IHRS 22

Chapter – 22

The Duke considered Princess Luige’s death to be, to some extent, her own fault.

“Even as an adult, she still clings to that dreamer’s temperament.”

Perhaps that was only natural for her. After all, she had married a man with a similar character.

The Duke of Argen, despite being the younger brother of the King of Mortum, had been granted a fief not far from the capital. That alone was enough to show how gentle and unambitious he was.

“But emphasizing such a life to my nephews would be foolish.”

The king’s sons were secretly plotting for the throne. Risking their lives against one another, there was no way Luige’s advice for them to “get along as brothers” would reach their ears.

“If she truly wanted to mediate between the two, she should have taught the second prince to bend for others. Instead…”

Luige had given the second prince much out of pity, which caused the first prince to become wary of him.

Now, even if the second prince asked for reconciliation, there was no way the two princes could get along.

The second prince, certain of his defeat, plotted to poison Luige, setting up circumstances favorable to himself.

He intended to frame the first prince for the poisoning, weaken his power, and then incite a civil war to seize the throne.

The Duke did not dwell on whether the second prince’s plan was feasible.

All he wanted was the civil war itself.

Through it, he could secretly supply weapons and amass wealth, and also absorb refugees from Mortum to train nameless soldiers.

Luige’s death along the way was merely an unavoidable sacrifice.

“Are the goods ready?”

This referred to the weapons prepared to supply the second prince, so the civil war could escalate.

“Do not worry. They are prepared and can be shipped at your command.”

“Very well.”

The Duke nodded.

Smuggling was nothing new; he had done it many times and it did not worry him.

What caught his attention was something else.

“Laura Leweiz…”

Suddenly appearing in the picture was Asel’s woman.

The woman, caught up in the poisoning incident due to Luige’s whims, faced an impending crisis. How would she handle it?

“If she cannot escape and sinks, she will be left behind.”

Though the woman’s potential suffering was pitiful, the Duke had no intention of helping.

If she could not handle such a situation, there was no reason to invest in her.

On the other hand, if Laura managed to get out safely—

“Then I claim her.”

She was far too capable to hand over to his nephew; why leave her to chance?

Either way, there was no harm to him.

The Duke leaned back, ready to wait patiently for the outcome.

How much value did the woman, hand-picked by his nephew, truly have?

Marien was uneasy.

Though she had stayed in the Empire, citing a foot injury, she had achieved nothing of note.

The nobles neither sent her gifts nor requested meetings, and even the palace maids began to avoid her.

“If this continues, I’ll be sent back to my kingdom as soon as my foot heals…!”

Asel had not seen her since the ball, and the knight in his service seemed to glance at her with barely hidden disdain, as if wanting to send her away.

“That woman has been assigned to handle the banquet?”

At that moment, Marien, still accompanied by her maid Benny, received surprising news.

Laura had been appointed as the person in charge of the banquet, putting her in direct opposition to Princess Luige.

Marien laughed quietly at the thought of Laura being nitpicked and scolded during the event.

“If only her leg were fine, I would have gone just to watch.”

But her amusement quickly turned serious.

“Wait, being in charge of the banquet could also be an opportunity, right?”

If the banquet succeeded, Laura’s evaluation would rise, proving she had the ability to manage a royal event.

“I must do everything I can to prevent that.”

Laura’s mistakes would give Marien a chance to advance.

Fortunately, Marien had only lost the trust of those around her; she was neither imprisoned nor under surveillance, giving her freedom to act.

Through her maid Benny, she could freely gather information.

“I’ve found out, Your Highness!”

She learned what dishes Laura planned for the banquet and how she had prepared them.

“Seafood is the main ingredient?”

“Princess Luige’s tastes are well known.”

“That makes sense.”

Laura seemed to tailor the dishes to the banquet’s host, Princess Luige.

“The Empire has cold storage, apparently. They attach a mana stone to a warehouse to maintain it.”

Marien noted how ingredients were stored.

“Of course, Laura cannot control all this herself.”

As the person in charge, she issued directions, but minor details were handled by her subordinates.

Moreover, the palace staff involved in such a large event numbered more than a few.

“I should thank Young Lady Marceline.”

Every time she recalled the woman who had appeared to take Laura’s side, Marien’s mood soured, but even in those humiliating moments, she learned something valuable.

Seafood could spoil easily with even a slight misstep.

“So, if the mana stone in the refrigerator is broken, the banquet will be ruined.”

Marien imagined Laura discovering her meticulously prepared items ruined in the morning. The thought of Laura’s reaction thrilled her.

“This will be exciting.”

The day of the banquet.

“Who is responsible for the ingredients? The warehouse manager?”

“I’m sorry! Truly, I’m sorry!”

“Apologizing won’t bring back the ingredients! How are you going to handle this? The banquet is today! Where do we get all this from?”

The kitchen was in chaos.

The cold storage, which had been carefully checked the previous day, was left open, the temperature control broken, and all stored ingredients had spoiled.

“I heard the job market is bad these days.”

“The problem is that the head of the kitchen has changed to Miss Leweiz. If she finds out, she’ll go ballistic…”

The kitchen staff shuddered at the thought of the chaos Laura could unleash. Outside, they were chefs serving esteemed guests; in front of the nobles, they were mere commoners.

They were ultimately responsible for failing to safeguard the ingredients. If fired after the banquet, they would have no one to blame.

Even worse, people would gossip about the banquet’s failure and hungry guests.

“Damn it.”

And the person responsible was Laura Leweiz.

The head chef, Rihan, explained the situation to Laura, grimacing at the thought of her anger.

“Is there no usable food left?”

But Laura did not get angry. She clicked her tongue lightly, then began asking questions to assess the situation.

“For appetizers, I planned marinated shrimp and scallops, which were already prepared and stored in Warehouse 2, so that’s fine…”

“The main dish is the problem. It was supposed to be sea bass, correct?”

“…Yes.”

Rihan had intended smoked sea bass for the main course, as smoking the fish enhanced its aroma and provided a rich, savory flavor.

“It’s also Princess Luige’s favorite fish.”

After a brief moment of thought, Laura looked up.

“So we just need to procure the ingredients?”

“Yes, but realistically, getting such a large quantity will be challenging.”

Many people would attend the banquet, so the required amount of ingredients was significant and not something easily sourced.

Rihan sighed, and the kitchen fell into a low, tense atmosphere.

At that moment, Laura declared:

“I can handle getting the ingredients.”