Normally, if you want to join a certain group, you have to get on the good side of its leader first.
Asha smiled sweetly.
“Being able to spend time with a lady like Lady Eloy, who is admired by everyone as a role model for young women, would surely help our Rinea grow into a wonderful lady as well.”
At the compliment toward her daughter, Countess Anexa’s lips twitched upward.
Asha continued to subtly praise Lady Eloy.
“I’ve always felt sorry that Rinea didn’t have a wonderful friend her own age whom she could look up to and learn from.”
“Hm, hm. Our Eloy is indeed a good child. Eloy! Come over here for a moment.”
At that, a tall girl wearing a blue dress stepped in front of Rinea.
“Eloy, you already know, but this is Lady Rinea Delmore, the eldest daughter of Count Delmore. She said she wanted to give you a present.”
Like Countess Anexa, Eloy looked down at Rinea with a calm expression.
She was well-developed for her age, and compared to Rinea, she looked almost like an older sister.
Asha handed the gift she had brought to the nervous-looking Rinea.
“Rinea, would you like to give your friend the gift yourself?”
“Ah, yes!”
Although she had attended many social gatherings like this before, Rinea had never once personally given a gift to anyone.
With trembling hands, Rinea held out the present to Eloy.
“Lady Anexa, this is a gift for you.”
“Thank you.”
Rinea had been certain that Eloy would dislike the gift she gave her.
But when Lady Anexa accepted it more kindly than expected, Rinea gathered her courage and spoke.
“Lady Anexa is beautiful, so wearing accessories like this would make you shine even more.”
“That’s too much praise. It would suit Lady Delmore much better.”
Eloy didn’t push away Rinea, who was awkwardly trying to start a conversation.
Instead, she said,
“You can just call me Eloy.”
“I’m Rinea!”
Asha looked down at Rinea, who seemed much brighter than before, with a satisfied smile.
All along in the original story, Rinea had always thought:
—If only I could have a close friend and a family I could rely on, like everyone else…
In Asha’s eyes, Eloy was the person whose personality would match well with Rinea’s.
She had the calm and fair nature of an eldest sister.
Eloy made a suggestion to the shy Rinea.
“Would you like to go have some tea? The Anexa family’s cold-brewed flower tea is very popular even in the capital.”
“Yes, I’d love to. I’ve always wanted to try it.”
Seeing Rinea much more lively than before, Asha gently nudged the girl’s back.
Rinea soon followed behind Eloy toward where the other children were gathered.
Watching her, Asha turned to Countess Anexa and bowed.
“Thank you for inviting Rinea.”
“No, it’s nothing. ……It was obvious that Rinea is a kind child. This year’s gathering is much better now that Countess Delmore has attended.”
Countess Anexa had secretly been exhausted from listening to Yurigella boast about how amazing she was all day long.
Asha also naturally began receiving introductions to the other ladies through Countess Anexa.
Originally, at today’s tea party, Rinea would have become even more withdrawn.
Because an incident would occur where Asha Delmore publicly scolded Rinea in front of everyone.
It was partly because she was taking out her anger after being thoroughly scolded by her mother-in-law that morning.
Asha shook her head and thought to herself.
‘The problem was that because of this, Countess Anexa developed a bad impression of the Delmore family. She started excluding them by doing things like sending invitations late so they couldn’t attend.’
Because of that, even the little connection Rinea had with other people was almost completely cut off, leaving her trapped in an even more isolated environment with her abusive family.
‘Though later, she meets the Crown Prince by chance, and the story moves forward when he saves her.’
Today, Asha wouldn’t have humiliated Rinea in front of everyone anyway.
Still, she was relieved that she had not fallen out of Countess Anexa’s favor.
Countess Anexa had many close connections, and if she disliked them, there would be very few people around here willing to invite Rinea.
Even while talking with the other ladies, Asha continued to keep an eye on Rinea.
Rinea still seemed unfamiliar with everything, but she was trying her best to mingle with the other children.
Feeling a little proud, Asha was able to finish the tea party smoothly.
After bringing the brighter-faced Rinea back home, I moved once again.
‘I need to check whether Marquis Karcel Rivandel is really a real person and whether his appearance matches.’
The reason I had tried to get closer to the other ladies at the party today was partly because of Rinea, but also because I wanted to learn more about Karcel.
Except for families like the Duke of Lakan’s, who maintained an image of complete mystery, the narrow world of nobility mostly knew each other.
I pushed open the door of the pub, which was still closed.
“Master!”
I waved at the information guild master, who turned his head toward me.
“What brings you here today?”
“I’m not here to sell information. Rather, I want to know some information about someone.”
The eyes behind the mask glanced at me.
I shook my head.
“He’s not a dangerous person. I want to know about Marquis Rivandel. If possible, as quickly as you can.”
At the mention of Marquis Rivandel, the master narrowed his eyes.
I also explained the appearance of Karcel that I wanted to confirm first.
“And I want to know if his appearance matches—black hair, red eyes, tall, broad build, and a handsome face.”
“Marquis Rivandel. Understood.”
The master placed down the glass he had been polishing and disappeared through the door leading to the kitchen.
After some busy noises, he soon returned and approached me.
“You can check the information here before you leave. As for his appearance, there is no portrait, but black hair, red eyes, and an extremely intimidating yet handsome appearance all match.”
“Thank you. Here’s the money.”
After handing over the payment, I took the documents he gave me and quickly scanned through them.
‘He’s… normal?’
It even contained detailed information about Karcel’s wealth and his relationships.
There was also information that wasn’t much different from what Karcel himself had told me.
With a doubtful expression, I asked the master again.
“But are you sure he’s never had a fiancée or been in a relationship?”
“Are you doubting our guild’s information-gathering abilities?”
“No, it’s just… no matter how I think about it, he seems like the type who would be a playboy…”
According to this document, Karcel had no interactions with women whatsoever.
There wasn’t much detailed information about his childhood, but it said he had attended a foreign boarding school before entering high society as an adult.
‘So he really was a complete beginner when it came to romance.’
Judging only from this, there was nothing suspicious about Karcel’s identity at all.
Everything matched exactly what he had told me.
In the end, I handed the documents back to the master and asked,
“What about your illness? Has it improved at all?”
Honestly, it hadn’t even been long enough for the treatment to show its full effect, but I decided to test the waters anyway.
“To be honest, I didn’t believe it. But surprisingly, every morning when I wake up, my chest feels less heavy and I feel much better.”
“Just wait a little longer. When it’s time, I’ll tell you the second stage of the treatment.”
The master gave a small laugh at my words.
“Could it be that Countess Delmore is actually a fortune teller?”
“Oh, come on. That’s a trade secret.”
I would appreciate it if he just assumed something like that.
Fortunately, I had confirmed that Karcel really was Marquis Rivandel. Now, the next step was—
“Hello?”
I contacted him using the communication number written on the card Karcel had given me and arranged our next meeting.
Since this was a romance fantasy world, it might seem strange that phones existed, but the more accurate term was a magic communication device.
The setting of the Caldran Empire was already after the Industrial Revolution had begun.
In reality, telephones were invented toward the end of the Industrial Revolution, but in this world, industry developed through magical engineering, so in some ways, technology advanced even faster.
The magic communication device was one such example.
Of course, the one I was using now was like a public phone, where you charged money and could use it temporarily.
Someone wealthy like Karcel could own one at home, though.
[Listening.]
Soon, the communication connected me with Karcel.
“Your Grace.”
Karcel slowly opened his eyes at the sound of Matt calling him.
