MLIIWTFL Chapter 238

238

After the gathering ended, Seraphina and Ariette got up to leave for home, but Dayna stayed behind, using the excuse that she still needed to talk about the March Blossoms.

"How was it, seeing her in person?"

Letticia asked as she had a maid pour freshly brewed herbal tea into her cup. Taking the cup and sipping once, Dayna let out a sigh before answering.

"Her personality doesn't seem too bad. If it were, you wouldn't have invited her."

"Right?"

"But her manners are hopeless. If she tried to make her debut this year at that level, there's no way she could handle the audience ceremony. She'd be rejected outright at the etiquette review."

If a duke's daughter were to fail the audience ceremony evaluation, it would be an unbearable disgrace. In that case, it would be better for her to first debut in the local social circle, and then be introduced to people later through an acquaintance's gathering in the capital.

"If you look at it that way, Lady Eskis has the advantage, even though she too comes from a provincial noble family. Unless you've graduated from the Liberal Arts Department at Phileas Academy, you'd have to be chosen as a Diamond to be accepted into society at all. But if you can't even go through the audience ceremony, then there's no chance of becoming a Diamond in the first place."

"Oh, about that, apparently Lady Averil won't be making her debut at all."

"She won't debut? Then she's decided to pursue business as her career path instead?"

"Most likely. She herself seems to think debuting would be too difficult, and the ducal house is outright refusing it."

"Because of the late duchess?"

Though she said nothing more, she seemed to realize the reason immediately and gave a small nod. At those words, Letticia suddenly found herself wondering how the late duchess was remembered among the new nobility.

"Dayna, do you know what kind of reputation Lady Averil's mother, the duchess, has among the new nobles?"

"It's very divided. Some admired her, but many disliked her. Honestly, I saw far more of the latter."

"They disliked her? Why? Most of the new nobles probably never even got the chance to talk to the duke. Wouldn't it have been to their benefit to use the duchess as an excuse to get closer?"

Letticia couldn't understand and asked again. Dayna replied with a grim expression.

"She came from a quasi-noble family without even a proper title, yet she became a duchess. There's a limit to social climbing, when it happens that abruptly, envy is bound to follow."

"Does it really work like that?"

"It does, Letticia. Even among debutantes who were once friends, if one marries a count while another marries a viscount, there's jealousy or condescension. Imagine how much worse it must have been for someone who became a duchess."

Letticia lost her appetite and set her teacup down. If even fellow new nobles hadn't sided with her, then the duchess's time in the capital's high society must truly have been a living hell.

"So, Lady Averil becoming the Crown Princess is probably impossible, Letticia. Honestly, even debuting in the capital's high society would be difficult. With people still remembering the late duchess, it would be a burden for the Imperial Family."

"No, Dayna. If His Highness the Crown Prince insists, then Lady Averil will become Crown Princess."

When Letticia spoke with a serious expression, Dayna asked in surprise.

"Well, I suppose if His Highness truly desired it, it might be possible. But… do you really think he would?"

"He's still human, isn't he? If he's in love, is there anything he couldn't do?"

"Love? His Highness… with Lady Averil?"

Dayna looked even more shocked than when she had first heard that Ariette might become Crown Princess. At that moment, Letticia decided it was time to properly tell her about Matthias.

"Dayna, don't repeat this to anyone yet. The truth is..."

Letticia went into detail about how Matthias had personally intervened to prevent Ariette from resigning.

At first, Dayna listened in confusion, but when she heard that Matthias had even contacted Ariette through her private communicator to ask why she wanted to resign, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Really? His Highness personally reached out to Lady Averil?"

"Yes. He ordered Ez to make the contact. Thanks to that, only Ez ended up getting scolded by the duke."

As Letticia ground her teeth, Dayna, imagining the scene, looked equally distressed. Though she still had no appetite, just recalling the incident again made Letticia so furious that she downed her now-cold tea before continuing.

"And that's not all. He even ordered Ez to find out what Lady Averil plans to do after resigning. Apparently, she said she intends to study business management. But what do you think that really means?"

"…"

Dayna was left speechless, unable to reconcile the Crown Prince's well-known public image with these strange actions.

'Well, to be fair, Matthias has achieved quite a bit…'

Matthias had always championed meritocracy, and had reformed related laws and systems. For example, he revised the civil service exams to raise the quality of bureaucrats, and he set clear qualification requirements for officials entering by recommendation.

He also enacted laws preventing judges from presiding over cases involving parties with whom they had direct conflicts of interest, reforms that had benefitted Letticia herself.

If things had continued in that vein, Letticia would not have held much resentment toward Matthias, no matter how rude he was to her personally.

But sadly, he now seemed on the verge of turning into the obsessive stalker he had been in the original story. If that was the case, then others, like Dayna, needed to be made aware as well.

"You might be right that His Highness has an interest in Lady Averil. But if she were to become Crown Princess, I can't imagine the nobility accepting it. Not the old nobles, and not even the new ones, they don't view her favorably at all."

"In politics I can't say, but in society there would definitely be backlash. It'd be hard, no doubt… So what kind of magic would His Highness have to work to make Lady Averil Crown Princess?"

"Letticia, do you really think His Highness sincerely wants Lady Averil as Crown Princess? He's ruled fairly and competently until now. There's no way he hasn't considered the political consequences."

"…Hey, Dayna. Do you remember when Lady Eskis spoke with His Highness at the concert?"

Dayna nodded, and Letticia carefully recalled the details to remind her.

"Lady Eskis may have been a little too hasty at that time, but what she said was actually appropriate for a charity concert. Even if it sounded naïve, she pointed out the issue accurately. But what did His Highness say in response?"

"…He directly refuted her and told her she needed to learn more about reality. The mood got awkward, and you had to smooth things over."

"Exactly. And is that proper etiquette toward the host?"

At Letticia's cynical question, Dayna shook her head. She had been too distracted by the aftermath to think about it then, but Matthias's behavior had indeed been rude and disruptive.

"And when I first danced a minuet with His Highness, he said this about me becoming a Diamond, that since I was my mother's daughter, it was only natural. Later, when I told him it was a shame he couldn't attend the ball our family hosted, he retorted that I wasn't a child like Lenny, so how could I not understand how busy he was?"

"He actually said that?!"

Dayna looked at Letticia in shock. That alone was enough to shatter her illusions.

"It's true. I never mentioned it before because I doubted anyone would believe me."

"I really can't believe it… Why on earth would His Highness say such things to you?"

"Who knows. Maybe he just doesn't like me. Same with Lady Eskis, apparently."

Letticia deliberately made it sound like a joke. She didn't want to worry Dayna by suggesting she might be falling out of favor with someone so powerful.

But Dayna stared at her, as if asking how she could joke at a time like this.

"You should've told me earlier. If you had, I'd never have said I'd help you become Crown Princess."

"I already said, I thought you wouldn't believe me. At first, I figured His Highness was just in a bad mood. But after seeing how he treated Lady Eskis too, I realized he simply has no intention of observing proper courtesy."

"Why would he behave like that? He gains nothing by antagonizing the Eskis marquisate or the Sharon countship."

"If there's no benefit, then it's one of two things, either he's a fool, or he knows it and just doesn't care."

Letticia believed it was the latter. Matthias didn't seem stupid, just someone ruled by emotions, making him an irritating nuisance despite his high position.

"Anyway, if His Highness truly does love Lady Averil, then society will be thrown into chaos. Whether she debuts or not, she'll suffer either way. And when that happens, people will surely flock to you and me."

"It's been a long time since something felt this unwelcome. Letticia, do we really have to keep Lady Averil in our circle?"

"I can't just cut ties now, we're working together on both the perfume business and the dessert project. Besides, she has the will to learn, and I don't feel right about discarding her."

"Sometimes you're sharp as a blade, but other times you're too soft."

But Dayna didn't press further. After all, it was thanks to Letticia's personality that "March Blossoms" had come together in the first place.

"For now, I'll keep what you told me about His Highness to myself. But if you find out for certain that he truly has feelings for Lady Averil, you must tell me first. My family will need to prepare countermeasures."

"Understood. And if you hear any rumors about the Averil duchy or His Highness, let me know too."

Dayna nodded, then stood up. As Letticia signaled her maid to clear away the tea, the maid leaned close and whispered in her ear.

"Young Lady, there's a message from Sir Achilles Averil."

Honestly, it was just like them to never do anything outside of expectations.*

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𝟮𝟯𝟵-𝟯𝟬𝟴
𝟯𝟬𝟵-𝟯𝟭𝟯 [New, Dec 21]
𝟯𝟭𝟰-𝟯𝟭𝟴 [New, Dec 21]

ㅎㅎㅎ Scene from the prologue finally coming 🙊

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🍓; *Letticia isn't surprised at all because those people are always predictable, always acting in line with what one would expect of them.