TIKMP 11

Chapter-11

“—And that is why, Grandmother, I must beg you to refuse on my behalf.”

Facing her grandmother in the sitting room, Juliet spoke with the utmost seriousness.
However, her grandmother merely laughed elegantly—hohoho—and brushed off her granddaughter’s plea.

“My dear, that’s impossible. Adam has already sent me a gift of Phobia tea leaves as a token of gratitude. I couldn’t possibly refuse now.”

Her grandmother’s fingers reached gracefully for her teacup—an obviously expensive piece, far too refined for a quiet countryside town.
A matching cup sat before Juliet, steam rising from the amber-golden liquid within.

The scent was fresh, like apples, and the taste delicate.
That greenish-gold hue was unmistakable—this was Phobia tea.

The Ashen territory was the kingdom’s sole tea-producing region, its warm sea breezes and fertile soil yielding teas highly prized among the upper class.
Juliet had long suspected that her grandmother chose to retire in the town of Phobia largely because of its tea.

“You didn’t need him to send you tea leaves, Grandmother. You could obtain as many as you wish yourself.”

“Oh, Juliet. At my age, to receive a gift from a young man who says ‘this is for you,’ regardless of the reason—well, that is quite a rare and delightful experience.”

“…Grandmother. Surely you don’t mean to say that you harbor special feelings for this Mr. Adam?”

Juliet asked cautiously, ignoring the discreet cough from Mary behind her.

Though her grandmother now lived a quiet life, in her youth she had been swarmed with suitors.
Known as the “Marquess’s daughter of many loves,” she had captivated men from ages seventeen to eighty.
So many duels broke out over her that she was banned from attending certain social gatherings altogether.

Rumor even had it that she would wed the then-second prince—now Grand Duke, and Riddell’s uncle.
But the one who actually won her heart was the previous Viscount Forlingen—hence Juliet’s very existence.

Given such a history, it wasn’t unthinkable that even a man forty years her junior might stir something in her heart.
After all, in the Kingdom of Efilante, marriages with large age gaps were hardly unusual.

Her grandmother, however, looked quite offended.

“My goodness! What an unkind suspicion. When did my dear granddaughter become so cynical? You used to be such a sweet, honest child.”

“You must take after James,” she added with a sigh, invoking Juliet’s father’s name.
She had always found her son’s suspicious nature tiresome.

“Well, Grandmother, Albert is fond of saying that Father takes after you in temperament—when you were younger, of course.”

Juliet brought up the loyal family butler, Albert, as a small act of revenge.
According to him, her grandmother—though famed for her many romances—had been a cautious woman, scrutinizing her suitors with hawk-like sharpness.
It was only later, under the influence of her easygoing husband, that she softened.

Caught off guard by the rebuttal, her grandmother frowned and sipped her tea. Then, composing herself, she fixed Juliet with a thoughtful gaze.

“Juliet, I know why you’re reluctant.”

Her tone was serious—so much so that Juliet’s heart skipped a beat.

—Could she have somehow discovered that I have memories of my past life?

She carefully concealed her tension, waiting for her grandmother’s next words.

“You’re worried that, since you’ve yet to make your social debut, people might gossip if you attend with Adam, aren’t you?”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

“Ah, y-yes! Exactly! As expected of you, Grandmother—your insight is truly remarkable!”

Trying to cover up her startled reaction, Juliet exaggeratedly showered her grandmother with praise, silently exhaling in relief.

Of course—a normal person wouldn’t even imagine that someone might have memories of a past life.
There was no reason for her grandmother to suspect such a thing.

“Well, that’s odd. It’s not like you to flatter me so.”

“Oh, not at all. I’ve always admired you deeply, Grandmother.”

Juliet put on her most formal manner and an awkward smile.
She did respect her grandmother—but even she had to admit that her performance was over the top.

Her grandmother raised an eyebrow, studying her for a moment, before finally sighing in resignation.

“Very well. I shall overlook your strange behavior for now. But rest assured, I didn’t agree to make you Adam’s partner without precautions. I was once a young lady myself, you know.”

“I—I’d rather you simply declined the arrangement altogether than take any precautions, Grandmother—”

“Thomas! Thomas, come to the sitting room, please!”

Her grandmother suddenly called out, drowning out Juliet’s protest.

The house was small—far smaller than the viscount’s estate—so her voice would easily carry to the garden. There was no need to send a maid.

Sure enough, a moment later, a middle-aged man appeared.
He was large, bearded, and neatly dressed, though not expensively so—likely middle class.

“You called, madam?”

“Yes, yes, come closer. That’s right, right over here.”

Her grandmother beckoned him to stand right beside them.

“Juliet, this is Thomas Hendridge—the owner of a small orchard I’ve invested in.”

“I see… A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hendridge. I’m Juliet.”

Juliet knew her grandmother had invested in various ventures, but she had no idea what an orchard owner had to do with any of this.

She greeted him politely nonetheless, and the man smiled warmly.

“The pleasure is mine, Lady Juliet. Please, call me Thomas. The madam speaks of you often—she’s very proud of her granddaughter.”

“I… see.”

Completely at a loss, Juliet turned to her grandmother for an explanation—
—only to be floored by what came next.

“You are going to become Thomas’s daughter, Juliet.”

“…Grandmother. I beg your pardon, what did you just say?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said—”

“Oh, I heard you quite clearly. What I don’t understand is why you’ve suddenly started saying such utterly absurd things.”

Juliet had no idea where to even begin asking for clarification.
Her grandmother simply tilted her head innocently, like a puzzled girl.

“Oh, don’t you see? You really can be dense sometimes.”

“If there’s anyone in this world who could make sense of what you just said, Grandmother, I’d like to meet them personally. So—why, exactly, am I to become Mr. Thomas’s daughter?”

“Well, my dear, you were worried about rumors, weren’t you? About attending the ball as Adam’s partner. So I thought about it—how to honor my promise to Adam without tarnishing the name of ‘Juliet, daughter of Viscount Forlingen.’”

Her grandmother smiled proudly, as though unveiling a brilliant plan.

Whenever she wore that expression, disaster was sure to follow.

Juliet could only pray her intuition was wrong—
—but, of course, her grandmother did not disappoint.

It was, in every sense of the word, not a brilliant plan but a disastrous one.

“You’ll simply attend the ball as someone else! That solves everything!”