Dangerous Fiancee

Chapter 158

Marianne instinctively realized that this was not just a private talk or her dwelling on her own misfortune. Mrs. Chester, like a snake attracting prey, was setting the way for Marianne to arrive at a predetermined truth and answer.

"You bet. Empress Alessa went through a terrible thing when she was still just a princess. Her heart was broken by sharp things. I wonder how she felt when she found out about her closest friend's death..."

Marianne's expression hardened, "... What did you mean when you said she found out about her closest friend's death? "

"Miss, you know Empress Frida, right?"

"Of course, I do."

"Do you know she is also Duke Hubble's elder sister?"

"Yeah. I know."

"Then, do you also know that Duke Hubble had another sister?"

"Really? Well... Ah! Yes. But she was..."

"Yes. She was Lady Michaela, namely Marquise Blanchefort. She went missing nineteen years ago. Since then, Marquis Blanchefort's health has gradually declined. He has been completely retired from the central political stage for a long time. Everybody tries very hard not to mention his name because they don't want to annoy Duke Hubble."

Michaela Hubble von Blanchefort was the youngest sister of Duke Hubble and the sister of the late Empress Frida. It was purely because of Michaela that the Blanchefort family, who had no special characters or achievements, rose from a common baron family to the level of a marquis established himself in the central politics. Empress Frida and Duke Hubble did not seek her groom among the prestigious noble families because they planned to make her groom the central figure of a prestigious family.

"Mrs. Blanchefort had a very pretty daughter. She was Lady Rosetta. Empress Alesa called her Rose fondly. I've met Rosetta several times. She was a lady who looked like a full blown summer rose. "

Rosetta, who had a very powerful noble family on her mother's side, grew up in splendor.

Her cousins and brothers were either children of a duke or imperial family members, so she didn't lack anything, materially or spiritually.

"Lady Rosetta often visited the palace with her mother. She was most intimate with Princess Alessa and naturally got along well with her other cousins. Crown Prince Cassius was a very attractive young man. I assure you that all the daughters of noble families adored him during those days."

"What you mean is ..."

"Yes. Lady Rosetta also adored Cassius very much. So much so that she wanted to be his wife and become the next empress."

"But isn't marriage forbidden between cousins under Aslan laws?"

"Of course. However, there have been exceptions, like for Cremer VI. A cousin was adopted as a daughter by an aristocrat relative which changed her family status then she was accepted as his wife. After that, marriage between cousins was more strongly avoided, but that was a long time ago. It was not unusual for Miss Rosetta, who loved Cassius very much, to dream of being the next empress. "

"In other words, she believed she could be an exception, right?"

"In fact, there were a lot of people around her who weren't bothered with that kind of workaround. Perhaps her uncle, Duke Hubble, was the most pleased with that option because he had no daughter."

The easiest and most powerful alliance in politics was one of marriage. Duke Hubble had only one son, but his elder sister Frida already had two daughters and two sons after marrying Frei V. In order to influence the next imperial family, it was necessary for the Hubble family to unite with one of them. Fortunately, his sister Michaela's daughter, Rosetta, had Cassis in mind. Although Rosetta was not his biological daughter, she was a much better choice than any other girl of a noble family without his family's blood.