Chapter 74

Even though Lady Siena had disrupted the gathering, the banquet proceeded without any major upheavals and eventually came to a close. As I was leaving the room, chatting with Lady Natalie, a voice called out to me from behind.

“Lady Letitia, may I have a moment of your time after this?”

“Lord Galon, good evening. What is the matter?”

“…………It’s about the chandeliers.”

I nodded slightly at Lord Galon’s hushed voice. After parting ways with Lady Natalie, I followed Lord Galon through the palace. The room we were led to was the same one where we had just had our meal. As expected, Lady Kate and Lady Siena’s sisters were waiting there.

“……Siena, do you understand what I’m about to say?”

“Father………”

Lady Siena was as meek as a borrowed cat.

“I know that you and Kate have been at odds. However, to disrupt a celebration in front of outsiders and expose family disputes, what were you thinking?”

“……I’m sorry. But Father, you didn’t stop it either, even though you saw it happening……”

“Siena!”

At Lord Galon’s stern rebuke, Lady Siena flinched.

“How old are you now?”

“……17 years old.”

“What is the age of majority in this country?”

“……15 years old.”

“That’s right. You are an adult. Shouldn’t you be able to distinguish between right and wrong on your own?”

“……!! But, it’s Kate who’s in the wrong!! Hanging such a confusing chandelier is the same as trying to frame me!!”

“Are you saying that, Kate?”

Lady Kate’s eyes widened.

“Who was the first to break the chandelier and start the harassment!?”

“Do you have any proof!? Don’t jump to conclusions!!”

“This, you insolent—”

“Lady Kate, please calm down.”

I decided to mediate between the heated sisters.

“Lady Siena, you are insisting that you had nothing to do with the chandelier being broken, correct?”

“Yes!! I didn’t do it, so of course!!”

“Then why were you able to point out that the chandelier’s shape was different?”

“Well, just one look and you can clearly tell it’s different!!”

“I see. Then let’s compare them, shall we?”

“……What?”

Lady Kate gave an order, and a servant brought in a large wooden box.

“The chandelier inside the box is the one that was broken five days ago. The pillar is broken, and some of the decorations are shattered, but the overall shape should still be recognizable.”

Lord Galon peered into the box.

“……Although it is somewhat damaged, the overall shape and the curve of the pillar are almost identical to the salt chandelier. Lady Letitia’s alchemy is truly remarkable.”

I returned a smile to Lord Galon’s praise. I had worked very hard to complete the alchemy of the chandelier, working tirelessly to achieve it. Since it was difficult to refine an entire chandelier at once, I had broken it down into parts and assembled it with the help of a glassmaker.

……Yeah, it was really tough.

Even with my increased magical power after regaining my memories from my previous life, it was still a close call.

I didn’t expect that my magic would be nearly depleted from making the chandelier rather than performing a grand magical ritual.

I had to memorize the intricate three-dimensional structure of the chandelier and repeatedly experiment to recreate it with magic.

This would have taken years without my exceptional magical power and alchemical skills.

It was a close call, but thanks to this, my alchemical precision has improved, so maybe it was worth it.

“The salt chandelier is my masterpiece. If you look closely, it’s not as transparent as glass, so you might realize it’s different……. Lady Siena, you were able to assert that the chandelier hanging from the high ceiling was different. Don’t you find that strange?”

“……”

Lady Siena fell silent.

“The only reason you could assert that the salt chandelier, which looks identical, was different is because you were the one who broke the original chandelier, isn’t it?”

“I……I……”

Lady Siena opened and closed her mouth, gasping for words. Her eyes darted around, searching for a way out, but with the trap set, there was no escape for her.

From the moment the chandelier was broken five days ago, Lady Siena’s actions were as expected.

The current conflict began when one of Lady Kate’s palace chefs defected to Lady Siena and resigned. It’s natural to assume that among the chefs still in the palace, there are others who are loyal to Lady Siena.

Even with the borrowed servants from His Majesty to act as monitors, it might be difficult to completely prevent internal betrayal. There was a possibility that the same overly salty dish that was served to me before could be slipped into the table on Manila Day.

It’s difficult to completely prevent betrayal.

So, I remembered the words of my youngest brother.

“Instead of fortifying all defenses, leave one weak spot. Pretend it’s a weakness and wait for the enemy to take the bait.”

I broke down my brother’s advice and shared my thoughts with Lady Kate. To avoid harassment in the kitchen, I suggested loosening the security in the dining room. The chandelier in that room was perfect for sabotage.

As expected, the chandelier was destroyed. Lady Siena seemed satisfied with this and did not harass the food, which was closely monitored. The information about the salt pot roast was not revealed, as it was unexpected.

From my perspective, everything was within the expected range. Whether my salt chandelier would be completed in time and whether Lady Siena would bring up the chandelier incident were uncertain, but in the end, she fell into the trap.

“Siena, as a daughter of the Duke’s family, I won’t say you shouldn’t scheme. However, your plan was far too clumsy.”

“Father………”

“I had hoped you were stronger than Kate, and I had expectations for you……. But I can only conclude that I cannot recommend you as a candidate for the Empress.”

“Such……!!”

Lady Siena doesn’t seem to understand, but from an outsider’s perspective, her inadequacy is clear.

She only focused on her sister and was indifferent to the movements of other candidates. She disrupted the celebration without much thought after finding a flaw in her sister. She fell into the trap without realizing it.

No matter how leniently we look at it, she lacks the strength to become the future Empress. Lord Galon also seems to agree with my assessment.

“……Lord Galon, may I ask one more question? Did you not stop Lady Siena’s outburst at the celebration and not actively mediate the conflict between Lady Kate and Lady Siena to gauge their abilities?”

“……You see through it, don’t you? I wish my daughters had even half the thoughtfulness of Lady Letitia.”

Lord Galon looked at Lady Siena.

“I thought that if they couldn’t resolve a conflict with their closest sibling, they would fail as Empresses. So, I didn’t intervene……. As a result, I involved them in a sibling quarrel, and I apologize for that.”

“Father………”

Lady Kate called out to Lord Galon, who seemed somewhat dejected.