‘Is this girl Lulu really crippled? It was a bit of a beating. At the end, Miss Carola made her cry profusely by deliberately pretending to hit her with a wagon. But I don’t think she was hurt that much.’
It happened that afternoon. The servant has come to call Carola with her troubled face.
“An officer came from the security forces?”
“Yes, he said he wants to meet one of Carola-nim’s ladies-in-waiting.”
“Ugh, Carola doesn’t have anything to do with it… … .”
Carola’s gaze wandered. She also knew about the ‘Lulu’s lawsuit’ being gossiped about in society. Even so, Carola took no action.
Who in this empire would dare to argue with the granddaughter-in-law of the Ducal Cartier household? It was the same with state institutions. However, if Lucerne were behind the incident, that would change everything. It was very possible for her maid to be arrested as a scapegoat.
‘I can’t believe it. Did you come to catch us for Lulu?’
Mimosa’s body was shaking. Pansy had similar thoughts and turned pale. Then Carola slowly turned her head to look at Mimosa.
“Mimosa, come here.”
“Yes? Yes?”
“Mimosa hit her more.”
“… … .”
“For now, go and get an investigation. Then we will talk to Jacob and send you a lawyer. It won’t be a big deal.”
“What about Pansy?”
“Oh, my. Why are you suddenly mentioning Pansy? Pansy just got engaged. We have to give Zain face, huh? Will you show your heart for Carola?”
Pansy’s fiancée, Zain, was a knight and a distant relative of Carola. So Carola was responsible for her betrothal and marriage arrangements.
‘That woman was right.’
Mimosa felt heat grow hot on the back of her head and neck.
‘Carola, I’ve been loyal to you until now.’
Carola would never marry her off to someone of status. At that thought, Mimosa’s mouth burned. No, let alone getting her married; her life was in jeopardy.
In the end, the reason why the security guards visited that day was not to investigate Lulu’s case.
Some time ago, a jewelry store in the city erroneously traded stolen goods. So, they looked into customers who had ordered jewelry at a particular time.
Carola was on the list of buyers. At that time, her two ladies-in-waiting went to the jewelry store to run errands.
Since they couldn’t dare to investigate a Cartier daughter-in-law, the security knights called in her maids to conduct a formal investigation.
“I’m glad it wasn’t a major problem. As expected, Mimosa is lucky. Don’t you think so?”
Carola was only scathing without a word of consolation.
‘I can’t. You can’t just trust Carola. I need another rope to hold onto.’
The little wedge Elisha had driven in instantly caused a great rift in Mimosa’s loyalty.
She started looking for an opportunity to meet Elisha without Carola’s knowledge.
***
“Madam, I want to be on your side. But I’ve already been betrayed by my master once. So this time, I want to choose a really reliable master.”
Elisha, as usual, was having her cup of tea at her cafe. Mimosa came through the back door.
Elisha wasn’t at the least surprised. She had given instructions in advance that if Mimosa came to visit her, they should guide her immediately.
“What do you mean you want?”
“You told me you would arrange a groom for me, a titled knight.”
“I did.”
“Then I want to be sure of you before I turn to your side. For example, being introduced to a knight… … . Like being secretly engaged.”
“Tell me more in detail, not in a roundabout way.”
“I have to get a lifetime-titled knight of the Black Lion.”
“… … So you want one of the Seeds?”
Elisha was stunned.
Seeds were noble war heroes. All of them were aristocratic knights for life, and they did not have to worry about making ends meet for the rest of their lives with the bounty they received every time they went to war. Additionally, their road was solid. If it was Seed, there was a possibility that they would receive the rank of Viscount in their later years.
‘You really don’t know your place.’
However, Elisha only entertained the thought inwardly, as her expression did not change.
“Listening to you, it sounds like you have someone in mind.”
Elisha thought to herself that Ian had bewitched another one.
Although Ian had a somewhat suspicious past, he was quite handsome. Although only Lucerne overshadowed his handsomeness, he had a reputation for his beauty among the capital’s noble ladies.
“I’m… … .”
Mimosa’s eyes flashed with her greed. Elisha’s hand stopped.
“Who do you want?”
***
