Episode 69
I pretended to be momentarily taken in by her acting and said,
“I’ll gladly tell you! Just bring up topics she likes. For instance, flowers, or little birds.”
Trying to sound natural and hide my nervousness, I thought of Sylvia’s happy face when I brought her a pretty flower.
“Flowers and little birds?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes instantly turned cold.
As expected, she wasn’t interested in such trivial things.
“Are there any other topics? Like, relationships? That’s what noble ladies usually talk about these days.”
She subtly cast her bait. Since she wasn’t trying to win me over but extract information, I tried to change the subject.
“Come to think of it, she seemed close to Duke Clovis. As for relationships… well, she doesn’t talk about such things, so I’m not sure.”
“Really? That’s a shame. Then I’ll try talking to Lady Veronica about the things you mentioned.”
“Yes, I hope you become close. You might already know, but she was really looking forward to today’s tea party.”
I put on my brightest smile. Her eyes glinted, and I froze, feeling like she would bite my head off if I looked away.
She scanned me from head to toe.
“You see, I have to have whatever I want.”
I already knew that. She had the background to get whatever she wanted, and few men could resist her beauty.
Except for the male leads.
“As the daughter of the Seirthe Marquisate, you must have everything you desire, my lady.”
“No. There are many things money can’t buy. What’s your name?”
“…Valerie.”
“That’s a cute name. I’m not stupid, and I can read between the lines, so I like those who know how to act submissively. So follow me.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m offering to take you with me. You seem so nervous, trembling like a wet puppy because you can’t be near your mistress. It bothers me.”
‘A puppy?’
I had planned on resting here after Prea left.
But since she was offering to take me with her, I might as well take this opportunity to observe the inside of the mansion and see if there was anything dangerous.
‘Who knows? Sylvia might get kidnapped here.’
I didn’t expect the target of the kidnapping to be someone else.
As we approached the reception room, I heard the sound of laughter. Prea, with a gentle smile, opened the door and entered.
“Oh dear, I apologize for being late. It seems like you were having an enjoyable conversation.”
Sylvia, who had been about to frown at Prea’s appearance, saw me and smiled brightly.
“This is my maid.”
“I heard the butler wouldn’t let her in, and I thought you might be concerned, so… I couldn’t just ignore the feelings of an invited guest.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Seeing Sylvia’s relaxed expression, I was amazed by Prea’s social skills, effortlessly winning people over.
‘…With such skills, it would be easy for her to extract information. This is unsettling, even if she doesn’t become friends with Sylvia.’
It felt like Prea could catch you off guard with a single word.
Fortunately, the rest of the tea party proceeded peacefully and smoothly. No important topics were discussed.
But just as the tension eased, a nerve-wracking topic came up.
“Come to think of it, isn’t it about time for Lady Seirthe to receive marriage proposals?”
It was Lady Cartlow who brought up the topic. She had recently gotten engaged and said she planned to hold the wedding ceremony within the next two years. It seemed like a natural progression from talking about herself.
“Yes, it is about time.”
Prea blushed shyly and then turned to Sylvia, as if clueless,
“What about you, Lady Veronica? You’re close to Duke Clovis, aren’t you?”
I had expected her to mention the Crown Prince.
My heart pounded at the unexpected mention of Cesar. I had told her they were close, but… I felt strangely uncomfortable.
I turned my head slightly, waiting for the uncomfortable topic to pass.
“No. We’re just friends.”
“Is that so? That’s a shame.”
As the conversation lulled, Lady Cartlow, sensing the awkward atmosphere, changed the subject.
The tea party ended without any problems. It was more peaceful than I expected, but the fact that Prea approached me meant she was starting to make her move.
I had warned the Crown Prince, but I didn’t know if he was paying attention. He seemed busy observing the Second Prince’s movements.
Well, I had to focus on my own situation. It seemed like the best course of action was to pretend to be used by Prea and observe the situation.
I stayed close to Sylvia as we headed towards the carriage. Then, I recalled her firm words,
‘Just friends. To Sylvia, Cesar is still just a friend.’
I had expected it, but hearing Sylvia’s definitive statement that she didn’t have romantic feelings for Cesar made me feel strange.
I had initially tried to prevent his descent into villainy by creating good memories between them. But now, I was relieved that things were following the original story.
It made me feel like an insignificant extra, a slightly painful realization.
‘But I’m not jealous. It’s Sylvia, after all.’
Perfect, kind Sylvia, my savior. If anyone compared me to her, I would surrender immediately.
“Valerie.”
“Yes, Miss Sylvia?”
My heart pounded, startled, wondering if she had noticed me thinking about her.
“Nothing happened with Lady Seirthe?”
“…No, nothing happened!”
I glanced back. Prea, who had been smiling at me, turned her head. I saw her elegant, wavy, violet hair.
I breathed a sigh of relief and asked Sylvia casually,
“How was the tea party, Miss Sylvia? You seemed to be enjoying your conversation.”
“It wasn’t bad.”
“Really?”
At my question, Sylvia hesitated and then whispered in my ear,
“It was good. But I still feel uneasy. Like you said, Lady Seirthe seems to have some ulterior motive. And…”
“Mm!”
Sylvia pulled me close and said with a dissatisfied pout,
“She keeps looking at you. I don’t like it.”
I wondered since when Sylvia had become so possessive, like a typical male lead. Did I have a talent for making even normal people go crazy?
Half-embraced by Sylvia, I quietly replied,
“It’ll be fine for now. So it would be better to observe her actions instead of preventing her from approaching you. It will be easier to figure out what she’s up to if you keep her close.”
“I suppose so. But Lily, you mustn’t do anything dangerous. Okay?”
“Of course not.”
I smiled brightly and replied, but in reality, I was doing exactly what she was worried about.
Back at the mansion, I finished my duties as a maid, returned to my room, and lay down on the bed.
The bed dipped under my weight. The white ceiling was spotless. My mind, however, was a tangled mess.
“What should I do?”
I had found a note while changing my clothes. It must have been in my pocket.
It was clearly a note from Prea. The perfectly neat handwriting and the crisp folds were a dead giveaway.
「I didn’t know how to contact you, so I hid this. Would you meet me the day after tomorrow, in front of the red-roofed general store on the second street of Entern in the capital?
The afternoon, before sunset, would be best. The night is dangerous for a maid.
I’m adding this because I think you’ll be wary, but I have some things I’m too embarrassed to ask in front of Lady Veronica.
I think I’ll be waiting a long time if you don’t come. You’re a kind person, so you wouldn’t want me to waste my time, would you?
Then I hope to see you again, Valerie.」
“She’s definitely planning to use me as an informant… I’ll probably be threatened if I go.”
I figured this was how she started in the original story, with a seemingly harmless request, followed by threats. Sylvia had warned me not to do anything dangerous, but I couldn’t avoid this.
Now that I had seen this note, I had to go to the red-roofed general store. If I didn’t, Prea would approach someone else close to Sylvia.
There were plenty of other people Prea could target. Commoners of low status couldn’t disobey a noble, and the servants, who adored Sylvia, wouldn’t be able to refuse Prea’s shy request for friendship.
And as the only daughter of the Seirthe Marquisate, they wouldn’t refuse her approach, thinking it might be beneficial to be connected to her.
“The more I think about it, the more disturbing it is. It’s an offer I can’t refuse.”
There were no loopholes, and the fact that she was willing to act personally made it even more difficult to refuse.
I thought about my unpredictable future, like a rolling marble. Even though I tried to be honest, the things I had to hide kept increasing.
“Sylvia would be angry if she knew. And I have to meet Cesar, too.”
Tasks were piling up. Everything was flowing like a current, and I was caught in the middle.
“I wanted to avoid the original story as much as possible, but how did it come to this?”
I touched the necklace and rubbed my chest. I wanted to know why I had the temple’s mark, but I had suppressed my curiosity because of Heron’s words, saying it was better not to know.
‘Don’t worry. What you’re worried about won’t happen yet.’
“That ‘yet’ is bothering me…”