Adrian cut the conversation off sharply, as if there was nothing more to hear, and asked back.
“Who on earth is going around spreading such nonsense?”
“Who else would it be! The faction trying to slander Artie!”
Terni, thoroughly agitated, clenched both fists.
“I can’t forgive this! How dare they touch my little sister! I’ll crush them all!”
“Calm down.”
“I can’t calm down, Adrian! This is a challenge to our Obiedo family!”
Normally, he would have laughed and brushed it off as an entertaining rumor, but now he was shouting, thoroughly agitated.
‘Why is that bastard the one getting more worked up?’
Adrian was dumbfounded for a moment, then Terni looked at him.
His face flushed as if he himself had been insulted, and Terni suddenly lashed out at Adrian.
“What are you doing when your fiancée is in danger! How can you just let a rumor like this circulate!”
“What, you bastard?”
He had always thought Terni was not in his right mind, but now Adrian seriously wondered if Terni had gone insane.
“Our Artie is pretty!”
Essen, the former Artie, who was sitting sullenly with his chin propped beside them, turned his head with a sour expression.
“She’s the prettiest in the world!”
Essen did not seem to hear Terni’s words.
Watching Essen desperately pretending not to hear, Diano rose from his seat and barely managed to sit the frantic Terni back down.
Only then did Adrian feel somewhat better.
“Enough, look into the source of the rumor. Isn’t that the priority?”
“Ah, right! Of course we’ve got to crush every last one of them!”
Terni, who had been sitting and fuming just moments ago, suddenly smiled brightly and nodded.
The three of them there were all thinking the same thing.
‘I knew he was a strange one, but he’s really a strange one.’
Between Terni, who was beginning to sharpen his blade of vengeance, Adrian, who was dumbfounded, and Diano, who looked thoughtless, Essen raised his hand with a bored expression.
“The rumor aside, shouldn’t Artie know about this too?”
Sparks flew from Terni’s eyes.
“What if Artie finds out and gets heartbroken?! I have to go comfort her right now!”
“Go where?”
It was Adrian who grabbed Terni’s scruff and sat him back down as he tried to flee.
Adrian glared at Terni with a thoroughly dissatisfied expression.
“I believe you still have something to report to me.”
“Ah.”
“Have you finished the investigation I ordered?”
“You mean the investigation into the Founding Festival?”
“Yes, that.”
When Adrian nodded dryly, Terni looked for the documents he had brought.
Seizing the moment, Essen quietly rose from his seat, having nothing to do.
Adrian watched Essen leave the office but did not stop him.
He was merely puzzled about where Essen was going.
‘Surely he isn’t going to Artie.’
He knew that Essen was strangely generous toward Artie, but it was very rare for him to be this concerned.
If the two got along, that would be a good thing. But Adrian could not understand why Essen bothered him.
‘Am I the strange one after all?’
When Artie was with Terni and Diano, he was fine with it, but when she was with Essen, it bothered him.
‘No. Come to think of it, Terni and Diano being with Artie is also unpleasant.’
Artie was at her best when she was with him.
After the fireworks, he had expected some change in their relationship, but Artie’s attitude was no different from usual.
‘How can there be no reaction at all after a kiss like that?’
Was it only him who had felt they were in sync at that moment?
In any case, aside from that, everything was good.
“Ah, here it is!”
At Terni’s voice as he found the documents, Adrian awoke from his thoughts.
“Look at this, Adrian. It’s the list of the chairmen of the Founding Festival Commemoration Organizing Committee.”
Adrian showed interest in the documents, which bore familiar names.
“The festival performance committee under this organization selects the troupe that performs at the Founding Festival, and according to my investigation, there are no problems on paper.”
“So there’s no problem?”
“No, that’s not something I can say either.”
Terni smiled confidently.
“The committee has a basic obligation to fairly select troupes that apply to participate. On top of that, any troupe that has already performed once is supposed to be excluded from the next performance.”
“So the principle was broken.”
“Someone is definitely involved in this. It smells foul.”
Terni waved the documents.
“If someone laundered things this cleanly, they’re no ordinary big shot.”
“Then look into it further.”
“Of course!”
Terni, who loved this kind of work most, nodded excitedly.
“But shouldn’t we find out the source of the rumor about Artie first?”
Adrian glared at him for a moment, but in the end, he permitted Terni’s suggestion.
* * *
“A rumor that she covers her face because she’s ugly.”
It had been quite a while since Madam Lucy learned of the rumor circulating in the imperial palace.
However, the reason Madam Lucy had belatedly informed Artie of this news was that it was not a rumor worth paying much attention to, she said.
Even now, Madam Lucy calmly advised her.
“There’s no need to concern yourself with it. Lady Artie need only act as usual.”
“But I didn’t know such a rumor was spreading.”
“Fu fu. High society is a place where any rumor spreads.”
Madam Lucy unfolded her fan.
“They say there’s no smoke without fire, but sometimes there is smoke without any fire at all.”
“Who on earth would spread such a rumor?”
“I don’t know that either. Since it spread among the maids, there may be someone hiding behind it who spread it maliciously.”
When Essen was Artie, such a thing would never have happened, and Artie felt dispirited, as though it were all her fault that such a rumor had suddenly spread. Madam Lucy comforted her.
“Don’t worry too much. It’s not that big a deal.”
“But it bothers me…….”
“There’s nothing to worry about. Terni is gnashing his teeth over it.”
At the sudden voice, both of them opened their eyes wide. It was Essen who had answered Artie’s words.
Essen, who had entered the room where Artie and Madam Lucy were alone, glanced at Madam Lucy uncomfortably, then shifted his gaze to Artie.
“If what Lord Essen says is true, then Lord Terni must be rampaging by now. Ohohoho.”
Essen nodded as if to say that was right.
“It was hard to watch him going crazy, so I slipped out.”
“Because Lord Terni loves Lady Artie more than anyone. He wouldn’t want the family’s honor tarnished by such nonsense. And he wouldn’t want his beloved little sister to be hurt either.”
Madam Lucy’s gaze turned to Artie.
Beloved little sister. If anyone had played the part of Artienne, they were right here in front of her.
Essen wore an indifferent expression and nodded dryly, as if he didn’t care much.
“So don’t worry. Nothing will come of it.”
“Ah.”
At Essen’s words, Artie finally realized why Essen had come here.
“Did you come to comfort me?”
How could he be such an angel?
As Artie clasped her hands together and her eyes sparkled, Essen awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“No, it’s not so much that I came to comfort you, I just came to tell you that…….”
“Ohohoho, that is precisely coming to comfort her!”
“No, Madam Lucy. Don’t be so sure.”
“Lord Essen, thank you!”
Artie smiled brightly. She had not known that knowing someone was worried about her could make her heart feel so secure.
And it was none other than Essen, the former Artie!
“I’ll do my best.”
When Artie smiled faintly, Essen’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“……?”
When she tilted her head, Essen waved his hand.
“No, I mean, do your best.”
Perhaps even he found his own reaction awkward, for Essen cleared his throat.
“Terni will take care of it anyway. Even if he’s an airhead, he’s good at things like this.”
“Thank you for the comfort.”
“No, this isn’t comfort…….”
Artie smiled faintly at Essen, who was visibly flustered, insisting it wasn’t comfort while clearly comforting her.
When Artie smiled, Essen clamped his mouth shut as if frozen.
“Thanks to you, Lord Essen, I feel much better.”
“Is that so? Then that’s a relief.”
She did hear him muttering that he didn’t know what he had done to make her feel better, but Artie simply smiled.
That was when it happened.
Knock, knock―.
“His Majesty the Emperor summons Lady Obiedo.”
It was an attendant from Kristen Palace.
Artie immediately looked at Madam Lucy. Madam Lucy looked back at Artie with an expression that said she didn’t know either.
“What could he be summoning me for?”
“Who knows. I’m not sure either.”
Essen furrowed his brow and added.
“His Majesty the Emperor has never summoned Artie before.”
During the several months Essen had posed as Artie, no member of the imperial family had taken any interest in Artie.
It was only natural. Whatever they thought, Essen had avoided every meeting and summons with a couldn’t-care-less attitude.
From Essen’s perspective, he had hoped Adrian or the proud imperial family members would get angry and harass or expel him, but somehow that never happened.
He had simply become a frail lady.
‘There were days like that.’
In any case, he had no memory of a private audience with the Emperor. Artie asked cautiously.
“Could it be something serious?”
“We won’t know unless we go.”
At Essen’s words, Artie’s expression turned serious.
“Shall I go with you?”
At Essen’s offer, Artie hesitated. The first person she thought of was Adrian.
‘No. I should be able to handle something like this on my own now.’
If she were the real fiancée, this was a trial she would have to endure willingly. Artie shook her head.
“I’ll go alone.”
She had met His Majesty the Emperor before. Recalling past memories, Artie smiled bravely.
“Then I’ll be back.”
The waiting attendant from Kristen Palace guided Artie.
Madam Lucy looked at Artie with proud eyes.
“Look at that. Isn’t she remarkable?”
Watching Madam Lucy look proud, Essen answered somewhat awkwardly.
“She certainly is.”
