Lilianne sat behind a table, writing something on a piece of paper. Her hand holding the quill moved in a hurried motion, sometimes spraying drops of ink on the table by mistake.
'I have to hurry; the sooner the better.'
But then, a knock on the room's door made her pause. She turned to the door and asked, her tone sounding impatient.
"Yes? What is it?"
A voice came from outside. It belonged to one of the maids working in the Florivelle mansion.
"My Lady, you have a guest. Countess Drossivane is here asking to meet you. I've guided her to the guest room. She seemed a little impatient to meet you. What are your orders?"
Hearing this news, Lilianne glanced back at the table, the half-finished letter lying on it. She hesitated briefly, but then let out a sigh as she stood up.
"Inform the Countess that I will meet her within moments."
She heard the maid's retreating footsteps. She turned to the mirror to check her appearance, and it was horrible. There was ink on her hands, her clothes, and even some on her cheeks.
'Wait, how is it even on my cheeks?'
But she simply shook away that thought; she didn't have enough time to wonder about those things. Her appearance right now was nowhere near presentable enough to greet visitors.
She opened the closet and took out a beautiful white dress with golden frills on the sleeves and the skirt. She cleaned the ink off herself, put on the dress, and did her hair. After looking at herself in the mirror, she smiled in satisfaction.
'Much better.'
Thankfully, it didn't take her much time. She left the room and walked with hurried steps. Soon, she reached the guest room.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and entered. A woman with long, fiery red hair sat on the sofa, elegantly sipping tea. As soon as Lilianne entered, the woman's crimson eyes turned to her, freezing her on the spot.
There were several ways for her to start the conversation. She could've given a polite greeting, a familiar gesture, a formal nod. But out of everything, Lilianne chose to bow her head instead.
"Countess Iskandra, I didn't intend to mock your beauty, I swear! It's a misunderstanding! But I will still apologize if you felt insulted, so please put that matter behind us!"
The woman–Countess Iskandra Drossivane–tilted her head while frowning. She lightly put down the teacup.
"Lady Lilianne, I fear you've lost me there. What are you even talking about? The reason I visited is most likely different from what you are imagining, so it seems there is indeed some misunderstanding. For now, please take a seat."
Lilianne slowly lifted her head and glanced at the countess. After seeing the genuine confusion on her face, she sighed in relief as she sat across from her and waited patiently for Lady Iskandra to continue.
"The news that's been floating around for five years, about your daughter's engagement. Is that really not a rumor?"
Lilianne closed her mouth as soon as the topic of her daughter's engagement was mentioned. She hesitated while avoiding eye contact. That topic was a sore spot for her, and she didn't have much to say on the matter despite having a lot of things she could say.
Seeing Lilianne remain silent, Countess Iskandra frowned.
"Really, Lady Lilianne? You don't have anything to add?" Her frown deepened. "Did you know? From the moment I heard the news five years ago, I always believed that it was a ruse, that there was no way you would be like that. After all, we have known each other for a long time."
Lilianne's hands clenched the edges of her dress unconsciously. The words of the countess felt piercing because she could sense the emotions behind them.
"But five years have passed, and the day of the engagement is just around the corner, yet the news is still there. Lady Lilianne, I feel as though I've misjudged the Florivelles. I thought you were kind and compassionate, like the other Regional Nobles. But it seems I wasn't a good judge of character."
Lilianne lowered her head in shame, biting her lips.
"Tell me, Lady Lilianne, what did the Ravenshades offer that you decided to sell off your daughter? Was the allure of power really that tempting?"
Countess Iskandra's expression twisted in disgust.
"Why aren't you answering? Is all of this true? Have you really decided to drag that little girl into the dirty waters of politics?"
"What other choice did we even have?"
Both Lilianne and the countess turned to the door. The voice hadn't come from Lilianne; it came from someone else.
A man with slightly long brown hair stood by the door, his bronze-colored eyes fixed on Countess Iskandra. The man was Alistair Florivelle.
"Tell me, Lady Iskandra, what else could we have done? What would you do if you were in our situation? We are Regional Nobles, we stay away from the hungry politics of the empire, but that also means we lack the power that the other two sides possess."
He walked closer.
"I have no power to keep my daughter away from their claws; the same would've been true for you had you been in our situation. So I've made my choice, for the sake of my daughter's future. She will be safe with the Ravenshades."
Despite the aggressive pushback from Alistair, Lady Iskandra didn't seem to be backing down, judging from her expression. She spoke through gritted teeth.
"Don't you dare make that excuse. You could've had her engaged to the son of another Regional Noble; it would've at least kept her away from the empire's dirty politics. Yet you decided the exact opposite."
Alistair now stood right before the Countess. Lilianne could see him clenching his fists behind his back.
"And what if they come after that regional noble family? What if they try to kill their son? Lady Iskandra, in these five years, I've become painfully aware of the price of being weak. You, too, will learn that when your time comes."
For the first time, the Countess closed her mouth. It was as though she did not know what to say. Lilianne understood how the countess was feeling now. She once had a similar discussion with Alistair. The truth was hard to accept.
"Wait, young lady! You can't go in there!"
Suddenly, the voice of the maid outside interrupted the tense atmosphere. Everyone turned to the door. A little girl entered the room with the maid following behind, trying to stop her.
The girl raised her head. A wide smile stretched across her face as soon as her innocent-looking eyes landed on Lilianne.
"Mama, I've been looking everywhere for you!"
Her daughter came closer and hugged Lilianne's waist tightly.
"Baby, suddenly acting cuddly with mama? Is there something you want?"
Although barging into the room when Lilianne was entertaining a guest would be considered rude, she dismissed the thought.
'She's only an innocent little girl. Besides, I'm sure Lady Iskandra wouldn't mind.'
Indeed, Countess Iskandra was only smiling gently as she looked at the little girl. Her frown from a few moments ago had all but vanished.
But just as her daughter raised her head to speak, she accidentally kicked a teacup on the table, spilling tea everywhere.
"Ah! Sorry! I made a mistake!"
The little girl instantly apologized, looking remorseful. But for some strange reason, Lilianne felt that her daughter's reaction was strange. It almost felt…
'No, what am I even thinking? It was obviously a mistake.'
"Don't worry, Baby, it's fine." She signaled the maid. "Clean this up–"
"No! It was my fault, so let me make up for it."
Lilianne frowned as she heard her daughter's resolute words. But how would this little girl make up for her mistakes? Was she going to clean it up herself? There was no way Lilianne would make her baby do such a task.
'...Huh? What?'
The little girl began walking out of the room instead. Wasn't she going to make up for her mistakes? Where was she going?
Lilianne frowned.
"Ah! I'm going to bring a maid from somewhere else to clean this; that is how I'll atone, Mama. Oh! I forgot to tell you why I came here! I want to be alone in my room, so please don't look for me. I'll come out myself when I feel like it."
With that, the girl left. Everyone in the room could only stare blankly. Atone by bringing a maid from somewhere else? How did that make sense?
In the end, Lilianne shook her head with a smile.
'Fufu, what a silly little girl…'
***
'Yes! The first part of the plan was a success! Although that red-haired lady's presence wasn't part of the plan.'
But who cares? She had succeeded anyway. Evangeline glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. Waiting for a few minutes, Evangeline began walking toward the entrance of the mansion. She spotted a servant heading for the main gate.
She ran up and blocked her path. The servant stopped in confusion.
"Little lady, is there something wrong? It's time for my shift guarding the main entrance."
"No, I need you to go to the guest room and clean up a mess. You have to be the one to do it."
He hesitated, confusion clearly visible on his face. But maybe it was due to her resolute expression, the servant simply sighed and turned around. Though he still looked unsure.
"Sure, if it does not take much time."
'Yes, I did it.'
The plan was almost complete now. Seeing the servant walk away, Evangeline pumped her fists. She swiftly ran near the gate and hid in the nearby bushes, waiting.
Soon, the servant guarding the door took out a pocket clock, looked at the time, and sighed. He looked towards the mansion, as if searching for someone.
Finally, what Evangeline had been waiting for happened. Maybe running out of patience, he began walking toward the mansion building, leaving the main entrance unguarded.
Evangeline waited a bit more until the servant disappeared inside the mansion. Then she rushed for the door, the pouch of silver coins producing a jingling sound as she ran. She swiftly opened the door and stepped outside, closing it back swiftly.
"Huff… huff…"
After catching her breath, she smiled brightly while raising both hands in a victory pose.
'Success!'