Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 25 Part 6

Bluewood was bustling with activity.

Originally known as the largest commercial district in the capital where the imperial palace was located, the streets were famous across the nation. Merchants from all over gathered in this area, and not only wholesalers but also retailers densely filled every corner of the streets.

Among these, at a location well-known for its heavy foot traffic, people stood in a long line, waiting.

“What is that, anyway? People haven’t stopped coming since early morning.”

A merchant in the adjacent alley asked, grabbing someone who was passing by.

“That? They’re selling tea there.”

“Tea? What kind of tea?”

“What kind of tea? It’s the luxury tea that nobles drink. They say it’s high-quality imported tea, directly brought in from overseas.”

The merchant who heard this clicked his tongue. “To think people are lining up like that for such expensive tea. How much extra money must they have to wait that long? We commoners couldn’t even dream of such things.”

“That’s the thing. I thought I wouldn’t be able to buy it either.”

The responder lifted a brown packet of tea tied neatly with a ribbon, showing it.

In the middle of the packet, “Happiness Sylvia” was written.

“It’s incredibly cheap. You know that famous stone dealer in this street, right? They made a lot of money last year with some big exports.”

“Oh, I know that person too.”

“Well, they were waiting in line for that very tea and ended up buying a lot of it. After seeing that, everyone went over to take a look, and because the price was so affordable, everyone started buying it. Even though they said it was noble tea, it’s actually very cheap. You can enjoy it for just two silver per gram.”

“Really?”

It was an intriguing story.

Until now, tea had been difficult to come by and was considered a luxury product only for nobles or wealthy merchants, making it something commoners could never dare to afford.

But with such praise, and the price being reasonable, it seemed worth trying at least once.

The hesitant merchant quietly approached and stood at the end of the line.

***

From the first day, Happiness Sylvia was an immense success, and it continued to soar in popularity.

Originally aimed at targeting the upper-middle class, it unexpectedly became hugely popular among commoners as well.

With well-known merchants from the capital frequenting the shop, word quickly spread to the provinces, and there were already requests from other regions to open second branches.

Although they still had enough stock, the inventory was selling out so quickly that it wouldn’t be safe to relax for long.

Moreover, the brisk sale of tea wasn’t merely bringing in money.

“Lady Eleanor, this many letters have arrived again today.”

“Again?”

Brianna brought a pile of invitations from various sources.

As rumors spread that the Hippias Trading Company had struck it big, more nobles were sending invitations.

Recently, Eleanor had garnered attention as someone favored by the Emperor, and now, as word spread about her successful business venture, more people wanted to build connections with her by inviting her to their social gatherings.

Although it wasn’t at the level of the dukedom, receiving invitations from notable socialites suggested that Eleanor’s popularity was steadily rising.

“Are you going to read all of them?”

“Well, I’ll at least check who sent them.”

Realizing it would take a long time to review all the invitations alone, Eleanor asked Brianna to help open them.

Brianna, without hesitation, cut open the envelopes with a knife and checked the contents one by one.

They were all names they had heard before.

Brianna’s hands, which had been moving briskly, suddenly halted.

“What is this? Why is my father sending a letter?”

“Marquis of Liege?”

“This is absurd. He was always the one talking behind your back because the Emperor favored you,” Brianna grumbled with annoyance.

Even recently, the marquis had not ceased his chatter about wanting the Emperor to marry a different empress.

Brianna was half-exasperated, ready to give up.

Seeing him send such an invitation secretly to Eleanor now, his intentions were clear.

As Brianna complained about her father being hopelessly shallow, Eleanor’s eyes were suddenly fixed on something else.

“……”

“Eleanor, what’s wrong?”

Brianna wrinkled her smooth brows, noticing Eleanor had gone silent.

Without a word, Eleanor lifted a letter and showed it to her.

[To the esteemed Lady Eleanor… Daniel von Delph.]

It was from Marquis Delph.

“There’s too much flourish in the handwriting.”

Brianna gave an honest opinion after reading it.

Eleanor silently read the letter.

Its contents were similar to other noble invitations.

Marquis Delph was politely asking her to attend a reading discussion that he was hosting.

“Vivian will be attending, won’t she?”

“Yes, she will.”

Brianna nodded. In gatherings or parties hosted by her family, direct descendants usually attended without exception.

Unless something special happened, Vivian would also be there to receive the guests alongside her father, Marquis Delph.

“This is great. I’ll go with you. I’ll crash the discussion and put that self-important Vivian in her place.”

While Brianna, who hadn’t forgotten the humiliation at the New Year’s celebration, ground her teeth, Eleanor paused for a moment in thought.

She still had doubts about Madam Müller’s death.

If Vivian was really connected to the woman’s death, then a clue might be hidden within the Delph family.

However, given Vivian’s attitude during their last meeting, it seemed unlikely that Vivian would invite her to this gathering with good intentions.

‘Is this a trap?’

Should she burn the invitation and refuse it, or confront Vivian directly?

As Eleanor pondered, a loud noise suddenly echoed.

It sounded like someone had kicked the door open.

The woman who strode in through the wide-open door was someone Eleanor knew well.

Standing up without hesitation, Eleanor faced her.

“Did you meddle in my business?” shouted the enraged Caroline.

She stormed over to Eleanor, fury blazing, and immediately tried to slap her by raising her arm, but Eleanor blocked her hand instantly.

“You really are consistent.”

It had been a long time since she’d last seen Caroline, whose face now looked dull and devoid of any luster.

Usually, she covered her complexion with heavy makeup, but today it seemed she hadn’t even managed that.

Seeing Caroline, who had always hated coming to the palace, rush over without even doing her makeup suggested only one thing.

‘Looks like she finally got the information.’

While Russell had been draining Caroline’s money and stalling her from getting information about the Hippias Trading Company, Eleanor and her associates had moved quickly.

Thanks to that, the Hippias Trading Company had made a huge profit in one go, and Caroline, furious that her business had been stolen, couldn’t hold back and had come straight to her.

Eleanor’s eyes curved into a mocking smile. “I guess people really can’t change.”

“You—!”

“You’ve clearly learned nothing from your period of reflection.”

It seemed she still believed everything could be solved with violence.

Even now, Eleanor was in a position Caroline couldn’t touch so easily.

In a low voice, Eleanor calmly warned her, “Lower your hand.”

“How dare you give me orders? Have you forgotten when you used to crawl at my feet? How stupid.”

Caroline snorted and raised her other hand, but before she could strike, another hand shot out from behind and grabbed her arm.

“Madam Caroline, aren’t you being incredibly rude?”

“Lady Brianna!”

It was Brianna, fiercely glaring at Caroline while firmly holding her left wrist.

With a biting tone, Brianna rebuked her, “This is the imperial palace, and this is the Director’s office. No matter if you’re the former Duchess of Mecklen, the true master here is His Majesty the Emperor. Are you planning to act so insolently towards the Director personally appointed by the Emperor? How dare you be so insolent?”

“Ha, what did you just say? Insolent?”

“Yes, incredibly insolent and arrogant to the point of being revolting.”

Caroline, who had been harshly reprimanded, was dumbfounded.

Only a few months ago, Brianna was a girl who had showered her with all sorts of flattery, wanting to become the Empress Dowager’s lady-in-waiting.

And now, not only was she blocking her, but she was also siding with Eleanor?

Caroline’s face flushed bright red with rage. “I should ask Marchioness Liege to teach her daughter some proper manners.”

“What did you say?”

“How dare you act so high and mighty when it’s thanks to me that you’re even in the palace. Do you think I wrote you a recommendation to become the Empress Dowager’s lady-in-waiting without expecting anything in return?”

Caroline’s threatening words caused Brianna to flinch momentarily.

Though Brianna was no less fierce, she remembered her own words when she first sought out Caroline.

Even if the recommendation wasn’t forged, she had indeed used the Duchess Dowager of Mecklen’s name for her benefit.

In the past, Brianna might have brushed it off, indifferent.

But this time, a sense of unease crept in as she looked at Eleanor.

Eleanor gently countered Caroline’s threat. “That sounds good. It’s exactly what I wanted.”

“See, Lady Brianna? This woman is just—”

“I will inform Her Majesty the Empress Dowager of everything immediately.”

Empress Dowager.

Caroline’s face visibly changed at those words.

Eleanor had realized that Caroline instinctively wanted to avoid the Empress Dowager.

“I’ll tell her in detail about all the wrongdoings you’ve committed, and Her Majesty will surely impose fair punishment on both of you.”

“You, you…!”

“As you know, Her Majesty is particularly fond of me. She’d believe anything I say, even if I told her I could make soup from stones. So don’t worry about her rejecting any reports of your wrongdoing.”

Caroline’s teeth ground audibly.

No matter how influential she was within her own family, there was little she could do within the palace.

She was well aware of other noblewomen who had suffered after falling out of favor with the Empress Dowager.

And the unpleasant history she had with one of the Empress Dowager’s maids resurfaced in her memory.

Gradually, the strength in Caroline’s arm began to weaken.

Eleanor signaled Brianna to step back.

“Now, would you care to explain what brought you all the way to my office?”

“Damn it,” Caroline cursed bitterly, not wanting to concede until the end.

Brianna flared up, but Eleanor responded calmly, “Your language skills seem to be regressing. It seems your vocabulary is becoming more limited with time. I sincerely worry that your mind might regress as well.”

“You stole all my business, and now you’re shamelessly threatening me?”

Caroline cut straight to the point.

“You not only seized all the Ceylon tea but also stole my brand name and sold it as if it were yours. Do you call yourself a noblewoman after doing all this?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I know you had the Hippias Trading Company leader secure an exclusive contract.”

The whole point of Caroline’s venture into the Ceylon tea business had been undermined.

By not using the Mecklen Trading Company’s name but her own, she had wanted to show Norman and others maintaining House Mecklen that Ernst’s disposal of her was unjust and that she was indispensable to the family.

Moreover, since Ernst was increasingly involved in family matters, her sphere of activity was narrowing, making her even more desperate.

This venture had to succeed to prevent Ernst from further intervention.

‘Everything’s gone wrong.’

Caroline growled in fury.