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~Chapter 22~
“You’ve worked hard, Lady Aisha.”
Aisha’s eyes were unfocused as she listened to Madam Brien. She just stared blankly at her, looking completely out of it.
“Lady Aisha!”
“Y-Yes?”
Aisha jumped at Madam Brien’s sudden scolding, looking so pitiful that even Madam Brien sighed.
“Don’t make that face. A person’s first impression is decided by their eyes. How many times have I told you this?”
“Ah, yes… I’m sorry?”
Sigh.
Madam Brien glanced around, as if checking whether anyone was listening.
“Don’t be scared.”
She stepped closer and whispered right into Aisha’s ear.
“…What?”
Aisha’s eyes went wide at the sudden rough words.
“Whether it’s the Empress Dowager or the Emperor, you must never show weakness. And especially not when you go to a party as Duke Killian’s fiancée.”
“….”
“They’re all desperate to bring Duke Killian down. And he knows that. In this situation, if you were the Empress Dowager, who would you attack first?”
“Um… me?”
“Correct.”
Madam Brien nodded firmly.
“Duke Killian’s behavior is flawless. So the easiest target will be you, Lady Aisha. Then the whole empire will gossip—saying the Duke’s fiancée is foolish. And if she is foolish, maybe Duke Killian himself has problems too.”
That much…?
“Those rumors will hurt his reputation. In society, truth doesn’t matter. What matters is who spreads the story, and why.”
“….”
“Walking, dancing—you may fail. That’s fine, especially for someone like you with no foundation at all.”
Is she insulting me or encouraging me?
“But in one thing, you must never lose: your eyes.”
Madam Brien’s expression was serious.
“That is where every battle begins and ends. Never yield. Even if your eyes tear up from glaring too hard.”
“….”
“Do you understand what I mean?”
“Yes.”
“Then repeat it back.”
“Use my eyes?”
“….”
“Win with presence?”
Well, not completely wrong. Madam Brien’s expression twitched.
Aisha looked at her quietly. This woman had nearly driven her to suicide these past three days, but only because she had poured her whole passion into teaching. Aisha wasn’t too childish to recognize that.
“I’ll do well. Don’t worry, Madam Brien.”
“…Lady Aisha?”
“I understood everything. And, I don’t know if you realize, but even if I lack noble manners, I never lose in a battle of wills. I’ve even fought for real before.”
“You don’t mean to brawl in the palace, do you? If so, you’d better kill me here first.”
“Ah, I just meant it as a saying.”
Aisha waved her hands quickly. Madam Brien sighed in relief.
“Then I’ll take my leave. Please give my greetings to Duke Killian. Tell him I’m sorry I couldn’t greet him in person.”
“Yes, I will.”
With that, Madam Brien left the practice room.
The moment Aisha was alone, she lifted her head with pure joy.
It’s over. Finally over! This hellish training!
The training had been so harsh that her fear of Roselia was already gone.
She knew Roselia opposed Killian, but it wasn’t as if the Empress Dowager would cut off his head in the middle of a ballroom.
Now I just need to get through tomorrow safely. I really thought I’d die.
Aisha steadied her breath, then suddenly remembered—
Wait. Isn’t today the day Til is supposed to come? And it’s already evening.
Trouble. She hadn’t written a single line all day, thanks to training. And only two days remained until the release of Sunday Exposé Issue 6, Killian Winters’s feature story.
“Damn it. Too much to do.”
So tonight she’d meet Til, tomorrow she’d go to the Empress Dowager’s party, and then she’d rush back to the mansion and stay up all night writing.
Yeah… I can manage that. This issue doesn’t need extra research anyway.
Still, she regretted not publishing before the party. Meeting Roselia without it felt like going naked—it left her uneasy.
Just as she scratched the back of her head in frustration—
“Aisha.”
The door opened. Killian appeared.
“Where’s Madam Brien?”
“She just left. She said she’s sorry she couldn’t greet you.”
“I see.”
Killian stepped into the room with steady steps.
“…What now?”
“I heard Madam Brien’s foot was fractured.”
“….”
“The doctor couldn’t believe it. Said he didn’t know how you could step so hard to break a bone.”
“T-That was because I was so focused… my body just moved ahead of my mind…”
“Don’t step on my foot, Aisha Ashton.”
Killian said it flatly.
Aisha was speechless. He hadn’t shown his face for three days, and now he said that?
She wanted to break not just his foot but his nose.
“Stand up.”
Killian suddenly stretched out his hand to her.
“I need to see for myself.”
“…See what?”
“The results of Madam Brien’s special training.”
