Adelina held the tea gathering as planned.
Her right hand was wrapped in so many layers of bandaging that it looked nearly twice its natural size.
The moment her guests caught sight of it, they gasped.
“Oh, Lady Adelina — whatever happened to your delicate wrist?”
“Well…”
Adelina set her right hand on the table with an air of quiet display, then lifted her teacup with her uninjured left hand, letting the silence stretch a moment before she spoke.
“I’m not sure I ought to say.”
“What do you mean? Surely it wasn’t a simple accident?”
“…You won’t breathe a word to anyone, will you?”
“Of course not! You know better than anyone how discreet we are.”
The other guests nearly dissolved into laughter at that. The young lady who had spoken was, in fact, notorious throughout high society for being anything but discreet.
Adelina had known precisely that when she sent the invitation.
“…Not long ago, I visited the imperial palace and crossed paths with Princess Rene.”
A single sentence was all it took. Every face in the room shifted into an expression that said: I knew it.
“Princess Rene did this to your wrist? But why?”
“I accidentally bumped into one of her ladies-in-waiting. She seemed to take great offense.”
It isn’t entirely a lie, Adelina thought. If Rene is keeping Princess Marie in her palace, the only justifiable title for her would be lady-in-waiting.
Adelina firmly believed that protection had nothing to do with it. As she spoke, her mind drifted back to her recent encounter with the Empress at the palace.
The Empress, having promised Adelina the position of Crown Princess Consort, seemed utterly convinced that the two of them were now sailing in the same boat. And so, whenever stress mounted, she would summon Adelina and pour out everything she dared not say to anyone else.
“Princess Rene just swept in and took Marie — who was perfectly fine on her own — and now insists on keeping her close. And then she has the nerve to question me about why I haven’t paid more attention to Marie? The sheer audacity! Why the sudden act of kindness? Am I supposed to care for that little bastard child too?”
“Please don’t trouble yourself, Your Majesty. Princess Rene is simple-natured and poorly educated. One can hardly expect sound judgment from her.”
That was the sort of agreement Adelina had offered before making her way home — only for the carriage to come to an abrupt halt that nearly threw her from her seat.
She had been furious. They see a carriage and they know it belongs to a member of the imperial family — they should have moved aside immediately. How dare they put me at risk?
The dress covered in mud had made her assume the person was no one of consequence. She had already raised her hand before her mind caught up — and then, too late, she had recognized the face. It bore an unmistakable resemblance to the Emperor himself.
She had known instantly she’d made a mistake. But what was done was done, and she had told herself it wouldn’t amount to anything. The girl was just a bastard child the Emperor barely acknowledged.
If only she hadn’t come face to face with Princess Rene at that moment — it would all have been forgotten.
“I offered my sincerest apology, but she said I had insulted the imperial family and… my wrist…”
“I beg your pardon?”
The room erupted in wide-eyed shock. Listening to Adelina’s account alone, Rene’s response seemed outrageously excessive.
“How utterly barbaric. No matter how distinguished her military record from the recent conquest, her arrogance has gone far beyond any acceptable limit!”
“Lady Adelina, you cannot simply let this pass. Please speak to Marquess Weiss and call Princess Rene to account.”
“Yes — and what a perfect opportunity to raise the Crown Prince’s standing as well. Do make sure to bring it to Her Majesty the Empress.”
The reactions were exactly as Adelina had anticipated. Most of the women present were close to Empress Gisela, after all.
“Do you really think it needs to go that far…?”
Adelina let her expression falter with apparent uncertainty — and the others grew all the more insistent.
“Absolutely! No matter what she has achieved on the battlefield, a princess cannot simply persecute a noblewoman at will. She has no qualities fit for a ruler!”
“I agree with that.”
A new voice cut through from somewhere behind the gathering.
It was instantly familiar. The room froze as one. In the stillness, the only sound was the soft rustle of a silk skirt trailing across the floor.
The first to regain her composure was Adelina herself. She stared, dumbstruck, as Rene Stade stepped into the drawing room.
She was dressed in a deep red chiffon gown — the kind of red that would hide bloodstains without a trace — and she wore an air of perfect, languid ease as her eyes met Adelina’s.
That gaze said everything. I knew you’d be doing exactly this.
A tiger returned to catch the fox who had grown bold in its absence.
Adelina swallowed, dry-mouthed, before she even realized she had done it.
And the moment she noticed, pride flared hot in her chest.
Without meaning to, she had been cowed by Rene Stade’s bearing — by the sheer weight of the woman’s dignity.
She was simply born lucky enough to be a princess.
Had Joachim been a woman, Adelina Weiss might have been the most exalted noblewoman in all of Stade. The other marquesses’ daughters were quiet, socially unremarkable creatures — nothing to compete with. And Empress Gisela, having come from a background of ill repute, was someone Adelina bowed to in public while quietly looking down on in private.
If only Rene Stade didn’t exist.
I could have been the reigning queen of Stade’s social world — the woman everyone looked to.
Of course, Rene rarely participated in society, and her insufferable personality had earned her plenty of enemies. But even those who despised her would name Rene Stade as the most influential woman in the empire without a moment’s hesitation.
Adelina had built her strategy around that fact. Against someone like Rene, her advantage lay in being perceived as kind — gentle and well-bred, the woman people actually wanted to be near. In the end, people always preferred someone sweet and composed.
Even if there are conflicting accounts of today, people will believe the version from someone with a good reputation.
She had never imagined Rene would actually show up — not after everything that had passed between them. Adelina had only spoken so freely because she was certain the princess wouldn’t come.
No. Don’t lose your nerve. This is my territory. And if I’m going to become Empress, I’ll have to best Rene Stade eventually.
She resolved to meet it head-on.
Adelina rose from her seat with an expression of carefully practiced surprise.
“I am honored to be in the presence of Rene, the brilliant star of Stade and the one blessed by divine grace.”
She pressed her bandaged right hand to her heart and lowered herself into a curtsy. Princess Rene responded with a small, dismissive smirk.
The guests exchanged uncomfortable glances. Adelina smiled inwardly and gestured Rene to the seat of honor.
“It is my great privilege to have you at my gathering, Your Highness.”
As she did, she stole a quick glance around — thankfully, Rene appeared to have brought nothing foul with her.
Empress Gisela had told the story of Rene’s outrage from a decade ago so many times, in such vivid detail, that Adelina could never quite forget it.
Surely she wouldn’t throw tea on me. Would she?
Adelina flinched inwardly and subtly leaned as far back from Rene as she dared. A maid, entirely oblivious to her mistress’s state of mind, proceeded to fill Princess Rene’s teacup to the brim with scalding water.
“As you all know, this is my first time attending anything like this in ten years.”
While Adelina had been fixating on that teacup, Rene had begun to speak.
The opening remark naturally called to mind the events of a decade past. A ripple of tension moved across every face in the room.
“I’m sure there is much I’ve missed. I hope you’ll all be patient with me.”
“Of course, Your Imperial Highness.”
“Good. Then please — continue with what you were saying. What was it again?”
Every mouth in the room snapped shut.
Adelina found it quietly maddening to watch the same women who had been talking so freely just moments ago suddenly fall silent. But faced with the authority radiating from Rene as she sat at the head of the table, she found herself understanding it, whether she liked it or not. The blow to her pride stung.
“Ah — was it that I lack the qualities fit for a ruler?”
Rene smiled brightly as she recalled the words, and the young lady who had said them went pale as paper.
“A welcome thing to hear, actually. I’ve been thinking the same of myself lately.”
The young lady, now entirely drained of color, stumbled over herself to apologize.
“N-no, Your Highness! I would never— I mean— of course, Your Imperial Highness possesses every quality befitting the imperial throne.”
For some reason, the princess looked faintly disappointed at that. The lady, catching the expression from beneath her bent head, rushed to add more.
“I-in this recent conquest, no one distinguished themselves more than Your Highness. A ruler’s duty is to advance the interests of the realm, and in that regard, you would be worthy of being named Crown Princess this very moment—”
“That’s enough. Let’s leave that subject alone.”
Princess Rene cut her off with an expression that still seemed vaguely dissatisfied, and then, quite suddenly, turned to look directly at Adelina.
The moment their eyes met, Adelina felt the breath leave her. She had the sensation of a rabbit caught before a lion.
“How is your wrist, Lady Adelina?”
Princess Rene asked with a flash of white teeth.
She’s actually out of her mind.
The very person who had reduced her wrist to its current state was asking after it with perfect composure. Adelina’s expression went briefly, helplessly blank.
