Chapter 10

Your Highness, thank you for accommodating my request last night. I have to leave early due to urgent matters. I will contact you again soon. Until then, please consider what you desire from a wife. I hope our night continues.

Elise's note was matter-of-fact, but Karan's smile deepened.

"It wasn't a dream."

Of course.

The softness of her skin in his hands, her incessant moans in his ears, the fragrant scent of her body, the slender legs wrapped around his waist, everything was so vivid.

Karan held the note to his face and took a deep breath.

He didn't want to miss even the slightest hint of her scent on the paper.

While Elise was massaging her sore back, Regina entered.

"Everything's ready, Miss."

Elise got up with a faint smile, wincing slightly from the prickling pain from her tailbone to her neck.

"Does it hurt somewhere?"

Regina, ever perceptive, approached. Elise raised her hand.

"I just tweaked my back in bed."

"In bed?"

It was a strange thing to say but not a lie. Elise recalled the previous night.

Are all Titritians like Karan?

He tormented her all night long.

'But it wasn't just torment.'

As memories of the night's pleasures resurfaced, Elise's cheeks flushed.

She fanned herself quickly, hoping the breeze would take away the memories of the night.

"The guests are already here and waiting."

Butler announced.

By then, Elise had regained her composure and instructed to open the door.

Butler's eyes twitched at her command.

'He must be reluctant to follow my orders.'

In the Warton family, Elise's status was abysmal.

The servants, although not overtly, looked down on her, the gypsy's daughter.

And since the Warton patriarch ignored her, they followed suit.

Previously, she was intimidated by their gaze and even did chores that should have been assigned to the maids. Not realizing it only made her more of a laughingstock.

'I won't live like that anymore. I can't let those close to me suffer because of me.'

"Open the door. What's taking so long?"

When she sharply reprimanded the butler for not immediately complying, he coughed awkwardly and instructed an attendant.

"If you can't even open a door, you have no place in this house. Right?"

Elise looked at the butler coldly and entered the room.

Her walk was upright and confident, unlike her usual subdued self.

'A moment of bravado, perhaps.'

The butler dismissed Elise's change.

But after seeing how she hosted the guests, he changed his mind.

Elise had changed. A storm might be brewing in the Warton family.

The butler was an opportunist, sensitive to the shifts around him.

His instincts told him to be good to Elise.

"Welcome. Thank you for responding to the sudden tea party invitation."

The drawing room, usually reserved for Iris, was filled with guests.

It was brighter than Elise's room, furnished with works by famous craftsmen and decorated with delicate, lively tapestries.

Notably, there were vases with gold flowers, made from well-refined gold, a display of the Warton family's pretense.

'Always in debt due to the need to show off.'

Elise smirked at the gold flowers, then quickly composed herself.

"I'm grateful, really. I was curious about this room. I heard Iris only shows it to close friends, but there's nothing special."

Elise's comment was a blend of curiosity and subtle critique.

Patricia, with her eyes sharply slit upwards, giving her a fierce look, tilted her lips to the left.

She was one of Iris's followers.

Patricia had tried in every way to get close to Iris but never even caught her eye.

It was Elise who later became the catalyst for Patricia to get closer to Iris.

'After Iris learned that I had thoroughly insulted Elise, she allowed me into her circle.'

Unable to badmouth Elise herself, Patricia must have been overjoyed when someone else did it for her.

Thus, Patricia became a close associate of Iris, creating all sorts of rumors and slander about Elise.

'Unaware that she almost got poisoned by Iris in the past, she lives the same way in this life too. As a follower and a tool of Iris. Sadly.'

Elise felt a pang of sympathy for Patricia, who was only used and then discarded.

But ultimately, Patricia was Iris's person. Elise brushed off her concerns for Patricia.

"It's less impressive than I expected, but it does have a luxurious taste."

Hearing Patricia's words, Elise quickly shed any lingering pity she had felt before dying.

"I'll have the tea prepared. And as promised, coffee too."

Coffee had just started to circulate in the Kingdom of Bedroca.

In Bedroca, where tea culture was revered, coffee was one of the beverages looked down upon.

However, rarity always commands a premium.

Thus, serving coffee, which was not yet popularized, was quite special.

"Who would be interested in that muddy water?"

Patricia grumbled. At that, Deboah, who had been sitting quietly beside her, flinched.

'Deboah likes coffee. She's interested in new things.'

Deboah would open the first coffee salon in the kingdom.

Although it would be under her husband's name, everyone knew that the coffee expert was Deboah.

But that would happen in about five years, and currently, Deboah hadn't properly experienced coffee.

"Good coffee beans can offer a more diverse flavor than tea."

Elise gestured towards Regina.

She used the beans brought by Regina to brew the coffee herself.

The rich aroma instantly filled the drawing room.

It was a stimulating scent that was hard to believe came from bitter coffee.

Another thing caught their attention.

The way she used a long, slender spouted pot to brew the coffee was a spectacle they had never seen before.

People said they disliked coffee because it was different from tea, which is enjoyed with eyes, nose, and mouth, but coffee could also be a treat for all senses when properly enjoyed.

Elise first handed a cup to Deboah.

"Would you like to taste it first?"

Deboah immediately took the cup and hesitated upon seeing its color.

Unlike tea, which is clear and varies in color, the black coffee was off-putting.

However, Deboah's hesitation was brief.

She cooled the coffee with a breath and took a sip.

Then her eyes widened in surprise.

"It tastes good. There's a sourness and a bean flavor…"

"Try it again. You might notice a subtle floral aroma."

"Hmph, exaggerating as usual. What floral fragrance could come from such muddy water? Maybe a foul smell."

Patricia muttered as if talking to herself, picking faults. Deboah glared at her.

The two were like oil and water.

Patricia, negative and prejudiced, and Deboah, eager to break stereotypes.

Before they could argue, Elise involved Jasmine, who had been left out.

"How about Jasmine tries it first?"

Pleased to receive Elise's attention, Jasmine's chubby cheeks flushed with joy.

Jasmine Orléans.

She was far from Bedroca's beauty standard represented by Iris.

She was plump, had brown skin, and was short.

Since her childhood, Jasmine had been ignored, leading to her feeling disheartened.

This, in turn, made people ignore her even more. At each banquet, Jasmine hurried to hide her body in secluded shadows.

'No one knows how witty Jasmine is. And she understands the heart of a woman who wants to be beautiful.'

Eventually, Jasmine would enter the beauty business.

Her products didn't get much attention, not because they were inferior, but because she lacked a model.

If only she had a model to properly showcase and promote her products, Jasmine would have been very successful.

Elise knew all too well the importance of packaging over the product itself.

After all, it was Elise who made Chase appear as a perfect sage king.

'I'll make Jasmine's products sell out.'

That is, if Jasmine accepts Elise's offer.

"Wow, this is really tasty! It actually tastes like flowers, right? At first, I thought it was just bitter, but there's a sourness too."

Jasmine's eyes widened in amazement.

Her agreement piqued Patricia's interest in coffee. Patricia slyly tried the coffee and then pursed her lips.

"Well, it's edible."

After saying this, Patricia finished two cups of coffee.

Although it was the first time these four women were together, the conversation flowed non-stop, thanks to Elise leading it.

When Elise felt the barriers between the three had eased somewhat, she broached the main topic.

"Do you know about the gossip magazine the maids are talking about? It's full of such interesting stories. The name is…"

Elise trailed off, gauging their reactions.

"Alleycat Times, right?"

"That's a peculiar name, isn't it? Alleycat?"

Patricia immediately responded. Jasmine replied in an indifferent tone. Elise observed her closely before continuing.

"The publisher is shrouded in mystery, but it must be some inexperienced kid making it up as a joke. The stories seem to be based on hearsay."

"Why do you think so? Oh, I've read it a few times too. My thoughts are different from Elise's."

It was Deboah.

"The parts describing the subtle and awkward moments between men and women are clumsy. Especially a recent issue covering the scandal between the street singer and Lord Jan – it was so awkwardly written. Describing Lord Jan's thoughts after a kiss as being like 'pollen fluttering in the air'? That wouldn't come from someone who has spoken to Lord Jan or the singer, or even from someone who has kissed before. A kiss isn't always that sweet, is it?"

"What was it like?"

It was Jasmine. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she listened to Elise's words.

'Is Jasmine the publisher?'

Elise's eyes narrowed.

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This novel has been translated up to chapter 30.

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