ITIF Chapter 102

Seeping In

‘I wonder if it was delivered well? I hope so…….’

As she lowered her gaze with such thoughts, Kavelaseth spoke.

“You look like you’re cooking up some amusing mischief.”

To her questioning gaze asking what he meant, Kavelaseth promptly provided an answer.

“It would be more accurate to say you’re plotting a scheme to bring someone down.”

It wasn’t wrong.

If things went according to her intentions, this time she would finally be able to plant a spy as someone close to the Empress, which would be of great help in bringing the Empress down.

Knowing Lady Blatnik’s personality well, she was secretly looking forward to it.

“So what kind of trouble are you planning to cause to surprise me?”

Kavelaseth gently pressed her.

However, she hesitated a bit about revealing honestly to Kavelaseth what had happened today.

From what she had observed, Kavelaseth was quite perceptive.

Given just a few clues, he could quickly weave them together.

If he heard about how she had incited Lady Blatnik to become the Empress’s lady-in-waiting, he would likely figure out immediately what she was trying to do.

“It definitely seems to involve Lady Blatnik.”

Kavelaseth murmured, gazing intently at Giselle Grante, who blinked with her mouth tightly shut.

Though inwardly flustered at having her thoughts exposed, Giselle Grante smiled calmly.

“You must be trying to interfere so that the Empress and the House of Blatnik can’t grow closer…….”

Kavelaseth narrowed his eyes and studied her expression.

Under his gaze that seemed to see right through what she was thinking, Giselle Grante finally confessed.

“I really can’t match wits with you, Duke. You’re right. I was planning to incite Lady Blatnik and plant her as someone close to the Empress.”

For a moment, a gleam appeared in Kavelaseth’s jet-black eyes.

At his appearance of looking somewhat excited like a child who had discovered a new toy, Giselle Grante revealed the method she had devised to him.

***

Gazing at Lady Blatnik sitting demurely before a square table beneath the chandelier, the Empress asked.

“So. I’m curious about the reason you wanted to see me.”

Lady Blatnik’s eyes sparkled as she spoke rather boldly.

“I won’t beat around the bush. I wish to become Your Majesty the Empress’s lady-in-waiting.”

“You want to become… my lady-in-waiting?”

The Empress checked her lips from curling up involuntarily.

Last time, the Empress had personally summoned Lady Blatnik to the imperial palace.

But today was the opposite. It was Lady Blatnik who had first requested to meet the Empress.

She had thought it was to give an answer to the proposal offered previously, but a lady-in-waiting?

This was completely outside the Empress’s expectations.

Though it hadn’t been explicitly stated, any ordinary noble would have surely understood the Empress’s intentions from the situation and nuance alone.

Even if she herself was still too naive to realize it, it made no sense that even Duchess Blatnik, who had heard about the situation, hadn’t grasped the Empress’s intentions.

The proposal to make her the Crown Princess.

So the request to become a lady-in-waiting was likely less her own judgment and more likely an instruction from Duchess Blatnik.

‘Hmm, so this is how you’ll play it?’

The Empress didn’t ponder long.

Because she quickly understood what Duchess Blatnik’s intentions were.

To keep Cardia and Amaterasu in check, the Empress needed the power of the House of Blatnik.

For that reason, the House of Blatnik’s value had also increased compared to before.

But unfortunately, relations between the Empress and Duchess Blatnik were not good. No, they were closer to being bad.

So recently, though she had been trying to settle their longstanding feelings, it couldn’t be resolved overnight.

However, the common wisdom was that among nobles there are neither eternal friends nor eternal enemies.

Duchess Blatnik must be well aware of such an immutable truth.

If her daughter became Crown Princess, she would instantly gain the upper hand over both the House of Cardia and the House of Amaterasu.

But flipping attitudes like turning over a palm wouldn’t be easy either.

So even if somewhat slow, the picture of gradually growing closer was beneficial to both sides.

“I’ll allow it. I was just thinking of taking on a new lady-in-waiting since I happen to have a vacancy.”

“Is that really true?”

Lady Blatnik’s large eyes widened as she asked again.

“Have you momentarily forgotten who is before you?”

The Empress decided to take this opportunity to remind her of her authority.

“I am the Empress of the Phasis Empire. Words once spoken are always kept.”

As soon as the Empress finished speaking, Lady Blatnik slightly lowered her gaze and apologized for her earlier mistake.

“I didn’t doubt Your Majesty the Empress’s word! I was just so happy that… I committed a grave discourtesy.”

She had expected her to be rigid, being the daughter of that stubborn Duchess Blatnik.

She had naturally anticipated she wouldn’t be easy to deal with, but seeing her unexpectedly docile attitude put her mind at ease.

‘Well, not bad.’

The Empress assessed the prospective Crown Princess thus.

****

The Radcliffe Trading Company’s carriage that had been rushing along stopped in front of Duke Cardia’s residence.

From the carriage soon descended Lady Howard with her brown hair neatly braided into two plaits.

Instead of a fancy dress laden with lace, she wore a cream-colored shirt with a low-saturation red bustier.

Rather than the dignified attire befitting a great noble, her modest appearance made her seem more like a young woman working at a trading company.

“Welcome.”

Nevertheless, the butler of the House of Cardia showed no great surprise as he greeted Lady Howard.

And he guided her to the drawing room.

Giselle Grante, who had been elegantly reading a book in the drawing room, slowly turned her head upon sensing a presence.

Though her different-than-usual attire felt somewhat unfamiliar, Lady Howard’s appearance suited her brown hair very well.

When Giselle Grante smiled brightly, Lady Howard bowed at the waist with both hands neatly folded at her navel. Then she said.

“Thank you for using our Radcliffe Trading Company. I’ve come today with news to deliver. Lady Amaterasu.”

“Pratt must have given… quite thorough new employee training. There’s nothing at all to fault in your customer service.”

She intended to appropriately play along with Lady Howard’s roleplay.

As if pleased by her praise, Lady Howard raised the corners of her mouth satisfactorily and said.

“I was just imitating Pratt, but it seems it was pretty good?”

Giselle Grante nodded slightly and gestured to the sofa across from her.

When Lady Howard took her seat, a maid standing nearby filled her teacup with freshly brewed tea.

“Aren’t you curious how it went?”

Lady Howard’s eyes sparkled as she said those words.

From that alone, Giselle Grante could tell that this matter had gone well according to plan.

“Well… I’m not sure, how did it go?”

But she feigned ignorance innocently.

It was a kind of consideration for Lady Howard, who was immersed in her role as both an employee of Radcliffe Trading Company and a spy.

“She successfully infiltrated the imperial palace!”

Lady Howard said cheerfully.

It was almost as if she were boasting about an achievement she herself had made, and she also seemed excited like a child.

Giselle Grante couldn’t help but laugh softly.

Though she thought it was better to enjoy whatever one does rather than suffer through it, Lady Howard was certainly enjoying the current situation to the fullest.

“That’s fortunate.”

“I know, right? Even though I wasn’t the one infiltrating the imperial palace, I was on edge the whole time. It’s really fortunate.”

Saying so, Lady Howard slurped her hot tea.

The infiltration of the imperial palace she mentioned meant that Lady Blatnik had safely become the Empress’s lady-in-waiting.

Having learned that the Empress was trying to recruit the House of Blatnik, Giselle Grante immediately pushed forward with a meeting with Lady Blatnik.

And in that process, Lady Howard played an important role.

She not only bridged the connection so that Lady Blatnik and Giselle Grante could converse, but also volunteered to go between them delivering news.

The Empress’s attempt to make Lady Blatnik Crown Princess was to check the alliance between Cardia and Amaterasu.

In such circumstances, it would be difficult for Giselle Grante to openly contact Lady Blatnik.

Of course, they could have communicated in writing through Radcliffe Trading Company, but this also carried risks.

Because documents remain as evidence.

So Giselle Grante thought of the hidden card that was Lady Howard.

Lady Howard and Lady Blatnik’s friendship had been known for some time.

So Lady Howard’s comings and goings to the Blatnik residence while delivering news to Giselle Grante was unlikely to arouse suspicion.

Rather, the Empress would welcome this situation.

She would think that by gaining the House of Blatnik, she had gotten the House of Howard as a bonus.

“What do you think of my outfit today? Don’t you think I could walk around the shopping district like this and no one would know?”

After emptying one cup of tea and handing the empty cup to the maid, Lady Howard asked.

Watching the maid approach and pour tea into her cup, Giselle Grante nodded.

“It’s pretty. Flawless.”

As if pleased by the praise, Lady Howard smiled brightly while slurping the freshly poured tea.

Thinking it fortunate that Lady Howard seemed to be enjoying her spy role, Giselle Grante also savored the fragrant tea.

****

The chamberlain who had meticulously prepared the report to submit to the Emperor carefully made his way down the corridor.

And at that moment.

“Ah……!”

He collided with someone who happened to be walking toward him.

As the chamberlain lost his balance and his body swayed, the documents stacked up like a tower to eye level scattered into the air in an instant.

Soon the documents to be delivered to the Emperor were strewn across the imperial palace’s wide corridor.

“…….”

The chamberlain’s face turned ashen as he looked at the scene.

Just sorting those documents back in order would take a full day.

Thoroughly angered, the chamberlain immediately whipped his head toward the scoundrel he had just collided with and roared.

“Damn it! Open your eyes properly……!”

However, before he could finish pouring out his complaints, the chamberlain’s eyes widened.

‘Oh… what kind of divine joke is this.’

Such thoughts came to him naturally.