Vol. 10 Chapter 56 - The Uninvited Guest

“Ina-nim, please come in.”

“Clara has stated that she will attend the tea party.”

Thalia then read the two letters Clara had written to me.

“The content is extremely offensive.”

Clara’s manner of writing her reply letters was, indeed, impolite.

Some families attempted to distance themselves and their daughters from me and my father, so they sought Clara’s assistance in uniting the young ladies my age.

But, unexpectedly, I received assistance from the Marquis of Zelude, Louis Zelude.

Of course, the marquis had no intention of assisting me in that matter.

However, following the marquis’ visit to our mansion, rumors circulated in society about my father introducing a young lady to the marquis as a marriage partner and that the marquis adored the young lady.

As a result, the young ladies who claimed they couldn’t attend the previous outing sent me responses indicating that they would attend the tea party this time.

My father had been emphasizing that he had never introduced Marquis Zelude to a marriage partner.

However, because it was true that Marquis Zelude had come to our mansion to meet a woman and had stayed until late at night, everyone seemed sensitive about it.

Many people would be in danger if Marquis Zelude planned to use Duke Krenberia’s power to overthrow Marchioness Zelude.

As a result, they are forced to pay attention to the relationship between Marquis Zelude and Duke Krenberia.

“Rhaya, what are your thoughts on this? Do you think Clara believed the rumors and decided to come to see the one who might become the marchioness in the future?”

“As someone who will be the crown princess, I don’t think she’d be swayed by such rumors and push it in such a rude manner. Perhaps she had guessed and wanted to confirm that Ina-nim had saved me and that I was already your person.”

“Do you think Marquis Zelude had said anything to her?”

“Louis said that he won’t say anything about me. They initially didn’t talk much about anything. Even their living spaces are so far apart that Clara would have no idea if I had stayed at Louis’ place.”

I don’t think she could possibly be unaware.

Thalia is a danger to Clara’s life. Even if their residences are separated, this does not mean that Louis’ residence is completely free from Clara’s eye.

“Clara, when the marquis wanted to take you to the marquis’ family, didn’t you tell him it was Clara who was after your life?”

“Not at all, Ina-nim. I figured if I told Louis about it, he’d get angry at Clara and try to do something about it. I was also concerned that Louis would try to annoy Clara by claiming that I had survived. Clara is the prospective crown princess, so I need to figure out about that first.”

“You’re correct. Even though she is still the potential crown princess, she is already treated as a member of the royal family. Marquis Zelude will never be able to touch her.”

Shabelle would have solved Clara’s problem with the help of the crown prince in the novel’s original story.

Even if she is already a member of the royal family, it is impolite of her to declare she will attend the tea party when I have already declined her invitation.

Furthermore, even if she is about to become a member of the royal family, it is still considered impolite because I am already a member of the royal family as the empress’s niece.

No matter how I think about it, it seems that Clara was belittling me.

Thalia asked me carefully as I glared at Clara’s letter with an obnoxious expression.

“……aren’t you close?”

“Who with whom?”

“I heard you helped her adjust to society when she made her debut as the Zelude Family’s young lady.”

“Ah…… I had only invited her to tea with the other young ladies twice. How can I help her adjust to society when I haven’t even officially debuted?”

“I thought you were close to her, Ina-nim.” Seeing as her letter is quite impolite.”

“Does anyone get along with someone who speaks so rudely?”

Thalia gave me a strange look.

“What’s the matter?”

“I thought you were the type of person who likes to socialize with people who are rather self-righteous, Ina-nim.”

“……how could you come to that conclusion?”

“I know you misunderstand Clara’s personality, but you’re also close to Lady Float and have been looking after her.”

“Well, that’s……”

“Wasn’t the invitation you handed me through the servant before written by Lady Float?” And, as far as I can tell, that servant despises Lady Float. And I heard from him that Lady Float has been impolite to you, Ina-nim.”

It seems that it was Stein himself who handed her Shabelle’s written invitation.

“Moreover……”

There’s more?

Thalia paused. Except for Shabelle, the other girls are adorable.

Other than those two, I don’t believe anyone else is particularly arrogant.

In a strict sense, their arrogance is unavoidable because they are daughters of aristocratic families. And their demeanor is normal by aristocratic society’s standards.

Furthermore, I don’t believe Thalia has seen me with anyone besides my father, Karpel, and the Marquis.

“Ah!”

She was talking about Karpel.

Thalia smiled embarrassingly when I sighed as I realized what she was thinking.

“I tell you this because I don’t want you to get it wrong, Ina-nim. This morning, His Highness had to deal with an assassin who was after me.”

I gave Thalia a blank stare.

“What was Karpel dealing with?”

“When the assassin sneaked into the mansion, his highness was dressed disheveled as if he had just returned from his training.”

“……”

“His majesty immediately chased the assassin out the window. But I opened the door to leave the room. And at that moment, a passing servant happened to notice me and his majesty.”

Thalia tried desperately to explain the situation.

“So, Ina-nim……”

“No, wait a minute. Please wait a moment.”

My thoughts were so jumbled that I interrupted Thalia’s words.

Then I stared blankly out the window.

The backyard is visible from Thalia’s room window.

There’s also the practice field across the backyard.

Karpel, whom I had met at the training field this morning, came to mind.

Karpel, who was strangely wet on his upper body, as if he had washed it.

There is a waterway, such as water flowing underground between the backyard and the training field.

There is also a pond where the flowing water collects.

Carpel was wearing a towel that was a faint but distinct red color.

My thoughts went to a scenario in which Karpel had handled the assassin and roughly washed his body before meeting me in the training field this morning.

“Did the assassin flee to the backyard?”

“Yes. His highness instructed me not to tell you about it, Ina-nim. But I don’t want to keep anything from you. And the situation was extremely simple to misunderstand.

“What is the misunderstanding?”

“Because I was dressed in a nightgown while his highness……”

She appeared to be concerned that I might misunderstand their affair.

“Ah, I won’t misunderstand something like that……”

Thalia gave me a sincere look and said it as if she truly believed it.

“Then…… shouldn’t we cover that servant’s mouth then?”

Was the servant who witnessed the incident merely a servant?

I went to the kitchen very early in the morning, and there was no one there.

Furthermore, if a servant came to this area where the guest stayed, it indicates that the servant was not an ordinary servant.

Usually, the assassin’s target was Karpel.

Wasn’t the servant someone from a rebel who infiltrated the mansion to protect Karpel?

In any case, it didn’t appear that Thalia needed to worry about it.

“It’s fine. His highness would have handled it. If you’re still worried, why don’t you go find the servant and tell them yourself?”

Thalia paused for a moment before nodding.

“But Ina-nim, you look pale.”

“No, it’s fine. Everything is fine with me. Was Clara responsible for the assassination?”

“I’m going to find out for myself.”

“Personally?”

“I had some methods that I used when I tried to contact Louis before.”

“……but in the end, couldn’t you?”

“I didn’t have any money at the time.”

“Do you require any?”

“No, it’s fine. From now on, I’ll ask Louis.”

“All right, then…… Please let me know if you require my assistance.”

“Yes. Oh, and thank you for inquiring about Clara’s letter.”

“That’s not something to be grateful for. I came because I couldn’t understand Clara’s demeanor.”

“In my opinion, you should politely decline her. You don’t have to put up with this, Ina-nim. Clara would assume she had the upper hand if you accepted her in this manner. It’s extremely unpleasant to consider.”

“I understand. I agree with you.”

Thalia was still concerned that I was still pale, but I was also concerned for her safety.

It’s possible that something similar will happen again in the future. So I should consider giving her the defensive magic ring.

Thalia stood up and saw me off until the front door as I said I should leave now. But then she exclaimed as if she had realized something important.

“Are you scared of the assassin, Ina-nim?” Are you bothered about the assassin? Not because you have a misunderstanding?”

Thalia, come to think of it, was the intended victim.

Even though her life was in danger, she was so concerned that I might misinterpret Karpel and her affair that she didn’t consider her own safety.

“How can it not be frightening?”

Thalia muttered something in response to my question.

“His highness told me not to tell…… there is no other reason… I just……”

“Huh? I can’t hear you very well.”

“Nothing, Ina-nim. It’s scary. Yes, it’s frightening… But, unlike when I was alone, I now have Ina-nim to protect me.”

I didn’t say anything, but I nodded because I recognized that she was less afraid now and that she wasn’t alone.

“Rhaya, watch out for your own safety. I owe you an apology. I had no idea the assassin would dare to break into Krenberria’s mansion.”

“Not at all, Ina-nim. It is my responsibility to apologize to you. The assassin even dared to break into this mansion because of me……”

“……”

“There was a backstory that Clara was the mastermind behind the assassination attempts, but I’ll let you know when the results are released.”

I nodded once more and went to my room.