Kapitel 20: Ch. 20 This Is The Beginning (1)

Helen couldn't speak at the sudden focus of attention.

At that moment Marissa's hardened face came into her view. Helen couldn't forget that this tea party was hosted by one of the most powerful women in southern society. She wouldn't be the one to ruin this.

While Sarah and Margaret were distracted by the unexpected development, Helen quickly took note of the situation. She didn't understand why Elena would knock away the teacup, but Helen quickly improvised a new plan.

She was going to bury the Blaise sisters here. Mirabelle had dared to mock her. The humiliation she received today was too much for her to back down now, just after she had added the salt as a trick.

At the sound of the teacup shattering the party had turned dead silent, but now murmuring voices began to fill the air. Everyone's attention was turned to Marissa, who was approaching them to see what had happened.

She arrived right behind Elena and was about to ask what was going on when–

"…Heugg."

Suddenly Helen dissolved into tears.

Sarah and Margaret looked the most embarrassed to see her cry. Marissa's face was set as she to look at Elena, Mirabelle, Sarah and Margaret gathered at the table. It was no small issue that Helen, a noblewoman, was crying at her gathering.

"What is going on here?"

Helen was the first to answer with a choked voice.

"Lady Lawrence spilled a cup by mistake, and I only asked Blaises to drink tea together as an apology…heugg."

Helen's eyes were wet with tears as she covered her mouth with both hands. Marissa rushed a handkerchief to Helen in an attempt to soothe her.

"Oh, dry your tears, young lady."

"Then Lady Blaise knocked the cup to the floor and it broke…I was–I was so embarrassed and hurt…"

Helen accepted the handkerchief offered by Marissa and wiped her tears away. Then she pretended to hold back her sobs and spoke again.

"Lady Blaise, have I done something wrong?"

She clutched the handkerchief to her heart. The curious crowd turned to Elena and Mirabelle. Marissa glowered at Elena, looking colder than before.

"Lady Blaise, is this true?"

Sarah's and Margaret's expressions of worry turned to relief as the situation turned into an advantageous direction. Only Mirabelle's face was anxious at the sudden change in mood.

"Um, sister…."

At Mirabelle's shaky voice, Elena held her sister's small hand. Then Elena looked straight at Sarah, Margaret, and Helen in front of her.

The reason why she didn't remember this incident immediately was because she was still relatively young here. In the future where she experienced hardship after her family was killed, the memory of being tricked into drinking salty tea was laughably trivial. When Elena worked as a mercenary, she was always at risk of poisoning and even nearly died to it at one point. To drink this cup of salty tea was nothing to Elena. If she had drank this alone, she would have laughed over it. But…

But not with Mirabelle. She could never forgive Helen tricking her beloved sister into drinking it. If she could wield her sword here, Elena would have defeated them with her strength without a single hesitation.

Then she would cut off at least one arm just to teach them a lesson.

However, this was high society, and Elena's sword fighting skills were not of help. In this situation she felt more comfortable with strategizing and competing fairly with her skills.

Once again, Elena became disillusioned with society, but that didn't mean she would be as vulnerable as before. She knew all too well that people's words could be more frightening than knives. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If Helen would use her tears to play this game, Elena would deal with her the same way.

"What Lady Selby says is not true, Madame."

At Elena's calm answer Marissa opened her mouth curiously, but Helen cut in before she could say a word.

"Not true? So I'm a liar?"

"It is true that we were going to have tea together, but it was not tea we were given."

Marissa, who was listening to the two women, could not help but cut in.

"What in heaven's name does that mean? Not tea?"

Helen's face hardened in an instant. So it was true that Elena noticed her plan from the time they spilled the teacups. But how did she know? She could not understand how Elena knew the tea was salted without drinking it. No matter how hard Helen thought about it, she couldn't understand how she was caught.

'She suspected that something was wrong, so she stopped her sister from drinking it.'

She wanted Elena to be embarrassed in front of everyone before she could prove her claim. However, if Elena already figured out her plan, Helen was ready with another solution.

'This is the only way…yes.'

As people began to listen to Elena speak, Helen took a step back with a resentful look on her face. The evidence was in the teapot containing the salty tea. If Helen pretended to mistakenly spill the teapot on the floor, Elena would not be able to reveal the truth not matter how much she protested.

People loved gossip. Once bad rumors about the Blaises would spread, it would be difficult to stop, regardless whether it was true or not. Such was the game in high society, and Helen had the confidence to play smarter than anyone else.

Furthermore, people's hearts were weak at the sight of a crying woman. Helen was the first shed tears, and she knew she was still received more sympathetic attention than Elena.

Helen took a step forward with a determined face, then pretended to trip and fall into the table. And unlike Margaret's awkward attempt, Helen grabbed at the tablecloth with natural ease.

The teapot on the table shook and was on the verge of tipping over onto the ground.

Dululu–

Taag!

In a gust in wind, a chair skidded across the ground and the backrest blocked the teapot from plunging to the ground. The teapot balanced and stopped at the edge of the table.

Helen's eyes widened at the dramatic stunt. Her gaze slowly moved in the direction where the chair flew from.

There stood Elena with an impassive face. Those far away did not see what had happened, but Mirabelle, Marissa, and Sarah and Margaret saw it clearly with their own eyes. With the reflexes of a feline, Elena had grabbed the chair next to her and thrust it towards Helen. Elena couldn't possibly have that kind of agility without professional training.

But that was not the only surprise. Before anyone could say a word, Helen raised her hand and simply knocked the precariously balanced teapot over. Just before it made contact with the ground, Elena flew like a flash of lightning and her hand shot out to snatch the teapot in the air.

"I–I…!"

Helen was unable to speak, trembling with rage. Elena calmly poured a cup from the teapot filled with the salty tea, her motions as graceful as water.

"This is from the pot that was given to me and my sister. If there is nothing in it, would you like to drink it yourself?"

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Kapitel 21: Ch. 21 This Is The Beginning (2)

Helen's mind raced as she tried to think of a way out of this situation. Refusing the cup, however, was tantamount to revealing that something was in it.

She felt everyone's questioning eyes drawing in on her. She had failed to destroy the evidence, and she had no choice but to drink it. Once this was over she would take her chance again and break the teapot. Helen accepted the teacup from Elena with trembling hands.

"Of course. There is nothing in it."

She spoke smoothly, despite knowing how much salt was in it the tea. Drinking it would be far from pleasant, but she couldn't retreat now. Helen closed her eyes and took a sip.

"Uub…ub!"

Helen tried to endure it, but she had been brought up as a delicate and pampered noblewoman and could not tolerate something that horribly strong. She spit it out of her mouth.

Helen hurriedly tried to wipe off the spilled salty tea from her bright red face, but it was too late. She made an irreparable mess in front of so many people.

"Hmm."

Elena held her head elegantly as she looked at Helen. The crowd was murmuring about them. It was part of Elena's plan to pay Helen back in her past life by giving Helen the salty tea, which Mirabelle was about to drink. Elena predicted that Helen would try to get rid of the teapot and blocked her attempt. However, even if salt was added to the teapot it would be difficult to actually prove it was Helen's doing. Some may quietly suspect her, but if a culprit wasn't actually identified then the situation would eventually be buried.

Elena wouldn't lose so easily. Helen had to try and break the teapot in front of everyone, otherwise it might have been difficult to drive Helen into the corner she was in now.

Elena pretended to cover her mouth in surprise, just as Helen had done.

"Oh, what could be in the tea? Didn't Lady Selby say there was nothing in it? It's not a poison, is it?"

The single word rippled through the crowd greatly.

"Poison?"

"Surely not…"

The noise of the crowd grew louder, and Elena looked around with a frightened expression.

"Lady Selby, I'm worried about your health. We should call a doctor."

Marissa had a look of thunder, realizing that her tea party was completely ruined. Her fury was directed towards Helen. If anyone had seen Helen make several attempts to try and break a teapot, one couldn't help but think she was the culprit.

Helen's face turned ugly the as she saw the tide start to go against her. Honor was as important as life to the nobility. If rumors flew thick about what happened today, Helen wouldn't be able to show her face in southern society. Her attempt to ruin Elena had ended in her own defeat.

Helen quickly pointed to Margaret standing next to her.

"What did you put in this?"

"What? W-well, that's–"

"Did you use me to embarrass of Lady Blaise? I didn't even realize…"

Helen wore an innocent mask as she lay blame on Margaret for her crime. Margaret, already frightened, started to panic even more.

"W-what are you talking about? I only did what Lady Selby told me to do–"

"I never said such a thing. This joke is too cruel, isn't it?"

Helen quickly glanced at Sarah, asking for sympathy. Sarah noticed her meaning and hurriedly backed her up.

"Yes, it was Lady Lawrence who asked us to go to the table where Lady Blaise was sitting. It's insulting that she knocked over the teacups on purpose."

Helen relaxed as Sarah took her side.

Elena turned away from them as if they were no longer worthy for her to deal with. The women had switched targets and drove their weakest into a corner. Elena knew from the outset that Helen was the mastermind, however, Elena did not bother to tell the truth. For whatever reason, Sarah and Margaret had followed Helen's instructions and were also guilty.

Elena's eyes turned back to her original position, and she saw Mirabelle sitting there with a pale face. Elena spoke in a completely different voice from when she drove Helen into a corner.

"Mirabelle, are you all right? "

"Uh-huh."

Despite her answer, Mirabelle still looked surprised by the events that transpired. Elena wordlessly slipped her hand into Mirabelle's to reassure her.

This was a first for Mirabelle. Although Mirabelle did not have much social experience, she couldn't have imagined that there would be something in her tea that she was unknowingly about to drink. Even moreso, she remembered everyone's look of contempt that was directed at her. At that moment the hairs all on her body stood on end, and she froze, not knowing what to do. Elena, however, had dealt with the situation with calm.

"…My sister."

"Yes?"

"How did you know what was in that cup?"

Elena turned her head towards Helen, who was still attempting to talk her way out of the situation, then back at Mirabelle to answer her question. Elena's profile stood as elegant as a carved statue. After thinking for a moment, Elena answered in a soft voice.

"…Secret."

"Tsk."

Mirabelle pouted at her answer. Then she flashed a thumbs up and whispered to her quietly.

"That was so incredible."

Elena seemed a little different from the one Mirabelle knew so far, but she didn't say it out loud. Elena seemed even more amazing when she was confident.

Elena gave a secret smile and leaned down towards Mirabelle.

"This is the beginning."

She hadn't imagined she'd change the future through an encounter with a marquis' daughter. However, from now on the enemy she had to deal with was Paveluc, who would overthrow the emperor in the future and rise as a treacherous king. To prevent such a path forward for Paveluc, Elena could never be lacking in skill as a knight or as a lady. She could do more than just weep like Helen if necessary. She had to act more cleverly than anyone.

She suddenly remembered that Carlisle was supposed to visit her soon. What was Carlisle thinking? Elena wished it was as simple knowing Helen's intentions. With no answer, Elena sighed to herself.

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