MLIIWTFL Chapter 195

 195

Letticia gazed off into the distance for a moment.

Why did I have to get this kind of request… when there’s no one home?

Is it really okay to let Seraphina stay here right now?

She genuinely wanted to help Seraphina, considering her situation—but they had just gone through all that trouble to distance Letticia from the incident. If it were revealed that Seraphina was here, Letticia could get dragged into it all over again.

Wouldn’t it be better to make sure she’s protected as a witness instead?

“Wouldn’t it be better if you went to see Sir Averil, the Deputy Commander of the Knight? Giving your testimony as a witness would probably help resolve the case more quickly.”

Letticia suggested, but Seraphina looked hesitant.

“Even if Sir Averil is the second son of the Duke Averil household, he’s still not completely free from the influence of the Count, who’s held the position of Knight Commander for four generations. I think it would be better to write to my father, tell him the truth, and rally the western nobles together to formally protest.”

“There’s no need to worry about that, His Highness the Crown Prince personally appointed the Deputy Commander. I’m sure he had some sort of plan in mind.”

Although Seraphina didn’t seem fully reassured by Letticia’s confidence, she didn’t stop her from pulling out her communicator and contacting Achilles.

***

“Welcome, Lady Sharon! Lady Eskis!”

Letticia was shown into a separate annex of the Averil ducal estate, where Ariette, who appeared to have just gotten off work, greeted her warmly.

Ariette was clearly a little excited about having Letticia visit her home, but when she was introduced to Seraphina, her expression turned a bit tense.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Eskis. I’m Ariette Averil. The Duke of Averil is my father.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Averil. I’m Seraphina Eskis, daughter of Marquess Eskis. I know it may be an inconvenience, but I’ll be staying at this residence for a while, so I wanted to greet the lady of the house in her stead.”

“O-oh… It’s nice to meet you.”

Ariette, who has a bit of a complex about etiquette, looked somewhat intimidated by Seraphina’s perfect, graceful greeting—so refined that she could be mistaken for a swan.

Thankfully, everything seemed to be going smoothly for now. Letticia’s crash-course tutoring session during the carriage ride had paid off.

“Lady Eskis, before we go to the main estate of the Averil family, there are some things you need to be careful about.”

“Yes, please tell me. Since I’ll be visiting their household, I should respect their customs.”

“First of all—don’t bring up anything about bloodlines in that family. Especially never mention anything about the Duchess’s lineage. That could really become a big issue. And don’t criticize Lady Averil’s etiquette either. If something seems a little off, just assume she’s still learning and let it go kindly. Also...”

Though Seraphina didn’t seem to understand, she nodded earnestly, sensing that Letticia’s advice came from a place of concern.

With this much warning, Letticia hoped it would prevent them from becoming enemies like in the original story.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re meeting under these circumstances, but I hope we can still build a good relationship.”

“Yes, I actually wanted to get closer to you when I saw you at the concert. The way you spoke so earnestly to His Highness was really admirable.”

Seraphina looked a little taken aback by Ariette’s innocent and casual tone.

There wasn’t even a hint of the etiquette one would expect from a duke’s daughter.

Now she understood why Letticia had stressed not to critique her manners.

But Letticia could still sense that Seraphina—strict as she was with etiquette—was growing uncomfortable, so she quickly stepped in before the conversation dragged on.

“I’ll come visit more often from now on—under the pretense of seeing Lady Averil, of course. I’ll let Dayna—I mean, Lady Hailey—know, but just to be safe, you should keep sending letters to Count Wallace’s estate, so no one grows suspicious.”

“Yes. I’ll write a proper letter soon, but in the meantime, please pass my thanks to Lady Hailey.”

Seraphina nodded, and Letticia turned to Ariette.

“You probably already heard from the Deputy Commander, but I’ll say it again—Lady Eskis staying here must be kept absolutely secret.”

“Yes! I’m very good at keeping secrets.”

Just as Ariette made her vow, a maid entered.

“My lady, the first young master has returned.”

“Oh, okay. Please show Lady Eskis to her room.”

Ariette gave the instruction to the maid of the annex and stepped out.

Letticia noticed the flicker in Seraphina’s eyes as she watched her go, but she pretended not to and murmured softly.

“Ahem… Let’s go to your room first. There’s still more we need to talk about.”

“…Yes. Let’s do that.”

Seraphina quietly followed the maid to the room she had been assigned.

The servants and maids brought from the Wallace estate were also staying with her.

Once she entered the room and dismissed all the staff, she let out a sigh and sank into a chair, clearly exhausted.

“Still, it’s resolved now, one way or another. Thank you so much, Lady Sharon.”

“It’s not like I had nothing to do with this either. Besides, we shared the music concert—we’re partners in that, at least.”

“Ah, the concert… That reminds me—I have something I need to tell you.”

At the mention of the concert, Seraphina straightened up, looking serious.

“Depending on how things go, I’ll write letters to the nobles I made appointments with. So could you and Lady Hailey talk to them about the future donations?”

“Why are you suddenly trying to hand everything over? You’ve already been managing it—you should just continue.”

“I might have to return to the West once this is all over.”

Letticia was taken aback by the unexpected response.

“Return to the West? Why? Doesn’t your family have a townhouse in the capital?”

“But I don’t have any relatives here who could serve as my chaperone. Most of my family are Western nobles.”

To be active in the capital’s social scene, one needs a sponsor or chaperone familiar with that world.

But the Eskis family—lords of Clarence and a pillar of the western aristocracy—apparently had no such contacts in the capital.

“So before I go back, I want to wrap up the work I’ve been doing. I’ve already submitted my report to His Highness regarding the orphanage audit, so I’d like to leave the remaining practical matters to you, Lady Sharon, Lady Hailey, and Lady Maynard.”

“Oh, that sudden outburst—wait, was that what you were talking about earlier? But why just the three of us?”

“If Lady Wallace is truly the culprit, then it’s hard to believe her close aides—Lady Mortimer and Lady Norton—weren’t aware of it.”

Though it sounded harsh, Letticia silently agreed. Conspiracies like that are rarely carried out without involving close allies.

So Seraphina was betrayed by her cousin… and her friends too.

Seraphina spoke calmly, but there was a heavy sadness behind her words.

In the social world—essentially a marriage market—even your cousins and friends can become rivals. But seeing it actually happen still left a bitter taste.

And in this case, they weren’t just rivals—they were real enemies.

Those women nearly got Seraphina killed.

“I only convinced my parents by promising to give it two full years… I never thought I’d end up returning after not even half a year.”

A shadow of gloom passed over Seraphina’s otherwise composed face.

Letticia considered changing the subject to lighten the mood, but instead decided to let Seraphina vent a little, given all she’d been through.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say you wanted to become the Crown Princess? Were your parents opposed to the idea?”

“At first, both my father and mother hoped I’d marry into a family in Clarence, not in the capital. But when I told them that becoming Crown Princess could be a chance to change the old mindset of the West, they accepted my decision.”

“A chance to change the mindset…?”

Letticia did her best not to flinch at yet another lofty ideal.

Fortunately, Seraphina didn’t seem to notice, and continued with a serious expression.

“Even now—when the new nobility has grown enough to form a faction, and the old nobility is being labeled as such—in the West, 'nobility' still refers only to those of noble bloodlines. As Lady Hailey mentioned, there are still many who treat houses that haven’t held titles for at least three generations as no better than commoners.”

“I had a feeling when I heard that words like 'upstart noble' are still being used.”

Letticia replied calmly, and Seraphina let out a faint sigh.

“In the past, I suppose that kind of thinking worked. The West is vast, and the crops and luxuries produced on Western estates had no real substitutes. But now… that’s no longer true.”

“Right. There are plenty of imported alternatives these days. Even for silk—there’s Amarasun silk now, not just Rasseles.”

“Exactly. And yet, many Western nobles still don’t feel any sense of urgency. They believe that so long as they leave behind an heir, they can spend the rest of their lives in indulgence. That outdated way of thinking is still so widespread.”

Seraphina’s tone was caught between frustration and sorrow.

“If they keep living like that, one day, all those precious bloodlines will lose their status and fall into ruin.”

♡♡♡
Hi~ If you enjoy the translation and would like to support me or access advanced chapters of this novel, feel free to visit my ko-fi by clicking here~. Advanced chapters available:
𝟭𝟵𝟵-𝟮𝟮𝟯
𝟮𝟮𝟰-𝟮𝟮𝟴 [New, Aug 6]
𝟮𝟮𝟵-𝟮𝟯𝟯 [New, Aug 6]
♡♡♡