Chapter 5 – Adaptation (Part 4)

Elysia hurried back to the mansion only when the sun was setting. Millie ran toward her as if she had been waiting at the entrance.

“Madam, how long have you been walking! You’ll be late for dinner with the Duke.”

“I’m sorry, Millie. I lost track of time…”

“Quickly, inside… Oh, Madam, your clothes! Oh, now that I see your hair! And your face!”

Even without Millie pointing it out, Elysia knew what state she was in. Her skirt was wrinkled and stained from pushing through the bushes and sitting in the grass. She had fallen asleep afterward and only woke up late, running back here, which made her face flushed. Her hair was a mess from resting against the tree and then running. Dinner with the Duke was imminent.

Both Millie and Elysia practically ran through the corridors of the Ducal residence.

“Madam, you need to change your clothes and fix your hair, no, you must bathe first, oh no… There’s not enough time. What should we do?”

“Millie, where is dinner prepared today?”

“The banquet dining room where you had your first meal. The Duke wanted it in a spacious and comfortable place… Of course, we thought a smaller dining room would be better…”

Elysia felt relieved. In the banquet dining room, she would be far from the Duke, and the lighting was dim, so her condition wouldn’t be noticeable.

“Then it’s fine. On the way, just brush off any twigs or leaves from my clothes and hair. Tie my hair half-up again so the bangs don’t fall, and do you have a handkerchief?”

Elysia wiped her sweat with Millie’s handkerchief, tidied her clothes and hair roughly, and took a deep breath in front of the dining room. The head butler, who had been waiting, informed her that the Duke was already inside and opened the door for her.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. The gardens of the Ducal residence are so vast that I lost track of time while walking.”

Elysia apologized as she entered the dining room and paused, intending to sit at the end of the table as she did last time.

‘Ah! Please, be consistent!’

Ironically, this time, her place setting was right next to Cassius, and unlike the previous dim setting, the dining table was brightly illuminated by chandelier-shaped light stones.

Elysia was inwardly anxious, worried about whether her face was red, if she smelled of sweat, or if there were any leaves she hadn’t brushed off her hair.

The light stone chandeliers, though not as bright as the midday sun, were much brighter than regular candles, often used as evening lighting. The light from the stones did not flicker in the wind but had a warm hue similar to candlelight.

Elysia’s flushed cheeks appeared even rosier under the warm light of the chandelier, and her violet eyes shone with a more mysterious hue. Her slightly sweat-dampened skin also looked smoother. Cassius, gazing at Elysia without realizing it, thought she seemed more lively and radiant than usual.

“The gift you chose today is placed by my bedside.”

“It doesn’t seem to match your taste, so you can place it elsewhere if you prefer.”

“Since you chose it deliberately, I will treasure it.”

Elysia was confused about whether he genuinely meant to cherish it or was subtly criticizing her taste. She wished she could just tell him to stash that bizarre frog statue away in some storeroom. After all, it was paid for by the Ducal household, not really a gift from her.

“Do you usually like such unique things? It’s not a common item to have around.”

‘He’s definitely mocking my taste.’

“Yes, I found the frog on the statue cute.”

Elysia couldn’t understand why she kept saying such nonsensical things. It would have been better to say she liked the baby angel on top.

“I see.”

Cassius replied briefly and began eating, but Elysia felt as if she had heard an unspoken rebuke and wanted to keep explaining.

“It’s not so much that the frog itself is cute, but the beauty of the material, the angle of the crystal’s reflection, and the sculptural beauty shaped into the form of a frog…”

As she mumbled on, Cassius paused his meal and looked at her, making Elysia wish she could disappear like smoke.

***

Late at night, after finishing his work and returning to his bedroom, Cassius was about to lie down when he noticed the statue on the table beside his bed.

As he absentmindedly touched the statue, the frog extended its tongue with a croak, and the little angel on top winked and then shot a pink heart from the heart-shaped arrowhead with a pop.

Cassius seriously wondered if this ridiculous statue might actually seem cute to noble ladies. Perhaps it was a trend among the social elite, but no matter how he looked at it…

“…It’s an odd taste.”

Thinking that if it wasn’t a trend, it was just a personal preference, Cassius found it increasingly difficult to grasp the character of Elysia von Serenze as he went to bed.

***

The next day, after an audience with the King, Cassius returned to the Ducal office and instructed Aaron, who was at work.

“Aaron, His Majesty will host a luncheon for the delegates attending the court’s administrative meeting. The official invitations will arrive soon, and there are preparations to be made for the prospective Duchess regarding this.”

“Is it a family luncheon?”

“Yes. It will include the delegates attending the meeting and one companion each. The Earl’s household lacks a hostess, so, as usual, his daughter will accompany him. This time, Professor Emilliano van Gottree will also be present. Ensure Miss Serenze is properly briefed on the relevant people.”

“Understood.”

***

‘Damn life, damn life! No, it’s already a damned life. It’s not about to be damned; it already is.’

The previous dinner at Earl Kumaran’s was exhausting enough, but the thought of entering the royal palace made her feel as if her ears and nose were simultaneously blocked. The royal family alone was overwhelming, and the fact that all the delegates from the administrative meeting would be there was horrifying. They were all formidable individuals, and it was baffling why families were invited when they could enjoy their gathering among themselves.

Elysia cursed her fate dozens of times as she learned from Aaron about the backgrounds of the administrative meeting attendees and the protocols at the royal palace.

“…As you know, the Earl’s family differs politically from our Duke. Under the current royal regime, they are trying to keep the aristocratic supremacist families in check. While not overtly oppressive, they are encouraging foreign families to settle without titles and supporting the cultivation of merchants and scholars, thus lifting most restrictions so that the general populace can gain wealth and honor comparable to nobility.”

Aaron briefly explained the current policies of King Clois. Although Elysia had learned about these aspects from her tutor, hearing them confirmed by someone working as the secretary to the Minister of Administration gave them a new weight.

“This indirectly pressures those who wish to enjoy power solely through titles. Earl Kumaran, the second administrative minister, is openly opposed to this policy. He is a staunch aristocratic supremacist, to the point of avoiding ordinary merchants even for necessary purchases. Ah, Madam, you would know that part.”

“Yes, my father supplies goods to the Earl’s household through the Haas Trading Company or other commoner trading companies. Honestly, just because a quasi-Baron is involved doesn’t mean the goods aren’t from a commoner trading company.”

“Since they can’t avoid buying goods from commoner traders entirely, they want it to at least appear as though they’re only dealing with nobles. They can’t stand the idea of commoners being wealthier than nobles. That’s why Marquis Orga, the financial advisor for this court affairs meeting, wants to form a noble trading company to reclaim the market share taken by commoners.”

Marquis Orga. Elysia vaguely knew of his name. Her mother, Lillian, who was more attuned to rumors than she was, had referred to him as a cunning weasel.

“Will he be attending?”

“The Marquis Orga is an advisor but holds no formal administrative position, so he will not attend this luncheon. However, he is considered the de facto leader of the aristocratic supremacists, and his noble-exclusive trading company is supported by Earl Kumaran and others, so he may come up in conversation during the luncheon. Naturally, the Haas Trading Company, being a commoner company, is a thorn in their side.”

There was no trading company in the country that could rival Haas. Unless they formed an alliance with other companies, merely having a noble title and dealing only with other nobles wouldn’t make for successful business. Elysia thought the Marquis Orga’s idea of a noble-exclusive trading company was pathetic.

Aaron hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Uh… The Kumaran family has proposed marriage to the Duke several times. To be precise, since the previous generation. Of course, both the previous Duke and the current Duke have consistently refused. I’m telling you this in case it comes up during the luncheon.”