There’s No Divorce For You

If there is a God of black tea, it is clear that he borrowed money from Liza and didn’t pay it back. As a result, Liza was terribly unable to get on the proper tea. The water was too hot, and the tea leaves were brewed too much, so the bitter taste was strong. 

I sipped the grassy water, which was not even called tea, and suspected that she might have a grudge against the tea. My tongue was in pain. But I couldn’t show it with my expression, so I calmly emptied the teacup.

“You need to learn more about tea.”

Liza looked around and smiled.

“I’ve never made tea before….”

I caught a faint sense of incompatibility in her words. Obviously, the Count said that Liza was the Baroness’s maid.

The Baron was an aristocrat of the rank just below the Viscount, and few of them were rich enough to live near the capital. Still, nobles are nobles, so it didn’t make sense that a dedicated maid couldn’t make tea. 

The reason why I didn’t notice this quickly while being stuck together is that Bell never left her with the job of making tea. Bell had considerable pride in making tea that suited Carla’s taste. 

However, it looked suspicious. Everything that had happened in the past felt suspicious. Come to think of it, Liza was an old servant, but there are many inexperienced points.

It was the same as opening the invitation at will and talking back randomly. In addition, her footsteps were loud, and she was careless in their actions. I glanced at her slightly. 

“How many years did you say you worked at the previous mansion?” 

“Three years, Madam.”

“Really? Then you must have a lot of skills.”

Liza seemed happy that I complimented her, so she straightened her shoulders and held out her chest. She lifted her chin slightly and looked up at me, looking more like a kitten hoping for her master’s praise than arrogance. Liza got excited about it and started chattering. 

 “I learn really quickly. The maid complimented me, too. Well, I mean, I can sew very, very small socks. You know what, Madam? Children’s socks are really small. It’s smaller than two fingers. It’s really cute!”

Her words were as rhythmic as reading a fairy tale, and I reflected on her words as if I were eating a cookie house. 

“Why are children so lovely? The top of their heads also smells of fragrant caramel.”

Liza talked endlessly about how good a child is. She had a big smile on her face and said that she hoped her future child would be just like her.

How nice it would be to live such a carefree life. I looked at her with a soft look. Liza sighed softly and shut up what she interpreted as what I was looking at. Her big eyes rolled away.

“Madam, well, I… If you can’t drink tea, would you like some whiskey?”

“Whiskey?”

“Yes. They said it would be delicious. I was wondering if Madam liked it….”

It was obvious, even if I didn’t ask who did it. That’s what the Count said. It was the first time I heard him drinking alcohol in his tea. Did Carla know? 

I thought it was something to know whether a man who I didn’t care about was drinking alcohol in a tea or poison, but it was tempting to say that he was drinking whiskey. I nodded without expression.

“Just bring the bottle.”

Not knowing how much alcohol was in the mansion, I ordered so. Carla’s diary didn’t say the little things I wanted to know. Of course, it was natural, but the fact that I didn’t have the basic common sense that she knew was uncomfortable at times like this. Liza tilted her head and asked.

“Can I bring what is in the office? I saw alcohol hidden on the Count’s desk.”

“Yeah.” 

Liza ran out of the room excitedly and brought whiskey in an instant. She ran so much that her skirt was slightly turned upside down. It was a face that was looking forward to getting a few sips. 

The whiskey bottle was made of glass and was heavy. The spout of the bottle was narrow, and the bottom was wide, engraved with stylish letters.

<Glenda 21 years>

I poured whiskey back into the teacup. Liza sniffed, smelled it, and whispered to me.

“Madam, this whisky is not Glenda.”

“What?”

Liza lowered her voice, telling a very secret.

“It smells completely different.”

“Is that so?”

“Madam, you don’t drink alcohol, do you? Then you may not know. I know because sometimes I steal things from the cupboard and eat them—Oh, please don’t tell the Count.” 

She seemed to steal the Count’s wine quite often. It was fortunate that Carla had no interest in alcohol. I don’t like drinking much either, so I could just close my eyes at that part.

I nodded my head generously and pushed the teacup to Liza. After sipping a few sips, she whispered that the taste was completely different, too.

“It smells similar, but it is definitely different. Glenda aged for 21 years has a very strong floral scent.”

Liza continued to speak, tasting the whiskey mixed with tea as if she was just drinking tea.

“If you fill a pretty bottle with cheap whiskey, it looks like a decent drink to other people. But it’s also good because it’s delicious in its own way.”

Liza held out the teacup to me again. I took the cup she held out and put it to my lips as if a young student would take the drink back. There was only a faint smell of flowers, but the alcohol was so bitter that I couldn’t drink at all.

“It tastes so weird…” 

“Even if it’s mixed with tea, it’s still alcohol!”

As I tasted it little by little, thinking about how it tasted, I laughed like an immature noble lady. Carla’s body was weak against alcohol, and just a few sips made me dizzy.

“Now, drink it all.”

When I handed Liza a cup, she emptied the drink at once. Every time she acted so innocent, I felt a sense of closeness, but at the same time, I couldn’t control the emotion that came up from deep inside my heart.

Whose heart is this? me? Or Carla? I put a hand on my head that seemed to have a headache and waved the other hand. 

“I’m going to rest now, so go out now. You don’t have to come in until I call you.” 

“Yes! Ah, Madam.” 

Liza asked while she was packing her cup.

“When the flowers in the garden bloom, can I pluck them a little? Only a few of them.”

I nodded my head generously. It didn’t look like Liza was going to use the poppy for anything bad anyway.

“Do that.” 

As soon as she closed her door and left, I stretched out. I got drunk and felt dizzy for a while, but it wasn’t to the point that I couldn’t do anything.

“Okay, let’s get to work now.”

* * *

I looked at the invitations piled up on the dressing table one by one. It wasn’t easy to distinguish people who were favorable to the king. Thinking that I should get Theodore’s help, I first selected a few people.

First, I chose invitations from people whose names I remembered and who interact with Carla. Then, I chose invitations from high-ranking people, and lastly, I chose invitations from people with whom Carla has no interaction and who are low-ranking.

“The fear of power is terrifying.”

First, I opened the invitation from the Duke family. Even though there was no interaction at all, I thought that the first person to send an invitation was an unusual person. The seal on the green seal was as unique as the king.

A quill pen on top of a book that is open. Maybe a book or a quill is a symbol of the founding myth or country, but I had no intention of looking for it now. Instead of saying hello or a tea party schedule, other words were written on the smooth paper.

[What are you doing?]

I looked through the envelope again. 

It was obviously sent by the Duke of Fidez. I scanned the paper back and forth to see if there were any other letters or if it was a misspelled letter. But nothing could be found. There was only one line.

‘Then what are you doing?’

That was what I wanted to ask. I had no idea what this was going to do. I thought, fiddling with the edges of the paper. Did the Duke and Carla know each other from the beginning? 

I looked through Carla’s diary, but none of the people who fought with her was young Duke. Fidez, Fidez, I put the Duke’s name on the tip of my tongue several times. Still, I had no idea who is it.

No matter how many times I looked at the invitation, nothing changed. However, the letters written in black ink had some similarities to Carla’s handwriting, such as writing a few long strokes or drawing dots in circles. 

‘It’s not like thinking will make anything.’

I decided to write a letter to the young Duke. If it was just for attention, I wanted to say it was an excellent choice.

Rather than not being able to sleep because of curiosity, it was better to just bump into it. I began to rummage through the drawers. Even while searching through the drawers of the dressing table, my hands kept falling out. 

I thought about calling Bell or Liza, but I gave up. It was such an ugly scene when the Madam drink alcohol and have a hard time looking for letter paper. In the end, I found clean stationery in the bottom drawer. I took a deep breath and began to write letters. 

[I’m sorry I couldn’t help you find a tutor.]

At this point, I also wonder if she isn’t a great lady in the social world, but that seems like a sarcastic way to praise her. This is what it meant.

‘It seems that she didn’t learn manners because she didn’t have a tutor.’

The letters were a little crooked because of drinking, but I was able to finish them somehow. I folded the letter in half and tucked it into the ripped envelope.

‘It’s a waste to send it in a pretty envelope.’

After melting the wax and making a seal, I stood up.

Because I’m not quite sober yet, I thought there could be a maid passing by, so I opened the door in the hopes that I could catch someone and put them to work. 

“Are you here, Lady Carla?”

As soon as I opened the door, I raised my head at the voice I heard. I felt dizzy for a moment. A big hand rested on my back. I narrowed my brows and looked at the person who helped.

“Are you okay?”

“Sir Theodor?”

A knight with black hair was looking down at me.