Chapter 78

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It was an exceptionally fine day.

A day when the breeze was gentle and the sunlight was warm—perfect for a stroll. On such a day, Artie wore a forced smile and lamented her lot.

“On a day as lovely as this, wouldn’t it be better to come out to the garden and share conversation with me than to be cooped up indoors?”

Gabriel covered her mouth with her fan and smiled elegantly.

‘……I’ll kill the weather.’

Artie smiled along with Gabriel and cursed the weather.

Gabriel, who had visited the Empress today as well, suggested that since the weather was so nice, they should have a tea party, and the Empress readily accepted.

Thus, Artie, who had been in Lily Palace, was summoned without a word of protest.

If there was one fortunate thing, it was that Essen was with her.

The fact that she didn’t have to navigate this ordeal alone was a great comfort.

The number of people attending the tea party was not large. There was Gabriel, who was hosting the tea party on the Empress’s behalf, a dozen or so ladies who served as her conversation partners, and Artie.

Marie had feigned illness and refused to attend upon hearing that the host was Gabriel.

‘To abandon me like this. Marie, how could you!’

Artie gestured to Essen, who stood behind her. She whispered softly into his ear and asked.

“Lord Essen. What kind of conversations did you usually have with Lady Gabriel?”

Averting his attention from the ticklish sensation at his ear, Essen fell into thought.

Gabriel Flora Nevel.

Looking ahead, Gabriel was smiling brightly as if she were the star of this stage.

Essen answered coldly, looking at her.

“We didn’t have conversations or anything.”

“What?”

“We couldn’t communicate anyway.”

“Ahh…….”

Artie sighed.

‘So while Lord Essen was Artienne, he just ignored everything Gabriel said.’

She couldn’t help but feel aggrieved. If she had known this sooner, she would never have ended up in a conversation with Gabriel.

“Lady Artienne? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

At Gabriel’s words, everyone’s gaze turned to Artie.

She wore the high-society smile she had grown accustomed to and shook her head.

“No, Lady Gabriel. I was savoring the tea because it tastes so good.”

“Hm. Of course! Speaking of these tea leaves, they are incredibly rare leaves distributed only by the Nevel family. I specially brought them for this tea party. I suppose this is everyone’s first time seeing them? Fu fu.”

Gabriel’s one-sided boasting session began.

Whenever Gabriel boasted, the ladies on either side chimed in.

‘How tedious.’

Essen stood his ground, feeling somewhat irritated.

Naturally, he harbored ill will toward Gabriel, as did the others.

She was the root cause of his cross-dressing. If not for that woman, he would never have been toyed with by Adrian.

Naturally, he wouldn’t have had to go through the hell of running away!

“Oh my. Lord Essen. Why are you looking at me as if you adore me so passionately?”

Gabriel, sensing Essen’s intense gaze, smiled meaningfully.

“…….”

Essen’s expression turned cold.

“Of course, Lord Essen is a very beautiful person, but I’m not interested!”

In that moment, Artie saw it. Essen’s hand moving toward the scabbard at his waist.

‘Lord Essen, please endure it!’

Artie pleaded with her eyes and grabbed Essen’s hand.

It was contact meant solely to stop him from drawing his sword, but Essen was flustered.

‘……Goodness.’

Artie’s eyes, looking up at him desperately, were so beautiful.

On top of that, with her hand gripping his so tightly that he couldn’t shake it off, he didn’t know what to do.

The thoughts were long, but the moment was brief. Artie, having stopped Essen’s action, immediately let go of his hand.

Gabriel witnessed the entire scene clearly.

‘Something is off.’

Her intuition sparked! A strong sense that there was something between those two!

Gabriel did not miss the opportunity.

“Lady Artienne and Lord Essen. I had no idea the two of you were so close. Don’t you all think so?”

Her voice was gentle, but her eyes were not.

Gabriel stared intently at the hands that had touched just moments before.

The other ladies chimed in as if on cue.

“Indeed. They looked very intimate!”

“So you were close enough to hold hands without hesitation?”

“A saying suddenly comes to mind. They say lovers come to resemble each other. Ah, it just came to me—I only meant it in passing. Ohoho.”

They understood Gabriel’s intent and began to laugh and tear into her.

As the situation turned strange, Artie was dumbfounded.

‘Surely they’re not suspecting something between Lord Essen and me?’

She was appalled. The moment their hands touched had lasted barely a second. And it had been to stop Essen from drawing his sword to save Gabriel’s life.

The purpose of suspecting her of something with Essen, knowing full well she was Crown Prince Adrian’s fiancée, was obvious.

‘They’re trying to create another scandal, just like before.’

Moreover, in this tea party setting, Artie’s only ally was Essen.

Everyone else was a lady who would play dead at a word from Gabriel.

Enemies on all sides. As the Crown Prince’s fiancée, Artie had a duty to resolve this situation safely.

“What nonsense―.”

Artie stopped Essen, who was about to surge forward angrily. This was something she had to resolve herself, not Essen, for it to mean anything.

“What an amusing joke.”

When Artie smiled as if unaffected by their attacks, the ladies began exchanging glances.

Artie gave them no time to form a silent strategy.

“Lord Essen is His Highness the Crown Prince’s close friend and escort knight, so he is like an older brother to me. His Highness the Crown Prince ‘personally’ appointed him as my guardian knight.”

Whether Gabriel understood the deliberately emphasized intent, her brow furrowed slightly.

“Are you trying to lecture me?”

“As if I would, Lady Gabriel. I am merely telling you because you seem not to know.”

Artie’s gaze swept across the gathering. Her expression was a gentle smile, but her eyes were sharp. Then she continued.

“According to what you all are saying, it sounds as though His Highness the Crown Prince is a fool who simply stands by while his fiancée is intimate with another man.”

“As if that could be true!”

One lady flared up and cried out. Artie looked at her and smiled brightly.

“Right. As if that could be true, correct?”

“Th-that is―.”

The lady who had snapped at Artie grew flustered and glanced at Gabriel.

She had inadvertently ended up denying Gabriel’s words.

Gabriel, half her face hidden behind her unfolded fan, looked thoroughly displeased.

‘Unexpected.’

Essen was impressed. He had thought she would only be on the receiving end, but she had cleverly used Adrian as an excuse and even twisted the knife.

She usually seemed like a gentle deer, but in situations like this, she had a spine.

‘Now I understand why Adrian won’t let her go.’

He had thought it was because Adrian found her lovable and couldn’t take his eyes off her, but it must have been her unexpected sides that captured him.

Essen smiled bitterly as he looked at Artie.

Meanwhile, the situation was deteriorating smoothly.

The other ladies, watching Gabriel’s reaction, began firing sharp remarks one by one.

“Does that have anything to do with His Highness the Crown Prince? One could deceive him deliberately.”

“That’s right. His Highness must know nothing!”

“Lord Essen. Do you have nothing to say, Lord Essen?”

Artie sighed inwardly. She had thought one word would make them understand, but they were more persistent than expected.

‘What benefit do they gain from dragging me down? Gabriel’s favor?’

But Gabriel did not look pleased at all. Undeterred, Artie traced the rim of her teacup with her fingertip.

“What answer do you all wish to hear from me?”

The ladies were considerably flustered by the fact that their numerous attacks had no effect on Artie.

They had thought she would cry or get angry, whether or not the relationship with Lord Essen was true, but she did neither.

With Essen not stepping forward, it was one against many. By any measure, they had the advantage. Surely they could afford to be a little more rude.

“What answer? We are simply holding Lady Obiedo accountable for deceiving His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Artie sneered inwardly.

‘You’d never say that in front of Adrian.’

Weak before the strong, strong before the weak. That was high society.

Since she already knew this, she was not particularly hurt.

She was only worried that this scandal might affect Adrian.

‘What should I do now.’

If reasoning worked, she could crush them with words, but these women were hopeless.

They were clinging to Gabriel’s backing and eagerly trying to tear Artie down.

Ignoring them was not a good response.

‘As expected, there’s only that method.’

Just as Artie, having made up her mind, was about to open her mouth―

“I’ve heard enough. I can’t stand this any longer.”

A low voice came from behind her. There was no need to check who it was.

“Y-Your Highness!”

The ladies were startled.

“Oh my, Your Highness! Have you come to see me?”

Gabriel was the same as ever.

Artie was surprised as well. Why was he here at this busy hour?

Adrian deliberately ignored Artie’s gaze.

‘If they find out I abandoned my work to come here, I’ll be treated like a fool.’