“It’s anti-exius. It arrived two days ago. It was difficult to bring in fresh flowers, so we brought it in as dried petals in tea form.”

“Ah! So it’s already arrived.”

Lumiere exclaimed briefly in admiration and received the box Chris handed to her.

“The pills from the pharmacist of Tartien seem somewhat effective, but completely detoxifying would give us both peace of mind. Please make sure to drink one cup every morning and evening starting today.”

“I will. Thank you, Chris.”

Lumiere hugged the paper box Chris had given her tightly and expressed her gratitude.

But that wasn’t all.

“And please take this too.”

“You have something else for me?”

“It’s an item the President specifically requested. It was difficult to find because it’s a discontinued brand, so I had to work hard to get it.”

……What is it?

Lumiere opened the small package Chris handed her with a puzzled expression.

Swoosh, as soon as she untied the ribbon, a subtle lemon scent spread through the air.

Lumiere blankly stared at the small glass bottle hidden inside the pretty wrapping paper.

Without realizing it, her hand holding the gift began to tremble.

“This is……”

“I heard they were lemon candies that the Crown Princess used to enjoy during her lifetime. I barely managed to import them from Berhe.”

Chris proudly rubbed under his nose.

Lumiere, who had been staring blankly at the glass bottle containing the candies, shed a single tear.

“Lu-Lumiere?”

When Chris was startled by this sight, Lumiere quickly wiped away her tears, shook her head, and smiled brightly.

“No, it’s nothing. I just never expected such a gift, so I’m too happy…… I was so happy that tears came to my eyes without me realizing.”

Lumiere opened the glass bottle and put a lemon candy in her mouth.

The refreshing scent and sweet taste made her mouth feel happy.

It was exactly the same taste as when she was young, unchanged in the slightest.

Until she put this candy in her mouth, that small enclosed room had been filled only with happiness and warmth.

‘But I thought you might cry, so I stole them for you.’

With the candy in her mouth, she could almost hear Karl’s voice trying to comfort her when she was crying.

Just because it made her happy.

Just because it reminded her of that time.

Lumiere smiled, gently folding her reddened eyes.

That’s when it happened.

“It seems Miss Lashantia smiles at men indiscriminately, regardless of whether they’re masters or servants. Is that your secret to business success?”

A shrill voice cut between Lumiere and Chris like cold water being poured over them.

* * *

“……Ah, how annoying.”

Maria glared at her dressing room, permeated with perfume scent, and gritted her teeth.

The fire had happened close to her room, so all that smoke smell had made its way into her dressing room.

She had poured in so much perfume trying to get rid of the smoke smell.

Any clothes that wouldn’t lose the smell or had black smoke stains on them were all thrown away.

Among them was a dress she cherished.

A dress worth over 20 million grand, made with lace from red cocoons.

“Good thing Madame Audrey’s dress was just completed, otherwise I might have had to wear those unpleasant dresses.”

Maria glared once more at her shabby dressing room before turning sharply and heading to her bedroom.

The Cissus Hotel was more luxurious and spacious than her original room in the Tartien mansion, making it comfortable to use.

“Besides being able to stay at a hotel without worrying about Landers and Father, there’s nothing else I like. Ah, how annoying.”

These days, nothing was going her way.

Her attempt to improve relations with Karl Winger had failed, and to make matters worse, a fire broke out in the mansion, making the atmosphere between her father and Landers quite ominous.

‘And on top of that, those filthy rumors……’

Maria buried her face in her pillow and stamped her feet.

“What are we, cuckoos?”

Huh!

Because of those mysterious rumors surrounding the Tartien family, their status had fallen ridiculously low.

She had been the flower of high society, loved by everyone, but now she had to hear whispers behind her back whenever she went out.

This was Maria’s humiliation and Tartien’s disgrace.

“Just wait, soon Landers and Father will root out these false rumors and severely punish those who have been wagging their tongues behind our backs. When that time comes, even if they come running to me begging for forgiveness, I won’t give them.”

She muttered to herself and buried her face in her pillow for a long time.

“……”

Even the friends who used to visit her every day had suddenly decreased in number.

When she went out for simple outings, she used to have more than a dozen people accompanying her, but now that they had all fallen away, she didn’t even feel like going out.

Now only one or two people would stop by each day, merely to pay their respects.

‘……How could this happen? I’m going to be the Queen soon, aren’t I?’

Maria couldn’t believe how her status had plummeted to the ground.

For the first time in her life, she became afraid to go outside.

This had never happened before.

‘Huh! To think that I, Maria Tartien, would be reluctant to go out……!’

She had never once thought such a moment would come.

Absolutely never.

‘……No, I can’t be intimidated by something like this. I need to be confident! We’ve done nothing wrong, nothing is wrong with us.’

Maria lifted her head with a flash and called Lindsay to prepare for an outing immediately.

There would be forces that would gleefully criticize her when she wasn’t around.

They wouldn’t say anything to her face, but as soon as she turned her back, they would talk behind it.

Maria dressed in a new dress while fuming.

Just as she was heading toward the Opera House, wondering if she might run into Karl Winger, it happened.

She saw the most detestable woman at the entrance of the Opera House.

Lumiere Lashantia!

‘Why is that woman here?’

At that moment, sparks flew from Maria’s eyes.

She seemed to be on good terms with Chris Gunther, Karl Winger’s secretary, as the two were walking side by side, laughing and chatting.

Seeing that smile made Maria feel like her insides were turning over.

While she was going through such difficult times, that carefree woman looked completely happy and joyful.

She couldn’t forgive that.

Maria immediately approached them.

“It seems Miss Lashantia smiles at men indiscriminately, regardless of whether they’re masters or servants. Is that your secret to business success?”

The surprised look on their faces when they spotted her was satisfying.

Maria raised her chin and looked down at Lumiere with narrowed eyes.

“How nice to meet you again, Miss Lashantia. Have you been well?”

“……”

Is she surprised, or is she ignoring me?

Although Maria had greeted her first, Lumiere just stared at her without saying anything.

She looked somewhat dazed and also greatly surprised.

‘Hmph, I guess she didn’t expect me to speak to her?’

While Maria was considering how to embarrass her for being rude, Lumiere’s expression gradually brightened, and suddenly she greeted Maria with a broad smile.

“I was momentarily lost in thought. Have you been well, Miss Maria? I believe this is the first time we’ve met since I drew your portrait back then.”

Maria was surprised by Lumiere’s greeting and flinched.

‘Portrait? Could it be that her memory has returned?’

For a moment, her heart sank.

Back then, she had been so upset that she had slapped this woman’s cheeks several times and knocked her down.

She had deliberately ruined the carefully drawn picture and ordered her to correct it all night, claiming she hadn’t drawn it properly.

‘……She doesn’t remember all that, does she?’

Maria examined Lumiere’s expression with a slightly softened gaze.

Then Lumiere smiled sweetly and spoke to her as if she had genuinely met someone she was happy to see.

“You seem to have become even more beautiful since then. Ah! Perhaps it’s because you’re about to get married? Well, marrying His Majesty, the ruler of this country—you must feel so honored.”

……Though her words weren’t friendly or welcoming at all.

“Thinking about it again, it was an honor to draw the portrait of Maria, who will become Queen. Did the painting I drew go to the royal palace? What an infinite honor.”

……Is she trying to provoke me now?

At Lumiere’s subtle attempts to irritate her with insinuating words, Maria found herself staring at her in a daze.

Lumiere continued, her eyes twinkling as if she were dreaming.

“How beautiful it would be if both your portraits were hung side by side? Ah, I heard His Majesty doesn’t have a portrait…… Well, who would dare to look directly at his face and draw a picture? I heard his scars are so deep that it’s difficult to even make eye contact…… You must have seen him in person, Miss Maria. What’s he like?”

At Lumiere’s words, Maria involuntarily frowned as the King’s face came to mind.

Her mood plummeted to the bottom, incomparable to how she felt earlier.

Though she disliked the King, she had found some consolation in becoming Queen.

But there were times when even that wasn’t comforting.

Like right now.

Moreover, this woman was Karl Winger’s lover, whom she wanted and desired so much.

‘……How annoying.’

A shadow fell across Maria’s face.

She glared at Lumiere while grinding her teeth.

Lumiere quickly lowered her gaze, pretending to be meek and observing Maria’s mood.

“……Having welcomed a kind and affectionate Queen like Miss Maria, Our Majesty must be infinitely pleased. Come to think of it, if the Queen were to draw His Majesty’s portrait, that would also become a beautiful story for people to talk about. Truly a beautiful couple……”

“Do you think you can say whatever you want just because you have a mouth?”

Maria’s voice turned hostile.

She trembled, clenching her fists as if she might raise her hand at any moment.

“How dare you, how dare you……!”

“Did I make some mistake……? If so, I did it unknowingly, so please forgive me generously. I merely wished that both your portraits could hang side by side……”

“Ha!”

Maria let out a rough snort and grabbed Lumiere by the collar.

“Lady Tartien!”

Chris, who had stepped back and was watching the confrontation between the two women with anxious eyes, rushed forward in surprise.

Lumiere raised her hand toward Chris to stop him, making sure Maria didn’t notice.

“You’ve become quite arrogant after drawing the portrait of the future Queen, Miss Lumiere Lashantia. Then why don’t you try drawing the King’s portrait? If it’s so honorable and prideful, go ahead, you draw it. The portrait of our pitiful and very hideous Majesty.”

At Maria’s statement, Lumiere took a deep breath and looked surprised.

With a somewhat pale face and trembling lips, she said:

“How could a common painter like me draw His Majesty’s portrait……!”

“No, you can do it. Perfectly well. Since you’re the artist who drew my portrait, you’re qualified to draw the King’s portrait too!”

“B-but everyone won’t allow it. Miss Maria, please take back what you just said. I can’t do it. How could I possibly……!”

“Don’t make me say it twice, Miss Lashantia. Pack your painting supplies and come to the palace tomorrow. I’ll speak to His Majesty about it.”

Maria released Lumiere’s collar and personally dusted off the wrinkled front of her dress.

She had a crooked smile on her face, thinking she had come up with a good mischief.

“Come to the palace after noon tomorrow. You’d better answer me now.”

“……I understand. Then tomorrow afternoon, I’ll bring my painting supplies to the palace.”

Only after hearing Lumiere’s trembling response did Maria leave, satisfied.

Lumiere, who had kept her head bowed until Maria was gone, finally raised her head after Maria had completely disappeared from their sight.

She smiled at Chris, who was standing beside her with a dazed expression, and said,

“This way I can legally enter the palace, right?”