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……

……

Silence. More silence. And then more silence……

The two of them had spoken in unison. They stared wide-eyed at each other, and for a long while, neither said another word.

After a long pause, Rosetti was the first to panic. She waved her hands as she hurried to explain:

“Lady Alice, please don’t misunderstand. I mean, there’s no need for you to go in person for something like this. Just leave it to me. You have to believe me—I have absolutely no ulterior motives! I’m going for Lady Alice, and for the peaceful development of Bota City. You have to believe me!”

“No, Rose, calm down. I never said I didn’t believe you. Why are you getting so worked up?”

Alice’s mouth twitched. Looking at Rosetti, who was so flustered, she gave a rather strained smile.

She hadn’t even said anything yet. Why was Rosetti so worked up?

Was there some secret she didn’t want anyone to know about?

No way…… It was Rose…… Could she really be hiding something from me……?

“Rose, are you hiding something from me?”

“Ahem. W-what are you talking about, Lady Alice? Why would I hide anything from you?”

At Alice’s words, Rosetti immediately lost her composure.

She could barely keep her eyes from darting around, and barely kept her rosy cheeks from flushing…… All in all, she was just about managing to hold it together.

“If there’s nothing, then good. But if something’s on your mind, you have to tell me ahead of time. Before we were mistress and servant, we were friends.”

Alice relaxed a little. Deep down, she still trusted Rosetti more than she doubted her.

Aside from secretly practicing forbidden magic, Alice couldn’t believe Rosetti would hide anything else from her.

“Of course, of course. If there is, I’ll tell you.”

Rosetti secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then nodded.

Thankfully, Alice hadn’t pressed any further. Otherwise, Rosetti had no idea how she could bear the pangs of guilt and keep hiding what was going on with Lin Ge.

“Oh, right. We talked about romance before. How’s that going for you now? I’ve noticed you’ve been putting on makeup lately, so I thought things must be going……”

“Lady Alice, why don’t we talk about this invitation instead?”

Rosetti’s cheek twitched. She forcibly cut Alice off, pointed at the letter from Count DeWitt’s residence, and steered the conversation back on track.

“Oh, right.”

Alice blinked, momentarily dazed.

Rosetti’s anxious expression made Alice want to say plenty more, but before that, dealing with the invitation in the letter really was more important.

“I’ll go for this invitation.” Alice looked down at the letter in her hands. “I’m the city lord, and I’m also that man’s fiancée. No matter how you look at it, I have to be the one to go.”

“If I may be frank, Lady Alice, I think I should go instead. The territory has only just started to develop. It can’t do without you…… Besides, you only just returned from the front lines. All that traveling back and forth wouldn’t be good for your health.”

—And besides…… I really, really want some time alone with my husband. Lady Alice, can’t you grant me this one wish?!

“Rose……”

Alice looked at the girl who had always done her utmost to support her. Her eyes grew moist and red.

So Rose really was the only family left in this world who cared about her most.

For the sake of the girl who was always thinking of her, Alice had to go to this Hongmen Banquet herself!

“Rose, thank you for thinking of me. But I’ll go on this homecoming visit myself.”

“Why?!”

At Alice’s words, Rosetti nearly burst into tears.

Was it really so hard to let her spend a few days alone with her husband?

“There are two reasons.”

Seeing Rosetti looking so heartbroken, Alice thought she was worried about her. Her heart grew warmer.

Alice gently laid her hand over Rosetti’s smooth, slender, delicate one and patted her hair as she continued:

“For one thing, your relationship with him hasn’t been made public. Most of the 108 nobles were at that gathering in the Imperial Capital, but I imagine most of them didn’t take it seriously. After all, His Majesty looked more like he was joking at the time. And……”

As she spoke, Alice gently touched Rosetti’s ear.

“Even if the chance is very small, I don’t want you to be put in danger.”

“Lady Alice……”

Enjoying the gentle touch, Rosetti blushed and lowered her head shyly.

Alice continued:

“Besides that, I suppose I have a bit of a personal reason, too…… Rose, you know what Count DeWitt’s territory mainly does, right?”

“I think it’s weapons forging,” Rosetti replied after a moment’s thought. “Sixty percent of all the weapons in the Unified Sun-Moon Empire come from Count DeWitt’s territory…… Ah, Lady Alice, are you thinking of going there to……”

“I want to try and see if this sword can still be repaired……”

A wry, self-mocking smile touched Alice’s lips. Together with Rosetti, she turned her gaze toward the broken sword hanging on the wall—a sword that had fallen into disrepair with age, yet still hung there properly……

With the forging techniques of DeWitt County, maybe they could repair this sword?

That faint hope was another reason Alice wanted to visit Count DeWitt’s territory in person.

Besides, if she went to the place known as the Empire’s forging capital, she could buy a batch of cheap weapons while she was there.

As for food, Bota City no longer had much to worry about. Things were already on track.

But the lack of military strength still left all of Bota City as helpless as a baby at someone else’s mercy.

If she could, Alice wanted to use this homecoming trip to get hold of a batch of weapons. And if circumstances allowed, she’d recruit a few talented blacksmiths while she was at it.

Well, the odds of recruiting anyone were practically zero.

Who would give up a high-paying job to work in some tiny backwater like yours? It was impossible, even to imagine.

“If that’s the case, then…… all right.”

Rosetti sighed helplessly. At this point, there wasn’t anything more she could say.

But……

“H-hubby…… What about Lin Ge? He doesn’t seem to want to go……”

Rosetti remembered the look of disdain on Lin Ge’s face when she showed him the letter. Then she thought of the rumors that he didn’t get along with his family back home.

She could easily imagine how he’d react when he found out.

“He doesn’t want to go? Hmph. That’s not up to him.”

Alice gave a cold snort. Now that she’d finally found Lin Ge’s weakness, she could give him a hard time. A sinister, spine-chilling smile spread across her face.

At that smile, Rosetti nervously swallowed.

“Lady Alice, what are you planning to……”

“We just won’t tell him it’s a homecoming visit. We’ll say we’re going on a trip. If we don’t tell him where we’re headed, he’ll stay in the dark until he figures it out…… Heh. By then, it’ll be too late.”

She clenched her fists, a fire of mischief burning in her eyes.

And so, the trip to DeWitt County was set in motion.

*To Be Continued