Dad also laughed a bit.
"Blaine."
"Yes?"
"Next week we'll go to the banquet with Dubos and Chairman."
"Can I go too?"
When I asked, Isaac, who was clapping and laughing, shouted, "No!" at once.
"Kid, do you know how annoying the noble parties are?"
I know.
I nodded inwardly, but blinked as if I didn't know.
"The church and the empress will be waiting for you, and as soon as you enter, they'll chase you and take you to the central church."
"Yes, Leblaine. Don't come."
Even Henry said so.
'But I'm going to separate the church from the empress.'
Most of all, I couldn't stay like this forever.
Dubbled is a powerful family, and if they get involved in my future misfortune, they'll be wiped out in the worst-case scenario.
I had to build up my strength.
I should be a powerful woman, and to not affected by the imperial palace and the church anymore.
'I've been working on that for 5 years.'
I'm ready to go outside.
I got up from the chair.
"Then I might be separated from my dad and brothers now."
"What?"
"I know everything. I heard the vassals and servants talking."
"…."
"Because of you, I'm living in the closed estate. If I keep beinf like this, I will be pushed out of the society. That's bad for Dubbled."
This was true.
It was also the part that worried me the most.
"I want to enter the society too."
"You're worried about useless things."
"...."
"Okay. You're attending the banquet."
"I'm excited!"
I quickly hugged my dad.
***
In the imperial palace's garden.
The elderly ladies who attended the Empress Dowager Masha Louerg's tea party exchanged greetings.
"You look better."
"I guess it's because I was called in by the Empress after a long time."
"Your Majesty, please call us often. I was very sad that the winter party was canceled."
The empress smiled, holding a teacup.
"I couldn't help it because I couldn't stand the cold in winter."
"Your Majesty is weak against the cold. Even in your youth, you had a hard time in winter."
"At this age, winter gets colder and colder every year."
In a friendly atmosphere, the empress rolled up her handkerchief.
She couldn't bear the itch all over because of the skin disease rash.
It was much better before spring.
In the middle of winter, a rash came up to her face from her knees, so she had to cancel the party.
The priest told her in anguish.
"Be more patient. Our God will surely give you mercy."
'How much more must be given to them.'
The empress hold back a sigh, pressing a handkerchief against the the corners of her mouth.
"But you look really good."
"Maybe it's because I'm better off without the nasty arthritis."
"I heard you have a new doctor. Is it that good? Please introduce it to me, too."
"Not because of a doctor, but because of a medicine."
She laughed as she spoke, the ladies at the table looked at her.
"Do you mean the medicine that makes us younger?"
"It is."
"Yes, it's a hot topic. I was also going to buy it by ordering a servant, but I can't because I didn't come myself. Merchants are really arrogant these days."
"Don't be like that and go yourself. It really worked. My husband had a lifelong toothache and it's effective."
Then the other ladies nodded their heads.
"It's effective on the skin, too…"
Her words widened the eyes of the Empress.
"Is it effective even for a skin disease?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. My brother has been having scaly skin on his lower abdomen since some time ago, and it's itchy, but after taking this medicine, his skin has come back as it used to."
It was similar to her own skin disease.
'It could work for me too…'
"Where are they selling those?"
asked the empress.
***
Before the banquet, my family left the castle.
"Don't worry about the castle and go."
While Dubos greeted her father, the chairman approached me slightly.
"Please keep the communication device with you at all times."
"Yes and you should take care of yourself well."
I frowned and said so, the chairman coughed in vain.
"Well! Take care. Okay?"
"…Yes."
Since his wife and son died, the chairman has repeatedly skipped meals since he had no one to take care of him.
"So…you won't tell them about your past?"
At the chairman's words, I glanced at Dad and my brothers.
"Put more blankets. If my daughter catches a cold, it won't be over for you."
"Are you kidding? Put more cushions, cushions!"
"Is this all you've got for LeBlaine?"
The chairman, who was looking at the family with dim eyes, nodded.
"Well, It would be too much for them to know the truth."
When I imagined my dad and brothers setting fire to the church, my whole body shuddered.
"If we go to war with the church, all Dubbled's people may die…"
"You'll have to keep quiet."
I nodded.
We got on the carriage.
***
It took us two days to get to the capital city.
It was incredibly fast, considering that it took me ten days when I first came to Dubbled with the Imperial carriage.
Getting off the carriage, I opened my mouth wide.
An endless garden
A well maintained garden.
The mansion is the largest and grandest building I had ever seen.
Three buildings were connected to each other, which was almost as high as the sky.
Countless employees stood in two rows on the road to the mansion, bending their backs.
"I greet the master."
"I greet the master."
Surprised by the loud voices of the employees, I embraced my father's arm.
At that time, a man dressed in a neat tailcoat came up among the employees.
"I greet the little miss."
He grinned as I hid behind my dad's arm.
"My name is Hederson. It's an honor to see you."
"My name is Leblaine…"
"You are more lovelier than I thought. Everyone in the mansion was looking forward to your arrival."
Dad hugged me and said,
"Where's Javelin?"
Javelin is my father's half-sister, and she's my aunt.
One of the two who survived the sword fight between the Dubbled's brothers in the past.
She was now in charge of the Dubbled's branch house.
"She went to the party."
"If my aunt had gone to the party, she'd be there for about four days."
When Isaac spoke sarcastically, the housekeeper Hederson smiled.
We entered the mansion together. The inside was more splendid than its appearance.
My dad and my brothers went straight to the library and a room to work, I followed Hederson to see my room.
"Now, little miss, your room is here."
'Awesome!'
Although not as big as my room in the castle, there was a kitchen, a dressing room, a bedroom, a study room, and a bathroom all very luxurious.
It was more like a room for a girl than a room for a guest.
I ran quickly to the sofa and hugged the cushion.
Lea, who came with me, smiled and asked, "Do you like it?"
"Ve—ry."
"That's fortunate."
"But Lea, your clothes are different today."
She usually wear a maid uniform, but today she's wearing an armor and a black cape symbolizing the Dubbleds.
"While you're here, I'm your escort."
"Wow!"
"Are you that happy?"
"Lea is so cool…"
"I'm glad."
While Lea and I were talking, the butler brought someone.
She is an attractive girl with vivid red hair, green eyes, and freckles on her nose. She looks about fifteen years old.
"My name is Laura, I've been assigned to be your maid."
She is a cheerful and bright child. Lea whispered to me, "It's Linda's cousin."
'Aha.'
Other employees came to me and greeted me.
Having received the greetings of fifty people, from maids to chef, I asked the most important question.
"So what's your previous crime?"
***
Everyone stood in front of Theodore Dubbled, who returned to the mansion after five years.
Whether it was because he had been on the battlefield for nearly a year, or whether it was naturally accumulated in his mid-30s, Theodore looks older.
The brothers, who stood on both sides of him, grew unrecognizable. As they grow older, the eyes of the two, who resemble their father, are as attractive.
The Duke glanced at the countless knights bent on one knee, as well as the secretary and manager-level employees who stood beside them.
The Duke call all of the people as soon as he arrived. From Irie to protect the mansion and Ambu (Information Department).
Seeing that all of these personnel were gathered together, it seemed that the work had been firmly established.
Is it a battle of honor with another family?
Or did the senate made another problem?
Finally the Duke opened his mouth.
"It's all your fault if Leblaine are uncomfortable here."
The eyes of those who did not understand his words widened.
Password?
An idiomatic expression?
'What does he mean?'
At a moment of agony, the brothers said by the Duke's side.
"Kid…Even if Leblaine can't sleep well, it's still your fault."
"If even a single hair of the child is damaged, you shouldn't think of dying in peace."
…what?
The officer, staring at the Duke and brothers on the platform with his eyes, blinked.
The Duke's voice fell on the ears of those with puzzled faces.
"I'll put the entire army to escort Leblaine. When a boy approaches her, identify him."