Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

“Baron Rockefeller is dead?”“Yes, last night.”“Didn’t you say he was in treatment?”“It must have been difficult to recover from a serious head injury.”Helios let out a long sigh.The only thing on Baron Rockefeller’s ledger was money and his name.There was no way of knowing why the money was given and where it was spent until that person said it.So we were just waiting for the Baron to wake up.“It’s my fault. I should have put someone to watch over him as soon as it happened.”I hugged Helios, who was confused, and comforted him.“Don’t blame yourself. It was not something you could do.”“……”“Your Majesty will understand. If you’re having a hard time, I’ll come see you.”I was the one who persuaded Grand Duchess Crawford to let Helios take the case, so if someone has to take responsibility, it was me.“It doesn’t matter what your Majesty says… I’m sorry to disappoint you.”I shook my head as hard as I could at the rare weakness.“What do you mean? You never disappointed me.”“It’s okay if you don’t comfort me. This is clearly my fault.”“Helios.”I smiled lightly, wrapping his cheeks lightly.“Again, it’s not your fault. You’re doing my best, so don’t get weak.”As soon as the words were finished, Helios suddenly kissed my lips.“He-Helios.”Helios gently curled the corners of his eyes as I hugged his neck unknowingly because of the kiss.“It gives me some strength when you say that.”‘I can’t let my guard down anyway.’I loosened the arms holding Helios and set the tray down on the table.“Let’s eat first when you’re energized.”Helios sat down and picked up a sandwich as if he couldn’t win..He ate two sandwiches in the blink of an eye.“Shall I find out?”Helios paused and put down the cup he was holding.“Don’t be reckless. Do you know that every time you do that, my life feels like 10 years is cut off?”“I’m not doing anything reckless…”As he made a small protest, Helios grinned and pinched my cheek.“If you need help, you have to tell me first, so take care of yourself.”“I see.” **** Contrary to our wishes, the investigation hit the end with the death of Baron Rockefeller.Helios, who was agonizing, changed direction and began chasing the criminal who attacked Baron Rockefeller.If anyone had to shut his mouth and make him kill Baron Rockefeller, there must have been someone deeply involved in this case, because he was sure that if the criminal was caught, the clues to the case would be solved.However, there were no eyewitnesses and there were no clues, so the investigation hardly progressed.‘If only there was CCTV.’What would you want in a world where fingerprint recognition is not possible let alone CCTV?As I looked out the window and pondered, I turned my head to the sound of a sudden sigh.“Escal, are you okay?”“Huh? yes.”Escal, who had been sitting in the carriage heading for the Imperial Palace, wiggling his fingers, nodded his head.He had a very nervous face because he had heard that it was an important place.I pat Escal’s shoulder in his tuxedo, encouraging him.“Nothing to be nervous about. Go and say hello, and when someone calls you, you just have to be brave and answer it. Understand?”“Yes.”He’s nice.Actually, I was more worried than Escal.I would have bought Escal if she liked me, but I’m not the one who hates it.Being invited to the meeting is half of the Empress’s grumpy attitude, and there are many people who stalk me, so if I made a mistake, it would be a huge gossip.It’s okay, I can do it.While clenching my fists and making up my mind, the carriage passed through the gates.Unlike when I came with Helios, the carriage stopped in front of the Empress’s Palace, not the main palace.“Welcome, madam.”A servant wearing a nice bow tie greeted us.“I’ll take you inside.”Upon entering the private palace with Escal under the guidance of the attendant, the eyes of the ladies who were talking to each other quickly gathered and then dispersed.Everyone looked at us, but didn’t speak.Should I greet them first?At that time, I was looking around not knowing what to do.“You are here.”The Empress, who was surrounded by noble ladies, approached and pretended to know us first.“I see Your Majesty the Empress.”“Wake up, it’s not even the first time, so there’s no need to be polite.”The Empress lifted me up. Unlike the day of the award ceremony, it was a friendly attitude.After greeting me, her gaze turned to Escal. I pat Escal’s back slightly.“Escal, you should say hello to your Majesty the Empress.”“Hello, I’m Escalium Anthemion.”As Viscount Espenser had taught him, Escal clearly greeted her with his right knee bent.“You so brave. Come on, get up.”The Empress raised Escal with a smile on her face.“Did you say Escalium?”“Yes.”“How old are you this year?”“Uh, six years old.”“Yeah. You seem very clever that it resembles the Duke of Anthemion. Nice to meet you.”“I-I’m glad to see you.”Escal stuttered slightly as if nervous, but he passed the first hurdle safely.“Everyone, can you take a look here?”After a brief greeting, the Empress clapped her hands to focus the attention.“I will introduce you formally. The Duchess of Anthemion and Escalium Anthemion are the new members of the group starting today.”After a brief introduction, the Empress nodded to me. I took a step forward and opened my mouth.“Nice to meet you. I’m Lenia Anthemion. I look forward to your kind cooperation.”And after me, Escal, who swallowed dry saliva, introduced himself.“Hello, I’m Escalium Anthemion. Uh… I am six years old.”After Escal’s introduction, formal applause erupted.Contrary to what I was worried about because it was the first time, people were interested in us.So what do we do now?I had only heard that the Honor Society was a great gathering, but I didn’t know what they were doing.Like the students who heard the class bell, the ladies who had gathered in three or five rushed to somewhere.“Welcome Madam.”An unknown noblewoman beckoned to me in bewilderment.The place I followed was the music room.A familiar little girl was sitting in front of a small white piano.‘That kid… You’re that cheeky princess back then, aren’t you?’Was her name Adela?I was watching interestingly because it was plausible to warm up in front of the piano, and a man in a suit hit the bell he was holding.“Then there will be a piano performance by Lady Adela Hastings.”The crowd quickly became quiet.Adela stopped warming up her hands and started playing.A fern-like hand flew swiftly over the keyboard.While listening to the beautiful melody that spread throughout the room, I turned my attention to Escal. Escal was mesmerized and looked at the little girl playing the piano.‘You can’t fall in love with this girl.’The performance ended while I was worried about what to do if he fell for the wrong girl over the female lead.Adela jumped off her chair and raised her skirt to greet people.“As expected, the princess’s skills are great.”“Your Majesty must be very pleased.”The ladies gave praise until their mouths were dry mouths.After Adela left the place with a warm applause, it was a boy around ten years old who came forward.“Next is the reading of a poem by Gail Warland Eaton.”If ‘Eaton’, is it related to the Empress’s brother, Duke Eton?I watched the child with curious eyes.The boy cleared his voice and began to recite poetry.“I want to break up with you, but no, I don’t want to… The stars in your big eyes, no, the moonlight….”The beautiful verse faded from the poor reading.The child, who had been constantly fumbling as if he had not memorized all the poems, finally came down from the stage with a sad face, unable to finish it.Even so, the ladies gave compliments on their lips.“It was very moving.”“I know, right. Biden’s poetry is always beautiful to hear.”It’s not Biden, it’s Byron, Byron.After the boy went down, another kid came out and sang a song, and another came out with a picture he had drawn himself.Each time, the ladies clapped and complemented each other.It feels like a kindergarten talent show.I shrugged and glanced at Escal.Except for Princess Adela, it was a skill that children of her age could do, but it seemed like a shock to Escal.If I learned Taekwondo, I would also teach him.I don’t have anything to show you right now, but in two or three months, Escal will have at least one poem…No, no. It should not be burdenedI shook my head.After the short talent show was over, the wives rushed out of the music room.“Madam will go with me.”The woman who called me earlier spoke to me again.“Thank you. But what is your name…”“I’m Allison Turner, Count Turner’s wife. The Countess of Walford is my sister.”“Ah! nice to meet you ma’am.”“Me too.”Countess Turner smiled, saying she had heard from Countess Walford.Still, I was lucky that there was at least one benevolent person in this place, and I followed Mrs. Turner to the drawing room.Several people were already seated in the drawing room, but there were no children, all of them were wives.“Escal, go and say hello to your friends.”“Yes.”After leaving Escal, I sat down on the sofa and the maids brought me tea.Just as I was about to pick up the teacup, the woman sitting next to the Empress spoke to me at once.“The Duchess of Anthemion?”“Yes?”“I heard a lot of rumors. My name is Haley Warland Eaton.”If it’s Haley Warland Eaton… she is that personThe Empress’s troublesome younger brother’s wife, the Duchess of Eaton who may be an important character in the Baron Rockefeller case.“Nice to meet you. Duchess Eaton.”