MPBAGS Chapter 95

"Where shall I take you?"

"To the imperial palace."

After stating the destination, I got into the carriage. No matter how skilled a coachman he was, he couldn't compare to Melech. The carriage began rolling along with a rattling motion. I was getting motion sick, so I kept looking out the window, and before I knew it, the rain had stopped. The clouds cleared and the moon revealed its gentle radiance. Lady Totten gazed blankly at the sky.

"The rain has stopped."

The rainy season that had been pouring for several days had finally ended. The moon was disgustingly beautiful.

"Lady Totten. Do you know what date it is today?"

"Yes. Of course I do."

Lady Totten looked puzzled, as if I was bringing up something out of nowhere. I had actually been wondering whether to say this or not, but I decided to go ahead.

"Please never forget today. We stole death from Ryder, didn't we? We robbed Ryder of the chance to be mourned and stole his eternal rest too. So let's at least remember his death anniversary."

I took out a jeweled flower from my pocket and handed it to Lady Totten. This was a crystal flower that Misha had given me as a bonus, saying it was practice material when she was crafting my ruby flower. It didn't suit my debutante dress well, so I had brought it thinking I might give it to Gabriel.

I never thought it would be used for this purpose. This was my floral tribute to Ryder.

Lady Totten accepted the crystal flower. Then she clutched the jewel as if it were precious and burst into tears. Lady Totten cried like a child, wailing loudly.

She sobbed miserably while pouring out what had happened. That Ryder had been very sick for five days, and that he had finally departed to heaven today. Everything from Ryder's last words to how she had come to find me with the desperation of clutching at straws.

"I will never forget today. Since it's His Highness the Crown Prince's birthday, I couldn't forget it even if I wanted to."

Lady Totten made this promise to me with reddened eyes. By the time Lady Totten finished her story, we had nearly reached the imperial palace.

"We've almost arrived."

Lady Totten, who had set down her burden, looked much more at ease than before.

Since the rain had stopped, I opened the window and looked outside. Wow, the imperial palace is across the river. After crossing a huge suspension bridge, I could see the magnificent main gate. That's supposed to be a gate? I couldn't close my mouth at the sight.

The gate was guarded by royal guards, and they seemed to be inspecting each carriage.

"They're checking the entry roster to see if you're qualified to enter the imperial palace."

Lady Totten, who had returned to being the perfect noblewoman except for her reddened eyes from crying, explained why the carriage had stopped at the castle gate. The inspection was incredibly strict even though we weren't crossing a border. Well, since it's the imperial palace, they have to be careful because assassins could sneak in. After checking each team in turn, it was finally our turn.

"Please show me your invitation... Hic! This person's neck is twisted...!"

Since I had opened the window, I could hear voices from outside. But the pronunciation was slurred, so I couldn't make out what they were saying clearly. Twisted? Are they telling someone to turn around? Oh, maybe the coachman doesn't have an invitation. Henna called a guard to draw attention this way.

"If you're looking for an invitation, here it is."

"No, the invitation isn't the problem right now, it's the coachman, the coachman's neck is... What? Did I see wrong? He looks fine."

"What are you talking about?"

When Henna asked back, the guard tilted his head in confusion but took the invitation. Then he confirmed the Rohanson Count family name written on the invitation and asked accusingly.

"The Rohanson Count family? Count Rohanson already entered though."

"Count Rohanson departed first, and this carriage carries Miss Rohanson, who will have her debutante today, and Marchioness Totten, who is her chaperon."

"Miss Rohanson...?"

The guard looked into the carriage as if doubting those words, and our eyes met. I tried to smile and nod in greeting, but the guard turned pale and bowed his head deeply.

"I, I, I'm sorry!"

Just how far has Evangeline's infamy spread? At this rate, she could be called the capital's most notorious villainess without shame. I've gotten so used to people trembling and being frightened when they see me. At least this guard isn't pressing his head to the ground like the maids at the mansion - he's just looking down, so it's relatively mild.

After passing the inspection and going through the castle gate, we traveled a bit more and arrived at the venue where the banquet was being held.

"How splendid."

"Isn't it?"

It was truly a castle surrounded by light. The imperial palace looked like a building made of gold. The light reflecting off the river made it look even more magnificent. There's no LED in this era, so how did they create such lighting? Must be magic after all?

And finally, the carriage stopped. The place where this Crown Prince's birthday banquet was being held was called the Lion Palace, and true to its name, lion sculptures were fearsome with their mouths wide open.

Henna got out first to escort me, but suddenly another hand appeared. Just from the long, straight finger joints, I could guess the owner.

As expected, when I looked up, I saw a completely different deep blue hue from mine. I hadn't seen blue skies lately due to the continuous rainy season, but seeing Gabriel's eyes made it feel like the weather had cleared. Oh, the rain really had stopped.

"Sir Gabriel."

"Good evening, Miss Rohanson."

Since we had parted on bad terms last time, it felt like I was seeing him after a very long time.

His long eyelashes fluttered. Maybe because he was dressed up, his appearance was even more striking today. Perhaps it was because his hair was nicely swept back, revealing his features clearly? Anyway, since he's the male lead, he's disgustingly handsome.

I accepted Gabriel's escort with admiration and got out of the carriage. Since it was the entrance, there were many people and carriages were crowded, but fortunately it wasn't as noisy and attention-grabbing as walking a red carpet. Rather, it seemed deathly quiet.

I was suddenly grateful that white gloves were mandatory for debutante attire. Gabriel's hand, felt through the thin fabric, was colder than usual. Had he been waiting outside?

"Have you been waiting long?"

I arrived much later than the scheduled time because I had stopped by the Marquis's residence. He wasn't cold from waiting outside all this time, was he?

"I saw the Rohanson family's auspicious bird from afar, so I was waiting."

Auspicious bird? More like an ominous bird.

By the way, the Rohanson Count family's symbol was a phoenix split in half like a decalcomania. The reason it's split rather than two birds is because phoenixes are unique in the world. This was also something my etiquette teacher Dolly had taught me.

"Tonight you're even more dazzling - I thought a star had fallen."

He's using the praise Misha taught him here. I thought he'd be dejected after I rejected his confession, but why is he being so cheeky today? Gabriel really has thick skin. I thought I made it clear that I had no intention of dating him and was just leading him on.

"You remember what I said before, right?"

We're just having a fling. You know that, right?

"Yes. I remember. But there are many eyes watching today. Above all, people at the temple know that I admire you, Miss."

What? He's been spreading that rumor around? Gabriel really doesn't think about tomorrow sometimes. This man who only knows how to accelerate...

Well, originally I had agreed to stick with Gabriel to somewhat neutralize the harsh rumors about me and avoid the temple's suspicion. While also using the fact that my spirit affinity was rock bottom to catch those who had stolen and used my summoning circle without permission.

"Then I'll gladly play along."

Since I pushed him away last time, it's time to pull him in today. I need to maintain a proper push-and-pull dynamic so Gabriel doesn't run away from my fish tank. Time to use the special training I received from Dolly. And it's time for my old romance novel knowledge to show its true value.

I smiled brightly with sparkling eyes. Since he was shocked seeing me smile last time, I practiced smiling intensively in front of the mirror for two days. I asked Daisy if my smile looked like Evangeline's, but Daisy hesitated and said she had never seen me smile. Was it because she was a villainess that she didn't smile? That's why my facial muscles are so stiff.

To Gabriel, who likes Evangeline's face, it must have been shockingly beautiful, as Gabriel froze and lost his words. Oh dear, this fool. I tapped his arm to make him come to his senses and pointed to Lady Totten who was getting out of the carriage behind me.

"Sir, Lady Totten has come."

Gabriel looked at Lady Totten getting out right behind me without surprise and greeted her warmly.

"It's been a long time, Lady Totten. I was worried since there was no contact."

"I'm sorry. There were circumstances..."

Gabriel didn't pry into the circumstances, seemingly out of consideration for Lady Totten. Or maybe according to his character setting of only being warm to my women, he might genuinely not be interested in what happened to Lady Totten.

"Now that Lady Totten has come, we won't need Bishop Marik's help."

Since I came with Lady Totten, I don't have to feel threatened for my life while dangerously accompanying an exorcist, right? Since I'm a romance novel possessor, it might be different from cases like Melech where a ghost possessed someone, but it's still just a hypothesis. I'm scared I might get physically exorcised without anyone knowing while I'm being careless.

"Is Bishop Marik inside the banquet hall?"

"No. She already left before you arrived, Miss."

"She left?"

"Yes. It seems the Archbishop called for her. She said since you would come with a chaperon, we could be together next time when there's an opportunity."

"...Bishop Marik must have known that Lady Totten was coming as a chaperon."

So that's why Gabriel wasn't particularly surprised to see Lady Totten.

How did Bishop Marik know that? She said she had put surveillance on me, so that seems to be true. But Jelly and Pudding had been eliminating everyone suspicious who got attached to the mansion... I don't know how the information got through their surveillance network. As expected, exorcists can't be trusted.

Maybe she put surveillance on Lady Totten's side instead of mine. She had seen through Lady Totten's seclusion, and she also knew that the lady had readily agreed to be my chaperon.

"Bishop Marik...?"

Lady Totten quietly recited the name. Are they acquainted? Then maybe they contacted each other rather than surveillance.

"Do you know each other?"

"You could say that. That woman is the one who ordered me not to sell holy water."

However, contrary to my expectation, Lady Totten showed her hostility without reservation. She hadn't been this fiercely angry even at Diess, who had been wielding an axe, but her hatred for Bishop Marik was clearly evident.

"Bishop Marik prohibited holy water?"

"Yes. As soon as bad rumors about Ryder spread, she said that given public opinion and the fact that he was cursed, she could no longer provide holy water to him."

This was the story I had briefly heard from Gabriel before. So Bishop Marik was the one who blocked the distribution of holy water. As expected, Bishop Marik was indeed the suspicious and merciless exorcist toward evil beings that I had analyzed her character to be.

I completely understood why Lady Totten felt disgusted just hearing Bishop Marik's name. Just looking at all the various forms of religious artifacts decorated in the mansion showed how much Lady Totten believed in the Sun God, but a bishop of the Sun God, instead of actively revealing the truth and clarifying things, branded him as a "cursed child" as if the rumors were truth without properly investigating the facts.

"She said holy water wouldn't be needed anyway since it didn't work on him. Looking back now, I think Bishop Marik's choice was right. Ryder eventually..."

Lady Totten laughed self-deprecatingly while lamenting, then suddenly became startled and glanced at Gabriel as soon as she unconsciously called Ryder's name. It seemed like a slip of the tongue because saying holy water was no longer needed meant Ryder was dead.

"Ryder will eventually be healthy enough not to need holy water. Right?"

"Yes, yes... That's right."

When I quickly added words to cover up the mistake, Lady Totten agreed.

We had coordinated this during the carriage ride - it seemed better not to let news of Ryder's death spread, so we decided to keep it secret from Gabriel too.

Honestly, I briefly wondered if it might be okay to tell Gabriel, but Lady Totten seemed to want as few people as possible to know the truth, so I decided to keep it hidden. Above all, Gabriel was a holy knight, and he didn't seem like he would take kindly to the story of a ghost possessing a child... Gabriel's blue eyes were quietly unreadable. Gabriel, who had been maintaining silence, opened his mouth.

"Ryder is..."