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Chapter 60
At that moment, at the Serviat Mansion, Roze was letting out nothing but sighs, her face full of worry.
Roze’s mother, Rivera, looked at her anxiously.
“Ever since she went to Count Wens’ wedding, she seems really troubled.”
As Demon had said, she shouldn’t have shown her the wedding invitation. Even if there were no lingering feelings, he had been her husband for three years. Of course she would feel unsettled.
“…I hope it’s not that she wants to see Eric,” Rivera thought, unable to shake the unease rising in her chest. Roze had loved Eric passionately. Unless someone completely changed her, such feelings wouldn’t disappear overnight.
Just seeing the wedding of an ex-boyfriend she had broken up with long ago would stir strange emotions. But this—her ex-husband’s wedding less than a week after their divorce…!
Rivera, unaware that Roze had become a completely different person, worried over her anyway.
“Darling, are you okay?” Rivera asked cautiously. But Roze, lost in deep thought, didn’t hear her at all.
Roze clutched her head, groaning.
“Let’s think this through…”
She tried to recall the original story she had only partially read. Yet nothing significant came to mind.
“Haah…” A sigh escaped her lips.
“If only I had read it to the end, knowing I’d possess her…” she muttered to herself, burying her face in the table. She regretted not finishing the original story.
“…The princess’s birth celebration is less than ten days away.”
For her, having grown up in ordinary South Korea, “poison” was a story from a completely different world. It was far too difficult a problem to solve alone.
“Poison…” Roze closed her eyes and thought calmly.
“Come to think of it, poison was involved in that cosmetics incident too, wasn’t it?”
She suddenly remembered Doana using a cosmetic product she didn’t know the origin of.
The blisters that had risen on her right cheek…
“They said neither medicine nor magic could cure it.”
The medicines of this era were largely ineffective. Magic, she had thought, was omnipotent—but it wasn’t.
“I thought restorative magic could fix anything…”
Curious about Doana, who hadn’t healed her facial scar, Roze once asked her butler, Gwen.
Gwen had answered that no human magic could reattach severed arms or revive the dead. Recovery magic only maximized the body’s natural healing; already damaged organs or skin couldn’t be repaired.
He added that Doana’s skin had been damaged by a strong poison, so it couldn’t be perfectly healed.
Of course, Doana seemed unaware of this, assuming her incomplete recovery was because she was pregnant.
“If only she hadn’t taken what wasn’t hers…” Roze thought. If Doana hadn’t coveted her things, this trouble wouldn’t have happened.
“The culprit behind the cosmetics incident is probably Cedric.”
That incident happened the day Cedric came to the mansion. Roze recalled Cedric’s cunning, snake-like eyes as he looked at her. He resembled Eric, but unlike him, he was by no means an easy opponent.
“…Huuuh.”
Roze sighed deeply as Rivera placed a warm cup of cocoa in front of her.
“You’ll get wrinkles on that pretty face. What’s troubling you? You look so gloomy,” Rivera said, subtly trying to gauge her daughter’s feelings.
“It’s nothing. I just have some things to think about.” Roze smiled faintly as if it were nothing and picked up the steaming cup. She blew on it to cool it down.
Seeing that Roze wasn’t saying anything, Rivera’s worry grew. She eventually couldn’t hold it in and asked:
“Is it because you feel unsettled after attending a wedding?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve looked so down since yesterday… Is Count Wens bothering you?”
Roze waved her hand.
“No, it’s not because of the wedding.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Honestly, after attending the wedding, I felt quite relieved!” Roze thought of Doana and laughed. Seeing her bright smile, it didn’t look like she was lying.
“That’s a relief. I was worried I had given you the invitation for no reason.” Rivera finally exhaled in relief.
“But you’ve been sighing all the time… Is it because of that business you mentioned last time?”
“Oh, yes. It’s nothing serious, so you don’t need to worry.”
Though it was a matter of life and death, she didn’t want to worry her mother. Roze comforted her, reassuring her.
“I’m curious what kind of business it is. You kept it secret even from your mother. I wish I could help.”
“I’ll bring you along first when I go public, Mother.”
“Really? I’m looking forward to it!” Rivera’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled. Seeing Roze so mature made her feel quite pleased.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Serviat!”
A loud, familiar voice rang from the door.
“Oh, we have a visitor.” Rivera untied her apron and walked toward the door, followed by Roze, preparing to greet them.
The old door creaked open. Standing outside were Jane, beaming brightly, and Cern, wearing a shy smile.
‘Looks like they’ve reconciled!’ Roze smiled upon seeing them, greeting them in a bright voice.
“Welcome.”
Meanwhile, Tersia was enjoying herself with the noblewomen.
Though she was annoyed that Doana had followed Eric on his honeymoon, there was no reason to sulk all day over just that.
“Thank you all for taking the time to attend the wedding.”
“My pleasure.”
“Of course. Whose wedding would we miss?”
They smiled and winked, trying to please Tersia.
“This is my in-law, the Marchioness Dicar. Please give her a warm welcome.”
“Hello.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Tersia introduced the Marchioness to the noblewomen. Since the Dicar family had abandoned neutrality and sided with the Emperor, it was Tersia’s job to help the Marchioness establish connections.
After a brief introduction, Tersia suddenly placed her bag on the table, fiddling with it while barely listening to the women talking.
Unable to resist, one noblewoman asked:
“Oh, is this the new item you mentioned before?”
“So envious. I wanted one too, but they said it wasn’t available.”
Tersia’s bag was the latest release from ‘Ermea,’ the most popular brand among noblewomen, and it was a limited edition.
“I’m a VIP at Ermea, so they reserved it just for me,” Tersia said with an elegant smile, enjoying their envy.
“Oh, and everyone take one of these.”
Tersia gestured to her servant, who nodded and brought a large basket filled with gift packages. The noblewomen eagerly accepted the gifts.
“Wow! What’s all this?”
They were Ermea boxes. The noblewomen’s eyes sparkled with delight.
“I bought one for myself and one for each of you,” Tersia said, shrugging casually, smiling arrogantly.
A dozen noblewomen opened the boxes, gasping in awe.
“Goodness…!”
“Are we really allowed to take these?”
“How precious…”
Though not the same model as Tersia’s, they were high-end bags.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing special,” Tersia said, flaunting her wealth.
“Thank you.”
“We’ll treasure them.”
At that moment, someone uninvited spoiled the cheerful mood.
“Don’t you have one for me, Tersia?”
The room went silent.
The noblewomen, seeing the woman in black, quietly greeted her. Uncomfortable, she was avoided by their eyes.
Tersia arched her brow at the uninvited guest, greeting her with cold eyes and a slight curl of her lips.
“Oh, you’re here, sister?”
A fairly friendly tone. The woman approached Tersia with a wry smile.
“How have you been? It’s so hard to see your face.”
“Ah.” Tersia smirked, replying calmly:
“I’ve been very busy. How about you? Someone as busy as you missing a setup like this?”
“The memorial service ended yesterday… Didn’t you know?”
Tersia spoke with a slight smile, her voice clear.
“I didn’t. I’ve been a bit distracted,” said the woman in black, her expression stiffening.
“…You didn’t know?”
“Yes. You heard, right? My son, Eric, remarried. That’s why.”
“Really? You didn’t even show up after three days of the funeral?”
“Well… that happens,” Tersia said, glaring at her.
The woman, who had been staring only at Tersia, shifted her gaze to the noblewomen, who quickly avoided eye contact.
“Were they all so busy? No one came to my husband’s funeral.”
“Sister,” Tersia replied sharply.
“Stop it. Surely the ladies had their reasons.”
“Ha, reasons?” The woman in black looked at Tersia, incredulous.
“You didn’t let anyone come?”
Tersia raised an eyebrow.
“Me? No. Why would I do such a thing?”
The noblewomen couldn’t help but notice Tersia lying so casually.
Though the woman didn’t have close ties to everyone, she had been friendly enough. Yet Tersia hadn’t let anyone attend her husband’s funeral, pressuring them because her son Eric needed to marry and she didn’t want distractions.
The woman in black was the wife of the late Marquis Bled, from the Artium Grand Duke’s mansion. Abandoned by the group, she glared at Tersia with a face twisted in anger.
