Chapter 64 - The Mad Duchess (2)
Next to the cookies skillfully crafted by the royal chef, Edith’s looked crude and shabby beyond comparison. She felt pathetic for not having anticipated that the royal chef’s desserts would be served at teatime.
Just as her head was about to droop, the Queen spoke.
"Take the cookies away."
The maids obeyed without question, removing the plates of cookies. The King first lifted his teacup and savored the tea, then reached for the cookies Edith had baked.
"These are quite good."
The Queen picked up a cookie and took a small bite from the edge. She didn't offer her opinion, but Grayson watched his mother with a sense of wonder.
'What's gotten into her?'
The Queen never touched food brought in from the outside. Even if it was brought by her own daughter, Roselyn, she never put anything from outside into her mouth.
That was why when Edith said she was going to bake cookies, he had thought it was a pointless effort, but he hadn't tried too hard to stop her. Some things one had to experience for oneself to understand.
In the end, Edith baked the cookies, but the atmosphere unfolded differently than Grayson had expected. The King ate the cookies with relish, and the Queen also finished a whole one without leaving a crumb.
"Something like this is nice for a change."
Unbelievable.
At the King's satisfied words, Grayson was dumbfounded.
"Will you make them for us often?"
Grayson was so flabbergasted he was at a loss for words, but Edith smiled brightly.
"Yes, Father. Of course."
*Father*, she called him.
"Thank you for enjoying them, Mother."
*Mother*, she called her.
Edith was using titles that even Grayson rarely used, and with such natural ease. As if she had from the very beginning. And the King and Queen, who were being addressed as such, didn't seem to mind. In fact, a smile touched the King's lips at Edith's words. A smile touched the Queen's lips as well.
The teatime concluded without any particular incident. The King left first due to official duties, and the Queen also brought the gathering to a close when a suitable amount of time had passed.
"I will come to pay my respects again soon."
At Edith's words, the Queen hesitated for a moment before offering a faint smile.
"Yes, I will be waiting."
Only after the Queen had also left the garden did Edith let out a long, deep breath. *Whoosh*. She took one, two, three deep breaths in and out before she seemed to calm down, turning to Grayson to ask.
"Did I make any mistakes?"
*You made many, My Lady.*
*Mother, Father.*
Royalty and nobility were naturally addressed as "Your Majesty" once they came of age. While they were occasionally called "Father" or "Mother," addressing them as "Your Majesty" was the norm.
However, the King and Queen seemed to enjoy being called that, so if that was the case, it was a mistake that posed no real problem. Thus, Grayson said.
"You didn't, My Lady."
She had safely cleared one of the major hurdles: the visit to the Royal Palace. She had been so nervous that she couldn't remember how she had acted, but she decided to trust Grayson's word that she hadn't made any mistakes.
The news that Grayson and Edith had an audience with the King and Queen spread quickly through high society. It became an established fact that Edith, who had collapsed after being poisoned at her wedding, had recovered her health, and that the House of Myers now had a mistress.
Spring had arrived.
***
Spring in the Edes Kingdom was a season of parties and festivals.
With the royal palace party being replaced by the third prince's wedding, a continuous series of parties hosted by the nobility began, starting with the palace festivities.
This year, the nobles who had been cautiously watching the situation due to the attempted poisoning at the palace began preparing for their own parties upon learning of Edith's recovery. Since there would be no formal palace party this year, they were all eager to show off the parties held at their own estates.
People were now curious about who "the poor duchess who had gone mad, then collapsed after being poisoned" would invite to the first party held at the House of Myers, and they were dying to be invited.
In a season where people's expectations and excitement bloomed like all manner of plants, the Reynolds family was not so lively.
"Ha!"
Lillian let out a derisive laugh as she glared at the invitation in her hand. The invitation, written in an elegant script on high-quality paper, was infuriating.
「To the esteemed Countess Tidall,
I am hosting a grand party to celebrate the spring of Edes and the beginning of our marriage. I would be delighted if the Countess would grace us with her presence.
Duchess Edith Myers.」
It was Edith Reynolds. What was she before that? Rubin? Rubinique? Something like that, and now she was a duchess. The Duchess of Myers, no less.
The title Lillian had coveted so desperately now belonged to Edith. The mad, burdensome Edith.
Not only had she woken up safely, but she was now playing the part of a duchess, throwing some paltry party. Lillian had no idea what kind of grand party the uneducated Edith could possibly host, but the words "Duchess Edith Myers" at the end of the invitation made her stomach churn.
"My Lady, the jeweler has arrived."
"Let him in."
The door opened, and a man with his face obscured by a deep hood entered. The jawline, barely visible beneath the hood, certainly resembled Grayson's.
"I wish to browse in private, so everyone, leave us."
As soon as the maids and ladies-in-waiting had left and closed the door, the man removed his hood. Light blond hair and blue eyes were revealed. He was certainly handsome in a pretty way, but that face was definitely not Grayson's.
"Shall I undress? Or should we do a little role-play like last time?"
Aaron, on his fourth visit already, asked shrewdly. Lillian stared at his obsequious smile and gestured with her hand.
"I'm not in the mood. You can go."
For a moment, Aaron's expression soured as if he were offended, but he quickly smoothed it over and grinned.
"Still, my payment..."
"You'll get it. You'll get it, now get out!"
"Yes, Countess. Farewell."
Pulling the hood back over his head, Aaron turned and clenched his teeth in humiliation, but Lillian didn't see it, and even if she had, she wouldn't have cared.
After Aaron left, Lillian tore the invitation to shreds and threw it away.
***
Ever since learning that Edith was safe, Wyatt's insomnia had persisted. No, it had gotten worse. Whenever he managed to fall asleep, he had nightmares of being hanged or beheaded. He had no appetite and couldn't eat, and the emptiness in his stomach led to abdominal pain.
The physician told him he needed to sleep well and eat well, but who didn't know that? In a fit of irritation, he had even kicked the physician. It was something he would never have done before, but his nerves were so frayed that he had done it without thinking.
The physician, declaring he had no desire to work while being treated in such a manner, resigned and left in a huff, just as angry as Wyatt.
This was the time to use the promises he had secured from the King for marrying Edith to Grayson to expand his business. At a time when he should have been moving swiftly, Wyatt could do nothing but fret.
It was then that Matteo came to him, his face full of concern.
"Father, this has arrived."
"What now!"
Since learning of Edith's recovery, Wyatt's outbursts had become a common occurrence, so Matteo showed no particular change in emotion as he handed over the invitation.
The invitation contained a message similar to the one Lillian had received.
"A party? A party? That crazy bitch!"
Wyatt crumpled the invitation and threw it. Matteo picked it up from the floor, smoothed it out, and said.
"You must go, Father."
Matteo was just as furious that things had gone awry, but since he hadn't taken the lead in the plan, he wasn't as anxious as Wyatt. If worst came to worst, his father could just take all the blame and leave the family.
Long ago, when one of his ancestors, a Founding Contributor, had dragged the honor of the Reynolds family through the mud, the family had not been completely destroyed despite the great transgression. Honor might fall, but the money would remain, and that was all that mattered.
Therefore, Matteo was more rational than Wyatt.
"Why would I go there! What kind of spectacle do you want me to see!"
"We still don't know the whereabouts of the maid, do we?"
The maid. The maid. The maid.
Wyatt was now at the point where he felt like he would break out in hives just hearing the word "maid."
He couldn't find out what had happened to Juna, the one who had put the poison in Edith's glass. The royal family said not a word about her, and there was no news from the House of Myers either.
Not knowing if she was dead or alive, or what she might be blabbering about if she were alive, was driving Wyatt mad.
"Now that Edith is safe, I think it would be a good time to start looking into the maid's situation."
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