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Chapter 22
When Cedric looked at him with pitiful eyes, Calix finally spoke.
“By the time I got there, it was already over. It was nothing serious.”
“Really?”
“It doesn’t seem like something you need to be so overprotective about, Odellia. If you keep gripping him that tightly, Cedric’s face is going to flatten.”
Odellia eyed Cedric suspiciously, then finally removed her hand from his face. She sat back down and spoke as if with a sigh.
“If you have something troubling you, you can just tell me. Why agonize over it and end up brawling with thugs?”
Cedric averted his gaze and muttered quietly.
“It’s not…… that kind of thing……”
Odellia furrowed her brows slightly and said earnestly.
“I may not be in any position to give love advice, but at least I know how to comfort a heartbroken friend, don’t I?”
Cedric let out a deep sigh and slumped his shoulders heavily.
“What comfort could someone as clueless as you possibly offer……”
“What do you mean I’m clueless?!”
“Never mind…… just forget it……”
At that moment, Calix chimed in with a calm voice, backing Cedric up.
“Odellia *is* rather clueless, I have to admit.”
Odellia pouted her lips indignantly and looked at Calix. *How can you say I’m clueless, Your Highness……*
Watching Odellia grumble, Calix curled the corners of his mouth slightly.
“Not that I don’t like that about you, though.”
At those brief words, Odellia wore a flustered expression once again, and Cedric looked at Calix and thought to himself.
*’Ah, so I actually recognized someone outrageously strong as a rival, even if only for a moment.’*
He knew it would be improper to say it out loud, but surely he was allowed to think it. His Highness Calix was quite the fox.
Then a thought struck him.
*’In that case, why does His Highness keep letting Odellia go on these dates?’*
—
***
At that same moment, in the Empress’s chambers where a subtle fragrance wafted, Fabiana slowly set down her teacup adorned with pearl ornaments.
**[The eldest and second sons of the earl’s family were murdered by assailants while returning home from a social club.]**
Fabiana folded the open newspaper and murmured lowly.
“So this is how you’re going to come out, Calix……”
The Dalton Earldom was a house loyal to the Empress’s maternal family, and one that wielded considerable influence in high society. Not long ago, Fabiana had deliberately invited the two young lords to tea and subtly dropped stories that would tarnish Odellia’s reputation.
They, catching the Empress’s intent, had spread those stories around. So that everyone would hear. So that everyone would view Odellia through a prejudiced lens.
And now they had been brutally killed—castrated. Fabiana shifted her gaze past the window for a moment.
The garden trees rustled gently in the wind, and a faint fragrance brushed past her nose.
The newspaper had interpreted the leaves scattered over the bodies as a sign of mockery, but Fabiana recognized them at once. They were tea leaves harvested only from the Empress’s own garden—the very ones she had used when she invited them not long ago.
She no longer had any doubt. This was a warning. A message meticulously calculated so that only she would understand.
Fabiana nodded calmly and spoke to her lady-in-waiting.
“I must offer my condolences to the earl’s family. Prepare for a mourning visit.”
Her tone sounded sympathetic on the surface, but the temperature beneath it was icy cold.
Fabiana lifted her teacup again. Her fingertips trembled slightly, causing the saucer to clink faintly.
*’No matter what, is he really committing murder because of that woman? All they did was spread rumors…… Knowing that, he still killed them? Is he really that wrapped around her finger, Calix?’*
—
***
Odellia changed into her外出 attire to attend the tea party hosted by Lady Herdel, to which she had been invited previously. It was a neat dress in soft pastel tones.
Calix, Cedric, and the Grand Duchess were waiting to see her off.
Their faces all bore expressions as if sending Odellia off alone made them deeply uneasy and untrusting. Seeing that, Odellia gave a clear laugh, feeling both grateful and slightly embarrassed.
“It’s not like you’re sending a child off to the waterside. I’m just going to show my face for a bit at a tea party with much younger ladies. Please, all of you, go back inside.”
After gently nudging Cedric and the Grand Duchess’s backs, Odellia couldn’t bring herself to touch Calix and was about to stiffly say, *”Please go inside too, Your Highness,”* when Calix replied with a smile in his eyes.
“When have I ever treated you like a child left by the waterside? Look at you—all grown up like this.”
That was true enough. Slightly embarrassed, Odellia quickly grabbed the doorknob and tried to leave. At that moment, Calix approached from behind, lightly took her hand, and pressed something into it.
What he handed her was a large picnic basket. Beneath the lightly draped cloth, an appetizing aroma wafted out.
“What is this?”
Calix only gave a meaningful smile and answered briefly.
“Open it when you get there.”
Then, in an even more leisurely motion, he slipped a small ring onto the pinky finger of Odellia’s left hand. The ring fit perfectly—neither too big nor too small.
“Wh-why a ring all of a sudden……”
As Odellia faltered, unable to finish her sentence, Calix lightly pressed—almost rubbing—the ring that fit so snugly on her pinky.
“This too—you’ll know when you get there.”
—
As the carriage departed smoothly, Odellia’s gaze naturally drifted to her left hand. The tiny ring on her pinky glittered in the soft sunlight.
She fondled the ring. Her fingertips, rubbing it, couldn’t stop. It felt as if the touch Calix had left behind still lingered somewhere on the ring.
Odellia slowly lowered her eyes. Her heart fluttered, yet somehow felt heavy. Then she caught the eye of the attendant sitting across from her and swiftly turned her head to look out the window.
Fixing her gaze on the cityscape streaming past, she quietly let out a breath.
—
***
The destination was the Herdel family mansion. The neatly kept garden and the antique-style building made a striking impression. As Odellia stepped down from the carriage, the attendant who had followed her stood holding the large basket carefully.
Soon, the butler of the Herdel household came out to greet them and politely guided Odellia and her attendant inside. And just as she was about to step into the mansion—
“There you are!”
With a bright voice, Judith came running out. She clasped Odellia’s hands with both of hers, not hiding her delight.
It seemed she had arrived right on time, as several people appeared behind Judith. From further back, the sound of carriage wheels and greetings could be faintly heard.
Odellia’s attendant gave a gentle smile and stepped back a pace, and Odellia moved with Judith toward the terrace garden where the tea party was in full swing.
Since she rarely visited other families’ townhouses, Odellia turned her head this way and that, glancing around the interior of the mansion.
The terrace, lined with antique pillars, was lavishly decorated with bright roses, and the garden flowers and trees swayed softly in the breeze. The gentle sound of the fountain flowing between the flower beds planted with garden stones blended with the subtle floral fragrance, making the scene feel like a work of art in itself.
“This is truly…… such a beautiful mansion. It’s like a temple of a goddess from mythology. No wonder Lady Herdel is so beautiful, living in a place like this. Wow, how can a garden be so……”
As she murmured in admiration, Odellia suddenly felt embarrassed at how rustic she must seem and cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry. I’ve lost my composure.”
Judith immediately shook her head with a cheerful face.
“Lady Odellia always gives compliments so sincerely. Thank you.”
“Pardon? But I do have an ulterior motive.”
“……Excuse me?”
“I have an ulterior motive to make a good impression. This is the first time I’ve been invited to a tea party by a fellow debutante my age. Besides, I love beautiful and cute things.”
Judith’s face flushed. *Is Lady Odellia naive, or is she just bold! Saying that is exactly the proof that she has no ulterior motives……!*
