"My lady, I have a letter for you."
At Marilyn's words, I took the letter from her hands.
It was from Veronica.
'You sent it very quickly. Do you have something to say to me?'
After I removed the sealing wax, I opened the letter.
Inside it was full of unfair things about the management of their fishing grounds she had suffered from Mikhail.
And finally, she commented that she was worried about Mikhail's extraordinary obsession towards me.
'Mikhail, this man is really being punished by the heavens.'
I let him go because I knew I wronged him while we were together, but I didn't know his family was in charge of fishing.
'Exactly, I was close to managing personal connections to take advantage of people when needed, but I was distressed even for him.'
When I read her letter, I suddenly remembered that about myself.
[ note : so this part is a bit confusing, but i'm guessing mikhail is salty about what happened at veronica's house and decided to take out his anger on her family like what?? ]
Somehow my mouth felt bitter.
I felt like eating something sweet.
Should I ask Matthew to bake me a cake?
[ note : matthew is the chef of the house ]
However, I decided on going to a sweet tea shop instead.
"Marylin, get ready for an outing."
"Yes, Miss. I'll give you a change of clothes first."
When I changed into my outdoor clothes, Marilyn left the room.
"Wait a minute. I'll shall let the butler know."
"Yes."
When she went out, I laughed unconsciously.
'Since you didn't come today, will you come tomorrow?'
I thought about buying Max's favorite cake and saving it for him for the next time he came.
Knock. Knock.
I became nervous as I heard a sound coming from the window.
'It's not a pigeon, is it?'
I crept towards the window.
I let out a sigh of relief at the familiar face.
'I told you to come through the door normally, but you came through the window again.'
When I unlocked the window, he stepped into my room.
"Welcome."
"Where are you going?"
Marilyn's voice was heard from outside the door.
"My Lady, we're all set."
I stared at him.
"I was going to have cake alone but your timing was good. Let's go together."
I thought he would've liked the idea because he's a person who seems to enjoy cake.
But instead of reacting positively, he only stared at me with a stiff expression.
His voice came out before long.
"I have something to say."
I nodded.
I thought he would answer like he always did.
However, the words that escaped his mouth gave me no choice but to widen my eyes.
"I've got a job I need to take care of. It will probably take a while."
"Work as in like what mercenaries do?"
"It's similar."
I wanted to deny what I was thinking internally, but I still stiffened at the sheer positivity.
That means he might get hurt.
"Is it dangerous?"
At my question, he looked at me and shook his head.
"I don't lose fights."
In a way, it probably meant he was not taking on any difficult tasks.
Honestly, I sympathized with his words because my motto in life is 'let's do it safely.'
"You thought through it well. You don't have to do anything dangerous."
At my words he stared at me and said.
"So, I don't think I'll be able to come by for a while."
Certainly, in the terms of the contract, the employer and the employee are obligated to report their destinations to each other in case of an absence.
Looking at it this way, I should probably say something like, 'I see, for a while huh? How many days?'
Suddenly, I heard Marilyn's voice again.
"My Lady?"
I opened my mouth as I stared at Max.
"Okay, then let's go get some cake together before you leave."
Then, he smiled at me.
I couldn't understand the meaning behind it, so I stared blankly.
He stared at me and said...
"There's something around your eyes."
I thought my makeup had smudged, so I took out my handkerchief reflexively.
At that moment, he snatched my handkerchief out of my hand.
I stared at him in amazement.
"Stay alert while I'm gone. Don't be fooled by anyone."
Honestly, it was ridiculous for someone I didn't know that well to tell me that.
I was about to retort back, but he interrupted me.
"We'll go eat cake when I get back. And don't look for anyone else while I'm away."
After he finished speaking, he jumped out of the window.
'I didn't get to say what I wanted to say...'
I turned around before closing the window.
'Well, he'll be back in a few days. He'll be alright.'
I sighed.
"I'm sorry, Marilyn, but I think I'll cancel our outing."
Strangely enough, my appetite ran out, and I didn't want to eat anything.
I slowly closed my eyes, eroded by the intense fatigue.
_
"Miss Juvellian!"
The sound of someone calling my name brought me back to my senses
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in my room.
"You're dozing off during Rose's tea party."
Maybe it's because I haven't been able to sleep well lately, but I've been dozing off a lot recently.
I blinked rapidly to clear my eyes.
Veronica stared at me with a pout on her face.
"We're in the middle of a conversation, wake up."
Two months have passed since I became a member of the tea tasting club.
After four tea parties, I have become quite close to the other members
'My father's been quiet and Max has also been quiet.'
It's hard to believe it's already been two months.
Because of that, everything's been very peaceful around me.
"Sir Nathan said he was slapped on the cheek by his fiancé, Miss Swan."
"Oh my God, why?"
"He played a prank on Miss Swan's cousin's brother!"
Of course, not everything is quite peaceful.
Anyway, what's important is that my father doesn't interfere with me and Max's relationship these days.
Furthermore, my marriage proposal with the Crown Prince has been canceled, and it has been quiet ever since he came back.
'Should I say thank God?'
I grabbed a biscuit and put it in my mouth.
The taste was salty with a hint of sweetness.
'Max would like this.'
Unlike me, everyone else chatted without even looking at the snacks.
"Isn't Her Imperial Highness The Princess' coming of age ceremony soon?"
I stopped eating and focused on the conversation.
'Isn't the Princess' coming-of-age ceremony in a month and five days?'
In the novel, on the day of the Princess' coming-of-age ceremony, I will be struck by the Princess while holding a young noble lady's head in a riot in the ballroom.
Yes, I was the first victim of the cider machine that is Beatrice.
[ note : beatrice is a ginger so i'm guessing that's why she called her a 'cider machine' lol ]
'Well, seeing that Mikhail is quiet these days, I should be fine.'
As I was lost in my thoughts, I heard and excited voice.
"That's right! I'm already worried about what I shall wear on that day."
"It will be difficult if you dress up too flashy. What if you catch the Crown Prince's eye..."
"It's scary just thinking about it."
'I should wear clothes as modest as possible on that day as well.'
I was lost in thought as I waited for the tea party to conclude.
Suddenly, the door burst open and someone came into the drawing room.
"Rose! Do you know what I just heard?"
Rose, who identified the figure, frowned.
"Come on, can't you knock before coming in?"
He opened his mouth at Rose's remark.
"I apologize. I acted rudely in front of the ladies."
His cheeks turned red in embarrassment.
The noble ladies chuckled at the sight.
"What's with the rush?" Asked Marien.
Rose's brother Nate, opened his mouth.
"Well, Lagon has declared war against us."
Everyone quickly became agitated by his shocking words.
"No! Lagon!"
"Will we be alright?"
Unlike the people around me, I sighed as I knew the future due to the original novel.
Lennox Chang Jung-baek, who claimed to be a good soldier, will participate in the war, but will eventually fail.
Only then, It would be the Emperor and my father who helped him save the Empire from the crisis.
But the answer that left Nate's mouth was different from what I knew.
"Yes, of course. Thanks to the preparation two months ago, Lenox Chang Jung-baek succeeded in the war, and in the midst of everything, the Crown Prince even managed to cut off the King of Lagon's head."
'What? Crown Prince?'
I was confused by this new development that had never happened in the original story.
But Nate, who didn't know what I was thinking, continued.
"So, in one month, they will be holding a victory banquet."
Nate, who announced the surprising news, continued to look at all of us.
"All nobles are obliged to attend."
I frowned at the remark.
'Ha, the Crown Prince is very active these days. What's more, an unscheduled party...'
I was so upset that I gulped down cold tea.
'It's so bitter.'
Unlike me, the others were making a fuss.
"Tell me more about what happened."
Nate, who saw Veronica asking with her eyes glistening, blushed and nodded.
"Yes, of course."
Nate sat down and opened his mouth once more.
"Did you know that Lennox Chang Jung-baek claimed an ambivalence?''
"Yes, I did hear about that before."
"Lenox Chang Jung-baek claimed an ambivalence, but you know he was ignored, right?"
"Sure."
"So they were secretly raising the military, but it is said that it was only 60,000. At that time, the Crown Prince noticed that Lagons' atmosphere was unusual, so he secretly sent the soldiers."
"What was unusual about the atmosphere?"
"It is said that they were harvesting a strangely large amount of grain. And they noticed that it was a military quantity that was prepared so that it could be eaten for a long time by drying anything."
The aristocratic young ladies who were listening to Nate, began whispering.
"Oh my! The Crown Prince came up with such a great plan!"
"I know."
Nate, who was listening to them, raised his voice excitedly.
"Originally, it was said that the support group that Chang Jung-baek requested was 20,000 soldiers. But the Crown Prince was willing to send 50,000 troops and half of the Northern guard to support the force, saying that that number would be a meaningless triumph."
"Oh my God!"
Listening to the gentle exclamation, Nate added in a high-pitched voice.
"The weak who were not able to fight there, were given orders not to attack at all."
Why did the Crown Prince show such generosity?
I gave up trying to guess what was going on inside his head.
'Well, the essence is a bad guy with no blood or tears. He's a sadist.'
But other people seemed to have different ideas.
"Wow, even the knights don't need to keep their chivalry these days. That's wonderful."
_
[ note : OKAY so this chapter was very hard to edit. the next chapters will be very difficult to edit, but i will try to explain as best as i can, so please be patient haha. ANYWAYS for people that are confused about the last conversation towards the end i shall explain.
basically Nate was just telling the girls that Max's plan from the previous chapters succeeded, where he helped lennox take out the king of lagon. juvel still doesn't believe that 'the crown prince' is a good person but everyone else is starting to praise him (albeit not much)
enjoy reading! ]