Chapter 17

Rowena’s mind raced.

Sentences for the letter she would send Baron Germain surged through her thoughts like a rushing torrent.

Suddenly impatient, Rowena quickened her steps and glanced around.

The moment she confirmed that no one was watching, she gathered up her skirts and broke into a run.

White petals drifted gently down onto the small footprints she left along the dirt path.

Dear Baron Germain,

The letter began innocently enough.

While recently donating the land my grandfather purchased for his country house, I suddenly found myself thinking of the dowager baroness.

I remembered how the two of them once spoke of playing chess together there after the house was completed.

That distant memory brought tears to my eyes.

Ah! Why must the good times pass so quickly?

Where, I wonder, are our lives carrying us?

The sentences she had deliberately arranged one after another sounded wonderfully warm and familiar.

Now it was time to pour out the bitter truth.

Rowena paused to moisten her throat with tea, then took a small, deep breath.

She lightly flicked the flexible goose feather of her quill and dipped it deep into the ink bottle.

Soon, the nib, overflowing with black ink, began dancing across the white paper.

But no storm lasts forever.

Before long, sunlight will shine again, and a brilliant rainbow will appear. I shall pray that day comes as soon as possible.

In other words, I pray that the extremely serious debt problems afflicting your family will soon be resolved.

When I first heard the news, I felt such crushing sorrow as Camillia’s dear friend.

And so, Baron Germain!

Please treat Camillia kindly.

She is deliberately behaving this way to conceal the dark clouds hanging over your family.

Thanks to her efforts, the people of Erisvale still believe that House Travil is flourishing and enjoying the magnificent wealth accumulated by its ancestors.

Please look beyond the dowager baroness’s shabby dresses and recognize Camillia’s efforts.

Please understand the tender feelings she holds for the husband she loves.

Rowena set down her quill and carefully read through the letter.

By the time she reached the final sentence, her lips had parted slightly.

“…It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

She could hardly believe it.

Who would have thought she was capable of writing something so thoroughly infuriating?

She had never intended to sit around behaving like a prim and proper lady, so she was rather pleased with herself.

A short while later, several thin weekly magazines and copies of the Royal Gazette landed on her desk.

There was the heartrending tale of a woman who would wait for her husband until she turned to stone, an interview full of false claims about how happy she was thanks to her affectionate mother-in-law, and the Royal Gazette showcasing expensive new jewelry.

Rowena intended to make certain Baron Germain understood everything.

How desperately his sister-in-law missed her husband.

How dearly she loved her mother-in-law.

And what a sophisticated lady she was, always abreast of the latest fashions.

In other words, just what an extravagant traitor she truly was.

No matter how I think about it, there’s something strange about Rowena.

Until now, Camillia had found it easy to coax and manipulate that innocent fool.

But lately, something had been bothering her.

It felt as though Rowena was avoiding her.

I’ll have to meet her soon and find out why.

Camillia fell asleep with that thought in mind.

Apart from the slight change in Rowena’s behavior, her daily life continued without anything particularly unusual happening.

Invitations poured in without pause, asking her to attend tea parties, banquets large and small, and classical poetry readings.

Whenever she attended, admiring gazes followed her everywhere.

Camillia set the trends.

Everyone listened attentively to her every word, and there was not a lady in society who did not read the Royal Gazette.

It was a life spent walking among the clouds.

But that rainbow-colored paradise vanished like a mirage.

Truly, with unbelievable speed!

Disaster struck early in the morning.

Camillia had risen at dawn and was sitting before her dressing table.

Still entirely unaware of what was coming, she rang a golden bell to summon her personal hairdresser.

The hairdresser arrived without complaint despite the early hour and began brushing Camillia’s flowing golden hair.

“Style my hair so that it reflects my inner elegance. In the Marsenne fashion.”

“Yes, my lady.”

At Camillia’s gentle instruction, the hairdresser bowed respectfully.

Then she began slowly winding Camillia’s hair around a slightly heated iron rod.

Warmth spread through the strands almost immediately, accompanied by a faint, distinctive singed smell.

Meanwhile, Camillia opened her Marsenne language textbook.

Marsenne was an advanced nation bordering the southwestern part of the empire.

Even during the years when kingdoms throughout the continent had suffered through wars, Marsenne had enjoyed peace and prosperity.

Perhaps that was why its splendid, sophisticated culture was the envy of neighboring countries.

The Lonest Empire was no exception.

In imperial high society, a person’s proficiency in the Marsenne language was considered a measure of refinement.

And so Camillia had resolved to master it.

After all, she had to be the perfect lady, possessing not only dazzling beauty but also impeccable cultivation.

Unfortunately, the grammatical structure of Marsenne was entirely different from that of the imperial language.

Studying it was far from easy.

But living above the clouds required constant effort.

Having steeled herself, Camillia frowned as she diligently worked her way through the text.

She was just about to turn to the next page when her bedroom door flew open.

The person who burst into the room was her brother-in-law.

Baron Germain.

He had appeared without warning, and his voice rang out like a thunderclap.

“What exactly is this serious debt problem? I demand to know!”

Camillia felt as though her heart had dropped all the way to her feet.

She shot an urgent glance at her personal hairdresser.

Quick to understand, the hairdresser immediately withdrew.

“Now, explain yourself!”

Camillia had an ominous feeling.

Something had gone wrong, but she had no idea what.

For the moment, she decided to deny everything.

“…I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Didn’t you take my mother’s account books on the grounds that the family was burdened with enormous debts?”

“Did the dowager baroness tell you that?”

“Answer my question with a yes or no!”

Baron Germain was an overbearing man by nature, and one who held women in contempt.

Camillia had only been able to tolerate him because he lived in another region.

Moreover, he had already visited the estate yesterday, so she had assumed she would not have to see his unpleasant face again for some time.

Why, then, had he barged in at this early hour and behaved so rudely?

She was so bewildered that she could not speak.

Glaring at the rigid Camillia, the baron twisted his mouth.

“You can’t answer, can you? Because those damned debts never existed in the first place!”

How does he know?

Camillia’s face went deathly pale.

She forced herself to speak as calmly as possible.

“…You sound as though you’ve already investigated the matter.”

“Of course I have! I knew you would try to deceive me!”

“Deceive you? I believe the dowager baroness may have misspoken because her mind is no longer entirely sound…”

“What? Her mind is no longer sound? My mother’s?”

“Yes. Lately, she’s been behaving like a child. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to look after someone in that condition?”

Baron Germain rubbed his forehead in disbelief.

Then he raked his fingers roughly through his disheveled hair and snapped,

“Then I’ll look after her!”

“…What did you say?”

“I said I’m taking her with me!”

Camillia sprang to her feet.

Her carefully curled hair bounced wildly like a collection of springs.

“Wait a moment! I think you’re getting a little too worked up. Why don’t we discuss this calmly…”

“What is there to discuss?”

He hurled the bundle of newspapers in his hand across the room.

Camillia lowered her gaze to the floor, and her eyes widened.

It was the Royal Gazette.

Of all things, the pages devoted to fashion and the latest trends lay crumpled at her feet.

Why on earth did this conservative man have copies of the Royal Gazette?

Baron Germain despised the novels and gossip magazines women read, and he regarded the plays they enjoyed as utterly frivolous.

He was the sort of man who would squeeze his eyes shut if someone thr*st such a publication in front of him.

So why did he have this magazine…?

“A diamond bracelet, eighty million perans. A pale-pink silk dress, fifty million perans. A hat for outings imported from Edessa, one million seven hundred thousand perans!”

From beneath Baron Germain’s mustache came a list of Camillia’s most treasured possessions, one after another.

He was reciting the details printed in the magazine with astonishing accuracy.

“Those… Those are simply examples of the latest fashions. It doesn’t mean I bought them!”

He snorted.

Then he violently yanked open a drawer of her dressing table.

He moved so quickly that Camillia had no chance to stop him.

“The eighty-million-peran diamond bracelet featured in the magazine is right here! How dare you spout such lies?”

“What? S-spout lies?”

“Now I see we’ve taken in a money-guzzling pig!”

Me…? A money-guzzling pig?

Under the relentless barrage of insults, Camillia felt the room spin before her eyes.