Chapter 82
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I'm a homebody who ended up possessing the body of a villainess locked away in a desolate tower.
Chapter 82
While I wasn't entirely fluent in High Society's conversational conventions, I understood enough to follow along. I nodded inwardly and listened intently to what the ladies were saying.
"It happens sometimes, doesn't it? When you write things down, you can't convey your tone through words, so you end up writing all sorts of things..."
"That's true. Since Elegance Young Lady is someone who uses a pen, I wonder if she experiences something similar every time?"
As the gathered ladies and young women offered their comments about Elegance Young Lady one by one, her profile became increasingly clear to me.
In short, Elegance Young Lady said whatever she pleased with her pen—things she could and couldn't say—and once she had her prey, she dissected them down to the bone. But that wasn't entirely of her own volition.
'So she's being directed by someone.'
Was that 'someone' referring to the Empress? Or was there another force behind this?
As I listened quietly, one of the more experienced ladies spoke up.
"Ladies, didn't you hear the news? This time it's not the case at all. You see, 'that person' cherishes comic books just as much as we do... so it's impossible that 'that person' would do such a thing."
"You're right. Rather, she should be furious..."
From those words, I understood that the Empress had been behind Elegance Young Lady's actions all along.
And the nobles of Cletan believed that the Empress was not the one behind this incident.
I pretended to sip my tea while continuing to focus on the conversation unfolding before me.
"But then, did Elegance Young Lady really have such firm convictions about her goals? I never noticed."
At that moment, an elderly lady who had been silent until now interjected.
Holding her teacup with an elegant air, she continued.
"I remember when she made her debut. In the Elegance Marquis Family, where there were so many outstanding beauties, it was surprising that she was the one who appeared in the most magnificent dress, wasn't it?"
The story that followed was more interesting than I expected.
The impoverished Elegance Marquis Family had three daughters.
Yet on the day of their debutante ball, while the beautiful eldest and third daughters barely managed to alter shabby dresses...
The second daughter, who lagged behind her sisters in many ways, appeared in a magnificent dress that rivaled those of wealthy noble families.
At the time, various stories circulated about this, and one of them was that there was a great noble family who had sponsored the second daughter, who had exceptional writing talent.
"I've heard that her family even introduced Elegance Young Lady to 'that person.' After that, her writing speed certainly accelerated."
"Hmm, that does seem to be the case. Though my memory is a bit hazy after all this time. It's been more than thirty years..."
Contrary to my long anticipation, the topic quickly faded away.
Perhaps they were being cautious because it was related to the Empress?
'There's definitely something more to this.'
But even after the tea party ended, the story about 'that family' lingered in my mind.
* * *
For several days after the tea party, I remained in the Capital gathering information, but I didn't obtain anything particularly significant.
If there was anything worth mentioning...
"Not long after Dorothea Princess and Stefan Marquis's Wife grew close to the Empress, Elegance Young Lady became the Empress's mouthpiece."
It was information about Dorothea Princess and Stefan Marquis's Wife that Embrose Marquise had casually let slip.
'So I've ended up owing Embrose Marquise a debt again.'
In any case, the Stefan Marquis House's name had been mentioned again, so now I had more than just suspicion.
Then what remained was... surely Blaire Grand Duke?
Though my stay was brief, I had grown fond of the Imperial Capital's villa. I left it behind and returned to the Blaire Grand Duke Residence.
"Where is Blaire Grand Duke?"
"He's inside."
Liam, who had been standing in front of the office, adjusted his glasses the moment he saw me, as if he'd been waiting for something.
"Would you mind waiting a moment?"
"Oh? Well, of course."
Was it just my imagination, or had his demeanor become subtly more courteous compared to before?
In any case, after leaving me standing there, he entered the office and suddenly dragged every single aide out with him.
"Th-thank you so much... Aide Liam."
"If we'd stayed in there another hour, we might have gone to visit our great-grandfathers in the afterlife."
The aides, looking like walking corpses, clung to Liam as though he were their savior, offering tearful thanks before noticing me and hastily straightening themselves up.
"Ah, ahem. Good day to you."
"Yes, it's been a while. Were you all working just now?"
I'd asked out of consideration, thinking that if they were in the middle of something urgent, I could always come back another time—but their response left me quite bewildered.
"No! Not at all. We've finished everything, haha!"
"Even if we were working, we couldn't possibly interrupt your time together. The rest of our tasks can be completed in our respective libraries."
"But...."
"Then please enjoy your peaceful time."
They turned and fled with such haste that one might have thought ghosts were chasing them.
I could faintly hear scattered remarks about finally being able to rest, or how they missed the home-cooked meals their families had prepared—but then again, that was only natural for any working person.
"Your Grace, I'm coming in."
I grasped the slightly ajar door handle and stepped into the office.
The moment I entered, I was confronted with mountains of documents stacked so high they seemed to touch the ceiling.
"You came."
"...Did something happen while I was away?"
Contradicting the situation before me, his tone was remarkably calm, and I couldn't hide the alarm in my voice as I asked.
"...What is all this?"
"The winters in the Northern Region are brutal. To prepare for the monster waves that occur during winter, I've allocated forty percent of the Grand Duchy's budget. These are the detailed records of that expenditure."
"Ah...."
As the sheer volume of work naturally came to mind, my head spun for a moment before I approached the Grand Duke with a worried expression.
"Have you not been sleeping?"
"About three days, roughly. But I can manage up to a week. I can get by with brief ten-minute naps here and there."
What? You can go without sleep for a week?
Though we spoke the same language, his words made absolutely no sense to me.
And up close, the Grand Duke's appearance was even more alarming. Those deep shadows beneath his eyes—surely those were dark circles? Now that I looked more carefully, he seemed somewhat gaunt as well.
He'd told me to rest, calling me a workaholic, yet here he was, practically on death's door himself.
'This is basically a walking corpse with good looks thrown in for good measure...'
Staring at him with a tired expression, I set aside my original purpose for coming and asked carefully.
"Are you... really sure you're alright?"
Anyone seeing the Grand Duke in this state would have difficulty bringing up work first.
Yet the Grand Duke merely tilted his head at my question as if to ask what I meant.
"Hmm? I'm fine. This much is manageable. It's been like this every year, and compared to last year, it's not even that severe."
...How much worse was it last year that he considers this acceptable? My mind seemed to come to a complete halt.
But he paid no attention to my shocked expression and asked what had brought me here.
"Anyway, what's the matter?"
I wanted to let him rest, but the man himself seemed to have no such intention, so there was nothing for it.
Staring at his lifeless eyes, I soon pulled a chair up to his desk and sat down.
"I came to share information I gathered during my trip to the Imperial Capital. I returned today, you see. Though you may not have known..."
"I did know."
Blaire Grand Duke cut off my words abruptly.
"I didn't contact you first because I was worried it might seem like I was pressing you about the information..."
....
"I hope you don't think I didn't know."
The way he added this in an unusually small voice made him seem somewhat timid, unlike his usual self.
His earlobes even seemed to be... slightly flushed.
'Is the sunset light particularly strong today?'
It must be my imagination.
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