Chapter 20: Uninvited Guest (3)

In a corner lounge of the ballroom, the Second Princess of the Empire, wrapped in curtains, blushed with shame.

“Will this even work…”

Chloe, who had practically robbed Kasia of her dress, held a glass of white wine in one hand, gazing at the silver dress stained with wine.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Remove the stain, of course. You can remove wine stains with white wine.”

With that, she opened the bottle of white wine and began to sprinkle it gently on the dress. Kasia, watching with the feeling that this couldn’t possibly be right, stared in surprise as the wine stain faded away with gentle rubbing.

“Thank goodness. It’s actually coming out.”

“Amazing… How do you know things like this?”

“Just… I learned it.”

As the dress was gently rubbed in the basin of white wine, Kasia watched the wine stain slowly disappear and return to its original state, like a child with wide eyes seeing a phenomenon for the first time in science class.

“Milady, you should probably wash up too… Doesn’t your hair feel sticky with wine?”

‘Does this Milady not even know who I am?’

Kasia stared intently at Chloe with suspicious eyes. Gratitude was one thing, but this was another matter. Even nobles at the ends of the earth would know her face.

She had clearly stated her name upon entering and exchanged greetings with the nobles here.

Chloe, letting out a small breath, picked up a wet towel and approached Kasia. Kasia flinched slightly and closed her eyes as she felt the warm, wet towel on her hair.

“You have such beautiful silver hair; it might get damaged if you leave it like this. There’s a bathroom next to the lounge, so I’ll get it ready for you right away.”

‘What is this…? This girl… She seems more like a maid than a noble…’

Her actions were undoubtedly those of a maid, yet the dress she wore was one that an ordinary noble couldn’t even dream of wearing, embedded with diamonds… Kasia frowned at the incongruous appearance.

Chloe, as if accustomed to it, filled the bathtub with water and called Kasia to the bathroom, saying she was ready.

Kasia, wrapped in curtains, cautiously stepped into the bathroom. She took off her wine-soaked, sticky underwear and gently lowered herself into the warm bathtub, starting with her toes.

“Hoo…”

As Kasia entered the warm bathwater, her tension eased, and she exhaled the breath trapped in her stiff lungs.

‘In the end, I didn’t get to see who the new Grand Duchess is… Well, there’s plenty of time anyway…’

She calmly closed her weary eyes and pondered what to do in the future. Her damned father had sent her here with the order to somehow get involved with the Grand Duke.

‘How am I supposed to do that… It’s already too late, why not just give up… He’s going to sell me off to someone else anyway if the Grand Duke doesn’t marry me…’

She would be sold off in whatever way benefited the Emperor. Whoever it was, she could only pray that the person wasn’t decades older than her as she closed her eyes.

“Is the water temperature alright?”

“Kyaaak!!!”

Startled by Chloe’s voice from behind, Kasia jumped up from the bathtub. Turning around, she stared in disbelief at Chloe, who was wrapped in curtains and lathering bubbles with her hands.

“What are you doing…?”

“Yes? Can you wash your hair by yourself?”

“No, that’s, no, what are you? Are you even a noble?”

Chloe, who had wrapped herself in curtains to avoid getting her dress wet, began to wash Kasia’s hair with her hands full of foam.

Kasia was certain with the familiar touch. This child was not a noble. Then why on earth was she wearing such an expensive dress?

“I’m a maid at the Grand Ducal Castle.”

“Then… How did you get that dress…? Is it alright for a maid to wear something like that…?”

Chloe chuckled softly as she washed her hair and replied.

“My Milady gave it to me as a gift.”

“Milady… huh…”

Kasia, slowly closing her eyes at Chloe’s pleasant touch, recalled the past. She gradually remembered having such a maid herself and smiled slightly at the memory.

‘The only person who would be called Milady here is the new Grand Duchess… Would the Grand Duchess give such a gift to a mere maid?’

Was the Grand Ducal Family so rich that they would give a maid a dress with crushed diamonds embedded in the fabric…?

She didn’t honestly believe the story of it being a gift to a maid… But she decided not to say anything to this maid who had helped her.

When Kasia came out of the bathroom, refreshed after her bath, Chloe had prepared new underwear and a chemise for her to wear, so she put them on and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Do you happen to have any other dresses prepared? It’ll take quite a while to dry…”

“…It’s alright.”

She couldn’t go back to the ballroom anyway. She had already made a fool of herself by falling in front of everyone; how could she face them again?

Perhaps it was from falling earlier, but she now felt a throbbing sensation in her ankle, and when she looked down, she saw that it was starting to swell, probably from a sprain.

‘Haa… Nothing goes right.’

Nothing at all was going right. Not only was she forced to come here for a marriage, but she also made a fool of herself and now she was even injured. She wanted to hide in a rat hole.

Kasia’s face turned red as if all the stress she had accumulated was about to explode. She wanted to give up everything, so she plopped down on the sofa without any decorum and covered her eyes.

Chloe, who was drying the dress, glanced back and saw Kasia lying sprawled out. Seeing her ankle swollen red, she grabbed the bandages kept in the lounge and approached Kasia.

Nobles would usually call a healing Wizard to quickly treat such injuries, but she thought she should at least provide first aid.

“Milady. It looks like you’ve hurt your leg; would you like me to bandage it?”

At Chloe’s careful question and concern, Kasia removed the arm covering her eyes and looked at Chloe. In the Imperial Family, where schemes and plots were rampant, even the maids treated her the same way. Except for one person, her former nanny.

It had been so long since she had seen such eyes.

“Yes… Please.”

Kasia, struggling to sit up, leaned back against the sofa, crossed her legs, and extended her foot towards Chloe.

Chloe knelt before her and slowly wrapped the bandage around Kasia’s red, swollen ankle. Kasia flinched at the slight touch of the bandage.

“Ugh…!”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Did it hurt?”

“No… It’s alright.”

A small groan escaped her lips at the slight pain. She felt the pain intensify as the bandage was tightly wrapped, making her realize that she was truly injured, but she endured it.

‘Well, it’s fine… Now I have an excuse to stay here longer…’

She hated this place, but she hated the Imperial Family even more. She didn’t want to go back. In that sense, being injured wasn’t so bad. It gave her an excuse to escape the stifling Imperial Family and stay here for a long time.

Chloe, having finished the first aid, straightened up from her kneeling position and checked the shoes Kasia had been wearing, just in case. The corner of the high heel was broken, no longer maintaining a flat surface.

Noble ladies were thoroughly educated in their gait. It seemed strange that such a person would accidentally step on their dress and fall.

‘Yudith also fell a lot in the beginning…’

When she came here to receive etiquette training, Yudith’s knees were constantly covered in blood and wounds.

She kept falling because she was so focused on her gait, but now she had mastered the noble way of walking and no longer fell.

If such noble ladies were to fall, there must be another reason.

Chloe, carefully examining the high heel, turned to Kasia to explain. She wanted to tell her not to worry, as the fall wasn’t Kasia’s fault.

“The high heel is broken. The heel was slightly cracked.”

“Ah… Was it…”

“It’s not Milady’s fault that you fell. The high heel was defective.”

Kasia chuckled at the clumsy encouragement. The clumsiness that was so obvious made her laugh. She couldn’t meet her eyes and quietly placed the high heel on the floor before turning away, making her laugh even more.

The maid in front of her clearly didn’t realize that she was a Princess. She seemed to think she was just a noble lady.

That’s why she found it amusing. Wanting her to remain unaware for a little longer, Kasia decided not to reveal her status.

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“Yes, we should report the artisan who made the high heel!”

Kasia burst out laughing at Chloe’s unrefined pose with her fist raised. What clumsy encouragement. She felt this kind of feeling for the first time in a long while.

“What’s your name?”

“Chloe Byella.”

“Chloe… Yes, Chloe.”

Kasia closed her eyes and savored the name. Quite an interesting child. She wanted to take her to the Imperial Family, but she knew she shouldn’t.

She already had an owner. It wouldn’t be polite to interfere with that.

“That’s a shame…”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing.”

With the thought of mentioning it to the Grand Duke, Kasia asked Chloe.

“How many years have you worked here?”

“It’ll be eight years this year.”

“You’ve worked here for a long time.”

Since when had she served the successor who had risen without any rumors? Curiosity arose, but she put it aside for now. She was more curious about the maid in front of her than the Grand Duchess whose face she didn’t even know.

“If you’ve worked here for that long, you’ll probably keep working here.”

“Hmm…”

Chloe’s reaction was different from what Kasia had expected. She seemed like the type to serve her master for life and live here forever, but Chloe’s reaction was ambiguous.

“Well…? I’m thinking that when Milady gets married someday… That might be the time for me to leave.”

“Oh my…”

She thought that their relationship might not be that deep. Even if the Grand Duchess were to marry, there was only one man in the Empire who held a higher position than her.

Even that one man already had a partner, so the Grand Duchess of the Edmund Family would never marry. She would take a son-in-law, but she wouldn’t marry.

“I see. Then… Won’t you come to me later?”

“Pardon?”

“It won’t be much different from the work here. You’ll just have to attend to me. If you ever leave here, I’ll take you in.”

“I…”

Chloe hesitated. She couldn’t answer, her lips only trembling as she gaped. Seeing that, Kasia realized she had been too hasty and changed her words.

“Take your time to think about it. It’s fine if you want to keep working for your master here, but if you ever need a job, just come to me.”

“…Yes.”

When Kasia looked at Chloe’s face, she was deep in thought, as if she was really struggling with the decision. She didn’t know what the situation was, but Kasia smiled slightly at the thought of wanting her to come to her nonetheless.

---

The smile disappeared from Yudith’s face as she finished the inauguration ceremony in the ballroom and exchanged greetings with the nobles under the Grand Ducal Family.

From Yudith’s blue earrings, very faintly.

A voice reached her ears, so quiet that only Yudith could hear it.

“I see. Then… Won’t you come to me later?”

“Pardon?”

“It won’t be much different from the work here. You’ll just have to attend to me. If you ever leave here, I’ll take you in.”

“I…”

Yudith frowned and gripped the glass in her hand tightly. The glass cracked as if it would break.

Damian, who was standing next to her, looked at Yudith, startled.

“…What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

It wasn’t a small matter. It was a very big deal. While she had taken her eyes off her, some unknown woman had tried to steal her Chloe.

Yudith handed the shattering glass to a nearby servant and whispered to Damian.

“I’m going back now, so take care of it.”

“What…? Where is the main character going now?”

“None of your business. Just take care of it. I’m going back.”

Damian tried to stop her, but Yudith strode out. The subordinate nobles, who had been receiving greetings, looked bewildered, watching only Damian and Yudith’s departing backs.

Damian, looking as if he realized something was wrong, ran a hand over his face, excused Yudith’s poor health to the subordinate nobles, and dismissed them.

-Tap, tap.

A shadow fell over Yudith’s face as she walked. The maids of the Grand Ducal Castle, who were passing by, were startled by Yudith’s unfamiliar expression and lowered their heads.

‘I’ll never give her up. I’ll never let her be taken.’

The sound of silk gloves tearing came from Yudith’s tightly clenched fist.

‘It’s fine that you didn’t watch my coming-of-age ceremony. I can forgive that. Chloe is kind, so I can understand her trying to help someone. I can tolerate that much.’

She knew that Chloe’s compassion was equal to everyone. That’s why she could tolerate that much. Because she respected Chloe.

But,

‘I can never forgive her for trying to leave my side.’

The Magic placed on Chloe’s necklace was twofold.

Magic that could locate her whereabouts, and, although very short, it would resonate with the Mana Stone on her earring, allowing her to hear what conversation was happening at that moment.

The location search showed that she was in a nearby lounge, so she hadn’t been eavesdropping, but she had a strange feeling, so she eavesdropped and heard that conversation.

She couldn’t bear to hear that conversation.

She could forgive everything, but she couldn’t forgive Chloe for this.

She had prepared so, so much for today. She had looked forward to dancing with Chloe, and she had even read romance novels to come up with good lines to compliment her dress.

But all of that had gone to waste.

‘I’ll never let you go, Chloe.’

In Yudith’s red eyes, walking down the hallway, a sticky mixture of obsession and jealousy began to swirl.