My Will Did Not Mean This

“Do not say.”

Aslan’s gaze as he glared at the chamberlain was fierce. However, the power of the Grand Duke’s residence was already clearly tilted towards Vivian.

A master as big and great as Taesan couldn’t even make a sound at a single word from his delicate fiancée. From the beginning, the winner of this battle of wits was already determined.

“It seems like the master is worried about you. I wonder if you are forcing yourself to accept the Marchioness’s invitation to apologize for Sir Dylan’s rudeness.”

“Why did you think that?”

“My master punished Sir Dylan as soon as he heard about the small disturbance that occurred at the hospital yesterday and the fact that Madame had sent an apology to the marquis’ residence.”

The chamberlain finished his remarks smoothly, as if he had prepared them in advance. Meanwhile, Vivian blinked blankly for a moment at an answer that was completely different from what she expected.

She thought Aslan would be curious about the results of his treatment at the hospital. If his remaining life expectancy increases, the political stance he must take will also have to change.

“Now that I think about it, I can’t see Dylan.”

“Hanging upside down on the parade ground… No, he is receiving etiquette training.”

The chamberlain, who had entered old age, slyly bowed his head, ignoring Aslan’s terrifying eyes. The chamberlain was a servant whom even Aslan, who was picky about people, recognized. The mistake I made just now was not a mistake, but a request. He wants me to save Dylan.

Vivian nodded her head softly and bit the chamberlain.

“Tsk, you don’t even know the owner anymore.”

“You punish the Sioux for something like that. It is true that Dylan made a mistake, but it led to a good relationship, so in the end, it was a good thing, right?”

“Still, a mistake is a mistake. I dared to make you bow down in front of others, so I plan to replace your guard with another knight from a noble family so that something like this never happens again.”

“Don’t do that.”

She barely managed to make Dylan her paw pad, so where should she send him?

“Do you know how much I shrugged my shoulders when the Marchioness recognized Dylan? I was very envious of you because I thought you had the utmost respect for me.”

Vivian had a knack for moving her head and mouth apart. As she came up with a plausible reason, Aslan’s stern expression softened a little.

“…Right.”

“So you forgive Dylan?”

As Vivian gently bent his eyes, Aslan’s sinister golden eyes eventually melted like honey.

“If you want.”

And the employees who watched this were able to reflect once again on who the real power of the Grand Duke’s residence was.

＊ ＊ ＊

In the carriage heading to the marquis’ residence, Vivian slowly reviewed the information the chamberlain had given her.

Celia Bastian. Age 27. She has been married to the Marquis for 10 years and she was very beautiful. However, she was naturally weak and did not have children yet. She had a huge complex about this, so it was best to avoid talking about children as much as possible.

“Hmm, nothing difficult.”

The Marchioness was a completely different type of person than the people Vivian had interacted with in the past. The only guests she invited were people with whom she had little contact. In many ways, it was a completely stress-free environment for Vivian.

‘I guess I can just keep an eye on her, change her medicine, and get out of there.’

She tinted her eyes with the eye supplement she had purchased earlier in a dried rose color.

It would still take her a while to give her young lady some good medicine for her presbyopia, but whatever she took would be better than the quack’s damn medicine.

While she was lost in her thoughts, the carriage arrived at the Marquis Bastian’s.

Even though it was earlier than she had promised, the Marchioness came out to the entrance of her mansion and welcomed Vivian.

“Welcome, princess. It was a sudden invitation, but thank you for accepting.”

“Thank you for inviting me. These are tea leaves from the eastern Valdiva region, and I brought them because I thought it would be nice to add them to today’s tea party.”

“Oh my, this precious thing…”

She looked at the box Vivian held out and blinked her eyes in surprise. Tea leaves from the Valdiva region were more expensive per gram than gold. Of course, it wasn’t something that anyone with money could buy.

Vivian described it as an accompaniment, but she could not use the highest quality tea leaves for that purpose.

“I’m glad the princess came early. If she hurries a little, she can reorganize the dessert to match the tea leaves.”

“May I? I don’t know if I’ve caused the lady trouble for no reason.”

“Don’t think like that. All you have to do is take a look at the kitchen.”

The lady smiled gently and shook her head. Then she called the maid Jean and asked him to lead Vivian to her drawing room first.

Vivian carefully observed the structure of the Marquis’ residence under the guidance of the owner. Fortunately, the scale of the mansion was not large, and the lady’s inner room was not far from the drawing room.

As Vivian sat down on her sofa, her maid Jean bowed her head.

“Madam’s request was to make her princess as comfortable as possible. If you need anything, please let me know.”

“I am very grateful just for words. What I really need…”

“Princess?”

“Cough, cou!”

Vivian quickly covered her mouth with her handkerchief and rummaged through her bag. Her maid Jang’s expression also became urgent due to her urgent movements.

“Princess, are you okay?”

“I don’t have any cough medicine. I always carried it with me in preparation for times like this… Cough!”

No one in the capital knew that Vivian had a severe lung disease. This was because the royal family and Eleonora had a history of being turned upside down due to the incident with her will.

Her entire explanation ended with her coughing repeatedly as if she was running out of breath.

“Well, I’ll go to the medicine room now and get some cough medicine!”

Jean, the maid, left her parlour, looking pale, and Vivian, left alone, stopped coughing and lowered her handkerchief.

The corners of her mouth turned up in a cool line.

‘Hehe, everything went according to plan.’

From arriving early and giving tea leaves as her gift to her maid Jean running out, it was all according to Vivian’s account. It couldn’t have been this easy to come out after dealing with only the employees of the Grand Duke’s residence where there was no room for even a needle to fit.

Vivian hurried into the Marchioness’s bedroom. The medicine was placed in the dresser drawer, as was usual for other noble ladies. It took less than three minutes to change the medicine and safely return to the living room.

‘I wish you good eye health.’

While Vivian sat back and cheered on the lady’s clear vision, the cough medicine finally arrived. However, unexpectedly, the person who brought the medicine was not the head maid, but the Marchioness.

“I heard you started having seizures! Are you okay?”

“Co-cough!”

“Hurry and swallow this medicine. Take your breathing slow.”

The woman handed Vivian the medicine mixed in juice and ran her hands down Vivian’s back. She must have been running so fast that her forehead was wet with sweat and glistening.

Vivian awkwardly repeated her coughing and rolled her eyes back and forth.

‘No, why are you doing the work that employees should do?!’

The lady’s sincere response stimulated Vivian’s delicate conscience.

She was planning to leave first, using the excuse of having an attack of lung disease, but when she saw the maid Jang running towards her, panting, her conscience became even more strained.

‘Damn it, I have a weakness for nice people!’

The lady even offered to take care of Vivian by massaging her pale hands. Vivian eventually raised the white flag in response to the three-stage attack on goodness.

“Thank you so much, ma’am.”

“Are you okay now? Do you mind if I don’t lie down?”

“The cough medicine works well. The seizures subsided quickly.”

“The medicine was prepared by the family doctor, and I am so glad that it worked well. I will tell you to send the prescription to the Grand Duke’s residence soon.”

The Marchioness was helpful and she smiled with pride.

＊ ＊ ＊

The guests arrived one by one and the tea party finally began. However, amidst the friendly conversation, Vivian sensed something strange.

“It’s tea from the Valdiva region. Thanks to the princess, we can taste this precious item.”

“The colors of the tea leaves are truly beautiful. But the dessert to go with it… Isn’t it a bit out of character?”

“I know, right. Everything is so ordinary and banal that it looks like some kind of food sold on the street.”

Excluding Vivian, who would soon become a member of the imperial family, the Marchioness status was the highest among these.

Nevertheless, Vivian felt that others were ignoring the Marchioness. It was also to flatter Vivian, whom he met for the first time.

“What do you think, Celia?”

“My knowledge is limited, so I didn’t pay much attention to that.”

“You sure don’t feel bad, do you? We are all giving this advice for Celia.”

“Sure…”

The Marchioness, Celia, was clearly not a social person. A person like this would be perfect for being bitten to pieces, leaving behind nothing but bones. Moreover, the members of the Tea Party all came from foreign families. It was clearly visible that he was trying to use the Marchioness as a stepping stone to climb to a higher place.

‘Tsk, if my husband finds out, he’ll be rotten to the core.’

It couldn’t have been pleasant for the lady to be ignored like this.

If she found out the truth, she would definitely not stay still, but the Marchioness, who was probably a kind person, seemed to be hiding what was happening to her from her husband. Anyway, it was someone else’s business. Vivian had no intention of interfering.

“By the way, did you hear it? They say the medical techniques of the doctor who came from the Eastern Continent this time are so mysterious.”

“I heard it too. It is said that even patients who were on the verge of death can feel their pain subside and become full of vitality as long as they take his medicine. I heard that you also received treatment from him. What was it like seeing you in person?”

She was really scared of the rumors. It was only yesterday that she went to the hospital, but word has already spread so far.

Vivian nodded her head in satisfaction.

“Yes, it definitely worked well. It’s all thanks to His Majesty the Crown Prince’s hard work. Did she see the effect, ma’am?”

“I haven’t tried the medicine yet. I’m really excited to hear what she has to say.”

“Celia, have you been to the hospital too? Where are you hurting?”

“It’s definitely a child problem.”

Others who were listening to the conversation between Vivien and the Marchioness covered their mouths with fans and laughed.

“If you give a little water to a dry field, will it sprout? Seeing as there hasn’t been any news for ten years, I don’t think even weeds will grow.”

“…”

It was like that. Vivian had no intention of interfering. Until the Baroness crossed the line hard.

 

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