The Capital

By the fifth day, the beautiful white spires of the imperial palace could be seen in the distance. The sunlight glinted off the snowy structure, creating a majestic feeling. The palace was situated on a hill overlooking the capital. A winding road guided the carriages of the guests to the grand entrance made with intricate carvings. Two long waterfalls cascaded down the sides of the hill and joined together to form a crystal-clear river that ran through the capital.

In an area not far from the palace, the nobles' mansions could be seen. Although they couldn't be compared to the imperial palace, they were huge.

Even from a distance, the capital's beauty was unmatched. Even the houses in the city seemed to glow with a white light. It was deserving of its title as the continent's most magnificent city.

The line of carriages continued to move for the rest of the day until they finally reached the city gates. A few guards gathered to check their identities before the majestic gates were opened and they were officially in the capital.

By now, it was evening, so most of the citizens were eating dinner inside their houses. The paved streets were empty except for a few people setting up their stalls in preparation for the weekly night market.

Upon seeing the pristine carriages, the people automatically moved aside to make way. They whispered to each other, trying to guess which noble was inside...

"Could it be the Weisses? I heard they're about to return from one of their lavish vacations."

"No, no. Their signature color is purple. Look at the carriage. There's an emblem of gold stars."

"Gold stars? So, the Ephraims? But they rarely leave their land."

"I heard that they're here to discuss the engagement with the first prince."

"That young lady must be lucky. Unlike her mother, who got married to that..."

Kalina shut the window after she had heard enough. From these few lines of conversation that she had heard, it seemed that they weren't the only noble family coming to the capital at this time.

－－－－－－－－－

The Ephraims' manor back on their land was luxurious, so their mansion in the capital was the same. Being four stories tall, built in a U shape, with lush green gardens all around, it was the envy of all the nobles in the capital.

The Duchess rarely came to the mansion and Kalina had only been once when she was an infant, so all the servants were overly enthusiastic when greeting them.

Marble fountains spewed sparkling water alongside the path and scattered flower petals floated in the water. Golden ribbons fluttered in the breeze, resembling long strands of golden hair. Servants dressed in crisp white uniforms bowed deeply as the Duchess walked past them, arm in arm with her daughter.

"Welcome, Your Grace, Lady Kalina!" The servants' exclamations reverberated in the air. It was the kind of salutation one might expect the ruler of a small country to receive, extravagant in every way.

Before the Duchess could say anything, a shrill voice squealed from somewhere down the line of people that had just gotten off the carriages.

"Oh, it's so beautiful here!"

The Duchess's smile immediately faltered upon hearing Nessa's voice. None of the people in the capital had heard about the Duke's mistress yet. Once the servants found out, it would spread to the servants of other noble families, into their masters' ears, and then finally it would be made known throughout high society. If the Emperor found out, would he annul the engagement with her daughter?

Nessa rushed to the front where the Duchess stood, the tall feathered hat on her head swaying with her movements. The servants' eyes widened upon seeing the unfamiliar woman who abandoned basic etiquette and acted impudently in front of someone as noble as the Duchess. They began looking at each other with confused looks.

The Duchess saw their reaction and gently massaged space between her eyes before replying. "I'm glad you like it. My family has owned this mansion for generations. We're very proud of it."

"It's absolutely divine." Nessa's eyes sparkled with delight. When she became the Duchess in the future, she would be the owner of this palatial mansion and all the servants would be bowing to her.

Kalina could easily sense Nessa's thoughts through her expression, which she was terrible at hiding. Letting go of her mother's arm and stepping towards Nessa, she spoke: "Since you are a guest of our family, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to let me or my mother know. We want to make sure you have a comfortable stay."

Nessa humphed, adjusting the bracelets on her wrist. She refused to meet Kalina's eyes that always seemed to be ridiculing her. "Thank you for your kindness, Lady Kalina."

The nearby servants stiffened upon hearing Nessa's haughty tone. The guest staying at the mansion was going to be difficult to deal with.

－－－－－－－－－

Kalina settled into her room at the mansion. It was bigger than her one back at the manor, but the furnishings and layout were more or less the same.

She was reading a book when a knock sounded on her door. It was light and had a bit of reluctance, almost like they were hesitant to disturb her.

"Come in."

A line of young maids streamed in. They kept their heads bowed and followed the proper etiquette, but each was trembling more badly than the ones before them.

They had heard from the maids that had come from the manor that Kalina used to be a pampered child, yet had seemingly matured and developed an aloof personality. They didn't know what to expect from these rumors.

"Lady Kalina, these are the maids allocated to serve you." Olivia entered after the last maid had gotten in line. Because the maids at the manors had families there, they were reluctant to go to the capital. Kalina didn't mind and let them stay, but that meant that she had a shortage of maids, so she was assigned new ones.

Kalina looked the maids over. They all appeared to be docile, with fair faces and bright eyes. The servants of nobles were truly well-trained.

'Raising an overly compliant dog can get boring,' Kalina thought. She looked over at Olivia, who quickly bowed. 'I already have someone very loyal. Perhaps I should take this chance to tame someone disobedient for fun.'

Her gaze stopped on a maid standing a bit behind the rest. She wasn't ugly, per se, but her features were a little off if one compared them to the pretty maid next to her. Her eyes were asymmetrical, her nose was a bit crooked, and her lips were on the thin side.

Kalina's eyes travelled down to the maid's hands. The other maids' hands were gracefully clasped together, yet this maid's were tightly gripping each other, like she was holding something back.

Kalina laughed out loud and beckoned to the maid with a bright smile. "You, come be my second personal maid."