“I have something for all of you.”
“Oh my.”
At Tanya’s words, someone asked with a twinkle in her eye.
“Is it a gift?”
“Yes—that’s right.”
Tanya smiled and winked at the maids behind her. The maids soon brought something one after another and handed it to the ten guests.
The candidates eagerly unwrapped the gifts, revealing a box that seemed to hold six teacups.
“What is this, Princess Gennant?”
“Go ahead and open the rest. I hope you like it.”
At that, everyone there quickly unwrapped the gift. Pristin also carefully tore open the outer wrapper and opened the box.
And what was in the box, if unexpectedly simple, was a simple gift.
“Oh, what is this?”
“It’s soap.”
Tanya said with a proud look.
“It’s a special soap imported from abroad. I received a lot of them this time, and I can’t use them all by myself, so I thought I’d share them with all of you.”
“Oh, it really is a precious soap!”
“And the scent is so lovely!”
“Yes, it’s made with honey and milk, so it’s great for moisturizing the skin. It also contains a lot of fragrant flowers.”
“Thank you, Princess Gennant. I’ll use it well.”
“I really love the scent!”
“If you try it and like it, let me know. I have more at home, and I’ll give you another gift.”
“Wow, thank you!”
With this unexpected gift, the atmosphere became even more joyful. As the tea gathering came to an end, everyone reluctantly said their goodbyes.
“Let’s meet often from now on, okay?”
“That’s a good idea. We don’t have much to do in the palace anyway.”
“Should we meet at Shrun Palace next time?”
“That’s fine, or I can invite all of you to my palace.”
“Today was really enjoyable!”
Everyone broke up in a pleasant atmosphere, and Pristin was also about to return to Camer Palace with the soap she had received as a gift.
“It must be quite tiring for you to walk all the way to Camer Palace.”
Tanya’s voice came in, and Pristin turned slowly and looked at her.
“It’s a long distance, and your feet must be hurting. What should we do?”
“I’ll be fine if I walk quickly. Thank you for your concern.”
Pristin spoke to Tanya, maintaining as mild a smile as possible.
“I’ll make good use of the soap you gave me. The scent is really nice.”
“I’m glad you liked it. I was worried because scents can be subjective.”
Tanya affectionately reached out to Pristin.
“I had a lot of fun today. Let’s see each other often.”
“…”
Pristin hesitated for a moment, unsure of the intention behind the outstretched hand. But soon, she reached out and shook it without any hesitation.
“Yes, let’s meet again soon.”
It was a handshake that didn’t carry any hostility. Pristin began to feel a sense of confusion. Why had Tanya suddenly changed so much?
‘Maybe I have been judging this person with too many preconceptions.’
Perhaps Tanya wasn’t a bad person after all. If she liked Jerald, it was only natural she’d be jealous during their first meeting.
Pristin greeted and turned around, thinking maybe she should reconsider her evaluation of Tanya.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“You’re here, Your Excellency.”
Aruvina warmly welcomed Pristin back to Camer Palace.
“You’re a little late.”
“The tea party lasted longer than expected.”
“I see. Did anything happen?”
“No, nothing significant happened… Actually, the atmosphere was quite lively.”
“I’m glad my concerns were unfounded. But speaking of which…”
“Ah.”
Pristin glanced briefly at the gift box she was holding, then continued.
“It’s a gift from Princess Gennant.”
“From the princess?”
“To be exact, the nine candidates who attended the event received the same gift.”
“That’s surprising. I didn’t expect you to receive a gift as well.”
“I was caught off guard too. The atmosphere was different from what I had anticipated.”
Pristin said with a pensive expression.
“I think today’s tea party was just held to gain the upper hand among the candidates.”
“It’s as if she’s become empress already.”
“She is the most powerful candidate among them, so it’s only natural for such thoughts to arise.”
“Then why on earth did the countess get invited…”
“I have no idea either, but it made me realize that I may have judged her too hastily based on our first meeting. Perhaps due to her initial interest in Jerald, the first meeting was just natural caution on her part as a candidate.”
“The countess is too understanding.”
Aruvina couldn’t contain her admiration and her voice trembled.
“So what’s the gift you received?”
“It’s soap. It smells really good.”
Pristin said, handing Aruvina the box she had.
“I think it has a unique scent, too.”
“Well, it smells really good.”
“You should take it to the herbal garden and use it.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Aruvina smiled brightly, and then suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, Her Highness has asked if you’re available for dinner tonight.”
“Oh, of course. When did she ask to meet me?”
“At six o’clock. Shall I send a message to confirm your attendance?”
“Yes, please do.”
Pristin nodded with a smile.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
That evening, at six o’clock. The princess’s palace.
“Pristin!”
“Your Highness, thank you for inviting me.”
“Let’s skip the formalities. Have a seat.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Pristin sat down, familiarly, opposite Claret. Immediately, a series of appetizers began to come out, and Claret ate the crisp and sweet cherry tomatoes in front of her and asked Pristin.
“I heard you went to Tanya’s tea party today.”
“Yes, I did. You heard about it?”
“Of course. I have a lot of interest in you, Pristin.”
Claret soon asked, narrowing her brow slightly.
“Did anything strange happen? I was very worried.”
“No, nothing happened.”
Pristin nodded and explained the situation earlier.
“I was a little worried, too, but the atmosphere was very good. She didn’t particularly pick a fight with me.”
“What, the atmosphere is completely different from the last tea party, right?”
“I was wondering about that too. I received a gift as well.”
“Gift?”
“Yes. Although, all the guests who attended the tea gathering received one.”
“What? Is Tanya about to die or something?”
“Your Highness.”
“Why, if a person suddenly changes, it means they’re about to die.”
“Perhaps I judged her too hastily based on our first meeting.”
“But it wasn’t my first meeting with Tanya.”
Claret spoke in a firm tone, as if she could not agree with Pristin.
“You’re just too kind, Pristin. I think that woman definitely has ulterior motives.”
“Well, maybe… that could be true.”
Pristin awkwardly opened her mouth with an uneasy expression.
“Unless she starts attacking me, I’ve decided not to overreact.”
“Hmm…”
Claret made a contemplative expression for a moment, and soon nodded with a convincing look.
“Fine, maybe you’re right, Pristin. Maybe I hate Tanya so much that I keep looking at her in a bad way.”
“Well, if we watch her, the truth will come to light. You don’t have to worry too much.”
“All right, I understand. We should only care about you, Pristin.”
Claret, smiling brightly, soon moved on to another question.
“What did you get as a gift?”
“It’s soap imported from abroad. It smelled very good.”
“Really?”
“Would you like me to share some with you, Your Highness? It’s a sizable amount.”
“No. I’ll have to pass. I don’t want anything Tanya gave you.”
Claret shook her head with a slight frown.
“I’m glad Tanya didn’t offend Pristin anyway. I hope she’ll keep quiet from now on!”
Pristin also wished for this calm to continue. However, it did not take long for it to be revealed that this peace itself was a tower built on falsehood in the first place.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The next day, the herbal garden.
—Knock knock
Someone knocked on the door of Pristin’s lab. Pristin didn’t take her eyes off the document she was working on and answered.
“Come in.”
The sound of the door opening was soon followed by someone entering. Pristin finally looked up from her work.
“Oh, Your Excellency.”
It was Akkad. Pristin asked.
“What’s the matter?”
“We need to collect Excoecaria, but everyone is too busy right now.”
Excoecaria* was a difficult herb to harvest, as it required at least two people to prevent any damage to the herb. Pristin nodded as if understanding.
[*TN: Closest thing I could find with the name. 에스퍼러시 which apparently spells out Esper Rush but I couldn’t find anything remotely close to the name.
EN: If you know what plant 에스퍼러시 is, please let us know!]
“I’ll help you.”
“I’m sorry for bothering you when you’re busy.”
“No, it’s fine. Someone has to do it.”
Pristin got up from her seat and said.
“I’ll wash my hands and go right away.”
“Thank you.”
Pristin went straight to one side of the laboratory and dipped her hands into a basin of water. Then, she started washing her hands using the soap that Tanya had given her that morning. Akkad carefully observed her and spoke up.
“This soap looks different.”
“Oh, is this what you’re talking about? I received it as a gift.”
“It’s a pretty soap.”
“Yes. The scent is nice too. Would you like to try it?”
“Is that okay?”
Akkad smiled and approached Pristin. Pristin offered Akkad the soap she was holding, and Akkad accepted it without much thought.
“It smells really good…”
And at that moment, Akkad’s expression hardened. Seeing this, Pristin asked in confusion.
“What’s wrong, Your Excellency?”
“…Countess.”
Akkad asked Pristin in an ever-hardened voice.
“Who gave this soap to you?”
“What? Why is that all of a sudden…”
“Tell me.”
Seeing Akkad’s serious expression, Pristin answered truthfully.
“I got it from Princess Gennant yesterday.”
“…”
“Is there a problem?”
“I’m glad you only got it yesterday. I hope you won’t be too surprised to hear this.”
“What on earth…”
“This soap.”
Akkad uttered the pretty shocking words, in a heavy voice.
“It contains poison.”
