Dangerous Fiancee

Chapter 28

Meanwhile, the emperor got used to collecting letters sent by nobles about his prospective bride and use them as kindling. Hubble and Chester strongly recommended Roxanne to him as his bride candidate, but he rejected. Out of defiance, he didn't want to think about marriage. Jed's joke that the young ladies of the noble families regarded the emperor as 'Blue Iron Wall' was no exaggeration at all.

Nonetheless, the emperor and daughter of Duke Kling chose each other as their spouses. One looked indifferent to her, but spared no effort to care for her, while the other caused trouble with an innocent face whenever she went. She announced her engagement to the emperor, shocking the entire empire, and now she asked Mrs. Charlotte to sow the seeds of their trouble in less than one week of her announcement.

Mrs. Charlotte was accustomed to the deal and settlement behind the scenes. Naturally, she assumed there was some sort of promise between the emperor and Marianne. That's why she became more suspicious about them. Marianne was too ignorant of the situation to interpret her marriage as a political alliance, but their mutual attitude, or rather the situation, was too hostile to be taken as affection.

"I tried to sound out Marianne's feelings by citing Marquise Chester's letter, but she got angry, complaining that the marquise's way of running the salon was too harsh and irrational. Her anger didn't look like fake in my eyes."

From the beginning she did not believe Marianne altogether. Marianne was attractive enough, but it was one thing to regard her as an ally and trust her while it was another thing to feel interested in her as a human and have good feelings about her.

"If I could have my way, I would've stopped their marriage," she said.

Kloud gladly agreed with her. He also felt the same way.

"But the emperor said as for all the matters in this mansion, we have to respect her wishes on the condition that he gets fully briefed about it," Kloud said.

Mrs. Charlotte sighed loudly at his words.

'Well, if that's the emperor's intention..."

It was dangerous to leak any rumors about their trouble when they were not formally engaged yet. Nonetheless, Marianne was willing to take the risk.

She touched the handle of the mug and got lost in her thoughts.

Which way was it?

Was it the last piece of the puzzle, or was she the most dangerous witch? Or perhaps neither?

She was sliding in her thoughts about it all night.

* * *

Late in the morning, the huge iron gate of the Elior Mansion was opened. A luxurious six-horse carriage came out, accompanied by splendid knights. Their destination was the mansion of Marquise Chester, southeast of Alpha Bridge.

It was of course Marianne who got inside the carriage. Cordelli pulled the lace curtains a bit. While looking out the window, she fidgeted at her handkerchief. The scenery of the capital streets as the carriage ran fast was unfamiliar to her.

In fact, she didn't have many chances to visit the capital city. During her previous life, she had only come to Milan only a few times.

"It's going to take a while to get to the marquise's mansion. Are you okay? If you are uncomfortable with your dress, feel free to tell me," Cordelli said.

Marianne nodded instead of answering. Cordelli's words reminded her of one name.

Erica Bayer von Chester. She was Ober's biological mother and the most famous woman of the late emperor's concubines. All the aristocrats throughout the empire including the capital knew her name. Marianne should have known more about her informally when she had a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship with Mrs. Chester in her past life, but she did not know her well back then.