CHAPTER 74………..
Ricardo, who had been watching Linaria barely touch her food, opened his mouth slowly.
“Linaria. Many invitations have arrived for you. If you’d like, I can filter them and send you the more suitable ones.”
They say rumors travel faster than feet.
It seemed that the rumor, which had started in the capital, had reached Obel before Linaria herself.
“Yes. Please pass them on through someone else.”
With those words, Linaria set her spoon down.
“It’s delicious. The head chef of this castle seems to have great skill. Then, since I’ve finished eating, I’ll take my leave.”
The untouched soup looked almost as if it were freshly served.
Ricardo glanced at the bowl.
Pretending not to notice, Linaria turned away from him, her expression cold.
There were several reasons she had come here, even going so far as to ask her father for help.
One of those reasons was Ricardo.
“There are two families who could support Obel.”
Brimstone and Ignas.
“And there are two families who would support Maximilian’s ascension to the throne.”
Leviathan and Wendicel.
“The emperor will side with Maximilian, so purely by numbers it’s three to three.”
On the surface, it seemed balanced.
“But if there’s a traitor among us, the situation changes entirely.”
Before she was betrayed, Ricardo had to be eliminated.
Once a traitor, always a traitor. Not worth keeping alive.
Killing him was the right choice—for her father, and for the family.
“Miss! Please, come this way!”
The next day, in the late afternoon.
Anna, who had gone out for a short walk with Linaria, pulled her along somewhere.
“What’s so great that you wouldn’t tell me first?”
“You’ll see—it’s worth the surprise! The maids here told me about it.”
Anna’s naturally sociable personality made her quick to befriend even strangers.
In fact, on the very first day they arrived at Obel Castle, while Linaria had spent the entire day asleep, Anna had already gotten close to the servants.
Every servant they passed acknowledged Anna with a nod or a smile.
“That must be how she managed to survive in the Meryl household, too.”
Most servants disliked Anna, but her gentle, easygoing nature earned her protectors as well.
That was probably how she had managed to request a birthday cake from the kitchen staff.
For this reason, Linaria wasn’t particularly surprised when Kaas seemed to be on friendly terms with Anna.
“Look at this.”
Kaas was following at a measured distance, like a shadow.
Right in front of him, Anna deliberately tightened her grip on Linaria’s hand and led her to a corner of the garden.
And then—
“A stray cat snuck in and gave birth a few days ago! Aren’t they just the cutest little fluffballs?”
A white kitten, a black one, and a tabby were squirming about.
So tiny, their mere breathing seemed miraculous. Their little pink bellies rose and fell shallowly.
“You recently sorted through all the cat things you’d collected before.”
Seeing Linaria silently watching, Anna spoke cautiously.
“I don’t know what you were feeling when you did that, but I don’t think giving up entirely is good for you.”
She had meant those things for the sacred beast, Brimstone.
But Anna seemed to be misunderstanding.
“Since I can’t tell her I can see sacred beasts, I’ll just have to let her think what she wants.”
Half guilty, half grateful, Linaria held Anna’s hand tightly.
“Thank you, Anna.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Anna smiled shyly.
“But… I don’t see the mother cat.”
“They say she hasn’t shown up these past few days. Everyone’s worried.”
“Do all the castle folk know about this?”
Obel Castle was vast, but it had no shortage of caretakers.
If the mother cat had been roaming inside the castle, surely there would have been sightings.
“Only a few servants know. It’s not a huge secret, but they wouldn’t like it if they knew I told you.”
“Because more people knowing means more risk?”
“Not really. It’s more that the highborn don’t like these things. They’d just call the poor thing a thief waiting to steal what’s theirs.”
“……”
“They’re afraid someone will order the kittens thrown out. But you wouldn’t do that, would you, Miss?”
“Of course not.”
Linaria nodded.
The mother had hidden her kittens away in some secluded spot, away from human eyes.
Unless someone sought them out, no one would have known.
“Miss, if the mother never comes back, won’t the kittens starve? Should we maybe help them a little?”
“…No. Leave them be. If they smell human touch, the mother may reject them.”
“Really? Then I promise I won’t touch them.”
Anna looked disappointed.
Linaria, too, gazed at the kittens for a long time before finally tearing her eyes away.
As they returned to the walking path, a maid they didn’t recognize approached.
“The young master asked me to deliver this to you.”
It was an invitation.
As Ricardo had mentioned the night before, he seemed to have sorted them for her.
Looking through a few, Linaria let out a hollow laugh.
“Well, this is…”
She wondered what criteria he had used to pick them.
But with the maid watching, she couldn’t voice her true thoughts.
“What’s the matter?”
Anna, curious, tilted her head.
“Nothing. I was just… looking forward to the gathering.”
Linaria selected one invitation and handed it back to the maid.
“I’ll attend this one. Tell my brother that I’m grateful, and that I have high expectations.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Once the maid was gone, Linaria turned back toward the castle.
“Is your walk already over?”
“Yes. I think I need to prepare a few things before the gathering.”
Linaria curved her lips into a faint smile.
“Anna, could I ask you to go somewhere for me?”
“M-me?”
Seeing Anna’s startled face, Linaria nodded.
A few days later, on the day of the tea party hosted by Lady Fletcher.
More people attended than usual. The young ladies chattered over tea and sweets.
“Miss Alicia, I heard the Lady of Obel will be attending. Is that true?”
“Yes. I sent her an invitation just in case, and she actually accepted. Isn’t it wonderful?”
The hostess, Alicia Fletcher, was known as the most beautiful and distinguished young lady in the region.
Her lovely chestnut hair, flawless skin, and the effortless grace of someone born to lead.
It was easy to imagine how adored she had been growing up.
“Hmm…”
But unlike Alicia’s confident response, the other young ladies looked displeased.
“What face does she have to show up here?”
“Julia.”
“But Alicia, the Lady of Obel doesn’t even have a contractor! She must know this is just a formality. For her to attend your gathering of all things is highly suspicious!”
“Maybe she’s just clueless.”
One after another, they echoed Julia.
Only those with a contract with Obel were allowed to attend.
With the Duke of Obel absent, the old friendship gatherings had faded, and small exclusive circles like this one had naturally formed.
By those rules, Linaria had no right to attend.
“But the Lady of Obel is late, isn’t she?”
“Indeed. It’s rude to keep us waiting like this.”
“Well, she is the duke’s daughter, contractor or not. I suppose she’s too proud.”
Their whispers soon blended into a chorus of slander.
With a common enemy, the group grew united in malice.
And just as the insults grew harsher, Linaria appeared.
“Oh my, Lady of Obel! It’s our first time meeting.”
“I thought I’d arrived on time, but perhaps not?”
The moment she saw their giggles, Linaria understood the situation perfectly.
“Maybe you misread the time? Or perhaps I wrote the letter wrong. Forgive me, my lady.”
Alicia feigned innocence with a sweet face.
“You’ve nothing to apologize for, Alicia. Mistakes happen.”
“Yes, yes.”
It wasn’t Linaria who said this.
While the supposed victim, Linaria, hadn’t uttered a word, the others rushed to comfort Alicia instead.
It was clear they meant to ostracize Linaria.
But instead of reacting, Linaria calmly looked around—and noticed something.
“They’re all dressed in black.”
She, who had received no dress code, wore a bright yellow gown.
Ordinarily appropriate for a casual ladies’ gathering—
“If not for the fact that everyone else deliberately matched in plain black dresses.”
Her attire stood out alone.
“My, Lady of Obel, your dress is simply stunning.”
“Indeed. I almost thought you were on your way to a ball.”
The barbs came, one after another, as if rehearsed.
“If today weren’t the day of Alicia’s brother’s passing, I might have complimented you as well…”
“Don’t mind it, my lady. You’re new here, after all. It’s natural you wouldn’t know.”
Alicia smiled kindly.
“But wasn’t there also a funeral for your own brother from the Obel family on this same day?”
“In that case, you really should have remembered.”
Ricardo’s blood sibling?
Linaria knew nothing about his family, so this was the first she’d heard.
When she stayed silent, the others piled on.
“Adopted or not, it’s heartless.”
The blame rained down on her, and Alicia stepped in again.
“My apologies. I assumed you’d already know, so I didn’t mention it.”
Linaria was painted as someone with neither manners nor decency.
Snicker.
Little laughs sounded here and there.
And then—
Linaria rose from her seat.
“Is something urgent, my lady?”
“No.”
They had all expected her to flee, unable to endure the humiliation.
But Linaria did something entirely outside their expectations.
