Chapter 57
57. Audience2022.03.17.
The marquis returned from his meeting with Lord Rembrandt in high spirits. Strutting proudly, he boasted to the marchioness about the extraordinary proposal he had received from Lord Rembrandt, only to be met with a scream-like scolding.
“Are you insane?! You said you were grateful for that?!”
Struck like lightning, the marquis clutched his sore ear and scowled fiercely.
“What’s that? You hag. Why are you yelling?”
The prestige of our House Julius was soaring higher and higher, so why was this woman still wallowing at the bottom of propriety?! How could she never manage to acquire any leisure or grace? The marchioness trembled violently and stammered in distress.
“Lord Rembrandt said he’d send maids—maids? And you just bowed your head and accepted? Without even consulting me?”
The marquis snapped in irritation.
“You’re the one who’s complained to me countless times about how the maids were dying out. Wasn’t that your wish?”
Lord Rembrandt had already taken full account of our difficult situation! The thoughtful and gentlemanly proposal from Rembrandt naturally came to mind.
「Our stay with our attendants has lasted longer than expected, and with Sir Arthur and the knights also residing in the mansion,」
「You must have so much on your mind these days in various ways.」
「We are always grateful for the consideration you show to make us comfortable.」
「However, having this many people stay for so long must be a burden, I thought.」
「I can well imagine how much effort you and your wife are putting into us with your limited manpower, and it weighs on my mind.」
「Given that House Julius, as an important figure in the empire, wouldn’t be in a position to suddenly recruit maids due to a shortage of hands, I’ve been quite worried about that as well……」
「Out of gratitude, I’ve prepared a small gift to ease the marchioness’s burden.」
「Since gifts shouldn’t be announced in advance, I’ve been preparing it without mentioning it,」
「But if it’s an unwelcome consideration, it might be rude,」
「So amid your busyness, I asked to see you briefly, Your Excellency, to inform you first and inquire about your intentions.」
And then Lord Rembrandt had said that he had carefully selected about thirty skilled maids who could assist with the Julius mansion during our stay, and asked if it would not be rude to send them over. They were people of verified backgrounds, with no connections to other noble houses that might cause concern, and highly capable maids. Since their skills were beyond doubt, he thought that by having them simply take on the burden of tending to our imperial party, the marquis and his wife could lighten their workload considerably. Of course, they could be used comfortably even in the main residence of the marquis’s mansion, but he added that it might make the marchioness uncomfortable, so perhaps using them only to help with the imperial guests would be fine—what did they think? Above all, the reason the marquis was swept away in感动 upon receiving this proposal was that the maids Rembrandt mentioned, if permitted, wanted to ‘work here,’ and they were none other than ‘maids from the Imperial Palace who were taking a rest year.’ Maids who had tended to the Imperial Palace would now tend to the Julius mansion! To Marquis Julius, this felt as if the marquis’s mansion had become no different from the Imperial Palace itself. The marquis was thrilled. Wasn’t this the clearest expression of trust, alliance, and favor from the imperial family? He wanted to boast about receiving such a proposal to the visitors at the Julius mansion as soon as possible! The regret from recently failing to be introduced to and build rapport with the crown prince who had visited the mansion vanished completely. Recalling his mistake of missing the crown prince, the marquis resolved not to let this opportunity slip away no matter what. Leaning forward immediately, he expressed profound gratitude for Lord Rembrandt’s kindness and thoughtfulness.
「Lord Rembrandt……! How could you be so considerate!」
「Rather, I wonder if it’s not rude of me to accept such a grand gift outright.」
He was even inwardly anxious. Lord Rembrandt mustn’t change his mind, saying imperial servants might be too difficult after all!
「My wife has been greatly troubled by the shortage of maids anyway!」
「Ah, it’s not at all because of Lord Rembrandt that it’s been hard.」
「It’s because so many important guests have been visiting the mansion unprecedentedly these days, and my wife’s perfectionism wouldn’t allow us to hire unreliable maids!」
“…….”
Thinking up to there, the marquis’s irritation boiled over, and he glared at his wife. He had gone to such lengths to praise her so she wouldn’t be embarrassed. Instead of being grateful to him… But far from pleased, the marchioness let out undignified clucking sounds and glared at him.
“You…… you!”
Images flashed through the marchioness’s mind in order: Reina, confined to the bridal chamber in her dress; Christina, waiting every day on the upstairs corridor for Arthur’s forgiveness; and Arthur and the knights roaming the mansion freely without even meeting them. It was dizzying. And now to bring in Lord Rembrandt’s maids on top of that?
“Don’t you know there are things in this house that mustn’t be seen?!”
The marchioness bellowed. The marquis shot back irritably.
“The maids won’t invade your domain and will only assist Lord Rembrandt! Do you think dignified and wise Lord Rembrandt won’t handle it so as not to offend you!”
The marchioness wildly ruffled her own hair.
“How would you know, you! What do you know about maids, or about running the mansion, to go making decisions on your own like this! No, why!”
In the end, the marchioness grabbed the marquis and pleaded tearfully.
“Was it so hard to say you’d ask your wife first? Why did you permit it on your own! Why didn’t you consult me? The maids are my domain!”
But the marquis snorted dismissively.
“Good grief, what’s so great about that authority anyway.”
The marchioness was so flabbergasted she could only gasp. The marquis prattled on.
“You’ve been keeping Arthur and Christina from meeting, which is already making the atmosphere awkward—how could you then haughtily say, ‘Ah, I should consult my wife first’? Do you not know how society works?”
Obsessing over useless things like her authority! What if Lord Rembrandt changed his mind? But ignoring him, the marchioness shook him and fretted.
“Fine, just go to Lord Rembrandt and say no. Say you misunderstood, that I declined the maids. Go right now—or if you’re embarrassed, I’ll do it? Yes, I’ll just……”
The marquis scoffed.
“I already told him you were crying over the maid shortage?”
“What?”
The marquis thrust out his chin smugly and drove the point home.
“No. It’s not even Klein Archduke’s house—it’s maids from the Imperial Palace being offered, how could I refuse? The empress has probably already permitted it. Don’t you, as the lady of a fine noble house, know how glorious this proposal is?”
The marchioness, finally exploding, screamed at the marquis.
“Aaaagh!”
Words weren’t getting through, so she couldn’t win.
* * * Kay wants to talk to you. Yes. Alright. If it’s uncomfortable, talk to me instead. It’s not that important. No. I’ll speak with the knight. ……I have something to tell you too. * * *
“Lady.”
“Sir Kay.”
As the door opened, Reina rose from her seat and greeted him with a smile. She seemed a bit tense but more composed and calm than usual. Kay opened the conversation first in a relaxed tone.
“This is the first time we’ve met alone like this.”
“Yes. It is.”
Reina looked somewhat reserved, so Kay smiled reassuringly.
“Don’t be too tense. I just wanted to ask a few things, so I requested this meeting. First, you’ve been through a lot.”
“No. It wasn’t that hard.”
Reina seemed quite stiff, so Kay briefly pondered whether he should tell her to sit comfortably first. Do I need to offer her a seat now? But Reina’s following action left Kay a little flustered. She pressed her hand to her chest and bowed her head deeply.
“I’m sorry.”
“…….”
Kay, who had expected only a passive reply from her, froze for a moment, unable to respond. With her head still bowed, Reina continued.
“I heard you all saw the note I sent. I’m sorry for making you feel betrayed…… I didn’t come here under good circumstances, yet you’ve all treated me with more kindness than I deserved……”
Her lengthy apology poured out amid intense tension.
“Relying on Sir Arthur’s kindness in giving me time to think, despite my anxiety, I deceived Sir Arthur and all of you during that time—.”
Kay, snapping back to his senses belatedly, interrupted her.
“Lady.”
……Had she perhaps met Sir Tristan before me and heard something? Kay quickly sorted his flustered thoughts and stopped her.
“You don’t need to say that much. We know you acted for us in your own way. The other knights think so too. Not all of them, but more among us do.”
“…….”
Reina stopped speaking but couldn’t lift her bowed head. Kay persuaded her again to raise it.
“Don’t keep your head down. This isn’t an apology for me. If Sir Arthur says it’s fine, we have no right to complain.”
Realizing she was making Kay uncomfortable by bowing, Reina straightened up and faced him with a rigid expression. Even so, she cautiously finished what she had been saying.
“……I apologized to Sir Arthur too, but I still wanted to say sorry to you and the knights separately. Because you protected me on his orders……”
Kay frowned slightly, feeling a bit uneasy as he said,
“It was surveillance too.”
It felt a bit off coming from someone who had come to persuade and recruit her, but Reina smiled faintly instead.
“It was protection as well. I felt it more as protection than surveillance. Thank you.”
He had conducted countless interrogations of spies and prisoners, but this was unfamiliar. Kay gazed at her steadily. Seeing such an innocently naive prisoner made him newly realize that the war really was over.
“We were just following His Excellency’s orders. It wasn’t difficult. But you received the same orders, and I can well imagine it took more courage to refuse to cooperate. I think you deserve thanks instead.”
At his clichéd praise for a defector, Reina’s fresh, awkward face flushed a bit.
“…….”
This is really unfamiliar. He missed the worn-out prisoners and tough spies.
“……I did do it.”
“…….”
What was she saying now, bringing up the report about the anchovy favoritism? He already knew from Sir Arthur that her previous report had also been about mushroom avoidance. Kay silently watched Reina. Interpreting his gaze somehow, she tensed up again and began pouring out another lengthy explanation.
“The information I passed on was about meeting the Crown Prince and receiving a debutante invitation. And that Sir Arthur doesn’t eat mushrooms…… I only passed one note. I didn’t intend harm, but I know that deceiving you all is a fact, so it’s no excuse. Still, I……”
Kay calmly stopped Reina.
“Yes, Lady. You can stop apologizing now for leaking Sir Arthur’s food preferences.”
