“Could it be, you are the very Sion I am thinking of?”
Evelyn asked in surprise, to which Rosetta replied.
“I’m not sure which Sion you’re thinking of, Evelyn, but if you mean the ‘Sion’ whose name I borrowed, then yes—it’s him.”
“My goodness!”
Evelyn stood up from her seat, unable to contain her overwhelming emotions, and quickly bowed.
“It’s an honor to meet you!”
To her, Rosetta and the man known as ‘Sion’ had always been her and her family’s benefactors.
The ducal lady often said, ‘If Sion hadn’t lent us his name, investing would have been difficult. It’s truly a blessing.’
“There’s no need for that, Lady Evelyn. After all, the initial proposal was made by Lady Rosetta herself.”
“But if you hadn’t lent your name, the investment would never have happened. And the amount you invested was significant.”
Not long after Rosetta started investing, a person named Sion also expressed a desire to invest.
He wanted to help, seeing the diligent efforts of the Riddle family.
The amount was substantial, greatly aiding in expanding the business.
But now, this Sion turned out to be Cassion Carter, who was thought to be dead.
‘Wait, does that mean…’
Her mind raced with excitement.
Evelyn tentatively sat back down, glancing around nervously.
Then, she asked in a hushed voice as if sharing a secret.
“So, did Your Ladyship know all along that Lord Carter was alive?”
“That’s why I borrowed Cassion’s name and ordered his formal attire from the Riddle boutique in advance, right?”
Evelyn nodded solemnly at the nonchalant response.
“I did think it strange that you were wearing clothes from my family’s boutique when you appeared at the ball, Young Lord. Especially since it was the set that Her Ladyship had ordered.”
On the day of the coming-of-age ball.
The outfit worn by the eldest son of the Carter Duchy was from the Riddle boutique.
She was very sure of this, as she remembered receiving the special request for its production from the ducal lady herself.
Why would Cassion Carter, who had returned from the dead after six months, wear that outfit? Little did she know such a secret lay behind it.
“Really, thank you so much. Ducal Lady, Ducal Lord. No amount of thanks would be enough.”
Although Evelyn had many questions, she instead repeated her words of gratitude rather than probing further into the benefactors’ affairs.
Rosetta smiled contentedly at Evelyn’s respectful manner.
“Evelyn.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Rosetta took a sip of her tea and then got straight to the point.
“That’s why I called you here. There’s something I’d like to request concerning the Young Lord.”
Gulp.
Evelyn swallowed nervously and nodded at Rosetta’s serious tone.
“As long as it’s a request from you, I’ll do anything!”
Her determination burned as fiercely as a flame.
Rosetta, who briefly saw a glimpse of Diana in Evelyn’s eagerness, smiled and then composed herself before speaking.
“Do you remember the condition set by Duke Carter on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony? The one he set for this man?”
“Ah, I don’t remember it in detail, but I remember some things. To be reinstated as a successor candidate, he would have to pass through several trials…”
Cassion straightened up as Evelyn murmured, his body tensed.
After exchanging a glance with Rosetta, Cassion spoke up.
“Yes, that’s right. And the first trial is to obtain letters of approval from three of House Carter’s vassal families.”
At Cassion’s words, Evelyn quickly grasped what the two wanted to ask of her.
Evelyn also sat up straight as she faced Cassion, her face still brimming with resolute determination.
“I wish to ask for the first letter of approval from Count Riddle.”
Even after Cassion made his request, Evelyn’s demeanor didn’t change.
* * *
It took only a few days after meeting with Evelyn to receive the letter of approval from Count Riddle.
“We got it much faster than expected.”
“Right, I thought there would be more hesitation.”
Rosetta agreed with Cassion’s astonishment.
Granting Cassion the letter of approval meant publicly opposing Leo.
They had thought there might be more deliberation…
“It seems like they didn’t hesitate at all.”
Rosetta murmured, recalling the fervent face of Evelyn.
“Please don’t worry! I will make sure to get a letter of approval from my father!”
Her resolve was extraordinary, indeed.
“We’ve overcome one hurdle, haven’t we?”
The speaker was Blanca.
The meeting place was a VIP room at Blanca’s restaurant.
As they always communicated with the count through Blanca, it was naturally arranged for the letter of approval to be delivered through her.
“Yes, now we only need to resolve two more.”
Rosetta handed the letter of approval to Cassion.
“Do you have anyone in mind for the remaining two letters?”
At Blanca’s question, both Rosetta and Cassion shook their heads.
“Honestly, I can’t think of anyone specific. What about you, Cassion?”
“I don’t have anyone in mind either.”
They were concerned whether there would be more people willing to help Cassion, given that there were many in favor of Leo and the duchess.
Blanca, who had been quietly listening to this somewhat self-deprecating conversation, smirked.
Then, she raised her hand to draw their attention.
“How about you commission me?”
Her hand, clad in lace gloves, fluttered beside her purple hair.
“You’re suggesting we commission you?”
“Yes!”
Blanca confidently answered Rosetta’s surprised question, her smile brimming with self-assurance.
Blanca was always confident, after all.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Hmm. I can’t promise two, but I think I can manage to get one.”
“How so?”
“What’s the plan?”
Blanca’s laughter became more secretive in response to their simultaneous questions.
She rested her arms on the table and propped her chin on them.
“Let’s seek help from someone who’s living as though he’s dead.”
Her relaxed posture and mysterious answer caused Rosetta to furrow her brow.
Blanca silently laughed, then extended her left hand out, drawing their attention to it.
Both followed her gesture to see a prominent ring on her left ring finger under the lace glove.
She wiggled her ring finger several times to emphasize her point.
“My former father-in-law, Count Robert.”
Cassion’s reaction was the most shocked.
He blinked in disbelief before asking, a bit belatedly,
“Count Robert? The one who retired to his estate over twenty years ago and never returned?”
“Exactly. And the Robert County is also a vassal of the Carter Duchy.”
Blanca casually dropped the shocking news, then winked.
“So, what do you say? Will you commission me?”
* * *
The answer, of course, was ‘yes.’
Although they were hopeful of obtaining the two letters of approval somehow, it made sense to accept help from someone close.
Right after hearing Rosetta and Cassion’s decision, Blanca rummaged through her belongings, scribbled something on a piece of paper, and called a staff member.
“Send this as an urgent message to Count Robert’s estate. Write ‘Blanca’ as the sender.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Oh, and tell the kitchen to prepare today’s special menu for three.”
“Yes, Madam. Please enjoy your time.”
The staff member responded concisely, carefully taking the letter from Blanca and leaving.
The meal arrived shortly after.
The early dinner menu placed before each of them was veal.
While eating, Blanca stopped cutting her meat and spoke up.
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“My story. How a witch from a foreign land ended up as the daughter-in-law of a count.”
It was quite an intriguing topic, wasn’t it?
Rosetta lifted her head at Blanca’s playful whisper.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t curious.
She was curious.
A witch from a foreign land was not someone you’d just meet anywhere. And, a witch from a foreign land who happened to be a part of a vassal family of the Carters was even rarer.
“Would it be alright to ask?”
At Rosetta’s uninhibited question, Blanca laughed heartily.
“Ducal Lady, you’re unexpectedly kind-hearted. That’s why I like you.”
Blanca smiled and moistened her lips with wine.
Cassion, too, had stopped and was listening intently.
“Well, it wasn’t a marriage of love. Nothing so romantic.”
“That’s unexpected.”
Surprised by Rosetta’s response, Blanca’s eyes widened.
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes. I thought it might have been passionate love, seeing you always wear the ring.”
“Haha, quite the opposite. As I mentioned when we first met, it wasn’t a marriage of love, right?”
“You did say that.”
“I thought you might have forgotten, and I was almost offended. Anyway, it’s just as I said. There was no love. Initially, I was just an experiment.”
“What?”
“What does that mean?”
Rosetta and Cassion’s faces visibly hardened at her response.
Such a term, ‘experiment’, was not fitting, nor should it be attributed to a person.
Blanca laughed silently at their reaction.
They were both so kind.
She continued speaking with a soft smile still on her face.
“So, this was about twenty years ago. I was sold from my homeland to the empire. The empire’s renowned families of magical descent had contacted my homeland, known for its witches.”
“What are you saying?”
Cassion’s expression darkened, perhaps because it related to his family.
Blanca tapped her fingers on the table, her eyes slowly losing focus as if drifting into deep memories.
“What would a child born of a witch and a mage be like? The empire’s mages wanted to experiment with that.”
The silence was heavy.
Even without hearing the rest, the situation was imaginable.
But Blanca continued as if determined to finish her story.
“The people of my village thought it was a good idea, and so they sent me to the empire. It was in exchange for money from the empire’s mages. There, I was married to a man I had never met before.”
“Sounds like a bunch of wretched bastards.”
Rosetta, who had been silently listening, bluntly interjected.
Blanca laughed loudly, hitting the table. Whether it was an exaggeration or just her habit was unclear, even with the tears pooling under her eyes.
Blanca wiped her tears with her finger and moistened her lips with wine again.
“Now, here comes the real highlight.”
Yes, this was the real highlight.
A highlight of her life that she would never forget, a once-in-a-lifetime story.
“Could it be, you are the very Sion I am thinking of?”
Evelyn asked in surprise, to which Rosetta replied.
“I’m not sure which Sion you’re thinking of, Evelyn, but if you mean the ‘Sion’ whose name I borrowed, then yes—it’s him.”
“My goodness!”
Evelyn stood up from her seat, unable to contain her overwhelming emotions, and quickly bowed.
“It’s an honor to meet you!”
To her, Rosetta and the man known as ‘Sion’ had always been her and her family’s benefactors.
The ducal lady often said, ‘If Sion hadn’t lent us his name, investing would have been difficult. It’s truly a blessing.’
“There’s no need for that, Lady Evelyn. After all, the initial proposal was made by Lady Rosetta herself.”
“But if you hadn’t lent your name, the investment would never have happened. And the amount you invested was significant.”
Not long after Rosetta started investing, a person named Sion also expressed a desire to invest.
He wanted to help, seeing the diligent efforts of the Riddle family.
The amount was substantial, greatly aiding in expanding the business.
But now, this Sion turned out to be Cassion Carter, who was thought to be dead.
‘Wait, does that mean…’
Her mind raced with excitement.
Evelyn tentatively sat back down, glancing around nervously.
Then, she asked in a hushed voice as if sharing a secret.
“So, did Your Ladyship know all along that Lord Carter was alive?”
“That’s why I borrowed Cassion’s name and ordered his formal attire from the Riddle boutique in advance, right?”
Evelyn nodded solemnly at the nonchalant response.
“I did think it strange that you were wearing clothes from my family’s boutique when you appeared at the ball, Young Lord. Especially since it was the set that Her Ladyship had ordered.”
On the day of the coming-of-age ball.
The outfit worn by the eldest son of the Carter Duchy was from the Riddle boutique.
She was very sure of this, as she remembered receiving the special request for its production from the ducal lady herself.
Why would Cassion Carter, who had returned from the dead after six months, wear that outfit? Little did she know such a secret lay behind it.
“Really, thank you so much. Ducal Lady, Ducal Lord. No amount of thanks would be enough.”
Although Evelyn had many questions, she instead repeated her words of gratitude rather than probing further into the benefactors’ affairs.
Rosetta smiled contentedly at Evelyn’s respectful manner.
“Evelyn.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Rosetta took a sip of her tea and then got straight to the point.
“That’s why I called you here. There’s something I’d like to request concerning the Young Lord.”
Gulp.
Evelyn swallowed nervously and nodded at Rosetta’s serious tone.
“As long as it’s a request from you, I’ll do anything!”
Her determination burned as fiercely as a flame.
Rosetta, who briefly saw a glimpse of Diana in Evelyn’s eagerness, smiled and then composed herself before speaking.
“Do you remember the condition set by Duke Carter on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony? The one he set for this man?”
“Ah, I don’t remember it in detail, but I remember some things. To be reinstated as a successor candidate, he would have to pass through several trials…”
Cassion straightened up as Evelyn murmured, his body tensed.
After exchanging a glance with Rosetta, Cassion spoke up.
“Yes, that’s right. And the first trial is to obtain letters of approval from three of House Carter’s vassal families.”
At Cassion’s words, Evelyn quickly grasped what the two wanted to ask of her.
Evelyn also sat up straight as she faced Cassion, her face still brimming with resolute determination.
“I wish to ask for the first letter of approval from Count Riddle.”
Even after Cassion made his request, Evelyn’s demeanor didn’t change.
* * *
It took only a few days after meeting with Evelyn to receive the letter of approval from Count Riddle.
“We got it much faster than expected.”
“Right, I thought there would be more hesitation.”
Rosetta agreed with Cassion’s astonishment.
Granting Cassion the letter of approval meant publicly opposing Leo.
They had thought there might be more deliberation…
“It seems like they didn’t hesitate at all.”
Rosetta murmured, recalling the fervent face of Evelyn.
“Please don’t worry! I will make sure to get a letter of approval from my father!”
Her resolve was extraordinary, indeed.
“We’ve overcome one hurdle, haven’t we?”
The speaker was Blanca.
The meeting place was a VIP room at Blanca’s restaurant.
As they always communicated with the count through Blanca, it was naturally arranged for the letter of approval to be delivered through her.
“Yes, now we only need to resolve two more.”
Rosetta handed the letter of approval to Cassion.
“Do you have anyone in mind for the remaining two letters?”
At Blanca’s question, both Rosetta and Cassion shook their heads.
“Honestly, I can’t think of anyone specific. What about you, Cassion?”
“I don’t have anyone in mind either.”
They were concerned whether there would be more people willing to help Cassion, given that there were many in favor of Leo and the duchess.
Blanca, who had been quietly listening to this somewhat self-deprecating conversation, smirked.
Then, she raised her hand to draw their attention.
“How about you commission me?”
Her hand, clad in lace gloves, fluttered beside her purple hair.
“You’re suggesting we commission you?”
“Yes!”
Blanca confidently answered Rosetta’s surprised question, her smile brimming with self-assurance.
Blanca was always confident, after all.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Hmm. I can’t promise two, but I think I can manage to get one.”
“How so?”
“What’s the plan?”
Blanca’s laughter became more secretive in response to their simultaneous questions.
She rested her arms on the table and propped her chin on them.
“Let’s seek help from someone who’s living as though he’s dead.”
Her relaxed posture and mysterious answer caused Rosetta to furrow her brow.
Blanca silently laughed, then extended her left hand out, drawing their attention to it.
Both followed her gesture to see a prominent ring on her left ring finger under the lace glove.
She wiggled her ring finger several times to emphasize her point.
“My former father-in-law, Count Robert.”
Cassion’s reaction was the most shocked.
He blinked in disbelief before asking, a bit belatedly,
“Count Robert? The one who retired to his estate over twenty years ago and never returned?”
“Exactly. And the Robert County is also a vassal of the Carter Duchy.”
Blanca casually dropped the shocking news, then winked.
“So, what do you say? Will you commission me?”
* * *
The answer, of course, was ‘yes.’
Although they were hopeful of obtaining the two letters of approval somehow, it made sense to accept help from someone close.
Right after hearing Rosetta and Cassion’s decision, Blanca rummaged through her belongings, scribbled something on a piece of paper, and called a staff member.
“Send this as an urgent message to Count Robert’s estate. Write ‘Blanca’ as the sender.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Oh, and tell the kitchen to prepare today’s special menu for three.”
“Yes, Madam. Please enjoy your time.”
The staff member responded concisely, carefully taking the letter from Blanca and leaving.
The meal arrived shortly after.
The early dinner menu placed before each of them was veal.
While eating, Blanca stopped cutting her meat and spoke up.
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“My story. How a witch from a foreign land ended up as the daughter-in-law of a count.”
It was quite an intriguing topic, wasn’t it?
Rosetta lifted her head at Blanca’s playful whisper.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t curious.
She was curious.
A witch from a foreign land was not someone you’d just meet anywhere. And, a witch from a foreign land who happened to be a part of a vassal family of the Carters was even rarer.
“Would it be alright to ask?”
At Rosetta’s uninhibited question, Blanca laughed heartily.
“Ducal Lady, you’re unexpectedly kind-hearted. That’s why I like you.”
Blanca smiled and moistened her lips with wine.
Cassion, too, had stopped and was listening intently.
“Well, it wasn’t a marriage of love. Nothing so romantic.”
“That’s unexpected.”
Surprised by Rosetta’s response, Blanca’s eyes widened.
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes. I thought it might have been passionate love, seeing you always wear the ring.”
“Haha, quite the opposite. As I mentioned when we first met, it wasn’t a marriage of love, right?”
“You did say that.”
“I thought you might have forgotten, and I was almost offended. Anyway, it’s just as I said. There was no love. Initially, I was just an experiment.”
“What?”
“What does that mean?”
Rosetta and Cassion’s faces visibly hardened at her response.
Such a term, ‘experiment’, was not fitting, nor should it be attributed to a person.
Blanca laughed silently at their reaction.
They were both so kind.
She continued speaking with a soft smile still on her face.
“So, this was about twenty years ago. I was sold from my homeland to the empire. The empire’s renowned families of magical descent had contacted my homeland, known for its witches.”
“What are you saying?”
Cassion’s expression darkened, perhaps because it related to his family.
Blanca tapped her fingers on the table, her eyes slowly losing focus as if drifting into deep memories.
“What would a child born of a witch and a mage be like? The empire’s mages wanted to experiment with that.”
The silence was heavy.
Even without hearing the rest, the situation was imaginable.
But Blanca continued as if determined to finish her story.
“The people of my village thought it was a good idea, and so they sent me to the empire. It was in exchange for money from the empire’s mages. There, I was married to a man I had never met before.”
“Sounds like a bunch of wretched bastards.”
Rosetta, who had been silently listening, bluntly interjected.
Blanca laughed loudly, hitting the table. Whether it was an exaggeration or just her habit was unclear, even with the tears pooling under her eyes.
Blanca wiped her tears with her finger and moistened her lips with wine again.
“Now, here comes the real highlight.”
Yes, this was the real highlight.
A highlight of her life that she would never forget, a once-in-a-lifetime story.
