Chapter 50

***

What way of wasting time was this?

Rosaline shook her head. It was the second day, and yet none of the administrators were to be seen. 

The young ladies, tired of waiting for permission to leave their rooms, went ahead to the venue. They settled at tables in groups of three to five, the ones of similar age chatting excitedly as if they were already friends.

Though to be fair, it was easy to get to know each other if one regularly socialized.

Of course, Rosaline’s situation was quite different.

Yesterday, the ladies had realized that Rosaline would become the empress, or at least a concubine. She would remain standing after the final test, and His Majesty—if the rumors were to be believed—would choose her unhesitatingly. No one rejected that idea except for Ella.

In any case, Rosaline had already been selected, whether she liked it much or not. She didn’t know if it was because of that that nobody approached her, or if it was because of stories about her when she was a secretary.

However, the truth was that everyone wanted to talk to her. Affection and admiration colored the gazes that laid on her. Many were even distracted from their respective conversations.

“Hui, is my dress too much?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“People keep glancing at me. I think the dress that His Majesty prepared stands out too much because it looks like a ballroom dress.” Rosaline looked at her outfit.

The blue gown was designed by Cahir’s personal tailor. It revealed her delicate shoulders and didn’t have any particularly special embellishments, but the magic was in the way it draped over her body in an inimitably excellent manner. It wrapped tightly around her waist and flared out in many short layers, making her silhouette look like a flower.

Above all, the dress highlighted her best features. A graceful neck, smooth skin, a slim waist, long legs…

‘He’s a skilled worker.’

Rosaline laughed a little thinking about Amal’s propensity to wear a tight vest over his neat suit.

Faint exclamations burst from around her. When she turned her head, quite a few people made eye contact.

‘Oh, I guess they were still looking at me.’

She quickly erased her expression, lest they think she was a fool for laughing by herself, but strangely enough, their faces became disappointed.

“As expected, are they uncomfortable because I was His Majesty’s secretary?”

“I don’t think it’s because of that, Lady Rosaline,” Hui replied smoothly, already used to the new form of address.

Rather, it was Rosaline whose fingers and toes curled whenever she was referred to as a lady.

“Then why is everyone still looking at me? Did I somehow make a mistake, Hui?”

“No, I just think everyone wants to talk to you.”

“Why?”

From her perspective, she wasn’t the best person to converse with in this setting. She knew nothing about what high society had been up to in the past years, and the other young ladies were likely the same when it came to administration.

So while she herself was willing to listen and respond appropriately, she couldn’t understand why others would want to talk to her in the first place.

By any chance…

“Do they want to know about His Majesty? This is, after all, the empress selection. Knowledge about him is a big advantage.”

Hui laughed awkwardly and poured tea into Rosaline’s empty cup.

Rosaline, assuming from her friend’s silence that she had concluded correctly, shook her head slightly.

“Is this seat the only one left unoccupied?” 

Ella’s voice broke her tranquility. If she had asked “Can I sit here?” politely, it would have been less annoying, but alas.

Rosaline raised her head and smiled slightly. Ella, who took it as a sign of agreement, nodded and let her maid pull out the chair.

She sat gracefully and looked at Hui. “If you don’t mind, may I have a cup of tea?”

A dark lavender eyebrow arched. Despite the seemingly courteous question, it was rude of Ella to basically ignore Rosaline when she asked for tea.

Hui bowed towards Rosaline silently, swallowing her anger. She had also immediately noticed the other person’s poor behavior, but it was up to her lady to do the admonishing. 

“Hui, please serve some tea.”

The words were unexpectedly kind. She froze.

“Hui?”

“Ah… yes, Lady Rosaline. Shall I serve the same flavor as yours?”

“What do you think, Lady Ella? I’m drinking black tea with honey.”

“Please.” Ella seemed irritated by Hui’s disregard.

Rosaline nodded. Hui could see that this person was unlike the other young ladies. There was a strange hostility in her gaze.

That was why she didn’t want to leave her friend alone. Ella had even appeared with three maids, so Rosaline would have to deal with four such gazes alone while she left to prepare the tea.

“Will I be able to drink tea before this day ends?” the hateful woman asked sarcastically when Hui remained motionless.

Pain flared in Rosaline’s temples.

“It’s an honor.” She raised her chin slightly, stroking the smooth handle of her teacup, blue eyes flashing sharply under long eyelashes. “I was asked for tea outside my own residence.” Rosaline brought the cup to her lips as if to showcase it.

One of Ella’s eyes twitched.

Each noble lady entered the imperial palace with their own tea and tea sets. Of course, the tea itself could be provided, but it was impossible to ask for a cup at just any given time.

Also, it was usually the responsibility of the owner of a residence to prepare tea for the guests. Since this was a palace that technically did not have an owner yet, it was only natural for the candidates to bring tea with them.

By asking Rosaline to serve tea, Ella had unintentionally implied that she was the owner of the palace, which was obviously not her intention.

Ella took a deep breath. “Well, I didn’t have to prepare my own tea set,” she said arrogantly, which actually meant “Everything here will be mine anyway, so there was no need.”

“Oh, Goddess, I see. How unfortunate! Please do not be ashamed, Lady Ella.”

Once again, the response was unexpected. Ella had been banking on a sharp reaction that could be the source of rumors to ruin Rosaline’s reputation.

“I read your answer yesterday, and it was very good. This time, though, it would have been better to prepare a little more.” Rosaline glanced at Ella’s servants. “Don’t worry, you won’t be sent home because of this. I actually think you will stay in the palace for at least two or three more days.”

The twitch in Ella’s eye worsened. 

Rosaline smirked and swept the hair off her neck. “I would be delighted to share a cup of tea with you.” She raised her hand just in time as Hui appeared, gesturing towards Ella. 

Hui set down a teacup and poured into it.

***

Baroness Vellus was watching their exchange from a distance. Last night, Azela had called for her after dinner.

“How was she?”

“Indeed, she has an impeccable and wonderful personality.”

When she remembered the conversation she had with the empress dowager, her hands tensed.

“A vixen born with a talent for attracting others. That’s how she cheated our Cahir.”

The scene of Rosaline putting down a teacup overlapped with that of Azela doing the same.

Baroness Vellus’ breathing hitched.

“What business is your husband doing these days? Did you mention it was one for the soles of shoes? As far as I know, there hasn’t been a lot of investment involved, but wouldn’t it be hard if it failed?”

The baroness bit her lips. Although she was not actively involved in Baron Vellus’ business, she understandably did not want him to fail. Now, they were wealthy enough to be treated like rich nobles from the capital. But… 

Without their money, they would have to return to their small territory in the province and live with the smells of soil and cow dung.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

Azela had insisted that Rosaline was good at deceiving people. Perhaps the affection Baroness Vellus felt was also due to that.

She crossed the hall and stood in front of Rosaline and Ella’s table, vowing not to be swayed.

***

“Baroness Vellus!” Ella jumped out of her seat. “It’s lovely to see you here. I very much enjoyed the refreshments you sent me last time,” she said in a friendly tone.

Did she want to show off her connections? Did she want Rosaline to cower after watching all that?

Rosaline’s mind was calm. She stood, the reappearance of her gown in its full glory painting a blush on many young ladies’ cheeks.

She ignored it. “It’s an honor to see you again.”

“Yes, it’s nice to see you too,” came the cold response.

‘Did I do something wrong again? I don’t remember anything about that, and she was fine up until we parted ways yesterday. What’s wrong?’

What had happened to Baroness Vellus? Was she merely capricious by nature?

Whatever the case, Rosaline didn’t mind. She wasn’t the type of person to be hurt by someone’s unprovoked malice, and she was of the mindset that it was easier to just deal with it immediately rather than exchanging barbs back and forth. After recognizing someone as an enemy, she was surprisingly relentless.

It was also one of Cahir’s favorite things about her.

‘Since there’s a conflict…’

Rosaline smiled and told Hui to pull a chair out for the baroness, who wasn’t accompanied by anyone.

“Thank you.”

The formal greetings were over.

“Hui, could I ask you to go again? I’d like to serve tea to the baroness as well—oh!” She turned to Baroness Vellus. “That is, if you would allow it.”

The older woman nodded lightly and looked around.

She could see that the other noble ladies had taken their places at their assigned tables. Some of the empress candidates dropped their teaspoons in embarrassment or even gasped openly.

“…There are still many inexperienced young ladies,” Baroness Vellus said frankly.

It was a warning to Rosaline as well, a reminder that any mistake would result in a harsh scolding.

A declaration of war, so to speak.