"Lady Granzheim. Thank you for coming today."
Chancellor Graaff's voice blended seamlessly with the heavy air of the office.
The summons had arrived the previous evening. The letter her lady-in-waiting had brought bore the seal of the chancellor's office and a brief message.
I have something I wish to discuss with you tomorrow morning in the chancellor's office.
An unofficial request for a meeting. The letter had been addressed to a duke's daughter, so it was written politely, but it was clear that she could not refuse.
The chancellor's office was in the administrative wing of the royal castle. Bookshelves occupied two walls of the room while the remaining walls were adorned with a map of the kingdom and a plaque listing all the names of the past chancellors. A little bit of light shone into the room through the windows, so the room was dim. Chancellor Graaff sat behind the heavy desk.
Fifty-five years old. His greying hair was cut short and his expression was calm yet difficult to read. His demeanor was kept in check. He possessed the flawless poise of a person who spoke in the language of systems and procedures.
Estella sat in the chair she had been directed to and straightened her back. Her lady-in-waiting waited outside the office.
"Your Excellency. Might I ask the purpose of this meeting?"
The Chancellor glanced down at the documents on his desk, then raised his gaze.
"I will be frank. The relationship between the duke's daughter and His Highness the Second Prince has drawn attention within the court."
Estella's expression didn't change. She had expected these words. Yesterday's report from her lady-in-waiting, the information that the Chancellor had advised the King, was about to continue here, from the man's own mouth.
"I am aware of the pretense of exchanging administrative documents. As official correspondence between the ducal house and the royal family, there is no issue under the rules. However..."
The Chancellor paused for a second.
"There are voices within the court calling for a change of Crown Prince. Under those circumstances, the continued contact between the former Crown Prince's fiancee and the Second Prince will be interpreted in a certain way regardless of the intent."
Interpreted in a certain way. A political marriage. Usurpation of the throne. Leonhardt had talked about this the other day.
"I advise you exercise caution when interacting with His Highness the Second Prince during the cooling-off period. This is not my personal opinion. I speak as one whose role is to uphold the order of the court."
The Chancellor controlled his tone through the whole exchange. His voice held no malice nor hostility. He was just the guardian of the system who was offering advice in accordance to that system. Nothing more.
So there was no room for objection.
Estella paused for a minute before answering.
"I understand your concern, Your Excellency. I intend to abide by the customs of the cooling-off period."
Her voice was calm and devoid of emotion; a response befitting of a duke's daughter.
The Chancellor gave a small nod. He pressed no further. He had given his advice. Whether she accepted that advice or not was up to her. From the Chancellor's standpoint, his duty had been fulfilled.
The meeting was short. Just a little over ten minutes.
As she left the office and walked through the corridors of the royal castle, Estella tried to organise her thoughts.
The Chancellor's advice had been sound. Follow the customs of the cooling-off period and limit contact. That was the right thing to do.
But doing the right thing wasn't enough.
Even if she adhered to the cooling-off period, the movement to change the Crown Prince would not disappear. Marquis Kassel will not cease his activities. If time simply passed while Leonhardt's stance on the throne remained unclear, the rumors would harden into accepted fact.
The heart of the problem was not the cooling-off period.
It was that there was no way for Leonhardt to clearly demonstrate he did not want the throne. And that Marquis Kassel was spreading a false version of their relationship through the social circles.
Simply following the Chancellor's advice meant adopting a purely defensive stance. And while she was on the defensive, the outer walls would be filled in around her.
A memory from her past life stirred. During her department store days, simply bowing and saying "We apologise for the inconvenience" in response to a complaint had never resolved anything. An apology was merely an act of buying time; the real solution had to come from elsewhere.
It was the same now. Sticking to the cooling-off period was nothing more than a means to buy time. A real solution was needed.
But that "real solution" was not among the weapons Estella had at hand.
What she had spent ten years honing in her past life was interpersonal skill. Reading the other person's emotions and responding with the perfect words. In a one-on-one conversation, she had the confidence to handle anyone.
But this wasn't a one-on-one. The rumors Marquis Kassel spread through the social circles. The walls the Chancellor built with the logic of the system. The political landscape involving multiple noble houses. This was bigger than a one-on-one and involved many others.
The source of the problem lay beyond the reach of Estella's weapons.
She and her lady-in-waiting boarded the carriage and headed for the ducal estate.
Duke Viktor's study. The third time she had come to this door.
When she had asked him to reconsider her engagement. When she had reported the company's schemes. And today.
"Come in."
Her father's voice was the same as always. Calm, with scales hidden beneath.
Estella sat down and relayed what had happened during her meeting with the Chancellor exactly as they had occurred: his advice, his warning about speaking to the Second Prince during the cooling-off-period and the connection to the Crown Prince succession debate.
Viktor listened in silence.
"And, word has begun reaching my lady-in-waiting that the Marquis Kassel's house is spreading rumors in the social circles to damage my reputation."
"What kind of rumors?"
"That the former Crown Prince's fiancee has switched to the younger brother."
Viktor's eyes narrowed slightly. It wasn't anger. It was the expression of a man weighing the information he had.
"The Chancellor's counsel is sound."
Viktor said quietly.
"But simply following sound advice doesn't move the wheels of politics."
They were exactly the words Estella had expected to hear.
"There is something you must do during the cooling-off period. You need to solidify your social standing."
"My standing?"
"When the time comes to formally propose the engagement, it will be socially unstable unless it receives the goodwill of upper nobility. The chancellor's house, the marquis houses, the count houses. An engagement that the major noble houses do not publicly bless is seen as one that is opposed."
Estella carefully digested her father's words.
Legally, an engagement was valid once it had been approved by the Royal Council. But in this world's noble society, the law alone was not enough. The "approval" of the surrounding noble houses, expressed through public congratulations, was what gave an engagement its social stability.
That foundation had to be built during the cooling-off period.
"If the groundwork is laid in advance, Marquis Kassel's rumor will lose its effectiveness. If the major noble houses have already confirmed their ties to the ducal house, it becomes difficult to overturn that with rumors after the fact."
"And what of Marquis Kassel's movements?"
"They are within the range the ducal house can keep in check. The marquis's house is influential, but it does not have the strength to directly oppose a ducal house. Their rumor campaign through the social circles is underhanded, but once the ducal house moves decisively, the surrounding nobility will be forced to choose a side."
Viktor picked up one of the letters on his desk.
"But to solidify your social standing, you must first appear in the court's social circles yourself."
Estella's fingers twitched slightly on her lap.
The social circles. Tea parties. Garden parties. Invitations from noble houses.
That meant drawing attention to herself.
"You will need to build relationships with the major noble houses before the ball."
The ball.
That word touched something deep in her heart.
A gathering of all the nobles. A place where all eyes converge. A place where one is expected to stand at the center.
A memory from her past life surfaced for just a moment. She saw herself standing at the counter. People only stared as she was being yelled at. Being the center of attention had been synonymous with being attacked.
Estella pushed that memory back. It wasn't time to think about this yet.
"I understand, Father."
Her voice was calm; a response befitting of a duke's daughter.
Viktor nodded.
"One more thing."
Her father's voice softened slightly. The moment when the voice of the head of the ducal house shifted to that of a father.
"The Chancellor is not an enemy. But neither is he an ally. He is a guardian of the system. He will oppose what goes against the system, but he will not object to anything that follows it. If you follow the proper procedures, there is no need to make him an ally."
Estella gave a deep nod.
She left the study and thought as she walked down the corridor.
The Chancellor was neither enemy nor ally. He was a wall built from the system, standing before her with a human face.
Marquis Kassel was a malicious saboteur lurking in the shadows of the social world.
And neither could be dealt with through tears nor acting.
What was needed was political groundwork.
She had spent ten years in her past life honing her one-on-one interpersonal skills. But what was required of her now was playing politics and dealing with multiple noble houses at once. This was something Estella had never done before.
She had her father's support. She had the power of the ducal house.
But the one who would ultimately have to stand in the social circles was Estella herself.
Back in her room, drinking the tea her lady-in-waiting had brewed, Estella looked out the window.
The Chancellor's measured voice. Her father's measured words. Marquis Kassel's unseen rumors.
The weight of all three settled heavily in her heart.
The ball.
A stage before the entire nobility.
The outline of those words, still hazy, continued to sit in the depths of her heart.