No sooner had Yuri and the others finished their meeting at the Saint-Elmo Trading Company than they were hurrying by carriage toward the castle of the Margravine of Ishurias, without even a moment to catch their breath.
As he watched the scenery drift past beyond the window, Yuri suddenly turned to Aina.
"By the way, Aina—you know the Margravine of Ishurias, right? What kind of person is she?"
At Yuri's curious question, Aina narrowed her eyes slightly and nodded slowly, as though reaching back into a distant memory.
"Yes. I met Lady Liliana when Lady Celine was still in the harem. I was only a maid-in-training then, but she was very modest, and yet remarkably intelligent. She was eager to learn, courteous and fair to everyone... truly everything a noblewoman ought to be."
Impressed, Yuri nevertheless found Gideon's face from the wedding ceremony suddenly crossing his mind.
"The Margravine of Ishurias and Lord Gideon are related, right? He struck me as selfish—the sort of man who would lie or ruin someone without a second thought. Doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd get along with her."
At that, Ophelia gazed toward the castle visible through the carriage window and murmured softly,
"The talk in society is that the Margravine of Ishurias is in considerable difficulty at present."
"Really?"
Yuri turned to her in surprise. Ophelia brushed back her lustrous raven-black hair and continued, unease in her voice.
"The rumor is that she has been hard-pressed by pirates appearing in the Adonia Sea."
A shadow fell across Ophelia's amethyst eyes, and she turned her gaze back outside.
"Pirates without, Lord Gideon within... It sounds as though she is beset on every side."
Watching her, Yuri murmured under his breath, a trace of worry in his voice.
When the carriage came to a stop, Yuri stepped down beside Ophelia.
A pair of guards was already waiting in front of the castle, and they bowed deeply.
"Her Excellency awaits. This way, please."
Led by the guards, Yuri and Ophelia entered the castle. Aina and Lily were told to wait in the receiving room, and the audience with the Margravine of Ishurias would be conducted by Yuri and Ophelia alone.
As they walked down the stone corridor, their footsteps rang through the chilly air. The castle had a heavy, imposing grandeur to it, and with the cold came an oppressive weight that seemed to hang over everything.
After a short while, they arrived before a great set of doors. A guard knocked, and a low voice from within answered, "Enter."
The massive doors slowly swung open.
Beyond them, a broad passage stretched straight ahead, with nobles standing in silent rows on either side.
Lord Gideon doesn't seem to be here... thank goodness.
A faint tension drifted through the solemn air, and Yuri steeled himself as he looked farther in.
At the far end, on a raised dais, stood a throne, and seated upon it in quiet composure was Liliana, the Margravine of Ishurias.
The guard bowed and announced,
"Your Excellency. I have brought Yuri von Strauss, the baron-consort of the Reberk Barony."
After motioning for Yuri to step forward, the guard bowed once more and quietly withdrew from the audience chamber.
Liliana wore a gentle smile, and her clear amber eyes shone with a softness that seemed to wrap anyone they fell upon in quiet warmth.
Her dark brown hair, falling in loose waves over her shoulders, gleamed like silk. Her white skin was smooth and almost translucent, and there was an unmistakable dignity to her bearing.
The dress she wore was simple and elegant, trimmed with delicate lace. The sheen of the fabric only heightened her grace, and with that soft smile, she seemed capable of inspiring trust and reassurance at a glance.
Yuri and Ophelia advanced to the foot of the throne and bowed deeply in greeting.
"Your Excellency. It has been some time. Thank you very much for making time for us today."
Liliana watched in silence as Yuri and Ophelia lowered their heads with perfect courtesy.
I had heard he kept many women besides Lady Celine... but he does not seem nearly as frivolous as the rumors suggest.
Day after day, she was subjected to nothing but vulgar looks and rude whispers—"Can a woman really rule?" "Surely she only keeps her retainers in line by offering them her body."
Frankly, she was sick of it.
Against all of that, Yuri's gaze felt entirely different.
There was not the slightest hint of the prejudice that always came with being looked at as "a woman first." He was offering her sincere respect simply as a fellow ruler.
A thought came to her then. He likely treated his wife, Celine, with that same sincerity.
She had heard that Celine was fighting to keep her territory afloat, and just as he supported her, he seemed to be directing that same earnest regard toward Liliana as well.
There was nothing crooked in that gaze, and Liliana felt herself relax without meaning to.
It had been a long time since anyone had looked at her with such simple decency.
"The pleasure is mine. Thank you for coming all this way, Lord Strauss. And Lady Ophelia as well. I am glad to receive you both."
Liliana gave them a gentle smile, nodded as if welcoming them, then straightened slightly.
"Now then—what brings you here today? Will you tell me what it is you seek?"
The instant Yuri was about to answer, a loud, deliberate clearing of the throat rang through the hall.
When he turned toward the sound, he saw the leading noble of the Gideon faction twisting his mouth into an ostentatious sneer, as though trying to convey some unspoken warning.
So that is meant to say, "Do not agree too easily," is it? What a nuisance...
Though inwardly exasperated, Liliana merely narrowed her eyes and shot the noble a cold look.
He paid it no mind at all, and with open contempt turned his gaze away from her.
Suppressing a sigh, Liliana turned her attention back to Yuri.
Yuri drew a small breath, bowed politely, and began to speak.
"At present, I am planning a number of reforms to help develop the Reberk Barony. However, our territory is short on people with the necessary skills. I have therefore come hoping to receive Your Excellency's wisdom and support."
As he said this, Yuri let his eyes flick briefly around the chamber before continuing with care.
"If possible, I was hoping to ask for your cooperation in the form of the temporary dispatch of artisans, or perhaps technical guidance. I believe there must be a way for our lands to benefit one another and prosper together."
When Yuri finished speaking, Liliana nodded gently.
Support through technical guidance and the temporary dispatch of artisans—there was good sense in the proposal.
If one of her vassal territories prospered, it would strengthen the defenses and economic foundation of the march as a whole.
It was not a bad proposition for her either.
"I see. Technical guidance and the dispatch of artisans, then."
She was just about to answer favorably when the leading noble of the Gideon faction gave another ostentatious clearing of the throat and brazenly cut into the conversation.