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Chapter 5
After taking out what I wanted, I headed straight for the bedroom, planning to call a maid. But there was no need to summon one myself.
“Your Highness! Breakfast is ready! May I come in? Y-Your Highness! Can you hear me?”
Someone was pleading outside the door, begging for a response. I must not have heard them calling since I’d been in the dressing room.
I tucked the letter securely against my chest and opened the door.
“You could’ve just come in. Why make such a fuss, you idiot?”
“Pardon? How could I enter a noble’s bedchamber without permission?”
“…….”
“Your Highness?”
The maid, her face red from shouting at the top of her lungs, widened her eyes.
I widened mine too.
A maid assigned to me who actually had common sense?
Back in Ramirez, the nanny and maids who had attended me treated me like a penniless beggar leeching off the marquis’s property. Every morning they’d dress me up neatly, then at night, as if they’d been waiting for it, they’d rip off my clothes and jewelry with rough hands, glaring daggers at me.
They would turn me around this way and that while I stood there trembling in my underwear, scolding me all the while.
“Why are you clenching your hand? Give it here. Now!”
“I told you, I’m not holding anything.”
“Honestly, you lie as easily as you breathe!”
Even when it was obvious my hands were empty, stripping me naked to “search for stolen goods” was routine.
“Do we have to beat it out of you before you hand it over?”
Their threats never ended with words alone.
The marquis showed his true colors to them and gave them the right to beat me.
Of course, there were servants who knew nothing of that and believed I was simply the marquis’s cherished youngest daughter.
But even they weren’t kind to me. The marquis’s wife and my half-brothers openly looked down on me. To curry favor with their masters, they had no reason to treat me well.
And things weren’t much different after coming to the Grand Duke’s castle. When Killian himself treated me with contempt, why would any servant respect me as the Grand Duchess?
Becoming painfully aware of my position again, a surge of emotion welled up in my chest. I fell silent, biting my lip, and the maid glanced at me nervously.
“Are you worried the food will get cold? I had it reheated just now, but should I ask the chef to make it again?”
“……No. Skip breakfast. I have an errand first.”
“If you skip breakfast, your stomach will hurt. Meals should be regular—”
I waved my hand.
I didn’t mind her chatter, but there was something I had to do before breakfast.
“I need thin paper. So thin you can see right through it.”
“Yes, understood.”
The maid pushed back the trolley of food, looking oddly dejected. A white bandage was wrapped around the back of her hand.
Only then did I remember who she was.
“You’re the maid who got her hand caught in the door.”
When I gestured toward her hand, her face brightened astonishingly.
“Yes! I’m Anna, Your Grace!”
“How’s the injury?”
“Oh, I did see a doctor like you said! It’s not broken—after a few days the swelling will go down quickly—”
“So you’re fine?”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to you, Your Grace!”
“All I did was pour some cold water on it.”
Even when I cut her off sharply, Anna didn’t lose heart and kept talking.
“No, really! When I said it was by Your Grace’s order, they treated me right away. Thank you so much.”
“You were the one who stuck your hand in. I only ordered it so they wouldn’t blame me.”
“Oh my! You’re so modest!”
Modest….
If the people who called me a witch heard that, they’d faint on the spot.
“You seem like a positive thinker.”
“Yes, I hear that a lot.”
What is she, really?
I scrutinized Anna from head to toe. No matter how I looked, she was a face I’d never seen before.
“Are you new?”
“Yes. From now on, I’m your head maid, Your Grace.”
“Head maid?”
That was strange. Then where did Bell go?
Until just before the party at Count Frey’s estate, my head maid had been Bell Fisher. She was one of the servants who came with me from Ramirez—and the only one left.
She was basically a watchdog left behind by the marquis. Did she retire or something?
I could understand her disappearing without a word to me. Maybe the marquis gave her another order and called her back to the estate. But choosing a new maid afterward was clearly my authority.
Yet I hadn’t brought in any new servants.
So where had Anna come from? And as my head maid, no less.
I narrowed my eyes at her. In her innocent tone, she answered exactly what I was wondering about.
“You’re surprised, right? The previous head maid fell ill and resigned. I feel bad for her, but it was a stroke of luck for me. I’m from an insignificant family, and now I’m not even a noble since we sold our name—but His Grace personally promoted me!”
“……Killian did it himself?”
“Yes! I used to handle laundry, but he said I’d be good as your conversation partner!”
Anna beamed.
“Oh. I see.”
It had only been a few minutes, but that smile no longer looked pleasant to me. Using the heavy door as a shield, I took a step back.
“The paper.”
“Oh, right! But why do you need thin paper?”
“I’m going to draw.”
“……Draw?”
Anna tilted her head, but I closed the door without another word and turned away. Soon, her footsteps faded.
“Damn it. He already planted someone on me?”
Grinding my teeth at the thought of Killian, I hurriedly changed clothes.
The everyday outfit I’d bought back when I was obsessed with running away was now out of fashion—but that was precisely why it worked.
This should keep me from looking like a noble.
I also gathered the emergency cash from my bag.
“If I knew this would happen, I should’ve stockpiled jewels.”
The allowance allocated to me as Grand Duchess was enormous, but I’d never used it. It was a habit from Ramirez.
There, money was given to me only in extremely limited cases, and no matter what I bought with it, it would just be taken away anyway.
With no choice, I grabbed a glittering necklace from the drawer as well. It was set with several large, clear rubies—obviously expensive at a glance.
It felt disgusting to use something the marquis had given me, but with death looming, did my mood really matter? Besides, even my emergency funds ultimately came from his pocket.
“This should be enough, unless prices have quintupled in a year.”
After hiding the pouch of gold coins and the necklace inside my clothes to avoid pickpockets, a knock sounded right on cue.
Knock, knock.
Anna must be back. I quickly opened the door—and froze.
“Good morning.”
A low, resonant voice. A refreshingly easy smile. A man far too broad-shouldered and broad-chested to be a maid blocked my view.
“……Killian.”
Why was Killian here?
It was an appearance I couldn’t have predicted even in my dreams. Seeing me frozen in shock, he shrugged casually.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost. It’s a little hurtful.”
“Well, anyone would be startled to see someone they never imagined meeting here.”
Just as I never went anywhere near his bedroom, Killian didn’t come near mine either. Most matters were handled through maids or aides, so him coming all the way to my door was practically a miracle.
I could barely see his face before—so why show up now, of all times?
“I’d rather see a ghost.”
If I had to be shocked either way, I’d prefer that over someone planning to kill me.
A ghost might use my life to settle a grudge, but Killian’s goal was my life itself.
Maybe he didn’t hear my tense muttering, because Killian went on with his nonsense.
“I should come by more often. At least then you could imagine it.”
I shot him a glare and stepped fully out into the hallway. I’d been so sure it was Anna that I hadn’t tidied the room at all.
As a result, the scrap of paper I’d taken from Killian’s fireplace was still lying on the desk.
I can’t let him see that.
I had no way to stop him if he tried to enter the room.
I crossed my arms and leaned my back against the closed door.
“Why are you here?”
“Going out?”
Thankfully, Killian didn’t seem interested in my room. Instead, he looked at my clothes and asked something unexpected.
I deliberately raised my eyes sharply.
“I don’t think I’m obligated to answer.”
“I’m not forcing you. I just came because I have a gift.”
With a smooth smile, Killian stepped aside. Only then did the “gift,” hidden by his overwhelming presence, come into view.
“A gift…….”
Ash-gray hair, ash-gray eyes. He looked about a head shorter than Killian, but his build was solid—well above average.
“You’re giving me… a man?”
Before I could stop it, my expression twisted.
“Are you insane?”
“Eleanor, what are you thinking—”
“Are you introducing me to a lover?”
My voice rose sharply, half fury, half disbelief.
“Ha! What, suggesting we both cheat? Since it’s already exposed, you’re just going all out now?”
The “lover” Killian had brought stared at me blankly, eyes wide.
Did he even know he was supposed to be a lover?
Frustrated by the man who clearly didn’t grasp the situation, I snapped my gaze back to Killian.
When I glared at him like I might shoot lasers from my eyes, Killian—who had been staring at me with an unusually blank look—suddenly burst out laughing.
“A, a lover…! Pff—hah!”
He hurriedly covered his mouth, but it was too late; I’d already heard him laugh.
“You’re laughing? This is funny to you?”
As I snapped at him, he braced a hand against the wall, bending over as he shook with suppressed laughter. When he finally lifted his head, tears glistened at the corners of his eyes.
After wiping them away, Killian put on a straight face as if he’d never laughed at all.
“With such a vivid imagination, it’s disappointing you couldn’t imagine me showing up.”
Then he gestured with his chin toward the man’s sword. Following his motion, I saw the emblem engraved on the scabbard clearly.
A golden shield with a lion’s head. A symbol familiar to me as well.
“The Heart Knights….”
“He’s your guard.”
Ah. A guard.
My face instantly burned.
Seeing me flinch in embarrassment, Killian touched his own face and said shamelessly,
“If you were going to take a lover, at least pick someone better than me. Not that such a man exists.”
“Hah.”
It was absurd—and yet I couldn’t refute it.
He was a terrible man for cheating on his wife, but in status, ability, and looks, he really did lack nothing.
Killian patted the man’s shoulder.
“He’s a hard-to-find talent. Excluding me, he’ll become the strongest man in the Empire.”
The praised man puffed out his chest proudly.
If Killian was that confident, he must truly be impressive.
“Then why waste someone like that on me? You should send him to subjugate monsters.”
“How is assigning him as your guard a waste?”
He genuinely sounded like he didn’t understand.
“He’ll fight monsters too. When I’m away from the castle, he’ll need to protect you.”
No, I don’t understand. When you left me abandoned here for a month, what about then? And now a guard?
I opened my mouth in disbelief, but Killian’s golden eyes didn’t waver.
“Enjoy your outing. Take him with you.”
With that, Killian walked down the corridor, leaving only me and the guard behind.
I stared intently at his retreating back, trying to read his intentions. But truly, I had no idea what went on in that head of his.
As I watched him disappear, Anna returned before I knew it.
Now, only me, the guard, and Anna remained in the corridor.
No—me and two watchdogs.
Swallowing a sigh, I asked the suddenly acquired guard,
“Your name?”
“Randel, Your Grace.”
“Fine, Sir Randel. Did Killian give you any special instructions?”
“Well… aside from telling me not to leave your side for even a moment, no.”
So it really was surveillance.
I waved my hand as if shooing a fly.
“There’s no need for that. Today I’m just going to stroll around the city. Nothing dangerous will happen, so stay here.”
“Mm. I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”
“It’s an order.”
I tried to sound threatening, but Randel just scratched his head.
“For now, my employer is the Grand Duke, so I have to follow his orders.”
“Are you a mercenary? If you’re with the Heart Knights, you’re also my knight. Disobedience isn’t an option.”
“I am a mercenary, actually.”
“…What?”
Startled, I asked again. He shook his head and added,
“I was given a sword, but I’m not part of the order. I made a private contract with His Grace.”
Looking awkward, Randel subtly hid the sword bearing the Heart Ducal crest.
Now that I looked, he wasn’t wearing a knight’s uniform either. He had black boots and gloves, and a navy jacket that wouldn’t show dirt easily.
Just like a typical mercenary.
Standing his ground as if he couldn’t back down, Randel met my gaze. After a brief staring contest, I called out to Anna, who was standing some distance away.
“……Anna. You get ready too.”
“Pardon? Me?”
“Yes. Can a Grand Duchess really go out alone?”
She looked shocked, as if she’d never imagined being brought along. Taking the thin paper I’d asked for from Anna’s hand, I went back into the room.
“Wait here. I’ll be out soon.”
How could I possibly beat a skilled fighter personally praised by Killian? I had no choice but to change my plan.
