CH 5

****

“You look exactly like your father, after all.”

The old lady, who had been staring at Odette for a while, finally spoke her first words.

Her eyes flickered slightly, but Odette did not show any displeasure. The overly straightforward way of speaking was a little perplexing, but nothing new. Because the members of the imperial family who saw Odette generally reacted this way. The resemblance of her face to her father’s was the main reason for their dissatisfaction with Odette.

“Indeed. I’m glad he had something for his daughter. After all, he was a man who turned the whole empire upside down with just that great face.”

The old woman looked around the house, saying something completely unexpected. Just the frown on her brow could tell what she thought of this house.

Odette looked at her with her eyes filled with the bewilderment she could no longer hide. A strange old lady who came without contact and immediately rang the doorbell, introducing herself as the Countess of Trier, the emperor’s cousin. It was a surprise visit, but she was always calm and dignified.

“What about the Duke of Dissen?”

After completing the search, the old lady asked a sharp question.

“Father is out, Countess. He will probably be very late.”

“It’s a relief that I don’t have to go through the pain of seeing that pathetic bastard.”

The Countess of Trier, who poured out outspoken accusations, grabbed the teacup. Odette had taken out the tea leaves she had been saving and carefully brewed the tea, but the old stranger made an expression as if she had drunk dirty water.

Odette gently lowered her eyes and looked at the teacup in front of her. It would have been a little better with milk and sugar, but unfortunately, all the food was out of stock. At the moment when that was a little upset, the Countess let out her long sigh.

“I don’t want to speak unnecessarily farfetched, so I’ll get to the main point. A marriage proposal has come in for you. There is a prospective groom introduced by the royal family.”

“Marriage proposal?”

Odette was greatly shocked and asked back. It wasn’t sad news that she was worried about, but this was also shocking news.

“The emperor wants you to get married. What’s the point of me coming here if he doesn’t want me to be a matchmaker?”

“Why did His Majesty suddenly… why… “

“They must be using you to dissuade Princess Isabelle. Your future husband the imperial family has found is Bastian Klauswitz.”

The Countess of Trier concluded this marriage talk with a cynical comment. Looking at her puzzled expression, Odette seemed completely oblivious to the situation.

There was no way a child who lived this kind of life knew the news of the social world.

The Countess of Trier let out a deep sigh and shook her head.

She knew very well that the fallen family of the Duke of Dissen was struggling, but the reality she witnessed with her own eyes was far more horrifying than she had imagined. The floors and windows swept and polished to a shine, and the shabby furnishings marked with the best care made the house look even more sad.

“The Emperor wants you to marry the officer whom the Princess loves. The officer is a commoner of a humble origin. It’s an unacceptable status for a princess’s mate.”

The Countess of Trier told the truth as it was.

The Klauswitz were regarded as a cultured family.

Although they did not have titles, they were a merchant family that had run a profitable business for generations. It started out as a grocery store supplying the imperial family and expanded their territory, so they had a strong network of contacts throughout the social world.

There was a period of rapid business expansion, but there was a period of stagnation, but now he was in the ranks of the wealthy called the railroad king of the empire. It was safe to say that Klauswitz of this generation, who even had a mother from a prestigious aristocratic family, was accepted as a member of high society, but Bastian Klauswitz, the eldest son left by his mother, his father’s first wife, was an outsider. It was because of the lowly maternal lineage.

A man, an antique dealer from the slums, had grown into a well-known moneylender before his hair was full. Rumors that he was raking in all the money in the shadows were rejected enough to be accepted as a fait accompli, but the more he did, the more his reputation deteriorated.

Antique Dealer. The shadow that had hung before the name of that lowly moneylender all his life was now in the hands of the grandson he had raised. The nobility preferred the pejorative title of grandson of the antiquarian to the name Bastian Klauswitz.

“Although he is the son of a rich family, he is not the heir because he is not in favor of his father. Perhaps he will have no choice but to live as a soldier for the rest of his life. He’s quite competent in that regard, so if he’s lucky, he might be able to grasp a position as a naval admiral.”

The Countess of Trier concluded the introduction of the groom in her meek tone.

The Emperor had reached out to her, the old relative whom he had forgotten about because no one was willing to take on the task. 

The groom was the grandson of an antique dealer and the bride was the daughter of an abandoned princess. What kind of crazy royal family would want to dip their feet in this kind of dirty water? If she hadn’t had a deep friendship with the emperor, she wouldn’t have gotten involved in such a low-level matchmaking either.

“To be honest, I think the emperor is doing something pointless. Although he is in a position where he is despised and ostracized in the social world, the grandson of an antique dealer is a good groom. There’s no way he wants to be the son-in-law of someone like your father.”

The Countess of Trier, unable to hold back her itchy mouth and adding to her words, habitually grabbed the teacup. She remembered the taste of the terrible tea when the chipped teacup had just touched her lips.

Odette, who had been watching the scene, quietly got up and went to the kitchen. After a while, she returned with a glass of water on a tray.

The Countess of Trier looked at Odette with a new surprise.

She was a child who moved gracefully as if walking on water. Her slender body with sensual curves and her perfectly balanced posture even reminded her of a dancer at first glance.

“Then will the Countess please convey my wishes to His Majesty on my behalf?”

After emptying the lukewarm water at once, Odette asked a cautious question. The Countess of Trier laughed, raising one of her eyebrows.

“Do you really think you can refuse this marriage?”

“I’m sure it will do me no good…”

“Calm down. The emperor didn’t ask you to do anything like that. He gave the order.”

The Countess of Trier clicked her tongue and folded her loose arms.

“Does that mean I must see that officer knowing I’ll be rejected?”

“I’m glad you’re not a dim-witted child.”

“Why do I have to obey an unreasonable order?”

“Because you are the daughter of the Duke of Dissen and Princess Helen.”

A mark of atrocities committed by the selfish and foolish lovers and a stain on the imperial family.

The Countess of Trier did not try to hide the sincerity behind her words. It would be harsh to ask the children for the sins of their parents, but there was some validity to the emperor’s view.

“And, my dear, it seems to me that this is also a golden opportunity for you. You will never have the luck in your life to find a better husband than this.”

“But Countess. I’ve never even thought about getting married.”

“I understand why you have such a thought seeing you grow up with such a father.”

There was a faint pity in Countess Trier’s eyes as she looked at Odette, who had turned blue.

“However, in a house like a beggar’s den, like a housemaid who has never been even as good as a maid in her life, and takes care of your useless father. You can’t possibly live like this for the rest of your life.”

The Countess of Trier slowly rose from her seat and approached Odette.

“Let’s try it somewhere.”

A hand in a soft silk glove wrapped around Odette’s pale cheek.

Every time she blinked, the shadow created by her exceptionally long eyelashes shook. She had a detached expression like an old woman who had lived through the hellish world, but her eyes were absolutely innocent. The atmosphere created by that incongruity was quite impressive.

A satisfied smile appeared on the corners of the old lady’s wrinkled mouth as she examined the face like a competent appraiser.

“You never know. Maybe the grandson of the antique dealer is the man who is blinded by a woman’s face.”

***

“You are here, Master.”

Butler Lovis, who was waiting at the front door, politely bowed his head.

Bastian, who sent a brief glance, climbed the stairs of the mansion with faintly tired steps.

The banquet held at the naval headquarters ended at dawn. Although the pretext of boosting the morale of the officers was put at the forefront, in the end, it was a position whose main purpose was meaningless jokes and laughter, and the sharp politics hidden behind them.

Bastian accepted both drinks and laughter from both sides. He had no intention of participating in the battle for high-ranking positions in the Navy, but since he would be wearing the military uniform for several more years, it was better to maintain an amicable relationship.

“I got a call from Mrs. Gross. She left a message asking you to contact her as soon as you hear this news.”

The voice of Lovis, who was following at a reasonable distance, permeated the stillness of the night.

Bastian nodded lightly and walked down the silent hallway. It seemed that the marriage talk had reached his aunt’s ears.

“And a letter addressed to you has arrived.” The butler hurriedly passed Bastian and opened the bedroom door, delivering another piece of news.

“This is a letter from Lady Odette.”

Bastian had just taken off his tailcoat jacket when the butler mentioned the unexpected name.

“Lady Odette?”

“It’s the name of the emperor’s niece.”

After accepting the coat, Lovis quickly added an explanation.

“Ah. That lady.”

Bastian, who handed the loose bow tie to the butler, walked slowly towards the table. A pale blue envelope sealed with wax lay neatly on top of the cigarette box.

It was the etiquette of nobles to wait for their high-ranking lady to contact them first.

It may not sound like it, but it was the law of that world, so he decided to respect it. Of course, what he wanted the most was not to be contacted forever.

It was last weekend that he was suddenly introduced to his bride. The Marquis of Demel, a naval admiral, urgently sought Bastian. He said that he had an order to convey urgently.

Upon hearing the news after returning from the polo club, Bastian headed for the Demel’s residence without even changing his clothes. He never dreamed that such absurd news would be waiting for him.

The emperor wanted to introduce him to the daughter of the Duke of Dissen, using his close friend, Admiral Demel, as a matchmaker.

It was wrapped in a plausible guise of a reward for a hero, but in the end it was an order, and it was a stern military name at that.

For a while he was dumbfounded, and once he got his head around it, all of this became unbearably ridiculous. Bastian laughed as he did that day and undid his cufflinks.

It was obvious why the emperor would do such nonsense. Princess Isabelle. It must be because of that troublesome child.

It was an insult, but Bastian did not object. Even the emperor could not force him to marry. So, it was best to show sincerity enough to save the emperor’s face now and then sort things out later.

“Good job. Go rest.”

Bastian ordered as he opened the cigarette box. He had a regretful look on his face for not being able to fully complete his task, but Lovis quietly withdrew without commenting.

With a cigarette in his mouth, Bastian approached the window, holding the letter from the woman between his fingers. When he opened the window, a sweet breeze blew in that made him forget his drunkenness for a moment.

Bastian turned his head to where the wind blew. Spring flowers were blooming in the garden, which had been desolate just a few days ago.

This town house, which was once owned by a famous nobleman, had a garden worth seeing. It was thanks to the taste of the previous owner that he had a deep knowledge of gardening.

After a few moments, long enough for the faint annoyance to dissipate, Bastian slowly lowered his gaze to the letter in his hand. On the front of the envelope, on the lower right hand side, there was a name written in elegant handwriting that presumably belonged to the woman.

Staring at the name, Bastian couldn’t help but chuckle. The smoke that flowed from between his moist red lips drifted away in the softer night breeze.

“Odette Theresia Marie-Laurie Charlotte von Dissen.”

Bastian read the long name as if humming the melody of a song.

Lady Odette.

The woman had a name of a royal after all.