Episode 30
“What’s got you looking so worried and sad, my Lady?”
“Huh? Is that how I look?”
It seemed I had put on a serious expression without meaning to. I quickly loosened up my face and smiled. But Rona insisted.
“Yes, you do,” she said, nodding.
“Tell me what’s worrying you. Perhaps I could help?”
“Oh no, it’s nothing really.”
I laughed and waved my hand to show that I didn’t care, but I stopped abruptly.
“My Lady…”
Rona stood trembling in front of me. Her eyes were filled with tears, and it looked like the tears were about to slip down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong Rona? Huh? Are you crying?”
“It looks like I can’t help…”
“Huh? What are you saying?”
I took a handkerchief from my pocket and began wiping Rona’s tears away.
“I… am ready to do whatever you tell me. But it looks like you don’t need me.”
Now sobbing, Rona used the handkerchief I gave her to blow her nose.
“No, Rona, that’s not it.”
I tried to comfort her.
“I could probably never be of help, right?”
Her tears continued to fall unabated.
“I can see that you are becoming more sure of yourself and active, and I want to help you more… My dream is that you would take your rightful place in this family and make it your own.”
“…Why?”
Rona’s words didn’t sound like a lie – it really seemed as if she believed what she was saying. I didn’t know whether I wanted to believe what she had said or not.
The only person in this huge mansion I can trust.
“You… You saved me, My Lady.”
“…You remember that still?”
It was a story from long ago when I was new to the Duchy.
It happened on one of the days I could leave the Duke’s estate once a month to see my younger brothers and sisters.
I was in a carriage going down a lane on the way to their home when I heard a person yelling.
As I turned around to find out where the scream came from, I saw Rona being pulled by her hair. She was later forced into a black carriage, before it took off quickly.
<Catch up to them.>
Without thinking, I told the coachman to follow the carriage. The strange black carriage eventually stopped at a slave market where people who owed money were taken.
There, I ended up buying Rona. Fortunately, I’d had money in my bag for my brothers and sisters, so I used all of it to buy Rona. Perhaps I shouldn’t have done it, but I just couldn’t leave her there like that.
<Since I bought her to be a maid, please send the money for my siblings separately.>
That was the first and only time I asked Camilla for something so bravely.
At first, Camilla didn’t like the idea of hiring Rona as a maid, as she was a person from the back alleys. But after doing some research, Camilla suddenly changed her mind and let me hire Rona as my maid.
The night Camilla agreed to take her in, we both held hands and cried together in my room.
“Yes, we do have that history between us.”
Even though it had been only two years, it seemed like a long time ago. I’ve changed a lot since then, which made it seem even longer.
“You are kind to me, My Lady. So I’m willing to do whatever you want. My whole life is yours. If you hadn’t helped me back then, I would have…”
“Well, I was also a bit rash back then.”
At the time, I worried so much about getting money to my siblings for their bills. Still, I couldn’t ignore Rona’s situation. It didn’t seem like someone else’s business, seeing Rona being sold because of debt.
“Thank Mother, too. I couldn’t have done it if she hadn’t let me.”
In fact, at the time, I thought Camilla would never agree to having Rona.
All of the servants and girls in the Duke’s house, as well as all of the other workers, came from loyal and trusted families or had exceptional skills.
So for her to take Rona, even though she was from the back alleys, was a big surprise. It was also quite sweet of Camilla to give me the money for my sibling’s support after I had technically already spent it.
Actually, I was so surprised by Camilla’s unconventional treatment at the time that I wondered if she was ill or something. I felt bad for a moment that I had misunderstood someone who was so kind. Of course, Camilla went back to being herself like nothing had changed shortly afterwards.
“But in the end, you saved me, My Lady,” she said.
“I will always be grateful.”
Rona added firmly as she wiped her tears away.
“…Then, may I ask you for something?”
I asked her cautiously.
* * *
“My Lady.”
Rona opened the door without a sound. She walked in and called out to me in a soft voice. Even though no one was there to hear her, there was a reason she called me so carefully.
“Did you get it?”
Rona’s voice was just as mysterious as mine.
“Of course.”
Rona smiled mischievously and put her hand in the pocket of her apron.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
A few pills were in the hand she pulled out again.
“And also this.”
The liquid that Amoide drinks came into sight.
“You did well.”
Rona’s shoulders looked like they were about to shoot up into the ceiling from my praise.
“What did you do to get it?”
“It’s all because of my skill.”
Rona gave a deep smile.
“Skill?”
“Yes, I do have something like that.”
Rona was in charge of getting the medicine that Amoide needs, but I didn’t think she would actually do it.
I was so nervous trying to figure out how to get hold of it, but things turned out fairly smoothly thanks to Rona.
“Oh yes, and what’s that?”
I poked Rona again because I was intrigued by her words. Something, or more specifically, someone, came to mind…
“Robert?”
“Yes. Yes? No, it’s…”
Rona, who had been laughing freely, now began stuttering nervously.
When I saw that my guess was right, I grinned proudly. Robert. I did have my suspicions.
“Uh… yes.”
Rona let out a deep sigh, as if she had nothing to hide.
“Robert gets medicine from Dr. Raymond on a regular basis, so, well, one thing led to another, and so on…”
Rona was red in the face.
“…One thing led to another, and this and that?”
For a moment, a dark thought surfaced at her words.
“You didn’t!?”
I leaped to my feet and squealed.
“Did Robert do something bad to you!?”
“No! I gave him a few pecks when he was upset, and he gave it to me quickly!”
Rona was surprised by my response, so she waved her hands firmly in denial.
“…Is that true?”
“Of course. I promise my Lady, I know how to protect the things I need to keep safe.“
…
“But, what are you going to do with this, anyway?”
Rona’s eyes shone with curiosity as they traveled to the things in my hand. I took the pill out of its package and rolled it around in my hand instead of replying.
“Rona, I have to leave the mansion now,” I stated.
“That’s right… What?”
Rona looked at me as if she had just heard something incomprehensible.
“Where do you want to go? No, are you going somewhere?”
“Right.”
I nodded quietly.
“My goodness, my goodness. You, My Lady? We can’t go anywhere today!”
“We must.”
I knew why Rona was so shocked. Since I had moved into the Duke’s house, I only left on certain days. The only time I went out was once a month, when I visited Aunt Ellinda to see my siblings.
“All of a sudden? But where?”
“Just call for the carriage for now.”
“I’ll do that, yes. Then I need to get you ready for the trip…”
“There’s no reason to make a big fuss.”
I stopped Rona.
“Because I’m not going to Aunt’s house today.”
* * *
“But… For the Duchess, this really is too much.”
Rona grumbled and pulled a disgruntled face.
Rona and I were leaving the mansion in a carriage, as planned. The Duke’s property was so large that it took a long time to get from the main building to the entrance. All along the driveway, Rona made sure to express just how unhappy she was.
“You’re riding in a carriage for servants only!”
“There were no other suitable carriages ready.”
I answered matter-of-factly.
When I asked for a carriage to be prepared, the coachmen told me that there were none available. Then they asked if it would be okay if they could lend me the carriage the servants use.
I didn’t care about how the carriage looked or how good it was, so I accepted right away. I already knew it would have been hard for them to provide one of the Duke’s carriages.
<Is it time for your outing now?>
When I asked Camilla for permission to leave, she looked reluctant. It wasn’t unexpected, because she was always irritable when I left for my monthly outing.
<I want to see my siblings a little sooner.>
It was the only valid excuse I had. As I said it, my hand had tightened behind my back. If I used my once-a-month leave now, I wouldn’t get to see my siblings this time.
But it was unavoidable. I had to see a certain person, no matter what.
<Alright, you may go. You know how to keep yourself safe, right? Do not let anyone discover that you are the Duchess, do you understand?>
<Of course.>
<Well, you’d figure it out on your own. If not, you’ll have to give all that money back.>
Camilla said this with a smile, but it sent a chill through my bones.
“Since things have been getting better between the mistress and the master lately, I thought they might offer a proper carriage, but now I’m not sure.”
“Even if they had offered, I couldn’t have ridden in it. Unless I want to tell the whole of society that the Duchess is leaving. You know that Mother would hate it.”
“Still, not something this… worn-out. The carriage that Dr. Raymond rode in is much better.”
“Raymond is a very important guest.”
“What about you, My Lady?”
Me? I didn’t know what to say when Rona asked me that.
“Right, I’m no better than a stranger.”
When I thought about it this way, I felt a painful ache in my chest.
