“Don’t forget your duty.”
Aishe said it full of tears and anger.
Aishe looked at Eirene as if she were wielding a sword.
“Yes. I will remember.”
It’s your fault, everything you put me through. What happened to my family because of you.
Eirene did not avoid her gaze.
But they didn’t even look at each other.
Eirene caught her gaze with a gentle smile.
“When are you going to tell the truth?”
Eirene, who was staring at Aishe, turned to the Countess.
“It won’t take long.”
“I’m not comfortable dealing with the Grand Duke.”
“Just hang in there. And I told people that the name ‘Eirene‘ was Aishe’s nickname. Even to His Highness the Grand Duke.”
“Yes?”
“By any chance, our servants or we may call you by your name. I will introduce you as Aishe at official events, don’t be surprised if I call you Eirene in private.”
That’s why Scarlett called Eirene by her name.
Eirene understood why the Countess did it, but she felt very terrible.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow her name had been taken away.
Her name seemed to have become a subordinate to Aishe.
Aishe must have known, seeing her standing still.
She seemed fine with Eirene being called by her name instead of her name.
Even if she didn’t like it, she would have to stay quiet for a while.
Eirene quickly put her feelings aside.
She looked at the Countess and Aishe’s expressions to see if she was missing out on the emotion of the moment.
Was that really all the Countess said? Does she have any other plans?
But there was no response from either of them.
“Take care of my ring.”
Aishe glanced at the ring on Eirene’s hand.
“Yes. I will cherish it.”
“You don’t have to cherish it. All you have to do is take good care of it.”
Eirene smiled softly and nodded.
* * * * * * * * * *
Eirene makes her way to Derevell Palace.
According to Clive’s letter, the luggage for the week was easily packed.
Two maids were going to accompany her, but Eirene was the only one going.
The Countess insisted, saying “on days when she makes a mistake, a difficult situation arises.”
Eirene then bid the Countess farewell.
However, the Countess warned her to be careful.
Betty, who had expected to go with her, bowed with a face full of regret.
And Eirene could not see the figure of Aishe.
Strangers were standing in front of the carriage that Clive had sent. A woman and three men.
They were Eirene’s new maid and three knights.
The maid opened the carriage door.
Eirene got into the carriage first, and the maid followed her.
“My lady, my name is Matilda. It’s my honor to serve you.”
“Please, take care of me.”
“From now until you leave the Grand Duke’s residence, please let me know if you need anything or have any inconvenience.”
Matilda, who seems to be of the same age as Betty, was cheerful and active.
Eirene was in the carriage with a stranger. But she was not at home with the Phineos people, which put her at ease.
Perhaps contrary to what she thought, life in the Grand Duke’s Palace would be much better than in the Phineos’ mansion.
“Let’s go!”
Matilda knocked on the ceiling when she heard the coachman call out.
* * * * * * * * * *
The carriage has been running for a long time.
Eirene had the impression that motion sickness would soon set in, so she fell asleep and kept waking up from a certain time.
When Eirene woke up, Matilda offered her water, but she refused because it was a nightmare, so she fell asleep.
Eirene had trouble falling asleep the night before, and her tension eased after a long time.
“My lady!”
Matilda called her.
Eirene had just woken up and straightened her posture.
“Let’s go outside and have a quick lunch!”
“Lunch?”
“We still have a long way to go. I’ll tell you when lunch is ready, my lady can get some rest.”
Matilda opened the carriage door and jumped out.
She spread a mat to sit on in the grass and then took food out of a large basket that one of the knights had brought.
Eirene, who had been watching, put on a hat and got out of the carriage before Matilda could call her.
“What? My Lady! Are you out already?”
“Looks like lunch is ready.”
“You can take your time. Just a moment, please.”
There’s a lot of food on the mat, but is there more?
The maid said it was a simple lunch, but it was not that simple.
The food kept coming out. Eirene thought it was a magic basket.
The food took up the entire mat, leaving only a place for one person to sit.
Eirene wondered who would eat it all, but there were four men there, the knights and a coachman, except Eirene and Matilda.
The last thing to do was for Eirene to eat first, and the others would eat after her.
Eirene, sitting on the mat, took the food Matilda gave her and said before taking a bite.
“Let’s eat together.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Let’s eat together.”
“We can’t eat with my Lady.”
“No one is watching, so what? I don’t want to eat alone.”
I was tired of eating alone.
Even after coming out of the basement, Eirene was locked up in a room and ate alone.
Although she had a better meal than the one in the basement.
Eirene thought the meals were delicious, but that was only the first few meals. Then she gradually lost her appetite.
She wished she could eat with everyone.
Eirene pushed the food next to her to one side.
She put the hesitant Matilda in her place and called the awkwardly standing coachman and the knights over.
“Come, you too. The food is delicious when you eat it together.”
“I’m sorry. We cannot eat together with my Lady… .. .”
Eirene interrupted the knight, who refused.
“The Grand Duke must have sent you and ordered to bring me back without any inconvenience. Isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then I hope you don’t make me uncomfortable.”
The knights looked at each other, hesitated, and sat down on the grass. At first, they seemed reluctant to eat or drink, but then they ate a lot of food in no time.
Eirene felt much better. She ate more than before.
Next, she got up and looked around.
It was still winter.
Although the temperature was low, there was no wind.
The mountains in the distance were covered with white snow, but here less melted snow accumulated only in the shade.
Winter was slowly passing.
* * * * * * * * * *
The carriage reached Derevell Palace only when it was already dark outside.
Perhaps because Eirene was relaxed or because she had slept all the time, she did not suffer from motion sickness as the last time.
She got out of the carriage and looked around.
The palace was even more magnificent in the dark than Phineos’ Mansion.
Wasn’t Clive, the Emperor’s son, the master of the empire?
It was no surprise that Clive would live in a place like this.
When Eirene turned around, an old woman came toward her from the line of people.
“Lady Eirene Phineos, welcome to Derevell Palace. My name is Margaret Hanon. Was the journey difficult?”
She called her Eirene, not Aishe.
The Countess informed Clive that Eirene was her nickname, and apparently, he informed his servants as well.
“Thanks to you, I got here comfortably. Thank you.”
“His Highness the Grand Duke will be arriving soon. Why don’t you get some rest and then have dinner with His Highness?”
“Yes, I had a good lunch, so I will rest a little.”
“I am relieved that you enjoyed your lunch. Then I will show you to the room where you will be staying. The Grand Duke will give you a tour of the main palace later.”
Under the guidance of Mrs. Hanon, she walked among the servants.
Eirene was not used to walking between long lines of bowing servants on either side. Although this has changed in recent years, it was an attitude not seen in the servants of Phineos’ household.
Aishe must have led a normal life.
Eirene enjoyed it very much at the expense of her family’s life. It reminded her of the revenge against the Phineos, who knew neither guilt nor gratitude.
Little by little, I will devour them all in the end. I will tell you all about what it is like to be locked in the basement and not see any light, not be able to breathe fresh air, and suffer from hunger and cold. You will live like this until the day you die.
Eirene grabbed her dress and climbed the last steps. She turned and looked at the servants who were still bowing.
She must change her plans.
How about becoming the mistress of this palace?
At first, Eirene had no intention of using Clive.
She wanted to turn Aishe’s world upside down. But that was just a joke for Clive.
I changed my mind. Isn’t too shallow to take revenge on Aishe by simply working with Clive?
It was foolish to call revenge just breaking Aishe’s engagement, and breaking her heart.
Eirene did not yet know what to do or how to take revenge.
Clive was one of the five most powerful people in the Weinfeld Empire.
Under the current circumstances, it was impossible to find such a suitable man.
Eirene decided to have him.
* * * * * * * * * *
The size of the main palace can be roughly estimated from the outside, but the inside is much larger than that.
To see the ceiling which had a skylight in the middle, Eirene had to tilt her head all the way back to see it.
Eirene seemed to have seen the painting on the ceiling somewhere. She tried to remember, but could not recall, so she followed Mrs. Hanon, assuming that she had seen it in a book.
The narrow road that lead outside was covered with a roof so that one could walk through it comfortably even in bad weather, and there was also a painting on the ceiling.
The annex palace was smaller than the main palace. And it was decorated in such a way that everyone could guess who would live there.
The color reminded her of Aishe just by looking at it. A color too bright and unpleasant.
“Let’s see the bedroom first.”
Eirene was pleased with the bedroom, except for the color.
The room was sufficient for one person.
The annex palace was furnished with furniture that looked better than those in Phineos’ mansion.
After she received Clive’s letter, the burdening feeling suddenly disappeared.
After passing through the bathroom and parlor, Eirene looked a little surprised at the dressing room.
Long hangers full of dresses.
No way!
“Are these all my dresses?”
“Yes. All the dresses belong to you. His Highness the Grand Duke has prepared it.”
“How did you know my size?”
“From the dress store you went to.”
Ah, Scarlett’s Store.
Eirene wondered why Clive was so considerate.
Boxes of various accessories were piled up next to rows of dresses.
Eirene saw that one of the hats had a veil.
She does not know if Clive knew the meaning of the veil, but he seemed very attentive to details.
Perhaps it was because Aishe always wore a veil when they met. It was right to look closely.
What is Clive trying to do?
Eirene had only expected that he would be quite risky.
If he had not been the one, who knew Eirene’s true identity, he had no reason to do this.
Eirene, looking around the dressing room, was the first to come out.
She decided to wait in her bedroom until Clive arrived.
When she returned to her bedroom she found the back of a familiar man standing in front of the window.
Clive is really big now that she looks at him.
How wide are his shoulders?
Even though he’s not wearing a uniform, the feeling of intimidation that comes from his physique would be enormous if he were wearing armor.
Clive turned his head back slightly, looked at Eirene, and then turned around completely.
“Greetings, Your Highness. I didn’t know you had arrived, I was looking at the place you had prepared. I am truly sorry.”
“Why do you have that look on your face when someone is looking for you?”
Clive took a step forward.
“What’s wrong with my facial expression?”
“It’s not that, Isn’t it better when I have so much prepared? Don’t you like it?”
“I like it.”
“Your answer is too simple.”
Eirene, who was worried because she didn’t know what to do, stretched her lips and smiled.
“The place is great. I like it very much.”
“You don’t have to force yourself.”
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Clive brushed past Eirene with a displeased face and opened the door.
“You must be tired, get some rest and I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Yes. Thank you for your concern.”
Clive clicked his tongue before closing the door.
I have no idea what the problem is.