Is this… an invitation to discuss cooperation at her birthday celebration? Just as hiding a tree in a forest, is she trying to hide in plain sight among many people to avoid drawing attention?
I bit my lower lip, fiddling with Helen’s invitation, not sure how to interpret it since it was an entirely unexpected response from my perspective.
Moreover, the invitation specified that couples or lovers must bring their partners. It was almost as if she was insisting that I bring Ruth to talk to her.
Should I consider this clever, or too bold? What was she planning to do if Ruth, being busy, refused because of such a condition?
“Hmm.”
As I was deep in thought, fiddling with the invitation, a knock on the door suddenly broke the silence.
“Lady.”
It was Isabella.
“Yes?”
“Lady Sirael is waiting for you in the drawing-room.”
Her message conveyed with a puzzled look, Isabella informed me about Lady Sirael’s arrival.
Only then did I remember that today was the day for the long-postponed lesson with Lady Sirael, and I sighed. Pushing the tumultuous thoughts to one corner of my mind, I slowly stood up from my seat.
“Ah. Right. It’s already time for the class.”
“Yes. She just arrived.”
“Thanks for letting me know quickly, Isabella. I’m off to take care of something then. I can go to the meeting room by myself.”
“It’s the second sitting room, just like before, right?”
As I added a question at the end of my sentence, hinting that I could go to the reception room where Countess Siarael was waiting on my own, Isabella gave me a bright smile.
Then, she nodded vigorously, as if to say that was correct.
Encouraged by this, I, too, smiled, took off the shawl I was wearing over my shoulders, and began to walk. Maybe because spring was coming, the weather was getting warmer.
A few years ago, I would have rushed to shun this warmth in an effort to forget my dark past, but somehow, lately, I felt at peace. Thinking of my father didn’t give me chills down my spine, instead, I found myself looking forward to the blooming of the flowers.
Through this internal change, I realized that I had grown one more step, once again, thanks to Ruth. It made me wonder how much more I would change in the future, in a splendid way.
***
Upon arriving in the living room, I was able to find Countess Sirael once again admiring a painting. It was the same painting she had been looking at the last time, titled “The Lover and the Woman.”
I hesitated for a moment on whether to announce my arrival to Countess Sirael, who was engrossed in the painting, but then decided against it. I didn’t want to disturb her tranquility.
Therefore, deciding to speak only after a little while, I began to look at the painting alongside Countess Sirael. The painting, unchanged from before, still depicted a woman looking tenderly from below at a loving couple.
What was it that Countess Sirael had said about this painting? It seemed she had a different perspective on it than I did.
As I gazed at the painting, trying to recall, I gradually remembered the story Countess Sirael had shared with me.
“It’s a fascinating painting, isn’t it? Although it appears to depict a woman looking at a lover, if you look closely, the woman is actually gazing at another woman, not the lover.”
“But the title of the painting is ‘The Lover and the Woman.'”
“That’s what makes it so interesting. The title is ‘The Lover and the Woman,’ but the content suggests otherwise.”
At the time, I had simply assumed the woman was looking at the lover, so I didn’t fully grasp what Countess Sirael was trying to say. I had concluded that the reason the woman resembled another woman was either because they were twins or by sheer coincidence.
But somehow, now…
“…….”
I slowly lifted my eyelids and looked at the painting. The focus that had been split in two eventually gathered around the woman standing under the lover.
Somehow, now I seemed to understand why Countess Sirael looked at the painting that way.
The woman in the painting was, in the end, looking at herself. Whether it was projecting her own image onto someone else or seeing her actual appearance from the observer’s perspective.
Even upon looking again, it’s indeed a mysterious painting.
“It’s indeed a mysterious painting, isn’t it?”
“!”
I was taken aback to hear Countess Sirael utter the exact same thoughts I had been silently musing over. I was heart-pounded, wondering if I had accidentally murmured my thoughts out loud. If that were the case, it would mean that Countess Sirael had heard all the thoughts I had up until that point.
Unable to hide my surprise, a smile bloomed on Countess Sirael’s face. She smiled brightly, waving her hand as if to tell me not to be so surprised.
“Did you think I spoke your thoughts exactly, and that’s why you were surprised?”
“…Yes, yes. Did I accidentally voice my thoughts?”
“No. It was a coincidence.”
Countess Sirael, having asserted that our coinciding thoughts were merely coincidental, set down the teacup she was holding with a click.
Then, after briefly fussing with her hair, she said, “It’s been a while, Lady. How have you been during this time?”
“Yes, of course. And how about you, my lady? Nothing unusual has happened, I hope?” “Yes, fortunately, everything has been well without any particular incidents.”
“That’s good to hear.”
I exchanged light pleasantries with Countess Sirael as we took our seats.
As I sank into the plush sofa, fiddling with the wrinkled hem of my dress, the Countess asked if I would like some tea. After a moment of hesitation, I declined, saying I was fine for now, and directly faced her as she shrugged.
“So, what is the lesson for today?”
“Today, I thought I might teach you about rhetoric.”
“Rhetoric?”
I bit the inside of my cheek slightly, surprised by the unexpected topic introduced by Countess Sirael.
Rhetoric was the most basic among the etiquettes. It was also the easiest etiquette to learn.
After all, being born as a noble meant that the noble-style rhetoric was exactly what one would have been hearing from parents since birth.
Thanks to that, even though I had lived as a commoner for a long time, I thought I had already mastered the noble rhetoric quite well.
The realization that my understanding of rhetoric might be so flawed that I needed to learn it anew was rather shocking.
When I couldn’t hide my wavering pupils, Lady Countess Sirael continued the conversation.
“You already have a noble’s way of speaking, my lady, but the empress’s way of speaking is a bit different. If the speech of the nobility is like a rose, then perhaps… the empress’s speech is like a sword made of glass.”
“A sword made of glass?”
“Yes. Hard to imagine, right?”
“Yes, it is a bit.”
“Then, let me speak in the empress’s manner, and you can ask me anything.”
“…Can it really be anything?”
“Of course.”
Her words, encouraging me to ask anything as she would set an example, made my eyes sparkle. I happened to have a question for Lady Countess Sirael.
Whether she was acquainted with my sister, the real Serbia Obelton. How should I ask to not make it awkward? It would inevitably relate back to me since I’m pretending to be my sister.
I shouldn’t appear completely ignorant, should I? But if I don’t act ignorant, wouldn’t asking be silly?
While I was pondering over how to phrase my question, Lady Countess Sirael, having sipped her tea, gestured for me to ask already. After a few seconds of hesitation, I finally blurted out a question.
“Have we met before, by any chance?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t have imagined you’d ask such a question. You might not remember, but yes, we have.”
Indeed.
I internally cheered at the clear affirmation and then pondered what to ask next.
Countess Sirael, who had been watching me with meaningful eyes, sported a dignified smile. To an outsider, she might have been mistaken for the empress herself, so perfectly did she embody the empress’s image.
After a brief consideration, while taking in the Countess Sirael’s elegant demeanor, I took a deep breath. Then, I cautiously presented my next question.
“When was that?”
“It must have been twenty… plus two years ago.”
So, it was around the time I was born.
As I reflected on the past, I carefully listened to Countess Sirael’s voice telling me about when she had met my sister. While I was doing so, Countess Sirael started to unravel more of her stories.
“Was the lady four years old at the time, or was it five? Anyway, she was a very brave and cute little lady. She looked so adorable, walking through the palace holding the fingers of Duke Preceding Obelton with her hair in pigtails. I’m sure many people there thought the same, lady.”
“Is that so?”
“Cheerful and kind, she was a lovely little lady. I still sometimes think of the day when I first spoke with the princess. It seems like it was a very hot day, but I’m not so sure. Please don’t resent my poor memory.”
“It’s okay. You can take your time to remember.”
“Hehe. I am remembering it. Let’s see… Ah. Before meeting the princess that day, I must have been hiding in the palace garden crying after a fight with my husband, Count Sirael.”
I was crying in a very unsightly manner. The Countess Sirael quietly chuckled as she recalled that day. It was the leisure of someone who can look back on a past memory merely as a fond memory.
After seeing myself reflected in her eyes, I spoke.
“Why were you in the palace at that time?”
“My husband was working as a knight at the palace. So, you see, I went to meet him and we ended up fighting. Anyway, while I was there crying, the princess came and gave me a handkerchief.”
“A handkerchief?”
As I widened my eyes at an action uncharacteristic of her sister, the Countess Sirael nodded.
“Yes. A very cute handkerchief with a rabbit drawn on it.”
