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Chapter 31
Bang—crash!
With a loud noise, the door burst open.
“Lady René!”
And there she was—the peacock-like maidservant!
As always, she was dressed to the nines today as well. Judging by how hurriedly she’d run over, her breath came in pants, her gold-thread-like hair swaying with each gasp.
It was quite a beautiful sight, but…
“Gah!”
Maybe because the terrifying momentum with which she’d once gone for my hair was burned deep into my memory—
I felt a chill run through me, every fine hair on my body standing on end.
“What is it…?”
She’s coming. I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
Damn it, and this time I didn’t even have the Grand Duke around to use as a human shield!
I forced an awkward smile, tense as could be, but contrary to her dramatic entrance, a gentle voice came back.
“Lady René, I hear you’ll be staying in the main residence from now on?”
“Mm. I guess so.”
“Congratulations! Truly, now that this room has found its owner, it seems to shine all the more brightly.”
The room was bright, and the chandelier did glitter as sunlight streamed in through the wide windows…
Rubbing my eyes a bit, I cautiously asked the maidservant,
“Thank you… but what brings you here?”
Being around you is kind of scary, you know…?
Could you please just get to the point and leave?
Perhaps she sensed my unease.
With a slightly cowed expression, the woman approached and suddenly—thump—dropped to her knees in front of me!
“Huh?”
I just blinked, stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Then, from the maidservant bowing deeply to the floor, came an unexpected apology.
“Last time, I committed a great discourtesy. I’ve come to apologize for that.”
Her thin voice stirred a strong sense of pity in the listener.
But I couldn’t relax just yet.
‘She’s talking about what happened in the library, right? Apologizing now—what’s her angle?’
I stared at the maidservant, still kneeling pitifully before me, utterly confused.
Could someone’s attitude really flip this drastically in an instant?
But… listening to what followed, I could at least understand why.
“To be honest, I truly believed you were engaging in something blasphemous, Lady René! After all, I was the one who witnessed you meeting an unknown man!”
“What?”
At that moment, the Grand Duke’s words from the library resurfaced in my mind.
Find out who that man is. Someone informed me he’s your secret lover….
Right—he’d said that the person who reported my “hidden lover” was this very maid.
“It was the day I went to the cabin without notice, hoping to surprise you. I went with only good intentions, to keep you company at least… but you looked so perfectly matched with that handsome man that I—! I misunderstood!”
Aaaagh, stop!
Please don’t link Ternox and me in some weird way!
“That’s completely ridiculous—”
I was about to hurriedly deny it when—
The maidservant’s gaze, which had been fixed on the ground, suddenly snapped upward.
Our eyes met head-on.
“!”
A beautifully distorted face.
‘Ghk! A beauty!’
Not just any beauty—one exactly to my taste!
All beautiful women are right, but she was especially the cat-eyed type I adored.
Slightly upturned eyes, enormous eyes that seemed to take up half her face.
Within them, pupils sparkled clear and bright like finely cut sapphires.
Even as I tried desperately to suppress my wavering heart, I couldn’t bring myself to look away.
Her cherry-like lips parted once more.
“In truth, my family—the Hugo Count’s household—has long been the closest ally of the Celeste Grand Ducal House. I myself attended closely upon His Grace the Grand Duke until before you arrived, Lady René.”
As she said this, the maidservant shyly averted her gaze and covered her mouth.
Oh… judging by the nuance, it sounded like there really had been something between them.
It seemed they’d grown up together as childhood friends.
“But that’s all in the past now.”
The peacock maid’s eyes looked deeply sad.
When a shadow fell across her dazzling face, a poignant sorrow radiated from her.
Indeed, her eyes even seemed faintly moist.
“The true Grand Duchess has arrived… and I have become Her Grace’s maid. So please understand if I feel closer to His Grace the Grand Duke than to the Grand Duchess.”
“O-of course. I understand…”
Beads of cold sweat trickled down my spine.
A very bad premonition flashed through my mind.
‘This is way too cliché.’
Childhood friends who bicker without realizing their true feelings.
Secretly wishing that moment would last forever—
Only for a sudden political marriage to descend upon one of them.
Two people drifting apart in misunderstanding!
I knew this kind of story all too well.
‘Don’t tell me…’
Was I the villain wedged between the two of them?
The wicked woman tearing them apart?!
‘If that’s the case…’
Then the Grand Duke’s cold behavior toward the maid in the library—
Was that actually a tragic act, a painful performance to completely push her away?!
“……”
Thinking about it, I could somewhat understand why he tried to appear like a loving couple with me in front of others.
An overwhelming sense of guilt washed over me.
Unaware of my turmoil, the beauty before me grabbed my hand, eyes glistening with tears.
“But I, Katarina Hugo, have made up my mind. I will become your closest friend, Lady René!”
“…Me?”
How did we arrive at that conclusion…?
‘Though—so her name is Katarina. Even her name is pretty.’
Ignoring my lukewarm reaction, the peacock maid—no, Katarina—continued passionately.
“The Hugo family has always served Celeste. And since you have become a true Celeste yourself, Lady René, it is only natural that I discard any lingering resentment and devote my loyalty to you.”
Her expression was utterly resolute.
It seemed she firmly believed the rumors circulating in the ducal castle about us sharing a bed (?).
At the same time, my own heart—now suddenly in a reader’s omniscient perspective—felt like it was being torn into thousands, no, tens of thousands of pieces.
‘Aaaagh! Katarina, what on earth are you thinking?!
You think the Grand Duke you love has become a real married couple with me?!
And yet you want to be my friend?
Because it’s your duty?!’
“Th-that’s really not necessary…”
I had no idea what misunderstanding this peacock had gotten herself into, but the more she spoke, the heavier my worries became.
I couldn’t even guess where it had all gone wrong.
But then—
“So… will you forgive my past misdeeds and accept me as your friend?”
Katarina said gently, stroking my hand with her soft fingers.
At the same time, a single tear rolled down her smooth cheek like a jade bead.
‘Ngh…’
An angel.
This woman is an angel!
The fact that she was the same person who’d once tried to yank my hair somehow faded into obscurity.
‘Let’s just say she’s an angel with a competitive streak.’
In any case, an irresistible aura radiated from her, as brilliant as her shimmering blond hair.
I forced a smile and nodded.
“Of course. Katarina.”
At my answer, Katarina’s face brightened instantly—
Fresh and radiant, like a blue rose in full bloom.
“Thank you so much, Lady René! How can you be so kind…? I honestly thought I might be stripped of my position as a maid. After all, what I did was inexcusable…”
Gone was the terrifying ferocity she’d shown in the library; Katarina now covered her mouth weakly, looking utterly pitiful.
Seeing that, I hurried to comfort her.
“That’s not going to happen! You acted out of your feelings for the Grand Duke, right? The misunderstanding… was deep, sure, but still! From now on, we can just clear things up. Nothing’s ruined!”
Though, to be fair, I do love a good doomed romance!
They say of faith, hope, and love, the greatest is doomed love!
Still, since I was caught in the middle, it felt awkward to willingly take on the villain role.
‘I need to remember something—anything—about this novel. Even a small clue…’
I was lost in my new goal when—
“Lady René, then… to celebrate our friendship, would you accompany me tomorrow? There’s something I simply must show you.”
Clap! Katarina laughed, clapping her hands together.
Her eyes held a strangely sharp glint.
But at the time, I thought it was nothing more than my imagination.
