opened its doors. Noble ladies are coming, of course, but it seems many nobles from foreign countries will be attending too.”

Jane chattered on and on as if she had brought precious information, saying she had overheard the ladies-in-waiting talking.

At present, the most famous social gathering in the Kingdom was the Avandonasser Gentlemen’s Club, but among noblewomen there was no particularly prominent social club.

There were a few known salons, but since they only ended up discussing dowries and matters such as which family one ought to marry a daughter into, there was the limitation that only certain people could really take part.

The salon Countess Sellus had once established, her shoulders full of pride after marrying Yvonne off to the Duke of Polshared, had been much the same. Since only ladies with daughters of marriageable age attended, it naturally faded away amid nothing but dull chatter already familiar to women who had already married off their children and to women who had only recently married.

By contrast, Avandonasser was said to be growing more prosperous by the day because it was a place where all information flowed, the kind that allowed one to read both the movement of money and rapidly changing trends, so foreign businessmen and those seeking investors chiefly gathered there.

“I heard it’s difficult to get an invitation, so seeing one come to you, Madam, I suppose Her Majesty the Queen must think well of you.”

“She probably just sent it for the Princess’s sake.”

Yvonne smiled at the excited Jane and slit open the edge of the letter with a paper knife. Unlike Yvonne, who made little of it, Jane clenched her fists tightly and shook her head.

“Oh no, Her Majesty the Queen isn’t that kind of person. She’s the famous Ice Queen.”

Mentioning the nickname of Queen Louise, who was known for being not merely cold but downright frosty, Jane pushed out her lips.

“I hope Her Majesty the Queen’s salon becomes famous this time and that the place run by that woman goes completely under.”

Yvonne’s fingertips stopped just as she was about to pull the paper from the envelope.

Come to think of it, one salon she had forgotten came to mind. It was the salon Vivian Alois had opened around this time last year, and rather than a gathering solely for women, it had been a social gathering where men and women of various classes met together.

There had once been rumors that, like Vivian herself, it was mainly frequented by female officers from high-ranking families and people connected to the military, and for a time it had become fairly popular as young noble ladies hoping for a good husband flocked there.

Yvonne had gone exactly once with Carlisle, but it had been long enough ago that she had forgotten it.

She had thought there was no salon that stood out strongly, but would it end up in a rival position with the salon opened by the Queen.

There was no doubt it would soon become the greatest salon in Windfog, since it was obvious that all kinds of people would participate, including nobles wanting to win the favor of King Bernhardt, who adored the Queen.

Thinking of it that way, Yvonne found herself interested in the Queen’s salon, to which she had given no real thought until moments ago.

When she unfolded the paper the rest of the way, a faint floral scent pleasantly brushed her nose. As she read on, just as expected, she found formal greetings along with a phrase inviting her to the salon.

Yvonne’s gaze, following the printed letters, stopped at a sentence added separately at the bottom.

-I hope to have good exchanges with you, Duchess, from time to time while discussing the Princess’s paintings and art.

Yvonne’s eyes lingered for a long moment on the added sentence beneath the ordinary wording. To think the Queen would make it so openly clear that she wanted her to attend.

“Madam, you’ll go, won’t you?”

At the sight of Yvonne seeming lukewarm about the Queen’s salon, Jane asked cautiously.

After thinking it over, Yvonne nodded.

“In that case, I suppose I should go out.”

“What? Right now? I’ll prepare things.”

Thinking Yvonne meant attending the salon in two weeks, Jane hurried into the dressing room and brought back an appropriate dress.

With Jane’s help, Yvonne hastened to prepare to go out, and it was just as she was stepping through the entrance. Harold, who had been running his index finger along the window frame while inspecting the cleaning, saw Yvonne’s attire and came striding over at once.

“Madam, Master ordered that you refrain from going out for the time being.”

“I know that as well. But I have something to take care of.”

When Yvonne tried to walk on as if it did not matter, the butler rudely stepped in front of her way.

“Butler, it appears to me that you are blocking my path.”

“Forgive me, but I have no choice except to prioritize Master’s orders.”

The lines on Harold’s forehead furrowed stubbornly, making it clear he had no intention of stepping aside. Behind him, the maids peered over and whispered among themselves, wondering what was happening again today.

With the servants watching, Harold squared his chest proudly. Gripping the frame of his glasses, he thought that today, at least, he would repay the humiliation of having once been pushed back before Yvonne, who had lately been doing all sorts of strange things.

“Please remain quietly in the mansion. If you go out now, it will only cause more noise because of the scandal you created.”

At the remark deliberately picking at the words Yvonne had used as grounds for divorce, Jane bristled and was about to step forward, but Yvonne restrained her.

“Butler, you’ve forgotten your place again, just like last time. Who is your master?”

“Well, one of the Polshared family, of course. Our house has shared in the glory of this family for over three hundred years.”

“I too am one of the Polshared family, so there is no problem.”

“Well, Madam…”

Harold, who had nearly spoken his true thoughts without thinking, stopped himself. At that, Yvonne fixed him with a half-lidded stare.

“Butler, say my name.”

D*mn it. 

A look of dismay spread over Harold’s face. Swallowing the groan rising inside, he was forced to answer.

“…Her Grace Duchess Yvonne Polshared.”

“Then you understand that my orders must be prioritized as well. Or is it that I seem insufficient in your eyes, so you cannot acknowledge me as one of the Polshared family?”

“……”

The butler’s lips twitched, utterly at a loss for words.

It seemed that even a butler so full of himself could not openly say that he could not acknowledge her as the Duchess.

“I am going out, so prepare the carriage.”

* * *

A deep floral fragrance filled the royal palace, now entering early summer. Among its grounds, the Botanic Garden King Bernhardt had prepared for his wife was in full bloom with roses of every variety, presenting a splendid and dazzling sight.

Within the white Queen’s Palace, ringed like a heart by the beautiful gardens, lively movement busily continued after a long time.

“There, hang that frame nearer the entrance so the guests may admire it easily.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The eyes of Margaret, the chief lady-in-waiting of the Queen’s Palace, who was carefully overseeing the interior decorations to create a classical atmosphere, were as serious as always.

The salon, being opened under the Queen’s auspices for the first time in four years, was being prepared with great care.

Overjoyed by the news that Queen Louise had at last regained her strength, the King had sent load after load of rare and costly gifts to the Queen’s Palace, including precious gems said to come from the Mediterranean Sea of Hae-nan Kingdom and fine silk from Mount Puri.

With news spreading of the King’s gifts, which elevated the Queen’s prestige all the more, the salon had come to be known in society as an occasion that even the most notable names absolutely had to attend.

Thus Margaret, one of the Queen’s closest attendants, oversaw everything without missing a detail, from the interior to the schedule of events planned for the day the salon would open, as though not even the smallest thing could be overlooked.

The salon was intended as a thoroughly refined cultural gathering, unlike those of noble ladies who merely traded gossip. Famous painters, musicians, and artists would attend, and a special poetry reading had also been arranged.

It was to proceed elegantly in a manner that, while carrying no obvious political color, would still display the Queen’s continued health and presence.

“Chief lady-in-waiting, I have finished confirming the musicians for that day’s event.”

“And impress upon them again that they must not be late under any circumstances.”

After instructing one final review to the very end, Margaret went into the drawing room, where Queen Louise, seated at her desk, lifted her head.

“Has there still been no reply?”

“With apologies, it seems the Duchess has not yet had a chance to see it. It appears she returned to the ducal residence before the letter arrived, so I instructed that the invitation be sent again.”

Replies to the letters sent in the Queen’s name had arrived atop the desk, but nowhere among them was there one from Duchess Yvonne.

“So she forced her way back into the ducal residence after all….”

Louise’s slender fingertips trembled faintly as she gripped the letter of reply. Having read the newspaper article not long ago, she too knew that the rumors of divorce between the Duke and Duchess had been canceled as nothing more than a passing incident.

“How foolish. She seemed somewhat useful, and yet I suppose he seized her by the throat in the end.”

At first, disappointed, Louise had thought that the weak-hearted Duchess had simply accepted her husband back again, but soon she had let out a dry laugh at the claim that the documents had been lost.

Wasn’t it obvious to anyone who looked.

Louise, who knew well that the man celebrated as a hero who had saved the royal family in the civil war was in truth a vile and thoroughly despicable man, bit her lip.

Noblewomen from families eager to take part in the Queen’s salon, opened for the first time in four years, sent letters and gifts almost daily.

Louise, who had no interest in those who wished to win her favor, had fixed her attention instead on Yvonne, who had lived for three years as the wife of the man she regarded as her bitterest enemy.

“I should send one more. Bring me stationery.”

Seeing the fingers clutching the quill pen tremble ever so slightly, Margaret started and spoke softly.

“Your Majesty, please take care of your health. You have not yet fully recovered.”

“There is no need for concern. If I were to lie there like a corpse, would that man not be the most pleased of all.”