Even in the original setting—and from what Letticia had seen of Matthias in person—he wasn’t exactly someone who openly accepted the opinions of those beneath him.
Besides, isn’t it common in romance novels too? When a male lead is head over heels for the female lead, he often looks for some sort of justification before doing anything for her.
‘Pretending to listen to lower officials just to hear Ariette’s opinion… isn’t that taking it too far?’
Letticia, desperately hoping her ominous suspicion was wrong this time, was taken aback by Seraphina’s next words.
“By the way, is the lady working in the Ministry of Culture perhaps Lady Averil?”
“Uh… why do you ask?”
Since Seraphina had never brought up Ariette before, Letticia instinctively became wary. Fortunately, Seraphina seemed unaware of Letticia’s inner thoughts and replied calmly.
“I heard there are ties between the Sharon family and the Averil duchy. And Lady Averil works in the Ministry of Culture, doesn’t she?”
“You looked into all that?”
“Yes. Just in case—I’ve been doing some research on potential crown princess candidates.”
Letticia couldn’t hide her shock at that. A potential crown princess?
“You think Lady Averil could be a candidate for the crown princess?”
“Yes. Among the remaining unmarried noble ladies, I think she has the highest possibility.”
“Well, the House of Averil is certainly a high-ranking noble family in the East, but their reputation in the capital’s social circles isn’t great. So why do you think she has the best chance?”
Even someone as well-connected in politics as Dayna hadn’t considered Averil until Letticia mentioned her.
So how had Seraphina arrived at that conclusion?
“I remembered you saying before that in the capital, noble ladies don’t necessarily have to debut in high society to date or marry. And since Lady Averil works at the palace, I thought there’s a chance His Highness the Crown Prince might choose her without looking to the social circles.”
“Ah…”
Letticia was genuinely impressed by Seraphina’s answer. She had assumed Seraphina was simply surprised by the unfamiliar customs of the capital, but she had remembered that conversation and used it to shift her perspective.
“But unlike the others, Lady Averil doesn’t really associate with anyone. Officially, the only nobles in the capital known to have ties with the House of Averil are the Count of Freke and the House of Sharon. And I don’t know the Countess of Freke personally, so I couldn’t ask her.”
“Our family does have some connection to the dukedom, but I don’t interact with the young lords or the lady directly. After graduating from the academy, I only saw them again at a ball, and I just danced once with Lord Averil. As for Lady Averil… I did recently invite her to our estate for tea.”
“Isn’t that enough to consider it an acquaintance? I heard that the only people you invite to your estate are those who were part of the March Blossoms gathering, like Lady Hailey. If it wasn’t a visit related to preparations for the music concert like mine, then it must have been a personal invitation, no?”
“…So, it turns out that way?”
Letticia had dodged the question since she couldn’t exactly admit she was calling on Ariette just for fashion advice, and now it looked like she was about to become Ariette’s only known friend in the eyes of society.
She had tried so hard to avoid getting entangled with major characters from the original story, yet perhaps it was inevitable—was she getting involved because Ariette was the protagonist, or was she the protagonist because people kept getting involved with her?
Letticia found herself mentally circling what could very well be a thesis topic if a romance-fantasy department existed at the academy. Then Seraphina continued.
“I also thought it might be best not to ask you, considering the tension between you and the ducal house… but there was no other way to get a proper evaluation of Lady Averil. So I decided to risk being impolite and ask you directly.”
“You already looked into her? Even before asking me?”
“Yes. But the other noble ladies blatantly ignore or dislike her because of what happened with you, and the married women hold grudges against her mother, the duchess. So I couldn’t get anything unbiased. Even the civil officials act strangely hostile toward her.”
Letticia felt a headache coming on at the all-too-familiar picture.
The daughter of the duchy that had wronged Letticia—the capital’s top marriage prospect—was an easy target. It was entirely the duchy’s fault, and since lady Averil hadn’t even debuted in society yet, she was essentially fresh prey.
‘I can understand the girls acting like that, but the mothers? Seriously? And they’re going after the daughter, not even the duchess herself?’
It had been nearly twenty years since the duchess passed away, yet people still hated her so much. To Letticia, it all seemed unbearably petty.
At this point, it was almost as if the capital’s noblewomen had decided to unite by collectively treating the House of Averil as a perpetual common enemy. And yet, Alexander was still absurdly popular.
It was the typical structure: the ‘desirable man’ remains untouched, while the ‘rival woman’ gets all the blame.
“The one thing I do think is true is that the young lady seems to be very deeply loved by her father and brothers. What do you think, Lady Sharon?”
“That’s definitely true. If anyone dares mess with Lady Averil, the entire ducal house will rise up, regardless of who the offender is.”
Letticia could say this with full confidence. She still clearly remembered the shock she felt when the ducal house played their ultimate card—wheat—to block even the imperial family’s interference, all because they believed Letticia had bullied Ariette.
“It’s that serious? I’ve heard bits and pieces, but they sounded more like urban legends than anything believable.”
“What kind of stories? Like how the ducal family supposedly books out entire shops every time Lady Averil goes shopping or dining?”
“No, what I heard was that after Lady Averil was assigned to the Ministry of Culture, Sir Averil pressured various departments to replace all the furniture in her office.”
“That sounds like nonsense, doesn’t it?”
Seraphina tilted her head slightly in disbelief, but Letticia couldn’t bring herself to laugh.
If that actually happened, it would be enough to warrant an investigation. But even the fact that such urban legend-like rumors existed showed just how extreme the duchy could seem.
The real issue was whether this behavior was actually benefiting Ariette’s character or her life.
“Well, that’s the first I’ve heard of it. But what I do know is that when Lady Averil enrolled at the academy, they tore down the women’s dormitory building she was going to stay in—and rebuilt it.”
“They rebuilt an entire building? At the academy?”
Seraphina looked at her in shock. Letticia was mildly curious how she’d react if she revealed that the original building had actually been set on fire and then replaced.
“Even when Countess Sharon enrolled as a child, I never heard of the Marquess of Wade rebuilding a school building for her. Was it that dilapidated or something?”
“That dorm is used by direct heirs of high-ranking noble families. Of course it was well-maintained. They were just being dramatic. Because of that, all the other ongoing construction got delayed, so right after the semester started, students had a hard time getting around. Not that anyone openly complained about it.”
“…Could it have been for political reasons? Like trying to solidify Lady Averil’s presence in the capital by flaunting the duchy’s affection for her?”
“That’s definitely possible.”
Letticia partly agreed, understanding Seraphina’s attempt to rationalize it. She, too, used to think that way once.
“Anyway, I don’t really know much about Lady Averil yet, so I can’t say much. I wouldn’t even call our relationship close enough to introduce her as a friend.”
“In that case… would it be possible to send her an invitation to our charity concert? Sir Averil is quite popular in social circles, so I doubt others would object.”
“An invitation?”
Letticia perked up at Seraphina’s unexpected suggestion. Inviting the House of Averil to the same concert as Matthias?
‘It might give me a chance to gauge how far along Matthias and Ariette’s relationship is.’
If Matthias had begun to take an interest in Ariette, he would surely show some sign of it. And with Alexander having the title of aide to the Prime Minister, he had a valid excuse to approach them. In the process, he might naturally bring up Ariette and try to gather information.
‘Just like in the original story, when Matthias and Alexander finally met.’
It was ridiculous how he was still in denial about falling for her, but given how hard it was to get information right now, this could be a solid move.
Besides, it might be good to meet the Averil siblings again and—if not build rapport—at least subtly remind them of the debt they owed.
“If I end up writing out invitations, I’ll probably need your help again. Would that be okay?”
“Whether I write one or two makes no difference. Don’t worry about it.”
Letticia joked lightheartedly, and Seraphina smiled before her expression turned serious again.
“Then first, let’s send an invitation to Sir Averil… and we may need to send one to Sir Achilles as well.”
“Sir Achilles? Why him?”
“He’s the Deputy Commander of the knights. If we don’t invite him, it could damage the Count’s reputation.”
“Ah.”
Now that she thought about it, Achilles was the Deputy Commander. Leticia nodded, having completely forgotten that fact, when Seraphina asked with a worried expression.
“Will you be alright? From what I heard, it was Sir Achilles who directly assaulted you…”
Loving Seraphina! Hoping only good things for her