The Floating Salon
The ship Olivia had rented to host her salon was a large, magnificent cruise vessel.
Tables were arranged across the deck, and the galley had been expanded. Several cabins were repurposed as waiting rooms for guests, lecturers, and performers.
Sion sat in one of those waiting rooms. Olivia had created a separate, smaller space for him, knowing full well that not only the guests but also the singers and actors brought in from the Marell Troupe would inevitably pester him.
"She really is thoughtful," he mused, smirking at the five-tiered tray stacked with bite-sized snacks.
He would have been better off in front of the Flower Nest than coming here. That would have led Lilian down the path of ruin more surely.
Olivia hadn't wanted that. Her argument was that there was no need for Sion to get dragged into it.
Then again, she had made the right choice. If she hadn't, he wouldn't have bothered layering scandal upon scandal to corner Lilian; he would have simply stabbed her to death at their meeting place. And he would have whispered into her ear exactly what sins she had committed.
Even now, he felt the temptation.
"Well, watching her writhe in the agony of betrayal wouldn't be so bad, either."
Above all, he couldn't ignore his business partner.
"Sion."
At the sound of his name, he snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see Olivia standing in the doorway. She was dressed elegantly today, as always, but her makeup was slightly different. She usually favored black or purple tones that gave her a sharp, sensual impression, but today, she looked more noble, perhaps because she wore clear, vibrant red.
"What were you thinking about so deeply?"
"I was thinking about Lady Laila. How foolish of me. To be lost in imagination with the person herself standing right in front of me."
"It wasn't my face you were thinking about, was it? Are you worried?"
Sion shrugged.
"A little."
"Your efforts won't be in vain."
Olivia reached behind her to close the door. Sion spoke earnestly.
"Do you really think Empress Lilian will be able to slip out of the Imperial Palace?"
"I confirmed that the laundry maid's clothes and the scissors were delivered properly. I wouldn't call the Empress wise, but she has experience working as a maid. If she can just avoid the guards' eyes, she’ll be able to escape through the laundry room, and I’ve prepared everything for what comes after."
"Wouldn't it be difficult to avoid the eyes of those guards?"
"I bribed two of the maids."
It hadn't been easy. However, thanks to Sophia's recent failure in internal management, which led to the replacement of several employees, an opening had appeared.
"The guards completely ignore the Empress, and the maids are so exhausted that their surveillance has grown lax. It seems they don't even consider the possibility that the Empress is capable of doing anything on her own."
"Aha. That sounds plausible."
"You don't need to worry about that problem."
As she said this, Olivia looked at Sion with a worried expression. Sion spoke in a cheerful tone.
"Don't make that face. You should be praising me for doing a good job."
"You did well."
Olivia understood the heart of someone seeking revenge. It was easy to tell someone not to be trapped by painful memories and to think of the future, but if that were easy, who would remain in the inferno of their own recollections? Forgetting deep-seated scars was even harder.
Therefore, it was easier to kill the source of the pain. She herself was struggling to do the same.
But still, looking through the eyes of another, one couldn't help but feel pity. Olivia didn't want Sion to throw himself away.
Even though she was perfectly willing to do so herself.
The two stared at each other for a moment. They didn't know each other's stories, but because they knew of the existence of suffering, a form of empathy without understanding took hold.
"I truly didn't know your target was the Empress," Olivia muttered inadvertently. Sion smiled softly.
"Now you understand why I was genuinely happy when you said Lady Laila needed to seduce the Empress, don't you?"
"I suspected you back then."
Though she hadn't cared, thinking it didn't matter if she used him and threw him away.
As if reading her thoughts, Sion said, "It doesn't matter if you use me and throw me away. I came to find you because I intended to use you, too."
He said that, but Sion knew better than anyone that she wouldn't do such a thing. And even if she did, the revenge would be carried out.
Olivia sighed again.
It was then that the commotion began to be heard from outside. Olivia took a pocket watch out of her pocket. It was already time for the guests to arrive.
"I must be going now."
"I've been thinking," Sion said with a grin, voicing a thought that had just occurred to him.
"Wouldn't it be more persuasive to be one of Lady Laila's lovers rather than accepting the proposal of the Countess of Albesleben?"
"What?"
"Because it would serve as a reason why I wouldn't run away with the Empress."
Olivia looked at him with a troubled face. Sion stood up abruptly and said in a playful voice,
"I meant that I would escort you."
"It's not that I didn't understand. I just thought there was no need for you to be exposed so early."
"Then shall I stay here?"
"...Let's go out together."
Olivia thought for a moment before saying that. She felt Sion was right.
The salon owner didn't need a partner, but Sion making an appearance was a decent choice. It would throw Sophia into confusion. She placed her hand on the arm Sion offered and stepped outside.
The moment the two appeared on deck, a brief silence fell. It wasn't worthy of criticism for a salon owner to be accompanied by a cultured lover, and Sion was decorative enough on his own, but considering all the recent scandals, it was a very bold decision.
Those who knew the stories involving the Empress, like the Marquis and Marchioness of Krut, were even more stunned.
"Welcome to my second salon. I hope you all have a comfortable and enjoyable evening."
Olivia moved about, tossing smiles and greetings to those around her with composure. Then, she headed toward the boarding ladder to greet the guests who had just arrived.
Sophia, who had just stepped onto the deck, stiffened when she saw Sion standing by her side. Olivia smiled brightly.
"Welcome, Lady Sophia. I have been looking forward to the day we would meet."
"...Thank you for the invitation. I don't know much about opera, so I fear I might be a nuisance."
"Nonsense. It is merely a gathering to enjoy music under the night sky in comfort, so I would be grateful if you would simply enjoy yourself."
While Sophia returned the smile to Olivia, she kept glancing at Sion's face. She had sent the invitation, but she hadn't expected her to come; it seemed she had come because of Sion. Regardless, it didn't matter. Once she had boarded the ship, there was no way to get off until everything was finished. That meant the Empress's Palace had lost control.
Meanwhile, Sion was having other thoughts.
"I wonder how the Count of Lutgarth will react."
He let out a small laugh. With important tasks piled high, wasn't today a day that needed a vent like humor?
***
Ana was a maid who worked in the laundry room of the Empress's Palace.
She had been in the Empress's Palace for about a year. Laundry maids who did the hard labor were frequently replaced, and even in the Imperial Palace, that was no different.
Sophia, who was effectively running the Imperial Palace in the Empress's stead, selected people strictly, but her management couldn't reach down to such low-level employees. Ana had an excellent letter of recommendation and the skills to match her long experience, and that was enough.
She worked diligently, as she had her whole life. Even in the Empress's Palace, laundry work was the same as anywhere else. If one had to find something unique, it was only that they were provided with aprons, so Ana's life had no reason to change.
That was true until two weeks ago. Before a man with a menacing face came to find her and presented a promissory note written by her son.
No, even that wasn't a big enough event to change her life. It was just that her son had started doing the work her husband used to do. What changed her life was when that man pulled out a pouch filled with gold coins with his other hand.