Chapter 53
I pressed my lips shut tight. All winter long, I'd devoted myself to honing my swordsmanship, and now my shoulders ached with muscle pain. I gave them a few light pats.
Just when I'd reached a busy but stable point, countless harsh plans were lining up for my first spring as Kashmir Crisis. The north wind was drawing near.
I hope I can protect the things I love.
I gave a wry smile and rose from the window, leaving the room. I was headed out to train with my sword once more. Even in this bright spring, I was preparing for winter. If you wanted peace, you had to prepare for war.
"Lady Llewellyn Decardo invited me and Aria to a tea party?"
"Yes. Here's the invitation."
It was a sunny day, and Aria and I were enjoying tea time in the garden when Maria handed us the invitations.
Aria's been active in high society, so she's probably clashed with Llewellyn plenty of times... but I've barely done any social activities since my debut, obsessing over sword training instead. Why send one to me?
It made sense for them to invite Aria, who was at the pinnacle of society right now. But sending one to me, who was rejecting every invitation coming from all directions? That was unexpected.
I turned the envelope over, admiring the intricate gold rose embossing, then opened it with a letter knife. Inside was a standard invitation.
"Ha! That Decardo girl sent invitations to both me and Sis at the same time? It's so obvious it's hilarious!"
Aria shot the invitation a dirty look and let out a hollow laugh. I was baffled—she wasn't usually this worked up.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"There's no way she'd invite me. Would you send a tea invite to your sworn enemy like, 'Hey, wanna grab some tea?' She'd send a duel challenge first!"
Ah.
I let out a small sigh. I'd momentarily forgotten how bad things were between Llewellyn and Aria. Right now, they were fated rivals vying for the throne of high society. If Aria was getting unilaterally bullied like in the original story, I'd have stepped in to mediate, but since they were both tearing into each other in what passed for friendly competition, I'd been leaving them be.
...Does she hate her that much?
I watched Aria glare at the invitation like it was a fly corpse, my expression uneasy. I'd never seen them together, so I had no idea just how bad it was.
"That Llewellyn definitely wants to invite Sis. But she had no excuse, so she pretended the goal was me and sent them to both of us! Sis is the real target!"
"......What?"
Aria's face twisted into a demon's snarl as she shrieked. I blinked, then rubbed my brow.
"......Why would Lady Decardo want me there? Isn't that a bit of an overinterpretation?"
"Look closely! The date of the tea party—it's the day of the business presentation for exporting harnesses and body chains!"
I glanced down at the invitation. The tea party was three days from now—the same day Aria had scheduled a crucial meeting with merchants from the Atara Kingdom. It was too important to miss.
Llewellyn would know that. Sending an invite to Aria knowing she couldn't come... that's a little suspicious.
What kind of family was Decardo? The empire's gateway and outlet for all gold coins, praised as the pinnacle of wealth. Even the Crisis family yielded to them in pure financial power, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say there were no money transactions Decardo didn't know about.
"That cunning Decardo girl knows I can't go! She picked a day I couldn't make it on purpose, so I stay away and she can devour Sis alone! That's the plan!"
"D-Devour...?"
"That Llewellyn keeps asking about Sis every time she sees me—super suspicious! Now she's showing her true colors!"
I tried to calm Aria, who was venting like a dragon spewing breath, but she was already condemning Llewellyn as the empire's greatest traitor, blind to reason. She looked ready to climb onto the tea table and belt out an impromptu dirge titled "Death to Llewellyn, You Bastard." I stared blankly and decided to drop the thought.
Sis. Have you ever dated Lady Llewellyn Decardo?
Cough! W-What?
I finally talked to her alone for the first time yesterday... and she kept asking about you. It was annoying... Spill it. Do you like Lady Decardo? Don't tell me more than me?
I recalled Aria grilling me intensely after her early encounters with Llewellyn in society, my face uneasy. I'd been too busy training all winter to see Llewellyn since debut, but Aria, active as ever, kept bumping into her and coming home to explode in rage.
She doesn't even know you have a mole on your butt! Pretending to know you! Keeps asking about you! Just wait, I'll hire an assassin soon!
Aria, calm down...
Sis, you stay put! I'll handle it all!
Even sharp Llewellyn couldn't miss how Aria freaked out around her, yet she'd still sent Aria an invite. That was odd.
So... am I really the target...?
I stared seriously at the invitation with my name boldly written on it. I could guess why Llewellyn wanted to meet, and it made me uneasy.
"Sis! Don't go! Next time, let's go to some other lady's tea party together! Or host one at the Crisis mansion! No need to go to Decardo's!"
"Hmm... No. I think I should go."
"What?"
Aria shot up, furious. Her sky-blue eyes demanded a logical reason, gleaming murderously, but they just looked cute to me, so I smiled gently.
She's been on my mind since debut... and hearing she keeps asking Aria about me makes me think I should meet her once anyway. Perfect timing.
Llewellyn Decardo came from the empire's top business family. She excelled at judgment and profit calculations, wielding cool reason and sharp instincts. From everything I'd heard so far, Llewellyn never helped anyone without reason. Her actions seemed impulsive at a glance, but closer inspection revealed thorough calculations of motive and gain.
Of course, Fairy's Night focused only on her villainy, her abuses and brutality, to make her the bad girl...
'Fairy's Night' was the trash novel that even used our genius Aria only as an angelic heroine prop. After months living with the Crisis family—who bore little resemblance to the original's bad writing—I'd decided to ignore the novel entirely.
If Decardo supports me in the coming war, it'll be a huge boost. Better to make Llewellyn an ally if possible.
At debut, Llewellyn had helped me for no reason and even asked if we'd met before. That meant she'd at least suspected I was the Sword Master who'd helped her back then.
I'll watch how she treats me carefully. If she seems to have figured it out, better to come clean. Use the past favor as an excuse to get close.
I no longer feared destroying the original plot. To protect my loved ones, I was ready to use anything as a tool.
If needed, even Llewellyn as a means to an end.
"I haven't done any social stuff since debut. Time to dip my toe back in. And they say Lady Llewellyn's really interested in me. I'm curious why."
I couldn't reveal my true thoughts, so I deflected smoothly.
"I was planning to conquer high society first and gift it to Sis...
With a cold face, Aria muttered as she savagely crushed another macaron from the tea table into her bowl—the fifth victim.
She sighed and spoke.
"......Fine. If Sis wants to go, I can't stop you."
Aria's eyes drooped sadly, giving up on dissuading me. It stung a bit seeing how much she hated me meeting Llewellyn, but she was someone I had to face eventually, so I couldn't back out.
"But if she messes with you, don't hesitate—take her out."
Aria's eyes sharpened again. I ignored the chill running down my spine.
"I'll handle the prison time."
She really, really hated Llewellyn.
And now, I stood before the resplendent Decardo mansion.
Wow.
My jaw dropped at the Decardo mansion, which I'd never seen before. If the Crisis mansion emphasized neat elegance, the temple sanctity, and the imperial palace splendor, then Decardo's had a mysterious, fairytale vibe—like something out of Merhen's stories.
They really nailed the design.
I couldn't stop admiring the outer walls, intricately carved with rose vines. The building seemed plucked straight from a storybook, stirring childhood wonder. Impressed by the architect's eye, I followed the Decardo butler to the garden where the tea party was set.
Decardo's garden was famous as the "Wiltless Rose Garden," blooming with roses year-round. I gasped at the lush red blooms covering it and stepped forward.
Mana stones dotted the garden here and there, emitting power to sustain the roses.
Talk about money to burn.
I stuck out my tongue examining the high-grade mana stones. Even Crisis House didn't splurge like this.
What happened to the Decardo mansion during the war in the original? Did it get destroyed?
I couldn't remember that far. Still, it felt a shame if this rose garden were ruined. As I approached the tea table amid colorful dresses, it happened.
"Lady Crisis. You've arrived."
A calm, sweet voice tickled my ear. Fiery red hair like a blaze of light. A refined face that hid a sword's edge, exuding sharpness. Even sitting still, her charisma dominated the space. Emerald-green eyes gleamed proudly.
Those eyes fixed on me. I felt dissected piece by piece, but I met the thick, piercing gaze head-on and smiled confidently.
"Thank you for the invitation, Lady Decardo."
I had finally come face-to-face with Llewellyn Decardo.