I saw John and widened my eyes.
“Goh, Your Grace?”
“…Ah.”
John spoke softly, as if he had just regained his senses. The corners of his mouth lifted smoothly.
“Madam. Were you changing clothes?”
“Yes. I mean… yes.”
“But what is that?”
John gestured toward the slip Betty was holding. Betty quickly hid the slip behind her back, but it was already too late to pretend otherwise.
‘He’s really gone mad!’
Unknowingly, I ripped the blanket in front of me and pulled it up, hurriedly.
‘How did it come to this?’
I heard John’s footsteps approaching.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
It was around the time the Tea Party had ended and we were about to return. Back in the room, Betty ran toward me in agitation.
“Madam. I’m so angry.”
I had never seen Betty express anger in front of me before.
“Did something happen?”
“Yes. That crazy, no, that mentally deranged Hetel Count’s daughter came to find the master and madam at night!”
“Did you hear that too, Betty? How?”
“Of course I’d coax the servants around here… but that’s not the important thing right now.”
Betty shook her head vigorously and clenched her fists.
“She keeps committing the most ridiculous things as long as she’s here. What kind of family is this?”
“Anyway, we’ll be away tomorrow and won’t see them again.”
The rain had stopped, and even the ground, which had become a mud pit, had dried. It was finally possible to leave this tiring Hetel household.
‘We stayed longer than I anticipated.’
Still, there was some gain.
‘I got the Central Imperial Bank’s vault key.’
Honestly, I needed a slush fund, and money no one knew about had appeared. From the documents, the sum seemed substantial.
“That’s true, but… still, that can’t be forgiven. Come here for a moment.”
Betty pulled me into the room and handed me something. It was an object I didn’t know existed.
A slip with a faint tinted color, semi-transparent.
“This is… a slip?”
“I brought it just in case. But, madam, did you know that crazy woman wore a slip thinner than this when she came here?”
A slip so thin that nearly all of her flesh would be visible. And she had worn something thinner than this?
“That would be almost no clothing at all.”
“Right. So that’s why I’m more angry.”
Betty pressed the thin slip into my hand.
“Madam, how about wearing this slip tonight and waiting for the master?”
I almost nodded, but blinked slowly.
“…Why is this conversation suddenly going that way?”
“Because I’m a good maid who wishes for the master and madam’s relationship to grow closer.”
“I have scar tissue…”
The reason it mustn’t be revealed isn’t simply that the scar is gruesome to look at. It explains everything about my situation.
A daughter who wasn’t loved in Libertan, a fake who could never be the object of his revenge.
‘If that happens, I’ll be of no use to John.’
Then the pretense of us being husband and wife would disappear.
Betty spoke with a lively voice.
“Just blow out the candles and wait there! And you’ll be so pretty that the master won’t even notice a scar.”
“Betty…”
“Sorry. I’ve spoken too eagerly. I’ll take this with me.”
Betty looked a little embarrassed. After a moment’s thought, I grabbed Betty.
“Then… I’ll try it on once. But I’ll only try it on and then I’ll put the dress back on.”
“Yes! Great!”
And as Betty had said, I tried on the slip once, then planned to put the dress back on. At my urging, Betty hurried to disappear with the slip.
What I didn’t expect was this.
Just as I was wearing the dress, John suddenly burst in. Betty was there with the slip in her hand.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
I hid again, troubled.
‘What on earth do I do?!’
My heart pounded hard. The blanket I clung to was practically my last lifeline.
The footsteps that had been echoing finally stopped.
‘Could John really be in front of me now?’
The thought of facing John’s face made my own burn with heat.
Hojan stood, embraced me without a word, and remained silent.
“Goh, Your Grace. Will you keep doing this? I need to change back into clothes.”
“If you’re going to keep this up, what then?”
“Then I can’t change my clothes…”
“Just change in front of me. What’s there to be shy about? Hm?”
A sweet voice of John whispered between the folds of the blanket. With no one visible, I felt more conscious than ever.
But John felt around, as if he could see through the blanket, and found my hand, squeezing it tightly.
“If you want something, you have to set a condition. If you want me to go out, tell me what your wife can do.”
“What can I do for you, my master?”
“There must be many things. If you can’t decide, I’ll tell you what I want.”
I swallowed, dryly. What would he ask for?
‘Could it be about revenge?’
If it was impossible, I’d have to look for another way. Even though it’s someone else’s estate, I might consider running away with the blanket. John finally spoke.
“I’d prefer if you called me by name from now on.”
“…What?”
“And it would be even better if you used informal speech.”
Totally unexpected.
“That’s not hard, right? We’ve sent the first night together, after all.”
“Then we were merely pretending!”
“Still, the night was the night. It didn’t just vanish.”
As the more we spoke, the more my head swam. The mastermind’s rhetoric was too convincing.
“Why would we suddenly switch to informality and call me by name?”
“Beats me. Somehow I think you’d suit using informal speech towards me.”
His low whisper felt like it pierced me. I remembered the moment I had spoken informally to John when I lost control.
‘Did I speak informally to John then because of this?’
If so…
‘Could it be I remembered that moment of losing control?’
The lies I told him then haunted me.
‘That time I said we loved each other and…’
In that moment, his arm pressed into my body beneath the blanket, his hard chest tightening against me.
John pressed hard.
“Or is there a reason you can’t grant me that?”
“No!”
I shook my head.
“Then I’ll do that.”
Anyway, I’d been speaking mostly in informal speech inside, so there was nothing to worry about. The problem was that I didn’t know why John was asking for this.
‘Surely it isn’t because of the memory of losing control?’
John let out a low laugh and brought his lips to my shoulder.
“Then you must call me that now. Or I won’t come out. Not until the end of tonight’s feast.”
“John.”
But saying it out loud felt a little awkward. I tried to hide my embarrassment by saying it more casually.
“John.”
“Yes, madam.”
“Take your hand off me and go.”
“…”
“Can’t you hear me?”
Suddenly John grew quiet.
‘Did I speak too harshly?’
A surge of unspoken anger erupted from within me. In that tense moment, John let out a soft chuckle.
“Oh, really.”
Again John hugged me tightly and whispered.
“As I thought, you suit informal speech.”
“Is that enough now?”
“Quite enough.”
Somehow I don’t know how I ended up like this with the mastermind.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
After John left, I hurriedly changed into a new dress and went outside. Being in the room would just bring back embarrassing moments.
“Duchess Blanchet of the Marquisate. We meet again.”
It was the Chancellor Ortega.
“Oh, yes. Were you out for a stroll?”
“Yes. Looking at these trees somehow makes me feel…calm.”
The cold green eyes scanned the trees in the garden leisurely.
“I had the sense there’s a secret I’ve been seeking.”
“Which secret are you seeking?”
“That is a secret, I’m afraid I cannot explain.”
I paused for a moment.
‘Surely he isn’t asking me to reveal a hidden stash among the trees, is he?’
Or perhaps there were lists and documents of other nobles who bribed Libertan, besides the key. If the emperor who sent Libertan to treason were the one, there would be a chance to find them.
But I kept a soft smile as if I knew nothing.
“I quite understand. But I thought you, Minister Ortega, would ask me about that secret.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Because you called me Princess Armatis.”
The Princess Armatis is one of the most splendid brides in imperial myth. Yet it wasn’t a name used in everyday praise.
‘If I face a tragic ending, too.’
For the sake of protecting my husband’s secrets.
So the nickname of Princess Armatis became a noble secret as well. Minister Ortega smiled slyly.
“If you think I match with Duchess Blanchet, I shall take that as praise.”
“That would be my light mistake in understanding you. Do you think I’ve made a mistake?”
“Remarkable. What you think is exactly right.”
Ortega’s green eyes gleamed with interest.
“I somehow feel that Duchess Blanchet knows the secret I’ve been seeking.”
“But I don’t know anything unless you tell me the secret, Minister.”
“Still, there’s no helping it. I’m sad about it too.”
Unlike John, I found it uneasy to speak with the Count of Ortega. The green eyes glowed darkly.
“Since you’ve listened to my story and understood, I ought to tell you something else.”
“What is it?”
“I heard that Count Hetel’s wife put a great effort into tonight’s feast. Too much, perhaps.”
Ortega tapped the stones of the garden floor with his cane and smiled at me.
“They also say she prepared something very rare for the evening’s main dish. I’d suggest you, Duchess Blanquet, hope for many compliments tonight.”
A woman’s voice called from behind the garden.
“Minister Ortega! Are you here?”
It seemed to be Hetel Count’s second daughter. Ortega gracefully lifted his cane and bowed slightly.
“Then I’ll see you at tonight’s feast.”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
After parting with the Marquis Ortega, I wrestled with an unexpected piece of information.
‘The problem is what kind of situation will unfold…’
There were so many possibilities that acting felt difficult.
Just then, Betty, who had come to look for me in the garden, greeted me with a bright smile.
“Madam! Since the banquet is soon, would you like to adjust your attire once more?”
It seemed Hetel Count was planning to host many guests since he and Ortega were about to depart. So as Duchess Blanchet, I also needed to refine my appearance.
“Yes, good.”
“Today’s banquet will feature you as the main guest. You’ll be the most beautiful noblewoman, Madam.”
Betty nodded enthusiastically.
“By the way, Betty. May I ask you one thing?”
“Of course. Ask away.”
“What were you doing at the Blanchet household before?”
“What? I was a maid, of course.”
“That’s not all.”
“Eh…?”
The expected question widened Betty’s eyes. I gave Betty a gentle smile.
“Apart from being a maid, what did you usually do? Before you started watching me, what did you primarily do?”
Betty’s brown eyes wavered.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Hetel Count paced nervously in his study. His wife, displeased, shouted.
“Husband, we’re about to have an important banquet. How can you act like this without any decency?”
“But my lady—” Hetel Count tried to hide his tension.
“Can you really trust that child? If this goes wrong, we’ll be finished…”
“Don’t be anxious.”
Hetel Count’s wife pressed his hand, her expression becoming stern again.
“Everything is already settled, and we’ve secured ominous verification tools. We must take the opportunity; we won’t survive like this forever.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Darling. Think of Rothe and Flora.”
Hetel Count’s wife softened, wrapping his hand in hers.
“Now there’s a rumor in the social world that our children won’t marry because we were disgraced. We can’t let that stand.”
The Count nodded innocently. The Countess’s face, which had been displeased, relaxed again.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected such usefulness to come from hiding Peluria Baron until now. I had planned to get rid of them before it became troublesome.
‘If I lived a virtuous life, this luck would come to me.’
The banquet began. Guests gathered in the Heitel Count’s lavish dining room. At the center of the dining hall, standing with her husband, was the duchess Blanchet, more beautiful than anyone else.
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
