Chapter 10

Camillia stood by the window.

A carriage was gradually disappearing down the road, where darkness had just begun to fall.

The rose vines intricately entwined around a silver shield—the coat of arms of the Libroth family that Camillia had cherished in her heart all her life—were disappearing along with it.

Even after the carriage carrying Rowena and Gerard had vanished, she could not bring herself to leave the window.

Camillia’s fist, resting on the windowsill, trembled.

Because of that stupid girl Eveline, Rowena didn’t eat the cake again today.

The very chocolate cake Camillia had risen at dawn to bake so carefully, adding sugarbell to it.

Sugarbell was the fruit of a common shrub found in the mountains and fields of southern Marsen. In that country, it was a sweetener consumed only by the very poorest commoners.

Its low price and sweetness comparable to sugar were obvious advantages.

Despite these benefits, there was a clear reason why sugarbell was not officially imported into the empire.

It came with various minor side effects.

The most common symptoms were blemished skin and an increase in body size.

Such side effects might be a fatal disadvantage for women who staked their lives on marriage, but in truth, they could hardly deal a serious blow to a young lady as precious as Rowena.

After all, even with her blotchy skin and plump figure—an appearance men would not favor—Rowena had been able to marry the perfect Gerard.

So easily.

Without making the slightest effort.

Camillia found Rowena utterly detestable for that.

Throughout her life, Rowena Evenwell had truly never needed to do anything.

Simply by breathing, she had received sacks full of gold and praise, love and attention from the world.

At the age of five, Rowena had lost her ability to speak after an unexpected accident. Everyone had then strained their ears, desperate to hear even the faintest sound of her breathing.

When Rowena finally began speaking haltingly at the age of eight, the people around her had wept with joy.

Camillia had thought the situation terribly unfair.

After all, the only things she ever heard were words like these:

“You damned girl, you’re not even fit to be used as fertilizer.”

Her father had said it habitually.

She was a daughter who was of no use whatsoever.

Camillia, who delighted people with her gentle smiles, was a damned girl unfit even for fertilizer, while Rowena was a young lady who was loved even when she could not utter a single word.

Camillia could not understand it.

She had been only twelve years old at the time, but she had understood one thing perfectly.

This was proof that the world was not just.

And so, a few years later, when Rowena turned fifteen, Camillia decided to make things a little fairer.

She began feeding Rowena cakes containing sugarbell.

Fortunately, that naive fool absolutely loved cake.

It was only natural that the girl who had been about to blossom as beautifully as a magnificent rose grew into a rather full-figured woman instead.

Recently, however, Rowena had begun refusing it.

She had not openly said she disliked the cake, but that was the impression Camillia got.

No. Was it only the cake?

Something about Rowena had changed.

Today was a perfect example.

She asked to be excluded from that “us” of fat women?

Camillia could hardly describe how flustered she had been when she heard those words.

“She’s not normally such a bold girl.”

Just as Camillia shuddered with a strange sense of unease, a heavy silhouette appeared on the windowpane.

Recognizing it as Eveline’s shadow, Camillia turned her head with a smile.

The moment their eyes met, Eveline began whining like a child.

“It upsets me that you’re always looking after my sister-in-law, Camillia.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have been taking better care of our pretty Eveline. Come here.”

Camillia led Eveline back to the drawing room.

After seating her in the chair Rowena had occupied, she unclasped the pearl necklace from her own neck.

As she fastened it around Eveline’s neck, Camillia smiled.

“It’s a gift.”

“Oh my goodness, really?”

“Of course. Pearl necklaces are fashionable this spring. If you wear it with a dress trimmed with Marsen-style lace around the neckline, you’ll look perfect.”

Camillia held a hand mirror close to the fool’s face.

Eveline gazed dreamily at her reflection for a while before belatedly grumbling.

“This necklace would certainly go well with a new dress. It’s just that dresses are so expensive.”

“Why don’t you ask Rowena to buy you one? She has more than enough money of her own, and Gerard lavishes so much on his wife.”

“That’s why I don’t like her. She’s not grateful at all. My brother is her husband, yet she acts as though she’s some grand young lady. You saw her earlier, didn’t you? The way she looked down at my brother so haughtily before leaving?”

The conversation was gradually moving in the direction Camillia wanted.

Whenever Camillia gave this idiot a subtle push, Eveline would launch into scathing criticism of Rowena.

As always, Camillia decided to take a step back and enjoy the moment.

With an innocent expression, she murmured,

“It’s simply how she’s accustomed to behaving. Rowena is the young lady of all Erisvale, after all.”

“Even so, a sophisticated and sweet woman like you would suit my brother much better.”

“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”

“I mean it. I wish you and my brother would get married instead of just secretly meeting and having an affair like this.”

“Do you really?”

“I really do! I pray for it every time I go to the temple!”

“Eveline, you really are so innocent and adorable.”

Camillia covered her mouth with her gloved hand and laughed.

Eveline looked positively enchanted by her elegant manner.

Even so, she rolled her round eyes and gazed almost hungrily at Camillia’s smooth skin and slender waist.

In an improved mood, Camillia pushed the cake Rowena had not touched toward Eveline.

“I baked it myself,” she added, and Eveline immediately picked up her fork.

Her foolish behavior was truly amusing.

In fact, this was Eveline’s punishment for preventing Rowena from eating the cake, yet she was delighted without knowing it.

“Anyway, since I pray so hard, God will grant my wish.”

The fool even added that.

Camillia answered with a gentle smile.

I’ll gladly grant that wish myself.

For now, she was content to enjoy the thrilling sense of superiority she felt whenever Rowena was in front of her, but she had no intention of passing up an opportunity if one presented itself.

Countess Libroth.

What an intoxicating title!

The following day, Edric went into downtown Erisvale.

He intended to visit the clubhouse where gentlemen gathered and engage in some pleasant conversation.

From the moment Edric entered the lobby, gentlemen began surrounding him one by one.

Before long, they had gathered around him like a swarm of clouds. Edric politely offered them handshakes and exchanged a few casual greetings.

Those greetings soon developed into serious discussions.

In the midst of the conversations, Edric subtly spread a few remarks.

“Several roads running through Winderbane are due for repairs……”

“If that happens, the other roads will inevitably become congested. I’m thinking we may need to substantially increase the tolls for certain merchant companies to regulate traffic……”

“Wouldn’t that mean the tolls on the roads passing through nearby Libroth would rise as well……?”

“If so, the prices of goods imported from Baltan, especially spices, might increase……”

That was the general idea.

Afterward, he stopped by the salon of an influential elderly lady and enjoyed some tea.

It was quite a pleasant time.

When Edric laughed cheerfully, the elderly ladies’ cheeks turned pink.

He remarked, “It hasn’t even rained this spring, yet the flowers have suddenly bloomed so beautifully.”

At that, the ladies each cleared their throats and opened their fans.

Thinking that they were truly delightful, Edric naturally changed the subject.

Under his guidance, they exchanged various opinions on fashionable dresses and shoes, ribbon decorations for wide-brimmed hats, Marsen lace, and other such matters.

The elderly ladies fluttered their fans as they became absorbed in the conversation.

Each time the topic changed, as naturally as turning a page in a book, Edric let slip another small piece of information.

In short, the news was that road construction might cause the prices of goods imported from Baltan to rise.

Now the ladies would return home and advise their sons and sons-in-law to invest cautiously in businesses connected to Baltan.

And they would tell their daughters and daughters-in-law to stock up on spices.

Having completed all his scheduled engagements, Edric returned straight to his mansion and sat down at his desk.

He intended to deliver an invitation to Rowena for the banquet before the day was over.

To my dear Countess Libroth.

After writing that much, Edric felt a tickle in his fingertips.

As a result, his handwriting became slightly blurred in the next sentence.

He crumpled the paper.

The first line of the invitation he wrote next was, To my beloved friend.

Edric stopped.

The word beloved flew toward him with the force of an arrow and lodged itself in his blue eyes.

Yes, I do love her……

Edric loved Rowena so much that the phrase actually felt inappropriate to him.

So he immediately took out a fresh sheet of paper.

This time, he wrote, To the esteemed Countess Libroth, then deliberately lifted his quill.

He wanted to avoid making the same mistake of letting his handwriting waver again.

However, when he wrote the sentence, I would like to invite you and your husband to attend together, his hand involuntarily tightened.

He was displeased with the expression your husband.

But he could not very well invite a married couple to a banquet without mentioning that bastard Gerard Rendel at all.

And so Edric revised the mere five lines of the invitation, revised them again, revised them yet again, revised them once more, and then revised them another time, only to end up revising them yet again……

Next came the question of what fragrance to apply to the paper.

As it happened, Edric Bernhardt was a fashionable gentleman who owned hundreds of different perfumes, so a great deal of trial and error followed.

Only after employing every skill and talent at his disposal did Edric finally manage to complete an invitation that was neat and elegant, with an air of effortless nonchalance.