Ch#112
Izriella swallowed a sigh and looked at the table in front of her.
There were tea and pastries prepared by the maids for studying tea manners, which she just couldn't seem to improve no matter how hard she tried.
The problem was that pastries typically served at tea parties around the Seasonal Festival in autumn had been placed on it.
"Lady Eve, but you must eat these pastries. Moreover, there's a set order for eating them..."
"I don't want to. They're tasteless!"
Eve sat on the carpet, clutching a fork and kicking her feet wildly.
What good was dressing her in pretty clothes and having the maids style her hair meticulously?
Watching this, she didn't look like a noble lady at all—not even like street children; she seemed even more ill-mannered.
"But these are the pastries that the first emperor gave to everyone at the first Seasonal Festival, with a history behind them."
"Why do pastries taste so bad?"
"They didn't have sugar back then. So even now, they're baked without sugar."
In truth, they weren't so tasteless that Eve needed to throw such a fit.
Though without sugar, they used good flour, and plenty of eggs.
In fact, they weren't supposed to add it, but since Eve complained so much about the taste, they had secretly added a little honey.
So it was just a nutty-tasting pastry.
'She's been eating nothing but sweets excitedly, so of course this wouldn't taste good to her.'
Eve was particularly picky about food.
'At first, I thought she was just amazed by the count's food since she came from the countryside and ate like that.'
I thought once she got used to it, she'd start showing some restraint.
But far from it, Eve threw tantrums even more, insisting on eating only what she liked.
'She knows there's no one to stop her.'
Izriella bit her lip.
Her father, Count Aradman, had told her to grant Eve whatever she demanded.
Yet at the same time, he wanted Eve to appear with perfect etiquette before the emperor in the Imperial Palace, flawless in the eyes of other nobles.
"The more perfect that child is, the more our family shines. So you must teach her enough that no one can find fault, no matter what."
It was a task that would challenge even a professional etiquette teacher, and doing it alone was killing her.
On top of that, Eve didn't even try hard.
Izriella had told her that when she met the emperor later, a good attitude would win his favor.
At first, Eve had put in some effort after hearing that.
But not anymore.
"Anyway, Dad will love and cherish Eve no matter what. Do I really have to learn all this? Once I become princess, no one will dare say anything to me."
As if.
...The retort nearly escaped her throat, but she held it back.
Izriella looked at Eve, still sitting on the floor stubbornly refusing to eat, then opened her mouth as if struck by a good idea.
"But Lady Eve, that child eats this quite well."
At the words "that child," Eve turned her head to look at Izriella.
"Evi, does she eat this well too?"
Jealousy flickered in Eve's eyes as she said Evi's name.
"Of course. Being from the Poorhouse, she eats anything well. And His Majesty the Emperor seems to find that quite admirable."
Izriella went on even more about Evi.
One fact she had learned in recent weeks was that Eve showed considerable wariness toward Evi.
In truth, Izriella had deliberately encouraged it.
Seeing the emperor show interest in Evi, she had once said that Evi, being next to him, learned everything well and received favor.
After that, Eve had studied diligently for a while.
Though she didn't say it, she was anxious about losing to Evi.
Since then, whenever Eve threw tantrums and refused to study, Izriella subtly compared her to Evi, praising Evi.
Of course, she always ended by disparaging her as a lowly child who no one would care about once Eve appeared.
Still, nothing worked as well as mentioning Evi to motivate her.
And it worked now too.
Eve, who had been sitting on the floor, pouted her lips, then sat back on the sofa and looked at the pastry in front of her.
She had sat back down because she didn't want to lose to Evi, but her eyes were full of stubborn refusal to actually eat it.
Izriella rang the bell to call a maid.
"Here, pour fresh tea."
The maid lifted the still-warm teapot from the cart beside her and poured new tea in front of Eve.
At that moment, Eve, who had been boredly glancing around restlessly, spotted the large ribbon tied at the maid's waist and yanked it.
"...!"
The startled maid jumped up, causing tea to splash beside Eve.
"Ah, hot!"
The surprised Eve quickly stood from her seat.
"What are you doing!"
It was just a few drops that splashed beside her, not even on the back of her hand, yet she shook her hand exaggeratedly and glared at the maid.
It wouldn't have happened if Eve hadn't yanked it.
And now she was yelling at the maid for it.
Absurd as it was, Izriella first scolded the maid. Right now, soothing Eve's mood came first.
"Apologize quickly."
"I'm sorry, miss. I was so startled..."
"What kind of maid can't even do this properly! I don't want to see you! Get out!"
As if it were perfect timing, Eve grabbed the pastry she didn't want to eat with her hand and threw it at the maid's face.
"Ugh!"
"Get out! I said get out!"
Not satisfied with that, Eve even picked up the fork from the table and threw it.
Fortunately, the maid instinctively dodged, and the fork flew past her all the way to the door.
Izriella finally couldn't hold back and let out a sigh.
'Her temper is like this even now.'
When she became princess later, she'd really act however she wanted, and Izriella started worrying if becoming Eve's maid would be a good thing.
It was then.
"My, my."
The moment a low voice spoke, Eve, who had been about to scream in rage, shut her mouth.
Izriella, still seated, also looked up in surprise toward the owner of the unfamiliar voice.
At the door stood a woman of average height. Brown hair, black eyes.
Plain clothes and an utterly ordinary face that one would forget immediately upon passing by.
"Lady Eve."
But her voice was remarkably low, almost unnaturally overlaid, creating a dissonant feeling.
It felt like a voice and appearance cut from different people and pasted together, making Izriella shudder involuntarily.
Regaining her senses belatedly, she asked,
"Who are you? How did you get in here without permission..."
At that moment, Eve spoke toward the stranger.
"Noma?"
"Yes, Lady Eve. It's been a long time. But..."
The one called Noma clicked her tongue while looking at the fork fallen at her feet.
"I thought you were learning well at the count's mansion, but apparently not."
"N-no! I dropped it by accident!"
It was clearly an excuse anyone could see through, yet Eve desperately shook her head, insisting it was a mistake.
A cold glint passed through Noma's eyes as she watched Eve, then vanished.
Noma spoke to Izriella, who was staring blankly at her.
"You must be the count's lady. I'd like to speak with Lady Eve privately, so would you please excuse us?"
The words seemed polite, but it was a command to leave quickly.
Normally, Izriella would have yelled, "Who do you think you are to be so rude?"
But Eve's suddenly rigid attitude, and her own inexplicable unease toward this woman...
'Fine by me.'
Since she knew Eve and had entered here, she must have Count Aradman's permission.
Izriella was already at her limit soothing Eve's tantrums anyway.
"Then I'll take my leave."
Thinking it was an opportunity, Izriella hurriedly left the room with the maid.
Once Izriella was gone, Noma confirmed the door was properly locked, pressed her ear to it, and checked they had gone far away.
Confirming no one was around, Noma looked at Eve, who was trembling with her head bowed.
"Lady Eve."
"..."
"How can anyone believe you're a princess when you act like this?"
"..."
Knowing she was at fault, Eve kept her mouth shut without a word.
Even if she weren't, Eve was afraid of Noma.
Noma had found her freeloading at a deep rural farmer's house, taken her away, dressed her in fine clothes, fed her delicious food, and treated her with utmost respect.
That alone made her feel like a princess, but Noma said something astonishing.
"That mark on the back of your hand—that's proof you're the emperor's daughter."
"I'm... His Majesty the Emperor's daughter?"
The mottled spot that had appeared on her hand sometime ago. The farmer, who took her in claiming distant kinship, had frowned, wondering if it was some disease.
The children there also stayed away, saying it creeped them out.
Such a thing was proof of royalty?
"Yes. From today, discard that lowly name and use your true one. Evebien, the daughter the emperor must love. That is your name from today."
Noma said that for now, due to dangerous people, she'd call her Eve.
How dreamlike those days had been since.
No more wearing tattered leather shoes like trash under the scorching sun, laboring all day.
The clothes on her body grew prettier and softer, and now even a count bowed to her.
Meanwhile, Noma, the count, and even Izriella told her about the emperor.
The emperor thought his daughter was dead and was deeply grieving.
So if he learned his daughter Eve was alive, he'd welcome her with immense joy.
But going in unprepared would make bad people target her.
With a irritated voice, Izriella had said,
"First, you must drive away that lowly wench Evi. She's definitely going to bully you thinking she lost His Majesty to you. She'll lie to His Majesty that you bullied her, play pitiful to gain sympathy. So make sure to chase her away first."
"Yeah, got it."
The more she heard, the less she liked this Evi child.
To think she resembled her and thus was cherished by Dad.
'Dad will only love me.'
Because I'm the real daughter.
As Eve recalled the past, she asked Noma, who was still gazing at her coldly,
"But Noma, why didn't the nursemaid come with you? You said Dad would believe I'm his real daughter if the nursemaid was there."
"Ah, the nursemaid. That woman... needs a bit more preparation still."
Noma smiled as she spoke.
"Don't worry. The nursemaid loves 'Princess Evebien,' so she'll testify before His Majesty that you're Lilian Shel's daughter, her close friend and lady."
As if telling her not to worry, Noma patted Eve's shoulder.
"Then His Majesty will have no choice but to believe. His Majesty..."
Noma's eyes gleamed as she swallowed dryly, as if anticipating that moment.
Her slightly protruding throat bobbed.
"...will welcome his returned daughter like a madman."
* * *
At the entrance of Duke Kailun's Mansion. The duke boarded the carriage amid farewells from his family.
It was nothing out of the ordinary, but today was different.
Evi, holding Arsel's hand and approaching the carriage, was waving to the duke.
"Have a safe trip!"
The duke unwittingly grinned broadly at the sight of her tiny hand waving vigorously.
"My, I miss our Evi so much, I must return quickly. Don't worry about the letter. I'll deliver it well to His Majesty."
"Yes, thank you. I'll buy you candy too, Duke. Thank you so much!"
The duke's lips curved up even more upon hearing from Arsel about the village candy incident.
To think she worked hard helping in the music room with those tiny hands to earn money.
'What a commendable child.'
According to his wife, she was very diligent, made no mistakes, and enjoyed it with Arsel.
For a child her age who was commendable just for playing well to also have a good head for work—the duke felt his shoulders puff up proudly, even though she wasn't his daughter.
"I'll buy you lemon flavor, Duke. The shop uncle said he made new lemon ones today."
She stomped her feet excitedly, looking eager to go to the village already.
"Yes, yes. Hurry inside now. Dust might fly into your eyes and hurt."
Using words he wouldn't normally say, the duke waved his hand.
To anyone watching, it was a heartwarming family scene, and the maids watching thought,
'Can't Lady Evi just keep living here?'
