Chapter 67 - 22. By Personality (3)

Even though she didn’t give much evidence, he believed that she would give him Europa, so Carl did everything he was told to do like a slave.  So Fanora thought she should grant his small wish as a token of gratitude.

“Wow! Will you make it come true?”

Carl whispered after checking once to see if anyone was listening. “I want to spar with Lady Fanora again!”

“…”

At this moment, Fanora recalled the spar with him in the warehouse.

“Um.”

It reminded her of the face of Carl, who mercilessly aimed at the vital point regardless of their status, or his expression when he was immersed in a fight and smiled even after being beaten by her.

“Ummm…”

After returning from the flashback, Fanora looked at the man’s sparkling eyes in front of her and turned away. “Y-you lost. Why would I grant your wish when you didn’t achieve something? Ah! I have urgent matters to do, so I will leave now.”

Swosh. She grabbed the hem of her dress and quickly disappeared. Left in the shade, Carl looked like a squirrel who lost its acorn.

* * *

It was a little after that.

I feel sorry for him, but I have to stay alive first. After getting out of the empty seats and moving to the prepared beverage table on the other side of the venue, she looked around. Then, in the distance, she saw a woman in an elegant pose.

“Godmother!”

Hair that glowed like it was covered in ashes. The middle-aged woman, who tied it up neatly, turned around when she heard a familiar voice.

“You just happened to come. I was just about to bring up your story.”

“Yes?”

“Now, this is Lady Amore, the daughter of Shaintrix.”

But then, a small woman hidden behind Countess Maquis lifted her head. She had a very lovely appearance, as if she was the fruit of affection of the Shaintrix family that created the tradition of the jousting tournament.

“Greetings, my name is Amore Shaintrix.”

“Lady Amore, this is my goddaughter…”

“I already know. It’s Fanora Celsius, right?”

A rosy cheek, moist eyes that were blue as if they contained the sea, and plentiful disheveled hair with a peach color. Fanora looked closely at Amore, whom she had met for the first time, and greeted her politely. “Nice to meet you.”

However… When she returned the gaze she had lowered to greet her, she saw a strange sight.

“…You said you wanted to meet me?”

“Yes. I’ve heard a lot of good stories about the Shaintrix family since I was young, and I’d like to say hello to a lady of similar age to me…”

Although she had lived an innocent and good life for 20 years, Fanora wasn’t a fool. So it was easy for her to notice the young lady in front of her was displeased with her. But why?

She was externally known as the prospective duchess. Besides, since she had only shown her perfect figure so far, didn’t she have the status which wasn’t bad to get along with? Why is she warry to me?

When Countess Maquil, who introduced them, left them, Fanora made some sweet words praising her opponent. However, Amore’s negative attitude didn’t change easily.

“Ah, yes.”

“…”

Amore clearly showed that she was forced to hang out with Fanora because Iva Maquil requested her.

There are other children of the Shaintrix family, so I don’t have to bring her to my side. Still, I’m curious about the reason. Then what should she do? Fanora pondered for a while and decided to quote a phrase she saw in the midnight novel.

<#3. Madam Creed’s Salon (Evening)

Vasago, who was looking at the participants of the salon, greeted them warmly when she saw a familiar face.

Vasago: Amore. I heard the news. Thanks to the hot spring water in your estate, Mishel’s son’s illness has been cured.

Amore: I don’t know what to say because Princess already knew it!

Vasago: Others say that the territory of Shaintrix is desolate and has no tourist attractions, but I think the existence of the hot spring alone is worth the Shaintrix family.

Amore looked moved by Vasago’s words.>

“Ah, by the way, Shaintrix’s estate has a hot spring that is good for the body, right? From a long time ago, I was more attracted to places with such practical tourist attractions rather than beautiful landscapes with flowers and fields.”

“!”

“So I’m considering staying at Shaintrix after this social season ends.”

Amore had already made up her mind that no matter what Fanora said, she wanted to leave this place quickly. But when Fanora started praising the hot spring, her reaction changed.

“Our… hot spring? It’s a small place, so it’s not even famous.”

“Of course not! My mother told me about your estate when she was alive. She said that it is much more effective than a place like Parvo, which is famous for its hot spring town. The composition of the water is more important, so why does the size matter?”

“T-that’s right. It’s not just about size.”

“I was so weak that I couldn’t even go to a small tea party before my debutante, so I’m particularly interested in it for my health.”

I knew it. Amore had the same reaction as in the novel.  She didn’t like her estate being looked down on and seemed to take great pride in the hot spring within her estate. With this, it seemed that the door to her heart had finally been opened, so it was time to take a step forward.

“By the way, if I go sightseeing this winter, may I ask you for guidance?”

“My guidance…?”

“Yes. I don’t travel often, so I’m clumsy. And I want to get help from a kind person like Lady Amore. I’ve already thought about returning the favor. Will you listen to it?”

A sweet voice with a smile. As Fanora spoke with a soft demeanor, Amor nodded her head, half swept away.

“Aah, Aloken, who participated in the debutante last year, told me before. He said that the harp you played at that time was very beautiful…” The praise that came out of Fanora’s mouth was a lie from the beginning.

“I wonder what it would be like if I gifted you a luxury harp? The strings were made from sinews of the Gamiel whale.”

She would give the Shaintrix family, who lack financial resources, a harp like that? Upon hearing her words, Amore let go of the wariness she had shown so far and made a tempted expression.

She’s still young. Well, it was the time when you were greedy for things. Fanora just calmly looked at her with her eyes shining. It was then.

“I can feel… Lady Celsius cares for my family and me with every word you say. Compared to the Duke’s family, my family is very small and insignificant…”

Amore looked skeptical and began to look around. Then, holding her hands together on her chest, she spoke cautiously. “If it’s okay with you, I will guide Lady Celsius in the winter.”

Fanora wasn’t satisfied with that remark and immediately made the next move. “By the way, winter is still far away… I’m very curious about your beautiful harp performance that Aloken talked about, which even makes me can’t sleep.”

“I can’t believe he complimented me that much.”

“If you don’t mind, can I also listen to Lady Amore’s performance? Is your schedule free this week?”

As Fanora spoke with a wry smile on her face, Amore immediately nodded.

“Just in time, my mother is holding a concert this week… Then Lady Celsius, would you like to come?”

“Ah! I’m so happy.”

Thus, Fanora succeeded in contacting Amore Shaintrix, a character in the novel. Her future work depended on her efforts.

* * *

It was 10 days later.

“As expected, listening to Amore’s performance makes my fatigue disappear. I always imagined what the sounds of angels’ performances would feel like when reading books. Still, I think your performance really describes those words!”

“Lady Celsius did well too.”

“Compared to Lady Amore, I’m still a long way off. Ah, did your mother teach you the harp? I think Madam Shaintrix was famous for performing well in her youth…”

“Hehe. Yes! Well, my mother…”

Fanora visited Amore every few days. With the magic of midnight, she curried favor with Amor according to her taste, which she knew from the novel, and acted like her tongue. She knew how Amore was moved by her. Thanks to her efforts, the distance between the young ladies quickly became close.

“Lady Celsius.”

But one day, Amore, who was about to go shopping with Fanora, stopped in front of the carriage and suddenly agonized over something. Amore finally called her with a determined look.

“I think I’ve misunderstood Lady Celsius. So, I have something to tell you.”

Oh my gosh. Judging from her attitude, it must be about her reason for being wary. There was nothing to lose by listening to her. Fanora readily accepted, and soon the two entered the carriage.

“Then let’s talk as we go…”

“Oh my, Lady Amore. I heard your father is well-versed in art, but this carriage is really cool.”

“Ah! You recognize it! Everyone thought it was ready-made and didn’t notice it.”

Fanora rode in a small carriage with unusual round windows. After that, the door closed, and the carriage started to run towards the shop street. Amore cautiously opened her mouth amidst the rattling noise.

“Ahem, so, what I want to tell Lady Celsius…”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

Amore, who saw Fanora’s reaction, carefully brought up the story she had heard. “In fact, I was offended at first at the request of Countess Maquil. Because of the thought of how could Madam take such a person as her goddaughter and introduce her to me…”

“!”

“Because I’ve heard rumors about you before I actually met you. Lady Celsius… that…”

Amore chose her words for a moment before she blurted out the identity of the rumors she had heard.

“These days, rumors like this circulate at every party attended by young nobles. You were originally the lover of a noble, after promising to marry him… and sharing affection…”

When she noticed in the middle, Fanora only smiled mildly, saying, “Go on.”

“When Duke Aloken appeared in society, you betrayed your lover and had an affair with Duke Aloken because of your greed for power…”

“…”

“I’m really sorry. But I realized it while talking to you in person today. You’re a person who shows pure kindness even to a noble without much power like me.”

Pure kindness. That statement was wrong, but Fanora didn’t bother to correct it.

“Besides, it’s the same with the last jousting tournament. Duke Aloken is not an idiot, so he would have known if you had such a disturbing past, but he is really into you.”

“Yes… what…”

“B-but I have a good reason for believing this. I don’t usually get swayed by rumors easily.”

And at this moment, Fanora remembered. One day in the midnight novel, when her scandal was piled onto the table, Amore encouraged the extras to say that they had also heard the rumors about Fanora.

You don’t get swept away by rumors on such a subject? Let’s hear how far you can go. Fanora’s dark eyes became slightly cold. However, Amore didn’t notice this, and she informed Fanora of the important fact.

“Then, how did you come to believe the false rumor?”

“That’s… it’s because the party involved says it with their own mouth. They say it directly, so I never thought it would be a lie.”

While being the party to the rumors that Fanora had an affair, only one person could directly talk about it.

“Huh, did the young master of Demangdwi say it himself?”