Those who came to watch the fall of Count Reuwen’s family were not merely servants. Ironically, those who welcomed their fall the most were the very crowd that had been closest to them.
“Didn’t you hear? Just about this time yesterday, do you know what Flora said to me?”
“What did she say?”
“She told me not to call her by name anymore. She said it seems we couldn’t be on such familiar terms.”
“Oh my, does she have prophetic powers? She must have known her family would collapse overnight.”
“That’s right. We can’t be familiar, how vulgar. Hm?! There she is.”
When the former Countess Reuwen came into view among the people, the young ladies who had been spewing mockery laced with malice all craned their necks. The former Countess, who had strutted about with Richmond’s treasures hanging from her neck, had become unrecognizably haggard overnight. Wearing an unadorned cotton dress and a thin coat, she leaned on her son’s hand and took difficult steps. Her skirt hem was already a mess from the autumn rain that had poured down all day.
However, doubt clouded the faces of the young ladies who had been sparkling with malicious interest. They rolled their eyes busily searching for someone, but the figure they anxiously sought was nowhere on the path.
“What happened?”
Malice is one of humanity’s strongest motives. The young ladies who harbored a grudge against Flora acted as though they wouldn’t be satisfied until they witnessed her miserable end. They wandered briefly, then headed toward the room Flora had stayed in. And when they opened the door without hesitation, what they encountered was a sight they had never imagined.
“……?”
“Huh?”
In the neatly arranged room stood a presence that should not have been there. Flora, who had been leaning by the window, turned toward the dumbfounded young ladies and smiled coldly.
“When entering another person’s room, you knock.”
She clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Do I really have to point out something like this too?”
“You—”
“‘You’? Don’t you remember we agreed to speak formally to each other?”
A young lady whose face turned red and blue at Flora’s sarcasm approached fiercely and shrieked.
“Your father, mother, and brother are all being driven out of the castle right now!! You have no lands or title, so you’re just a commoner. It’s right for me to speak down to you, and you’re the only one who has to be polite to me, you stupid thing, ack!!”
Slap!!
Flora struck the cheek of the young lady spewing venom without warning.
“Watch your tongue. You don’t even know what’s going on; how do you plan to take responsibility for this?”
“…….”
“You stupid thing. Why do you think I haven’t been driven out? Why is this room so tidy? Do you think I cleaned it?”
Flora tapped the young lady’s head with her index finger.
“Think about it, please.”
She straightened her back while watching the young ladies’ expressions become dyed with confusion. The miserable sight of her family’s backs as they left and her father’s final request still pricked at her heart, but even so, she was certain her choice was right.
“Come to think of it, you might be confused. I haven’t introduced myself.”
Flora spoke in an overbearing voice, as if imitating the Marchioness.
“I am Flora Rinko. From now on, call me the young lady of Marquis Rinko.”
I do feel a bit sorry toward Father, but a person who must survive has to survive, doesn’t she?
* * *
“Flora Rinko… Tch!”
The Marchioness furrowed her brow deeply and clicked her tongue as she pronounced the name.
“How impudent.”
Still, it was a relief that the name Rinko had not come from her father’s mouth.
The Marchioness skipped lunch and was lost in thought again. Yesterday had been the worst day of her life, one she wanted to erase entirely. Events too hateful to enumerate had occurred in succession, and anxiety, humiliation, and fear surged in like a landslide and overwhelmed her. The damned Eliza Richmond’s laughter could be heard even if she covered her ears. She tried slipping a large diamond onto her finger to relieve her foul mood, but instead, she only grew more desperate thinking of Richmond’s stolen treasures and the key to the Blue Room. When irritation swelled and she was about to wrench the diamond ring off, her son came. Edward held out a sheet of paper with a calm face.
“Please sign this, Mother.”
She was prepared to grant anything her son asked, but she simply could not sign that document.
“Adopt Flora as a daughter? Why?!”
Edward explained that in exchange for adopting Flora, Count Reuwen would take all the blame. Deep disgust spread across the Marchioness’s face at his explanation.
“So she means to sell her own parents. I thought she was merely foolish, but she’s shameless as well.”
“Flora Reuwen said she would go to the Count after verifying the adoption documents with her own eyes. Time is of the essence. It would be problematic if Count Reuwen’s lips uttered our family name, would it not, Mother?”
“Is there no other way at all? What does your father say?”
“Father has permitted it. And there is another advantage to adopting Flora Reuwen.”
“Advantage?”
“Even if Count Reuwen does not speak the name Rinko, people will think this matter is related to Father. They will say Rinko sold out Reuwen to survive.”
“After all we’ve done for the House of Count Reuwen, it’s only natural!!”
“The problem is that dissatisfaction will arise among the families following Rinko. But if we accept Flora Reuwen, public opinion will be more favorable.”
Even so, when his mother did not sign readily, Edward clasped her hand tightly and met her eyes. And he spoke with desperation.
“Listen carefully, Mother.”
“…….”
“Duke Richmond will never forgive our family.”
Edward’s words lodged in the Marchioness’s heart like a sharp thorn. It was a fact she already knew, but hearing it from her son’s mouth was a different feeling. An eerie chill drained her face of color and spread throughout her body, and her mouth went bone dry.
“To survive, there is now only one way.”
“What is it?”
“Cutting the Duke’s throat.”
The Marchioness, moving her dry lips, leaned toward her son and whispered.
“It is no easy matter. Do you think your father and I have been sitting idle all this time?”
“I mean not assassination, but war.”
Edward looked directly into his mother’s eyes, which had grown wide with shock.
“We must gather allies and strike the Duke. That is why public opinion is crucial now, Mother.”
“…….”
“The Duke will not cast us out of the castle. It is easier to keep watch on us while we are inside. Therefore, Mother, you must rather gather people and prove to them that House Rinko remains strong.”
“How?”
“Show them that Rinko can give treasures as precious as Richmond’s. And oppose the Duchess.”
Instinctive fear crept over her, yet at the same time, a strange exhilaration came.
“Oppose the Duchess?”
“The families who cannot be forgiven by the Duke will inevitably end up on our side. By opposing the Duchess, Mother, they will place their last hope in Rinko.”
“…….”
“‘Perhaps Rinko might win.’”
Goosebumps prickled on the back of the Marchioness’s neck.
“However, you must control the degree.”
“Do we have a chance of victory?”
Edward pondered for a moment, then answered.
“It will take time for Richmond to stabilize. Both the Duchess and the Duke have returned after more than a decade. Most of the key personnel are our people, so they will be overwhelmed for some time with fundraising, organizing documents, and the like.”
“That is certainly true.”
“Furthermore, I heard that Father has made contact with Her Majesty the Empress. If we move quickly, there is a chance.”
The Marchioness brightened and spoke quickly.
“By now, Her Majesty the Empress’s agents will have reached the vicinity of Richmond territory.”
“That is all the better. Please arrange for me to meet them secretly.”
“Yes. Ah, right, give me the document. I will sign it.”
While the Marchioness was carefully mulling over matters with her son, a maid approached and reported.
“They say Count Reuwen’s entire family has left the castle.”
“What happened to the one called ‘Iron Foot’?”
“He was hanged above the moat. The soldier who killed the maid was also punished according to the criminal code, they say.”
“What is Eliza Richmond doing? Well, no doubt she is laughing with joy.”
When the Marchioness rubbed between her brows rather roughly, the maid, who had been watching her cues, cautiously added.
“Several ladies have come requesting an audience.”
“…….”
She was not the only one who had swayed in a sea of anxiety last night and been unable to sleep. And so, when the Reuwens finally fell this morning, they must have rushed to find the Marchioness like mad. The Marchioness closed her eyes and composed her mind.
‘Not assassination, but war.’
Repeating her son’s words, she set her lips firmly and opened her eyes. Eliza Richmond would be intoxicated with a small victory. Therefore, now more than ever, she had to keep her wits about her and move.
“Help me dress. Call Flora as well.”
“Yes.”