MLIIWTFL Chapter 174

 

 

 

Whether to be relieved or not, in the waiting room she returned to—Audrey, Evelyn, and Giselle had just come back from the stage.

 

When Letticia entered, she was immediately met with hostile, furious glares from Giselle and Evelyn standing behind Dayna. However, Letticia ignored them entirely and focused her attention solely on Dayna to deliver the news.

 

“It’s good news. Lady Eskis will likely be able to return to the stage after some rest.”

 

“Is that true?”

 

“What a relief!”

 

As Dayna and Vanessa let out sighs of relief, the expressions of the three behind them also eased up slightly.

 

Just as everyone was beginning to feel assured that the worst had been avoided, Letticia turned to Giselle and raised her voice.

 

“However, the lady still needs some time to recover, so there will be some adjustments to the performance schedule. Lady Mortimer, as I mentioned earlier, I’ll need you to perform in the next set as well. Lady Norton, Lady Maynard, please discuss which one of you will join her.”

 

“Then I’ll go with Lady Norton. I hope no one objects to that much, right?”

 

Giselle snapped in a confrontational tone, but Letticia only smirked and replied.

 

“As long as you don’t quit the concert midway, I won’t object to anything. In fact, considering you’ve already performed two consecutive pieces, I should be thanking you.”

 

“Earlier you said if I was going to play like that, I might as well paint my face white and shake while performing!”

 

“To be precise, I said if you weren’t going to do your job properly, then you might as well do that. If you perform properly, I won’t say such things again.”

 

Though Giselle still seemed furious, she closed her mouth when Audrey placed a hand on her shoulder.

 

With just a single gesture calming Giselle, Audrey shook her head and gestured with her eyes toward Vanessa.

 

“Lady Mortimer, I think it would be better to perform with Lady Maynard for the next set. If Lady Eskis returns, she’ll likely play in the ensemble. If that happens, there will be overlapping instruments.”

 

“Ah…”

 

At those words, Giselle’s lips parted slightly, as if she’d forgotten something.

 

Giselle and Evelyn played the same instruments as Seraphina and Letticia—violin and piano. If they were to perform right before the highly anticipated performance of the ‘Diamonds,’ it would obviously lead to comparisons.

 

“Thank you for pointing that out, Lady Wallace. Lady Maynard, let’s go up together for the next performance.”

 

“Huh? Ah… yes, I’ll do that.”

 

Though she looked a little displeased by Giselle’s commanding tone, Vanessa didn’t refuse.

 

With the performers for the next stage decided, Letticia proceeded to outline the revised order she had been considering on the way in.

 

“Then after the two of you perform, it’ll be me and Lady Eskis, followed by a harp concerto with Lady Hailey. Then a duet between Lady Eskis and Lady Wallace, a violin concerto with Lady Mortimer and Lady Norton, a quartet with all four of us, and finally, Lady Eskis’s violin solo to close the concert.”

 

“That means Lady Eskis will have to play twice in a row at the end—is that going to be alright?”

 

“The quartet and the solo are relatively short, so I thought it’d be best to group them together. But if anyone has objections, feel free to speak up.”

 

No one did. Dayna had no complaints, and Vanessa wasn’t the type to voice her opinion much anyway. Still, the silence from the other three was surprising.

 

“…I’ll go check on Lady Eskis’s condition.”

 

It was Audrey who broke the silence.

 

After handing her instrument to a maid, she glanced at Giselle and Evelyn, then smiled with a pointed tone.

 

“People who are too focused on what’s right in front of them and don’t care about those around them… eventually end up choking on their own words. So, there’s no need for you two to take it so personally.”

 

“Lady Wallace!”

 

Dayna raised her voice, but Audrey didn’t even look back or respond as she walked out of the room.

 

Evelyn followed soon after, and Giselle gestured to Vanessa to come along before striding ahead. Though Vanessa looked reluctant, she had no choice but to leave with the maid carrying her instrument.

 

Now only Letticia and Dayna remained in the waiting room.

 

“What the hell? She stayed quiet all this time and the one thing she finally says is something to put you down? How has someone like that led the old nobility until now?”

 

“Maybe because she’s like that, she’s been able to lead them. Has she ever said a word to either of us before now?”

 

Audrey had never once directly spoken to Letticia or Dayna. She only ever expressed agreement with Seraphina or spoke to people like Giselle and Evelyn, always avoiding direct conversation with them.

 

They hadn’t even found her worth paying attention to and had completely forgotten about her presence, but thinking back on it now, it was absurd.

 

‘What, does she think she’s above royalty? That’s just ridiculous.’

 

Letticia was one of the few allowed to speak directly with Princess Judith and even Empress Liliana.

 

On top of that, Seraphina—Audrey’s cousin—freely conversed with Dayna, whose parents weren’t even of noble blood. And those same parents were still properly addressed as “Viscount” and “Viscountess.”

 

“Is that some kind of old noble-style ostracism? But what would she even gain by treating me like an enemy?”

 

“Letticia, sometimes I think the values of the old nobility are completely different from ours. They don’t seek practical benefits. For them, pride or a sense of emotional superiority can be more important—even worth sacrificing material gains for. It’s hard to relate, honestly.”

 

“Even I can tell what’s going on. Look at her—she doesn’t even know how to separate work from personal matters. If I hadn’t brought up the in-laws, she’d still be acting all stubborn.”

 

“But what you said before that was a little harsh. Not wrong, but definitely provoking.”

 

When Dayna gently reproached her, Letticia also took a moment to reflect on what she’d said. Thinking back, she realized she had spoken more harshly than intended because of lingering emotions.

 

“Then I should apologize later. After all, we’re participating in a big event together. It would be awkward if we ended up like enemies.”

 

“That’s a good idea. Oh, by the way—do you know why Lady Eskis collapsed? I heard she couldn’t breathe. Does she have asthma or something?”

 

“…Dayna, have you ever heard of something called ‘Invidia’?”

 

Letticia’s question seemed sudden, and Dayna tried to recall anything she might know.

 

“Hmm… I think I’ve heard of it before. What is it?”

 

“It’s a kind of flower. A rare one that’s grown in the southern regions of the East and West.”

 

“A flower…? Oh right! It was one of the products we were considering purchasing this quarter, but we gave up on it.”

 

Fortunately, Dayna seemed to have the information Letticia was hoping for.

 

“You gave up on it? Was there some kind of issue?”

 

“The supply was too limited. They couldn’t meet the volume we needed. Apparently, they’re already struggling to fulfill their existing contracts.”

 

“Do you know which merchants handle it?”

 

“Probably herbal tea and medicinal goods vendors. It’s usually dealt with by small, specialized merchants rather than large trading companies like ours.”

 

Hearing that it was a herb tea flower and handled by medicinal flower specialty merchants, Letticia tilted her head and asked.

 

“So they only trade the petals? There’s no chance of making bouquets with it for gifts or anything like that?”

 

“The flowers aren’t even big enough to make into a bouquet. I heard they just harvest the petals, dry them, and process them for use.”

 

That meant the likelihood of Invidia being in a bouquet was slim—unless someone deliberately hid some petals inside a bouquet.

 

“Wait… are you saying Lady Eskis collapsed because of Invidia? But as far as I know, Invidia isn’t toxic. If it were something like lily of the valley or monkshood, that I could understand…”

 

“It wasn’t poison. Apparently, she’s allergic to Invidia. That’s why she collapsed.”

 

“An allergy? Thank goodness it wasn’t something worse!”

 

Dayna exclaimed in disbelief, glaring toward the direction Audrey had exited.

 

“The Wallace Count’s family is the maternal side of the Eskis Marchioness’s family, and yet they couldn’t even manage something as basic as keeping allergens away from Lady Eskis? And they still act so arrogant—it’s disgusting.”

 

“We still don’t know exactly how the lady came into contact with Invidia. That’s for others to figure out.”

 

Letticia sat down and opened her music sheets. She’d satisfied her curiosity—now it was time to focus on her own responsibilities. After all, she wasn’t in charge of the investigation. Count Wallace and Achilles outside would be handling that.

 

Later, Seraphina returned to the waiting room, her complexion back to normal. After briefly syncing their performance, Letticia decided to play more softly, and they successfully took the stage.

 

Fortunately, the audience, all nobles who prided themselves on being cultured, responded with polite applause rather than boos, even though the performance of the two Diamonds had been interrupted earlier.

 

That applause continued throughout the rest of the concert, and when Seraphina’s delicate violin solo closed the program, the pleasant atmosphere carried over into the reception room, where refreshments were being served.