Chapter 7
‘No, if anything, I would’ve gone even further, not stopped at just that.’
I was never the type to stay quiet when cursed at.
But what could I do? It was the master’s order.
The maid had no choice but to take a bag and leave.
A few minutes later, two other maids came in, quickly dressed me, and tidied me up.
When I finished getting ready and went downstairs, the bag I had sent down earlier was neatly placed at the bottom of the stairs.
“Lady Marcia! The carriage is ready too. Shall we load the luggage?”
I silently signaled with my eyes to go ahead.
Like a proud lady who didn’t even want to exchange words with messy servants.
The servant rushed over, grabbed the bag, and went out the front door.
Peeking through the open crack of the door, I saw that the sun had just risen and the surroundings were beginning to brighten.
Just as expected.
Even with all the noise I’d made, no one came out this early in the morning.
Even if Igor had heard me screaming, he would’ve just thought, ‘She’s at it again,’ and stayed in bed. And Vilaine was probably passed out from drink or drugs, not hearing anything.
The only one I had worried about was the nanny, but even she didn’t come out.
Marcia was known to throw tantrums all the time, and it was a headache to deal with her directly.
So even if she had heard all the commotion, she would’ve left it to the maids and pretended not to know anything from her room.
‘Good thing I raised a ruckus so early.’
I glared as the servant carried the bag outside. As soon as he disappeared from view, I quickly moved toward the back of the stairs.
There was a large brown leather bag waiting there.
I carefully grabbed the handle and lifted it with all my strength.
Heavy, but not unbearable.
Before the servant returned, I managed to bring the bag down to the base of the stairs.
He didn’t notice that there was an extra bag and loaded everything onto the carriage.
Though he did mutter to himself about how heavy it was.
Not a single maid came out to see the lady off on her solo outing.
It was clearly deliberate.
No one wanted to go out with angry Marcia.
They’d rather get scolded later than go with her now.
‘That actually works out for me.’
If anyone had insisted on coming along, I would’ve had to come up with an excuse to ditch them.
“Whew. So far, so good.”
I let out a sigh of relief inside the carriage headed toward the bustling market.
My leg, which had been injured in the recent carriage accident, hadn’t fully healed yet.
So I had to walk with a slight limp.
I didn’t know how to ride a horse.
So if I wanted to leave the house, I had to take a carriage.
‘Especially if I’m trying to sneak someone out.’
Igor and Vilaine usually only visited the basement late at night, and the nanny brought meals after ten in the morning.
Only three people had keys to the basement.
Igor, Vilaine, and Marcia.
So for the nanny to bring food to Larisa, she’d have to get the key from Igor.
And among the three, Igor woke up the earliest.
Naturally, Larisa’s meals came after ten o’clock.
I took a small pocket watch out of my handbag.
Thanks to all the rushing, it was still just before 8 a.m.
‘Roughly two hours left. The boutique better open early…’
It had to be open by 9:30 at the latest.
I hadn’t come up with a solid plan B.
‘If only Vilaine hadn’t gone to the basement so suddenly again yesterday, I would’ve had a few more days to plan.’
I anxiously stared out the window.
It took about 30 minutes by carriage from the mansion to the boutique street.
That 30 minutes felt endlessly long.
Every time the carriage bumped, my heart dropped.
Even if I had rushed the plan, why was I this nervous?
Then I realized—
‘Right. I was in a carriage accident…’
To be precise, I had been in a car accident, and the past Marcia had been in a carriage crash.
The memory of the carriage accident was etched into this body.
A near-death—no, maybe actual death—memory.
One from a car, one from a carriage.
I took a deep breath and silently repeated to myself: It’s okay. Everything’s okay.
There were no other options besides the carriage.
‘Just hold on a little longer.’
And finally, the carriage stopped in front of the boutique.
I wanted to jump out immediately, but I held back.
A proper lady had to wait for the servant to announce her arrival.
“Lady Marcia, it looks like someone’s inside, but the shop hasn’t opened yet.”
Good. I’d played the part of the snobby noblewoman enough.
I threw open the carriage door.
“You’re getting off?”
The servant, flustered, hurried down from the coach and set down the footstool.
“Go knock on the door. Until someone comes out.”
“Pardon? …Yes, ma’am.”
As instructed, he knocked hard on the door.
Soon, it creaked open, and a woman’s voice came through.
“We’re not open yet. Please come back in an hour—”
“Move.”
I shoved the servant aside and forced the door open with my body.
Then I barged into the boutique.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
The protesting woman looked familiar.
Marcia had met her many times.
It was Nora, the owner of the boutique.
She recognized me instantly. Her expression changed.
I quickly glanced around—she was the only one inside.
‘Perfect.’
“Bring in all the bags from the carriage.”
A blatant disturbance of business.
But I was still the daughter of a noble—even if titleless and from a minor estate.
‘And Nora is a commoner.’
No matter what I said, she couldn’t help but bow her head.
— What is she doing here this early again?!
I could hear her inner voice, shocked. She had clearly dealt with this before.
I spoke loudly enough for the servant to hear.
“Hello, Miss Nora. One of our stupid maids had the audacity to tear the lace on a brand-new dress. I have to wear it to the party tonight, so of course you’ll fix it, right?”
“P-Pardon? Of course. But I’ll have to see the dress first, Lady Blick…”
— How bad is the dress that she didn’t send a maid and came herself?
While Nora fretted, the servant diligently brought in the bags.
Her face grew paler as more came in.
“T-There seem to be a lot of bags…”
“Why do you think I came in person? Isn’t it obvious? To fix the dress to the proper size, I have to wear it. That’s why I’m here.”
I arrogantly pointed to the bags with my chin.
“While I’m at it, I brought all the dresses I dislike. I want them all adjusted to the latest trends.”
The servant kept bringing in bags.
Finally, all seven bags were inside.
I said as if I couldn’t hold my anger anymore,
“I’m going shopping, so go back. No need to pick me up. I’ll return on my own.”
The servant, relieved he didn’t have to wait, bowed deeply and drove off.
As soon as the carriage disappeared from view, I turned to Nora.
She looked at the pile of bags with a grim face.
“I’m sorry, Miss Nora. For causing such a scene this early.”
I sincerely apologized.
She blinked wide-eyed in surprise.
Even without hearing her thoughts, I could guess what she was thinking:
An apology? Did Marcia Blick just apologize?
“Ah. Uh. I…”
“I had no other choice. I’ve actually… run away from home.”
“…What?”
Nora stood with her mouth agape.
— What is she talking about? Run away? Is she crazy? If I get mixed up in this, I’m finished.
Ah, sometimes hearing people’s thoughts is helpful.
It made it easier to know when to change my approach.
Now was the time to beg.
I dropped to my knees and clung to her.
“Please. Please help me.”
“L-Lady! Don’t do this! What if someone sees—”
The effect was tremendous!
The fact that a noble girl was kneeling scared her.
I quickly spilled the story I had prepared.
I was meeting someone, but my family opposed it. So we decided to elope.
The surveillance was too tight, and I couldn’t leave unless I used the excuse of fixing a ruined dress.
Even that servant probably didn’t really return to the mansion, and might still be nearby watching.
That was the gist of the story.
“So please, just call a carriage for me. Secretly.”
I bowed my head and bit my tongue hard.
Tears welled up from the pain.
I wiped them away—making sure Nora saw.
She stared at me in silence for a long time.
No inner voice.
That was actually reassuring.
At least it meant she wasn’t harboring negative emotions.
“If anyone comes looking for me, just say I left my clothes here and went shopping. Oh, and here—”
I pulled a small pouch from my handbag.
It was filled with gold coins.
Enough to buy ten new dresses.
I handed it to Nora.
“This is…”
