Chapter 100: Countess Sandor

A week later, Edelweiss waited in the drawing room, timed precisely for Unit Magnollen’s arrival.

Crackling—

The fireplace let out a low murmur as the logs burned, its warmth slowly thawing her frozen hands.

“Your Grace. Lady Unit Magnollen of House Magnollen has arrived.”

At the sound of footsteps, Edelweiss looked up. Unit entered with Anna, hands neatly folded, and bowed.

“Unit Magnollen of the House of Magnollen greets the Grand Duchess of Lorendel.”

Edelweiss gave a light smile and gestured.

“Welcome, Lady Magnollen. I could’ve gone to your house instead—I didn’t expect you to come in person. I suppose today’s not a day you’re attending the palace?”

“No, Your Grace. After receiving a visitor last night, Countess Lumire is the only one accompanying Her Highness the Empress Roxanne today.”

Edelweiss tapped her finger lightly on the table, lost in thought at that response.

“Countess Lumire is Roxanne’s sister… I wonder who the ‘visitor’ was that made it so only Countess Lumire stayed with her.”

The ‘visitor’ Unit mentioned seemed like a clue.

‘It couldn’t be Baroness Seiren… could it?’

Baroness Seiren had been completely exiled and could no longer set foot in Rejenoel. Even so, it seemed unlikely they would brazenly summon her to the Metter Palace now.

“Your Grace, may I ask why you wished to see me?”

Unit’s question pulled Edelweiss from her thoughts.

Asking her outright to become a spy would be too risky.

Even if she held resentment toward Empress Roxanne for the slap, there was no guarantee she’d side with Edelweiss.

“After what happened the other day, I’ve been worried about the tension between Her Highness and me. I hoped you might help me find a way to ease things… Would that be too much to ask?”

She personally floated hibiscus leaves in Unit Magnollen’s teacup.

“….Isn’t this a specialty of Nella Dean?”

“That’s right. I thought it would be fitting to welcome a special guest.”

The House of Magnollen profited by importing tea leaves and reselling them to foreign countries. There’s no way she wouldn’t know the value of this tea. Unit Magnollen thought for a moment, then replied.

“If it’s something I can help with, I’ll gladly do so.”

“….Then do you know who the visitor to the Metter Palace was last night?”

“Hmm. It was Count Sandor. The two of them weren’t particularly close, so everyone was surprised when he suddenly showed up.”

As soon as she heard the name Count Sandor, Edelweiss’s eyes grew cold.

“The other maids left the palace early, so they wouldn’t know why the two met. But I stayed late because Countess Lumire ordered me to serve tea.”

“………Did you hear anything?”

“Yes.”

Edelweiss nodded as if to tell her to continue. Unit Magnollen furrowed her brows and went on.

“Her Highness Consort Roxanne asked Count Sandor for a favor.”

“What kind of favor?”

“She asked him to kidnap His Highness Princess Gloria. To sell the princess to pirates, or… snuff out her life.”

At that moment, Edelweiss’s heart sank with a thud. Her fingertips trembled slightly.

“Did the Count… agree to that?”

“He said he’d think about it. He didn’t give a definite answer right away.”

Her hand holding the teacup tightened unconsciously.

“….Your Grace, please take me in.”

Unit Magnollen rose from her seat and knelt on the floor.

“Your Grace, I’ll explain why I’m telling you this. His Majesty’s affection for Her Highness Gloria grows with each day. Lord Damian will surely become crown prince. And then one day, Your Grace will become empress of Rejenoel.”

Her meaning was clear. The shift in power was already in motion, and she did not intend to follow the waning Roxanne.

“The House of Magnollen does not wish to make an enemy of Your Grace.”

That frankness was rather likable.

“If the plan to kidnap His Highness is exposed, Consort Roxanne will not escape death. And I, who served her closely, would surely be executed as well…”

“……”

“Consort Roxanne strikes people if they so much as rub her the wrong way. Just like she slapped me that day. I… I do not think of her as my master.”

Edelweiss approached Unit Magnollen and held out her hand.

“Your Grace…”

She slowly lifted her head.

“If Count Sandor visits the Metter Palace again, let me know. You’ll be rewarded for your trouble coming back and forth here.”

“Yes, Your Grace. I will take my leave now.”

As soon as Unit Magnollen left, Edelweiss went straight to see Gloria.

There should have been no one in the room, but she sensed a presence. Her whole body tensed at the sight of someone beside Gloria’s doll.

“Edel, you’re here? I feel like my eyes sting if I don’t see little Lara even for a day.”

She relaxed upon realizing it was Marquis Blossomweaver.

“Oo, ah!”

“My word, Edel. I think our little Lara just called me Grandpa—did you hear that?”

Edelweiss held the baby Gloria in her arms and inhaled her scent, trying to calm her racing heart.

“Edel, what’s wrong?”

As Marquis Blossomweaver looked at her in confusion, Edelweiss told him what Unit Magnollen had said.

“What?! I’ll kill Consort Roxanne and Count Sandor this instant—”

Just as he erupted in fury and raised his voice—

“Huh, huh-ang!”

“Oh dear, Grandpa’s not mad. Gloria~”

Startled, Gloria began to fuss, and only then did Marquis Blossomweaver soften his voice again.

“…Anyway, Lady Roxanne is Prince Adolf’s mother. And Count Sandor didn’t give a clear answer to the request either.”

Edelweiss lowered her voice as she stroked Gloria’s hair.

“We can’t just sit on our hands like this. We need to prepare something too.”

“Father. Can you imagine anything more humiliating than being caught in a long affair, forced to take a paternity test, and gossiped about by everyone?”

“…Well. Do you know something?”

“Count Sandor killed Princess Isabella.”

“……!”

“There’s nothing more horrifying than finding out you’ve asked a favor from the person who murdered your own daughter.”

“…That’s true.”

The Marquis of Blossomweaver agreed with a darkened expression.

It was actually fortunate that Roxanne asked Count Sandor for this.

“…Lady Roxanne cared deeply for Princess Isabella. That’s why she started keeping Rosemary close.”

“And now it’s time to reveal that Rosemary is actually Count Sandor’s biological daughter.”

“Are you going to report it yourself? Or tip off the Boniel newspaper?”

“There’s one woman who naturally draws attention whenever Count Sandor’s illegitimate daughter is mentioned.”

The Countess of Sandor.

She had been divorced and placed under house arrest for helping Rosemary escape. Naturally, she couldn’t meet with Count Sandor either.

From what Edelweiss knew, the Countess of Sandor was a very proud woman.

‘She must have helped Rosemary escape without knowing she was Sandor’s daughter.’

It would already be maddening to find out her husband had a child out of wedlock before their marriage.

If that illegitimate child turned out to be the beloved niece of her husband—would she still stay silent then?

“Father. Is there a way to meet the Countess of Sandor without the Count knowing?”

“…That would require the Countess to die. If we fake her death and smuggle her out, no one would suspect she’d meet anyone.”

The Marquis of Blossomweaver looked into the blazing fireplace and spoke.

“Fires are common in winter.”

“…”

“…Edel, don’t worry. I’ll bring the Countess to you myself.”