ITIF Chapter 33

The Aftermath of the Crown Prince’s Investiture Ceremony

“Please come in, Lady Amaterasu.”

Giselle Grante stepped into the salon, welcomed by the head butler’s hospitality.

As she entered the hall, Giselle Grante slowly looked around at the faces of the nobles gathered in the salon.

Countess Tarel, who had been conversing with another noble lady, spotted her and raised her voice.

“You’ve arrived, Lady Amaterasu!”

“More and more nobles are visiting the salon these days.”

“It’s all thanks to you, my lady.”

Joy was evident in Countess Tarel’s voice.

“Oh, by the way. There are some new guests here today that I’d like to introduce to you.”

Countess Tarel took Giselle Grante’s hand and led her along.

As they exchanged greetings one by one, Giselle Grante noticed a familiar face.

‘Is that Count Fernando’s daughter?’

She was the person who had been excluded from the Empress’s inner circle after mentioning the popularity of Countess Tarel’s salon at the former Empress’s tea party.

To increase the intimacy between Giselle Grante and Lady Fernando, who didn’t know each other well, Countess Tarel started a light conversation.

Giselle Grante nodded appropriately while speculating about the Fernando family’s intentions.

‘So now they’re completely turning against the Empress.’

And her speculation seemed correct, judging by how Lady Fernando kept glancing at Philipo, who was conversing with other young nobles by the window.

In fact, Philipo would have been quite popular if only he weren’t the son born between the Emperor and his mistress.

First, he closely resembled Countess Tarel’s beauty that could even enchant the Emperor, and though she had only conversed with him a few times, his thinking was quite sound.

Moreover, Count Tarel was an elderly man whose days were numbered.

Philipo would inherit the count’s title earlier than other young nobles with healthy fathers.

Of course, the ladies and noble women who visited Countess Tarel’s salon today were hoping for something greater.

Even as Giselle Grante continued her thoughts, the conversation between Countess Tarel and Lady Fernando continued.

Then the head butler approached and whispered something to Countess Tarel.

Countess Tarel nodded slightly and asked for understanding from Giselle Grante and Lady Fernando.

“Please continue your conversation, you two.”

A brief awkward atmosphere flowed between the two, but soon Lady Fernando asked:

“I heard that you’ve been frequenting this salon since before the investiture ceremony… Is this Duke Amaterasu’s will?”

The intention behind her question was very easy to understand. She was asking whether the Amaterasu ducal family had also decided to back Philipo.

But Giselle Grante only blinked her eyes with a foolish expression, as if she didn’t understand what she was talking about.

Then Lady Fernando’s expression, which had been consistently smiling until just moments ago, hardened slightly.

She was probably thinking to herself:

‘Were the rumors about her being an idiot really true?’

That was better for Giselle Grante.

Because if Lady Fernando had decided on Philipo as a marriage candidate, she couldn’t be friendly toward Giselle Grante.

The Fernando family was powerful enough for the Empress to take notice and invite to palace tea parties.

But it was true that they fell far short of the Amaterasu ducal family, so if it came to a union between families, Lady Fernando would have no chance of winning.

If Lady Fernando was a wise person who knew how to look after her own interests, she would have finished that calculation by now.

So she decided to let her know.

That she herself had no interest in Philipo whatsoever.

“What do you think of Count Tarel’s son?”

Giselle Grante stared directly at Lady Fernando and observed her reaction.

“Pardon? …Suddenly?”

As if she hadn’t expected to be asked such a thing, Lady Fernando made startled rabbit eyes and glanced sideways at Philipo.

“Do you find Count Tarel’s son appealing?”

Lady Fernando, who had been stammering in confusion, soon spoke boldly:

“Yes, I think he’s quite nice. What do you think of him, my lady?”

“I think he’s a good person.”

“Enough to want to marry him?”

Lady Fernando asked, looking at Giselle Grante with a slightly shy gaze.

Giselle Grante smiled slightly and slowly shook her head.

“You know my reputation.”

Lady Fernando blinked for a moment.

Then, as if remembering Duke Cardia’s existence, she smiled and quietly added:

“Then you’re not my competitor?”

To the question asked while glancing at Philipo, Giselle Grante nodded.

“That’s right.”

Then Lady Fernando immediately extended her hand.

“Then let’s be friends. I heard you’re close with Countess Tarel…”

After conversing with Lady Fernando for a while, Countess Tarel returned.

“Oh my, you two seem to have become friends already?”

“Yes, we get along so wonderfully.”

“But I’m so sorry about this.”

“…?”

Lady Fernando blinked at Countess Tarel’s words.

“I need to borrow Lady Amaterasu for a moment due to an important matter.”

“Ah… Yes. Please do so.”

****

A few days before the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony, Countess Tarel had traveled to a villa on the outskirts of the capital with the head butler.

It was because the head butler had first suggested it, saying that since the weather was getting warmer, they should take a trip that could serve as a picnic.

Countess Tarel immediately came to find Giselle Grante, saying that the Empress seemed to be plotting something.

Giselle Grante advised Countess Tarel to do as the head butler requested.

Nevertheless, Countess Tarel couldn’t hide her anxiety.

This was because she had revealed to Countess Tarel the fact that the head butler was the Empress’s person, as she had heard from Lindsey.

Such suggestions weren’t limited to Countess Tarel alone.

Before the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony, another family’s young noble who usually spent time with them had suggested that Philipo go hunting.

While it was true that many nobles were heading to mountains and fields thanks to the warming weather, the atmosphere was a bit different this year.

Because preparations were needed to attend the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony.

Thanks to this, Giselle Grante was able to identify who among the Empress’s people had been attached to Philipo.

At first, both Countess Tarel and Philipo denied reality, saying that they would never betray the mother and son, but they soon accepted it.

What she had provided according to her suggestion could be considered an example of that.

“When I heard the news that Cookie was sick and made a fuss about having to return to Count Tarel’s estate immediately, even the head butler couldn’t go against it.”

Giselle Grante, led by Countess Tarel’s hand to sit on the reception room sofa, gazed quietly at Cookie, who looked very healthy.

Cookie was Countess Tarel’s pet dog, an elderly Chihuahua.

Since Countess Tarel and Philipo had always treated Cookie like family, having the news that Cookie wasn’t eating after vomiting sent to the villa was also part of Giselle Grante’s strategy.

So that even if Philipo at the hunting grounds returned to the capital immediately, they wouldn’t be able to stop him.

“This was a gift from His Majesty, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. He said it was a gift for me and Philipo, who were lonely.”

Countess Tarel smiled while looking at Cookie, who was comfortably closing his eyes in Giselle Grante’s arms.

“How strange. Our Cookie usually doesn’t take well to people other than me and Philipo.”

Giselle Grante said while gently scratching under Cookie’s chin:

“By the way, didn’t you say you had something to tell me?”

“Oh, right. I heard that several noble ladies who had never been invited before received invitations to the Empress’s tea party.”

“Where did you hear that news?”

“From a noble lady who attended the salon today. What could she be plotting again?”

Giselle Grante placed Cookie in the anxious Countess Tarel’s arms and said:

“If we know what’s going to happen, we can prepare in advance. So you don’t need to worry too much.”

Countess Tarel hugged Cookie tightly.

Was it the warmth of the pet dog, whose body temperature was higher than humans, that comforted her? Or was it because she was reminded of the existence she needed to protect?

Countess Tarel soon spoke with an expression that had shaken off her anxiety:

“I’ll only trust in you, my lady.”

“We shouldn’t be away for too long, so let’s go back now. I’ll stop by the powder room briefly.”

She needed some time alone to think.

****

‘It seems like quite useful information is starting to come in.’

An example of this was the schedule for the Empress’s next tea party that she had just heard from Countess Tarel.

Giselle Grante continued her thoughts as she walked toward the powder room.

‘She invited noble ladies from families she had no previous contact with…’

Giselle Grante thought of two possibilities.

One was to use and discard them, the other was to discard the existing ones and find new replacements.

‘Which one could it be? The Empress’s plan.’

If the intention was to use and discard, there would be no need for wives of powerful families.

Even the Empress wouldn’t need to bear the burden of making enemies with families.

‘Then does that mean she intends to discard the old and acquire the new…’

While speculating about the Empress’s plan as she walked, Giselle Grante easily reached one conclusion.

‘So she’s chosen to abandon Countess Minster after all?’

The Empress had probably been contemplating whether to abandon the Count Minster’s family, whose fortunes had begun to decline.

Meanwhile, Lady Minster had caused a disturbance at a tea party hosted by the Empress, diminishing the Empress’s dignity.

Given the Empress’s personality, she would certainly never summon Lady Minster to the palace again.

But would Countess Minster really just sit by and watch this happen?