<Kingdom Newspaper, Breaking News!
Count Lorenst to marry his maid?
It has been reported that Count Hubert Lorenst has proposed to the Count’s maid.
This maid is said to be the daughter of Count Lorenst’s nanny.
This means that the owner of Count Lorenst, a powerful royalist family, will take the daughter of a commoner’s nanny to be his countess.
The two were said to have lived in the same house since childhood. Lovers in love despite the difference in status!
All eyes are on them to see if the romance of the century will come true.>
The news that had the kingdom buzzing for a while was capped off with a follow-up article a few days later.
<Kingdom newspaper, breaking news!
His Majesty mentions his opposition to Count Lorenst’s marriage to a noble…….>
“So it is.”
People snorted, as if it was a given. The girls, who had imagined a sweet romance, swallowed hard.
It should have been such a simple affair, but the rumour spread like ivy.
A little, in strange directions.
“Oh, yes. The Earl is as much of a gentleman as anyone.”
“That’s what I’m saying. He’s thinking of making his daughter a mistress of the house because he saved her from an assassin? If it were me, I’d have ended it with a generous payment, Bowl, Bowl.”
“From what I hear, the nanny’s daughter is neither pretty nor intelligent.”
“That’s not all, her father made his living stealing, and her mother, well, she was a con artist!”
“No, how does someone like that get a job as a nanny for a count?”
“She was so impressed with the Count’s character that she repented of her sins, and especially loved the present Count Lorenst as her own child, so she was able to sacrifice herself for him.”
“A very touching story.”
“They are a very benevolent family, after all.”
The words of praise for the handsome, kind-hearted Count were everywhere.
The rumours were mostly true, with a few exceptions.
* * *
“Help me, Ygraine.”
Hubert Lorenst, a highly regarded scholar of the water goddess Marta, was a very handsome man with a gentle demeanour.
And my childhood friend.
I stared at him, dumbfounded, as he took my hand. I was surprised that his hand still felt warm against mine.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Hubert hung his head, his face pained. My heart ached for him.
This was the man who had shared warm bread with me when I was persecuted by my mother for reminding her of my father.
‘I swore then that I would not steal from you.’
That vow grew stronger and stronger as the years went by, until I came to centre my life around him.
Hubert’s soft blond hair flowed down his back.
His slightly longer hair was tied in the back with a blue ribbon that was somewhat out of character for him.
I didn’t tie it up; he has someone else who does his hair.
“A king cannot refuse the orders of a barbaric empire, and I cannot refuse the orders of your majesty and…….”
The anguished voice pleaded with me.
‘Don’t look at me with those eyes. It shakes my heart.’
“The fate of your family depends on you.”
I should be proud.
The fate of an earl rests on me, a once-thieving woman.
“When the prince arrives, enter his bedroom at night.”
To be honest, his request didn’t surprise me.
I am the daughter of a father who was a thief and a mother who was a con artist. Even when I was inducted into the Count’s household and pretended to be well behaved, my identity remained that of a lowly thief.
If Hubert was falsely accused, I would risk my life to steal the key to the prison. But he never expected to have to offer himself to a barbarian.
There is a custom in the empire to offer a guest a woman of one’s own household.
In addition to offering the kingdom his hand in marriage, the crown prince demanded that the kingdom entertain a visiting prince according to the old custom.
The imperial crown prince wanted Princess Laratu of the royal family.
Naturally, there was an uproar in the royal court.
The king was furious, and decided to make a half-hearted offer.
Not the princess, but another woman.
And on the king’s orders, my boyfriend chose me.
‘I don’t want to be used like this.
I would give my life for a warm loaf of bread, but not this…….
“His Majesty did not order you to use a vassal’s family to entertain guests.”
At my words, Hubert’s bowed head snapped up, his green eyes sharpening.
“Then send Aris to the prince? The child will not survive his rough treatment, and besides, he is a priest. How can you allow him to be subjected to such a thing?”
“And me?
I, who will be sent to that tyrannical prince instead of your lovely Arisu?
Hubert lifted my hand and kissed the back of it.
“Help me just this once, Ygraine. I won’t do anything terrible to your face, and you needn’t worry about anything else. I won’t abandon you, and I will repay you for your efforts on my behalf and the House’s behalf with a lifetime.”
Will they all throw stones at me if they hear the word “lifetime”?
“They’ll say the Amteens are stupid.
“Help me.”
Looking into those trembling green eyes, I couldn’t answer.
I closed my eyes. But blindness doesn’t solve anything.
“Are you stupid? So you’re going to do what he says?”
Leo, in the form of a translucent, watery wolf, leapt to his feet and circled me quickly. I was dumbfounded by his anger, but I couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re a feral, stop running, or else the clan will be destroyed.”
“What kind of bullshit goody-goody complex do you have? You had the nerve to steal from me. How could I steal from you if you’re so weak-minded?”
“I told you, you were so sparkly then, like a jewel. How could I pass something like that?”
The gem-like stone, stolen from an ancient temple, harboured a spirit.
“When and why do you worry about me when you’re out on the streets calling me a thieving bitch, and you say you’re ashamed that I might see you one day?”
She laughed, and Leo clicked his tongue hard.
“Stupid!”
He jumped up and down, shouting all sorts of profanities. Being a virtuous spirit, the only words I knew were fool, idiot, and stupid, so my ears didn’t even tickle.
The next day I was put in a carriage and sent to the palace.
I wish Leo had come with me.
“The Imperials are a people of sun and fire. I cannot go now.”
I looked up, remembering Leo’s gloomy words.
Before I knew it, I was at the royal palace. I was ushered into the room where the prince was resting.
“Who?”
The ‘tyrant prince of the empire’ as Hubert called him, dressed in a thin robe, looked at me with cold eyes.
My first impression was of a man with an imposing, expressionless face. Massive build and jet-black eyes. His tanned skin smelled of the sun.
He was a man of the sun.
“Does it have a mouth?”
His imposing face sent a chill down my spine. He can’t be trying to tell me he doesn’t like me, can he?
“Just do it. I’ll just steal your eyeballs.
He grunted, like a vulnerable animal puffing itself up in front of a predator. Only inwardly, of course.
“I’m Ygraine Lorenst. I’m just dropping by the market.”
Despite my preparations, my heart pounded in my chest.
I felt a surge of regret. I shouldn’t have done it, even if Hubert had asked me to.
“Should I have just jumped out of the carriage?
The image of Hubert’s face that flashed through her mind every time she thought of doing so kept her from doing it.
“Do I really have to sleep with this man? Today?
“Get out.”
His voice was gruff as I imagined myself being crushed to death by his massive bulk.
My head snapped up.
“What?”
“I said get out.”
I stammered back.
“To where?”
The man’s eyebrows twitched slightly. I think he was annoyed, but the look alone was enough to send my body into flight mode.
The next words were unexpectedly mundane.
“Why are you here?”
“I have orders to hold court.”
“Orders…….”
He sighed in a low voice.
“Then take a break, or do your own thing.”
“Huh?
The ferocious prince of rumour walked over to the couch, his broad back to me.
Earl was caught off guard.
I stood there, half relieved, half suspicious. Luckily, he went somewhere else and never came back.
I walked to the bed, my calf aching, and sat down.
The warmth from where he’d been lying and where I’d been sitting felt awkward. It was a strange feeling.
“What? Didn’t he know?
It was the crown prince of the empire who asked for the woman.
[The crown prince might be up to something, so be careful].
[You’re saying he didn’t ask for the girl for his brother’s sake?]
[Yes. Maybe he’s trying to taunt me. Rumour has it that he doesn’t like women].
[Is there any truth to that?
In any case, it was a relief to me.
Hubert must be happy now.
After spending the night at Hana’s palace, I was in a worse position than before.
Despite his promise not to abandon me, Hubert hadn’t even spoken to me.
I was told that he often took tea with Aris, whom he adored, and that he even spent nights in her room reading to her.
Still, I forced myself to try to understand him.
She had been adopted by an earl, but she didn’t mind not being treated as an adopted daughter and being treated like a member of the military.
I didn’t expect it.
But not this.
Frustrated, she stormed out of the room.
“You don’t look well. Are you feeling all right?”
“I have something to tell you, Hubert.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing happened with the prince, I swear.”
Hubert made a face of disbelief. He was angry.
“Do you think I’m lying?”
“No. I believe you, Ygraine. If I don’t believe you, who will I believe? If not you, then no one.”
His words said something different than his eyes.
He’s lying to me.
