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Weren't they in the same Conservative Party?
Rose was puzzled for a moment, but soon dismissed the thought.
There was something inexplicably unpleasant about the man named Avery.
"Hand."
A shadow fell over Rose as she organized her thoughts, and a low voice echoed in her ear.
Ray's arm had reached out beside her chest.
As Rose placed her hand on his arm, his deep blue eyes gazed steadily at her. It was a familiar look of warning.
Looking into those cold eyes, she felt certain that as soon as they entered the mansion today, Ray would press her to find out what she and Avery had discussed.
"Ah, Duke Crawford is arriving just now."
The elderly Prime Minister beamed as he saw the couple approaching. The Prime Minister and his wife were among the few who were genuinely kind to Rose without pretense.
"Since the welfare bill for veterans is something Duke Crawford has been pushing for, you must be curious about its progress."
As the Prime Minister patted Ray's back quite affectionately and led him to the center of the conversation, the Member of Parliament who had been speaking with the Prime Minister looked perplexed.
"Now, really, Prime Minister... it was your opinion I was curious about..."
"Hmm?"
The Prime Minister made an ambiguous sound as if he hadn't understood, and Rose wondered if he truly hadn't heard or if he was simply pretending to be hard of hearing by leveraging his age.
Despite the fact that his hearing didn't seem poor, he behaved like that from time to time.
Unsatisfied with the Prime Minister's lack of response, the Member of Parliament turned his head toward Ray.
"Well, it's nothing much."
"Is there a problem with the bill?"
At Ray's question, the Member of Parliament shook his head vigorously.
"No, no. The bill is wonderful. Truly wonderful. It's just that the budget is a bit of a concern..."
As the man trailed off, his gaze suddenly landed behind Ray.
Only then did Rose realize that Archibald Avery had finished his cigarette and had followed them out.
Ray's head tilted slightly to the side as he noticed the exchange of glances between the Member of Parliament and Avery.
"I don't think you need to worry about that part. Thanks to Lord Avery."
"Thanks to me?"
As Avery asked back, sounding bewildered, Ray's smile grew even softer.
"When you raised the tariffs, you cited this bill as one of the justifications for needing more tax revenue. Naturally, you would have set aside the taxes collected then to provide for it."
As Rose watched Avery's smooth face momentarily freeze, a story she had heard from Beth long ago suddenly came to mind.
Beth had a kind yet obsessive hobby of collecting every article related to her brother and would occasionally show them to Rose. A title of an editorial she had ignored at the time now returned to her memory.
<If the Home Secretary Had Been Crawford.>
Beth had pointed to that article and said that Archibald Avery was quite unpopular as Home Secretary.
She mentioned that since he became Home Secretary, the economic situation had been deteriorating, and people were dissatisfied because the only thing he knew how to do was raise tariffs.
At the same moment Rose recalled the editorial, Avery waved his hand dismissively.
"Yes, yes. Don't worry about that part. And don't worry about the bill either."
There was a touch of irritability in his gesture. It was clear he wanted to avoid the subject as much as possible.
"Isn't there something else Duke Crawford should be worrying about? Diplomacy, for instance."
Avery naturally shifted the topic back to Crawford.
"Of course, since there's little to attend to these days, you must be enjoying a leisurely time for the first time in a while. A peaceful era without war is essentially a vacation for the Foreign Secretary, is it not?"
Considering the cunning Avery had displayed on the balcony, Rose thought these words should not be taken at face value.
Who would have known that this was actually a criticism, accusing him of idling away his time?
Ray listened to Avery's words quietly, maintaining a smile without offering much of a response.
"Well, in any case, it's a relief. You can save that time to pay attention to Mrs. Crawford. I was quite worried. It's a pity that she doesn't seem to be adjusting well to Orturan."
Avery, his expression shifting to one of pity, turned his gaze toward Rose.
"Duke Crawford is a very important talent and a core figure of our Conservative Party, Madam. This is a time when your support as a wife is more important than ever..."
The man stopped mid-sentence and let out a long sigh with a sympathetic smile. Thanks to that sigh, the words he omitted were crystal clear.
What is this?
Rose unconsciously frowned as she looked at Avery.
Since the balcony, this man had been strangely trying to attack her.
There were more than a few people who hated her and tried to insult her simply because she was Boltonian, so she tried to brush it off, but this man was crossing the line.
He was persistent.
As if noticing that Rose wasn't the only one feeling this, the Prime Minister, who had been pretending to be deaf, cleared his throat and intervened.
"Everything is difficult at first. In my opinion, she seems to be adjusting very well. Isn't that right?"
Before Rose could answer, the Prime Minister's wife, standing beside him, nodded enthusiastically, agreeing that he was absolutely right.
Under the blatant protection of the Prime Minister and his wife, Avery seemed to step back.
"Very well. Please continue to strive, Mrs. Crawford. It wouldn't do for you to cross the Tess River again."
At least, until he uttered those words.
The atmosphere turned icy in an instant.
Rose could feel that not only the Prime Minister and his wife, but several other Members of Parliament present were surprised and glancing around. Strictly speaking, they seemed to be gauging Ray's reaction more than Rose's.
Crossing the Tess River.
Rose knew very well what this famous and ancient Orturan proverb meant.
South of the Tess River that flowed through Orturan lay Bolton.
Orturans often used the phrase, "I'd rather cross the Tess River." It meant they would rather go to that uncivilized place.
In Orturan, Bolton was used as the benchmark when comparing how bad a certain situation was.
It wasn't the first time she had heard it. These people used the phrase so often.
Some said it without even noticing Rose; some said it out of habit and then looked at her in belated embarrassment; and the truly malicious ones used the proverb in front of her only when Ray was absent.
However, Archibald Avery was the only one who had used it intentionally in front of both Ray and Rose.
Avery was looking at Rose with a lingering smile.
Even at this moment, in such an insulting moment, Rose wondered if she should indeed keep her mouth shut.
In her heart, she wanted to ask, "Why not? What is there if I cross it?" but many things blocked her words.
Ray Crawford's cold gaze, Agatha's deep sigh, and the pitying and shocked looks and voices of the people directed at her.
Thinking she had to say something, she barely managed to open her mouth, but no words came out.
At that moment, she felt a hand gently wrap around her shoulder.
"I crossed the Tess River when I went to meet my wife for the first time..."
Ray's pleasant voice flowed as he pulled her back toward him after she had drifted slightly away.
"And I found that there wasn't anything particularly different."
He finished his sentence in a tone as soft as his voice.
"Just as my wife is not particularly different."
As a politician, his acting skills were superb.
Looking only at Ray's face as he looked down at Rose, seeing only that tender smile, he looked like a husband who truly cherished his wife.
Beside them, she heard the Prime Minister's wife let out a sound of admiration upon seeing Ray's face.
A perfectly beautiful... fake smile, hanging on a perfectly handsome face.
As always, Ray Crawford's method was fluid and skillful.
He did not overtly protest to the opponent, asking why he was insulting his wife, nor did he remain silent.
He always ended the situation by including himself with her. Because while people might be able to insult Rose, they could not insult him.
Such a method was politically brilliant, but emotionally utterly lacking. Because right now, Rose felt like punching Avery in the face.
"Duke Crawford, what on earth do you mean? Mrs. Crawford's face is uniquely different. To say such a thing after seeing such a beauty, just how high are your standards..."
People burst into laughter at the Prime Minister's wife's joke.
"I have crossed many rivers, and I've never met a beauty like this. Lord Avery might not know, as he has no reason to cross them."
Ray Crawford, smiling back, settled the situation with a much lighter tone.
"Crossing rivers is my job. I cross every single river in Orturan."
"Which one was the best after crossing? Anything interesting beyond the river?"
Along with the Prime Minister's question, people quickly began asking Ray various things.
From the economic situations of Antakawa and Planto to the political state of Ladan, questions that only the Foreign Secretary could properly answer continued to pour in.
Watching Ray skillfully answer the questions and toss out appropriately provocative topics, Rose felt a sliver of relief, and a sense of misery.
For the rest of her life, must her mouth remain closed, and must she speak only through this man's voice?
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