Chapter 15

What the Crown Prince Was Looking For

The battle of wits between women could be just as fierce as that between men.

Most of the ladies gathered there were blatantly ignoring Essika Klaus.

Essika was the Duchess, while the women trying to torment her had husbands of lower rank than her. Yet their contemptuous gazes and tones suggested that being malicious had become second nature to them.

Someone must have spoiled them badly.

“……”

Lesvan Deon Lucene had come to this place to intimidate the count, but for the moment, his interest was focused solely on the conversation taking place in the garden.

He still wasn’t certain whether the white butterfly he had once desperately searched for, dismissed at times as nothing more than an illusion, and then felt fluttering in his heart again like a fever, had truly been in House Klaus.

Aside from watching bloody wars, this was the only thing that had genuinely interested him lately.

He held a wineglass in his hand.

Whenever the wine, red as blood, passed down his throat, his prominent Adam’s apple moved.

Even as his gaze occasionally shifted, her presence remained unmistakable.

Her blue eyes were tranquil.

The proud bridge of her nose and her chin likewise conveyed an air of dignity.

Meanwhile, the faces of the other women flushed red and then turned pale.

From time to time, Essika Klaus extended her slender fingers and picked up her teacup.

Then she parted her red lips slightly and savored the tea.

The neat shape of her fingernails made Lesvan feel slightly thirsty, and he took another sip of wine.

Like a white rose blooming among weeds, Essika was proud and poisonous.

After repeatedly pricking her with their nails only to receive her thorns in return, the ladies who had been desperate to criticize her gradually fell silent.

Like animals that become frightened after comparing their sizes and realizing which one’s jaws are dangerous, they seemed to understand who was truly threatening.

The outcome was so clear that Lesvan found it almost boring compared to what he had initially expected.

“L-Let’s… go.”

“Yes. Hmph.”

Forgetting that they were guests, the defeated women were the first to leave the battlefield.

They aren’t even a match for her.

Several trivial battles he had fought came to mind.

A deep smile appeared at the corners of Lesvan’s lips before disappearing.

Essika did not get up from her seat.

His gaze remained fixed on her.

When she revealed the purpose she had been hiding within those calm blue eyes, his throat grew slightly dry again.

And the conversation that followed was perhaps even more interesting.

How does she know that girl’s identity? And what is her purpose?

His desire to eavesdrop on the conversation grew stronger.

“Love is bound to change eventually. No matter how sweetly a man whispers his promises, he cannot stop the passage of time. If you give up a splendid and comfortable life in the Imperial Palace and choose him instead, you may regret it until the day you grow old and die.”

Those red lips moved.

Although her voice was low, Lesvan could hear every word clearly.

As he stared into her eyes, the corners of his lips twisted slightly.

A sorrowfully beautiful and lonely mark, tinged with venom.

The very impression he had searched for over such a long time was quietly shining within those blue eyes.

It really is that girl from twenty years ago—the one who left such an unforgettable impression.

“C-Crown Prince.”

The Crown Prince ordered Count Alchemiz to correct the discrepancies between the defective military supplies recorded in his reports and the actual goods delivered.

A long while later, Count Alchemiz hurriedly appeared before the Crown Prince carrying a stack of papers.

Sweat ran down his bald forehead.

When Lesvan’s cold gaze fell upon him, the count flinched and lowered his eyes.

“It seems there was a mistake. I sincerely apologize.”

Like the other nobles, Count Alchemiz feared the young and ruthless war demon, Lesvan.

He was not merely aggressive. He was also extremely meticulous, especially when dealing with nobles who sought to profit from the Imperial treasury.

“Your household is interesting, both inside and out.”

The Crown Prince frowned as he examined the sloppy stack of papers.

At this rate, he’s practically confessing to corruption himself.

At that reproachful tone, Alchemiz flinched again.

He had no idea what the Crown Prince would do next.

If only he could somehow appease him…

“While the husband is worrying about where to procure one hundred weapons to replace those he reported as having rusted, his wife is inviting guests over for an informal tea party.”

“Y-Your Highness…”

The timing couldn’t have been worse.

If he had known the Crown Prince would come, he would have canceled the party.

Damn it.

He blamed his wife for inviting all those ladies today and putting the Crown Prince in a bad mood.

Alchemiz bowed deeply and begged for mercy.

“I will severely reprimand my wife. And regarding the weapons, I will sell off my own private assets if necessary and make absolutely certain they are replaced.”

It took two more days of suffering from her stomach trouble before Leona finally regained her senses.

She had merely eaten as she normally did, yet the pain in her stomach had been so severe that it had left her almost delirious.

Kallian, being an extremely devoted son, came to check on Leona’s condition three times a day.

After five days of illness, she had somehow recovered, but she was still lacking energy.

The physician said that because she rarely exercised, her body had become weak, which had aggravated her indigestion.

But this had never happened before.

“How was Marshall’s tea party?”

Leona sat on her bed, looking gaunt, while receiving a foot massage.

Dark shadows hung beneath her eyes.

Marshall’s tea party.

Leona had originally planned to attend herself, but she had sent Essika instead.

It was obvious that Essika must have made a fool of herself while stumbling around in confusion.

In any case, it was about time to divorce her.

I’ve tolerated her for long enough.

Marshall and Volan were clever friends who understood exactly what Leona wanted.

Many women would have seen for themselves how utterly inadequate Essika was.

They would also have learned that Leona Klaus was the only queen of House Klaus.

It would provide another reason to drive Essika, who had disgraced the Klaus name, out of the family.

When a wife was responsible for the breakdown of a marriage, her dowry did not have to be returned upon divorce.

That was precisely the point Leona intended to exploit.

“I… um…”

Emilia, the maid standing beside her, hesitantly opened her mouth.

She began recounting what she had heard about what happened at Marshall’s tea party.

She explained how Marshall and Volan had been humiliated and how both of them had ultimately been forced to apologize to Essika.

Apparently, the story had spread widely throughout high society through the mouths of the noblewomen.

Several ladies who had intended to pay Marshall and Volan hefty teaching fees and entrust their daughters to them had reportedly canceled their arrangements.

Furthermore, for some reason, Count Alchemiz—whose medal had been revoked—had become furious with his wife and had forbidden her from inviting guests for the time being.

Leona’s eyebrows twitched repeatedly, rising higher and higher.

By the time Emilia finished speaking, the ends of Leona’s eyebrows had practically reached the heavens.

Smack!

Finally overcome with rage, Leona reached out and slapped the maid across the face.

“You’re telling me everything has become a complete mess?!”

The maid who had been struck tearfully fell to her knees.

This wasn’t the first or second time it had happened, but Leona’s hand was vicious enough to bring tears to her eyes.

And as a maid, the only thing she could do when her mistress was furious was beg for forgiveness.

“…I-I’m sorry, Duchess Dowager.”

“Essika… No.”

Leona stopped as she looked at the pale back of her own hand.

The physician had said something.

Stress accelerated aging.

If she looked at that ugly, stupid girl, her body, which had only just recovered, would deteriorate even further.

So she should first find out why she had suddenly suffered such severe stomach trouble.

“Bring Yuri.”

“What?”

“I mean the Head Maid! Yuri Anesis! Are you deaf?”

Leona was extremely cruel and merciless toward anyone who went against her wishes.

“I-I’m sorry… I understand, Duchess Dowager.”

The maid immediately stood up.

For her, Yuri’s arrival was salvation.

Whether Leona ordered Yuri to torment Essika or simply vented her anger on Yuri, the maid herself would be able to escape.

As she hurried out of Leona’s room to find Yuri, the maid thought about what she had heard regarding the incident at the tea party.

The Duchess stood up to them?

Even after thinking about it again, there was no way Essika could have behaved that way.

Essika Klaus—the shabby and miserable Duchess.

How could a woman whose status was lower than that of the maids themselves have defeated two vicious countesses?

But… that look in her eyes…

When she had gone with Yuri to pour cold water over Essika, the Duchess’s gaze had been truly terrifying.

Just receiving that gaze had felt like a sharp icicle approaching her heart.

…What was that, really?

The maid bit her lip and shook her head.

Surely, even so, the Duchess was still beneath the Duchess Dowager’s feet.

A pitiful woman who wasn’t even loved by her husband…

A woman everyone looked down upon.

“Where is Essika right now?”

But at the low voice, the maid suddenly stopped walking.

She turned her head.

Standing around the corner and speaking with a servant was the Duke of Klaus.

Kallian Klaus—the handsome, perfect, and magnificent master of the household, so striking that even maids who had worked there for years would blush simply by looking at his face.

The maid had thought that after the previous confrontation, he had completely lost interest in the Duchess, whom he had already treated coldly.

So what could possibly be the reason?

“I mean the Duchess.”

He was asking the servant where Essika was.

And he looked somewhat anxious.