The maid had brought a note from Bennett. Elise snickered after unfolding and reading it. It seems Camvet had indeed complained to Bennett.
What could she possibly be aggrieved about?
No matter how much Elise thought about it, there was no reason for Camvet to feel wronged.
“What did she write? That you must come to the Queen Mother’s palace immediately?”
The ever-worried Regina fidgeted. Elise put away the note.
“It’s nothing important.”
It was insignificant enough to be ignored. It was merely an empty threat.
[There are laws in Tetris. You don’t seem to know them well yet, so I should teach you. Come to my palace tomorrow afternoon. We’ll take a stroll and I’ll instruct you on Tetris court etiquette.]
Elise’s head started throbbing. She felt like she was being punished for doing a good deed.
But she couldn’t outright refuse either.
She was already exhausted thinking about the next day that hadn’t even arrived yet.
****
Camvet’s incident brought both good and bad for Elise.
The bad was having to take a stroll with Bennett. The good was that the palace staff’s attitude towards Elise became much kinder.
This was because the maid Elise had helped went around gossiping about that day’s events throughout the palace.
Thanks to that, Regina felt relieved. Now whenever Elise needed something or got lost not knowing her way around, people readily helped without complaint.
Elise spent several days agonizing over the recruitment issue.
In the end, she selected Fiona Scott and Ruo George to help prepare for the engagement ceremony.
“Thank you for hiring us.” Fiona Scott greeted with a smile. She was constantly smiling.
In contrast, Ruo George just nodded wordlessly, her face expressionless.
The two had contrasting images, like water and fire. If Fiona Scott was a friendly puppy, then Ruo George was a ferocious beast.
Fiona had the quintessential gentle maid image, while Ruo did not seem cut out for maid duties at all.
Yet Elise’s reason for hiring Ruo was simple:
‘She said she knows how to use a sword.’
In Tetris, even women learn swordsmanship. Elise planned to learn the sword from Ruo.
She had considered learning from Karan too, but felt he would look down on her or prevent her from wielding a sword.
‘He sees me as fragile porcelain after all.’
Yet she was reluctant to learn from other warriors, especially the male ones.
Rumors about her and Chase were still circulating in the social circle.
Even for the simple matter of learning the sword, it was best to avoid sustained interactions with other men in the palace for the time being.
And she was drawn to Ruo’s personality too.
“It’s an honor to become your maid, Miss Elise. Her name is Regina, right? I heard she holds a title! Prince Karan directly bestowed it upon her, that’s amazing. I want to work hard and become like Regina too. Oh, where will my room be?”
Fiona was quite talkative. Ruo, in contrast, was taciturn. The only thing he had said since entering was “What should I do from now on?”
Each had their own strengths.
“I’m preparing for the engagement ceremony. Your tasks will be researching how past engagement ceremonies were conducted, and selecting and purchasing the necessary items.”
“There should be materials in the royal library! Shall I go check?”
“But it may be too heavy for you to carry alone.”
“It’s fine, I’ll go!”
Before Elise could even respond, Fiona dashed out, grabbing her dress.
‘She’s quite impulsive.’
“I will go.”
As Elise looked at her with concern, Ruo stepped forward.
“Yes, it would be good if Ruo helps.”
Ruo nodded. Elise watched the two leave one after the other.
She had a feeling Ruo and Fiona would make a good team.
“What do you think, Regina? Those are the two you handpicked.”
“I merely provided my input.”
She had stayed up all night poring over the files, and whenever Elise brought up a name, Regina could recite everything from the clothes they wore to the interviews down to the slightest mistakes, such was her dedication.
All for Elise’s sake, to help her establish a new position in the Tetris palace.
Elise gave Regina a warm smile.
“Let’s both do our best from now on, Regina.”
“I will learn a lot.”
“It will be good if we learn from each other.”
After saying that, Elise examined the budget.
“Though this is too much. Using my dowry for the engagement ceremony budget…”
She had discovered this unsatisfactory fact while looking into why the ceremony budget was so low.
Regina brought Elise some warm tea. Not taking her eyes off the budget, Elise accepted the cup.
Since it was tradition, Elise had nothing to say. Instead, she felt sorry for Karan.
Regina glanced at Elise and gave her some space.
‘Though I brought a small dowry, I can earn more money.’
Elise added the money she had borrowed from Pawnshop K to the budget plan.
As the numbers grew larger, she felt more at ease and could envision various ideas for the engagement ceremony.
While spending some time alone, drafting and erasing her plans repeatedly, there was a commotion outside. Curious about what was happening, the door opened.
Ruo and Fiona entered, pushing a cart full of books.
Elise’s eyes widened.
“Um, are all those reference materials?”
“Yes! There’s a ton, right? I brought everything.”
A ton was an understatement.
Just bringing materials on recent engagement ceremonies would have sufficed…
“I thought they might be helpful. I brought all the research on Tetris ceremony culture too.”
Fiona’s eyes sparkled, seemingly expecting praise for her excessive efforts.
While those materials were unnecessary, Elise praised them anyway.
“You both worked hard, Fiona and Ruo.”
Next time, she would have to give very clear and specific instructions.
With more people around, Karan’s palace became lively.
The sound of laughter never ceased, and the palace staff’s expressions brightened.
****
In a room with a roaring fireplace, Chase lounged on an ornate central sofa, his arms and neck dangling lazily.
In one hand he held a letter, in the other a liquor bottle.
Annoyance filled his handsome face. It was good that he had followed Elise to Tetris.
But undoing Karan and Elise’s engagement proved difficult.
He thought scandals would make Tyllo postpone the engagement. He had deliberately acted flirtatious with Elise in front of Tyllo.
No matter how open the country was about romantic matters, he didn’t think they would be open enough to accept a woman who hadn’t settled things with her ex-fiancé as a daughter-in-law.
Yet Tyllo made no move to stop the progressing engagement ceremony.
What about Bennett?
Chase had spent time with Bennett, leaving her with the impression that Elise was a difficult woman to handle.
From what Chase saw, Bennett wanted to have Karan under her thumb.
He kept signaling that this would become difficult, that Elise would drive a wedge between Karan and Bennett.
While pretending not to notice, Bennett lent an ear to Chase’s words.
[There are no parents who can win against their child, Your Highness. Could you tell me more about Elise? It would be good to know a bit more about the one who will become family.]
At some point, she even started asking Chase various questions, saying she wanted to get to know Elise better.
Chase’s jaw clenched. Frustrated, he tore off the loosely hanging cravat from his neck and flung it.
The letter he was holding dropped with a thud. Chase glared at it displeasingly before picking it up.
It was a letter from Iris.
The first page read just like a love letter.
But the second page was completely different.
She had painstakingly detailed events happening in Bedrokka to the point it seemed like reading a newspaper article, which greatly displeased Chase.
[The date has been set for Prince David’s investiture as Crown Prince…His Majesty has transferred authority over appointing the Captain of the Royal Knights to Prince David… The merchants who participated in the Gate Subjugation are making huge profits…]
While the letter merely listed facts, it conveyed an underlying criticism of Chase’s incompetence.
No, he was not incompetent. The only reason David was ahead now was because he was alone in Bedrokka.
‘If I hadn’t come to Tetris.’
That thought naturally led to resentment towards Elise. If she hadn’t followed Karan here.
Chase gulped down his liquor. His drinking had increased since coming to Tetris. Each night, thoughts of Elise tormented him, and his lack of progress angered him.
At the end, Iris even urged Chase to act.
[Here, I frequently meet with the elders with His Majesty. I keep telling them you are working hard for Bedrokka in Tetris. You are, aren’t you, Your Highness?]
For Bedrokka’s sake……
A growing sense of urgency gripped him. Chase ruffled his hair and shouted.
“Anyone outside?”
His aide rushed in, panting. He flinched at the wafting liquor smell but quickly composed himself.
“You called, Your Highness.”
“Melanie. Ah, make an appointment for me to meet the young lady Melanie Odilon.”
Thanks 😁🇧🇷