🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 48~
There were things Shariette knew, and things she didn’t. Without thinking, she glanced at Marian.
When the words “His Highness the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet” came up, Marian’s brows twitched in irritation. But soon, she smiled.
“Actually, I was going to tell you about this, Shariette, but it seems you heard it first from our guest.”
Tell me what?
As Shariette looked puzzled, Caiel Genoa gave a gentle smile and made a proposal.
“If it’s not inconvenient, I would like to escort Lady Verdette to the banquet that day.”
Escort.
The word that had once stung her pride when Noxian Rubellot mocked her, popped up again.
Shariette began thinking hard, trying to connect “escort” with “Crown Prince’s birthday banquet.”
-
The Crown Prince’s birthday banquet would be held in the royal palace.
-
The palace had many stairs. The marble floors were so polished they could reflect a face.
-
A “banquet” meant wearing dresses and shoes like Blanche or Nixia.
-
That meant it was easy to trip, so maybe that’s why “escorts” were needed.
-
Perhaps—since she saved his mother, he wanted to help her?
Skipping all important meanings, Shariette jumped straight to this conclusion.
But she missed the most important condition.
“I… at the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet—”
“-You mean you’ll think it over and let us know who you’ll attend with, Shariette,” Marian quickly interrupted.
Caiel smiled politely and nodded.
“Yes, please think about it positively, and once you decide, send me word.”
Shariette blinked.
‘Why would I go there at all?’
“Unbelievable! What a shameless thing!”
As soon as the guest left, Marian exploded in anger.
“I’m talking about you! You could have just said Shariette wasn’t available! What are you trying to do, cozy up with House Genoa?!”
“I’m sorry. But since Lady Verdette was the one involved, it was proper she meet them herself.”
When Marian glared at him, the Duke quickly bowed his head in apology.
Shariette, used to this sight by now, waited for an explanation.
“Of course, thanks to you, Lady Verdette, House Genoa changed their attitude, and things have gone smoothly. I’m truly grateful.”
“That’s not the issue! Why did Countess Genoa try to act like a chaperone for Shariette?! What does she know, she only raised a son!”
Now Marian didn’t even call her “Countess,” just “that Genoa woman.”
After huffing and puffing, Marian calmed herself with a cough, glancing at Shariette.
“Ahem. That must have been too sudden for you, Shariette. Anyway, I heard about what you did when you went out with Nixia last time. It was in all the papers—you must have seen it.”
“Yes. ‘On the 25th, at Salon de Rosa Bloom, a noble lady suddenly collapsed, and luckily, pharmacist Miss V, who happened to be there, performed quick first aid and…’”
Marian listened to her reciting from memory and nodded.
“It really was an amazing thing. Because of that day, there are quite a few people who want to know more about you, through me.”
Shariette thought bitterly: Typical nobles. Their lives must be so boring that one little emergency at tea time excites them this much.
“Countess Genoa’s suggestion is in the same vein. Aside from gratitude, it shows interest in you, Shariette.”
Marian’s lips tightened slightly as she said the last words.
Shariette scratched her head.
“But I have no reason to go to the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet.”
Marian asked carefully, as if struck by something.
“Do you mean… you don’t want to go?”
It wasn’t a matter of wanting or not.
She had never even seen a “banquet” before, but she knew one thing—it wasn’t a place for making medicine.
Besides…
“I’m a commoner. Banquets are for nobles.”
Even when she had been the illegitimate daughter of Marquis Argen, she hadn’t been of proper standing. Now, even less so.
At her words, the Duke and Duchess looked at each other with surprise.
“You didn’t tell her? You said you’d do it, so I let you handle it.”
“…Ah. I forgot, with Noxian charging at the relic and all.”
“You forgot something this important?!”
“I’m sorry.”
The Duke bowed his head again, then turned to Shariette with shocking words.
“From now on, you won’t be a commoner.”
“…What?”
The Rubellots were the kind of people who always repaid what they received—with interest.
Whether it was a favor or a grudge.
And the rate of that interest depended not on the giver, but on the receiver.
So, not long ago, a secret family meeting was held—without the person at the center of it all, Shariette.
“Accounts. Vaults. Cash and property with clear sources and taxes all settled.”
“You’re not planning to repay her with just money, are you?” Nixia interrupted her father.
“She no longer has to spend years rotting in a labor camp, does she?”
“But being a guest or just a hired physician isn’t enough. In Caldeon, status always comes first.”
“Hm.”
“If we give her the Rubellot name, no one could touch her. It’s the most perfect protection.”
—In truth, the Duke wanted another daughter.
The Duke agreed.
“Indeed. A perfect method. No need for a contract.”
—A servant can retire, but family cannot.
Marian burst into laughter.
“If we get a lovely daughter out of this, I’m all for it. Of course—if Shariette herself agrees.”
—She was the only one whose inside matched her outside.
While everyone was lost in their own imaginations, one person who had been silent finally spoke.
“Adopt her? Shariette?”
It was Noxian. He frowned at the insane conversation and spat out:
“That’s insane.”
“Brother, what did you just say?” Nixia teased.
Noxian pressed his forehead. Am I the only sane person here?
“Adoption is out of the question. Absolutely not.”
When he said it through gritted teeth, Nixia gave him a sly smile.
“Why? You don’t want her as family? You’d have a little sister.”
Little sister, my foot.
Noxian glared at his sister’s smug face.
“What’s a piece of paper worth anyway? Did anyone even ask her opinion?”
Contract, testimony, record, certificate—he, of all people, obsessed with papers, had no right to say that.
“Of course we’ll ask Shariette. Legally—”
“No. If her name changes, that would be a problem.”
Finally, Noxian dropped logic altogether. He suddenly panicked at the thought that if Marian or Nixia coaxed Shariette with sweet words, she might actually agree.
“Her name?”
“‘Shariette Verdette’—it’s perfect as it is. It sounds good. It would be a waste to change it.”
“……”
Nixia was speechless. The Duke and Duchess also stared at him, surprised.
The Duke spoke first.
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Buy a small noble title and attach the Verdette name to it. She seems attached to that surname.”
She had always acted awkward with names, yet she deliberately introduced herself with a surname uncommon among commoners. There had to be a reason.
“True, it might be too sudden for Shariette otherwise. We were only thinking of our own wishes.”
Marian agreed. The Duke thought for a moment, then nodded.
“That’s not difficult. And it would be less of a burden on Lady Verdette too.”
The tables turned, only leaving Nixia glaring at her brother.
‘It would be a waste to change it,’ huh? Ha!
Let’s see how you take those words back later.
When Shariette finally heard about this “Shariette-less” meeting, she wanted to open up their heads and take a look inside.
Metaphorically, of course.
“So, if anyone asks about your origins, that’s what you’ll say.”
The story went like this: She was the only daughter of the long-serving vassal family of Rubellot, the Barony of Verdette. Her parents had died in service, and because of that accident, she grew up not knowing her parents’ existence. Recently, she came under the Duke’s care.
That was the “setting.”
Shariette skimmed through the fabricated family tree the Duke handed her and almost laughed out loud.
“Verdette is my mother’s name.”
The witch’s name had now been elevated to the name of a barony. Truly, a tremendous promotion.
