AWLITEB Chapter 13

Genos's body jerked violently.

Never in his life had he encountered a scent this potent. You could bury yourself in a flower field and never smell anything like it.

Isabella's eyes sparkled.

Before those eyes that glittered like someone had plucked down the Milky Way and embedded it there, Genos became, for one brief moment, a young man starved for love.

By the time he realized it, it was already too late.

"Ugh!"

Isabella shouted and kicked Genos's body with all her strength.

It wasn't particularly strong, but Genos, caught in her seduction ability, was pushed straight to one side of the bed.

Isabella, having exhausted her energy significantly, panted and quickly escaped from the bed.

"That's enough, haa, you have to pass me. I can't do any more."

At Isabella's words, the love that had filled Genos's eyes slowly cooled and disappeared.

"Experiencing it directly is more peculiar than I thought."

Genos murmured and flopped onto the bed, pressing his cheek against it with a laugh. Pleasant anticipation rose all the way to his throat. Enjoying that ticklish feeling, Genos grinned.

"...Your Grace?"

What is this. Is there still seduction energy remaining?

As Isabella looked at him with puzzlement, Genos slowly sat up.

"Yes. Let's end the lesson here. Well done."

"..."

"Developing your ability further will come later. Once you learn how to distinguish and use the three types, there will be plenty of uses for it."

Genos spoke with a satisfied smile. He looked as happy as someone who'd found a lump of gold.

Isabella swallowed dryly.

Somehow her heart pounded in a mad sprint.

"Am I, useful enough?"

Isabella asked carefully.

"I don't have to return to the White family, do I?"

Genos laughed briefly as if asking what kind of question that was.

"You're asking if you don't have to return?"

"..."

"It's more accurate to say you can't return."

"Pardon?"

"From the moment I picked you up on the Night of the Witch, you already couldn't go anywhere. Didn't you know?"

"..."

"Is there anything you want to eat for breakfast?"

"Y-yes?"

Genos simply tilted his head at an angle and looked at Isabella as if asking whether she hadn't heard.

"Ah, that... sandwiches. With lots of meat."

"I'll have it prepared. Sleep well."

Genos showed a sweet and charming smile toward his useful war horse and left the bedroom.

As the door closed, Isabella stood blankly for a moment before collapsing onto the bed.

Then a subtle smile settled at the corners of her lips.

Someone needing you felt much better than she'd thought.

And she liked that it wasn't because of flimsy reed-like emotions such as love or sympathy, but because of a desire for power.

Such burning desire doesn't fade until the goal is seized.

So it was far more trustworthy than ridiculous emotions like love.

With a pleased heart, Isabella buried her face in the pillow.

Genos's estate felt a little more comfortable.

When Isabella stood from her seat, Genos stared at her intently.

"I'm just reaching for the salt."

His gaze was so persistent that Isabella ended up explaining defensively.

"This?"

Genos pointed to the salt grinder placed closer to him and asked.

His pretty index finger tapped the grinder. Tap, tap.

The words "Is there any other salt besides that?" tickled Isabella's throat.

"Yes, that."

"Sit."

"...Pardon?"

"Sit down."

Genos gestured lightly with his chin.

Isabella found herself sitting back down.

"Bring it with your magic."

"Magic..."

"You can't only use it to punch holes in people's bodies. You need to learn some control."

"I thought lessons were at night?"

Through Isabella's eyes, he could read the unspoken question: Can't I eat in peace? But Genos didn't budge.

"Before your identity as a witch is discovered, if you want to kill everyone with a higher succession rank than me, you need to save time. So we need to hurry and refine your witch's power. Don't you think?"

The Grand Duke spoke only words that couldn't be refuted.

Isabella calmed her mind and reached her hand toward the grinder.

The grinder began to shake little by little.

As Genos watched the scene with bated breath—

Crash!

Red light shot from Isabella's hand and shattered the glass grinder into pieces.

Isabella gasped in shock, clutching her chest and panting.

Genos looked at the broken glass and nodded calmly.

"Right. Eating too much salt isn't good anyway."

"I didn't mean to break it though."

"It's fine. We'll just have a new one brought."

Genos headed toward the door when Paile knocked and entered first.

"Is there something you need?"

Seeing Genos away from the table, Paile asked quickly.

"The salt grinder broke."

"Oh my. Are you injured anywhere?"

"No. The cleanup can wait too, just bring a grinder."

"Yes, Your Grace. I'll give you the letter first."

Paile respectfully held out a silver tray.

Genos picked up the letter from the tray. Paile offered the paper knife that was also on the tray, but Genos waved his hand in refusal.

The letter was sealed with the imperial crest stamped in melted pure gold.

Paile went outside, and Genos returned to the dining table with the letter.

"It seems the letter you've been waiting for has arrived."

Genos carelessly tore open the envelope and pulled out the paper inside.

"Is it a letter from the imperial palace?"

"Yes."

Genos said while quickly reading through the text.

"They're telling us to come greet them at the palace before announcing the marriage."

Genos sighed as if this was inevitable and spoke irritably.

"Surely, I have to come too?"

"Of course. They're saying they want to see my fiancée, not me."

The Grand Duke shrugged as he casually set down the letter.

Inside the rattling carriage, Rosalie wore an unpleasant expression the entire time.

Now was not the time to waste on tea parties.

Of course, Rosalie was a young lady who loved all parties. She loved large-scale parties with ballroom dancing, and she loved small tea parties with delicate desserts laid out.

Any party was good as long as there was a stage to show off the White family's wealth and her own beauty.

But not now.

"Isabella. That damned b*tch."

Rosalie muttered while chewing her nails.

It had already been several weeks since Isabella disappeared. She'd sent people to comb through every orphanage and homeless shelter within walking distance like searching for lice, but couldn't find a trace of her.

There were two possibilities.

Either she was already dead from starvation or an accident, or she was hiding somewhere like a snake, lying flat on the ground.

"Trying to escape from our hands?"

Rosalie shook her head.

Having picked up and raised a girl whose origins were unknown, she should have earned back her keep.

If they could obtain more gemstone mining rights, it would elevate the White family's honor and make her an even more confident Grand Duchess. Because wealth was something you could never have enough of, no matter how much you had.

Then they wouldn't need to dabble in illegal affairs anymore. Once they finished cleaning things up properly, they could even sue those spreading dirty rumors for spreading false information.

"Besides, everyone already knows I have a younger sister, so it would be troublesome if she just disappeared like this."

If they explained she died suddenly, no one would say anything to their faces.

But behind their backs, they'd gossip that it was ominous for a family member of someone becoming part of the imperial family to die so abruptly, saying it was a sign of bad things coming to the palace.

So Isabella, that damned b*tch, absolutely could not disappear like this.

The carriage stopped.

Today's tea party location was the estate of Duke Romea.

Elena, the beloved youngest daughter born to a ducal family that had only sons in a row, was the host of the tea party.

The Romea ducal family was, in terms of honor, a family that no other house in the empire dared challenge.

As a family that held the nation's founding contributors and knights who'd distinguished themselves in every major battle, there were even rumors that they didn't have enough walls to hang all their medals.

For the White family, whose aristocratic legitimacy was always questioned, they were the most enviable family.

"Hello, Rosalie."

Rosalie, who had been stepping out with the coachman's escort, raised her head.

Elena was waving her hand with a bright smile.

Elena unusually had short hair that didn't go past her shoulders for a noble lady. The black, glossy bob suited her liveliness prettily.

"Elena. It's been a while."

Rosalie also smiled as if delighted to death and greeted her.

"Is everyone here? I hope I'm not too late compared to the others."

"Don't worry about that. Nobody's here."

"What do you mean?"

When Rosalie stopped walking in momentary confusion, Elena smiled.

"I sent letters to everyone else saying the tea party was canceled today."

"What? Why?"

"Because I wanted to talk with just you."

Elena linked arms with Rosalie.

This was the first time Elena had shown such a friendly gesture. Elena, like other noble ladies, had always kept a subtle wall around Rosalie.

While feeling her heart swell, Rosalie tried hard not to show it.

"Just with me?"

"Yeah. When I thought about it, I've never had tea alone with you, have I? I've had it several times with the Violet and Bess sisters, and I've had private conversations with other girls often too, but strangely I never had the chance with you, Rosalie."

Rosalie could of course understand why Elena was acting this way.

Violet and Bess had clearly spread rumors through society circles.

Since the palace ball wasn't far off anyway, it wouldn't be a big problem.

No, even if there were some problematic elements, Rosalie had no intention of silencing them. She didn't want to give up this thrilling satisfaction.

"After we have tea, want to go somewhere fun, Rose?"

Elena walked toward the estate's beautiful garden while firmly linking arms with Rosalie.

"Where?"

"The palace!"

At Elena's lively exclamation, Rosalie's face flushed. The corners of her mouth rose uncontrollably in sharp points.

"The palace?"

"Yeah. I'm one of the Empress's ladies-in-waiting. But the Empress receives me maybe once a year, if that. You know, right? That the Empress always stays in her chambers."

"Yes, I know."

"But I still have to go to the palace on scheduled days. Just in case the Empress changes her mind and wants to have a conversation with me. But most of the time I just spend time alone feeling bored and come back."

"But even so, is it okay for me to enter the palace?"

"It's allowed for the Empress's ladies-in-waiting to bring their friends. Of course it's limited to once every six months, but I'll use that opportunity for you, so don't worry."

"Really? Is it really okay for me to go?"

"Of course. And..."

Even though there was no one around to hear, Elena deliberately cupped her hand and spoke into Rosalie's ear.

"You're going to become the Grand Duchess anyway. What's wrong with visiting your future in-laws?"

At Elena's words, the corners of Rosalie's mouth split wide.

Yes, Elena was right.

Who would criticize visiting one's in-laws, especially when invited by the Empress's lady-in-waiting?

"Actually, I knew you were in a sweet relationship with His Grace the Grand Duke long before the rumors spread through society."

Elena whispered with a secretive smile.

"What do you mean?"

"My cousin serves in the honorable knighthood. And a while ago at a family gathering, I heard from him. He said he saw His Grace the Grand Duke with a young lady from the White family on a night road."

"A night road?"

"Yes. On the Night of the Witch's Birth."

The Night of the Witch's Birth would be when she'd invited His Grace to the estate. But they'd never gone out on a night road together.

"He said he saw him with a very elegant and pretty young lady in fine clothes near the White estate."

Right, maybe he'd seen them when she went out to see the Grand Duke off.

Rosalie quickly formed a lovely smile to match the situation.

"Oh my. I tried to be careful."

"Even when I heard that story, I thought you two looked really good together. So when the rumors started spreading through society this time, I was so happy."

Elena's constant eye-smiling and fawning to show her approval looked quite pleasant.

"So, you'll go to the palace, right, Rosalie?"

"Yes. As you say, Elena, it would be good to go casually."

Rosalie's face drew an even more relaxed smile.

Genos knocked on the toilette room door. Tap, tap.

Actually, it was embarrassing to even call it a toilette room—it was just a dressing room.

Since the house was designed without considering the possibility of a noble lady residing there, they hadn't set up a separate toilette room.

"Your Grace. It's almost done. Please wait just a moment!"

A maid's voice came from inside the room. This was also his first time waiting for a woman to dress up.

After waiting quietly like that for a while, the door finally opened.

"She's truly beautiful."

The maid whispered and opened the door wide.

Isabella wore a modest lavender dress with her hair braided and draped to one side.

Since they were going to the palace, they'd chosen a modest dress without much volume, but the maids had insisted on sticking jeweled flower decorations here and there in her hair.

Isabella was excessively thin, but objectively speaking, she was a beautiful girl.

The Grand Duke thought so while looking at her with a cold gaze.

"Isn't it too flashy?"

Isabella asked the Grand Duke awkwardly.

The maids were vigorously waving their hands beside her, insisting absolutely not.

"It's fine. Everyone knows how much money the White family has, so acting too plain would look ridiculous."

The Grand Duke answered and reached out his hand toward Isabella.

Isabella grasped it without hesitation.

The Grand Duke seemed pleased by this and smiled briefly.

The timidity that had been wrapping Isabella's body like a shell was slowly peeling away.

"Let's go, fiancée."