Chapter 47: Mother and Sister — Part 1

“Reading the contents of the invitation, it seems they want to invite the granddaughters. Perhaps it’s meant as a substitute for your grandmother. It might be appropriate for Maria and Noel to go, with Eva accompanying them.”

At those words, Mother looked delighted.

It would be a trip abroad—and one invited by a royal family.
Surely, it would be a very luxurious journey.

“It would be unsafe with only women, so I’ll accompany them as well.”

My brother immediately added that.
Brian-sama also spoke up, but his voice gradually lost its strength midway.

“The Royal Guard will provide escorts. I would like to accompany you as well, but having just returned, it may be difficult.”

“Thank you. However, even allowing generously for travel time, it would take about twenty days round trip, and including the stay there, about a month and a half. It would be difficult for someone as busy as you, Brian-dono.”

Father spoke apologetically, but Brian-sama’s expression visibly darkened.

“Brian-sama.”

I called softly, leaned slightly toward him, and gently tugged at his sleeve with my fingers.

Of course, I reached under the table so no one would notice.

He narrowed his eyes when he saw me holding his sleeve, turned toward me, and clasped my hand.

“You really are troublesome, swaying me like this.”

He said it in a sweet voice.

Naturally, everyone’s attention gathered on us.
This wasn’t supposed to happen!

“Ahem. This blancmange dessert is exquisite. The cream sauce with vanilla beans is wonderful. Tell Bill I’d like him to serve it again.”

My brother spoke to Lloyd, drawing everyone’s attention away.

—Earlier I said it might come in handy… and it really does. Thank you, Brother.

As for the invitation from Belsia, it was decided that the four of us—excluding Father—would go, that we would first hear about the past from our aunt, and then submit a request to the king afterward.

Once everything was decided, I felt calmer than I had expected.

All that remained was how to behave in Belsia and how to return safely.

“Just that” sounded far too dangerous, though.

After that, Mother, Noel, and I moved to another room to have tea together.
The men would enjoy cigars in Father’s study.

Once the maid who poured the tea stepped back, Mother took a sip and turned to me.

“You’ve become quite refined. I’m surprised.”

“Have I? I don’t really notice it myself.”

When I looked at Noel, her lips were already pouting again.

“Big sister, how nice. I want to try being a palace maid too.”

I couldn’t help but smile wryly at Noel, as usual.

“Have you been keeping up with the lady’s education I told you about? If you don’t complete that first, your colleagues won’t even acknowledge you.”

Noel froze and fell silent.

Most palace maids were daughters of good families.
There would be no place for someone untrained in the basics.

“Mother, if we are to accept the invitation from Belsia, we cannot leave things as they are. Please take Noel’s education seriously.”

Mother observed Noel as she drank her tea for a moment.

“Her table manners are fine, and her dancing is fine as well. I’ll arrange tutors for conversation and etiquette.”

Hearing that made me inwardly flinch.

I had hardly ever attended evening parties.
My partner was always Father or my brother, and I had never danced at a ball.

I only remembered staying in the corners, trying not to stand out, because I disliked being approached by men.

If I went to Belsia like this, I would be in trouble too.
The realization hit me like a splash of cold water.

I’d have to consult Bell later.

Mother seemed about to say something else, so I quickly changed the subject.

“What about the Marquis’ house? Have things settled down? What are they doing now?”

It was an obvious change of topic, but thankfully, her attention shifted.

“I didn’t attend Jason-sama’s funeral. We didn’t even go to offer condolences. Given what happened, the Cruz family couldn’t properly take part in anything. I heard the number of attendees and mourners was quite small.”

“One of my friends went to the funeral. She said there were many Royal Guard knights there.”

So there had been few ordinary attendees.
Even if it was his own doing, it was rather lonely.

“In the end, who took Mary’s body?”

Mother answered that.

“Jason-sama passed away immediately, didn’t he? So there was no one to claim her, and the church was supposed to take responsibility. But the Marquis and his wife ended up taking her body.”

I was so surprised that my hands trembled as I held my teacup.

I set the cup down on the saucer and questioned Mother and Noel.

“They accepted her? Even though they could have resented her? Didn’t they think their beloved son fell because of her? How does society view that incident?”

Mother and Noel exchanged glances.

Noel spoke, prefacing it as just a rumor.

“They say Mary had been involved with Jason-sama for nearly two years, and she even had a child. So people think she was used by a band of thieves. When the thieves targeted the Marquis’ house, they deceived her and made her their pawn. In fact, Mary did get into the Marquis’ household, so if things had continued, internal information would have been completely exposed.”

I nodded deeply.
Aside from the true objective being different, that was exactly right.

She had been searching for dangerous drugs in back alleys—she would have been an easy target.

“And then?”

“They say Mary was killed quickly to silence her. She probably didn’t know who they really were.”

“I think so too,” I said, while inwardly thinking that it was exactly as they said.

Amazingly, the rumors had somehow grown closer to the truth.

“And they think Jason-sama didn’t know about Mary’s connection to the thieves. After all, he wouldn’t cooperate with people trying to attack his own house. And Mary herself wouldn’t want to destroy the very household she wanted to marry into, right?”

“That would never happen!”

I couldn’t help putting force into my words.

Noel and Mother’s eyes were filled with conviction.

“And Jason-sama was said to be the most skilled swordsman in the Royal Guard. Someone like that wouldn’t lose to mere thieves. He must have been ambushed. They probably silenced him because he might have learned something from Mary.”

Some details were off, but broadly, it was correct.
I had heard his swordsmanship rivaled my brother Eric’s.

“That must be it. To kill even Jason-sama… what a cautious group of thieves.”

At that point, Noel’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“They say that if you hadn’t made your accusation at the church, the Marquis’ house would have been attacked, many people would have died, and valuables would have been stolen. And in that case, Jason-sama and Mary would have been killed to silence them too. So preventing the worst outcome was all thanks to you, big sister.”

“Eh? Why?”

“Because their plans must have been completely disrupted. They say the attack on our house afterward was revenge for that. But even though it was a sudden attack, we captured the thieves perfectly, no one was killed, and nothing was stolen! And on top of that, the thieves even left behind the items they brought to deceive us!”

Noel spoke passionately, and Mother concluded,

“Our house has gained a certain respect in society.”

Perhaps this story had, to some extent, influenced my position at the royal palace.