Chapter 1553: A Party in Hassen
Zinnia remembered how things were until a few weeks ago, before she got in contact with her brother again.
At the time, she hoped that he was at least living decently. She had no news about Bleulle outside of what the Lord told her, so she only knew he was alive and had a family.
She only hoped their brothers didn’t make his life too difficult.
That said, when her daughter was sent out to marry the Lord, she felt powerless. All she could do was ask her to connect with her brother, to at least have family to support her, even if their place in the family wasn’t too good.
Who’d have thought—she would receive news of their fall instead.
The Lord of Hassen himself told her—amusement laced in his tone—and she hurriedly confirmed it to her daughter, who had been reluctant to tell her all this time.
Still, at the time, she refused to cry.
Zaol might not have shown exemplary powers when she knew him, but she always knew his heart was strong. How could he remain kind despite all the evil that surrounded them otherwise?
She just denied this news, telling herself it was a misunderstanding. She couldn’t sleep nor could she eat, but in her heart, she just refused to believe he was really dead.
Who’d have thought that she’d cry like a baby the moment she confirmed it?
For the first few years, Zinnia would often dream of her kind brother appearing, but while those were happy dreams, she would wake up and be reminded that it was too dangerous for him, and she didn’t want him to do so at all. It was a complicated feeling.
Although it had been decades, her mind’s image of her brother was still that meek young man who protected her under their family’s oppression.
Now...he told her he’d find a way to get her soon. To be honest, she had few expectations, and she was even tempted to stop him.
However, just the thought that someone was worrying about her —that someone was still out there trying to protect her—was enough to make her happy.
...
More days passed, and another party held by the Lord Evos was held. Although Hassen City was relatively low-key in the sense that they hadn’t gone into a war in decades, they still showed off their wealth—particularly their abundance in various metals—quite often.
One instance was their lavish parties that happened once a month. It was not a big party and would only invite the highest nobles and guests, but it had become a status symbol among citizens to be invited here.
This time, the occasion was the birthday of the Lord’s second son, Pairo. All the Lord’s wives, including Zinnia, would have to attend.
Since the Golds’ alleged obliteration, the Lord thought that there was no reason to hide her again. That got boring after some time, anyway.
The looks on her were mostly that of mockery, as if watching a show. She was, after all, the remaining remnant of a once-respected family.
A personality like Evos was a bit war-like, so it was amazing he hadn’t waged a war for so long. The City perhaps organized and started wars in lower territories, perhaps, but not one directly involving them. People just thought he had turned a new leaf, but most of the ones who knew him knew otherwise.
Silva had the fortune of being assigned to this party. This was a sought-after assignment for many guards because it would feel like they were part of nobility.
They could also taste the food after the event and, if they were lucky enough to get positive attention from nobles, then they might even rise in rank.
There were even instances where a guard and a lady were caught in compromising positions and the guard became the son-in-law of a noble.
Anyway, obviously, this meant that a newcomer like Silva had no business being here. However, he found out during one of his spying that a few guards planned on adding laxatives (strong ones if he wanted it to work on these levels) on other guards’ food.
Silva had to eat a few too, so he did not appear suspicious, but fortunately, he had a box of medicine with him that he could take afterwards.
A ’mysterious leak’ was also released to the servant administrators, and somehow, the poisoners were also revealed, ensuring there were plenty of spots left for him.
"This is amazing... I can’t believe I’m here too," Maison—another guard—said, looking around in awe. He was in his late 20s, though likely mid-30s considering his level.
Maison could be considered one of Silva’s few friends in the guard team. When he had just entered, this guy helped him out a lot, and in time Silva could feel the man’s sincerity.
He looked at the food table and gulped. "I wish we could take some home. My daughter would love it..."
Other than them, the families of the Lord’s children were there. The two sons both had harems, but they could only take 2 women with them. Piddes, the heir, brought his main wife and another woman.
His main wife, Octavia from Bleulle was very pregnant and he was advised by the doctors not to go too wild. Fortunately, Piddes had a lot of women. One of his underlings even gifted him a gorgeous one!
Each wife was also allowed to have one servant with them. The person with Octavia was—in the standards of many nobles—ugly, with a large birthmark on her face.
Octavia did this on purpose, of course, because this meant fewer people would approach her. With Esstia next to her, they would either avoid or mock, but the latter would be directed at the servant.
Seeing Esstia, Silva flinched a bit, and he looked down. Esstia felt a deep stare a moment before and looked around, her eyebrows furrowed as she narrowed her eyes in a direction.
"What is it?" Octavia asked, and the maid immediately looked down.
"I just thought someone was heading here, milady."
"Hmn."
Estia heaved a sigh when Octavia dropped the topic. She couldn’t help but look again in a direction, wondering if she had seen it correctly.
Then again...she had been seeing a lot of that man’s ’ghosts’ around. She often saw him everywhere because she longed to see him.
This must be one of those cases...right?