Chapter 11
There's Something in Pellieresse
'Ah, it's warm.'
The fireplace blazing with firewood Henna had piled high.
The bandages Hille had diligently re-applied with fresh medicine.
And a belly full of soup made with Ralph's heartfelt care.
'It's so warm...'
My body must be melting.
The sensation of the warm temperature seeping through the melting skin finally made me feel drowsy.
Louise's voice floated between the fading memories of the man and the warm blankets.
'Next winter, you'll be able to sleep comfortably in a warm place.'
My sister always kept her promises.
...But why does that make me so angry?
Yuan's eyes began to close again.
Her parched lips twisted and crumpled as if suppressing her emotions.
Winter in the capital, Cielo, was not particularly harsh.
Instead of white snow, the well-maintained streets were lined with vibrant colors, and the squares and commercial districts were filled with people clearing snow every day to welcome visitors.
Marquis Kompani, who entered the Imperial Palace after crossing several squares, clicked his tongue at the long line stretching from the entrance of the First Imperial Prince's palace.
Rumor had it in Cielo that unless you were a powerful figure worthy of attending the Council of Ministers, you had to go through First Imperial Prince Bolonico to have an audience with the Emperor.
Which was partly true.
The First Imperial Prince's palace was filled with jaw-dropping decorations and gold silks, and it was a collection of the rarest and most bizarre things in the world, from pink peacocks he had never seen before to black ivory that seemed to have been cut from afar.
'Is this the Imperial Palace or a circus, tsk.'
Marquis Kompani ignored the fierce glares telling him not to cut in line and stepped towards the entrance at the end of the long queue.
The rootless foreign servants, all with a screw loose, recognized him and cleared the way.
He savored the envious glances for a moment, straightened his clothes, and quickly made his way to the audience chamber.
First Imperial Prince Bolonico, with the Euphris Imperial Family's characteristic golden hair and the Emperor's piercing blue eyes, looked particularly radiant today.
Beneath the bangs cut sharply enough to cover his eyebrows, his nose soared high, and his conceited face was filled with an inexplicable sense of pride.
His neatly bobbed golden hair shimmered annoyingly as he tilted his head slightly.
"May there be endless glory to the great Euphris—Your Highness, the Prince. I, Harold Kompani, have returned after completing the task Your Highness commanded."
"Ah, Marquis Moldpani."
Kik, kik.
The servants lined up like wings beside Prince Bolonico, who was sitting on a dancer's lap and being fed grapes, covered their mouths and laughed at his words.
To avoid offending Prince Bolonico, they had to laugh it off, but Marquis Kompani stiffened.
That childish nickname was a sign that Prince Bolonico was in a foul mood.
"Bolonico, I'm disappointed."
The servants reacted loudly to Prince Bolonico's remark.
"Ooh."
"How dare you disturb His Highness the Prince."
'Rootless foreign servant bastards...'
Kompani forced a smile and muttered inwardly.
And the most annoying one was the flamboyant parrot perched on Bolonico's shoulder.
-"Death penalty-! Death penalty-!"
The creature kept repeating the same words, grating on his nerves.
"I have confirmed Geret Pellieze's machinations and led the late Count Pellieresse's second daughter to the Black Manor."
"Who doesn't know that?"
First Imperial Prince Bolonico rose from the dancer's lap and tucked his shimmering golden hair primly behind his ear. Then, like an angry child, he crossed his arms and looked down at Marquis Kompani, who was hunched over.
"You know that's not what Bolonico is curious about."
Marquis Kompani looked puzzled for a moment before opening his mouth with a look of realization. What Bolonico was curious about was the Deposed Emperor's reaction to the new bride and the movements of that manor.
"It's the same. The manor is exactly the same, with nothing diminished or added. Marquis Lev was in the bedroom, but the Deposed Emperor was not even looking at him. He seemed as unmotivated as ever."
"Haaaah-."
Bolonico stretched out his white fingers as if showing off his well-groomed nails and tapped his mouth.
He cleverly concealed his gaping mouth and slowly blinked his long eyelashes, making it clear that he was 'bored.' Marquis Kompani's already gaunt face became even more haggard.
"Bolonico is bored. The same report every time."
"Moldpani is boring!"
-"Boring, boring!"
"What can we do? We can't forcibly drag a monster out of his room and put him on display. Can we?"
"Beautiful places don't suit monsters!"
-"That's right! That's right!"
The foreign servants and the parrot Lorenzo loudly agreed with Bolonico's words.
Kompani, who vowed to make sure none of those audience members would get away with it if they were ever kicked out, glanced at Prince Bolonico, who was tossing his bobbed hair and curling up the corners of his mouth.
"Bolonico, I heard some interesting news."
"Yes?"
"While Marquis Moldpani was crawling like a 150-year-old turtle, 'that bird' over there told me the news first."
Indeed.
Behind where Prince Bolonico was sitting, a bird with yellow feathers as shiny as his golden hair was diligently eating seeds in a cage.
"The monster himself moved and brought the ninth bride that Marquis Moldpani took to the manor into the house."
"Y-yes?"
"Bolonico was surprised. I don't get surprised easily, do I?"
-"I was surprised. Really surprised."
"Bolonico is sure. There's something in Pellieresse."
-"There's something in Pellieresse. There's something in Pellieresse."
"Bolonico, I'm going to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor. Shall we go together, Marquis Kompani?"
Marquis Kompani was surprised once by the news that the Deposed Emperor Klaud had personally brought a new bride into his house.
He was surprised again by the fact that Prince Bolonico's face was unusually bright with interest at the news.
'There's something in Pellieresse.'
The reason why the Emperor had suddenly tried to give a Pellieresse woman as a bride to the Deposed Emperor one day.
The reason why the Imperial Family, even after being deceived by Geret Pellieze, was trying to bring a Pellieresse woman into the Black Manor for the second time.
The reason why Bolonico, who was so sensitive because he had not been appointed as Crown Prince even at the age of 23, was rushing to the Emperor to tell him that the Deposed Emperor had accepted the Pellieresse bride.
Even if he tried to do only what he was told without knowing anything, it was suspicious.
'There really is something in Pellieresse.'
Something huge that could pique the interest of that nutcracker doll, Bolonico!
Count Geret Pellieze had been holed up in his study for days, spending sleepless nights.
Even if he couldn't receive 'special' guests right away, it wasn't like he had no source of income at all.
"Yuan Pellieresse. Does this Geret Pellieze look like he's going to go bankrupt just because you're not here?"
Geret Pellieze gritted his teeth as he thought of Yuan, who hadn't sent him a single letter.
The study, which had been passed down to the head of the family for generations, was a treasure trove that he wouldn't trade for the academy's grand library.
Research materials filled with the wisdom of his ancestors poured out at the mere reach of his hand.
Unfortunately, Geret Pellieze lacked the knowledge to understand such specialized materials, so he focused on manufacturing medicines rather than prescriptions and selling them to merchants.
As a result, the academic community criticized Pellieresse for trying to become a merchant rather than a noble medical practitioner, but Geret Pellieze thought it was all out of envy.
He used commercialized medicines and treatments for special guests to increase Pellieresse's wealth.
He was a respectable head of the family who was managing this great family.
With the unfounded confidence he had built up over the past 10 years, he knew that Yuan's abilities were necessary in many ways, but he didn't think he would collapse immediately without her.
"I did it as it's written, so why isn't it working!"
That was until he realized that the medicines he had to deliver immediately were all abnormal.
The Count stared blankly at the new products that Yuan had been researching and became irritated.
The colors of the ones Yuan had made in advance and the ones he had just made were different.
It was a simple cold medicine that had been made in the generation of his father, the late Count Pellieresse, and had been turned into a recipe.
It was a medicine that sold like hotcakes because it tasted sweet, had a strong effect, and had no side effects...
"Ptooey! Ptooey!!"
Not only was the color different, but it tasted terribly bitter, and strange grains were being chewed.
In Geret Pellieze's mind, Yuan's voice flashed like lightning as she rewrote the prescription, saying that something was out of proportion.
"Damn it! I can't remember anything properly!"
Of course.
He had been overly dependent on Yuan Pellieresse all this time.
"Priscilla! Priscilla-!!"
Eventually, as the delivery date approached, he urgently began to look for his wife.
He had to check the ledger.
He was thinking of taking the medicine that was scheduled to be delivered to a relatively less important family and sending it to a powerful figure.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
"Regina. You've come at a good time. What should I do with this?"
Regina was shocked and approached her mother, who looked noticeably haggard.
"You're good with numbers, so please help your mother."
"What?"
Priscilla opened the ledger she was clutching anxiously in her arms.
The ledger, which had maintained a neat handwriting until the middle, was no different from a sketchbook as it went to the back pages, with sparse blank spaces and scribbled handwriting.
"What is this?"
"L-ledger-!"
Priscilla whispered very quietly.
"Your father is looking for the ledger because he has something to do with it, but I haven't organized it in advance, so I'm in trouble!"
"Why don't you do these things in advance, Mom, instead of putting them off..."
Regina looked back and forth between the documents and the ledger that Priscilla handed her in a pile and widened her eyes.
It was because she had glimpsed the family's finances, which had noticeably decreased in just a few days, among the difficult-to-read letters.
"Why are the profits like this?"
