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Chapter : 11
Wasn’t he from the same Conservative Party?
Rose was briefly puzzled, then quickly dismissed the thought.
There was something about the man named Avery that gave off an unpleasant feeling she could not quite explain.
“Your hand.”
As she was organizing her thoughts alone, a shadow fell over her and a low voice brushed against her ear.
Ray’s arm came up beside her chest.
When Rose placed her hand on his arm, his deep blue eyes quietly fixed on her. It was that familiar warning look.
Seeing that cold gaze, she became certain he would question her the moment they returned to the mansion about what she had spoken about with Avery.
“Hm, it seems Lord Crawford has arrived.”
Seeing the couple approach, the old Prime Minister smiled brightly. The Prime Minister and his wife were among the few who were genuinely kind to Rose without pretense.
“The welfare bill for veterans is something Lord Crawford has been pushing, so he must be curious about its progress.”
As the Prime Minister patted Ray’s back in a rather friendly way and drew him into the conversation, the legislator he had been speaking with looked troubled.
“No, Prime Minister… I was actually interested in your opinion…”
“Hm?”
The Prime Minister only gave a vague sound as if he had not heard properly. Rose wondered whether he truly could not hear, or if he was pretending not to due to his age.
He seemed to have no hearing issues, yet sometimes acted like this.
Taking the lack of response as an opening, the legislator turned to Ray.
“No, it’s nothing serious.”
“Is there a problem with the bill?”
At Ray’s question, the legislator quickly shook his head.
“No, no. The bill is excellent. Truly excellent. It’s just the budget that’s a concern…”
As he trailed off, his eyes suddenly shifted behind Ray.
Only then did Rose realize that Archibald Avery had finished his cigarette and followed them out.
After confirming the exchanged look between the legislator and Avery, Ray slightly tilted his head.
“I don’t think you need to worry about that part. Thanks to Lord Avery.”
“My thanks?”
Avery asked as if confused, but Ray’s smile only deepened.
“When you raised tariffs, you cited this bill as one of the reasons more taxation was needed. I assume you’ve already set aside the funds from that revenue.”
Avery’s smooth expression briefly stiffened.
Watching him, Rose suddenly remembered something she had heard from Beth before.
Beth had a habit of collecting every article related to her brother and sometimes showed them to Rose. One editorial title, which she had once ignored, suddenly came back to her memory.
“If the Minister of Internal Affairs Were Crawford.”
Beth had said Avery was not very popular as Minister of Internal Affairs.
Since he became minister, the economy had worsened, and people complained that all he did was raise tariffs.
As Rose recalled that article, Avery waved his hand dismissively.
“Yes, yes. Don’t worry about that part. And don’t worry about the bill either.”
There was irritation in his gesture. It was clear he wanted to avoid the topic.
“What Lord Crawford should worry about is something else. Foreign affairs.”
Avery smoothly shifted the topic back to Crawford.
“Of course, there hasn’t been much to worry about lately. I suppose you’ve been enjoying some leisure time. Peace without war is practically a holiday for the Foreign Minister, isn’t it?”
Considering Avery’s earlier behavior on the balcony, Rose thought his words should not be taken at face value.
Who knew if this was actually a disguised insult, implying he had nothing to do.
Ray simply smiled faintly without responding.
“Still, it’s fortunate. That gives you more time to pay attention to your wife. I must say, I am quite concerned. It seems she has not fully adapted to Orthuran.”
Avery turned his gaze toward Rose with a look of false sympathy.
“Lord Crawford is a key figure in our Conservative Party, madam. Your support is more important than ever…”
He paused and let out a long, sympathetic sigh. That sigh made it clear what he was implying.
What is this?
Rose frowned slightly, looking at him.
The man had been subtly attacking her since the balcony.
She tried to dismiss it as just another person insulting her for being from Bolton, but this man went too far.
It was deliberate.
As if not only Rose felt it, the Prime Minister, who had been pretending not to hear, cleared his throat and stepped in.
“Everything is difficult at first. I think she is adapting very well. Don’t you agree?”
Before Rose could answer, the Prime Minister’s wife eagerly nodded.
With the Prime Minister’s couple openly supporting her, Avery seemed to step back slightly.
“I see. Do keep working hard, Mrs. Crawford. You wouldn’t want to cross the River Tees again, would you?”
At least until he said that.
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
Not only the Prime Minister’s couple, but several politicians at the table looked around nervously. Though strictly speaking, they seemed more concerned about Ray than Rose.
Crossing the River Tees.
Rose understood exactly what this well-known Orthuran saying meant.
South of the River Tees lay Bolton.
Orthurans often said, “I would rather cross the Tees,” meaning they would rather go to that uncivilized place.
Bolton was used as a standard comparison for something undesirable.
She had heard it before many times. Some said it without even noticing her, others corrected themselves after realizing, and some maliciously used it only when Ray was not present.
But Archibald Avery was the only one who used it deliberately in front of both Ray and Rose.
Avery was smiling as he looked at her.
Even in this moment, this humiliating moment, Rose wondered whether she should remain silent.
Part of her wanted to snap back, Why not? What’s so bad about crossing it?
But many things stopped her from speaking.
Ray Crawford’s cold gaze. Agatha’s heavy sighs. The pity, shock, and stares from others.
She forced herself to open her mouth, but no words came out.
At that moment, she felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder.
“When I went to meet my wife for the first time, I crossed the River Tees…”
Ray’s pleasant voice flowed out as he gently pulled her slightly closer to him.
“Nothing particularly different about it.”
He ended his sentence in the same soft tone.
“Just as there is nothing particularly different about my wife.”
As expected of a politician, his acting was perfect.
Looking at Ray’s face as he looked down at Rose, his gentle smile made him seem like a devoted husband.
From the side, the Prime Minister’s wife let out an impressed sound.
A perfectly handsome face wearing a perfectly beautiful… fake smile.
As always, Ray Crawford’s methods were smooth and natural.
He did not openly protest that Rose was being insulted, nor did he stay silent.
Instead, he always included himself in her, ending the situation in one move. People might insult Rose, but they could not insult him.
Politically, it was an excellent method. Emotionally, it was completely lacking.
Right now, Rose felt like she wanted to punch Archibald Avery in the face.
“What are you saying, Lord Crawford? Mrs. Crawford is exceptionally beautiful. How could you say such a thing in front of a beauty like her? Your standards must be impossibly high…”
The Prime Minister’s wife laughed, and others joined in.
“Even crossing one river or another, I’ve never seen a beauty like her. Lord Avery wouldn’t know, since he never crosses any rivers.”
Smiling back, Ray Crawford calmly smoothed over the situation.
“Crossing rivers is my job. I cross every river in Orthuran.”
“Having crossed them, where is the best place? Anything interesting across the river?”
With the Prime Minister’s question, others quickly began asking Ray more things.
From the economic situation of Antaka and Planto to the political situation of Radan, questions only a Foreign Minister could properly answer continued to pour in.
Watching Ray answer smoothly, steer the conversation, and drop the right provocative topics, Rose felt both relief and a sense of despair.
Would she have to remain silent for the rest of her life, only able to speak through this man?
