I Got My Engagement Annulled… Even Though We Were Never Engaged - Chapter 29

Just as I was secretly steeling my resolve, Lady Eliene entered the venue accompanied by several of her followers.

It seemed the tea party had begun while we were chatting.

As one would expect from Lord Fevan’s cousin, Lady Eliene shared his striking silver hair. Her eyes were the color of topaz, and her lips always carried a gentle smile.

I didn’t know how she behaved in front of His Highness Crown Prince Odilon, but in social circles, she was known for her calm and composed demeanor, rarely showing emotional outbursts.

Lady Eliene gave her greetings as the host of the tea party, and the maids of the ducal household sprang into action all at once. Serving sweets and preparing drinks for the guests.

Hosting such tea parties must also be an important duty as the future Crown Princess. As the woman destined to become the Crown Princess and eventually Queen, Lady Eliene must command the respect of noblewomen. In a sense, it would not be an exaggeration to say she is constantly being tested.

After all, there are many, like Lady Tatiana, watching for any opening.

Those in positions of power have it difficult indeed.

Lady Tatiana is a very kind person, but by no means soft. She always considers the interests of herself, her family, and her faction, and if she deems someone an enemy, she shows no mercy. She never loses sight of the bigger picture.

Of course, the same could be said of Lady Eliene.

And from a national perspective, such qualities are necessary.

The phrase “united as one” may sound pleasant, but the belief that everyone is an ally breeds complacency and negligence. In some cases, it may even lead to corruption.

A system where several factions keep each other in check fosters tension and makes negligence and corruption less likely to occur because if one makes a wrong move, they risk immediate attack.

Thus, it is problematic if any single faction grows too large. An ideal balance of power is one where no faction holds overwhelming dominance.

I suspect that is precisely what Lady Tatiana is concerned about.

At present, the largest faction in the kingdom is the Duke Cerullion faction.

Therefore, she must believe that their influence must not be allowed to grow any further.

Until now, I had kept my social interactions to a minimum and rarely attended women’s gatherings, staying clear of troublesome factional disputes.

But having been invited here today and directly urged by Lady Tatiana, it seems I will inevitably become involved in factional matters from now on.

That is what it means to be in a relationship with Lord Fevan.

Since I had already resolved myself earlier, this is not an issue I can turn away from.

As a member of Lady Tatiana’s and by extension, the Duke Dauvergne’s—faction, I must face this problem head-on.

About fifteen minutes after the tea party began, one of the maids quietly approached me.

“Lady Eliene wishes to speak with you.”

Though I am an invited guest, her status is overwhelmingly superior. She would not come to me, and I, having been summoned, could hardly refuse.

Lady Tatiana glanced at me for a moment but did not seem inclined to intervene.

She simply gave my arm a light tap as I stood up, which I took to mean, “I’m watching.” If anything goes wrong, Lady Tatiana will help. Relieved, I bowed my head slightly to convey my gratitude.

Nervously, I made my way to Lady Eliene’s seat, where Lady Adrienne Canteloupe, the count’s daughter, was also seated. She is the young lady with the similar-sounding name who, despite my not being engaged, became the reason my engagement was called off.

After offering a curtsy to Lady Eliene, Lady Adrienne stared at me intently. It felt uncomfortable, as if I were being appraised.

“I’m so glad you could join us today. Please, have a seat here.”

There was an empty seat beside Lady Eliene. Had a chair been brought over just for me, or had it been left empty from the start?

The fact that I received an invitation to this tea party made it clear that she had something to discuss with me. Lord Fevan had also warned me. I must avoid careless remarks and respond with caution.

After expressing my thanks, I took my seat, and a maid brought over tea.

Since I was urged to drink, I couldn’t very well refuse. Taking a sip, I felt a slight odd sensation on the tip of my tongue.

…There’s a magical potion in this.

It doesn’t seem to be poison, but it would be best to neutralize it. Discreetly, I used magic to nullify the effects of the potion I had swallowed.

Since I felt nothing when drinking at my previous seat, it’s safe to assume the potion was only added to the tea brought to me now. I don’t know the purpose, but Lady Eliene, who didn’t bat an eye when I drank the tea, is clearly not someone to let one’s guard down around.

Of course, I have no intention of exposing the presence of the potion here and causing a scene.

…Women’s social circles are terrifying.

I felt as though I had undergone a harsh initiation.

Sighing inwardly, I pretended not to notice anything and smiled.

“May I call you Adrienne?”

Lady Eliene spoke with the face of a harmless angel.

“Yes, Lady Eliene.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry to be so direct, but there’s something I’d like to ask you, Adrienne. It’s about my cousin, Lord Fevan.”

Skipping the small talk, Lady Eliene cut straight to the point.

The gazes of all the women at the table, including Adrienne, focused on me.

“Just last month, I heard Lord Fevan caused you a great deal of trouble. I’m so sorry. I don’t know the details of what happened, but ever since, there have been rumors that you and Lord Fevan are, well, going to marry. Would you mind telling me about that?”

Her true intention was likely to inquire about Lord Fevan’s relationship with the Crown Prince, but even she wouldn’t dare ask directly about rumors of Lord Fevan’s homosexuality at a tea party.

Lord Fevan had warned me that I might be asked about our relationship, so I had prepared an answer for this very question.

I placed a hand on my cheek and smiled with a troubled expression.

“We’re not at the stage of marriage yet. Though, well, he did ask me to be in a relationship with him.”

Casually adjusting my dress, I noticed Lady Eliene glance at my hands and then nod. It seemed she inferred our relationship from the color of my dress, which matched Lord Fevan’s eyes.

“I see. But the relationship is going well, I take it?”

“That is, well, yes…”

I mustn’t panic here. I smiled with a bashful expression and lowered my gaze shyly. My stomach twisted with the strain of this unfamiliar acting.

Lady Eliene stared intently at me, then glanced briefly at the teacup I had sipped from. It was only for a moment, but I didn’t miss her gaze confirming the lipstick mark on the cup.

…I see. Now I understand what kind of potion that was.

It must be a type of truth serum, the kind used to extract confessions from petty criminals. There are various kinds, but I suspect it was one that “makes it impossible to lie.” Since my tongue didn’t recognize it as poison, it should have minimal effect on the body.

Lady Eliene shifted the topic slightly.

“I’m also concerned about my cousin’s partner. Adrienne, what do you think of Lord Fevan?”

“…I adore him.”

Even though it was necessary, saying these words made me incredibly embarrassed.

“And what does Lord Fevan say?”

“Well… he says that I’m cute.”

Oh, this is truly mortifying. I’m so embarrassed my whole body feels hot.

Lady Eliene made a thoughtful gesture, but perhaps because she had administered the potion, she didn’t seem to think I was lying.

Just as she seemed about to ask something more pointed and tightened her expression.

“What’s so cute about you?!”

Lady Adrienne, who had been silent until now, snapped irritably.

“Lord Fevan was my fiancé! I don’t know what tricks you used, but you stole him away with underhanded methods…! You… thief!”

Whoa… Is this what they call a catfight?

Having lived my life thus far untouched by women’s jealousy, I was oddly impressed by such overt hostility.

I thought phrases like “thieving cat” or “thieving woman” only existed in books. I’m surprised someone actually says them out loud.

“There’s no way he’d call someone as plain as you cute! You must have used some kind of charm magic, didn’t you?! Confess!”

As Lady Adrienne looked ready to lunge at me, Lady Eliene pressed a hand to her forehead.

While I was wondering how to respond, I saw Lady Tatiana rise gracefully and walk toward us.

Flicking open her fan to cover her mouth, Lady Tatiana fixed a sharp glare on Lady Adrienne.

“My, the Canteloupe count’s daughter is quite ill-mannered, isn’t she? Just because Lord Fevan rejected you, you go around making baseless accusations. Now I understand why Lord Fevan rushed to break off the engagement as soon as he returned.”

“Wh—!”

Lady Adrienne’s face flushed bright red.

But her opponent was a duke’s daughter. Attacking her would be difficult for a count’s daughter like Lady Adrienne. It seemed she retained at least that much reason.

…Still, Lady Tatiana, that was harsh!

I’m grateful she rushed to my defense, but I can’t help feeling the atmosphere has grown even more frigid.

“And of all things, to accuse her of charm magic. You are aware that magic is prohibited by law, are you not? Are you saying that my Adrienne used that magic—the one that could lead to a death sentence if discovered? In other words, I take this as an insult to the House of Dauvergne. Are you quite sure about this?”

Hearing that an attack on me personally was being treated as an insult to the Dauvergne dukedom, Lady Adrienne turned pale this time.

Lady Eliene gave a light cough.

“Adrienne, calm yourself. And Lady Tatiana, I apologize for my faction member’s rudeness. However, I guarantee that Adrienne had no intention of insulting the Dauvergne ducal house.”

Listening to their exchange, I broke into a cold sweat. This has turned troublesome.

By saying “I guarantee,” Lady Eliene has escalated what was a personal quarrel between me and Lady Adrienne into a confrontation between Lady Tatiana and Lady Eliene. To put it more broadly, it’s now a clash between the women of the Dauvergne and Cerullion ducal factions.

Lady Tatiana wants to use this opportunity to curb the Cerullion faction’s influence, while Lady Eliene wants to silence the Dauvergne faction.

Unintentionally, the underlying intentions of both women were using this minor quarrel between me and Lady Adrienne to spark a larger conflict.

If this escalates further, it will be very bad.

What’s bad is that if two major factions clash, the reason will become public knowledge. In other words, it will be known that Lady Adrienne and I fought over Lord Fevan, dragging Lady Tatiana and Lady Eliene into it.

Lord Fevan, whose name was brought up, would also be troubled.

A clash between the two factions, which had been keeping each other in check, must be avoided at all costs. And having a clear winner here would also be dangerous.

If Lady Eliene wins, her faction will gain momentum once she becomes Crown Princess. If Lady Tatiana wins, it will be seen as a rift between the future King and Queen and the Cerullion ducal house.

Both Lady Tatiana and Lady Eliene likely understand this, but neither would be willing to back down first.

In that case, the only option is to stop it before the factions begin to quarrel.

“Lady Tatiana, Lady Eliene, I deeply apologize for the disturbance. However, I cannot remain silent after being accused like this. I have not used any underhanded methods. It would be disrespectful to Lord Fevan to be misunderstood in such a way. He is, after all, an accomplished magician. It would tarnish his reputation.”

When I intervened, Lady Tatiana glanced briefly at Lady Adrienne and then laughed, saying, “That’s right.”

“Yes, of course. There’s no way Adrienne would use underhanded methods. But since she’s been falsely accused, shouldn’t an apology be in order?”

Lady Tatiana had grasped my intent and demanded an apology from Lady Adrienne.

Since I was the one falsely accused, it would be strange for me to apologize to her.

So, if Lady Adrienne would just offer a single word of apology, this whole incident could be resolved amicably but it seemed she was a rather prideful and emotional woman.

“I haven’t said anything wrong! If you insist on making me apologize.”

Lady Adrienne removed her silk glove and threw it at me.

Then, glaring fiercely, she declared:

“I challenge you to a duel!”