Chapter 56
“It’s a tea specially prepared for the lady; I hope you like it.”
The queen personally poured water into my teacup. Truly, it was a continuous series of gracious treatments.
“It’s tea served in the imperial palace, and when you pour hot water, the flowers bloom again.”
Inside the teacup were dried, shriveled flowers. But as water was poured over it, the flower absorbed the moisture and gradually regained its former splendor. It was as if a dead flower had come back to life.
As I gazed at the fully revived flowers, I suddenly recalled something Hyperion had said not long ago.
He had said that the red rose that bloomed, having absorbed the blood of a dead dragon, was the symbol of the Duke’s family. Therefore, it represented life and resurrection.
However, I couldn’t quite understand what he said next. He claimed that the reason a child without magical power was born into the duke’s family was because of that. What on earth did that mean?
“Lady, would you like to taste the tea now?”
I shook off my thoughts and smiled at the queen.
“Yes, the flowers are truly beautiful. It’s hard to find such good tea in the Grand Duchy, and thanks to Your Majesty, I’m having a rare experience.”
In fact, even in the Grand Duke’s family, one could easily obtain such tea. However, the price of this flower tea was astronomical. It would be better to use the money to give another piece of bread to a starving child.
Ah, how did I end up like this? I clearly thought that when I became a Lady of the Grand Duchy, I wanted to live lavishly and spend money freely.
But now, I was such a miser. Once I became responsible for everything in the Grand Duchy, I found it difficult to spend money carelessly.
It couldn’t be helped. This life was already ruined. If I were to be reborn in the next life, I would truly live a life of sweetness.
“The tea tastes truly wonderful. It’s the most fragrant I’ve had so far.”
At my repeated compliments, the queen smiled very contentedly.
“Please visit the palace often until you return to the Grand Duchy. I will always have tea prepared for you.”
“Thank you for your consideration. If you invite me again, it would be my utmost pleasure.”
After that, light conversation flowed. Just as we were about to delve into more serious topics, the queen stood up first.
“I would like to spend more time together, but it seems better for people of similar ages to have conversations.”
The reason was that it would be more fun for young people to talk among themselves, but I easily sensed that she had intended for the princess and me to have a private conversation from the start.
“Well then, let’s meet again, Lady Iskas.”
I held my skirt and slightly bent my knees.
“I, too, look forward to the day I see Your Majesty again.”
As the queen, who had been leading the conversation, departed, silence fell within the greenhouse.
While we quietly sipped our tea, the princess broke the silence first.
“You were truly impressive at the debutante ball last time.”
The word “impressive” carries various implications. Therefore, I chose the safest response.
“I apologize if I caused any commotion.”
It was true that I had disrupted an important event hosted by the royal family. Thankfully, no one raised any issues about it; it could have easily been a problem if someone had chosen to make it one.
The princess chuckled lightly.
“What I meant was, I was genuinely impressed. You are more remarkable than I had thought.”
Click. She set down her teacup and looked at me.
“Actually, I’ve been curious about something. Why did the Grand Duke choose you as his successor at such a young age? Yesterday, you convinced everyone of that.”
This was similar to what the Duchess had said yesterday. It seemed that my actions at the debutante ball had fortunately had a more positive impact than negative.
“Do you know? You have brought a significant change to both my mother and me.”
I expressed my confusion at her sudden statement.
“What do you mean?”
“A long time ago, when the Grand Duke declared that he would make you his successor, my mother was truly shocked. She had thought that she could only watch as the son of the concubine inherited the throne, but she realized there was another way. Even as a daughter, you are fully qualified to become the next king.”
Then, if things had gone according to the original story, would the princess have never even considered becoming a queen?
“I’ll be straightforward. Arcadia Iskas, I want you to be on my side. Please persuade your father, the Grand Duke, to support me.”
I gave the princess a highly trained smile that was neither positive nor negative.
“Your Highness, as the next Grand Duke, it is only natural for me to be loyal to the royal family. Since you are royalty, I should naturally be on your side.”
“What I’m asking is for you to become my ally, not just a supporter of Persis.”
I tried to deflect her words as if I hadn’t understood, but the princess cut straight to the point.
That was somewhat unexpected. Usually, people would wait to observe their opponent a bit more before speaking or choose a more indirect approach.
In this case, it could mean one of two things: she had a strong conviction that I would become her ally, or she was willing to do whatever it took to achieve her goals.
Somehow, I felt she leaned toward the latter.
“Your Highness, it’s too much praise for someone like me, who struggles to protect and manage even a small piece of land.”
“Didn’t I mention? I have already seen your capabilities at the debutante ball.”
“What I did at the debutante ball was merely to knock down a drunken man who could barely move and intimidate a powerless noblewoman.”
“You warned everyone that they should not mess with your people by punishing that drunken man directly, and you silenced the noblewoman without resorting to violence. That was enough.”
“Then, doesn’t that mean my abilities are only useful for protecting the Grand Duchy? I have never considered anything beyond that.”
As I continued to evade, the princess’s fingers, which had been caressing her teacup, suddenly stopped. She stared at me intently.
“Don’t you want to uncover the truth of the past?”
It was a completely unexpected statement. I slightly narrowed my brow.
“What truth of the past?”
“I’m talking about what happened to your grandfather, the former Grand Duke.”
Bringing up the former Grand Duke was akin to breaking a taboo. Officially, he was said to have died from an unknown illness.
There were rampant rumors that he had been poisoned by the former king, but my father, who was only ten years old at the time, had no power to investigate the circumstances of that event.
After becoming an adult, I finally planned my revenge, but I decided to cover up all past suspicions while accepting my mother and me.
That incident was buried, and since then, no one has spoken of it. However, the princess has now broken that taboo.
“What happened to my grandfather? I genuinely know nothing, which is why I ask.”
“There is a plant called Marta. It’s a very rare plant that most people don’t even know exists.”
The princess calmly answered my question.
“Marta has a very strong toxicity, and the effects of the water brewed from this plant only appear after a day. It is the perfect substance for poisoning someone. Moreover, since no one knows about this plant, it is even easier to conceal.”
The princess gave me a meaningful smile.
“The only apothecary who knows about the uses of Marta is currently under my protection. He used to work in the royal palace, but after the former Grand Duke died, he suddenly went into hiding. I’ve been searching for him since three years ago and finally found him.”
I realized that the princess was much more tenacious than I had thought. To find someone who had disappeared long ago took no ordinary determination.
“I can reveal what happened back then if you truly become my ally.”
“However, this will certainly be a significant blemish on the royal family.”
“I need a reason to weaken my father’s power, even if it comes at that cost.”
A cynical smile lingered on her lips.
“The source of the power held by Persis, who comes from a noble birth, is my father, the current king. He wishes for Persis, not me, to be the next king. Therefore, I need a solid justification to weaken my father’s power.”
TL Note: Hello Everyone. I am moving this Novel to the another site. Future updates will be posted here.
