Immediately after, a magic circle was rapidly inscribed beneath Diana’s feet in a blue glow.
Seeing this, a guard quickly pounded the empty air near the doorway.
“Stop activation! Stop activation!”
Though there was nothing there, the sound echoed as if there were a wall.
It seemed that the shimmering light was the reaction phenomenon of the defensive magic tool the guard had mentioned.
Covering her mouth lightly with one hand, Diana spoke to Liselotte as if letting out a sigh.
“It is because of my divine authority. It seems the Grand Duke’s guards have never seen divine authority before, so Your Highness, who knows well, should explain it to them.”
Even in this situation, she put her divine authority forward.
It was as if she were convinced that even in the North, Liselotte would be regarded as nothing more than a half-fledged Princess.
Invited guests who were entering afterward peeked over, wondering what was going on.
Unlike Diana, they were entering just fine without triggering any barrier.
The eyes of the guard standing beside them wavered.
After glancing around cautiously, he stepped closer and quickly voiced his grievance in a low voice.
“If magic tools react to divine authority, then they should have reacted to the priests as well. I cannot understand why divine power is unaffected.”
Since the other party was a young lady of House Gloria, he seemed quite troubled in his own way.
As the guard said, divine power and divine authority were said to share a similar nature.
‘Come to think of it. Neither divine authority nor divine power worked on my body.’
That being the case, the assumption that magic tools reacted because of her authority couldn’t hold.
Now that she thought about it, Liselotte had never once had magic tools react while moving around the estate either.
‘So the ability that makes the Word of Command or divine authority ineffective on me is not a divine authority itself.’
Since the inspection had concluded that there were no magic tools, this actually worked in Liselotte’s favor.
Whether it was divine authority or anything else, it would never work on her anyway.
“Report the situation to Eren, and I will handle this side.”
Of course, that didn’t mean she intended to simply let her in.
After all, Liselotte was the one hosting this tea time.
She lightly tapped the guard’s shoulder, who must have been troubled, and then lowered her eyebrows as if distressed.
“Oh dear, what should we do? If the defensive magic tools are reacting, there is nothing we can do. Would you be able to return on your own?”
“…You are telling me to go back after I was properly invited all the way to the North?”
Perhaps she had never imagined being turned away so directly; Diana’s eyes widened.
At the same time, Rula’s head snapped toward Liselotte.
If one’s partner was expelled, the person who brought them along would be embarrassed as well.
Rula shot a covert glare toward Diana, who had caused this situation.
Liselotte nodded emphatically, pretending not to notice.
“The invitation was for Lady Rula, not for you Lady Diana. I did allow companions to attend, but still.”
Having likely never experienced treatment like this in her life, Diana hesitated and stepped back when the maids approached to guide her.
Liselotte smiled as if nothing were wrong and gave instructions to the maids.
“Since we cannot determine the cause, let us send her back for now. Make sure all of her accessories are returned without missing anything.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
Only then, after receiving her accessories back, did Diana’s eyes quickly sweep over her surroundings.
Being turned away was more humiliating than not being allowed in at all.
Diana’s face gradually flushed red with shame.
Unable to watch any longer, Rula moved closer to her side, smiling as she subtly signaled displeasure.
“I brought Lady Diana along because the invitation said it would be fine. This puts me in a difficult position.”
With the atmosphere making it seem as though she would truly be expelled, Diana, at a loss for what to do, bowed her head deeply.
“I, I came because I wanted to ease the discord between the East and the North as much as possible! To be driven away like this…”
Liselotte deliberately rested her chin in her hand, pretending to ponder as she swallowed a hum.
The longer the silence stretched, the paler Diana’s expression became.
Biting her lips tightly, she looked deeply wronged, the corners of her eyes tinged red.
It seemed she couldn’t hold back her anger, and tears welled up.
Only then did Liselotte nod readily.
“All right. If you put it that way, I cannot feel entirely at ease either. In principle, it is not allowed, but since the cause is unknown this time, I will grant you entry to the annex under my authority.”
“…Th-thank you.”
Diana replied in a voice so small it was barely forced out.
***
The tea time was held in a spacious area of the annex that received the most sunlight.
Some of the more petite young ladies seemed unable to adjust to the North’s notably large tables and chairs.
“The tables are really huge!”
“There used to be a maid from the North in our service, and she was incredibly strong.”
Sipping the rather bland tea served to suit them, Liselotte didn’t particularly join the conversation, merely nodding along.
There was something else troubling the young ladies as well.
Why were Liselotte and Diana together again?!
Among the many people present, only the two of them appeared calm, while everyone else was desperately trying to hide their discomfort.
The young ladies who were conscious of the atmosphere began talking more, their words tinged with tension.
“I saw Your Highness defending a case in Court before. You were so impressive.”
“And His Highness the Grand Duke attends together with you every time… You must be very close.”
Then, a young lady from the West pretended to be suddenly struck by a thought and asked,
“Ah, actually, since we had a gathering like this, I really wanted to ask Your Highness something.”
As if she had come with determination, the young lady’s expression was resolute.
She glanced sideways at Diana, then asked coldly,
“Your Highness, I recently purchased a magic tool from a merchant. I think I may have been scammed.”
“Oh my, scammed?”
“Surely you did not buy a defective product made in the back alleys?”
Hearing this for the first time, the startled young ladies all chimed in at once.
Rula was among them as well.
The young lady from the Western House shook her head with exaggerated distress and explained to the others.
“I have insomnia, so I bought a magic tool that helps me sleep well. Honestly, after only using it for a few days, the remaining charge is already running low.”
“Could it be because you use it every night?”
“Even so, it is a high-grade item, but it seems to wear out far too quickly. The Magic Tower would not make something that shoddy.”
At the mention of the Magic Tower, gazes instantly gathered on Diana.
After all, the only House on the continent currently authorized to sell magic tools produced by the Magic Tower was House Gloria.
Liselotte calmly took a sip of her tea.
‘Thanks to House Rovans I knew that a young lady from a Western House had purchased a magic tool, but…’
It seemed the mana inside the magic tool had been depleted faster than expected.
The merchant guild had likely been desperately offering explanations to those it had dealt with as well.
The young lady of the Western House, growing more incensed the more she thought about it, openly shot a sharp glare at Diana.
Clink. Diana set down her teacup and smiled sweetly.
“To think there is such a merchant guild in the West. You must have many worries, my Lady.”
At words that seemed to shift the blame onto the West, the Western House young lady’s eyes grew increasingly fierce.
Even in this situation, Rula took Diana’s side, as a fellow noble of the East.
“Oh my, it seems you did not receive the letter? That is why House Gloria recently circulated letters.”
“A letter? What letter?”
Some of the young ladies who hadn’t received it whispered among themselves, voicing their confusion.
It seemed the letters had only been sent to a few close Houses.
Rula lifted her teacup and smiled in an especially smug way.
“Well, apparently the rumors going around lately are not true. They say a group jealous of the magic tool supply exclusive contract has been impersonating the Duke and spreading rumors to damage his standing…”
“Oh, we received it too. But it said there that, in principle, the Court acknowledged that there was absolutely no issue with the contract.”
“I thought it might just be a problem with the Merchants’ Association, but…”
Naturally, Liselotte hadn’t received such a letter.
Listening quietly to the contents, it seemed they had vaguely avoided specifying what the issue actually was.
As a result, the young ladies appeared to have assumed it was a problem with the merchants.
‘If the court acknowledged that the contract had no issues, that refers to the Magic Tower’s matter.’
The presiding official had shown the same attitude in the recent trial.
‘They are really spreading things in whatever way benefits them.’
Because she hadn’t received the letter, the young lady of the Western House inhaled in displeasure.
Then she smiled brightly at Liselotte and asked,
“Your Highness. In that case, would it be possible for me to file a complaint against the Merchants’ Association?”
“Ah, that would be a bit difficult to answer. I have a trial next Tuesday, so I will not have the time to look into the related details.”
In Liselotte’s words, there was no mention anywhere of a lawsuit between the Magic Tower and House Gloria.
Yet everyone understood all the same.
