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Chapter 05
Betty, who seemed to have made up her mind, closed her eyes tightly and launched her words as if shouting, then quietly opened them.
She let out a deep sigh and continued speaking.
“Anyway, Your Highness the Grand Duke mostly stays in the west tower, where his study is, rather than in the main residence. You’re unlikely to run into him.”
“Then it shouldn’t matter, right?”
“For now, yes… but… could you please not go? You really don’t need to worry about me! I’d understand if you opposed it, but…”
A subtle worry lingered on Betty’s face as she spoke.
For some reason, it made me feel a little fluttery inside.
Maybe it’s because even in my previous life, there were more times when I took care of others than being taken care of myself.
Even if her expression was awkward, Betty’s sincerity was faintly conveyed.
“You’re worried about me?”
I smiled gently, and Betty’s face turned as red as a tomato.
“W-Well, not really… I’ve only served you for a week, and I don’t really know you, and you don’t really know me… Of course, when I first saw you, I thought you were as delicate and cute as a white snow rabbit, but that was just a fleeting thought…”
“Hmm.”
Betty muttered something incomprehensible to herself again.
I quietly stood up, holding a small madeleine in one hand.
“Honestly, I’m small too, but you… you’re not only small, but also so delicate. There’s this protective instinct I’ve never felt for anyone else… Ugh!”
As Betty babbled, staring at the floor, I slipped a madeleine into her mouth.
Her eyes went wide, and she was momentarily speechless.
I seized the moment to speak quickly.
“Thank you for worrying, Betty. As you said, we don’t know each other well yet. So shouldn’t we just start getting to know each other from now on?”
“Uuu…”
“I’m not as weak or soft as you think.”
“Mm.”
“So, let’s go. Back to the main residence.”
Perhaps because I looked rather determined, the spark in her wide eyes faded, showing a trace of resignation.
After swallowing the madeleine, Betty muttered begrudgingly,
“…Don’t blame me later!”
In the sunniest room of the main residence,
a woman brushed her luscious golden hair in front of a dressing table.
Her soft hands were adorned with pristine white silk gloves, and her slender wrists bore large ornaments of pearls and sapphires.
The dress she wore, in a blue shade that complemented the sapphires, shone with its own radiance.
Delicate golden threads were embroidered over it.
“Ahem~”
Her alluring eyes, full lips, and soft facial contours gave her an exquisite charm.
And her body was all curves—ample chest, a tightly corseted waist that seemed small enough to fit in one hand.
Even she thought she looked extremely beautiful in the mirror.
Almost like…
“A perfect Grand Duchess.”
Truly, she looked like the ideal Grand Duchess.
“If only it weren’t for that woman…”
Gritting her teeth, she thought of the cursed “that woman,” and her blue eyes gleamed sharply.
Her previously gentle face cracked for an instant.
Katarina Hugo, gritting her teeth, threw her brush aside in irritation.
She was in the Grand Duchess’s room in the main residence of the Grand Ducal Palace.
But Katarina was not the Grand Duchess.
“Ha!”
How had things turned out this way?
Her frustration and anger naturally targeted the one who had taken what was hers:
Renee Blanche.
If that cursed illegitimate daughter really captivated Xenos…
“No! Ah!”
Unable to contain her rising fury, Katarina shouted, gasping for breath.
“Um, excuse me… Lady Katarina.”
“What? Didn’t you knock?”
Through the slightly open door, a maid’s timid voice came.
As if forgetting she wasn’t the mistress of this room either, Katarina turned irritably.
The young maid bowed her head quickly, her pale face white as a sheet.
During the few days since Katarina arrived at the Grand Ducal Palace, her tantrums had been outrageous.
But no one could stop her.
“The carriage Miss Young Lady rode had all real jewels in its decorations!”
“I heard she has long-standing ties to the royal family? They said she was originally meant to become the Grand Duchess…”
“Isn’t she the legitimate daughter of Count Hugo? Their family made a fortune in local businesses; even the bathroom toilets are covered in gold.”
“Even though the Blanche Marquis family is renowned, the Grand Duchess herself is an illegitimate child? Then there’s no comparison from the start.”
“But… how did their positions get reversed?”
Indeed, Katarina had arrived far more spectacularly than the secretive Grand Duchess.
Unlike the one who came to the main residence in a shabby carriage, greeted by no one.
She had entered Celeste Grand Ducal Palace with pride.
Nominally, she had come as a companion and maid to the new Grand Duchess, but all palace staff knew:
“Someday, this woman will be the mistress of Celeste.”
Hence, the young maid spoke with an even more trembling voice:
“Lady Katarina, I have urgent news for you… I-I’m sorry.”
“What is it?”
“The Grand Duchess… Your Highness…”
“Grand Duchess?”
Instantly, Katarina’s brows knitted.
Gasp.
The maid quickly corrected herself.
In front of Katarina, the word “Grand Duchess” was taboo unless referring to Katarina herself.
“R-Renee has arrived at the main residence!”
“…What?”
Why was she, who had been secluded in the annex, suddenly here?
Why now?
“Sh-She just passed through the lobby…”
“Is she insane?”
Katarina leapt to her feet with an irritated gesture.
Without replying, she strode past the maid down the hallway.
‘Now she wants her place back? She has no idea of her position!’
Biting her full lips, Katarina quickened her pace.
Her hand clutching the hem of her dress left the soft silk creased with tension.
Standing atop the main stairs leading to the hallway, she could see the lobby clearly.
And there she was…
“Where’s the library?”
Indeed, it was her.
Disgustingly, with an innocent-looking face.
“….”
Katarina’s blue eyes were filled with unhidden contempt.
But after a sigh, she wore a cool smile.
“My goodness!”
She began to descend the stairs gracefully.
The lace and frills of her voluminous dress fluttered lightly with each step.
In contrast, the small girl, dressed worse than a maid, just stood there staring.
‘What? She’s even more pitiful than I imagined. Nothing special at all.’
She felt almost silly for having worried about the annex all this time.
Of course, Xenos hadn’t given the main residence to that girl either, but unlike Renee, who had been pushed out to the annex, Katarina was assigned the largest room in the annex next to the main residence.
At first, it had bruised her pride that, as the Count’s daughter, she had to share quarters with servants…
But she knew Xenos would not stop her from openly entering the Grand Duchess’s room.
‘So I’ve won.’
Katarina, drunk with a strange sense of victory, stopped in front of the dust-covered shoes.
“Your Highness, Grand Duchess.”
With flawless etiquette, Katarina greeted Renee.
But the foolish girl didn’t seem to know proper manners.
Renee awkwardly nodded, blinking several times.
“I am Katarina Hugo, the Grand Duchess’s personal maid. I apologize for not greeting you sooner.”
“My maid?”
Their eyes met.
Renee’s unwavering gaze contrasted with the sharpness in Katarina’s red eyes.
Perhaps because she was the cursed illegitimate daughter, Katarina instinctively stiffened.
Then that cursed girl said…
“Someone might think you’re the Grand Duchess.”
“!”
The unexpected sarcasm cracked Katarina’s perfect mask.
Gathering her slightly fallen lips, she asked again,
“What do you mean…?”
“You’re really beautiful. Aren’t all maids like that?”
Hah! The insolent brat.
With an innocent face, Renee insulted Katarina.
Her words meant:
‘No matter how spectacularly you dress or struggle, you are only a maid, and the Grand Duchess is me. Know your place.’
“….”
Katarina immediately felt ridiculous.
