At the same time, the central palace.
“I beg your pardon, but His Majesty is currently away.”
On purpose, she visited the central palace just in time to have lunch with him, but all she received was the answer that he wasn’t there.
Narrowing her gaze, Tanya questioned the palace servant at the central palace.
“Where is His Majesty now, then? I’m sure His Majesty didn’t have a lunch appointment today.”
“That’s…”
“Don’t think about deceiving me. Answer me straight.”
Tanya opened her eyes bitterly and asked the servant.
“Where is His Majesty?”
“That’s…”
“No way.”
At that moment, an ominous thought passed through Tanya’s head. She murmured in surprise.
“Don’t tell me, Camer Palace…”
“…”
“That’s right.”
With a chilling smile on her lips, Tanya understood the situation completely.
“So, His Majesty…”
With a cold expression, Tanya continued to mutter before decisively turning on her heels.
Without questioning her destination, her attendants could only wear anxious expressions. They couldn’t dare ask where she was going, as it would create a tense atmosphere if they were to ask something wrong at this moment.
“Is it here?”
And finally, it was Pristin’s Camer Palace that Tanya reached. Tanya glared at the palace as if it too was Pristin, but then she stepped into the palace without hesitation. One of the ladies-in-waiting tried to intervene.
“Princess, please go back…”
“Why are you blocking me? Are you afraid I’m going to cause some trouble?”
“That’s…”
“Don’t worry. I’m not that foolish either.”
Tanya continued on her journey, and finally, Aruvina noticed her.
‘Why is Princess Gennant here…’
Aruvina thought she had misunderstood at first, but it was clearly Tanya Gennant who was getting closer. Aruvina approached her with a slightly perplexed face.
“Princess Gennant.”
“I’m here to see the countess.”
Tanya asked with a smile around her mouth.
“Where is she?”
“Well… it’s a bit complicated right now.”
“Why?”
“She has guests and is currently having a meal. If you have any important matters, please let me know and I will pass on the message.”
“No, I came to have a meal with her.”
In that moment, ninety percent of Tanya’s disbelief turned into certainty.
“If she’s already having a meal, it’ll be troublesome. Tell her I’ll join her for a meal another time.”
“Yes, Princess. I will.”
“Okay. Take care.”
Tanya smiled pretentiously and then turned around without hesitation.
There was no need for her to go all the way to the dining hall. It was obvious who would be there, and it would only fuel her anger. She had learned a valuable lesson, and it was enough for her to turn back now.
‘As expected.’
Tanya thought with a subdued look in her eyes.
‘I’ll have to deal with that woman first.’
As long as Pristin was alive and well within the palace, all her plans would go up in smoke. In that case, eliminating her would cleanly solve the problem.
So her only option was to remove her.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
And it was a few days later.
“I have a letter from Shrun Palace, Your Excellency.”
“From Shrun Palace?”
When Pristin was puzzled by the unfamiliar name, Aruvina hurriedly added, as if she had forgotten.
“That is the palace where Princess Tanya Gennant is staying.”
“Ah.”
Pristin’s eyebrows narrowed slightly when the sender said Tanya. She didn’t like her very much.
Pristin accepted Tanya’s letter from Aruvina with a quizzical expression. The contents were approximately as follows.
—We would like to host a tea party at Shrun Palace a week from now. We would be grateful if you could grace us with your presence.
The polite tone didn’t match Tanya, who had shown hostility toward her since their first meeting. So just as she was panicking, Aruvina asked.
“What does it say?”
“She’s planning to hold a tea party in a week and is asking me to attend.”
“You were invited to a tea party?”
Aruvina was surprised by Pristin’s words, and soon opened her mouth as if she had forgotten something.
“Come to think of it, Princess Gennant came when you were having lunch with His Majesty the other day.”
“And what happened?”
“Nothing. I just told her that you were already eating with someone else, and she turned around without a fuss, saying she would like to have a meal together another time.”
“Did you tell her it was His Majesty?”
“No. That was naturally kept a secret.”
“What is she up to?”
Pristin murmured, her expression indicating her complete bewilderment.
“As far as I know, Princess Gennant hates me.”
“Well, now that she is officially a candidate for empress, she may have realized that it is beneficial to be friendly with the countess…”
“But she still sees me as a rival. It’s suspicious.”
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, Your Excellency. She probably sent this letter to all ten empress candidates anyway. And attendance is optional.”
However, if she didn’t go, she didn’t know how Tanya would spread malicious rumors about her. Pristin agonized for a moment and opened her mouth.
“I should send a reply stating that I will attend.”
“Are you really going?”
“It’s probably better than not going and feeling uneasy.”
Pristin smiled calmly and spoke to Aruvina.
“Please bring me some paper and a pen.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
A week later, it was the day for Pristin to go to Tanya’s tea party.
“I’m actually a little worried.”
A maid said in a concerned tone while she dressed Pristin beautifully.
“Did Princess Gennant really invite the countess for a good cause?”
“What… I’ll have to go and find out.”
Pristin quelled the maid’s concerns with a calm voice.
“I don’t think you have to be scared already. Don’t worry too much.”
“You’re so strong, Your Excellency. You’re cool.”
“What do you mean cool…”
“Are you not ready yet?”
Then Aruvina’s voice came from behind. The maid, who was talking to Pristin, replied quickly.
“No, she’s almost done.”
“Hmmm…”
Aruvina, who approached Pristin, soon smiled and said a word.
“You’re very pretty today, Your Excellency.”
“Thank you, Madame Korsol.”
“You should start getting up soon, or you might be late.”
Pristin slowly rose from her seat and finally stood before the full-body mirror to check her appearance. Pristin’s reflection in the mirror was very beautiful.
Her long black hair was well-groomed, flowing gently onto her waist. The cobalt blue dress that hugged her body exuded an elegant and luxurious atmosphere. The accessories adorned with pearls and diamonds added a beautiful aura to her overall look.
Pristin thought she looked good enough and slowly stepped out of the room.
The distance from the central palace to Shrun Palace was quite far, just as the distance from Camer Palace to Shrun Palace was. Pristin had to walk for quite some time before finally arriving at Shrun Palace.
A palace maid from the Shrun Palace greeted her affectionately.
“Countess Rosewell, come this way.”
Pristin followed the maid’s guidance and walked toward the reception room. As she neared her destination, she could faintly hear the voices and laughter of women from inside. The palace maids opened the doors on both sides, and Pristin gracefully walked through them.
“Ah, Countess Rosewell has arrived.”
Tanya greeted Pristin with a warm smile.
“Welcome, Countess Rosewell. Thank you for coming.”
“No, Princess. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Please have a seat.”
As she spoke, Tanya conveniently placed Pristin on the chair opposite her. Pristin felt a slight burden to sit directly facing Tanya while drinking tea, but she sat down without showing any signs of discomfort.
After confirming that Pristin had taken her seat, Tanya finally opened her mouth with a proud expression.
“Ah, it seems like everyone has gathered. I’m really delighted that everyone could attend.”
Tanya said without diminishing her bright smile.
“I really wanted to get together like this at least once. It’s been a while since the empress candidates entered the palace, but we’ve never gathered together, have we?”
“That’s right. Thank you for creating this opportunity.”
“It’s nice to see each other’s faces thanks to you.”
“We are in the same position, barely leaving the palace until the empress is chosen. It’s nice to see each other often.”
As they shared the position of being the potential empress, the ten candidates quickly created a lively and friendly atmosphere.
However, Pristin felt a bit uncomfortable in this setting. She was the only one who was not a potential empress among them.
‘It seems like this gathering was organized to solidify the positions among the candidates…’
She couldn’t understand why she was invited to this event. If anything, Tanya, for some reason, should have avoided inviting her, perhaps to keep her in check. Or was it to showcase her own position in society and exert pressure on Pristin?
While Pristin was struggling with her thoughts, one of the candidates unexpectedly spoke up.
“But I didn’t expect Countess Rosewell to be invited as well.”
One of the candidates said in a surprised tone. Pristin turned her head.
“Oh, please, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean to say that you shouldn’t have come. I just meant that it was unexpected.”
“Countess Rosewell is now staying in the Imperial Palace, so I thought it would be okay to have a good time together.”
“Oh, I see!”
“As expected, Princess Gennant, you have a truly deep understanding. To think you had such thoughts!”
“Such consideration, I must learn from that.”
While Pristin remained silent, the young ladies next to her applauded and exclaimed in admiration. Pristin found the sight somewhat ridiculous, but she simply smiled and nodded in agreement.
‘I have no idea what their intentions are, but it’s probably best for me to quietly observe and then leave.’
Sipping her well-brewed tea, Pristin passively participated in the conversation. In truth, the gathering revolved mainly around the host, Tanya, so Pristin didn’t feel out of place by staying relatively quiet. The atmosphere of the tea gathering had reached its peak when Tanya suddenly raised her hand as if she had remembered something.
“Oh, by the way.”
Tanya clapped her hands as if she had forgotten something.
“Come to think of it, I have something for all of you.”
