Paul was not one to usually raise his voice. The three people who heard it all fell silent.

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but let’s hurry downstairs and see.”

Louisa said as she stood up from her seat.

The three of them hurriedly left the room.

But they could already see Paul standing at the end of the hallway, having come up the stairs. Edward asked in confusion.

“What’s this? What’s so urgent?”

“A man named Gilford Theodore is urgently looking for the master. He says it’s an emergency and to come out quickly. And this.”

Paul held out a small piece of paper he was holding.

“A telegram?”

“Yes. The man named Gilford Theodore said to give it to you.”

Edward took what Paul offered and unfolded it.

Edward’s expression froze as he read it.

What is this about.

As his hands trembled, Louisa sensed something was amiss and asked.

“Ed?”

Hearing her call him, he lowered his head.

He saw his wife’s face full of worry. Edward clenched his trembling hands tightly.

He needed to calm down. Getting excited wouldn’t solve anything.

“Ed? Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

He heard his wife’s voice. He took a deep breath with effort.

Standing here like this would only make Louisa worry more. In the end, it was a race against time, so he had to act as quickly as possible.

He made a quick decision.

“Sorry… I’m sorry. You go to the party first.”

“Ed!”

Edward ran off, ignoring Louisa’s cry.

Louisa helplessly watched her husband’s retreating back as he ran off without even thinking to change out of his dress coat. Unable to hide her bewilderment, she asked.

“Paul? If you know anything about what’s going on, please explain.”

“I don’t know either. Only what I just told you…”

“Did you say the person who came was Lord Gilford Theodore?”

“Yes, madam.”

‘If it’s Lord Theodore, it must be company business.’

Louisa recalled her husband recently saying the company’s situation was not good.

She had never seen her husband’s face turn so pale before. Had something really big happened?

If it was company business, perhaps Jeffrey Curtis would know.

‘Yes. If I send a telegram to Mr. Curtis—’

Louisa, who was about to take a step as if heading to the telegraph office right away, soon stopped in her tracks.

‘No. He wouldn’t tell me anyway.’

Jeffrey was a tight-lipped man, and without Edward’s permission to open that mouth, even if she asked, there would be no answer.

I hope nothing too serious has happened.

Louisa said, clasping her hands tightly with anxiety.

“For now, let’s continue getting ready. It’s not just any event, but His Majesty’s birthday, so we should arrive on time.”

She resumed preparing for the party alone.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Gilford!”

With a screeching sound of sudden braking, Edward’s black vehicle came to a stop.

Gilford came running, waving the envelope of documents he was holding.

“President!”

Bang, Gilford got in, slamming the car door roughly.

“Everything else is prepared. Did you bring the design drawings?”

“I don’t have them. We need to go to the research lab.”

“Damn it.”

Gilford, who usually maintained impeccable decorum, cursed under his breath.

“Hold on tight.”

Edward floored the accelerator. Thud, the two men’s bodies were thrown back by the sudden start.

“The patent office employee lost the documents, so they said they can’t proceed with the review.”

Gilford anxiously relayed the situation.

“Fortunately, I have an acquaintance there so I was able to get the information right away, but if we had waited for the official notice to come properly, it would have been at least a few days before we were contacted.”

“Is it an accident? Or planned?”

Edward muttered.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? The documents went missing as soon as they were submitted. It’s not possible without someone taking them.”

Thud, Gilford grabbed the handle on the door as the vehicle shook roughly again.

“Who was the one who gave you the news?”

“A patent office employee named Warnen. We’ve met often for work, so I’ve greased his palm a bit.”

“Well done. If this matter is resolved successfully, I’ll give you a bonus.”

Normally, Gilford would have openly expressed his delight. But he still spoke with a voice full of tension.

“I’m not sure if we can make it in time.”

“It’s alright. Today there’s a party hosted by the royal family, and if there’s a noble who’s absent on a day like this, it would be like advertising that I’m the culprit. We can’t do it right away today.”

“But even if we advertise like that, it’s a patent we need to secure, isn’t it?”

“Well, my research is quite remarkable.”

At his joke, Gilford chuckled and said.

“Seeing that you can still joke at a time like this, it really seems like it’ll be alright.”

As they arrived at the research lab, the gatekeepers at the main entrance approached to check the visitors.

But the approaching car did not slow down. They shouted in alarm.

“Stop it! It’s an intruder!”

Then one of the gatekeepers recognized the license plate and shouted.

“No, it’s the president! Open the gate!”

“What? Wait, it’s not fully open yet!”

“Watch out! It’s going to crash!”

Bang!

The car that came barreling in recklessly passed through, half-destroying the gate. Like that, it drove straight up to the entrance of the research lab and stopped with a screeching sound.

Jeffrey ran out, opening the lab door at the loud commotion. He asked in bewilderment, seeing the wrecked car and familiar faces.

“President?”

“Jeffrey! Bring the design drawings!”

“What?”

“The design drawings!”

“Y-yes!”

Not knowing what was going on, Jeffrey just ran as the president shouted.

“The design drawings?”

“Here they are!”

“Let’s go right now. Follow me!”

“What? Where to?”

“The patent office!”

Jeffrey finally understood the situation. He quickly opened the back door of Edward’s car with its completely crushed front.

Squeezing himself between the mess of luggage in the back seat, he said.

“This is really filthy. You should clean out your luggage sometime, President!”

[This is the timeline separator]

The royal palace’s carriage storage was filled with vehicles attending the banquet.

Due to the influx of cars, this place that had essentially changed its purpose to a parking lot was where one could best experience how much influence the Allen name carried.

“Westwood’s side must certainly be feeling anxious.”

Paul, sitting in the driver’s seat, said as he looked at the line of vehicles outside.

“Most of them are Allen company vehicles. It seems the proportion has increased compared to last year.”

“It looks that way to me too. My husband would have been so pleased if he had seen this.”

Louisa said, looking at the scene visible through the car window.

Following the control of the royal guards, it was now her turn to get out.

If the two of them had attended as originally planned, she would have gotten out with Edward’s escort, but now she was alone. Louisa got out of the car with Paul’s escort.

“Then, have a good time.”

“I’ll see you later.”

Receiving the servant’s farewell, she headed towards Glory Palace where today’s party would be held.

Glory Palace, where parties were usually held, lived up to its name as a place where one could glimpse the glory of the Etranian royal family.

The pillars and walls with delicate carvings embossed on spotless white stone, and the interior decorations gilded with gold, hinted at the history and wealth of the royal palace.

Climbing the short stairs covered with soft carpet and entering the palace, she could see it was bustling with people from the entrance.

She passed through the people gathered in small groups, chatting.

Those who knew her nodded lightly in greeting when their eyes met. Louisa also responded with a light nod.

At that moment, there was someone waving to her near the entrance of the party hall up ahead.

“Lucy! Over here!”

Her name was Evelyn Bryce.

An old friend of Louisa’s, she was someone who had recently become engrossed in books and was running a book club with several other ladies.

“Ellie. It’s been a while.”

They exchanged light hugs.

“How many months has it been? You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Four months. But Karen told me I lost a little weight.”

“Is that so? I can’t really tell. But how on earth are you managing your skin?”

Evelyn said, looking her over.

“How do you look even younger than when I saw you last time?”

“I just receive what the servants do for me. If you want, I’ll tell Johnson to send you a letter.”

“Oh, please do.”

The two laughed girlishly, just like in their younger days.

Evelyn linked arms with her and asked.

“By the way, have you thought about it?”

“About what?”

“The book club I’m running.”

She whispered, gesturing with her eyes towards where several women were gathered.

“Those are our book club members over there. From the left, it’s the Duchess of Portland, Mrs. Ackerman, and Miss Earnest. Shall we go say hello?”

Evelyn had made the same proposal to her before.

But at the time, she had no particular desire to increase her social activities. So she had only said she would think about it, postponing her answer, but that question returned today.

She was about to habitually decline. Then Edward’s words came to mind.

[I hear you’ve become close with Mrs. Bryce lately? It seems she holds some kind of book club with a few people. You should join too. It’ll be fun.]

‘Will it be… fun?’

Louisa pondered.

Certainly, all the people she relied on now were relationships that could only be maintained under the Allen name.

It seemed like it was time to seek out something new. With that thought, she decided to make a different choice than usual this time.

“Alright. Sounds good.”

Louisa nodded.

Evelyn Bryce was visibly delighted at her friend’s affirmation.

Taking Louisa into the group of women, she greeted people with a bright smile. Putting Louisa forward, she said.

“Let me introduce you. This is Louisa Allen. She’s my old friend.”

“Hello. I’m Louisa Allen.”

“Lucy, this is the Duchess of Portland, Mrs. Ackerman, and Miss Earnest in order.”

At Evelyn’s introduction, the Duchess of Portland, the highest-ranking, greeted first.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine, Duchess of Portland. I’ve heard much about the Duke of Portland’s valor.”

“Unfortunately, my husband is still at the front lines, so he couldn’t attend. Shall we talk more when we meet next time?”

“Of course.”

Louisa replied with a gentle smile.

As the Duchess of Portland’s greeting ended, the others began to greet her in succession.

A woman with deep golden hair as if sunlight had been melted into it smiled and greeted her.

“We’ve met before, haven’t we? It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Allen.”

Her name was Emily Earnest. She was a woman from a family quite closely related to the Allen company.