The words that followed said that he had heard I visited the mansion today, that I should have told him before coming, and so on, but none of them registered in my mind.
The first line alone was enough.
Rachel folded the letter and held it back out to Becky. Becky, who had taken the letter reflexively, tilted her head in confusion.
“My lady?”
“Burn it.”
“……!”
“And bring me some water to wash my hands.”
Becky stood there silently for a moment, still holding the letter, before lowering her head.
“……Yes, My lady.”
Soon, the letter, burning in the candlelight, was tossed into the fireplace where only ashes remained. A short while later, as Rachel washed her hands with the rosewater Becky had brought, she casually gave her a warning.
“If Mother calls for you, tell her that nothing happened.”
“……!”
Although her mother had stopped directly restraining her after she became an adult, Rachel knew that her mother occasionally called her personal maid to keep an eye on her.
Especially with the wedding that absolutely could not be allowed to fall apart approaching.
From her parents’ perspective, they would not want to leave even the slightest problem behind.
She had never taken any particular measures against it before, but today, she needed to keep this a secret. Becky, who had always obeyed her mistress but whose loyalty to Rachel was ultimately stronger, firmly nodded.
“Understood, My lady.”
“Good. I’m counting on you.”
Afterward, Rachel wrote a reply only to the Duke’s letter and soon went to bed in the warm, comfortable bedding.
Although this was only her second night of sleep since returning.
After months of sleeping in rough conditions, the soft bed felt unbelievably wonderful. It took her no time at all to fall asleep.
Meanwhile, Becky, who had delivered the letter and was returning to her room, ran into Marie, the marchioness’s personal maid, in the hallway.
“Her Ladyship wants to see you.”
“…….”
That very night, Becky was summoned to the Marchioness’s room.
Knock knock-
Marie gave a brief knock on the closed door.
“My Lady. Becky has arrived.”
“Come in.”
Becky entered and immediately bowed deeply.
“I greet Her Ladyship.”
“Sit here.”
The Marchioness was drinking tea while wearing a comfortable nightdress and a long silk robe. As Becky went over and sat down, a question immediately came.
“How is Rachel?”
“She has fallen asleep.”
“Is that so?”
Clink-
After setting down her teacup, the Marchioness stared intently at Becky. Becky unconsciously swallowed.
She occasionally came to see Her Ladyship.
But since the purpose of those few meetings had always been to report on the young lady, they were never pleasant occasions.
“I heard she collapsed yesterday.”
The gentle voice broke the silence. Becky carefully chose her words.
“Yes. I believe it was because she overworked herself preparing for the wedding.”
“You must take good care of her. The wedding is approaching, and it would be troublesome if there were any problems. What if something happens and the wedding has to be postponed?”
“……I’m sorry.”
At first glance, it sounded like concern for the young lady.
But Becky knew very well that what the Marchioness cared about most was preventing anything from going wrong with the wedding. The Marchioness’s expression turned cold.
“You know very well how much effort we have put into this marriage. I hope I won’t have to call you over again because of something like this.”
This summons was a warning. It was also an indication that she would no longer stand by if more problems arose.
Becky immediately bowed her head.
“Of course, My Lady. I will keep that in mind.”
“Good. Has anything unusual happened with Rachel lately?”
The strange things the young lady had done today immediately flashed through her mind. But.
-If Mother calls for you, tell her that nothing happened.
She already filtered what she reported to some degree. This time, she had been specifically instructed to keep quiet, so she needed to choose her words even more carefully.
Composing her expression, Becky bowed her head again.
“No. She said that she was tired, so she would be eating her meals in her room for the time being.”
“That much consideration should be given to her. I suppose I should comfort Ilya properly.”
The Marchioness smiled as she recalled her son, who had pretended not to care while glancing at his sister’s empty seat today.
“Good. You may leave.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
After giving a polite bow and leaving the room, Becky finally let out a sigh of relief.
She had somehow managed to get through it.
“……Still, I don’t think we can hide it for long, My lady.”
If the suspicious circumstances continued, Her Ladyship would call in the other maids besides her. Then reports about the young lady’s changes could reach her.
Not to mention that she had burned the young master’s letter today instead of replying to it. She had always replied immediately before.
“…….”
For now, Becky would keep everyone’s mouths shut.
But if the mistress of the household, Her Ladyship, stepped in, the outcome would probably be obvious.
Becky wondered how she could hide the young lady’s changes for as long as possible. But she did not have to think about it for long.
Before Her Ladyship could do anything, a major incident called off the engagement due to the other party’s fault had erupted.
The next day.
Rachel woke up late, ate breakfast in her room, and prepared to leave.
Before, she sometimes skipped meals.
But now that she had returned after regressing, if she had to name the things she loved most, they were undoubtedly sleeping and eating.
Getting dressed was the same.
The knife cut through a freshly baked, juicy sausage. The food was warm and delicious, having just been prepared.
Meanwhile, the maids busily moved around her, getting her ready.
They brushed through her softly waving platinum-blonde hair and applied makeup to her smooth skin. Since she would be meeting her future father-in-law, the Duke of Valencia, today, her appearance was not overly extravagant.
She wore a dark navy dress with slightly low-heeled shoes.
Her jewelry consisted of diamonds and sapphires cut into elegant shapes.
Her neat, sparkling appearance was reflected in the mirror once again. After finishing her meal to her satisfaction, Rachel stood up, holding the bundle containing the evidence in one hand.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, My lady.”
Becky, who had watched Rachel for a moment, did not bother taking her luggage this time. The escort knights waiting outside her room followed them.
The Ingrave mansion was quiet in the morning.
At this hour, her thirteen-year-old younger brother would still be attending knight school.
Her father would be at court.
Her mother would still be asleep. Rachel liked the seemingly empty atmosphere.
Unlike yesterday, she immediately climbed into the waiting carriage and peacefully headed toward the Valencia estate.
Once the two of them were alone, Becky cautiously brought up what had happened the night before.
“Her Ladyship called for me last night, so I went.”
“Really?”
It was a faster reaction than Rachel had expected.
But considering the marriage alliance with the Valencia family was at stake, perhaps it was only natural. Becky continued.
“She seemed worried that your collapse a few days ago might interfere with the wedding. I told her that nothing was wrong and that you would be eating your meals in your room for the time being.”
“You handled it well.”
Rachel took two small pouches from her belongings and held them out.
“Keep one, and distribute the other among the other maids.”
“Thank you, My lady.”
It was a reward for Becky and the other maids under her who had been quick to act.
Seeing Becky pleased reminded Rachel of her time at the Valencia estate.
These people had been hers, putting her orders before her mother’s.
Yet when she got married, she could not take even one of them with her. It was because the Duchess of Valencia had objected.
-There are plenty of servants at the ducal residence. Is there really any reason to bring servants from the Ingrave family?
It was an unreasonable demand to drive away all the hands and feet of a young lady who was getting married. But because her mother had agreed, Rachel had no choice but to enter the Valencia estate alone.
It had been a grueling time. Between the mistress they had served for years and the newly arrived young mistress, the servants sided with the Duchess.
……In the end, it had taken Rachel five years to build a group of people loyal to her.
Looking back now, perhaps the Duchess had imposed that condition so that she could not easily gain control over the servants.
So that her daughter-in-law would not discover her disgrace for a long time.
“…….”
It was all in the past now.
As Rachel rested her chin against the carriage window and watched the cool scenery outside, they arrived at the Valencia estate.
The unchanged golden ring and the dragon coiled within it on the family flag.
The magnificent garden.
And at the end of it, a figure Rachel had never expected to see was waiting.
Rachel instinctively frowned, then tried to calm herself.
But it was not easy. After all.
「……Paris learned at the age of fourteen that he was not the biological son of the Duke of Valencia. He had secretly overheard a conversation between the Duchess and her lover……」
The 「Record」 she had seen upon regressing kept coming back to her mind.
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