“Me, seriously?”
It was simply an excuse to make her move before she flew to Britain.
At least, only Elaine and Morgause would be going to the succession ceremony.
It would be nice if they could keep her quiet and locked in her room, if only to keep an eye on her.
Duke Fay was not the kind of man to send her to a succession ceremony, no matter what.
In the original story, Morgana bribed soldiers to storm into the palace.
This was possible because the succession ceremony was full of people, many of whom were outsiders, and many of whose loyalties had been forfeited to the failing Avalon.
Morgana figured it was a place she’d never go unless she wanted to.
But now, against her will, the Duke of Fay wants to send her.
‘Did he finally eat something wrong?’
I don’t remember feeding him something…
While glaring hard at the back of the Duke of Faye’s head, he handed the papers over to his servant and spoke briskly.
“I’m going to declare you a distant relative of mine, so it shouldn’t be too hard to convince them that you have powers. There will be some minor complications, but it shouldn’t be a problem if you’re adopted into the Fay family.”
For some reason, the mention of a strange family name, Lloyd or Roarde, made me uneasy.
He’d been saying all along that he intended to attend the succession ceremony, so I had to swallow every word.
‘I was even looking for a carriage to run away on that day!’
Her hands were shaking, but Duke Fay seemed to think she was touched that she could take part in such a highly anticipated ceremony.
“It’s not enough to look at the books on your shelves to prepare for the palace, you’ll need to have your clothes tailored tomorrow.”
“Very well, Duke.”
“Oh, and change your address to Father. Once you’re adopted, it’s official.”
Morgana’s mouth gaped open at how well this was going.
The Duke of Fay, not expecting this, swiped a hand across his face.
“The House of Fay has decided to bring tea leaves to the succession ceremony.”
Well, she had expected that tea leaves were the hottest item on the market right now.
She wasn’t going to make them anyway.
No one knew much about tea leaves except her, so the thought of giving them away was widespread.
But she nodded to show she understood.
Duke Fay sighed and continued, “Originally, Morgause or Elaine was supposed to bring it, but it seems the palace wants to test her powers.”
The new king of Avalon seemed suspicious that Fay’s healing power had long since been lost.
It wasn’t an unreasonable request, as he would have wanted the lake fairy’s healing powers to be demonstrated at the succession ceremony.
‘Word has reached the royal court already.’
It’s just some decent tea leaves I picked and sold. Is it really that great?
For a place that relies on the power of the gods rather than herbs, I guess it’s all a bit strange.
Duke Fay’s gaze wandered off into thin air.
After hesitating, he dismissed his servant and spoke up.
“If we’re coming in this way, we’ll have to be careful with our words. You’ve been acting so viciously that I hadn’t even considered it…”
At the mention of the word vicious, he coughed a loud, ‘Ahem’ sound.
I’m not sure who’s talking to whom, but consider it an introduction.
“You’ve grown up, and you’re pretty quiet these days, so I’m going ahead with this. If you get caught, it’s you and me both, so you’ll have to take care of yourself.”
In the original, Morgana makes a scene about wanting to attend the succession ceremony.
Phew, Morgana sighs.
Her plans have been thwarted, but only by the slightest of nuances.
She’d been planning to sneak out of the mansion, away from everyone, but now she’d have to run away from the palace.
After all, the succession ceremony involves a lot of visitors from outside the country.
It would be a huge mess, so perhaps I’d be better off running away.
With so many carriages coming and leaving, it wouldn’t be strange to see one of Morgana’s rented carriages waiting near the palace.
“So there’s a lot for you to do today.”
Morgana, who had quickly revised her plans, simply nodded as she looked at Duke Fay, who, unlike before, seemed to be paying close attention to her.
🗡️
“Good afternoon, Miss Morgana. This is Madame Aucelyn from the Salons Détran.”
The next day, true to the Duke’s words, Morgana’s room was visited by countless visitors.
They were the first official visitors Morgana had received since entering the House of Fay.
“This cloth is of that gold-threaded diamond lace which is coveted even in Britain. It was woven by a master craftsman, every stitch a work of art!”
“Gold thread and diamond?”
Well, a gold thread would be gold, and a diamond would be a diamond. How does it become lace in the first place?
As Morgana squinted, trying to find the diamonds in the lace, Madame Aucelyn smirked, her mouth widening.
“This lace is a piece of jewelry. It only shows its worth when you stand under a chandelier!”
As she clapped her hands together, the staff behind her entered, carrying several colorful dresses.
From among them, she held up a blue dress and said, “When you wear a dress like this and stand under the chandelier, the tiny diamond particles will glitter in the light!”
The maids and servants who had been hearing her off to the side clapped in delight.
Olivia, especially, who had grown accustomed to Morgana’s company, was thrilled.
“I was so worried that you would end up with cold bread, and I’m sure the chef is baking a cake today, much to your satisfaction.”
Olivia began to speak, then gasped. She glanced at Morgana pleadingly.
“The chef said it was a surprise. Please pretend you didn’t know.”
In truth, the chef had been making Morgana desserts quite often, so it wasn’t a surprise.
From cakes to cookies to pies, almost every day of the week.
Something to go with tea, something to thank her for the herbs.
Olivia was there, although, unlike the other noblewomen who tended from their childhood, her help was limited to tying their hair each time or simply assisting them in getting their clothes tidy when gathering herbs.
Their eyes lit up at the return of what was supposed to be their main subject.
As expected, Morgana ended up wearing almost an entire house’s worth of clothes from head to toe.
“What a beautiful young lady to come to Fay’s family. Did you say you were from the province?”
“Ah, yes…”
“Well, if you’re from the estate of the Roarde, it’s a nice place with good air and fresh water. We have someone from there in our salon, and she’s been singing its praises.”
Madame, who was sewing, asked, continuing the conversation.
It appeared that she was already known to the world as a distant relative and adopted child from the countryside of Roarde.
‘I had no idea the Duke of Fay was such a driven man.’
Morgana glanced at the accessories on her body.
‘These would be perfect if I had to make a run for it.’
It wasn’t stolen, it just happened to fall into my lap.
Morgana laughed sheepishly and pointed a finger at Madame Aucelyn.
“Which is the more expensive, these amethyst earrings or the topaz ones?”
“The topaz is about ten gold more expensive, but I think the amethyst would suit you better…”
“I’ll take the topaz.”
“What?”
“I’ll take the topaz.”
Morgana nodded decisively, and Madame Aucelyn responded with a capitalistic smile.
“Then you’d better buy them both!”
If you hadn’t, I would have taken the money I earned on my way to Britain.
The Duke of Fay could only be described as self-indulgent.
Morgana was actively choosing jewelry when he came to visit.
The Duke of Fay nodded approvingly as she held up a pair of white pearl earrings and a necklace made of expensive mermaid tears, her curly silver hair dangling.
“Now you look like one of the Fays.”
He scowled at her, but for some reason, he seemed affable.
Morgana smiled shamelessly and answered, “Thank you, Duke.”
“You should be careful with your titles.”
“…Yes… Father…”
Only then did the Duke glance around her room to ensure she was satisfied.
“The succession ceremony is just around the corner. How are the tea leaves coming along?”
It’s only been a day, how on earth could tea leaves be grown?
~ I changed Olia's name to Olivia, Morgana's maid.
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