Chapter 35
35. A Lady True to Her Name2021.12.30.
Rustle…… chirp chirp.
“…….”
Reina opened her eyes to the cool autumn breeze brushing her cheek, the morning sunlight, and the sound of birdsong. Just as always on mornings when she slept in a little. Arthur was gone, Brody was there, one knight stood by the door. And Doctor Lorenson sat at the table, setting down his tea as he waited for Reina to wake. It was a sweet morning.
“…….”
Even after more than ten years as a maid, she was amazed at how carelessly her body had grown accustomed to it—sleeping in until late in someone else’s clean, cozy bed and accepting it as natural. She felt sorry anew for her body, which wanted to burrow deeper under the covers, savoring the happiness and staying even a little longer. If she went back to a life of only three hours of sleep, she wouldn’t adjust in just a week. Returning to the damp quilts on a rotten wooden bed, she would miss this clean, cozy one.
“…….”
Reina made a bit of noise as she sat up. Normally, Brody would have hurried over to drape a shawl around her so she wouldn’t rise in her nightclothes in front of the knight and the doctor, but……
“……?”
Reina was bundled up tight in her dress. Come to think of it, last night……. A faint wine scent lingered in her breath, tickling her nose. Memories of the night before slowly returned. · · · Rena-something, he’d said. An extremely precious and expensive top-grade wine. The very wine that Duke Karl Klein, the Empress’s brother, had personally brought three days before the Empress and Emperor’s wedding, which the three of them had shared.
“…….”
After hearing a story like that, Reina couldn’t bring herself to indirectly refuse the glass offered by the Crown Prince. Because she could tell how much he cherished Arthur and what meaning he’d assigned to this gathering. Better to drink and die. She couldn’t refuse that glass in a seat taken in Lady Christina’s name.
「It’s the same age as Arthur, this wine.」
The Crown Prince had said that with a proud expression. There was a tradition in the imperial family of gifting wine fermented in the year a child was born when that child came of age to marry. He laughed, saying he’d gone to great lengths to obtain it as a gift for Arthur. It was the rarest and most expensive wine even from Rena-something, the origin of all wines; the old dynasty had swept them up for hundreds of years to drink privately, so most nobles couldn’t even taste it. Now, the imperial family swept up the entire yearly yield from some famous vineyard, he said. She doubted whether such wine was fit to enter her mouth, but……. Whatever. It was too late to avoid it now. And so, the Crown Prince poured a glass each for Arthur and Reina from that extremely precious wine laden with historical meaning. He filled his own glass as well. Then, with a gentle smile, he raised his glass slightly and offered a short toast.
「To Arthur and the lady.」
The ruby-red wine in the glass sparkled like clinking rubies. The glasses met with a clear chime. Then the Crown Prince drew his back, smiling as he added,
「And to Ryan Dalton.」
Arthur ended up chuckling softly and brought his glass to his lips. The sharp, fragrant liquor gleamed iridescently in the crystal glass. Matching their tempo, Reina touched the glass to her lips and let the wine fill her mouth. A unique woody aroma and delicate, soft sweetness spread across her tongue. And that was the end of it. · · ·
“…….”
Well, what can you do. I did my best. Reina just let it go with a shrug. At least she’d taken that one sip. She wasn’t sure whether to take pride in herself for fulfilling her duty and falling honorably or to feel awkward about it.
“Miss, are you all right?”
Brody came over and asked.
“Oh, yes.”
“You slept in your full dress… it must have been uncomfortable……”
Brody said, looking a bit troubled, as if making excuses.
“Normally Sir Arthur asks us to help you change on nights when you sleep in your dress……. But he didn’t say anything today. I came late and didn’t know. I’m sorry. It must have been uncomfortable.”
“Oh……”
Sir Arthur? Come to think of it, Sir Arthur……
“Shall I help you change?”
“Uh, yes……”
Reina awkwardly took Brody’s hand and rose, heading behind the screen to change into a comfortable dress.
“……”
I wonder if Sir Arthur had a good talk with His Highness the Crown Prince last night? I hope it wrapped up well. Because I fell asleep like that again yesterday……
“……”
He seemed to genuinely care for Sir Arthur……. Is Sir Arthur with His Highness the Crown Prince right now? With Brody’s help, Reina took off the dress she’d been wearing since yesterday. ……Will I have to meet His Highness the Crown Prince again today? Because of him, don’t I need to do makeup to look like Lady ‘Christina’? Realizing that made her notice that the maid who’d come today wasn’t Marina. Would Brody do her makeup today? Marina helped make her look a bit more like the lady……. As Brody slipped her arms into the comfortable indoor dress, Reina quietly asked,
“Marina?”
Brody lowered her voice to a whisper, mouthing the words.
‘With Lady Christina.’
Ah……. Well, nothing to be done then……. Or wait, no? Reina snapped to attention. Since she might meet His Highness the Crown Prince, shouldn’t she insist on calling Marina? It’s an emergency. She still hadn’t conveyed all these urgent circumstances—the Crown Prince’s presence—to the Marchioness. What to do? After a brief moment of thought, she mouthed back to Brody for now.
‘……Makeup. I need Marina.’
Brody froze mid-pull on the dress laces. Then she glanced around anxiously, gauging Reina’s expression before whispering softly,
“Why……? Is my makeup no good……?”
……Huh? Caught off guard by the unexpected reaction, Reina stared at her in bewilderment. Brody’s face, flickering with anxiety, soon turned pleading.
“I don’t want to go to the lady……. I saw how Marina suffered serving her, and I thought how lucky I was to be assigned to you.”
“……”
Reina’s eyes went blank. Brody continued with a pitiful look.
“If something’s uncomfortable, can’t you just tell me? I’ll fix it. The makeup? Is the makeup bad? What should I change and how to make you like it?”
“……”
Ah……. Honestly. Understanding Brody’s feelings, Reina was at a loss for words. Even she didn’t want to deal with Lady Christina……. * * *
“The Crown Prince was with Arthur?”
Head Butler Jim said, sweating profusely with an embarrassed face.
“Yes……. They came out together from Sir Arthur’s private reception room this morning.”
The Marquis clutched his throbbing head and staggered. So close yet so far! The distinguished guest had been under the same roof, right under his nose, and he hadn’t known! All the goodwill he’d sent through Lord Rembrandt hadn’t even reached the Crown Prince!
“Where is he now?!”
“They seem to have parted ways. They left together, but Sir Arthur returned alone. We don’t know where His Highness the Crown Prince is. Probably back to the military side……”
The Marquis stared at the butler in disbelief, then his words failed him before he bellowed,
“No, if Arthur was with the Crown Prince, he should have given me a heads-up!”
“……”
Yelling at the innocent butler wouldn’t solve anything. With a wronged expression, the Marquis shouted at him,
“Last time, I held another victory festival just like he wanted! I handled the bonuses for the veterans and the pensions for their families exactly as he asked! Do you know how much money that cost?!”
Though afterward, since we seemed to differ on things like the scope of ‘veterans’ and ‘families,’ I’d been avoiding conversations a bit, but still! This was too much! After I did all that for him, shouldn’t he bend a little and show me some goodwill in return? That’s only fair, right? I’d been waiting, thinking he’d come to me first this time!
“Even if he was upset, with news this good, he should take the lead and connect me! Then I’d consider things even more favorably! That’s what makes us family!”
How could he just shut his mouth like this! Feeling so wronged, the Marquis slammed his fist on the table. Strands of hair sticking out from his pomade quivered. Should he have worked harder to improve relations with Arthur? Even if it was a stretch, since the money was already spent, if he’d used it more decisively to win favor……. Then Arthur would have bridged things with the Crown Prince somehow! It was such a shame to miss this chance because he hadn’t mended things with Arthur sooner. Because the first button was fastened wrong, he couldn’t even be introduced to the Crown Prince who’d rolled right into his own house! What a mess!
“You!”
In the end, his anger turned toward Christina, who was getting her makeup done in front of the vanity, smoking a cigarette from her holder.
“How long are you going to keep this up! You haven’t even shown your face to Arthur—what are you doing! You said you’d soothe his mood!”
Christina sneered coldly at the Marquis.
“Father. If you hadn’t laid hands on Sir Arthur’s subordinate that day, wouldn’t I have had the dignity to go to him long ago?”
What? Stunned into silence, the Marquis roared,
“Don’t you dare make excuses for me!”
“Father, don’t you dare make excuses for me? Without any conscience.”
The Marquis gripped the ashtray, glaring.
“This is ridiculous!”
Eek! Marina, carefully applying blush to Christina’s face, flinched in terror and huddled down, clutching her head. Christina didn’t bat an eye, staring coldly at the Marquis.
“Go ahead, hit me with it. Didn’t you personally teach your married-off daughter whose property she belongs to? Now you say I’m Sir Arthur’s property, not yours.”
“You, you! That gaping mouth of yours!”
Through the mirror, she elegantly lowered her lashes and tapped ash into the ashtray.
“Are you going to throw that?”
“What?”
Christina looked up at the Marquis and smiled brightly.
“I thought if I took a wound from Father’s thrown ashtray to show Sir Arthur, it might soothe his mood a bit. If you’re throwing it anyway, please aim for a visible spot.”
“Hey!”
Crash! The ashtray flew and shattered the mirror. The Marchioness, entering, let out a sharp scream in shock. Pale-faced, Marina clutched her head and sank to the floor.
I really want to disappear from this place right now.
