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Chapter 11
I had no idea why he was staring at me with such wide eyes, as if he had just seen some rare animal.
Was it really that strange for me to say I wanted to be popular at least once?
Count Berngbeck shook his head briefly, as if thinking, She really is an unusual person.
Back when I was a teenager, I had dreamed that once I entered the Academy, I’d enjoy a rosy, romantic campus life.
What actually awaited me, however, was a brutal academic routine.
It was such a barren desert of studying that you couldn’t even feel the atmosphere of high society or noble status.
Of course, I had never really devoted myself to studying after enrolling, so it wasn’t exactly fair to call it hardship.
If I’d known I’d end up like this, I should’ve studied harder.
To think I’d end up experiencing the very thing I used to tell my students when I was an academy teacher. If I had remembered my previous life while I was still a student, I’d probably be in a much better situation than I am now.
In the end, my conversation with Count Berngbeck ended without accomplishing much.
With a rather awkward expression, he said he understood and returned to the garden.
The man wearing the helmet still caught my attention, but he didn’t seem interested in talking, so I left without any worries.
It feels like he kept observing me… Am I really that fascinating?
Then again, if I were an outsider, I’d probably do the same.
A mother-in-law younger than her daughter-in-law? It sounded like the setting of some morning soap opera. Anyone would be curious enough to watch. That man was probably no different.
“Hm?”
When I reached the annex, I found two people crouching in front of the door.
They were Anna, my maid, and Mirinae, my page.
“What are you two doing here?”
“Ah! Madam!”
Mirinae immediately jumped to his feet and ran toward me.
I hugged him as he spread his arms wide and turned my gaze to Anna.
“You came back alone? That was dangerous…”
“We’re inside the castle. It’s fine. Why were you both waiting here?”
Ever since Anna became my personal maid, she had never worked night shifts. Her work hours had ended quite a while ago.
“We were worried about when you’d come back.”
Still in my arms, Mirinae glanced at Anna, who let out an awkward laugh.
“Anna said… you might get hurt, Madam.”
“Mirinae!”
Anna hurriedly pulled him out of my embrace and pinched his cheek.
“When did I ever say that?” she whispered as she scolded him.
Ah… She thought I might be humiliated.
Among the servants, Anna knew quite a bit about the Duke’s household.
She had several friends working in the main residence and occasionally shared bits of gossip with me.
She probably knew some of the rumors about me as well, so she’d naturally worry something unpleasant might happen during the celebration banquet.
She’s such a kind girl.
I hadn’t really done much for her, yet she worried about me anyway.
It made me realize once again how fortunate I was that Anna had become my attendant.
It couldn’t be easy serving such an unpredictable mistress.
“Thank you, Anna. Don’t worry. Nothing happened.”
“Ah… That’s a relief!”
Anna finally let out a sigh of relief.
Freed from Anna’s grasp, Mirinae came back to me and tightly held my hand.
His hands were cold from waiting outside.
“Did you stay here waiting with her too, Mirinae?”
“Yes. I heard you were going out today, Madam.”
Come to think of it, my first outing had stirred up quite a commotion in the annex.
Even if he didn’t have anything to do, he must have been curious about what was happening.
“Madam, you look really beautiful today.”
“Really?”
The evening gown sent over from the main residence was so gorgeous that I couldn’t even find the words to praise it properly.
The dark fabric faded into a gradient that perfectly matched my hair color, and just one of the gemstones decorating it was probably worth an entire year’s salary from my previous life.
Helene really did put thought into this.
She might not have liked me, but she had still prepared clothing befitting the Grand Duchess of the household.
It reflected the pride she held in the family.
“The dress is certainly beautiful.”
“No. You’re beautiful, Madam.”
“…Me?”
“Yes. More beautiful than the dress. You’re the prettiest of all.”
“You look like a star in the night sky.”
That was truly a touching compliment.
Without realizing it, I smiled at Mirinae’s sincere words.
“Then I should reward Mirinae for such a sweet compliment. Your hands are freezing from waiting outside. Let’s go in, have some warm milk, and get some rest.”
“Anna, I’m sorry, but…”
“Yes. I’ll prepare it.”
“Make three cups. You should have some too.”
“Yes!”
Taking Anna and Mirinae with me, I headed inside the annex.
The banquet hall where the celebration had been held was dazzling, and the castle itself was magnificent…
But home was still the best place.
After Wilhelmina left, two men stood side by side along a secluded garden path where not even a single lantern burned.
Count Berngbeck spoke to the helmeted man following behind him.
“…Are you nervous?”
“Yes.”
The refreshingly honest answer made Berngbeck let out a helpless chuckle.
There were probably only a handful of people in the world capable of making this man nervous.
The thought made him laugh in disbelief.
The same man who had never flinched before hundreds of enemy soldiers couldn’t even breathe properly in front of one woman.
If his subordinates heard that, they’d probably accuse him of lying.
“You could have taken off your helmet and introduced yourself.”
“This isn’t the kind of meeting I wanted.”
“Hah…”
Was it stubbornness?
Or was his devotion simply excessive?
With a complicated expression, Berngbeck looked toward the annex where Wilhelmina had disappeared.
For someone supposedly burdened with guilt, Wilhelmina seemed to be living quite comfortably.
She doesn’t look like someone suffering from conflict with her daughter-in-law.
If anything, she carried herself as though she owned the place.
“I owe you a great debt, so I truly support you… but don’t overdo it. You shouldn’t stay away from your post for too long.”
“Thank you for your advice.”
After confirming there was no one nearby, the man slowly removed his helmet.
The brown hair and brown eyes that appeared looked strangely out of place, causing Berngbeck to narrow his eyes.
“If Jake saw you now, he’d be terribly disappointed.”
“It couldn’t be helped. I needed this disguise for infiltration.”
A man handsome enough to be proud of his appearance had deliberately made himself look like a mountain bandit.
Berngbeck couldn’t help sighing.
Looking at the shaggy hair hiding those intelligent eyes, he shook his head.
“So what will you do now? I’m planning to meet Duke Leighton.”
“I’ll return.”
“I came to congratulate the Count, not to create discord within the family.”
…Duke Leighton probably wouldn’t see it that way.
The man’s concern was understandable.
However, Mikhail wasn’t nearly as serious as he imagined.
If anything, once he revealed his identity, the Duke would probably welcome him with open arms.
“Shall I escort—”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Very well. Then have a safe journey.”
If circumstances had been different, Berngbeck would have liked to share a drink with the man.
But knowing that wasn’t possible, he gave up the idea without hesitation.
Berngbeck saluted first.
The man simply waved in acknowledgment before walking down the opposite garden path.
“Oh, and Count.”
“Hm?”
“I’ll consider what happened when you threatened her…”
“…a mistake.”
“…”
Wilhelmina, and now this man as well.
Why wouldn’t either of them believe he was innocent?
If she’s that precious to you, then tell her yourself!
Grinding his teeth, Berngbeck watched the man disappear into the darkness.
Another week passed, and Wednesday arrived.
I met Johan in the annex garden.
Sitting together on a bench tucked away in a quiet corner where no one passed by, we began our little transaction.
“So, in your opinion, the most successful merchant company is Goldrail?”
While eating the buttered potatoes and drinking the milk I had given him, Johan nodded.
“That’s right. They really have everything.”
At the moment, I was gathering information about the outside world through Johan.
Most of my questions were about the merchants and shops doing well in Leighton Territory.
He probably thought he was simply sharing honest impressions from what he’d seen while cleaning the streets, but Johan’s sharp observations were surprisingly useful.
Goldrail. A newly established merchant company that had recently been granted noble status. They sold general goods to commoners while supplying ingredients and spices to nobles…
As one of my students in my previous life once liked to say:
“When a heroine gets reincarnated, possessed, or sent back in time, she has to make money.”
If the story ever went off course, I’d need money to survive.
I couldn’t disagree with that.
In any world, having plenty of money made life much easier.
Even if I was relying on the Leighton family now, nobody knew what the future held.
And heroines usually become rich using modern science and culture… I don’t think that’s going to work for me.
Practical science wasn’t my specialty.
As a science teacher, I possessed basic knowledge, but not enough to invent something revolutionary.
Of course, becoming a scholar was still an option…
But I had absolutely no desire to start studying all over again at my age.
“Have you heard any interesting news about Goldrail?”
“Hmm… Oh! There’s a lady who sells flour.”
“Flour?”
