There Is No Place For Fakes

A present arrived at the viscount’s house today. Several families sent gifts to connect with Manon, who might produce a new empress. They were expensive items that would have made Roseanne’s eyes wide open in the past, but now she didn’t even look at them. Viscount Manon spent the money like water and was pleased with his daughter’s future. Her brothers asked Roseanne, playfully, what would she do for them once she became empress? The title they used for Roseanne in the family also became ‘Our Empress’.

Roseanne now stiffened her neck in front of Sasha Muriel. Even her father, who had only been bowing down to Duke Muriel, sighed.

Everything was enjoyable. They were experiencing the pinnacle of happiness. 

That day, Roseanne was invited to a meeting by Marquis Odelli and headed to Marquis Odelli’s residence. The high-end wagon they bought yesterday rode proudly down the road.

Roseanne smiled heartily. Now, even the Marquis was impatient to invite her. Many young aristocrats gathered at the meeting hosted by Canny Odelli, a well-known socialite. All of them were children of good families, so it was the best place to make friends. Seeing Roseanne arrive at the meeting place, the other attendees whispered.

“That young lady is that young lady.”

“Does she have a great charm enough to captivate His Majesty?”

“She wears very expensive items.”

“I heard His Majesty gave it to her?”

“Anyway, I’m stuck on the subject of the country’s nobility.”

Roseanne fluttered her silk fan proudly. The delicate butterfly pattern embroidered stitch by stitch by her craftsman was very lively. Because of that, it was so expensive that her eyes popped out even though it was barely a fan.

Kenny Odelli greeted her.

“Hello, Lady Manon. This is your first visit. Do you like the atmosphere here?”

“Yes, I finally found a meeting that suits my level..

Kenny, who had momentarily smirked, was delighted when he saw the man just walking through the door.

“Nassar, long time no see!”

As always, Nassar Avrydon appeared, stealing the admiration of the surroundings. He was a man reminiscent of a beautiful angel statue. He was also a masterpiece created by a sculptor who gave him life.

Roseanne caught her spirit as she tried to daz him momentarily.

‘I already have a partner, so what am I doing blindly?’

And besides that, he was a person with a fiance. But wasn’t he, the best groom in the empire, the man Roseanne was aiming for in the first place? When she saw him, Roseanne suddenly felt sorry for herself. The Emperor was charming enough and the most dignified being, but the flaw was that he had a daughter the same age as Roseanne. He was also close to twice her age. If Roseanne had met Nassar first, rather than the Emperor, would it have been different?

Kenny kindly tapped Nassar on the shoulder.

“You’ve been frequenting Angelium lately, and you’re here today.”

“Ugh. I’m done with my business there.”

At the name Angelium, Roseanne was startled. Her memory of the time she slapped Philomel on the cheek came automatically to her mind. For a moment, she was worried about what would happen if Nassar knew about it.

‘It’s okay, how could he know that just because he went to Angelium!’

Roseanne calmed down and waited for Kenny to introduce her to Nassar.

“You know her, right? This is the famous Lady Roseanne.”

“Ah. I know her.”

Seeing Roseanne, his inside glowed coldly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Little Duke of Avrydon.”

Roseanne held out the back of her hand for him to kiss her. Nassar smiled and took the back of her hand and looked at the fan in that hand.

“It’s Terbeia’s fan.”

“Oh my God! You know?”

“Yes. It was popular in the social world at one time.”

Roseanne was excited and chatted.

“It’s Terbeia’s new work, which has gone a step further from the popular style. Originally, they wouldn’t sell it to anyone, but when I went to pay them a visit, they said that the fan had found it’s owner.”

“It looks like you’ve confused the words. I meant that it’s similar to Terbeia’s fan.”

“Pardon?”

“Terbeia never embroiders twice the same pattern on an object they have already embroidered. My mother already has a Terbeia fan embroidered with butterflies.”

That meant, this was…

Nassar laughed and hammered the nail.

“This is an imitation of Terbeia.”

Suppressed sneers erupted from all sides. Roseanne’s face turned red like a tomato. Nassar ‘undressed’ Roseanne from her head to her toes making her the object of humiliation. It was clearly his act of disrespecting her.

“The fan did a good job finding its owner.”

Roseanne hurriedly left the Marquis Odelli’s residence before the entertainment even started.

“Aaaagh!”

As soon as she climbed into the carriage she threw the fan on the floor of the carriage with a growl. What an angel, Nassar Avrydon was a serpent. A low-tempered and cunning bastard!

“You dare to ignore me, the future Empress? I will definitely tell His Majesty and won’t let you go!”

Roseanne, who had no choice but to grind her teeth, shouted at the coachman who was hesitant at her door.

“Let’s go to the boutique street right away! This time, make sure to go to a place that only deals with genuine products!”

When she arrived at the capital’s first boutique street, Roseanne swept through the shops one after another. And she bought all of her luxurious-looking products. Anything that would suit an Empress!

Even the store, which originally did not allow credit, recognized Roseanne and promised to send the goods to the mansion. The payment was put in front of the viscount’s family. Her father would grab her by the scruff of her neck, but it didn’t matter. Viscount Manon would make his daughter feel better no matter what. In her mind, she wanted to claim it as the imperial palace, but she didn’t have the right to do so because she wasn’t the Empress yet. The coachman asked Roseanne from the last shop.

“My lady, where are you going next?”

Roseanne answered without hesitation.

“Let’s go to the imperial palace.”

The carriage started moving. She intended to wait patiently until they called her, but Roseanne’s patience ran out. And there was that woman in the imperial palace. Philomel, who dared to slap her cheek, that woman. It’s really disgusting to see her living in the imperial palace that would become Roseanne’s home.

‘I’ll kick you out.’

When she arrived at the imperial palace, Roseanne noticed something and stopped. It was because a series of young ladies were entering the Imperial Palace one after another. 

Then Roseanne suddenly remembered. Today was the day of Princess Ellencia’s first tea party. She had a memory of knowing about all the ladies of powerful families being invited, and she was very angry since she didn’t receive any invitation. 

“Ooh.”

Roseanne’s eyes lit up. She didn’t know if it was a revelation from God that she came to the imperial palace today of all days. 

‘You can’t make a tea party that ignores me…’

On the first day of the ball, she distinctly remembered the princess, who looked down on her coldly and shunned her. She didn’t say anything then, but things are different now. Anyway, she was the one who would be her adoptive daughter if Roseanne became Empress. At this point, it’s better to be sure to break the flag. Roseanne changed her destination from the Emperor’s palace to the west palace, where the princess was staying.

* * *

In the West Palace’s Garden, the Princess’s outdoor tea party had just begun. The tea and food were great and the weather was nice. The flower decorations that decorated the table were luxurious. The other young ladies were happily chatting with the princess. But Melinda, from the County of Lusan, felt uncomfortable inside. Princess Ellencia, who was sitting right to her left, kindly asked.

“Doesn’t the tea suit your taste?”

“Oh, no! The taste and smell are very good!”

“It’s fortunate. I was worried that I might cause inconvenience to you because I’m not used to such luxurious things.”

Several young ladies scrambled to deny it.

“No, Your Highness, it is a wonderful tea party.”

“That’s right. It’s the best tea party I’ve ever been to…”

So, Melinda was uncomfortable with this atmosphere. Not too long ago, they said something similar at Princess Philomel’s tea party. But now they’re talking bad about her in front of Princess Ellencia.

“To be honest, Miss Philomel was too frugal. Flowers blooming in the garden are enough.”

“Yes, I don’t usually hold tea parties.”

Although her skillful conduct was the basic qualifications of an aristocrat, it felt too disrespectful to Melinda. Even though Philomel wasn’t a Princess anymore, Melinda still liked her and saw her as her role model. But Princess Ellencia…

“Don’t be so mean. Philomel is a good person.”

Outwardly, she pretended to stop them, but she didn’t look displeased at all. In fact, that attitude of the Princess fueled the coy gossip of the young ladies.

When Melinda first saw Princess Ellencia, she thought that the Princess seemed to be an easy-going and kind person. But she was not sure now. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one who felt that way since, except for a few of the ladies, the expressions on most of the guests were very awkward. However, they couldn’t show any discomfort in front of the Princess, so they just laughed. The precarious atmosphere soon broke.

“How are you guys!”

It was because one uninvited person broke in. These days, it was Roseanne Manon, a woman who was more rumored than the newly appeared princess.

“Lady! You can’t go in without an invitation!”

“Come out quickly!”

The maids tried to drag Roseanne out, but she dared them to lay a finger in her and they’ll see the rage of His Majesty, so the maids were at a loss. It was also because she did not yet have a lady-in-waiting to guide her.

“Ro, Roseanne!”

Seeing Roseanne, Sasha Muriel, who was sitting in her seat, turned white.

“Are you crazy! Why are you here?”

Roseanne lifted her chin.

“Why did I come to a place where I wasn’t invited? More than that, did you ask me if I’m crazy?”

“Oh, no, that’s not it…”

“Thinking about the future, you’d better be careful with your mouth. There’s a limit to how many times I can look away because you’re a relative.”

The young ladies narrowed their eyes.

“How can someone be so rude……!”

“Lady Manon, you’re in front of Her Highness the Princess. Be polite!”

But beyond that, she couldn’t utter harsh words. It was because they were all somewhat afraid of Roseanne, who might become the Empress. Princess Ellencia held up the teacup without being shaken.

“Lady Manon, I know that it is rude to attend a festivity without an invitation, even though my knowledge of etiquette is lacking.”

Roseanne put her chin on her hand, and her other hand thumped violently on the table.

“We’ll be seeing each other often, so please treat this level of rudeness as cuteness, Your Highness the Princess.”

Their gazes collided in midair.

“I’m not sure what you mean. I don’t want to see the young lady often.”

“Oh! I feel sad because I want to see Her Highness often…” 

Roseanne stressed one syllable after another.

“…like a family.”

The Princess’s smile wavered. It was only visible to Melinda, who was sitting right next to her. The ripples in the tea water in Ellencia’s teacup,to be precise, Ellencia’s hand holding the teacup was trembling.