9.The road to the capital
The “Veil of Ruins” of the Kingdom of Tenberen.
The veil did not change the features of the person wearing it, but it was a special magical tool that tampered with perception; Whoever wears it, even someone who has lived with it all his life cannot recognize him.
“Is it really okay for you to give me something so precious…?”
The princess smiled serenely: “Thanks to you, Miss, I will be able to make better decisions in the future.”
“Her Highness the Princess...”
“You saved me from that crisis, and this amount of reward is self-evident.”
Sure, the “trusted” Iris had given her dismembered artifacts at a high price; As much as she had been deceived, her gratitude to Lillian was deeper.
Lillian decided to gratefully accept the gift: “I will keep it carefully, Your Highness.”
Even the calm Lillian couldn't help but feel overwhelmed at this moment. I felt a twinge of happiness...
“Miss Tillard”
But at that moment, the villain grabbed Lillian's hand.
The pain disappeared immediately...
“It's time to go”
“Yes, Your Highness”
Lillian turned her back, holding back tears of emotion.
'I hope one day I can go to Tenberen safely…'
* * *
Mallora stared at Lillian and her companions as they walked away, with a mysterious gleam in her eyes.
“Ahh”
'As if she was a being created specifically to stabilize those with abilities.'
This is what Mallora's intuition was whispering as she possessed a "transformer" ability.
Sometimes, a dominatrix is born fatally attractive; The higher the rank of the person with the ability, the more sensitive he is towards it and the greater his desire to possess it.
'Plus, her talent is beyond control.'
Lillian possessed a talent for artifacts, and a control of an astonishing degree… she could take them.
Ah, if only she could bring more knights with her…
‘It is unfortunate that I deliberately came with a modest procession so that my illness would not be discovered.’
But, whoever you brought probably wouldn't have helped.
'That man cannot be defeated by force.'
You mean that man who is now walking arm in arm with Lillian?
'Although he seems unaware'
But the vanishing power was overflowing around him, as if it would explode if anyone other than him dared to touch Lillian. He even sent Maliora a warning look over his shoulder.
“Ah, really scary.”
However, I will wait for the next opportunity.
* * *
In the center of the capital, there was a store that always held first place in the list of “the most beloved stores in the empire.”
Iris Florin Store.
The store, founded for the Tillard family's favorite granddaughter, was the backbone of the family business. The extent of her pride can be known by naming the store with her personal name instead of the family name, Tillard.
Today was the new products presentation day, which is held once every six months.
Artifacts that Iris designs herself and infuses the power of control have always been the focus of attention. People's eyes sparkled as they looked at the displays inside the glass boxes.
“As expected of Miss Iris!”
“To design a new monoglass for those whose vision is weak due to abilities..”
“I have to order ten pieces before I leave.”
This was an occasion to try out new artifacts, and also a gathering of Iris' old devotees and admirers. Many gathered around Iris to congratulate her.
“I truly bless you, Miss Iris.”
“Hehe, thank you”
“The newspapers will be full of praise this time too. And also...”
One of the ladies who opened the newspaper whispered in a low voice: “I don’t believe that last article at all.”
“…….”
“The person who leaked that scandalous article about your relationship with the heir Pavel.. will receive the punishment of the Genesis Judge, confirmation.”
“Ah...”
Iris was confused for a moment, but smiled gently: “Oh my God, don’t say such a scary thing! No matter how bad a person is, the Genesis Ruler’s punishment is too terrifying.”
“Oh, Miss Iris...”
“But thank you for believing me!”
Iris smiled sweetly, but inside she was sharpening her knives.
'This pig who only speaks nonsense should be removed from the VIP guest list.'
'Because of that article, I suffered greatly'
She had to go to the Second Empress to explain that she had never toyed with Heir Pavel's feelings. Fortunately for her, her reputation was perfect, otherwise something undesirable would have happened...
But at that moment, everyone stopped talking upon seeing the person who entered the store.
You've finally arrived!
The symbolic figure declaring “what is in vogue” in the empire was the just-entered Madame Rochette.
This woman with reddish-golden hair neatly raised was capable and ran a famous magazine agency herself.
Iris ran towards her with a wide smile.
“Hello, Madame Rochette!”
“It's been a long time, Miss Iris.”
Madame nodded her head in greeting, and Iris accompanied her on a tour.
'She'll definitely like the new pieces this time too!'
“What do you think, Madame? How do you see her?”
However, contrary to Iris’ expectations, Madame Rochette responded coldly: “I don’t know, the design seems… very similar to last year’s products.”
prick —
“In terms of functionality...it seems that it barely touches the safety standards that were issued at the beginning of this year.”
poke —, prick —
“No, Madame Rochette! They have all passed the tests according to imperial orders. They have been examined by the knights of the Taillard family.”
“…I understand that.”
Madame nodded her head as if to say that Iris was mentioning platitudes unnecessarily.
“I will excuse myself now, Miss Iris. Thanks for the invitation.”
“Yes, you are welcome, Madam.”
Madame did not even carefully examine the new pieces. Fans rushed to Iris to console her.
“Don't mind her, Miss Iris!”
“What does an old woman like her understand?”
"She thinks she's nothing because she runs a magazine. She's conceited. Her hands are dirty because she touches money directly."
Iris smiled forcedly. She wished she could hit those idiots hard.
'How could I not care?'
That woman revealed it all!
'Because I can't rely on Lillian, I had no choice but to change old designs a little and bring them up again.'
That woman is known to not accept donations from my grandfather. So, if one line of criticism is published, people will believe it...
'No way, something like this wouldn't happen, right?'
Iris forcibly hid her anxiety.
That night, even after all the guests had left, Iris was waiting alone in the store's reception room. A person came carrying a huge bouquet of irises and roses.
“Hehe, welcome, Heir Pavel!”
“Iris, congratulations!”
“Thank you”
Iris smiled, rolling her eyes affectionately. When the article crisis broke, they almost quarreled, but Carkin finally gave in to it.
“I feel so relieved not to have Lillian around, don't you?”
“Oh my God, don’t say that. My sister is pathetic.”
“Oh, if only I could marry you.”
“Yes, I would be very happy about that too.”
This is a lie; Marriage and royalty are planned with Prince Kyle. But it's okay to date other people! The more men, the better, and if a man belongs to another woman, it becomes more fun!
'What would my sister do even if she knew?'
In fact, she wished Lillian knew about it as long as she wasn't exposed to the scandal; Everything Lillian cherishes is nothing more than a doll for Iris' amusement.
Iris was confident that she would be forgiven no matter what she did, as she was the only S rank in this era.
* * *
But the next day, Iris's confidence was shaken.
"Huff. What the hell is this?"
Tak—!
Grandfather, Duke Taillard, summoned Iris and Quirn to his office.
The article he threw on the desk was Madame Rochette's “Salon” magazine.