NRAL | Chapter 03

Chapter 03 

I’m the Real Eleanor

Nora gently held onto Arlo’s arm.

To be more precise, she wasn’t exactly linking arms with him but rather leaning on his arm to support herself.

Her frail body trembled as if even standing was too much for her, and Arlo, being the gentleman, offered his arm to keep her from falling.

Eleanor watched in silence.

‘What… did she just say?’

She was usually quick to understand things and always praised for her sharp mind wherever she went. But in this moment, she found herself slow to grasp the situation.

Her body froze, yet her heart raced wildly in her chest, pounding as if it had already accepted what her mind refused to comprehend.

“I couldn’t believe it at first; I couldn’t… but…”

Nora spoke in broken breaths, her red lips trembling as she bit down on them again and again.

Tears that had been hanging in her eyes now fell, sliding down on her pale cheeks and staining the carpet. The sight was so pitiful that even Eleanor’s heart ached.

“I… I am the real Eleanor. It’s true.”

It was only after hearing the same words twice that Eleanor finally faced the reality in front of her.

Her beloved maid—Nora, who had once said that their resemblance felt like fate—was now not just imitating her but outright trying to become her.

‘She’s really doing it…’

Eleanor swallowed bitterly.

The truth was, she had already known.

She knew that the way Nora looked at her wasn’t as kind as it seemed. Nora wasn’t someone clueless or unaware—quite the opposite. She was sharp, carefully choosing when and where to make her moves.

Eleanor had known all this, but she had chosen to overlook it. She had thought that any boldness on Nora’s part could be forgiven as long as she, Eleanor, was there to shield her.

But now, Nora had gone far beyond what Eleanor could handle.

“Nora.”

Eleanor’s calm voice echoed through the large study.

Nora didn’t respond, only letting her tears fall while keeping her head turned toward the Duke.

Watching the girl who wouldn’t even spare her a glance, Eleanor sighed softly.

Impersonating a noble was one of the gravest crimes, and Nora wasn’t just impersonating anyone—she was claiming to be an Astria. It was a crime that carried severe punishment, and because she had done this in front of Eleanor’s father, there was no way Eleanor could cover it up.

Oddly enough, Eleanor wasn’t worried about losing her position. Instead, she was concerned for Nora’s safety.

Nora’s claim was too absurd to be taken seriously. The chances of the Duke believing her were extremely low.

“How dare you…!”

Sure enough, the Duke’s face darkened with fury, and he exhaled sharply through his clenched teeth.

“I took in a beggar from the slums and treated you far better than you deserve, and this is how you repay me? By pretending to be my master? Do you really think you’ll get away with this?”

His thunderous voice made Nora flinch in shock, causing her to lose her balance. If not for Arlo’s arm, she would have fallen, but even that further irritated the Duke.

“How dare you, a filthy maid, lay your hands on someone of noble blood! Your Highness, I deeply apologize for showing you such disgraceful behavior. I’ll deal with it immediately.”

The Duke signaled to a guard who had been standing outside. As the guard approached, Nora’s face turned ghostly pale. She knew that once she was dragged away, she would never see the light of day again.

Eleanor took a step toward Nora, her body moving instinctively.

But before she could reach her, someone else stepped in front of Nora first.

“Wait.”

It was Arlo, her fiancé.

“Let’s hear her out. She mentioned she has evidence.”

“What?”

Everyone in the room—Eleanor, the Duke, the maid, and even the knight—looked at Arlo in shock.

Though Arlo was known to be kind to ladies, in fact, he wasn’t exactly a warm or softhearted person. In fact, he was usually quite cold toward those not of noble birth, something that Eleanor had always worried about.

Yet now, his expression in front of Nora seemed shockingly gentle. The mere fact that he had offered her his arm earlier was already unlike him.

The questions that had been floating in Eleanor’s mind began to come together.

And when the answer finally clicked, her body, which had been standing firm like a pillar, suddenly wavered.

Eleanor let out a soft groan and pressed her hand against her face, trying to hide the trembling of her lips.

Sir Ernst quickly stepped forward, ready to support her, but she quietly shook her head, signaling him not to.

“Your Highness, she’s just a madwoman. There’s no reason to listen to her nonsense…”

Eleanor wasn’t the only one who sensed that things were taking a strange turn.

The Duke had already noticed the subtle tension between Nora and Arlo, which was why his anger had flared so intensely.

But Nora, seemingly unaware of the growing hostility, kept pushing.

“There is evidence!”

With a loud cry, Nora grabbed the hem of her dress and lifted it, revealing her white ankle and calf.

The Duke frowned, wondering if the maid had truly gone mad. Was she trying to seduce the crown prince? Either way, it was not worth entertaining further.

That is, until she spoke again.

“This is the evidence. This scar.”

On her exposed thigh was a rose-shaped scar, eerily similar to the one Eleanor had.

Seeing this, Eleanor bit down hard on her lower lip.

How long had Nora been preparing for this moment?

It would have taken years for a scar like that to form properly.

Nora had been planning her betrayal for a long time.

“It’s a scar I’ve had since I was young. I don’t remember exactly how I got it because my memories from before I was five are fuzzy, but I think it’s a burn scar.”

“You’ve been Eleanor’s personal maid for a long time. You must’ve seen the scar while helping her bathe and then copied it.”

“What? How could I ever do something so horrific…?”

“If getting the Astria name meant that much to you, would burning your skin really be that hard?”

The Duke coldly pointed out the flaw in her story.

As someone who had long been the head of the Astria family, he had seen many schemes in his time. He wouldn’t be fooled by something as simple as a scar.

“At first, I thought it was just a coincidence. The scar in the same place, the same age, the same hair and eye color. Losing our memories and wandering from place to place at the same time—it all seemed like mere coincidence. But then, my memories started coming back.”

Nora clenched her small fists tightly, as if unleashing all the resentment she had held inside.

“I started remembering my father, who used to brew tea imported from a foreign land for my mother. I remembered my mother sitting me on her lap, playing beautiful piano melodies for me… Bit by bit, the memories returned. And yet, you still claim I’m not Eleanor?”

For the first time, the Duke’s unshaken gaze wavered.

Because these were memories from before Eleanor was five years old—memories even Eleanor herself couldn’t recall.

Eleanor was just as surprised. She had once told Nora about her mother playing piano for her, but she had never mentioned that her father used to personally brew tea for her mother.

“…You must’ve heard these stories from the servants and pretended they were your own memories.”

“I heard that after the robbery, all the old servants in the Duke’s household were replaced. The current staff has never even seen the Duchess. Who could I have possibly heard those stories from?”

Tears streaming down Nora’s face caused the Duke of Astria to hesitate for a moment. Arlo seized the opportunity to jump in quickly.

“That’s not all. Nora also remembers the first time we met when we were children.”

“…What?”

“She remembers exactly what we talked about when we first met—something Eleanor couldn’t recall at all.”

He spoke while gently patting Nora’s back, and she accepted the gesture naturally, as if it were something she was used to.

“Let me ask you again, just to be sure. Eleanor, do you remember what I said to you when we first met in the royal garden when you were five?”

For the first time, Arlo’s gaze left Nora and shifted to Eleanor. Unlike his comforting touch on Nora, his eyes were cold as ice.

Eleanor looked back at him, her lips parting slightly.

“…No, I don’t remember. But—”

“As expected.”

Arlo cut her off as if he had been waiting for her answer, nodding as he spoke.

“At this point, I think there’s enough reason to reconsider. What do you think, Duke Astria?” He said in a low voice. “You can’t just throw out someone who might be your own flesh and blood.”

The Duke stood silently for a long moment, deep wrinkles forming between his brows.

Arlo, uncharacteristically patient, waited calmly, while Nora leaned against him, awaiting the Duke’s response.

“…This is all so sudden. I need some time.”

“So, you’re saying…”

Reluctantly, the Duke nodded.

“Take her to one of the rooms in the west wing.”

Giving Nora a room in the west wing, where guests typically stayed, instead of the east wing, where the family lived, was a sign that the Duke still didn’t fully trust her.

But it was also a form of acknowledgment.

The first acknowledgment that Nora might actually be the real Eleanor Astria.

***

“Wait, Nora.”

As soon as they left the study, Eleanor hurriedly called out to Nora.

But Nora, acting as if she hadn’t heard a thing, kept following the servant who was leading her to her room.

Unable to stand it any longer, Eleanor grabbed Nora’s shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

“We need to talk.”

When their eyes met, Nora flinched, trembling as if she were scared.

How could she be so bold just moments ago and now act frightened? Eleanor frowned, confused by Nora’s behavior—until she realized the reason.

“Stop, Eleanor.”

Standing in front of her was Arlo, with his flaming red hair and golden eyes, a symbol of the royal family. He was the handsome and charming crown prince adored by high society.

Had he suddenly decided to become Nora’s personal bodyguard without telling her?

His behavior was ridiculous, as if he had forgotten who his fiancée was.

“Arlo. I want to speak with Nora, just the two of us.”

“Now’s not the time.”

“Are you worried I’ll hurt her? You know me better than that. I’m not that kind of person.”

“I know. I know how soft you’ve always been with your servants.”

Arlo grabbed Eleanor’s wrist firmly, pulling her away from Nora.

“But the situation is different now, isn’t it? Nora is no longer your servant, and she’s not obligated to answer your calls.”

A dry laugh escaped Eleanor’s lips.

She had never truly trusted him, but she’d thought that, as someone she would soon marry, he would at least honor the minimum bond between them.

She had even helped him rise to the position of crown prince, and she expected to be treated accordingly.

Yet now, Arlo was treating her like she was his enemy, someone he needed to eliminate.

Her lips trembled once more. She raised her hand to cover them, trying to keep control of her emotions.

‘Calm down. Not now.’

She forced a neutral expression and spoke quietly.

“…Whether she talks to me or not is up to Nora. Nora, don’t you have something you want to say to me?”

Nora clung to Arlo’s back like a bird perched on an old tree. Eleanor tilted her head slightly to make eye contact with her.

As soon as their eyes met, Nora’s face turned ghostly pale, and her slender shoulders began to shake.

“S-sorry, miss. Hic… I…!”

“Eleanor!”

Arlo barked harshly.

“Can’t you see she’s scared? If you’re trying to intimidate her into giving you the answer you want, stop.”

“Intimidate? How am I—?”

“What else would you call it, forcing a conversation on her in a situation like this?”

He muttered angrily under his breath, “I never thought you were this kind of person.” Then, wrapping his arm protectively around Nora’s shoulders, he clicked his tongue.

“Let’s go, Nora. I’ll walk you to your room.”

“But… what about the miss?”

“No one can stand in the way of the crown prince. Don’t worry, just follow me.”

“O-okay…”

Nora cast a quick glance at Eleanor before following behind Arlo.