Welcome To The Imperial Palace (7)

After returning from hell, Alicia’s daily life changed completely.

She was plagued by sudden fame and showered with inexplicable kindness.

She was praised to an odd degree.

A life in the spotlight had come out of nowhere.

She was buoyed by flattering words she didn’t understand, then struck and clawed by sharp ones.

“They don’t like you, my lady.”

Judith quickly unraveled everything Alicia had ruined and laid down a fresh base.

Even while speaking, she embroidered faster than Alicia, who was only adding accents.

Her gentle-looking hands were both cautious and quick.

Alicia, almost entranced by Judith’s deft hands, snapped out of it and tried to focus.

“Why?”

Talking while doing delicate handwork was difficult.

When she spoke, her hands stopped. When her hands moved, her thoughts and words stalled.

“That I don’t know. That’s something you’ll have to figure out. But if I had to guess, I’d say they just dislike you—no reason needed.”

Judith spoke while finishing her work.

“So who is it?”

Alicia asked again.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not to me.”

“It’s unlike you to be so unprepared. I hope you proceed carefully. It’s Lady Viviana Vib Manners.”

Alicia’s hand stopped.

Judith pushed aside her own completed piece.

She stared at the wrinkled cloth in Alicia’s hand with a slightly regretful gaze.

Under Judith’s silent urging, Alicia slowly moved her hand again.

“Viviana Manners, huh.”

Alicia resumed her embroidery with her face, scrunching her brows and pressing her lips tightly as she stitched.

“She’s the third daughter of Marquis Manners. Lady Maude, now in the harem, is the eldest, and the second child is a son. All three are born from the Marchioness, and they say the siblings are very close.”

“Find out more.”

“Understood. …No, that’s not it, my lady—not that side!”

While speaking, Alicia had lost her orientation and was about to ruin her stitching.

Judith snatched the wrinkled cloth from her bear-like hands.

“This is seriously irritating.”

Judith held her tongue.

It was hard to tell whether Alicia’s frustration came from her stalled embroidery or the petty, offensive rumors.

“Next year, I believe you’ll be able to embroider your own name, my lady.”

Judith gently corrected the damaged area.

“Didn’t you say this winter a moment ago?”

“I must’ve had a moment. Winter’s just around the corner.”

Judith showed the completed embroidery after a few quick movements.

“I’ll need to send a light warning first.”

“A warning?”

“Send a bundle of calla lilies to Lady Viviana—under my name.”

Callas were most commonly used in weddings.

They also adorned coffins at funerals.

Flowers that marked both the beginning and end of life.

Perfect for saying, “I know who you are.”

“As you wish.”

The Manners family had a history as long as the imperial palace.

When people spoke of Baden’s oldest estates, the Manners mansion came up right after the palace.

They were a prestigious family that had produced four chancellors across generations.

Recently, their prominence has risen even higher.

It was the Manners family that had borne the Emperor’s first child, something neither the Empress nor any concubine had managed.

Another daughter of the Manners family—Viviana—was enjoying every day lately.

Though some sniped at her or raged in jealousy, none of them posed any real threat.

Viviana had been born and raised in Baden, a city known for its ruthless competition.

Her experiences were fundamentally different from those of rural nobles who boasted of titles from backwater provinces.

“My lady.”

At her maid’s call, Viviana, who had been humming, changed her expression.

“What is it?”

The cheerful humming instantly shifted into the voice of a refined noblewoman.

At her question, the maid stepped quietly into the room.

“Flowers have arrived.”

“Flowers?”

She’d received plenty of gifts lately—enough to grow bored of them.

But flowers? That was unexpected.

No one would be foolish enough to send such trivial things to the family that bore the Emperor’s first child.

“Yes, addressed to you, Lady Viviana.”

The maid offered up a large bouquet she held in her arms.

“Calla lilies.”

Viviana, who had been sitting at her tea table, rose to accept the bouquet.

Now that Maude was in the harem, it might’ve come from someone trying to curry favor with the imperial family by marrying Viviana.

The maid, seeing Viviana smile while accepting the bouquet, bowed and withdrew.

“Who sent—hm?”

Tucked inside the lush bouquet was a card.

Someone was using a style that hadn’t been in fashion since forever.

With a snort, Viviana opened the card—then her face froze.

[From Alicia Rain.]

Pure white callas. Deep crimson callas.

The long, sleek stems of the oval-shaped flowers created an elegant arrangement.

Some stems were very long, some slightly shorter, others relatively short—balanced to create a full, flowing bouquet.

Thunk.

The beautiful calla lilies fell from Viviana’s arms.

Moments later, pretty flowers were crushed beneath a vicious stomping foot.

The false rumors about Alicia continued.

At first, she brushed them off as the price of fame, but the exaggerations grew so severe she could no longer ignore them.

Even the palace attendants and maids—who were rarely swayed—began to look at Alicia differently.

She could hear murmurs and whispers behind her back as she passed.

“Is it true the Grand Duchess-to-be is arrogant and disrespectful?”

“Her expression is cold, but has she ever really acted rudely?”

“Maybe she keeps her head down in the palace, but how would we know if she acts differently with other nobles she sees as beneath her? It’s scary. You never know with people.”

Alicia was not immune to this kind of treatment.

She would’ve preferred fighting monsters in hell.

It was almost unbearable—the calm faces throwing frigid glances, whispering just loud enough to be heard.

If they attacked directly, she could at least retaliate, but instead, everyone just tiptoed around her.

Alicia had just left from paying respects to the Empress and was on her way to the harem.

“……”

Approaching from the opposite side was a group returning from the harem to the Empress’s quarters.

“Oh my.”

“That’s Lady Alicia.”

“These days…”

“Let’s go.”

As they drew near, the noble ladies who had been chatting quietly fell silent and offered faint, ambiguous smiles.

There were four of them—Alicia was alone.

Among the four, one was Viviana Manners, whom Alicia knew well.

Alicia bowed her head politely, but Viviana, leading the group, swept past without pause.

Because she had only slightly dipped her head, Alicia couldn’t be sure whether Viviana returned the gesture or ignored it entirely.

The four noble ladies brushed past Alicia at a pace that was almost a trot.

“……”

This was the infamous social hazing of Baden’s elite circles.

“The weather is so lovely today.”

“Spring is almost here!”

In the distance, the noble ladies laughed together, dressed in bright, colorful gowns.

To an outsider, it might have looked like a group of innocent young girls enjoying a cheerful morning.

“What a bunch of crazies.”

The Alicia of the past would have been heartbroken and fled in confusion.

She might have frozen up, crushed by the shock of being shunned by peers her own age.

“It’s still cold—what spring? Idiots. Are they deranged?”

But the Alicia of now was unfazed.

She found being blatantly snubbed unpleasant, but it wasn’t anywhere enough to make her cry.

She was the type of woman who cursed the feverish fools who couldn’t even feel the weather properly and went on about her business.

After pausing briefly to send a frosty glance their way, Alicia turned on her heel.

As Alicia left the harem, she heard the sound of someone crying.

The delicate voice trembled with worry.

“I just wanted to be friendly, but she wouldn’t even acknowledge me…”

The sobbing voice was almost heartbreaking.

The soft sniffles that followed stirred pity.

“She walked away like I wasn’t even there…”

The voice, filled with forced cuteness, now spilled over with hurt and embarrassment.

Whoever it was, they had apparently encountered someone quite cold.

“I was so humiliated…”

Alicia walked along with her maid, listening to the sorrowful tale.

The power plays of noble society often drove people to tears.

Even for something as simple as a greeting, nobles calculated pride, rank, and the political climate before they opened their mouths.

Who could it be?

Alicia silently cursed the cruel person who had made someone cry.

The sobbing voice grew closer.

“Oh my, is that what happened?”

“There are rumors about the future Grand Duchess, but she’s well-liked in the harem, so I didn’t believe them…”

“Please don’t cry.”

The maid walking ahead of Alicia hesitated.

“……”

Alicia also came to a stop at the sound of her own title being mentioned in the conversation.

Surely not.

She didn’t immediately realize that she might be the one who’d made someone cry.

It was just too absurd.

Her mind went blank.

Ahead, by the fountain garden near the harem, a small crowd had gathered.

Several court ladies and noblewomen visiting the harem were surrounding a tearful young woman.

Viviana Manners, weeping pitifully with a sorrowful expression, hesitated the moment she spotted Alicia.

Alicia stood quietly, watching the ridiculous scene unfold.

Others noticed Alicia standing behind her maid with a cold expression.

Everyone’s faces turned awkward as their eyes darted around.

No one wanted to take sides.

On one side was the future Grand Duchess, backed in all things by the Emperor himself.

On the other was the younger sister of the Emperor’s concubine carrying his first child.

Choosing one side could be dangerous—if the two reconciled, those who took sides could find themselves in a bad spot.

It wasn’t just a personal matter—it was a politically treacherous one.