Wherever the Mondes family resided, newspapers and magazines were regularly delivered in abundance. Maids and servants would rush to buy the latest special editions. Like other nobles, if they failed to obtain the latest daily newspapers or women’s fashion magazines filled with the most recent news, they would face harsh scolding.

The Duchess of Mondes and Beatrice usually enjoyed parties until late at night or early morning, then woke up late in the afternoon to have a late lunch while flipping through the accumulated newspapers.

The way the two read newspapers was identical. They would skim the front page, looking for the society column and special articles about the latest trends among nobles and new fashions, then briefly read the rest of the articles.

Even if they weren’t interested, the people they met often appeared in the politics and society sections.

“What the hell, what is this? Are they crazy?”

Beatrice’s delicate brow, which had been elegantly sipping tea, twisted fiercely, and harsh words spewed from her mouth. She put down her teacup with a thud, set aside the newspaper she had been reading, and thoroughly searched through the other newspapers, spreading them out.

Then, frowning even more severely, she opened the next newspaper. Seeing that the next newspaper looked exactly the same, she noisily turned the pages as if they might tear, and immediately opened a weekly magazine for women.

“Have they all lost their minds?”

She flipped through the weekly magazine as if she might tear it to shreds, and finally threw it down in frustration.

“Oh my, you startled me.”

The Duchess of Mondes, who had been dozing at the table suffering from a hangover, suddenly raised her head.

“What are you getting worked up about first thing in the morning?”

“Take a look at this.”

The Duchess of Mondes, clutching her pounding head, picked up the weekly magazine her daughter had thrown and read it. She was frowning due to her headache, but soon read the article with interest while sipping warm tea.

“Lucenford has come?”

Meanwhile, Beatrice, still wearing a haughty expression, opened the common articles she disliked and piled them in front of her mother.

“Oh my, so they have. A purple spinel for His Majesty? How did poor Lucenford afford to offer such a thing? They must have uprooted their foundation pillars, dear.”

“Oh, didn’t you know? They discovered a gold mine there. Everyone’s rushing there to mine gold, and you still didn’t know?”

To survive in high society, one had to be well-informed about all kinds of news. That’s why Beatrice forced herself to read even the most boring political articles, if only the titles. Just reading one main headline and mentioning it was enough to make gentlemen go wild for her. And they were desperate to explain the content to her, who didn’t really know much about it.

“Was that so?”

The Duchess of Mondes answered absent-mindedly, then struggled to read the newspaper.

“Why are there so many jewels? A flower made of jewels, it must have been quite something.”

“Ah, forget that, read this too.”

“It’s killing me to read such small print first thing in the morning, dear. Someone bring me a magnifying glass.”

Though her eyes hurt, she couldn’t miss out on such an interesting article. The Duchess groaned as she skimmed through the articles her daughter was frantically pushing towards her. Women’s magazines, gossip rags, social columns in current affairs magazines – they were all abuzz about the Duke and Duchess of Lucenford.

After reading all those articles, the Duchess of Mondes grabbed a women’s weekly that had even published a separate extra edition with a special feature, and screamed.

“Where on earth did Kaella get that dress made?”

The articles were all talking about the ducal couple who had appeared by the Ener River.

Articles about the dress and parasol worn by the Duchess, who looked unwell; gossip about how much the Duke cared for his seemingly ill Duchess; articles about the gentlemen who lined up to approach the Duchess; articles dying of curiosity about what jewels the Duke had gifted the Duchess; they went on and on.

“You still don’t know? Do you?”

“How would I know that?”

The Duke and Duchess of Lucenford were occupying a page each in every gossip magazine. Beatrice was already upset about that, but the fact that all the articles were focusing not on the Duke but on the Duchess, that seemingly sickly Duchess, made jealousy writhe in her stomach.

There are always articles about Beatrice. But today, she couldn’t accept that she was only mentioned briefly in a corner before disappearing. Kaella particularly irked her.

A noble bloodline, immensely loved by her parents, and finally snagging Peon, an amazing princess who even received the rare title of “Your Highness” and never had to worry about money.

Other similarly impressive noble girls either looked up to Beatrice as an object of envy or cried after being bullied by her, but no matter how much she picked on or subtly tormented Kaella, it somehow never felt satisfying.

“Who on earth designed it? They say the lace and chiffon were fantastic!”

Where did that stunningly beautiful white dress come from? The gentlemen who had gathered the courage to speak to her unanimously said the Duchess shone like an angel, glowing white with light.

“Ah, is that important right now? If they’re getting all the attention, what are Mother and I supposed to live on?”

Beatrice stood up abruptly.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going out to make tomorrow’s newspaper articles!”

She needed to throw a huge party or something to completely overshadow those Ener River articles. Kaella should have lived quietly, rustically like herself, buried in that backwater Lucenford.

That’s how it should be. Why should that dimwit girl unfairly have everything?

No matter how much she put her down, Kaella would stare at Beatrice with wide eyes, and now sat in an even higher position than her, with both money and a man. If only she could properly crush Kaella just once, she would have no other wishes.

She had never left Kaella alone whenever she caught sight of her, but somehow Kaella kept feeling like she was tormenting Beatrice. It felt like she had properly broken her, but couldn’t remember when, and she disgustingly kept reviving. Especially after the recent visit to Lucenford, she felt even more upset, not quite satisfied.

‘Start with the pearls. White pearls shattering, blood splattering. Two crowns. One breaks, one rises anew.’

Beatrice recalled the vision she had seen while venting her anger in Lucenford, as she walked quickly down the corridor towards the dressing room.

‘Two roses as well. The red rose burns, the white rose blooms.’

It was all a sea of flames. One standing crown shattered and fell into the inferno, and the fire that swallowed the crown burned the red rose along with it.

‘Good.’

Beatrice flung open the dressing room door.

‘I’ll wear the new crown.’

The flower of high society, surely the white rose symbolized her. The vision she saw in Lucenford was thoroughly a prophecy for Beatrice.

*

At Austein Rangpallar Palace, Kaella had always been told she was pretty. So whenever she heard comparisons to Beatrice in Klein and Lucenford, she was hurt, shocked, and eventually just accepted it and let it go. By then, appearances were no longer important in her situation.

It had been a long time since she’d been called pretty, and now she thought such formal compliments were neither sincere nor meant for her. She was the stiff and blunt Duchess, not as pretty as Beatrice.

“Look over there.”

“Where on earth did that come from?”

As soon as Kaella, who had graced various newspapers and magazines for days, entered the imperial palace again after four days, an enormous amount of attention was focused on her. The whispering gazes seemed even more numerous than four days ago.

“Hello, Your Grace.”

“Ah, hello, Baroness Soros. You’ve come to Klein.”

“Yes. How is your health?”

“I’m managing well enough to get around. His Majesty has been very attentive.”

Among the clinging gazes, Sophia, Baroness Soros, who was at least familiar and from a prestigious enough family to approach Kaella first, came to greet her.

Sophia, who had hosted the Duke and Duchess of Lucenford at their estate Papyhill on the way to Klein, exchanged ordinary greetings with Kaella and then asked with a smile.

“You’ve taken on an important duty again as expected. It’s not too difficult, is it?”

“It’s only the second day.”

Kaella smiled gently and moved on. She didn’t want to think about what kind of trouble Marchioness Schrös might have stirred up in the meantime.

“Um, Your Grace. I’m curious about something – I saw an article. You went to the Ener River with the Duke, and if I may ask, where did you commission the dress you wore then? Not just me, but all the other ladies are wondering too.”

It had been the most talked-about news for days. The press, which had only been counting how many times Marchioness Schrös had ruined the engagement plans, was suddenly enthralled by the Duke and Duchess of Lucenford who had appeared and started by presenting small but precious and thoughtful gifts to the Emperor.

Along with expectations that the Duchess of Lucenford would sort out this chaotic engagement, all sorts of stories about her – who had nearly died in the cold north right after getting married and then come all the way to Klein – were turned into articles.

Especially the gossip rags were thrilled to report extensively on how the ducal couple spent time ‘intimately’ alone by the Ener River.

“And the parasol too.”

Behind Baroness Soros, ladies with fans could be seen glancing this way.

“Ah, the dress.”

“Of course, I understand if you don’t want to reveal who your exclusive designer is, but could you give us just a hint, or at least tell us what kind of fabric was used or what kind of order you placed?”

Even now, that white outdoor dress was hanging preciously in the wardrobe.

“I’m sorry. I… well, the Duke gave me the dress and parasol as gifts, so I didn’t get a chance to check where he ordered them from. They’re probably from Lucenford.”

“Oh! So they were gifts from the Duke! Then they must really be from a Lucenford designer? My goodness, to think there are such master craftsmen in the north!”

Baroness Soros seemed extremely pleased to have learned something no one else knew, covering her mouth as she laughed. Then she lowered her voice and whispered secretly to Kaella.

“Thank you for telling me, Your Grace. Everyone is relieved that you’ve taken charge of the engagement. Marchioness Schrös knows nothing. Really, absolutely nothing.”

Baroness Soros was the niece of Countess Siner, one of the Empress’s chief ladies-in-waiting. She came from a family so ancient and prestigious that the family name itself became the name of their territory.

As the Empress’s faction weakened, the Crown Prince’s faction was gaining power. Meanwhile, with Marchioness Schrös failing to work properly and the Duke and Duchess of Lucenford receiving acclaim, Klein’s political scene was becoming complicated. The one who benefited most was the Emperor.

“Did something happen?”

Kaella, being married to the Empress’s illegitimate son, had no choice but to be close to the Empress’s faction.

“What could have happened? Marchioness Schrös tried to overturn everything Your Grace had already sorted out.”

That was to be expected.

“But you know, the staff moved quickly in case that happened. We’d already gotten all the approvals and even requested cooperation from the Empress’s Palace, but to think it fell apart there.”

The experienced chief ladies-in-waiting lurking in the Empress’s Palace wouldn’t have sat idle. For them, who came from noble families and had been seasoned in high society, this was finally an official opportunity to protest against Marchioness Schrös’s actions that they had been watching silently.

It may be called a protest, but Marchioness Schrös, who came from a wealthy commoner background, had many shortcomings for palace life and made no effort to fill those gaps, so she would have been torn apart by the chief ladies-in-waiting.

“I see. Thank you for letting me know.”

Baroness Soros smiled faintly as she stepped back.

“I’ve kept you too long when you’re busy. I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

“Not at all.”

“I’ll see you again next time.”

“Yes.”

Marchioness Schrös’s pride must have been severely hurt.

Already, the newspapers most subscribed to by political and business figures had praised the Emperor at length, and then expressed expectations not for the Crown Prince’s engagement, but for the Duke and Duchess of Lucenford to properly assist His Imperial Majesty the great Emperor.

From there, the Crown Prince and Marchioness Schrös were practically pushed aside, and articles praising the delicate artwork the ducal couple had presented to the Emperor were not left out. Even current affairs magazines, not just fashion or cultural magazines, were competing among themselves to describe how precious and beautiful these objects were.

On the surface, it looked like they were fighting over whose imperial court informants were more accurate, but they all commonly mentioned ‘delicate and elegant golden craftsmanship, jeweled flowers more intricate than real flowers, space to insert a portrait of the beloved Empress, purple spinel resembling the Empress’s eyes’ – it was obvious. The Emperor, who was very pleased with the gift Peon had presented, had deliberately leaked this to the press.

Having received such a gift, he meant for others to work harder and bring more gifts like this. It was typical of the cunning and greedy Emperor.

So with that personality, he wouldn’t properly side with one faction or maintain order.

“Duchess, do you have no sense of hierarchy?”

Sure enough, as soon as they arrived, Marchioness Schrös was yelling angrily. Having driven out even the staff, she had positioned her own maids behind her. It seemed she had steeled herself thoroughly.

“Are you making a fool of me? Pretending to be on my side while pulling all the strings behind my back!”

Unable to say anything to the Empress’s chief ladies-in-waiting, she was now lashing out at the young Kaella.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding…”

“I don’t want to hear it! I know your kind very well! You oil your tongue to sound plausible, but you’re just spouting words I can’t understand! That’s fraud! You know? I don’t care how educated you are, but you shouldn’t dare to do this to me, the mother of the Crown Prince!”

Kaella closed her mouth at the barrage of accusations in a shrill voice. Once again, familiar fatigue washed over her.

“Kneel down right now!”

It had been premeditated. The maids of Marchioness Schrös who had rushed in forcibly pushed down on Kaella’s shoulders, making her kneel. Marchioness Schrös, who had been walking over huffing and puffing, slapped Kaella’s cheek with her fan.

“A bastard’s daughter who married a bastard, how dare you try to manipulate the Crown Prince’s mother? Kneel here until you’ve fully repented for your wrongs and received forgiveness! You all watch to make sure she does it properly!”

“Yes.”

Marchioness Schrös whirled around and went inside, leaving behind a few maids to watch over Kaella. Under their stinging gazes, Kaella gave a quick glance to the shocked Lord Renard and Cecil. Sudden humiliation was a familiar occurrence. Well, whether Lucenford or Klein, places where people live are all the same.

She pondered deeply on what she should do from now on, but then gave up out of exhaustion. What could be done? She’d just have to stay still kneeling as ordered. With the Emperor watching intently, she couldn’t confront Marchioness Schrös about anything. It seems she was always the one getting pushed around.