Chapter 76

"………And so, it seems that the argument between Lady Kate and Lady Sienna has finally been resolved."

Three days after the Manila Day.

I was summoned by His Majesty and was explaining the entire situation.

His Majesty has dispatched servants to Lady Kate's palace with the role of surveillance.

As one of the distinguished participants, I reported to him the reactions of the guests to the salt pot cooking and the incident with the chandelier, among other things.

"The Manila Day was quite tumultuous, but in the end, it exposed Lady Sienna's true colors, and Lady Kate seemed to have grown from the experience."

"Aah, indeed. I was worried about how it would turn out, but thanks to your assistance, the sisters' argument was resolved without escalating. The entire incident, including the salt pot cooking and the chandelier, was all part of your plan, wasn't it? It was splendid."

"………Thank you for your kind words."

I bowed.

I was pleased to be praised, but I hadn't told His Majesty everything.

That Lady Kate had temporarily given up on becoming the next empress.

That her father, Lord Galon, had acknowledged her decision.

I hesitated to inform His Majesty about these two points, as I wasn't sure if it was appropriate for me, who am not the principal party, to do so. I was gauging His Majesty's reaction, and it seemed he was generally satisfied, but I suspected there was something he hadn't told me either.

"Your Majesty, if I am mistaken, please forgive me………"

"What is it? Speak your mind."

"When the chandelier was broken, the surveillance personnel you sent said they didn't know who the culprit was………but in reality, didn't you already know who the culprit was and their connection to Lady Sienna?"

This was a nagging doubt.

The security in the room with the chandelier was intentionally made to appear lax to prevent any sabotage of the food.

However, this was just a deliberate weakness.

I had subtly asked for surveillance, even though it appeared that the security was relaxed, but the identity of the culprit remained unknown.

While it might be understandable that the surveillance wasn't perfect, I found it odd that they couldn't even identify a suspect.

"Didn't you let the culprit run free, knowing who they were? You were probably hoping that Lady Kate and I wouldn't be discouraged by the chandelier's destruction and would successfully manage the Manila Day. If Lady Kate and I had failed and Lady Sienna had become the empress candidate, you would have used the connection between the culprit and Lady Sienna to gain the upper hand, right?"

As I presented my speculative thoughts, His Majesty looked back at me with calm eyes.

"………Do you despise me for holding a card to corner Sienna and remaining a spectator?"

"………No. Considering your position, I think it was a reasonable choice."

I, too, hadn't revealed everything to His Majesty.

Moreover, his decision might have been influenced by his trust in me.

"I am grateful that you didn't act. If Lady Sienna had been exposed beforehand, the dinner party on Manila Day might have been canceled, and the salt pot cooking, which we had refined through trial and error, might not have been served to Lord Galon and the others."

"……………That's a matter of hindsight."

"That might be true. But I believe you made that choice because you had faith in me and the salt pot cooking."

I recalled the time when His Majesty tasted the salt pot cooking.

The salt, which had been broken for testing, still left a striking impression on the plate. He had appreciated the method of breaking the salt with a wooden mallet and had even tasted it.

Thanks to the delicious pork, His Majesty seemed to enjoy it.

That's why I wanted to believe that His Majesty recognized the salt pot cooking and left the handling of Lady Sienna to us.

"Indeed, if you had exposed Lady Sienna, the sisters' argument might have ended sooner. But in that case, Lady Kate wouldn't have been recognized by her father, and the distance between Lady Kate and Lady Natalie wouldn't have been bridged. I believe you considered all this and deliberately refrained from acting, didn't you?"

"…………That might be the case."

His Majesty, who neither denied nor confirmed, was a tricky person, or rather, someone who was hard to read.

Even though I was now being summoned to the main castle where His Majesty resided, we were only a nominal couple.

It was natural that we couldn't speak openly to each other………

Well, let's put that aside for now.

I decided to bring up the main purpose of my visit today.

I had mentioned Lady Kate's story first to finish the complicated matters before moving on to the meal.

"Thank you for listening to me, Your Majesty. It's about time for dinner. May I present the meal to you now?"

"Aah, yes. What have you brought today? It seems to be a rather large dish………"

His Majesty's gaze turned to Lucian, who was standing behind me.

The tray Lucian was holding was a large one with a cover.