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Chapter 69
The tea party proceeded smoothly.
“Ahahaha! Drink! Drink!”
“The secret of Sperom! The ultimate tea!”
At the Sperom table, the disaster everyone expected — the inevitable accident — had broken out, but since this was already routine, it was oddly peaceful.
The little devil twins had once again pulled some trick on the group that approached Duke Sperom.
They prepared something weird again.
Judging from the fact that every guest at that table had fled before even drinking a sip of tea, it was easy to guess.
Because it wasn’t an official event, overall the tea party had a relaxed atmosphere, almost like a kindergarten performance.
Except for the popular imperial, Muvisque, and Sperom tables, most people were introducing friends and mingling with family in a friendly way.
…Except for the Halbern table.
“Sorry. I don’t have any friends.”
“Huh?”
Feeling guilty, I confessed honestly.
Mehen and Lena exchanged glances.
“No, my lady! It’s much nicer for us to enjoy a cozy tea time together! Fufu. Actually, I’m thrilled because it feels like I get to monopolize you…”
“Lena.”
Stopping Lena before she went off the rails, Mehen spoke gently.
“This gathering is about seeing Arel, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Mehen…!”
“And besides, Halbern has never been particularly adept at socializing.”
“…?”
Was that supposed to be comfort?
I tilted my head, and Lena smirked mischievously.
“Sir Mehen, you should comfort her in a kinder tone.”
“Quiet, Lena.”
His face flushed red in embarrassment. Honestly, he looked cute like that, so I almost teased him — when something caught my eye.
“?”
I turned my head unconsciously and froze.
“!”
Leaning against the second-floor railing of the hall, a man’s golden beast-like eyes curved into a smile as they met mine.
Why is that stalker here—?!
“Arel?”
“Uh, uh…”
Even knowing no one else could see him, I hadn’t expected to encounter him here. The shock left me speechless.
What on earth is he planning…
Leaning on the railing, the man grinned and waved. He looked harmless, but my tension didn’t ease.
Then, in the blink of an eye—
He vanished.
“W-where did he go…”
I instinctively glanced around, but the mysterious stalker was nowhere to be seen.
Did he leave because I wasn’t alone?
Remembering that he always approached when I was alone, I frowned in discomfort.
Seeing him was a problem. Not seeing him was also a problem.
“Arel, what’s wrong?”
“Ah.”
I was sweating too much.
For Mehen, who looked worried, I forced a smile.
“Maybe I ate too many cold things.”
Mehen keenly observed his lady, who suddenly broke into a cold sweat before composing herself.
Though he’d seen her countless times at the estate, Arel outside was different.
…It was the right decision to come, after all.
When she first insisted on attending this tea party, he had opposed it vehemently, skeptical of the idea. But now, it didn’t seem all bad.
Even though, in the back of his mind, he was steadily drafting a kill list.
We’ll see…
As a commoner who was granted a title and became a noble, Mehen had always been subject to many stares.
Now, older and more used to it, he didn’t care. But at Arel’s age, those things had hurt.
Mehen never wanted Arel to go through the same.
…In my case, I always had Valère beside me, so it was fine.
Remembering the lord who had sometimes been both comfort and relief, Mehen scowled in irritation.
He wanted to beat him bloody, yet every memory of him carried an overwhelming presence that couldn’t be erased.
He didn’t know what to do with these conflicting emotions.
“This is tasty. Try it.”
“Is this the tea the twins recommended?”
“Yep!”
How could such an angel have come from such a bastard?
Suppressing his annoyance, Mehen sipped the tea Arel poured for him.
…When we return, I should make tea time a regular thing.
Their eyes met with Lena, the maid in charge of Arel’s education, who seemed to have had the same thought. She grinned mischievously.
“You two look just like a loving mother and daughter.”
“…”
Mehen ignored her.
Ever since being outed as the “mom,” the childcare group often teased him this way. But what really bothered him was something else.
“Arel.”
“Mm?”
“Are you truly all right?”
“All right about what?”
Was she really okay? She seemed fine, but Mehen found it hard to believe.
The fact that her father hadn’t come — she showed no sign of being hurt by it.
He had thought that, deep down, she might have at least hoped for it. But apparently, there wasn’t even the slightest expectation.
“…Never mind.”
Instead, the one hurt was Mehen himself.
Once again today, he suppressed his murderous intent toward his lord.
There, and over there, too.
Every other table had either a father or mother present. Only Halbern’s table had neither.
Fine. If this whole thing just passes without trouble, that will be enough.
He was trying to calm himself when—
“Sir Mehen!”
Another annoying gnat came buzzing. Duke Sperom had approached the Halbern table.
“Mehen, it’s not too late to come over to Sperom—”
“I refuse.”
“You’re supposed to hear me out before refusing!”
“Where did you leave the twins?”
“Don’t bring them up…”
The duke looked away.
“Want some Daddy-Daddy instead?”
“Daddy-Daddy, wanna drink?”
…Apparently, he had fled from his children.
“Hello, Your Grace.”
“Hahaha, Lady Arel! Just as cute as I heard. Say, would you mind taking care of my sons for me?”
“Kindly leave.”
Mehen blocked him coldly. Duke Sperom’s attempt to repay kindness with audacity drastically lowered Arel’s impression of him.
“It’s been a while, Lord Mehen.”
“It has indeed, Duke Muvisque.”
Halbern might be unpopular, but Mehen was not. When even Duke Muvisque approached, all eyes turned their way.
Because the three had a certain degree of camaraderie, no one dared interrupt.
“The Grand Duke of Halbern? As expected, he didn’t come?”
Lowering his voice, Duke Muvisque asked, as if mindful of Arel.
Mehen gave a bitter smile, and the duke sighed.
“What a heartless father.”
He grimaced just as—
“So Arel’s dad didn’t come?”
A sharp child’s voice rang out loudly through the hall.
When the tea party had first been planned on the Empress Azeny’s suggestion, Marchioness Belfart had been confident she would be its true star.
With no hostess in Halbern, she thought she could completely bury them.
But then — the Lord of Sirua, Duke Muvisque, and Duke Sperom showed up!
So the saying’s true: even rotten fish is still herring. The Five Dukes are the Five Dukes, after all!
Those damned Five Dukes!
The Belfart marquisate was an old, prestigious family too, but it felt as though there was some invisible wall above them.
Still, she had her trump card.
“Oh? Arel’s mom isn’t here either.”
“So no family came at all?”
“Then who did she even invite?”
A flaw too ambiguous to explain away without making it worse. An illegitimate child who didn’t even know her mother’s face — how could she compare to their Leslie?
The only one fit to become crown princess was her daughter.
Marchioness Belfart smiled with satisfaction.
No adult would scold innocent children for speaking out first.
And then—
“Halbern… is quite famous, isn’t it?”
“Come to think of it, hasn’t the Grand Duke been up north all this time?”
“They say he hasn’t come to the capital once since his daughter was born.”
“Oh my, he must despise his daughter so much, to choose to remain in such a harsh place.”
“Exactly. She is really his child, right?”
“They say the Halbern guardian stone resonated, so the bloodline must be certain.”
Mehen’s face hardened.
Malicious curiosity never passed up such juicy gossip.
“Honestly, who would want to see her? She’s practically his disgrace.”
“Supposedly, he was forced to acknowledge her, but she’s basically abandoned.”
“She’s terminally ill anyway. Useless to raise her, can’t even use her for a political marriage.”
“So Halbern’s glory ends here.”
Enough was enough.
Even if it meant being rude to the imperial family, Mehen resolved to take Arel away from this place. He started to rise—
“I hear some amusing things.”
A voice that should not have been heard froze him in place.
In an instant, silence fell over the hall.
Everyone’s eyes turned to the entrance.
“Who was it that didn’t come?”
With pure platinum hair and violet eyes.
Wearing a full-dress uniform splattered with bloodstains he didn’t even bother to conceal, the man strode in — arrogant, imperious.
“I’m a bit late.”
