The Flower of Separation

"I can't believe they are keeping you locked up here!"

Lilian chuckled. The person sat opposite of her and throwing a tantrum was Jorah. She has not seen her since that time during the banquet. It seems the girl was worried, so she bravely came to the Ageha family grounds to look for her, and the guards there brought her here.

"I wondered why you weren't replying to my letters. I thought you were upset."

"Not at all. I have been fairly occupied."

Jorah sighed deeply. "Is this because of the hunt?"

"Did you hear what happened last year?"

"No, I received an invite, so I was in the audience."

Lillian blinked when she heard those words. Did father invite Jorah to watch? Is it because of her husband? But even then, there is something wrong here. As she thought, there is something about Jorah that differs from the others. It is no wonder father did not intervene when Jorah became her companion.

Normally when somebody approaches her, her father would get rid of them in seconds. No, he is not doing that because he cares for her but because he does not want people to take advantage of her. He doesnt want her ability falling into the wrong hands.

So Jorah has known about her for so long?

"This tea is very nice." Jorah beamed happily. "Did you make this yourself?"

"No, I have a very competent servant for these things."

Who would have thought that guy could handle kitchen duties well too? So he isn't just a pretty guard. Lilian also observed his skills when he is training. Indeed, she could see why her other sister would fall for him. He comes from a good family background too. By now, her sister has heard the news and even sent a congratulation letter.

A letter with a gift. Those flowers she sent had poisonous stems. Since it was pressed into the envelope for so long, Lilian noticed it right away. That woman is doing a very bad job containing her jealousy. It won't surprise her if she has something in mind for the hunt.

Now that Lucas is taking her place, will she target Lucas instead? Lilian chuckled at the thought. Sister Bridget trying to seduce Lucas? That will be very interesting. When she first brought Lucas over to the Ageha family, father and brother sent many maids and even daughters of noble families to Lucas side. But it did no good. All of these people ended up dead.

Sister Bridget must know that since one of them was her head maid before. Surely she won't think of it?

Her thoughts broke off when she hears a familiar tap on the window. Lilian stood up and walked over; there in the balcony was a small bird with a scroll. Lilian removed the scroll and walked back to the table.

"Is that from sir Lucas?" Jorah asked.

"Yes, at first, we used my servant to go back and forth to send messages. But you know how people are in the palace. They found it unusual that the Empress and me would write that many letters."

"Oh, you addressed it to the Empress?"

"You see, if I sent it directly to Lucas, then they will most likely check the content of the letter. However, if it is a letter for the Empress, then the Empress head aide shall fetch it and bring it to her."

"The imperial palace seems complicated. But are letters censored in normal noble family homes too?"

"It depends on the household but normally, yes. Not for the Ageha family, though. Can you imagine reading another person's letter regarding their mission?"

Jorah sweat fell. "I see."

"We have messengers for each family member lined up at the door. These messengers are exclusive and only send messages for that one person."

"Then could you not have asked your messenger to come along?"

Lilian shook her head. "It is complicated." They all have their exclusive messengers, but those are still people loyal to her father. She turned to the letter in her hands.

Lilian,

I can sense your mana flying out of your body from the Imperial Palace.

What are you some kind of child?

But even a child has better control than you.

So take your medicine on time.

Her eyes twitched, annoyed at the child's comment. Why can't this guy write anything nice? Besides, she wrote such a long letter. Why did he write something so short?

"I have heard the rumors from the palace. They say sir Lucas is very popular. People were wary to approach him before, but now they are saying all kinds of nice things."

The reason why people didn't approach Lucas before was because of her. Naturally, nobody could go near him when somebody as scary as she was around.

"I hear he has received a lot of proposals."

At that comment, Lilian spat out her drink, and Jorah beamed. "I am sure it upsets you with so many people flocking to your lover like that."

L-o- right they are pretending. She almost forgot that he accepted her idea. He has received that many proposals? Could it be he is turning it down because of her plan? If she didn't suggest something like that, then perhaps he would have said yes?

Should she tell Jorah the tr- Lilian paused when she saw the flowers surrounding her friend and her bright eyes. On second thoughts, it will backfire on her.

"The reason you came today."

"Oh yes! You know how you told me to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity in the market?"

"Yes, did you find something?"

"I don't know if this information will be useful for you. But recently, there are a lot of southern merchants setting up their stalls."

"Southern merchants? How can you tell?"

Jorah pulled something out of her bag; it was two pieces of cloth. "The material from clothes from the main city, in contrast to the south, differs. But it is not obvious unless one owns both pieces of clothing. I have had gifts from southern merchants before, so I could tell." Jorah took something else from her bag. "The real problem is this."

Her eyes widened when she saw the two bronze copper coins on the table. "Is one of them fake?"

"Yes. The thing is, the southern merchants using these to pay have no idea that their money is counterfeit. They made it very well, but any experienced seller can tell. So that is why some fights broke out on the streets."

"Did the soldiers from the castle come?"

It sounds like there was a large disturbance.

"Yes, sir Lucas was there too!"

Lucas was with the imperi-- Lilian turned back to her letter.

Lately, I have found something interesting to play with to cure my boredom. But don't leave me alone for too long.

That guy is brave enough to mess with the imperial soldiers. The Empress general sister must be having a hard time. When Lucas is bored, he will do anything to cure his boredom. Then again, she is the same type.

It is a good thing that Sir Gareth proved to be more interesting than she thought; otherwise, she would have killed him already.