Chapter 19
Less Than a Fourteen-Year-Old
Nora, unable to calm herself, suddenly jumped up from her seat. Just moments ago, her voice had been soft, but now it had grown exceedingly loud.
Lady Geoffrey, in charge of etiquette lessons, frowned at Nora’s behavior, which was unbecoming of a lady of nobility.
Oops. Nora quickly sat back down. Even in such a tense situation, she couldn’t raise her voice.
Truly, these nobles were obsessed with useless formalities.
“Maybe I misunderstood something, Madam?”
“No, you understood correctly. It’s simply impossible to finish all the preparations by your coming-out ball.”
“Why? Didn’t you say I was doing well? That I was learning quickly?”
Lady Geoffrey sipped her tea with a leisurely motion, reminding Nora of Eleanor. That made her even more irritable.
Stop sipping and just answer already. Nora barely suppressed the words.
“The Duke of Astria insists that the condition for a coming-out ball is to be as prepared as Lady Eleanor was when she debuted at fourteen. I believe Lady Nora agreed to that as well.”
“Yes, but what does that matter? Are you saying I’m not even as good as Eleanor was at fourteen?”
“Unfortunately, yes. While it’s true that you are learning quickly… you haven’t quite caught up yet. I can say this confidently since I also taught Lady Eleanor at that time.”
What nonsense is this?
Nora’s anger flared up. She wanted to throw the hot tea at the woman in front of her, who was insulting her under the guise of polite words.
That old woman must have been bribed by Eleanor. That’s why she’s lying so shamelessly. Nora was convinced of it.
“How can I be worse than a fourteen-year-old?”
That couldn’t be true. After seven years at the duke’s mansion, she had picked up so much just by observation. How could she not have caught up to a child who had only been learning for two years?
Nora simply couldn’t understand it.
She didn’t know that Eleanor was actually much quicker at learning than she was. She also didn’t know that, during those two years she looked down on, fourteen-year-old Eleanor had been desperately studying, more intensely than anyone else. If Nora’s current goal was merely to make her debut in society, at that time, Eleanor’s goal had been survival, studying so hard that she barely slept three hours a day.
But Nora, who had only known Eleanor from the age of fifteen, couldn’t know any of this.
So Nora believed it was all lies, even though other tutors had said the same thing. She thought Eleanor was plotting against her.
Hmph, enduring this pitifully… Do they really expect me to just let myself be treated like before?
In reality, catching up with the progress the teachers claimed was impossible before the debut ball. But I can’t simply give up on the debut ball. If the proper method won’t work, I must find another way.
After all, one must counter a scheme with a scheme.
First, I’ll contact Arlo. Then I’ll gently persuade that Damien guy to help me. And after that…
“Eva, come here for a moment.”
“Yes, miss!”
Eva, who had been leisurely looking out the window, rushed over. Nora had seen her relaxing, but now she pretended to be out of breath. How pathetic.
Nora smiled sweetly and spoke words that were at odds with her true feelings.
“Eva, I think you’re quite dependable. You’ve done a lot for me.”
“Thank you for noticing, miss!”
“Of course I noticed. But you know, the butler said that once I’m properly recognized as Eleanor Astria, I’ll need to hire a maid or have a close handmaiden by my side. You and Natalie have both been so good to me, so it’s hard to choose. But apparently, I can only pick one…”
Eva stiffened and glanced behind her. Natalie was busy chatting with the knight standing guard outside Nora’s door.
Once she confirmed this, Eva quickly lowered her voice.
“Miss, Natalie’s too fat and clumsy. It would be embarrassing to have her around.”
How funny. They’d been friends since childhood, yet she didn’t hesitate to criticize her. It was pleasing to see how easily people betrayed friends for their own benefit. It felt good to know she wasn’t the only one capable of being cruel.
“Hmm, but it wouldn’t be right to decide based on something like that. It would be better if someone could prove they would do anything for me.”
“Prove? What do you mean by that?”
“Well, let’s see. Oh, I know. I could see if you’re willing to do something for me. Something a bit bad, maybe even dangerous.”
“What do you say?” Nora smiled, her eyes narrowing as she added.
After a brief hesitation, Eva nodded.
“I’ll do it, miss! Just tell me what you need.”
“Good. Then, for now…”
Unlike the scheming that filled Nora’s room, Eleanor’s room was quiet.
Eleanor sipped her tea gracefully, the perfect picture of a lady, just as Lady Geoffrey had taught her. Hilda, sitting nearby, was knitting lace. Even so, whenever Eleanor’s teacup was empty, she swiftly refilled it with warm tea.
It was a peaceful moment. But the calm was soon broken by a light knock at the door.
Knock, knock.
“It’s Ernst.”
“Yes, come in.”
At Eleanor’s invitation, Ernst cautiously entered the room.
“Part of the investigation has been completed, and I’m here to report. Is now a good time?”
He glanced at Hilda, as if asking whether it was alright to speak in front of her.
Hilda quickly stood up, sensing the situation.
“I’ll step out for a moment. Please call if you need anything.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. Go ahead, Sir, please give your report.”
Eleanor shook her head, and Hilda looked surprised. Her blue eyes soon filled with emotion.
Unfortunately, contrary to her expectations, Eleanor still did not trust Hilda.
Hilda was quite a decent maid. She was quick and efficient in her actions, and she was a simple and honest person. She neither looked down on nor disrespected Eleanor. During her free time, instead of wandering around gossiping about her mistress, Hilda would sit quietly in a corner, doing things like knitting lace, just as she had been earlier.
What Eleanor especially liked was that Hilda had not been working in the mansion for even a year yet.
However, trust was a different matter entirely.
The fact that no information about her conversations with Ernst had reached Nora suggested that Hilda might not be a spy after all… but there was no way to be sure just yet.
The only reason Eleanor didn’t send her out now was because there was nothing particularly important in today’s report. And if Hilda was indeed a spy, pretending to trust her could be a good strategy in itself.
“First, let me report on Nora. She first appeared in the Tolcan slums nine years ago, when she was thirteen years old. This was about two years before she met you and entered the duke’s mansion,” Ernst began.
“Yes,” Eleanor replied.
“In the slums, she survived by running errands. It seems she managed to stay alive thanks to the protection of a thug. Even after entering the duke’s mansion, she maintained occasional contact with him. However, we have no records of what they exchanged, and that is still under investigation.”
Ernst’s face darkened. It was clear he didn’t think he had anything useful to report.
“We still haven’t been able to verify her whereabouts before the age of thirteen. Despite her unusual appearance, surprisingly few people remember seeing her. It seems she must have taken steps to cover her tracks in advance.”
“That does seem likely,” Eleanor nodded, as if it were obvious. Nora wasn’t a fool. If she had decided to carry out such a grand plan, she would have taken care of her background first.
‘Thank goodness,’ Eleanor thought.
She was relieved. The fact that even after paying a competent informant quite a bit of money, they had only found this much meant her father likely wouldn’t be able to find any definitive proof that Nora was a fraud either.
“Have you questioned the servants who worked at the mansion fifteen years ago?”
“Yes. All of those we’ve contacted deny ever meeting Nora. There’s a chance they’re lying, but it seems no one we’ve spoken to has any memories that match Nora’s claims. Those in positions senior enough to have interacted directly with the duchess are, strangely, mostly no longer in the capital, and we haven’t yet been able to locate them.”
“Please keep searching. I’m counting on you.”
“Counting on me? You only need to give the command, Miss.”
Ernst bowed his head deeply.
Always so stiff, Eleanor thought with an amused smile. She got up from her seat and walked to the bookshelf, pulling out a document that was hidden between two thick books. She handed it to Ernst.
“And could you also find out the whereabouts of these two people, Smith Chestnut and Jane Chestnut?”
The edges of the document were slightly worn, suggesting it had been there for some time.
Ernst took the document and examined it closely. It included portraits of a man and a woman with rather nasty expressions.
“They’re a commoner couple who lived in the Fortney region up until seven years ago. I suspect they’ve left Fortney by now. Much of the information may have disappeared as well.”
“Who are they? I’ve never seen these faces before,” Ernst asked, puzzled.
“They’re the people who raised Nora until she was thirteen. She says she has lived with them since she was five. If we investigate this couple, we might be able to uncover more about Nora’s past.”
Ernst stared at Eleanor in astonishment. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly asked, “…Where did you get this information? Not even the informant knew about this…”
“I had it investigated when I first met Nora, seven years ago. She’s the girl I brought in and kept by my side. I couldn’t allow her to stay close without investigating her background.”
Though her tone was calm and casual, Ernst couldn’t help but be shocked.
When Eleanor brought Nora into the household, she had only been fifteen years old. How could someone so young have been so thorough? It was impressive but also saddening. A child should grow up as a child, after all.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
Hilda, who had been quietly listening, cautiously interjected.
“You?”
“Yes! I want to help you too, Miss!”
Her face shone with pure enthusiasm.
Eleanor looked down at her with a soft smile, though her eyes remained cold.
“…Then could you perhaps look into what the servants think about me and Nora? Find out whose side they’re on.”
“Yes! I’ve actually got a lot of connections among the staff. I’ll find out for sure! You can count on me!”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. Oh, and as you know, I’m not very talented at dressing up. When I call the tailor, it would be nice if you could help me pick out a dress.”
“Oh, of course! I’d love to!” Hilda exclaimed, nearly jumping with joy.
“Then, Sir, I’ll be counting on you as well.”
“Yes. I’ll uncover the truth and ensure that justice is done.”
Ernst solemnly declared this, but Eleanor only smiled without replying. Their goals were quite different, after all.
While they both wanted to find a weakness in Nora, Eleanor had no intention of revealing the truth.
Quite the opposite—if any gaps appeared, she intended to fill them herself.
She couldn’t let the truth come out until it was time to hand over her place. Of course, after she left the Astria household, she could use the truth in other ways.
‘Nora, you should have made me your accomplice from the start,’ Eleanor thought with genuine regret.
Things would have been much easier for Nora if she had.
Just then, another knock came at the door.
Knock, knock.
“Miss, I’m sorry to disturb you, but I have an urgent message to deliver.”
“Come in, Mary.”
As usual, Mary entered with her neat appearance, holding a letter.
Eleanor checked the seal on the envelope to see which family had sent it. Now she understood why Mary had hurried over so urgently.
“Hilda, it seems you’ll have work to do sooner than expected.”
