MLIIWTFL Chapter 154

 

 

 

“If that were the only issue, it wouldn’t be so bad. The bigger problem is that Lady Averil’s superiors blatantly favor her.”

 

“Favor her?”

 

Hearing that unsettling word, Letticia frowned, and Dayna nodded with a serious expression.

 

“Normally, when new civil servants attend meetings, they don’t do much—there are stenographers for note-taking, so they mostly just observe. But Lady Averil is actually given a seat, and she’s allowed to speak under the pretense of ‘hearing out junior officials’ opinions.’ On top of that, she’s always placed in important roles, and all the good assignments get handed to her.”

 

“That’s way too obvious! Are you saying this really happens?”

 

“I don’t know for sure, but honestly, it makes sense. She’s the daughter of the Duke of Averil—who wouldn’t want to get on her good side? Not to mention, her brothers are a chancellor’s aide and a deputy commander of the knights. If anyone offends her, they probably worry it could ruin their careers.”

 

“Ugh… Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

 

Being a Duke’s daughter was already intimidating, but with her powerful brothers backing her, it was no surprise that people would go out of their way to accommodate her.

 

At the same time, it was also understandable why her colleagues would resent her for it.

 

“So that’s why no one in her department is actually close to her. The only thing people say about her is behind her back, and at lunch, she either eats alone or with her superiors.”

 

“At that point, wouldn’t it have been better for her to start as an aide to the Minister of Culture?”

 

Thinking back to Ariette’s insistence on earning her own money and proving her independence, Letticia could understand why she had chosen to take the general civil service exam instead of relying on her family’s influence.

 

Maybe she genuinely wanted to achieve something on her own—or maybe this was her way of rebelling against her overprotective family.

 

Unfortunately, whichever reason it was, it hadn’t been a wise choice. Her peers were suffering because of the favoritism she received, and her own social life had become a disaster.

 

‘How did things go so wrong just from picking the wrong workplace?’

 

In the original story, Ariette had an entire fan club. But now, she was an outcast at work, the subject of gossip, and so isolated that her only conversations outside of work were with a jewelry store manager and a promotional model.

 

At this point, it wasn’t surprising that she might start seeing Letticia and Lenard as the closest thing to friends she had.

 

“That’s all I know—was it helpful?”

 

“Yeah, very much. At this rate, I might end up becoming Lady Averil’s only friend.”

 

“That does seem likely. Between her and Lady Eskis, you sure have a way of attracting high-status admirers.”

 

“Well, that just means whoever becomes the Crown Princess will be my friend. That sounds way better than becoming the Crown Princess myself.”

 

Ending their discussion about Ariette with a joke, Letticia unfolded the documents she had brought.

 

“Speaking of which, we got sidetracked. I spoke to the PR department about our coverage plans, and they gave me feedback and some revised materials. Let’s go over them together.”

 

“If the Sharon Jewelry PR team revised this, we definitely need to review it! Let’s see…”

 

Dayna picked up the documents and began reading through them. As she flipped through the pages, she nodded in interest.

 

The PR team had included detailed suggestions on how to enhance the debutantes’ public image, even specifying what kind of outfits to wear and what statements would make the best impression.

 

“And they emphasized highlighting the fact that someone actually visited an orphanage…”

 

Dayna’s voice trailed off, and her expression darkened. Among them, the only person who had actually visited an orphanage was Seraphina. This meant that her role in the discussions would inevitably increase.

 

“This isn’t just going to end up making Lady Eskis look good, is it?”

 

“Well, if it benefits her in any way, it’s that more people might start donating to orphanages. But she doesn’t seem interested in being in the spotlight herself.”

 

“Letticia, do you really believe that?”

 

Dayna looked at her with the same baffled expression she had when Letticia said she had no interest in becoming Crown Princess.

 

“Do you honestly think she cares more about increasing donations than gaining recognition for herself?”

 

“It seems that way. Otherwise, why would someone like Lady Eskis personally visit an orphanage?”

 

“…….”

 

“At the very least, she’s someone who takes action. So, what do you think? Do you want to attend the event she suggested?”

 

At Letticia’s question, Dayna firmly shook her head.

 

“I’ll admit, compared to the other old noble families, she’s much more decent. Her ideals are admirable, and she sticks to her principles. But being around her is exhausting. She’s way too idealistic, and her standards are ridiculously high.”

 

“I totally get that. The conversation I had with her about what qualifies someone to be Crown Princess was shocking.”

 

“Wait, you actually had a conversation about that with her?”

 

“Yeah. Since both of us are considered candidates, she asked me what I thought about it. I told her I didn’t want the position because it involved too much responsibility, and she actually praised me for my wisdom.”

 

Dayna’s face contorted in disbelief.

 

“She called that wise? Was she just subtly insulting you for not competing with her?”

 

“No, I don’t think so. She was genuinely impressed that I understood the weight of the role, unlike those who only dream about becoming Crown Princess. She also accepted pretty quickly that I had no intention of pursuing it.”

 

“She actually believed you that easily?”

 

“Yeah, as soon as I told her I was following my family’s stance, she just nodded and moved on.”

 

Letticia had been relieved that she hadn’t needed to convince Seraphina further. If Lady Eskis had accused her of secretly aiming for the throne, Letticia might have been tempted to throw a book at her.

 

While Letticia was lost in thought, Dayna shook her head in disbelief.

 

“So she really just accepted that? She didn’t even question whether you were lying?”

 

“Nope, not at all.”

 

“She didn’t try to mock you or say something like, ‘At least you know your place’?”

 

“Have you ever seen Lady Eskis mock someone? She might be overly formal, but she’s surprisingly straightforward.”

 

“But that doesn’t make any sense! We’re talking about the position of Crown Princess! And after spending the entire season competing with you, wouldn’t she at least be suspicious when you say you’re not interested?”

 

“She just said that different people have different dreams, so it wasn’t strange if I didn’t want that position.”

 

“…….”

 

Dayna turned away with a complicated expression, struggling to process this information.

 

It had taken her a long time to fully grasp Letticia’s stance, yet Seraphina had understood it so easily. That, more than anything, seemed to shock her.

 

“So, in the great noble houses, does becoming Crown Princess really come down to just wanting it or not?”

 

“Well, I’ve heard that in the West, only the Eskis and Wade families are considered suitable candidates for producing a Crown Princess.”

 

Currently, the Marquess of Wade had no daughters, and the closest female relatives were Letticia and Lenoa. However, the Marquess had never told Letticia that she should aim for the position.

 

‘Maybe Mother just didn’t tell me, but even when I met him personally, he never mentioned it.’

 

Thinking back, even in Camilla’s case, the Wade family had shown little interest in marrying into the imperial family. Perhaps they simply didn’t care about placing their lineage on the throne.

 

But what about the Eskis family? If Seraphina had come to the capital, it showed she had some interest in the throne. Yet, for someone supposedly aiming for the throne, she wasn’t receiving any notable support.

 

“At the very least, Lady Eskis definitely wants to become Crown Princess.”

 

“Then that means she has the highest chance of securing the position. If our faction doesn’t put forth a candidate, she’ll be the only one left.”

 

Dayna let out a sigh, her voice subdued.

 

“That means the old noble families will gain even more influence. People will start saying it’s still too soon for a new noble to become Crown Princess.”

 

“When have the old nobles not bragged about their bloodlines and history? Given time, more of them will collapse, and their places will be taken by rising noble families. It’s just how things go.”

 

“That may be true, but they won’t go down without a fight, Letticia. Right now, there are plenty of old noble representatives in the council trying to pass policies that limit new nobles. They even attempted to raise our taxes several times.”

 

“They want to tax businesses even more just because they make money? That’s basically extortion.”

 

“Pretty much. That’s why power struggles between old and new nobles are so important.”

 

Dayna nodded, letting Letticia’s blunt comment slide. Given her political connections, she was well aware of these conflicts.

 

Letticia saw this as a good opportunity to ask something she had been wondering about.

 

“Then wouldn’t it be better if the Crown Princess came from the neutral faction?”

 

“Neutral? Who in that faction could even be a candidate?”

 

“Well, there’s Lady Averil.”

 

At Letticia’s words, Dayna turned to her in shock.

 

Even though they had just been discussing Ariette, it was clear that she hadn’t even considered her as an option.