If only you had treated me well before the string broke, you fake. The Countess spoke with her eyes.
“Indeed, madam. I wish I had more opportunities to converse with you; it’s truly a shame. I can only hope that Aaron’s new fiancée treats you better than I did.”
That’s enough; go and get along with Lizzy. Ariella responded with a wink.
Though they were smiling, no one truly felt good, and the time, which was supposed to be leisurely spent over tea, was instead busy subtly belittling each other, concluding in an artificial harmony.
Just like a very typical royal tea time.
***
“Are you heading straight home?”
Adam, who had stubbornly refused to sit and wait, held an umbrella for Ariella as he asked.
“No, I’ll stop by the Emperor’s palace for a bit before returning. I have someone to meet.”
When Ariella shook her head, Adam looked puzzled but followed her without asking further.
As far as he knew, there was no one Ariella would meet at the Emperor’s palace. If she intended to meet the Emperor, she would have mentioned it earlier.
As Adam thought, the person she intended to meet was not the Emperor. However, he was someone who worked closest to the Emperor.
Fortunately, even without prior contact, she was able to meet the person without difficulty.
“Lady Ariella…… no, Lady Ari, what brings you to find me? So secretly like this……”
Fabian Robinson, the eldest son of the famous swordsman, the Robinson family, and a servant of the Emperor’s palace, spoke with a bewildered expression.
At twenty years old, he looked particularly youthful, almost as if he hadn’t yet reached adulthood, and the combination of his large green eyes and long limbs resembled a deer.
Moreover, he had a very gentle personality, and he was so timid that he would run away at the sight of a rabbit, leading the nobles of Edinburgh to mockfully question whether he was truly the child of a swordsman.
Fabian appeared extremely tense just from the fact that a high-ranking noble had come to see him. Just looking at him made one wonder how he had made such a choice with such a personality.
“I won’t speak at length. I don’t have much time either.”
Seeing Fabian unable to keep his hands still, Ariella clicked her tongue briefly. Then she asked directly.
“Do you love Countess Anabelle very much?”
When Lady Annabelle was mentioned, Fabian’s face turned pale as if he might faint at any moment.
“W-What do you mean? How could you say such a thing to someone who serves His Majesty…!”
“Indeed. How could someone who serves His Majesty dare to covet my master’s woman? You don’t seem to have such a bold character.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
He took a step back without realizing it, desperately trying to lie, but it was meaningless.
“Tuesday morning, in the suite at Hotel Mercedes. Should I say more?”
As soon as the exact date and place were mentioned, Fabian could no longer refute and merely trembled in fear.
If it had been someone else, they might have insisted on seeing evidence and denied it to the end, but his nature was not so harsh.
“…I-I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry!”
As a result, Fabian naively admitted it right away.
“Please don’t tell His Majesty, and please don’t tell my father. Please! If you do, I’ll die, I beg you…!”
Moreover, he revealed his weakness without hesitation. He was such an easy person that it made the various threats she had prepared feel futile.
Ariella slowly tilted her head toward him, who was begging as if he might kneel.
“…Could it be that you also made that choice because of Lady Annabelle’s coercion?”
“…What?”
“There are many other victims besides you. Those whom the Countess forced into bed, promising that if they listened to her, she would give them treasures, all while making false promises to ensure they would never be discovered.”
Fabian’s green eyes widened and then shook with betrayal.
‘She said it was only happening to me…!’
It was clear what he was thinking.
It was ridiculous. To have someone else’s mistress as his lover and feel betrayed upon hearing that she had another man. Was this even logical?
Ariella trembled with disdain but continued to speak as if she pitied Fabian.
“A victim who was abandoned by the Countess and severely punished as soon as the truth reached His Majesty said that. Lady Annabelle only enjoys that moment and has no intention of taking any responsibility. After all, she is well favored by His Majesty, so if discovered, only her young lovers will suffer.”
“…!”
“Forcing someone to drink unhealthy tea and imposing preferences is the same. She does it because she doesn’t love and has no intention of taking responsibility.”
