She entered the palace with John. The palace she first saw at the banquet was only a small part of it.
‘It’s much bigger than I thought.’
The villa where the guests stayed was smaller than the main palace, but it felt overwhelming.
‘Maybe that’s what they were aiming for.’
The guests of the royal family were usually powerful people who were on par with the royal family. So the royal family must be bragging about their power and trying to prevent anyone from daring to climb up.
‘I have no intention of going against the royal family.’
Queen Isabella, who came as a royal guest, decided to attend the tea party to see her. Of course, the other nobles of Royam were with her.
“Duchess Blanchett, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, it’s good to see you again.”
The noble ladies from the Kingdom of Royam bowed their heads in greeting.
“I’ve heard a lot from Her Majesty Isabella. She’s as beautiful as I’ve heard.”
“Yes. How can she be so beautiful…”
She smiled and welcomed them.
“You’re exaggerating. But I don’t see Diana?”
“She went to meet other imperial nobles on my behalf. It seems that we don’t have a chance to talk unless it’s before the hunting ball.”
The people who gathered as royal guests seemed to be interacting through a tea party before the festival began.
‘I haven’t made my official debut yet, so my position is ambiguous.’
To put it bluntly, it’s difficult to attend in principle, but if you wanted to, you could.
“Your Majesty, can you not go?”
“Who can say anything if I come here?”
When she opened her eyes, the other ladies laughed and added.
“Your Majesty, what you said is right. Duchess Blanchett doesn’t have to worry about it.”
“I’ve known the King of Royam for a long time, but this is the first time I’ve seen him like someone this much. How strange.”
“Nonsense.”
Queen Isabella shook her head and looked at the maid behind her.
“The Duchess said she was coming, so I brought the gift you showed interest in last time.”
The maid placed the gift on the table. An antique tapestry depicting ancient myths was spread out.
“You said there were other paintings, but you brought them all together.”
The tapestry seemed quite long, but it contained all the stories from the myths.
‘It even has a scene where an angel blesses the Holy Emperor to protect the Holy Nation.’
Queen Isabella nodded.
“That’s right. This is the tapestry I received from Duchess Blanchett. Of course, it wasn’t exactly like this, and I happened to get this last piece.”
Ancient myths were a subject used by many artists. However, the more delicately a painting depicted a myth, the more valuable it was.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a painting with such a detailed background.’
It was almost the first time she had seen a painting of the Holy Emperor receiving blessings from an angel. The other ladies were amazed at the tapestry.
“You gave me the Holy Tapestry as a gift. That’s the most precious thing of His Majesty the King…”
“I’m really jealous. Duchess Blanchett. His Majesty, aren’t you giving me a tapestry too?”
“Oh. Why, you guys. It might be burdensome for Duchess Blanchett.”
She thanked her and looked closely at the tapestry.
“Now that I think about it, there are trees near the Holy Emperor.”
For some reason, those trees kept catching my eye. Queen Isabella placed an emerald earring on the tapestry.
“It’s a gift the former Duchess gave me in return. It was something I received when I became friends with Duchess Blanchet, who provided me with necessary supplies.”
“Why such a precious item…?”
“These earrings are precious to me, too.”
Queen Isabella said in a longing, hushed voice.
“Because they were a gift from the former Duchess Blanchet, who was the first to help me after my husband’s death. For some reason, I felt I had to give them to her.”
She looked at the vivid emerald and thought.
‘John’s mother was a really good person.’
Patricia and Queen Isabella. It’s amazing that there were people who still miss her even after all this time.
“I will gratefully accept it.”
That was the moment she held the emerald earrings in her hand.
A tingle.
A strange electric current flowed through her fingertips. Suddenly, strange letters appeared behind a tree near the tapestry.
The letters were curved like fog, so I looked at them carefully.
‘Isid… dor?’
It was the name of the fairy who had turned into a black vine the other day.
‘Why is that fairy’s name here?’
The ladies began talking about high society.
“I heard that many young men want to swear a knighthood oath to Saint Stella?”
“This time, a young man who wants to propose has come forward. There’s no law that says a saint can’t get married.”
She continued to stare at the name, completely unable to focus on the ladies’ conversation. The trees, sensing her inner turmoil, groaned.
-Why is Isidor’s name here?
-There must have been something about that fairy. It feels familiar, but I can’t remember where I heard it, so why…
-We have to find out who the ugly bastard is after that fairy. He must be the one who put a curse on you! Nothing is going to happen quickly.
-If even you, the last fairy, are wrong, what will happen to us…
-You guys, stop saying such ominous things! What will happen if you do what you say?
She slowly answered the trees’ words.
-It’s okay. At least something came out.
-Yeah, how fortunate that the former Duchess Blanchett happened to find something like that.
-But, is this really a coincidence?
John’s mother said she was very interested in ancient history. It’s not strange that she had an ancient myth tapestry.
‘Somehow, it doesn’t seem like a coincidence…’
At that time, another lady spoke to her.
“Duchess Blanchett, are you tired?”
“Oh, no. I was looking at the tapestry for a moment and lost my mind.”
It would have been a bit against etiquette, but as expected of Queen Isabella’s closest associates, they seemed to enjoy it even more.
“I’m so happy that you like the King’s representative’s gift so much. Your Majesty, would you like it? You’ve been searching the entire United Kingdom once more to get that last tapestry.”
“Well, be quiet.”
Queen Isabella sipped her tea and changed the subject.
“So what happened to Lady Stella?”
The other lady nodded and spoke again.
“I heard that Crown Prince Carlos and Lady Stella have become partners. I heard that they’re not just partners, but lovers.”
“Some time ago, other nobles saw the two of them taking a cozy walk in the palace gardens.”
“I heard that the two of you knew each other in the past?”
She tilted her head.
‘The Saint and the Crown Prince have been so close? Since when?’
Anyway, if the two of them meet, it’s a good thing for her.
‘The saint won’t do anything strange to John anymore, right?’
Queen Isabella frowned slightly.
“Saint Stella. I guess we should watch to see if she performs the purification ritual properly this time. I wonder if she’ll make a ‘mistake’ like she did last time.”
“Yes, we should watch closely.”
The other ladies nodded, remembering the saint telling them about Mireyu’s fake pregnancy.
‘Judging by the atmosphere, it seems like it would be difficult to completely turn things around with just a little appearance.’
Of course, she also had her doubts about the saint.
‘What exactly is she trying to do in the purification ritual?’
* * *
John discussed the reason behind the attack with the Blanchet Duchess’ vassals.
“The biggest problem is that there are no clues. No traces of forbidden magic have been found.”
“Your lord has not found anything.”
The Blanchet family’s vassals were well aware of John’s magical skills.
“Perhaps it was an attack targeting the entire Blanchet family. Isn’t it rare for someone to use that much black magic?”
“There must be a large group behind it…”
“My lord. What would be a good way to investigate?”
John’s red eyes, which had been quietly listening, sank coldly.
“Keep all possibilities open, but keep an eye out for any suspicious signs, especially around the imperial family and the Holy Land. Double the number of spies we’ve been sending.”
John furrowed his eyebrows at the familiar headache. The vassals sensed John’s discomfort and took cover.
‘It was a black magic circle of a form I’ve never seen before.’
After destroying the black magic circle that had been persistently trying to attack Estelle, a strange change occurred in John’s black magic.
‘What on earth is that energy?’
The black magic circle contained an unknown power that he didn’t know about. John collected that unknown power separately in order to find out who was behind it. However, no matter how hard he tried to find out, he couldn’t figure out what kind of power it was.
‘It’s not an ordinary power.’
At that moment, a voice rang in his mind.
‘Thank goodness. Now we can run away?’
‘This might not be of much help, but it’s better than nothing, right?’
‘It’s that voice again.’
After destroying the black magic circle, he started hearing this voice over and over again.
‘It seems to be related to my childhood. Who is the owner of that voice?’
After the meeting ended, Erich, who had stayed behind, approached John cautiously.
“I have something to tell you about your wife’s illness.”
“What is it?”
“Maybe there was a problem with the treatment the saint gave at the temple.”
John’s eyes quickly became filled with murderous intent.
“What is that?”
“It happened when Madam collapsed in the temple. A man named Cardinal Simon showed an incomprehensible reaction while treating Madam.”
“Tell me more specifically.”
“While he was infusing divine power to cure Madam, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat as if he saw something scary. Then he looked at the saintess who came in with a disgusted look. It seems like there is something hidden between Madam’s illness and the saintess’s treatment.”
Erich tried to contact Cardinal Simon to investigate the situation further and report. However, Cardinal Simon was locked up in the temple, making it difficult to meet him separately.
In the end, Erich decided to report to John first and come up with a new solution.
After hearing Erich’s report, John leaned back in his chair. John’s long index finger tapped the armrest of the chair.
“Erich, the Holy Land is an opponent that cannot be touched carelessly.”
“I know.”
“So, use all the power of Duchess Blanchett to approach as carefully as possible.”
Erich sternly slapped his fist against his chest.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Now that John has given his permission, the investigation will be completed quickly.
‘After all, telling the master was the right thing to do.’
At that moment, John stopped Erich who was about to leave.
“What do you think is the possibility that the Holy Nation is involved in this attack?”
“The Holy Nation?”
Common sense tells us that black magicians are the most opposed to the Holy Nation. Even Erich was surprised and opened his eyes wide. Erich answered with a trailing voice.
“Are you keeping the Holy Nation in mind?”
“Go ahead.”
John did not answer. However, Erich seemed to have already heard the answer.
‘The culprit could be the Holy Nation?’
Erich felt fearful. The aura emanating from John was unusual.
‘The Master’s appearance is…’
It was the same appearance he had when he had taken revenge on the Libertan Dukes.
* * *
“Duke Blanchet, come in.”
“You don’t have to follow me as an escort.”
John moved straight to the palace where Estelle was waiting.
‘Estelle.’
Looking at the black magic circle, Estelle, who seemed to have something in common, came to mind.
‘Did you see that when you were cursed by the Duke of Libertan?’
The vassals thought that Estelle was being targeted as a threat to the Duke of Blanchet, but John’s intuition told him that Estelle herself was being targeted.
‘Why are you targeting Estelle?’
The thought that Estelle’s life was in danger made his stomach turn.
‘No matter what your intentions are, I won’t let you off easy.’
At that moment, footsteps were heard from across the hallway.
“Oh my.”
Stella, a saint wearing a pure white silk dress, was walking toward John. The saint smiled faintly and greeted John.
“Hello, John. It’s nice to see you here again.”
John frowned at the sight of the saint who suddenly appeared in front of him.
‘What is that woman doing here, talking like that?’
John wanted to brush away that annoying face. His red eyes, filled with murderous intent, turned to the saint.
‘The saint has not yet undergone the purification ritual that the emperor expects.’
If there was a problem with the saint here, she would be at odds with the emperor.
‘I have already kicked the saint out with the emperor’s authority.’
The saint looked at John and bashfully folded her hands. She rolled her blue eyes and licked her round lips.
“I don’t know if the Duke knows.”
At that moment, Stella fluttered her eyelashes slightly in a sad manner before returning to her usual elegant face.
“His Majesty has rejected my request for you to be my guardian.”
“Even if it weren’t for His Majesty, I would have rejected it.”
The guardianship system of the saint was different from the general guardianship system. Because the noble saintess was treated as the highest-ranking woman in the noble family, she was treated with the utmost respect. So if he had become the guardian of the saintess, John had to escort the saintess at official functions instead of his wife, Estelle.
Just like he had become the saintess’s companion.
“The guardianship system of the saintess is completely different from other guardianship systems.”
“W-Was that so?”
“What on earth were you thinking when you did something like that?”
Honestly, John was still worried that Estelle might be anxious because of Saint Stella.
“My wife almost got insulted because of you. Of course, it was also tiring.”
At that moment, Stella’s eyes trembled and a light tear formed between them.
“Oh my… I didn’t know that.”
“You just didn’t know?”
“I just thought it would be nice if the Duke of Blanchet, who I had a connection with, became my guardian.”
Stella, who was looking at John with moist eyes, smiled elegantly again.
“I think I misunderstood the guardianship system. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
An elegant smile that seemed to show some effort. It seemed like she was trying to save face as a saint, but it also revealed her delicate inner feelings. But John was dumbfounded.
‘What are you talking about?’
The saint bowed her head slightly to John, elegantly adjusting her posture. Then she spoke to John in a pitiful voice.
“I shed a few tears without realizing it.”
“…”
“I shouldn’t be like this as a saint. I feel like I only show my ugly side to the Duke.”
The saint straightened her hair, revealing her white neckline.
“I wonder if it’s because I always think of myself in the secular world whenever I meet the Duke. I was once a lady of a noble family.”
Stella, who approached John, smiled innocently.
“I guess that’s why I want to be better friends with the Duke.”
A clear face that seemed to have no intentions, a voice that whispered softly as if telling a secret.
“So, would you be my partner at this hunting ball?”
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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