Living in court, there are skills you inevitably acquire. Picking out poison hidden in fruit juice glasses, exaggerating by catching word tails, guessing the market price of ruby rings worn by ladies thirty feet away, etc. But the most essential among them is calculating where to lie down before stretching your feet.

Even if you wanted to attack someone, you first looked at their background, calculated the effect you’d receive from it like a ghost, then decided.

For example, if I were a royal attendant and got severely scolded by my master and wanted to pick a fight with someone to vent, I’d look for targets. That young lady from the Danglar family passing by—her father is the tax minister, so I might get audited for tax evasion if I mess with her wrongly, so pass. Instead, I’d change targets to Viscountess Amour, whose husband was recently demoted. You’d do this kind of scanning dozens of times a day. Simply put, only pick on easy targets.

So when the twisted court figures saw Mélisande, how much joy must they have felt? It was tormenting a marchioness with the empress laying the groundwork and the family encouraging it. Of course, now I would protect her, so she wouldn’t be treated like a neighborhood punching bag to that extent, but since the empress had already shown she had no intention of acknowledging Mélisande, subtle mockery would follow.

Godmother, your goddaughter’s head is exploding! Whether she knew my silent cry or not, the empress dismissed everyone after Mélisande left following the attendant. Amethyst Hall closed with only the empress and attendants remaining, and the women scattered in groups of three to five with rustling skirt sounds. Among the pastel-toned dress hems flowing out like waves, Princess Elene caught me.

“Alix.”

“Your Highness the Princess.”

I placed my hand on my chest and performed the courtesy due to royalty. Though it was impeccable etiquette, Elene slightly frowned then relaxed. Anyone who didn’t know her well probably wouldn’t have noticed the momentary expression change.

“I have Saint-Florette black tea at my quarters, so stop by for a moment.”

I had planned to go find Mélisande. However, I couldn’t openly refuse the princess’s summons. Actually, I won’t deny that I also had thoughts of probing the princess, who was one of the direct royals with authority over palace rooms.

Upon reaching the princess’s quarters, attendants brought tea and refreshments then quickly disappeared. The softly baked madeleines had my favorite orange scent. As I savored the fragrance while moving my fork, Princess Elene smiled contentedly and said,

“I knew you liked this, so I had them prepare plenty.”

“Thank you, Your Highness the Princess.”

Elene pouted at my formal thanks.

“Madame Eleonor isn’t here now, so be comfortable.”

I immediately loosened my straight back and leaned comfortably against the silk sofa.

“Sure, whatever.”

Elene giggled at my quick attitude change. That’s right—Her Highness the Princess and I spoke informally in private. We had been friends for over ten years.

A wealthy maternal grandfather who nodded at whatever his granddaughter said, reliable older brothers who always gave in to their little sister, a mother who was strict but quite generous to her youngest daughter born without knowing her father’s face. Plus mansion servants who would serve devotedly if she showed even a hint of disappointment. My childhood self was the monarch of my own small domain.

Growing up being served like a princess, the thunderbolt tomboy who lived thinking she was the best in the world met a real princess around age six and fell into despair. The day I acted impudently toward the princess out of habit, I received my first punishment of skipping dinner and felt so wronged.

Mother, who had come to the capital planning to have me enter the palace as the princess’s attendant since we were goddaughter and godparents (the imperial couple being my godparents), was reportedly greatly alarmed that her daughter might become enemies with the precious princess.

But surprisingly, Princess Elene liked me, who confronted her loudly, more than the well-behaved attendant girls. When I got older and stubbornly refused to be an attendant, she quickly gave me the adjacent room, telling me to at least be her companion.

Of course, after we both grew up somewhat, we maintained courtesy publicly but lived without formality in private. Elene wanted it that way too.

“But why did you do that earlier?”

When I asked while poking the madeleine with my fork, Elene raised one eyebrow.

“Look at you. Shouldn’t thanks come first? If not for me, your new sister would have suffered quite an ordeal.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

I spoke with the feeling of bowing after being poked in the ribs.

“Anyway, what were you thinking helping her? You could have made an enemy of Countess Fontaine.”

Elene snorted.

“What’s the point of making an enemy of a mere attendant?”

“She’s not a mere attendant. She’s an attendant favored by His Majesty the emperor.”

When I added this, Elene’s lips twisted.

Like many royal couples, the emperor and empress maintained a relationship more like a political partnership than love. Accordingly, the empress had tolerated the emperor’s numerous mistresses, or in some political cases, even pushed them toward the emperor.

Essentially, the emperor’s mistresses were positioned close to power. The empress’s way of using mistresses was to push her own associates rather than enemy forces into those positions to check enemies and gather information.

However, her daughter, Elene, harbored a kind of mysophobia-like hatred toward the emperor’s mistresses. Well, setting aside recognizing the political and social usefulness of mistresses. Elene changed the subject.

“Anyway, that’s what I should ask. What’s your scheme? Did you get a new doll?”

A doll. Though it’s a bit ridiculous to dismiss jewelry and clothes more expensive than a commoner’s hundred years’ wages as mere doll play.

Elene was intentionally belittling Mélisande as a doll without her own agency while indirectly criticizing me. As if a grown adult was doing inappropriate things, playing with dolls beneath her age.

In some ways, it could be taken as an insult, but the friendship built over more than ten years keenly read the worried intention underneath.

“A doll…… is a bit much… perhaps my favorite?”

“Your…… what?”

Seeing Elene puzzled by the unfamiliar word after my thoughtless answer, I quickly changed the subject.

“What, are you upset that my attention seems focused on another woman?”

When I threw out a light joke, Elene chuckled.

“No, I’ll be your closest friend, Alix.”

I laughed at the subtle jealousy showing through. Cute, so cute, my friend. I should find a good man and set her up before the grand duke appears. After exchanging several meaningless words (greetings, recent tribute goods, etc.), I got to the point.

“Elene, by the way, about the new Marchioness Levizet’s room—couldn’t you change it to a decent room? She’s still our family’s mistress, and this is too much.”

Elene raised one eyebrow.

“Are you asking me for a favor now?”

I shrugged.

“It’s a request.”

“No way, there are no rooms to give.”

“The Osmanthus Room has been empty since your head lady-in-waiting retired after marriage last time.”

Good memory. I smiled at the grumbling Elene and said,

“Of course I remember. But it’s your business.”

At the obvious flattery, Elene glanced at me as if she couldn’t handle it, but her following tone was slightly less sharp.

“Do you think palace rooms can be given out so simply? I can’t carelessly interfere with what Mother decided.”

As expected, it’s not easy. Though I hadn’t had high expectations.

Well, if the princess readily gave a room here, it would be no different from directly opposing the empress’s measure. Since it could also damage the empress’s authority, it would be better for the princess to avoid the empress’s anger by not interfering carelessly and protecting herself. I thought it might go easily, but too bad. As I clicked my tongue, Elene added primly,

“If you really want it, how about waiting for Mother to change her mind?”

She’ll never change her mind, if only out of pride. When I smiled ambiguously, Elene also seemed to have no expectations, just blinking several times.

“Anyway, making me worry like this. I really don’t like these new sister-in-law types.”

I laughed at her quiet grumbling. That the princess didn’t like her new sister-in-law, Crown Princess Diane, was already known to everyone who should know.

***

“Oh my, who would have thought Her Highness the Princess would interfere there!”

“……Is that so.”

Though the answer came a beat late, Countess Fontaine didn’t mind and continued her gossip. The impudent words daring to speak of ‘interference’ regarding royalty were actions deserving punishment, but without awareness of this, she continued her backbiting.

“Baron Julard was right after all. She was an impudent wench who didn’t know her place! Coming up from some country corner, yet holding her head so high and acting so arrogantly—the baron should have seen it!”

In reality, far from acting arrogantly, Mélisande hadn’t exchanged a single word directly with Countess Fontaine, but Countess Fontaine, who had firmly decided to hate her, paid no attention to this fact. The Mélisande in her head was already a haughty and shameless country bumpkin who had pushed into the solemn court relying only on her looks, knowing no etiquette.

She’d have a similar reputation herself. Caleb’s face, which had been inwardly sneering, hardened slightly at Countess Fontaine’s continuing words.

“In the midst of all that, she came wearing Mademoiselle Levizet’s sapphire necklace! You know, the Andrette sapphire she showed off at His Majesty the emperor’s birthday banquet last time. It looked to be easily dozens of carats. I don’t know how she got it, but she must have coaxed the precious young lady of the Levizet family, who grew up pampered and naive. With those vulgar words she used to ensnare the marquis!”

Though his ears hurt from the whining nasal voice, Caleb smiled wistfully. Born as a duke’s son but illegitimate, he knew how to efficiently use the few assets he possessed. His good and innocent-looking appearance was one of them.

“Please don’t criticize my friend’s wife too harshly, madam. I’m just worried about my friend, who is like a brother to me.”