Chapter 121 - Scandal

Luri looked at the excited Valdrova and spoke.

"As Lord Ferda is the host of the banquet, the role of the hostess is equally important."

"So by hostess... you mean me?"

"Yes."

"Hmm..."

Valdrova lowered her head.

No matter how much she admired the event and wanted to attend, now that it concerned her personally, fear overtook her first.

Naturally, Luri had seen right through her disposition.

"Lord Ferda is planning to perform a dance there."

"A dance?"

"It’s called the Waltz—a dance where a man and a woman move together in harmony. It’s a basic accomplishment for nobles."

"A man and a woman together..."

The man would be Ferda.

The woman would be herself.

The moment she imagined the two of them as a pair, her heart began pounding wildly.

Because of her enormous frame, the heavy thumping of her heartbeat echoed clearly.

"What if... I say I can’t go...?"

"Then Lord Ferda will dance with another partner."

"Mmm..."

Valdrova fell into deep thought.

Just imagining him dancing with another woman made her chest ache even more.

No matter what, she had to attend.

"Then... what if I go wearing my armor...?"

"That’s impossible."

Fearing she might suggest resizing the armor, Luri answered even more firmly than usual.

"More importantly, wouldn’t that put Lord Ferda in a difficult position? He would have to lead someone over two meters tall. Besides..."

"Besides?"

"If you accidentally stepped on his foot, you’d crush every bone in it. If your plan is to cripple him, then I fully support it—but that’s obviously not what you want, is it?"

"Of course not."

In her dragon form, her armor alone weighed several hundred kilograms.

Naturally, the fragile Ferda would never be able to endure that.

Realizing Luri had a point, Valdrova nodded.

Watching her hesitate to make a decision, Luri spoke again.

"Not attending is also an option."

"Do you truly mean that?"

"Yes."

Luri nodded.

"My Master embodies the Aspect of Fire and the Aspect of Strength. You are an immortal being who does not casually reveal herself before humans. It would be better to preserve that air of mystery."

"...I suppose you’re right."

As though she had found the perfect excuse, Valdrova cleared her throat and nodded repeatedly.

Luri knew that if left alone, she would simply hide herself away even more.

After all, Luri had served her longer than anyone else as her attendant.

"I almost forgot to mention something."

However, there was one thing Valdrova didn’t know.

This retreat was merely one step back to advance three steps forward.

"Did you know Olivia Arken came today?"

Valdrova froze.

She knew Olivia was called the Golden Rose of the Empire and was immensely popular among men.

Ferda was a man as well.

"I... knew roughly."

"Then did you happen to see her when she arrived?"

"No. I was working."

"That woman personally taught Lord Ferda."

"...Are you saying she danced with my fiancé?"

"Yes. They held hands and practiced the Waltz without music."

"For nearly four hours."

"...Four hours."

Even hearing that Ferda had held Olivia’s hand had already made her feel miserable.

But dancing?

For four whole hours?

A man and a woman.

Together.

For four hours.

It felt as though the world inside Valdrova’s heart had turned dark and gloomy.

"Do you know what that means?"

"What does it mean?"

"It means Lord Ferda wants to dance with you, Master."

Her gloomy mood instantly vanished.

Valdrova fluttered her tiny wings excitedly and snorted happily.

Then her body gradually began to shrink.

Her scales slipped beneath smooth skin, and her form finally transformed into that of a beautiful young woman.

A woman with gentle eyes that seemed completely unsuited to the Aspect of Fire and the Aspect of Strength.

With a determined expression, she declared,

"I-I want to try that... Wal-girl thing!"

"It’s Waltz."

Considering how she usually behaved, "wild girl" wasn’t exactly inaccurate.

Seeing everything unfold exactly as she had intended, Luri smiled inwardly in satisfaction.

"I’ll teach you how to dance."

"Huh? You know how to dance?"

"I didn’t before."

"But I came to know it."

She had watched four straight hours of dance practice.

During that time, she had completely mastered every movement and every detail.

Ironically, Ferda—the one actually receiving the lessons—still couldn’t move his feet properly, while Luri had memorized everything perfectly.

One thing was certain.

Olivia Arken was an excellent teacher.

Ferda, on the other hand, was hopelessly uncoordinated.

"Please imagine that I’m Lord Ferda."

"Try holding my hand."

"But Mr. Ferda isn’t this small..."

"That’s why I’m telling you to imagine it, Master."

"O-Okay... sorry..."

She had unintentionally hurt Luri’s feelings.

Valdrova gently took Luri’s hand and looked down at it.

’This is Mr. Ferda’s hand...’

Once she consciously imagined it that way...

It truly began to look like his.

The hand that warmly embraced her.

The hand that made her heart race just by looking at it.

Mr. Ferda’s hand.

Crack!

Or rather...

It had been.

"Kyaaaaa!"

"..."

"M-Mr. Ferda! N-No, L-L-Luri!! Is your hand okay? W-What do we do?!"

The one whose hand had been crushed remained perfectly calm.

Meanwhile, the one who had crushed it was in complete panic.

Luri quietly looked down at her own hand.

Her fingers no longer responded, hanging limply.

Looking at it, Luri came to a realization.

Teaching the Waltz wasn’t the urgent problem.

With a sigh, she said,

"First, let’s practice controlling your strength."

Preventing Valdrova from accidentally committing homicide had to come first.

***

The planners Olivia had arranged from the Empire finally arrived.

They entered with several luxurious carriages, immediately beginning preparations for the banquet and the festival.

They devoted themselves wholeheartedly to ensuring everything would conclude successfully, paying attention not only to events inside the castle but also to Hestia Village outside its walls.

Since the only thing Ferda needed to worry about was how much would be spent on the Festival of the Beginning of Spring, everything proceeded smoothly.

"These are letters of greeting sent from all across the Cerdes Continent."

She poured a box full of letters onto the desk.

There were enough letters to drown in.

"That’s an incredible number."

"This is after filtering them multiple times."

"I narrowed them down to around four hundred based on regional influence and future potential."

"You handled all of this alone?"

"If I had, they never would have been sent on time."

"I worked together with Miss Mori."

So that explained why her complexion looked unusually radiant.

Only 250 people could attend the Festival of the Beginning of Spring.

Ferda now had to eliminate the remaining 150 himself.

He began reading through the letters.

"I sincerely support Regent Ferda Valdrova’s construction of Hestia Village. I am..."

They all praised Hestia Village—a place most of them had never cared about before.

They introduced themselves, emphasized their noble status, and subtly expressed their hopes for the festival’s success while making it obvious they wished to attend.

Every single letter followed the same pattern.

"There is one more letter."

"Though this one is rather... exceptional."

The word "exceptional" puzzled Ferda.

But after seeing the sender, he immediately understood.

"It came from Duke Yurei’s household."

"What do you think?"

After losing the war, the duchy had been burdened with enormous debt.

The farmers crushed under that debt had fled to Hestia Village in search of freedom and survival.

From Duke Yurei’s perspective, Ferda was little different from a kidnapper.

"I believe it’s better to invite them after all..."

Duke Yurei was the greatest victim in all of this.

If they refused to send an invitation simply because the situation was awkward, it would only hand him another reason to claim victimhood.

"Besides, the one attending would most likely be the Duke’s son."

"That’s true."

The Festival of the Beginning of Spring celebrated the arrival of spring.

By tradition, only unmarried young people could participate.

It was a social gathering for the younger generation.

For such an occasion, Olivia Arken served as exceptionally attractive bait.

People of the Empire might see her repeatedly at tea parties and official events.

But for those outside the Empire, even catching a glimpse of her was extraordinarily difficult.

’At least everything is proceeding according to plan.’

He only hoped things would continue without anyone interfering.

Unfortunately, the world rarely moved according to anyone’s wishes.

Bang!

The door burst open violently.

Contrary to the powerful entrance, the one who walked in was a petite young girl.

Without her usual maid-like composure, she strode straight toward Ferda and demanded,

"Have you perhaps been saying the wrong things to people?"

What’s gotten into her?

"That’s rather aggressive."

"I’m sorry... and yet, at the same time, I’m not."

"I’ve just received some information."

She handed him the telegram she had received.

The moment he read it, he understood why she was so furious.

Seeing it himself, Ferda felt both dumbfounded and furious.

"A rumor has spread throughout the Empire that Regent Valdrova and the Imperial Princess of Arken are romantically involved."

"What are we supposed to do about this?"

***

When Olivia had first announced that she would be coming to Valdrova Castle, Ferda had considered countless worst-case scenarios.

Among all those possibilities, there had been one that worried him the most.

’A scandal.’

There were occasions when a noble lady had no choice but to stay at a man’s residence.

However, because retainers and knights maintained strict supervision, such situations rarely became a major issue.

But the more beautiful the jewel, the more noticeable even the smallest flaw became.

And the higher one’s status, the more devastating even the tiniest rumor could be.

’Especially for Olivia.’

As an Imperial Princess, preserving her chastity and conducting herself beyond all suspicion was part of her duty.

To those who admired her, Ferda Valdrova was the enemy.

If this incident damaged those relationships, it would be disastrous for him.

Yet rather than political calculations...

One face occupied his thoughts above all others.

"...Does she know?"

His voice carried restrained anger.

Luri answered calmly.

"Not yet."

"But eventually, she will."

"..."

What would happen when Valdrova learned the truth?

He felt as though she might kill someone.

The anxiety made his heart pound so violently that he wanted to rip it out of his own chest.

"...Haa..."

Ferda took a deep breath.

Getting angry would solve nothing, so he had to deal with it.

"I suppose it’s time to have a conversation."

Having no other choice, he decided to contact the Imperial Palace and speak with Olivia.

As someone at the very heart of the Empire, she would surely know how to handle a situation like this.

"It’s nothing more than harmless gossip."

Unlike the anxious Ferda, Olivia sounded completely relaxed.

Since she understood the importance of reputation better than anyone, he couldn’t dismiss her words as naïve.

Ferda asked why she thought so.

"Harmless gossip?"

"Think about it. Did we actually do anything that would justify such a misunderstanding?"

"No."

"I didn’t stay overnight, and we remained in the reception room the entire time. The Commander of the Knights stepped outside briefly, but my attendant was inside the whole time. Isn’t that right?"

"That’s correct."

"And Lady Luri Silverwind has sworn loyalty to Lady Valdrova. Of course, if that loyalty extended to covering up an affair, then the story would be different, but..."

"If anyone had done something that foolish, I would’ve torn their head off."

Luri cut in with a chilling voice.

She never specified whose head she meant.

But judging from her expression, Ferda was fairly certain it would have been his.

Even so, Olivia answered without missing a beat.

"Just as expected of someone so loyal. We have witnesses, so that’s more than enough."

After hearing her explanation, Ferda’s anxiety eased somewhat.

"Still, the fact that the rumor has spread is troublesome. It could become fuel for hostility toward the Regent."

"Exactly my point. That’s why I contacted you."

"Oh? So you need my advice?"

"Whatever the case, you’re far more experienced in matters like this. I need your counsel."

"Hmm... So you need me."

Olivia let out a pleased little laugh.

Then she made a suggestion.

"In that case, how about this? Ask me to dance during the banquet."

No matter how he looked at it, that hardly sounded like a solution.

"And then what?"

"I’ll politely refuse."

"Wouldn’t that just make it look like I got rejected?"

People would simply assume he harbored romantic feelings for Olivia.

He wasn’t particularly eager for Olivia to come out looking like the winner.

"Oh my, so that’s how you see me? Regent, do you think my image is comparable to that of a Witch?"

"Not at all."

After meeting actual Witches, Olivia practically looked like an angel by comparison.

"Don’t worry. As the host, it’s your duty to dance with young noble ladies who don’t have partners."

"Does that duty still apply to the Flower of the Empire? I doubt you’d ever be left without a partner."

"You really don’t know, do you?"

"I don’t dance with any man."

Only then did Ferda understand.

Olivia gathered her thoughts and explained further.

"As the host, you’ll dance with the other young ladies and then approach me."

"It must appear that you’re doing your duty as the host, not that you have feelings for me."

"If you present it that way, I’ll refuse your invitation to dance."

"Will that really be enough?"

To Ferda, it didn’t address the root of the problem.

How could that single scene possibly clear everything up?

"Yes."

"You don’t even need to make any public statement."

"In fact, saying anything would only invite more trouble."

"Time itself will naturally prove the rumor to be nonsense."

"And what makes you so certain?"

"I can tell just by looking into your eyes."

"...My eyes?"

"You always try so hard to look dignified."

"But you’re absolutely terrible at acting."

"So just keep being yourself."

Olivia suddenly insulted him without warning.

"Anyway, this is only harmless gossip, so don’t overthink it."

"I should be going now."

"If we keep talking, people might start another rumor."

"Understood."

"Thank you for the advice."

Ferda ended the communication spell and stared silently at the ceiling for a moment.

"Luri."

"Yes?"

"What did she mean when she said she could tell just by looking into my eyes?"

Luri met Ferda’s gaze.

She looked at him as though asking, Is that really a question?

"I know."

"What does it mean?"

"It’s a secret."

"But just as Her Imperial Highness said, that alone will be enough."

"Hmm..."

"I see."

Feeling considerably relieved, Ferda leaned back into his chair.

"So, has that improved your mood?"

"...No."

That was one matter.

This was another.

Ferda couldn’t let this situation slide.

Who was the bastard trying to test me?

’The Commander of the Knights was probably where it started.’

He served the Emperor, not Olivia.

But he wasn’t likely the mastermind.

After reporting it to the Emperor, the information must have spread through several people.

’I need to find them.’

He had to discover what that person’s objective was.

No...

Their objective didn’t even matter.

He simply had to destroy them.

With that thought, Ferda opened his desk drawer and took something out.

It was a black hood.