Winter (8)

“It was because I had something to say that I brought you here today.”

“Do you have an order for me?”

“I was going to leave for Tessen soon.”

At Alicia’s words, Judith set down the tea she had been smelling.

Only then did I understand the atmosphere of lingering regret that I had sensed around the grand ducal residence on the way here.

“Tessen?”

“I wanted to hear Judith’s plans.”

Judith was currently handling many matters under Alicia’s command.

Not only Alicia’s affairs, but the Croa Clan’s matters kept her busy as well.

To get work done, it was better for her to remain in Baden.

“I was going to stay in Baden a while longer.”

Judith made the decision quickly.

“There wouldn’t be anything particular in Tessen, so that would be better. How were you doing, Judith?”

Alicia nodded and agreed with Judith’s words.

I found it hard to believe Alicia’s claim that nothing would happen in Tessen.

The last time Alicia went to Tessen, many things had happened.

Judith and the Croa Clan had been thrown into a frantic rush because of it.

“I took care of the house in Entai where I used to live.”

Judith did not say how she had dealt with the house.

In Baden’s social circles, Judith was known as a promising embroiderer, but she planned to gradually erase that identity when the time came.

The Croa Clan had long used the method of giving their master a public profession as a cover, but that approach had great strengths and great weaknesses.

“It was good that you took care of Entai, but I didn’t want Judith to hide herself.”

At Alicia’s words, Judith lowered her gaze and drank her tea.

Seeing the way she played dumb in a manner that resembled herself, Alicia let out a laugh.

“Judith.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Judith answered while openly keeping Alicia at arm’s length.

“Did you have friends?”

Alicia picked a refined quarrel.

“……Of course.”

Judith’s bright dark-brown eyes wavered uneasily.

Her timid face, unlike her confident posture, looked pitiable.

“Who?”

Alicia pressed on as if continuing an attack.

“Flora and Agnes…….”

Judith stammered out the names she cherished most.

“They were your younger cousins—practically your sisters. And at the same time, Judith, you were Flora and Agnes’s guardian. It was true that family could be the best friends, but you couldn’t live with only family.”

Alicia knew Judith had the kind of personality that made friends easily.

Even in Entai, where there were barely any villagers, Judith had blended in well—enough to guess.

Now, Judith was deliberately cutting off her human connections.

“Judith is still young. Being the master of an information clan was fine, but it wasn’t too late to choose after gaining varied experiences. An ordinary daily life isn’t only a bad thing.”

Alicia regretted the years Judith had lived passively, but she didn’t think that time had been pointless.

She believed those experiences had shaped who she was now.

“When someone asked who Judith’s friends were, I hoped you would say my name. I didn’t know if it was because I was making things hard for you, but when I answer that question, I would count Judith as one of my friends.”

Judith’s face clouded.

“Your Highness being my friend… that is more than I deserved.”

“The Croa Clan master was important, but the embroiderer Judith Pelmen was important too, wasn’t she?”

Alicia said what she had wanted to say at least once.

“I won’t forget those precious words.”

Judith replied with a face that seemed a little lighter.

“I didn’t call you here to scold you.”

At Alicia’s words, Judith shook her head.

“I didn’t think of it as scolding.”

Alicia was grateful for Judith’s answer.

But more than gratitude, she felt sorry.

It was Alicia who had pushed Judith into the Croa Clan.

Judith becoming the Croa Clan’s master might have helped protect herself and her family, but it benefited Alicia even more.

So Alicia worried and felt guilty that Judith might live only as the Croa Clan’s master.

“I was going to put you to work again.”

Alicia spoke playfully.

Judith’s soft cheeks twitched.

“Your Highness. ……What is it?”

“I wanted to hold a small banquet—partly to introduce Judith to friends. At the banquet, I wanted to propose an exhibition of Judith’s work.”

Alicia’s words were kind.

“An exhibition? I am not an artist. I don’t paint, I don’t perform. I don’t write, either. I can’t handle jewels…….”

Judith spoke with a bewildered face.

In general, social-circle exhibitions were about painting or music.

Even if the standards were broadened, writing was only sometimes included.

“Why wouldn’t a promising embroiderer be an artist?”

Nobles valued high-quality embroidery, but they didn’t elevate it as “artwork.”

At social banquets, when people displayed goods, they usually looked at jewels, dresses from famous boutiques, and accessories to gauge trends.

“So you are saying I should show my embroidery at Her Grace the Grand Duchess’s banquet?”

“Yes.”

Judith stared at Alicia with a face full of suspicion.

It was a look that said: Don’t joke with me.

“I… aren’t I going to be laughed at?”

Judith asked in a voice steeped in distrust.

Dresses were the biggest issue in social circles, but the individual embroidery on a dress was typically judged only by whether its quality was high or low.

“Who would laugh at me?”

Alicia let out an arrogant remark with ease.

“That’s true. Then I’ll do it! I wanted to make friends, and I wanted to show my embroidery to people.”

“Good. I was going to gather only friends and hold a simple party before leaving for Tessen. The place for the exhibition was the banquet hall of Adelheid House. Let’s go look.”

If I had to name the most influential person in Baden right now, it would have been Alicia.

If I displayed work at Alicia’s small party, I would become a figure of gossip in an instant.

There was no better environment for making friends than this.

As I met people, there would be friends I liked and friends I didn’t, but as Alicia said, it seemed better to try many experiences.

“I’ll work hard!”

“I was the one who should ask for your help, Teacher Pelmen.”

Alicia took Judith with her to Adelheid House.

She showed her the hall and talked about how to arrange the works.

Beside the two as they exchanged opinions, Henrik added a word or two.

His comments were stylish and fresh.

In an instant, the mood shifted—Henrik began walking around the hall, speaking actively to Alicia and Judith.

‘A party!’

Rapture burst across Henrik’s face.

It was a party he had waited for a long time.

Not even a few hours after Alicia and Judith began preparations, word spread through the entire grand ducal residence that the Grand Duchess of Tessen was planning a party.

The rumor that spread through the residence soon spread into Baden.

Specific talk circulated: Alicia was inviting those close to her and holding a party.

Baden’s social circles bristled, focused on who would receive an invitation to the Grand Duchess of Tessen’s first party.

In an instant, Alicia’s party rose to become the greatest topic of interest among noblewomen and ladies.

Henrik smiled in satisfaction at the rumors floating through Baden.

Excited at the prospect of hosting a party that drew the attention of all nobles, he clasped hands with his wife Connie and bounced his shoulders in a jaunty dance.

From the day after Alicia made plans for a small banquet, Eleanor repeatedly summoned Reichardt to the Empress’s Palace.

On the first day, Eleanor silently drank tea with the Grand Duke. On the second day, she quietly held out her hand.

Reichardt, oblivious, honestly said he had nothing to offer her.

Eleanor told Reichardt something incomprehensible—that Alicia would tell him soon.

After hearing the situation from Reichardt, Alicia sent the Empress a very long letter.

If the Empress attended, it couldn’t be a small banquet.

She emphasized that the party she was holding was a small gathering among friends, a modest occasion to introduce a young friend’s work.

Eleanor felt disappointed, but she was someone who understood her status as Empress well.

She secured the pleasure of helping Alicia’s banquet and postponed attending for later.

At Eleanor’s instruction, Henrik laid in Adelheid House’s banquet hall the same carpet used in the imperial palace.

He refurbished the orchestra area.

He additionally hung a special chandelier the Empress had sent.

To express gratitude for the Empress’s favor, Alicia first displayed three of Judith’s pieces at the Empress’s Palace.

Eleanor decided to purchase all three works.

Because they were pieces meant to be shown at the party, Eleanor’s purchase was set as a reservation, and the works would be displayed as planned.

Hearing the news, Judith bit her tongue while drinking tea.

“……You said it was a small party…….”

A face with white, soft cheeks grew weighed down by pressure.

“It is a small party.”

Alicia comforted Judith and showed her the attendee list.

The Royal Symphony from the imperial palace, sent in place of Empress Eleanor.

Lady Josephina Lirin, heir of the House of Duke Lirin.

Pauline, Marchioness of Istevna.

Viscount Brennel, Anne Brennel.

Daisy Ronoc, Baroness of Ronoc.

Albert, the McMahon Count’s son.

Octavia Stein, Viscount Stein.

And Reina, a lyre performer who had recently been drawing attention in Baden.

Those Alicia invited were fewer than ten.

But each name threw Judith into chaos.

In a kind voice, Alicia told her that members of the grand ducal residence would attend as well.

Henrik, Baron of Rens, and Connie, Baroness of Rens, who would prepare the party together.

The other host of the venue, the Grand Duke of Tessen, Reichardt Tessen.

The Grand Duke’s adjutant, Count Roderick Rosa of Berman.

Judith, staring at the expected list, burst into the fiercest expression of emotion she had shown since I came to know her.

“You’re doing this to torment me!”

“How could my friends do something like that?”

“Why are all your friends like this!”

“Judith. Don’t cry. Judith’s works are all wonderful, so you don’t have to worry. ……I wasn’t that close with her either, but the Marchioness of Lennox is coming too. They said His Grace was threatened by the Marquis of Lennox and handed over an invitation. As you could tell from the list, it was hard to refuse.”

Judith ran off in tears, shouting that she needed to go check her pieces.

Her cry—how many royals were even on the list—echoed faintly behind her.

“I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

Watching Judith run off with a pained look, Alicia muttered to herself that making friends was difficult to begin with.

She had no intention of telling Judith that even the Emperor and Empress, though not coming, had demanded invitations anyway—and that the invitations had been taken.

Surely… they wouldn’t come.

There was the slightest unease, but Alicia wasn’t overly worried.

At Adelheid House’s banquet hall, soft music spread through the air.

It was the Royal Orchestra’s performance.

Those Empress Eleanor had sent in her stead poured their whole hearts into the music.

Alicia found it troubling to run the banquet while letting their music pass as mere background when it deserved full attention, but she acted with composure.

She was going to greet guests at the entrance.

The first guest was Judith, who would be displaying her work.

“…….”

Judith wore a vivid orange dress and let her hair fall neatly.

The brightly colored dress drew full, rich lines, but the design itself fell in clean simplicity.

Her accessories were also restrained—only a single ornament pinned to her neatly brushed hair.

But on a face marked by youthful, plump cheeks, she wore intense makeup that emphasized her features.

With makeup alone, every trace of childishness vanished perfectly.

Under that powerful, aloof gaze, she felt as if she should kneel.