Everywhere in the Marquessate of Rodian was hectic. Everyone who belonged there took on more work than usual. She couldn’t see anyone walking around leisurely. Even Butler Saur, who emphasized that even low-status servants should not harm the marquis’s name, and therefore should never make loud noises, jumped up and down the stairs two or three at a time.
“Are the curtains and carpets ready?”
“Is this the only twenty-year-old fruit liquor?”
“Stop, stop! The crest is crooked!”
There was only one day left until the visit date announced by Dowager Queen Griselda. She recklessly said that since she had already departed, she would arrive in five days, she was not a person who could refuse, pointing out his rudeness.
She was the mother of the king. They couldn’t even resist the Duke of Galloway’s request for a visit, so what would they do with the most dignified person in the royal family?
Moreover, the dowager queen’s premarital name was Griselda Rodian. Since it was a relationship between an aunt and a nephew with the current marquis, it was not a complete visit from an outsider, but an outing to the dowager queen’s family. The purpose of the dowager queen’s visit was also related to her. A few days ago, the marquis, who had been in an uncomfortable silence in a confrontation with Edith, had to face a messenger from the royal family who had suddenly arrived.
The messenger handed the dowager queen’s handwritten letter in a polite manner. It was written as follows. Dear Rodian, I was worried that our Rodian would be in danger without an heir since you have been single all this time, but I heard that you are engaged to a woman you like and are living together in the marquessate. I believe it was probably because the royal capital was cluttered, and out of consideration for this aunt, you didn’t inform me. But now that our majesty has taken the throne and the capital is at peace, there is no reason to ignore it as her late aunt and member of Rodian. It happened that I missed my hometown of Silverglen very much. I want to visit as soon as possible to soothe my nostalgia, meet my nephew and his prospective wife, and talk about marriage.
You can accept this aunt’s kindness without feeling burdened; it’s all right. Don’t prepare an overly lavish reception for the guests, just wait patiently. With affection, Griselda Helen Rodian Dunkeld. What the messenger brought was not only this letter. He subtly implied that the queen’s arrival is indeed ‘soon,’ pretending not to notice the marquis’s awkward expression.
「So how many days?」
「If there are no complications, there are five days left.」
「…Huh.」
The marquis immediately called in his aides. Edith was also called in and sat down. Despite having just said she would quit moments ago, one might find it audacious for her to be present, but the rest of the advisory members naturally took care of Edith.
She was also very curious about this, so she shut her mouth and stepped in. Having put their heads together, they were able to assume the name that was the main culprit of this situation after a short argument.
Viola Galloway, and Duke of Galloway. The father and daughter, whose marriage proposal was greatly rejected without conscience, must have played some trick against the dowager queen.
The Duke of Galloway’s political past had hardly earned the favor of the Dowager Queen or Queen Regina. Because he supported Princess Trisha, who competed with Regina for her throne and lost.
Even when his successor, or the successor next to him, succeeded to the ducal throne, there was no way to restore his former power. However, even so, the burden the queen had to bear was not insignificant to destroy the Galloway ducal family itself.
Above all, the new queen had a much worse enemy. In order to exact her proper revenge on that side, she needed to have mercy on Galloway.
The Duke of Galloway was able to find a way out under the queen’s connivance. For example, marriage with the queen’s mother’s family, Rodian. However, as everyone knows, it fell apart due to the strong refusal of the Marquis of Rodian himself.
It ended with a pretty embarrassing incident, too. The marquis gritted his teeth in displeasure.
「Shame on you.」
Instead of gracefully stepping back, she ended up making the Dowager Queen think about tightening control over the relatives. Those present nodded in agreement as a show of support. Edith was no exception. However, as urgent as the situation with Galloway was, they had to handle the immediate crisis first. The marquis rubbed his temple as if his head was throbbing.
「It’s impossible not to let Her Royal Majesty come.」
What could he even say! Although she was born in the same family and was an aunt, Dowager Queen Griselda was not a very friendly opponent.
She was the mother who gave birth to and raised a determined princess, eventually leading her to conquer kingdoms. As the dowager queen had instructed, even if he was Lord Rodian, he had no choice but to obediently follow her lead. Especially in this case, as stated in the letter, he had to be with his fake fiancée.
「I hope you understand.」
「No, it can’t be helped.」
In other words, the marquis had to have a fiancée until the Dowager Queen came and left. In that case, what Edith strongly wanted and insisted on could not be done right away.
Edith understood the marquis’s embarrassment and accepted his request generously. Anyway, the Argyle family was a vassal to the great marquis, and he was also a person who enriched Edith’s life for not a short time.
It was just like that. That much alone was enough reason not to turn a blind eye to the marquis’s difficulties. Edith continued to repeat so while directing the dowager queen’s visit arrangements as the marquis’s fiancée.
“Lady Argyle.”
“Yes, butler.”
Butler Saur was waiting to check the rooms of the dowager queen and other attendants she would bring.
The butler was a man who knew everything that happened in the marquessate. So he would also know what happened between the marquis and Edith. But he didn’t express a word, nor did he express it with his eyes. Also after hearing Edith’s fake fiancée role had been extended to the dowager queen’s visit, he had no comment. It was a deacon-like attitude of the noble family, but it was appreciated.
“The clothes that have been repaired have arrived.”
“Oh, yes. Should I try it on?”
“I think you’d better do it while the seamstress is here.”
But it was burdensome to treat her like a real fiancée, or more, that is, like a marchioness. It was also a problem that the butler spoke and acted like that, and the subordinates did the same. Edith smiled awkwardly and headed for the marchioness’s room. The tailors and assistants who were waiting bowed at ninety degrees to greet them.
“Lady Argyle, long time no see.”
“I see, Madame Burry.”
In truth, even the expression “long time no see” was an understatement. It was unclear how many years ago was the last time Madame Burry made clothes.
Until now, there was no time to pay attention to decorating or events that required decent clothes, so the clothes she had were enough. Therefore, as a preliminary or fake preliminary mistress of the house, there were no clothes to wear when welcoming the dowager queen.
Several people were quite troubled by this problem. The dowager queen designated only five days later as a visit day, and it was impossible to build new clothes in that time. Edith, as a desperate measure, opened the marchioness’s wardrobe, which had long been closed.
“It was an honor to be able to handle the marchioness’s clothes.”
“Thank you for taking over the time-consuming task.”
“Let’s check. These are the clothes that have been mended to fit the lady’s size…”
And three days ago, Burry was called in at dawn. She was the only seamstress of the marquessate, who had taken root in Silverglen since her grandmother’s time, and was still holding out on a small income.
It was also the best quality within the area where they could travel within a day. Therefore, Edith left all the work to her without hesitation.
From picking out clothes that were not fashionable from the previous marchioness’s clothes to changing even the smallest parts while adjusting them to her body.
Her theory was that the most effective way to spend money is to leave it to an expert and pay for it. Today’s results showed that the idea was right, too. The dresses, trimmed like new ones, hung neatly and glistened. Edith smiled satisfactorily and nodded.
“This is a token of appreciation for entrusting us with the work.”
She even got a bonus! Looking in the direction Barry was pointing at, there were two dresses hanging. One for everyday wear, the other for street wear. The fabric itself was difficult to call high-end, but it looked pretty good with careful tailoring and embroidery.
“I didn’t make it by order, so I just kept it as a sample, but I would love to offer it to Lady Argyle if you think it will suit you well.”
“Oh, thank you. I’ll wear it well.”
Of course, it seemed like a good intention not to wish for anything in words, but in reality, the merchant’s intention was to get the deal right.
Edith recognized that intention at once, but she smiled without showing it. She didn’t seem to know that she had seen through her thoughts of abandoning her, perhaps because she hadn’t run into her often.
“I’m ashamed of my lack of skills, but I’d be happy if you could try it on and come back if you like it.”
“Ah, that would be nice.”
“I will bring in some spring clothes for Lady Argyle.”
Look at this. She wasn’t annoyed. It wasn’t like they directly asked her to buy their clothes, and this much marketing was reasonable enough.
It would be difficult for a merchant to refrain from doing big business at Silverglen and think that a big opportunity has come. Unfortunately, Edith, who Burry had identified as a potential major customer, planned to leave Silverglen before the season changed. She hadn’t spoken about it to the marquis or anyone else yet, but in her heart, she had made a decision.
“Well, I’m even more grateful to hear that. Let’s try on the clothes we brought.”
“Of course you should, Lady Argyle. Let me help you change.”
Edith didn’t respond to Burry’s words and simply accepted them, brushing it off. Then, she repeated to herself that this was also part of her job and began trying on the marchioness’s clothes.
What she hadn’t considered was that not only Madame Burry but also the maids in the marquessate saw this time as a very special event. For Edith, as long as the clothes fit well and were not uncomfortable, she thought it was sufficient.
However, it was a completely different story for the others, who approached the situation with a different perspective.
