TVOWW 36

Chapter 36

“You’re Undressing?”

Rote’s eyes widened as if surprised by the somber atmosphere. She looked at Minister Orteca and said,

“Everyone must have been waiting for us, Minister.”

The ladies, awkwardly exchanging glances, greeted Rote and the Minister with exaggerated enthusiasm.

“You two look so good standing together. If someone didn’t know, they would think you were married!”

“Oh my, I’m not the only one who thinks that. You two really aren’t together, right?”

Rote, pretending to be embarrassed, said, “Please don’t all think that. We really aren’t.” She glanced at Minister Orteca.

‘The Minister doesn’t seem interested in Rote.’

It was more like a polite acceptance, without offense.

Rote met the Minister’s gaze. At first, she thought his eyes were purple, but now…

‘Ah, they’re a deep green.’

It was a color so striking that mistaking it for purple earlier seemed odd. Minister Orteca slightly lifted the corner of his mouth and nodded to her. Rote naturally returned the gesture with her eyes, then focused on the tea party.

Meanwhile, Countess Hetel brought a new tea to show off in front of Rote.

“This tea was difficult to obtain for the Hetel family. My husband acquired it from the Baston Kingdom during his business trip—Sileon tea.”

The Baston Kingdom was known for being isolated, even refusing trade with the Empire, so teas from there were treated as precious.

“Rote, would you serve the guests the Sileon tea?”

“Yes, Mother.”

Rote brewed the tea and politely served it in front of me. The teacups were ornate, with a sun motif and golden rose engravings on the handles.

Rote asked gently,

“It’s not perfect, but would you like to try it?”

I calmly sipped the tea.

Rote was the most beautiful lady of the Hetel family. Her mother always said she could marry the finest gentleman. Rote believed the same.

‘The opportunity will come.’

She realized this when she faced Duke Blanchet, whose noble presence was undeniable.

‘He’s the one.’

A man with arrogance exceeding even the royal family. Handsome, but completely unlike the slightly lacking masculine charm of Minister Orteca. Honestly, she didn’t even notice the woman beside him.

‘It’s fake anyway.’

Even if the woman beside him was prettier, Rote knew she had more charm. She laughed off the rumors of Blanchet officially marrying.

Of course, Duke Blanchet wasn’t easy. Even when Rote secretly asked for meetings while feigning shyness, he coldly and expertly refused.

‘I have no intention of escorting Miss Hetel. My beloved wife is waiting.’

‘I’ll explain everything to your wife properly.’

‘Hmm.’

Blanchet, running his sharp jaw lazily, gave Rote a cold glance.

‘Why is Miss Hetel talking to my wife? Leaving me aside.’

“Uh, well… as women, it’s easier to speak comfortably.”

“Ridiculous. Miss Hetel has no reason to worry about my married life. She’s already seen enough.”

Rote recalled the night she knocked on his door wearing only a thin slip. She had hesitated when seeing him with his wife, but the man’s sensual physique caught her attention.

The muscular Duke Blanchet, like a beast, stimulated her senses, prompting her to knock on the door recklessly.

Even seeing him with his wife didn’t matter. She thought witnessing his physique would change everything. But the two were oblivious to the door knocking.

It was then that the frightening red eyes she had seen when looking at his wife turned toward her.

Rote shivered and ran away immediately. She didn’t know why, but the fear was inhuman—beyond human, almost monstrous.

‘This is the final warning. I understand family matters, but don’t overstep.’

Rote, pale and forgetting etiquette, fled.

‘I can’t handle him. Too… scary.’

Rote decided to choose Minister Orteca, who her sister Flora had aimed for. Although Duke Blanchet was beside her, she realized there was no man like the Minister.

Still, her grudge against Blanchet’s wife hadn’t faded. Because of Estelle, the Hetel family had been humiliated before both Blanchet and Minister Orteca. So Rote planned to embarrass her with her mother’s help and further display her charm to Minister Orteca.

“Would you like to try it, despite my limited skill?”

Duchess Blanchet, Estelle, elegantly lifted her tea.

‘Her tea etiquette is perfect.’

Dressed in light purple with modest adornments, she stood out the most in the tea party, despite being a commoner by birth.

‘But just holding the cup isn’t enough.’

A debuting noble must master etiquette. A commoner could never compete.

‘She even distracted attention to prevent others from noticing the teacup.’

Rote swallowed nervously as she observed Estelle tasting the tea. Estelle set the cup down elegantly, smiling faintly.

“Antrain (The fragrance is excellent).”

Using the imperial sun-patterned teacup, following imperial etiquette was an old tradition, honoring the royal history.

‘But nowadays, almost no one follows it…’

Not only did Estelle praise in the ancient language, but her sentences were flawless.

“Bel Nuiade Hiwa Isciaten (But the tea is slightly bitter; it should be adjusted).”

Perfect pronunciation and etiquette. She set an example for imperial ladies. Surprised, people murmured, and Estelle asked, confused,

“Tenlua (Is there a problem)?”

Her dark blue eyes, filled with innocence, made Rote unexpectedly angry.

‘No, something… was off.’

Rote recalled what Estelle said. The ancient language was fluent but slightly different from what she had learned.

‘A word was missing in the middle!’

Ancient language grammar was irregular, so Rote memorized standard phrases. Estelle had omitted a word essential for a proper lady.

“Oh, sorry. It’s slightly different from the phrase I know.”

“What’s different?”

“Yes. Perhaps it’s your first tea party, and you were nervous. The proper phrase is ‘Bel Nuiade Hiwa Isciaten Roa.’”

Rote politely corrected Estelle with a gentle smile, then glanced at Minister Orteca.

“Many debutantes study ancient language but rarely use it, so it’s easy to confuse. Minister, please understand.”

“……”

“Of course, further study would benefit you.”

The surrounding ladies praised Rote.

“Miss Rote is remarkable. Few master ancient language so perfectly.”

“Teaching politely and apologizing gracefully—she’s a true model of a social lady.”

“You flatter me.”

Rote maintained her humble demeanor, watching Estelle.

‘Hmph, let’s see if she loses composure.’

But Estelle did not react as Rote expected. She calmly looked at Rote with a pitying gaze.

‘Why?’

Before Rote could hide her embarrassment, Minister Orteca spoke:

“Miss Rote.”

He frowned, and Rote felt a terrifying sense as if the floor beneath her would split.

I clicked my tongue at Rote.

A faint contempt appeared in Minister Orteca’s eyes.

“You are the one who needs to improve your education, Miss Rote. Reflect on your reckless behavior.”

Rote turned pale.

“What do you mean? That my ancient language is wrong?”

“In ladies’ ancient language manuals, ‘Roa’ is often added at the end of every sentence, but in this context, with many present, it should not be used.”

“Then…”

Rote’s gaze shifted to me. Naturally, everyone followed. I smiled lightly.

“Don’t worry. It was understandable.”

Honestly, being suddenly corrected in tea etiquette was embarrassing. Using ancient language for this teacup was completely natural.

‘I could’ve gotten by if I hadn’t tried to stand out.’

Minister Orteca, who had been watching Rote coldly, now looked at me.

“Duchess Blanchet, you are well-versed in ancient language.”

“Still far from perfect.”

“Not at all. I am impressed by your skill. Even scholars studying it wouldn’t speak this fluently.”

Rote turned bright red, unable to hide her anger.

“Th-This can’t be.”

“Rote, calm down.”

Countess Hetel, embarrassed by her daughter, stood, her hands sweaty.

“Hoho, thanks to Duchess Blanchet, our lacking Rote learns much. She’s still young, with so much to learn, right?”

“Oh my, I must have been mistaken.”

I opened my eyes in surprise.

“I thought Miss Hetel was older than me.”

“Our Rote is older, yes. But that’s only because you’re exceptional, Duchess; not that Rote…”

Countess Hetel tried to cover her mistake but glanced at Minister Orteca. Expressionless, he said:

“Indeed, Duchess Libertan is remarkable—wise and considerate like Princess Armatis. You were protecting Miss Rote’s dignity, yes?”

Princess Armatis was the most prized bride in Empire myths, wise and beautiful.

‘Not my intention, but…’

Still, no need to refuse the compliment.

“I trusted Miss Hetel to uphold her dignity. She did, so I’m relieved.”

“Exactly. Next time, show further excellence.”

Before Minister Orteca finished, pale Rote hid her face with her hands and ran.

Her behavior was unbecoming of a lady of marriageable age. Countess Hetel was in more trouble.

“R-Rote! I’m sorry. She’s not usually like this; she’s been unwell…”

Yes. No one would believe that now.

“What a pity. I hope she recovers quickly.”

The ladies accompanying Countess Hetel stayed silent. They realized Hetel had been embarrassed instead.

‘They put so much effort into her marriage.’

The ladies exchanged knowing glances. One overturned her teacup and rose.

“I don’t think we need to serve Sileon tea anymore.”

She had been the most supportive of Countess Hetel.

“Perhaps a better opportunity will arise next time.”

“I remembered urgent matters for tomorrow…”

It seemed today’s incident would spread quickly.

‘By tomorrow, everyone will know.’

It would make marrying into a good family even harder. Hetel’s family already managed their reputation carefully…

I smiled warmly at Countess Hetel.

“I enjoyed being served Sileon tea. Don’t worry too much.”

Marriage isn’t necessary; if needed, one can simply avoid it. The rest is their responsibility.

Yohan stood elegantly before Count Hetel, arms crossed.

“So, what is it you want to say?”

“There’s valuable information Duke Blanchet must hear.”

Count Hetel, glancing nervously, whispered:

“It’s information Minister Orteca was searching for. If I share it, he could bypass the Minister and gain the Emperor’s trust…”

“Not worth listening to.”

Yohan twisted his lips in a smirk and stood.

“Take that nonsense elsewhere.”

“D-Duke! You might regret not listening—”

Watching people fuss without knowing their place was amusing. They weren’t even worth playing with.

‘I want to see my wife.’

Estelle, who looked unusually tired since arriving at this castle.

‘Take her to the Blanchet domain quickly…’

Yohan moved past Count Hetel to find Estelle.

Betty was leaving the room and gasped at Yohan entering.

“M-Master?”

“Why the surprise?”

When Yohan opened the door, Estelle was just about to remove her dress, revealing her fair, translucent neck.

Yohan froze on the spot.

You’re undressing?

As soon as he turned, he saw the slip Betty was holding.