“Have you been listening to those idiots all this time? Really, you have a peculiar streak in you.”

“My dear Miss Priestley, the very reason people call you an eccentric woman is because you have maintained a friendship with someone like me from childhood to this day.”

“How is that purely your fault?”

Wilhelmina shot back sharply.

“I was perfectly eccentric without you, thank you. Isn’t it about time you stopped diminishing my achievements like that?”

“You win.”

Nate raised both hands and spread them out on either side of his head. Only then did Wilhelmina give a satisfied sniff and pick up her teacup.

After watching her for a moment with something like fondness, Nate murmured.

“Who on earth would set their mind on ruining your reputation? If it were me, I wouldn’t even dream of it, knowing what would follow.”

Wilhelmina shrugged.

“Well, perhaps what that idiot is trying to ruin isn’t only my reputation.”

“You suspect His Highness Edward.”

Nate clicked his tongue.

“Am I right?”

“More or less.”

Tearing off a piece of well-baked scone and chewing it without any particular elegance, Wilhelmina spoke.

“The Priestley ducal family has maintained a politically moderate and neutral stance for generations. Thanks to that, we have a fair number of supporters.”

“A fair number of supporters?”

Nate let out a short, dry laugh. He shook his head with a wry smile.

“You’re being far too modest, my lady. It would not be an overstatement to say that the largest voting bloc in the Westminster upper house belongs to the duke.”

“But he failed to keep his own household in order, didn’t he?”

The very member of that household responsible for the problem shrugged with complete composure. At that moment, Nate’s amber eyes narrowed.

“I see. The plan would be to shake the ducal family’s standing with your scandal so soon after the mourning period ended, then have the Duke of Kingsley’s side step in playing savior. With a very ‘suitable’ match for the young lady who lost her honor as the bait?”

“Correct.”

“And the price for that would be asking him to take their side in the regency bill vote.”

In place of an answer, a slow smile spread at the corner of Wilhelmina’s lips.

“So that’s it.”

Nate murmured with a hollow laugh.

“The logic you used to persuade His Highness the Duke of Clifford yesterday.”

“More or less.”

Watching his friend shrug as though it were nothing, Nate could only let out a helpless laugh.

“You did have evidence that the Duke of Kingsley was behind the scheme when you said all that, right?”

“Of course I didn’t.”

“I knew it.”

Nate pressed a hand to his head as a wave of dizziness threatened to take hold.

“Then how are you certain it was the Duke of Kingsley’s doing in the first place? Both sides need leverage equally. It could just as well have been a scheme by the Duke of Clifford’s side.”

Wilhelmina grinned. And before Nate could sense the ominous direction this was heading, she spoke.

“That’s exactly why I went to verify it yesterday. Whether it was him, or wasn’t.”

“Good God.”

Nate found himself clutching his head in both hands before he knew it.

“Is it really that shocking?”

“Have some conscience, will you.”

Nate scrubbed his face with both hands and shuddered.

“Anyway, I take back what I said at the start. The irredeemably insane thing isn’t last night’s adventure, Mina. It’s you.”

“My, how generous of you to compliment me so.”

Watching his friend wear a triumphant expression, Nate let out a sigh.

“Just one question, Mina.”

He couldn’t hide how thoroughly exhausted he looked, but his eyes carried the most grave and worried expression she saw from him yet.

“Do you truly believe your insane plan will succeed? Against the Butcher of the Open Sea, the one said to have dyed the entire ocean red?”

“It has to.”

Wilhelmina drained the remaining tea from her cup in one go and set it down with a firm clack. Her eyes were more resolute than at any other moment.

“…No. It will succeed, without fail. I already have a method in mind that should work.”

“……”

Under normal circumstances, Nate would have burst into a hearty laugh at this point and said ‘that’s just like you.’ But today, for some reason, a troubled expression lingered on Nate’s face and refused to leave.

“Mina, I say this as your closest friend.”

“Every time you start like that, you always say something that cuts deep.”

Nate gave a wry smile toward the grumbling Wilhelmina.

“It’s just that the success you’re talking about seems like it only goes as far as the marriage itself.”

“……?”

A visible question mark rose on Wilhelmina’s face.

“What else would there be?”

Watching his friend, transparent enough to wear every emotion plainly, Nate spoke with a somewhat troubled look.

“Listen carefully, Wilhelmina. You’re under a serious misapprehension right now.”

“……”

Like most Priestleys, Wilhelmina had considerable pride. The only reason she didn’t argue back against this challenging verdict was the sincere concern she saw in Nate’s careful eyes.

“First, let me say your calculations aren’t wrong. Persuading the Duke of Clifford and getting him to sign the marriage vow would be the best possible move for dealing a blow to whoever spread the scandal and whoever is behind them, all at once. I agree with that. But Mina, think about it.”

“About what?”

“This calculation does not end there.”

It was a definitive declaration, unlike Nate’s usual manner.

“For you to declare this plan a complete success, it can’t be after the vows are exchanged. It has to be after you sign the divorce papers.”

“…Divorce is obviously part of the marriage I described, Nate. Do you think I plan to stay a married woman forever?”

Wilhelmina wore a slight frown, finding it strange that she needed to explain something so obvious to Nate.

“I obviously plan to become a wealthy divorcee as soon as possible.”

“What I mean is that’s only your plan.”

Nate offered his counsel with patient calm.

“Just as marriage requires the consent of both parties, divorce also requires the agreement of two people, you know?”

“Do you really think I don’t know that?”

Watching his baffled friend, Nate suddenly asked.

“What do you think is the reason all those men proposed to you?”

“Beauty, wealth, status, and a touch of wit.”

The unhesitating answer made Nate laugh a little. But he followed it quickly with this.

“The fact that you answer like that is proof you don’t understand the situation.”

“Oh, I give up.”

Wilhelmina’s patience finally ran out and she snapped first.

“Nate Ashton, you’re wonderful in every way, but sometimes you say things that make no sense.”

“Even if you can’t understand all of it, know at least one thing.”

Nate said, sampling the freshly poured tea at his leisure.

“He seems indifferent to you right now, doesn’t he? He may have looked at you yesterday like you were out of your mind. But there’s no guarantee it stays that way.”

“Surely you’re not saying that during the contract marriage he’ll fall head over heels for me and refuse to grant the divorce?” Even as she said it, Wilhelmina waved a hand and scoffed.

“That sounds like something out of a novel. I can’t help laughing at my own words.”

“Wilhelmina.”

“All right, all right. So what you’re saying is, for whatever reason or unforeseen variable, he might decide to keep the marriage going on his end.”

Even as she said it, Wilhelmina couldn’t hide her skeptical expression. Her fingers tapped out an uneasy rhythm on the table.

“Fine. I have absolutely no idea what that variable could possibly be right now, but since it’s coming from you, I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Good. For now, that’s enough.”

Nate smiled, eyes cast down over his teacup. It was the kind of smile Wilhelmina would one day recall with a flash of sudden understanding.

Nate Ashton, on the eve of a coming storm, left his friend a sincere piece of advice with all the loyalty and faithfulness of a true friend. Though it was bound to take Wilhelmina some time to grasp this wise counsel, in the grand scheme of things, that was not much of a problem.

A well-honed insight would one day pierce Wilhelmina’s life like a prophecy, like a blade, and Nate knew that moment would come without fail.

He rested his chin in his hand with easy composure and spoke to his friend, who was still stuffing scone into her mouth without any particular dignity.

“What matters is that I’m always on your side.”

“Naturally, Mr. Ashton.”

Wilhelmina answered through a mouthful.

“Because if you weren’t, I’d kill you.”

“Pfft ha!”

And so that pleasant and cheerful teatime came to a peaceful end.