With Olivia holding on to the Duke’s residence, it was only a matter of time before all the vassals who had been snooping around were gone.

“If it’s not urgent, postpone it for a few years.”

Actually, she didn’t give Kallaudin much advice.

“After you become an adult, you gain more perspective and grow up, then you decide. You have good natural intelligence, so you will grow up well.”

That was how his strange upbringing began.

Olivia didn’t have a big emotional connection with him, but she somehow managed to get a quality teacher. She told him to quickly develop his capabilities.

“For now, just maintain the status so that we don’t go bankrupt. Unless it’s urgent, leave it as your father set it.”

Despite the fact that she also took care of quite a bit of estate work, she mainly took on simple tasks that did not require judgment.

“Aunt, everyone calls you a wicked woman… Why are you being so nice to me?”

When Kallaudin held back and asked once, Olivia rolled her eyes and answered.

“Does this seem ‘nice’? Sh*t, do you have a problem with your frontal lobe?”

“….”

“Do you want me to eat with you, pat you while we go for a walk, or tell you that I pity you for being an orphan?”

“…Not really, but still—”

“Even though I am mean, I love Icard very much. It’s also my identity. That’s it.”

Olivia divided her life between Livienne and the Capital for years. It seemed like everything had come to an end, and peace had come. Nonetheless, as Kallaudin slowly approached adulthood, another problem began to arise.

It was a matter of his engagement.

“Aren’t Icard’s hand precious? The succession needs to be stabilized quickly.”

“Even if it’s not an early marriage, wouldn’t you like to get engaged by now and get married as soon as you become an adult?”

Those who gave up on Icard’s regency now began targeting becoming Icard’s in-laws.

Originally, it was a natural culture to interact with other noble children from a young age, naturally forming factions and becoming engaged. Still, although Olivia provided Kallaudin with a quality education, she did not form good friendships.

This was because, although Olivia had great influence in the Capital’s social circles, she had no cliques formed, and her suspicions were many.

Her theory was, ‘It’s better to be alone than to be around someone you can’t trust.’

Regardless, that was her position, and she had to get Kallaudin to marry.

Originally, most aristocratic marriages were made with the agreement of her parents, so Olivia had to recommend a few people according to custom.

Naturally, she had no family with which she had been associated for a long time, so she had to be cautious about marrying him off. Therefore, they had to be engaged in order for her to see it. And if he was to get married without any problems when he came of age, she had to have decided on the engagement by now.

“Sh*t, I can’t trust it all. Which family should I connect with…”

She asked Kallaudin.

“What kind of woman do you like?”

“I’ve never thought about it. But there is one condition I want.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t want to get tangled up with people who are trying to teach Duchy Icard.”

“Well, you could take advantage of a family that is involved in marriage. It’s not for nothing that people form relationships with each other.”

“I still don’t want it. I’m not a very ambitious person… Anyway, other than that, it doesn’t matter. Aunt can choose a suitable woman.”

Kallaudin answered harshly, and Olivia kept her silence for a while before she spoke.

“Then, what about a woman like me who meets those conditions?”

“That’s not possible.”

“….”

He wasn’t okay with just any woman, after all. At least he didn’t seem to have a strange taste for swearing and irritating women.

In other words, it meant that, unlike Count Livienne, Kallaudin was normal.

Olivia sighed and shifted her gaze to the pile of letters. Everyone in the Capital now knew that Olivia was Kallaudin’s de facto parent. It had been quiet for a while, though when talk of Kallaudin’s engagement began to circulate, invitations were pouring in from all over again.

Among them, there was a salon invitation that she had not received in a very long time.

When she was young, salon gatherings were all the rage in the Capital. Now that the trend had passed, only a few old salons were still alive and well.

‘What do you expect to get from this old-fashioned gathering?’

She sorted through the invitations to the salon and glared at them quietly.

‘But I’m also old-fashioned in the capital’s social circles.’

All the flimsy salons were gone now. Only the truly famous and prestigious salons remained, and the greatest of them all…

‘It looks dark inside, but it’s also disappointing, so there’s nothing I can do about it.’

So, Olivia sent a reply to Marchioness Daniac’s invitation to the salon, saying that she would visit soon.

* * *

‘…I expected this, but these are too harsh.’

When she arrived at Marchioness Daniac’s salon, Olivia swallowed the curses.

“Long time no see. Welcome.”

The owner of the salon, Cynthia Nica Daniac, was an elegant lady who was her age.

“You came to the capital a long time ago, but how can you be so out of touch?”

Olivia glanced around and snorted once. Ladies of her age were gathered together, sitting next to ladies of Kallaudin’s age.

“It’s disgusting to see people who curse Ikard and want Ikard more than anyone else.”

“What, what is that…”

“There’s no time, so get started quickly.”

As Olivia sat at the head of the table and crossed her legs, Cynthia looked a bit confused, but she quickly smiled again.

“Today, I had invited Mrs. Lizzie of Lizzie’s Dressing Room to hear about this spring’s dress trends.”

Usually, salons would gather around a single topic, such as lectures or promotions.

“As today’s topic, everyone was present with their daughters or close lady-friend. I hope you have a good time.”

Mrs. Lizzie, the Capital’s most famous designer, greeted graciously. She said softly as she pointed to the young lady who came with her.

“Miss Matilda helped me with this pamphlet as well. You can see it.”

At those words, a pretty woman with red hair and blue eyes called Matilda stood up and greeted them modestly. She was wearing a simple white dress, but judging by the way Mrs. Lizzie used an honorific, she might not be an assistant.

As soon as the maid started handing out the pamphlets, everyone started talking among themselves.

“Ah, it looks very neat this time too. It’s sorted well by price.”

“Everything has definitely become more organized since Miss Matilda came in.”

As Olivia looked at the well-organized pamphlet, she gleaned some information.

The red-haired girl in front of her was the youngest daughter of Viscount Vianos, who owned a small estate in the far northeast and was a talented person who graduated at the top of her class at the Academy.

Mrs. Lizzie had a graduate of the Academy as her accounting and management advisor. Matilda was famous for the neatness she kept in Mrs. Lizzie’s dressing room.

“It’s nice to see that, as a young lady from a noble family, she has great insight and thorough manners.”

“I heard she has a gentle and kind personality. How can she be so pretty when she smiles?”

Olivia frowned slightly as she looked at the pamphlet. There’s no way they’d be this eager to praise others, right?

“Though how much does she make working in a clothing store run by a commoner if her family had no money?”

“Well, in the countryside, there are a lot of families on the verge of ruined nobility whose titles are everything. What’s the point of graduating at the top of the Academy? She probably won’t even be able to get a proper dowry.”

“You never know. Mrs. Lizzie said she never sends money to her family. I think she has a harsh side when it comes to money.”

Well, yes, it was a cornerstone for gossip.

Mrs. Lizzie’s announcement was long.

Olivia sat up straight and studied something other than the new dress, and when her presentation was over, she declared.

“As you all know, I came to look for Kallaudin’s fiance. Anyway, he wasn’t that interested, so he said he would marry her according to the conditions I recommended.”

Everyone looked at Olivia and swallowed a gulp. They had unanimously ejected her from the salon after being beaten by Olivia twenty years ago. Of course, they could not bear to say, ‘You get out!’, and said, ‘Our salon is too poor to meet Lady Ikard’s discernment.’

But…

“No matter how old the trend is, salons are the only social gatherings I’m familiar with, so I thought about visiting a few salons, but now I’ve changed my mind.”

Olivia spread her tiger fan, and she said haughtily.

“I guess it’s all similar, right? It’s extremely boring, so I’ll just pick one and finish here today.”

“…Yes?”

“Kallaudin is not yet an adult, but he has grown up to be quite smart, and I want him to get engaged quickly so I can return to Livienne. I can’t stand my husband’s frustration every time I come.”

After that, it was a crucible of confusion. All the members of the salon were busy pushing Olivia to see their daughter, their goddaughter, their niece or relatives that they had brought with them.

“Our Ailee is very good at embroidery. She also prepared a handkerchief that she embroidered herself for Lady Olivia!”

“What do you mean embroidery, Lady Olivia? Don’t look at that kind of sincerity? Our Emily is an investment genius. She brought a gold ring from a gold mine she invested in!”

“Lady Olivia, what is a handkerchief or a gold ring? My daughter, Mila, is very good at pleasing people. Would you like to talk to her?”

Of course, it was inevitable that the salon members would feel hurt towards each other. However, Duchy Ikard was a very desirable in-law. Besides, Olivia was going down to Livienne again! In that case, there were no adults in that enormous family except for the boy Kallaudin.

Therefore, that day, Marchioness Daniac’s salon was a complete mess with people trying to get one more word out for Olivia.

Even Cynthia, the owner of the salon, pushed her niece in.

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