Chapter 16 Where Is The Truth
Delphine bowed out of habit and moved gracefully to the center table.
A gentleman who had been sitting slumped in his seat jumped to his feet.
He smiled brightly at her and spoke first.
“It’s been a while since you’ve been here, My Lady.”
At that, a few glances were exchanged.
“Hmph…”
Of course, not everyone was happy to see her.
One Young Lady, who hadn’t stood up from her seat but was still sipping her tea, spoke up with a puzzled expression.
“…Our club operates on a referral system. Of course, you must be a member of the central aristocracy.”
It was Baroness Herrs. Famous for being a bone marrow conservative.
“Bye, bye,” said Baroness Herrs, who was sitting next to her.
“So, technically, Miss Pembroke… no, isn’t Miss Pride disqualified from the club?”
It is no secret in the Empire that she is the Marchioness of Pride.
Nevertheless, the mere mention of the surname Pembroke was a subtle reference to the Earl of Pembroke’s treason.
At those words, the eyes of not only those at the table, but of the entire parlor, were drawn to Delphine.
“As much as. Well… This.”
“It’s ambiguous, because it’s unprecedented…”
Delphine raised her eyebrows at the group, who were all looking at each other without taking the initiative.
“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Then, in a lighter tone, she added
“I think you’re missing the back of the club handbook you and Baron Herrs were reading.”
“What’s that…”
“There’s a clause that says that once you’ve been invited to join, you remain a member unless you’re stripped of your noble title.”
Delphine replied mildly, maintaining a gentle smile.
She meant that she was still a central noble, no longer the Earl of Pembroke, but the Marchioness of Pride.
By that fact alone, her status was higher than anyone else in this room right now.
Besides Pride, the man was the captain of the Emperor’s guard.
So she was the closest thing to absolute power.
“Uhh. What a rude gesture, Lord Herrs, to leave a noblewoman standing here!”
“If you don’t mind, My Lady, please sit down.”
Then the people around the table exclaimed.
A faint look of defeat crossed the faces of Baron Herrs and the others.
Delphine, on the other hand, still maintaining her dignified and graceful demeanor, was seated in the chair of authority by a gentleman.
“Oh my. That necklace, I’ve never seen it before…”
“Yes. I got it as a gift from him recently.”
Delphine replied sweetly, and the gazes around her shifted once more.
If she was also the favorite of ‘that’ Lord Pride, that would change the equation.
Delphine swallowed hard at the smiles on their masked faces.
“How have you been, Miss Pride? I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to say hello.”
“Yes. Well, thanks for your concern…”
There was a moment of meaningless small talk about the weather and the latest news.
After a while, they started to check each other’s moods and started to talk in earnest.
“I don’t know, I’m scared, so I don’t go out in District 2 after dark anymore.”
“What is the Capital Defence Force doing?”
The big topic of conversation at the meeting seemed to be the recent spate of gruesome murders in District 2.
“Well, I’ve heard some information, and it looks like they’re not having an easy time catching the killer.”
The eyes around the table focused on the man who spoke.
“So all those rumors are true, then? Someone was even murdered in a room with all the doors locked!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Oh my God!”
‘You mean that newspaper article?’
Delphine remembered the article she’d read the day after her wedding.
Confined to the mansion, Delphine hadn’t heard much more than that.
The man who appeared to be the informant spoke in a low, stealthy voice.
“There’s something very suspicious about this case… No body was found intact.”
“What do you mean, intact?” She asked.
“The pupils.”
“What?”
“They, or the corpses they kill, have one thing in common: they’re missing two eyes.”
At that, one of the ladies flapping her fan gave an exaggerated exclamation.
“Alas, it’s too terrible!”
“Don’t worry, dear Lady. We’re safe in District 1.”
“Besides, winter is coming soon, isn’t it, and no matter what devilish tricks they play, they won’t be able to beat a midwinter blizzard.”
“Above all, we have Lord Pride, don’t we?”
At those words, everyone turned to stare at Delphine.
Here was her chance.
A chance to get to the bottom of this mysterious man.
But Delphine kept her true feelings hidden, and simply smiled calmly.
“I’ve heard of him… but we know he’s mostly in charge of District 3.”
“Ah, yes, these days, as it is the most threatening to His Majesty’s safety these days.”
“They say the mere mention of Lord Pride already stirs up trouble in District 3.”
“That’s the kind of threat those lowly, lowly commoners deserve, haha!”
The group around the table burst into laughter.
Delphine gave a small smile in response, feeling a little uncomfortable.
The pride and sense of community of the central nobility of District 1 was something she could never get used to.
“But you’re always willing to show up and deal with anything that threatens Your Majesty, the palace, or even this district.”
The exaggerated praise continued.
The occasional glance at Delphine made it clear it was flattery.
Then Baroness Hers, who had been sitting in silence, spoke up.
“Yes, His Majesty’s confidence was great, ‘for a time’.”
“Oh, he’s been a little… lately.”
At her words, everyone glanced at Delphine in confusion.
Only Baron Herrs didn’t look her way and exclaimed in a loud voice.
“His Majesty deserves to be punished for forcing through a marriage he was so opposed to, don’t you think?”
There was not a murmur of agreement.
Then the baron, his pride wounded, spoke up again.
“And all those wise and ‘deserving’ women Your Majesty has given him!”
The words were obviously meant to offend her, but Delphine was more surprised than offended by the news she was hearing.
‘He had a dispute with Emperor? Because of me?’
When asked why he married her, he replied that it was because of her beauty.
She thought he had simply acquired her, like the spoils of a treasonous suppression…
Was it not so?
When Delphine made no reply, one by one the others chimed in.
“… Nevertheless, I hear that three days ago the Emperor was in a great rage again.”
“There was a very loud bang in the realm.”
“What could it have been?”
Curious eyes turned to Delphine. They looked as if she knew something.
It was her husband’s business, but it was new to her, too.
‘Three days ago?’
That’s when…
when she’d pestered him for permission to go out.
And for that?
“My Lady?”
“Ah.”
Delphine quickly snapped out of her thoughts and smiled.
But there was no way the seasoned fox could have missed the moment.
“Lord Pride, he’s not much for talking about business around the house…?”
The lady who had been so excited about the murder story asked, flapping her fan.
Then Baron Herrs took up the conversation without missing a beat.
“I suppose not,” said Baron Herrs, “for it would be too much to deny to my wife…”
Suddenly, the atmosphere around the table settled heavily.
A woman married to the man who killed my father.
It was a gross flaw that could not easily be covered up in the glorious name of pride.
But Delphine was inwardly delighted that the subject had been brought up so casually.
Though her face, batting her eyelashes in an expression of excellence, showed not the slightest hint of it.
“That’s… I suppose he’s worried that I’m going to get hurt.”
Delphine said, shaking her head slightly, feigning wistfulness.
“Really, I didn’t… know anything about it.”
The men beside her spoke quickly, soothingly.
“Of course, of course.”
“No wonder you didn’t know. In fact, no one knew until that day!”
No one… knew?
Delphine, still shaking her head, secretly lit up.
“It is…, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Didn’t the Count attend a palace party just the day before?”
“Besides, he couldn’t afford a private army to pay bribes.”
Even in the most secretive of social clubs, treason was not a topic worth discussing for long.
When they’d had their fill, they quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, the movement in District 3 continues to be erratic, isn’t it?”
“If the factory stops, the price of tea leaves will skyrocket again…”
The sound of their conversation faded from his ears.
Delphine was alone with her thoughts for a moment.
The others hadn’t noticed any signs of treason either.
That was strange, too.
Her father, who had worked so hard to bribe his way into the imperial court, treason?
Unfortunately, this was the end of the topic.
If she pressed further, others might become suspicious.
Delphine lingered for a moment longer, then excused herself, citing the upcoming evening.
“Well, then. I’ll excuse myself.”
“Oh my, already…”
People smiled favorably, but they didn’t grab her or ask her to come to their tea parties.
They were still trying to gauge her value.
Delphine didn’t think her social reputation could be overturned in a single day, so she left.
She walked up to the wall with the owl statue.
“Excuse me, My Lady.”
A voice behind her called her to a halt.
