Chapter 6: Lion Lady Tea Party
"My father, King Sauron, has been like an old lion brimming with rage lately, indiscriminately attacking all his legitimate offspring. Even I, a poor widow, have been struck by this nameless rage. I think it would be best if I stayed out of his sight for the next few days."
"He's getting older," Darien said. "No lion can stand being replaced by a younger lion. This is really sad news."
"But," Princess Yolanda smiled, "if my dearest brother is willing to help, then things will be much simpler."
"Which brother of yours?" Darion thought for a moment but couldn't remember. King Sauron had five wives and had as many children as watermelon seeds.
"It's Orlando," Princess Yolanda said. "His mother is the king's chief mistress. I think illegitimate children who can't inherit the throne will always look more pleasing to the eye than legitimate children like us. I can ask him for help and find a reason to go to the palace to look for these things."
"It's so kind of you to help." Darien smiled. "Avery and I will be very grateful to you."
"You're welcome," Princess Yolanda said. "Do you need any of my great-grandmother's jewelry? I got a small part of it. It can be taken apart, and there are some characters engraved inside that I don't quite understand."
"Then we'll borrow it for a while," Darien said. "Sevier, please hand me the sugar bowl you have."
Add two spoons of brown sugar to the hot rose tea, and the whole cup of rose tea will become fragrant and sweet. After taking a sip, you will feel like a bee kissing a rose, with your mouth full of rich fragrance.
In order to be elegant, the snacks on the beautiful bone plate were made into small bite-sized portions. Mr. Master was like a little bird, pecking away a whole plate of small puffs in two or three bites.
A soft, thin crust is filled with rich vanilla-flavored cream. The light cream does not make your taste buds feel greasy. Princess Yolanda's pastry chef did not add too much icing sugar, making these small puffs sweet but not greasy and very delicious.
After happily enjoying afternoon tea, Princess Yolanda asked them to wait for a while in the deserted garden while she went to get Cynthia's great-grandmother's old jewelry.
"Here it is, it's all here. I hope you can find your answers here. I'll pass on the atlas and manuscripts you asked me to find to Orlando, and ask him to do me a small favor. If I can find them, I'll visit the store in person," Princess Yolanda said. "See you next time."
"Thank you, Your Highness the Princess. Your wish will soon come true." Darien said with a smile.
"Then I am looking forward to it. I have waited for this day long enough." Princess Yolanda laughed.
Princess Yolanda, the most favored by King Soren, hides huge ambitions under her gentle appearance. She wants the heaviest crown and the highest throne in the Rose Dynasty and wants to become the queen who controls this dynasty.
Darien accepted the wish. Princess Yolanda's ability matched her ambition, but people always only focused on her beauty, as if they were staring at an exquisite porcelain ornament.
Her wish will definitely come true.
There is never an unfulfilled wish in the Magic Shop.
After saying goodbye to Princess Yolanda, they returned to the tower.
Under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, the jewelry box with marigold pattern was opened with a click.
"That's it," Avery said.
The marigold bracelet that had been on Cynthia's wrist lay quietly at the bottom of the box, along with a marigold necklace.
It is no longer as bright as before. Dust that cannot be wiped off has accumulated in the gaps between the petals, and there are turbid impurities in the jewel-red stamens that are as red as pigeon blood.
It's completely old stuff.
Avery gently picked it up from the bottom of the jewelry box. After more than 100 years, they finally had the chance to touch it again.
A very strange feeling of sadness overflowed from his heart, just like pouring water into a glass bottle that was full of water, and it kept overflowing.
"I don't know why, but I feel so sad. Did she live a happy life later?" Avery gently placed the bracelet against his forehead, as if he were placing it against Cynthia's palm through a glass window.
"Unfortunately, you witnessed her happiest years. Queen Cynthia's life was forced into the vortex of power. The bad news, which may be considered good news, is that she did not live to the age of thirty," Darien said. "A fever that swept through the palace took her young life."
"Can I tell her?" Avery said after a pause.
"You have no way to change your destiny," Darien said. "The Tower will not allow such a thing to happen. The fact that you are allowed to talk now means that your actions will not disrupt the order of time."
"I see..." Avery fell silent.
"Please have a good rest, Mr. Avery." Sewell patted his shoulder gently.
Only a very small number of guests are allowed to stay in the rooms of the tower and peek into the secrets of the windows. What they can see is the past that cannot be changed, and no one can see the future at a glance.
Avery went back to his room, opened all the windows and drew the curtains so that he couldn't see Cynthia.
On the other side, Darian and Sevier were dismantling the two old pieces of jewelry, trying to find something inside.
"Cuckoo—there are guests—cuckoo—"
"It's about time." Darien looked up at the calendar. "Get a bottle of love potion. We're going to receive Lady Mary."
The marigold bracelet was put back into the jewelry box. Mr. Wizard straightened his collar and went to receive the generous lady.
"Dear Darien! My dearest husband, Count Vincent, doesn't love me anymore!" Lady Mary tucked her eyes into her handkerchief and cried loudly, but not a single tear shed from her eyes.
This kind of howling is both emotional and will not ruin her carefully made-up appearance, making it very suitable for expressing her love for her husband.
"Madam Mary, please don't be sad. Your love for your husband is unquestionable." Darien comforted her softly, "This is a newly made love potion. The effect will last for a month, just like before."
"Oh, dear Darien, you always know what I will need." Lady Mary put down the handkerchief in her hand and held the small glass bottle containing pink liquid to her chest.
A bottle of love potion only costs 100 gold coins, and the wizard's companionship fee is as high as 500 gold coins, so every time Lady Mary comes, she has to pay a bill of 600 gold coins.
A large bag of gold coins was placed behind the counter, and Xavier served tea and snacks to the wealthy lady. Lady Mary took the tea to moisten her throat, and then began to speak with deep emotion about Count Vincent's love for her over the past month and how he changed his mind after the potion lost its effect.
"When he loved me, he would play serenades outside my bedroom door for hours, and he would also run to the mountain hunting ground to hunt precious white fox fur for me with his own hands..." Mrs. Mary's voice was very nice, with ups and downs, as if she was singing an opera.
"He is indeed a very caring man." Darien only needed to agree to satisfy Lady Mary.
"That's true, but after a month, he's completely changed!" Lady Mary began to sigh, "He actually started flirting with young maids, keeping courtesans, and even frequenting Rita's bathhouse..."
"It's really his fault," Darien said.
"That's right!" Madam Mary began to get angry. "And he doesn't like my Emmett, Aaron, and Bryce..."
The longest list of names had two more names than Darien had heard last time. Lady Mary had a very colorful life.
When he first met this lady, he had not yet fully understood her nature and thought that the long list of names were the cats and dogs she raised.
Lady Mary's eyes widened as she denied it. "Of course not. They are both very good boys, young, handsome, and sweet-mouthed. They often make me very happy..."
Although Lady Mary loved her husband to death, she also felt sorry for him. In order to maintain her love for her husband's handsome face and reduce his burden, Lady Mary found many lovely little lovers to keep her in a good mood every day.
When Lady Mary finished reading the long list that was about to fall to the ground, Darien skillfully echoed: "You really love your husband so much. He should love you more."
Lady Mary was very pleased with this, and went on expressing her love for her husband, interspersed with praises of some delightful little lover.
Near the end of the meeting, Darien asked her about the latest news at the palace: "Has anything interesting happened in the palace recently?"
Lady Mary immediately frowned. "If this were anywhere else, I wouldn't have said a single word. But here, I can tell you, King Soran seems to be going crazy!"
Darien immediately waved his hand and asked Sewell to refill Madam Mary's tea: "What do you mean?"
Seville filled the cup with steaming hot tea, then stood behind the wizard and acted as a silent pillar.
Lady Mary gently blew away the mist from the teacup, shielding her face with half the cup, and said mysteriously, "The last time I went to the palace ball, King Soren looked very unhappy when he saw his young wife, Queen Tina, dancing with the Minister of Finance. His aging appearance did not match his wife."
Darien pretended to listen attentively.
"At first I thought it was just the King's displeasure with Queen Tina, but a boy who works as a guard in the palace told me that the King is furious about his old age. Several of his princes have been rebuked and demoted, and even the most favored Princess Yolanda has been unable to appease his anger."
He had already heard all of this from Princess Yolanda, and he wanted to hear something new.
"But this only proves that he has a tendency to develop into a tyrant. What does this have to do with insanity?" said Darien.
"Oh, I haven't gotten to the point yet." Lady Mary put down her teacup and stamped her heel on the floor in dissatisfaction. "You have to listen to me finish."
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