When you’re as beautiful as her, you look presentable no matter what kind of face you make, Sofia thought inconsequentially as she offered an apologetic bow.
“We appreciate your coming, but the young mistress has ordered us to maintain the status quo for some time,” Sofia informed her.
“She has? How long is ‘some time’? Three days, maybe?”
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
The grand duchess tapped her foot impatiently. It was unbefitting for someone of her station.
“Well, do you have any idea about how long it will be, then?” Eliza asked.
“No, Your Excellency. The young mistress has not scheduled an execution for the prince, and I do not believe she—”
Before Sofia could finish explaining, the grand duchess dropped her cup.
“I can’t believe this. Not after I pushed so much work off on my retainers in a desperate attempt to make it in time for Rachel’s party!”
This broken engagement was an international nuisance.
“Sorry.”
Sofia wasn’t sorry at all, but she still bowed her head. Although they hadn’t invited Eliza, she would at least be polite.
“The young mistress knew everything in advance, and she is now enjoying a nice vacation in prison.”
Sofia explained the situation, including the fact that Rachel had let this happen and wanted to live a comfortable and self-indulgent life in the dungeon, where she wouldn’t be disturbed.
Grand Duchess Eliza stroked her chin. “Hrm, that does sound like Rachel... I guess the Young Ladies in Mourning Clothes won’t have anything to do here. And here I was thinking it was an opportunity for Rachel to become a regular member of the society.”
“Is that...a good thing?” Sofia asked.
The Young Ladies in Mourning Clothes was a secret organization formed to save those whose engagements were broken off unfairly or were attacked in the night. They helped young men and women who’d lost everything in villainous and crafty ways, providing them places to live in secret and assisting them in a wide variety of ways as they sought revenge on their atrocious exes.
It was a secret society, so the full scope of the organization wasn’t public knowledge, but the Black Cats of the Dark Night had investigated and learned that dozens of princesses and queens and hundreds of noblewomen helped manage the group due to their past experiences. Honestly, the fact that there were enough similar incidents to necessitate a society like this made Sofia question what was wrong with the world they lived in.
This was the mutual aid society that Rachel had met the grand duchess through. Rachel had approved of their goal and begun making donations a number of years ago, and they’d gotten to know each other at the regular society meetings. It seemed unlikely that it was because she had foreseen Elliott breaking off their engagement, though.
Thanks to Rachel’s charitable soul, Sofia was now having to fend off an unwanted intervention.
“Doesn’t Rachel want to watch that idiot prince’s head fly? Whoosh! Wouldn’t that be satisfying?” Eliza asked excitedly.
When Grand Duchess Eliza Rosenthal was about the same age as Rachel was now, her ambitious fiancé, who’d been collaborating with the enemy, had stabbed her in the back during the decisive battle that would decide the fate of her country. Her loyal retainers had retrieved her from the collapsing front line, and she’d survived to massacre the traitors who’d taken over the country and restore the grand duchy. It was a rousing tale of adventure, but Sofia wished that the grand duchess wouldn’t assume that her own harsh experience applied to everyone.
“The young mistress seems to have a somewhat softer outcome in mind,” Sofia stated.
“By softer, you mean...she’s not going to make it slow? It’ll just be off with his head, like that?”
“I told you, she has no plans to execute him. Did you make it slow when you did it, Your Excellency?”
Please, spare me these overenthusiastic outsiders, Sofia thought to herself. At the rate this bloodthirsty woman was going, she was bound to crush not just Elliott and his merry band of idiots but the knights too.
“The actual beheading was over in a second, but I drew it out by taking my time and letting him beg for his life before that. Thinking back, the execution was too quick. Something to reflect on for next time.”
“I think it would be better if there was no next time.”
Eliza seemed to think the same way as the young mistress. No wonder they got along.
The grand duchess pouted like a child. “What’s the harm, beheading an idiot or two, or ten, or even twenty? Ugh, this is all too much hassle. Just kill him already. I can’t be bothered to remember his name, but that ex-fiancé of hers is absolute trash, right? Kill him good!”
“That is for the young mistress to decide. It is troubling that you would suggest it as if it were something you would do at a drunken party.”
Sofia tried to turn her down gently, but Eliza leaned in and kept going.
“If you’re short of hands, that’s fine. My people can round up that garbage prince and his people in one fell swoop! Hell, at that point, why don’t we hack up the rest of the people in the castle while we’re at it?”
“Many of our people are in the palace too, so please refrain from... Hold on. The entire castle? Don’t tell me there are more of you here?!”
Among those who knew them, the Western District were especially feared for how insane they could be in battle. When Sofia had heard that the commander of that district had brought four of her closest comrades, she’d brought four of her best with her too. But while Eliza had real combat experience, she wasn’t going to idly boast that she could take the castle with four or five people.
“Of course there are,” Eliza replied. She blinked as if she wanted to know why Sofia had asked something so obvious. “We didn’t know how many competent people your garbage prince would have on his side, so I brought all four squads from the Nachtkampfgruppen, which I command.”
“Forty people?!” Sofia exclaimed.