Chapter 9
“By the way, my lady, why are you holding that?”
Lucas’s eyes widened in curiosity as he looked at the wooden skewer in Lucy’s hand.
“Ah… well… in case a dangerous animal showed up, I thought it might help a little… haha.”
Lucy gave an awkward laugh and went back to sit by the campfire.
For a while, an awkward silence lingered between them.
“It looks like the bleeding has almost stopped. But more importantly, my lady, how did you end up in this forest? The hunting grounds should have been clearly marked.”
“Ah… it just sort of happened…”
Her voice trailed off, but before she could say more, voices could be heard in the distance.
“Over there! I see a light over there!”
A shout rang out, followed by the fierce barking of dogs echoing through the forest.
“Thank you, my lady. If you’d tell me your family name, I promise I’ll make sure to repay you for today.”
Lucy never did tell Lucas her family name. Still, it seemed Lucas had no intention of letting her go so easily.
“In that case, allow me to escort you to your residence.”
“No, that’s all right. You should get that injured shoulder treated quickly. I have companions waiting for me, so I’ll take my leave.”
Using her “waiting companions” as an excuse, Lucy quickly turned away. Lucas tried to stop her, but soon she was lost from his sight as people crowded around them.
Almost as soon as she turned away from Lucas, Duke Vallon spotted her from a distance and hurried over.
“Lucy! You disappeared so suddenly—I was worried sick. Where on earth did you go?”
She glanced over her shoulder. Thankfully, Lucas was still surrounded by people and didn’t seem to notice her or the duke.
“I’m sorry. The forest looked so interesting that I wandered in… and ended up getting lost.”
“In any case, I’m just glad you returned safely. You must be shaken—let’s head back for now.”
Jessica had come up beside her at some point, glaring at Lucy with sharp, accusing eyes.
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused me? We even sent people back to the mansion to check if you’d returned ahead of us—it was a complete mess!”
Lucy sighed, already dreading what would be waiting for her back at the mansion.
“Wait… you weren’t in the forest with Grand Duke Cretane, were you? No, of course not… but still…”
Jessica muttered the words while sneaking glances at Lucas in the distance.
Instead of answering, Lucy simply shrugged and climbed into Duke Vallon’s carriage.
“Lucy! Do you know how worried your mother has been?”
As soon as she stepped down from the carriage, Baron Diallo and his wife—who had been pacing nervously in front of the mansion—rushed over to her.
The baroness embraced her with a worried expression. Inwardly, Lucy couldn’t help but marvel at the baroness’s acting skills.
“Your Grace, I’m truly sorry. Lucy tends to be so scatterbrained…”
“No, it’s fine. I’m just glad she returned unharmed. Getting lost in the forest could have been very dangerous.”
Lucy trudged toward the mansion, feeling utterly drained.
“L-Lucy? Where are you going, child? You should at least thank His Grace!”
Ignoring the baron’s flustered voice, Lucy went straight up to her room.
“I thought you’d run away or something.”
Once the duke had left, Jessica followed Lucy to her room, sneering.
On the way up, Lucy had noticed the household staff stealing glances at her, the air heavy with unease. Now she had a pretty good idea why.
“I’m tired. Get out.”
“What? You—!”
Pushing Jessica out, Lucy slammed the door shut.
A while later, it was Anna who knocked on her door.
“My lady, are you all right? Did you get hurt? What on earth happened? The whole mansion was in an uproar when they said you’d gone missing!”
Anna carefully entered, her face full of worry, and looked Lucy over.
“Sorry to worry you. I just… got lost in the forest.”
“When the baron heard you’d gone, he was convinced you’d run away. He sent people everywhere—it was chaos!”
If this much happens over a few hours, I’ll need to plan more carefully when I actually escape.
Lucy decided she’d have to make a far more meticulous plan.
That night, as expected, the baron summoned her to his study.
“How could you lose your way in the mountains? Do you know how embarrassed I was when His Grace demanded I send for you at once?”
Apparently, the duke had suspected she might have run away and pressed the baron hard about it.
Someone goes missing and the first thing you worry about is your own position?
Lucy smirked inwardly.
“So what now? Are you going to hit me again? I just came back after wandering lost in the woods, nearly ending up as some wild animal’s dinner. But no, lucky for you I didn’t run away, right? Wouldn’t it be normal to ask if I’m okay first?”
She raised one corner of her mouth and stared him down. Her unusual defiance seemed to shock him into silence.
“You… you…!”
He stammered, at a loss for words.
“If you lay a hand on me again, I’ll tell Duke Vallon. I’ll tell him you hit me every day.”
Of course, she doubted telling the duke would actually improve her situation—but it certainly wouldn’t be good for Baron Diallo.
His hand, halfway raised, froze and then lowered.
“Get out of my sight. Don’t even think of leaving your room until I say so!”
Lucy returned to her room, noting that threats involving the duke seemed to work quite well.
Two days later, the baroness visited her room again.
“You’ll be attending the imperial banquet in two weeks as His Grace’s partner, so we’ll go to the dress shop this afternoon.”
Lucy looked up in surprise.
“The imperial banquet?”
“Yes. His Grace specifically said he wanted to take you.”
The imperial banquet.
That was the scene where Lucy first appeared in the novel.
There, upon seeing Edwin, she would cling to him in tears, only for him to coldly reject her—saying he could no longer tolerate her promiscuous behavior and was disappointed in her.
So things really are playing out just like the original.
Anxiously, she bit her lip.
“In that case, please assign me a personal maid—Anna, preferably. It would look strange for the duke’s fiancée to be without one.”
Since things had reached this point, Lucy decided to push her luck a little further.
The only person she could truly trust here was Anna. Even in her memories, Anna had been her only family and friend.
“My lady! Madam said I’m to serve you from now on! What’s going on?”
Anna came in, beaming with excitement.
“Anna, get ready—we’re going to the dress shop.”
“Oh my! Going out with you—it’s like a dream! Now, let’s see… an outfit for the outing…”
Anna happily threw open Lucy’s wardrobe.
Wearing the cleanest outfit Anna could find, Lucy boarded the carriage to the dress shop. Jessica and her maid were already inside.
“You’re going to the imperial banquet too, Jessica?” Lucy asked curiously.
Jessica glared.
“Watch your tone with your elder sister! Did losing your memory mess with your head too? Of course I’m going. Lord Vince, His Grace’s aide, will be my partner that night.”
“Oh? So if you end up marrying him, that would make you my subordinate?”
Lucy smirked, and Jessica’s face began to turn a bizarre shade of red and blue.
“You—! I’ve had enough of you!”
Unable to contain herself, Jessica grabbed a fistful of Lucy’s hair.
“Ah! Let go of me!”
The carriage rattled on as the two of them scuffled.
While her hair was being yanked, Lucy clawed at Jessica’s hand with her left. Memories of Jessica’s past bullying flared up, and before she knew it, Lucy was taking it a bit too far.
“Consider yourself lucky this is in public, you wretched girl!”
When the carriage stopped in front of the dress shop, Jessica was still fuming, glaring daggers at Lucy.
