“You’ve waited for such a long time for this opportunity, Milady! I can’t believe His Grace came here to your room! And even in this state…”
Rona gestured to her chest with both of her hands. At that, I could feel my face burning up again.
“I’m going to take a bath.”
After saying so, I entered the bathroom with Rona by my side to help me because I could still feel my legs shaking. The tub was filled with hot water, and thanks to this, the bathroom also became full of soap bubbles.
As I immersed myself into the water, I could feel my muscles loosening up at once, my nervousness dissipating as I groaned.
Drowsy, I closed my eyes and tucked my chin into the water while gently rubbing my body.
“Were you very surprised?”
“Yeah, a bit.”
Just thinking about what I went through a while ago gave me goosebumps.
“The snake was this big.”
With eyes wide open, I held up my forearm to demonstrate the snake’s size to Rona.
“No way, that couldn’t be, Milady.”
“But, I am telling the truth?” Proving my words, I held up my forearm again to Rona’s incredulous expression.
“Was it that big?”
This time, Rona copied my gestures and held up her forearm as well, and at that, I nodded quickly.
“It must’ve been really huge.”
“Yeah.”
I ran out of energy and leaned back in the tub—a few bubbles scattered along with my movement.
“If His Grace hadn’t been there, you would have been in trouble.”
“Right.”
When the snake slithered down my shoulder and went into my dress through my chest, then Amoide reached in to catch it—
“Nope. No, no.”
Water droplets fell off my hair as I shook my head from side to side.
I needed to forget what happened.
It happened only because of the circumstances. He did that to save me, to bring out the snake. So, there was no need to remember the details and get embarrassed like this.
Even the person who put his hands over my chest was so nonchalant about it, so I shouldn’t feel mortified by it.
“The Master risked his life to save you.”
Rona’s words prompted me to ponder deeply about it.
‘To save me…?’
The memory of the snake roving over my body kept repeating in my mind.
Rather than trying to save me, wouldn’t it be right to say that he only acted on his instincts? If a snake was left alone to bite his wife directly over her heart, wouldn’t his renown as the Empire’s number one knight be at risk?
‘Yeah, that is what it is.’
There was no need for me to dwell on it. I should just let it be.
“…”
But, somehow, Rona gave me a look that said that wasn’t the case.
She was grinning from ear to ear, not even the slightest hint of the worry she had while talking about the snake.
“Milady, I know exactly what happened during your stroll earlier.”
“Is that so?”
I answered back, a deadpan look on my face. Of course, she did. I kicked up a fuss, so everyone saw what happened.
“I heard it was quite a sight. I heard about it already.”
I nodded.
“That’s right, the snake… it was really big. I didn’t expect such a snake to have been roaming the garden like this even when it’s not the season for them to come out. That’s why everyone was surprised.”
“…It’s not that.”
“Hm?”
“The snake, well, sometimes they come out randomly, Milady.”
As Rona deflected the subject of the snake, it made me wonder. What was she talking about, then?
“It would have been dreadful if you were bitten, but I’m glad you weren’t.”
“Yeah, thank you.”
However, Rona’s eyes were twinkling strangely again.
She was being very suspicious.
“Rona. Why are you being like that again?”
As I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, I backed away to the bathroom wall.
“His Grace…and Milady…in the garden…”
This child. With the ominous insinuations of Rona’s words, her voice sounded distorted.
“Amoide and I—what are you saying?”
“The gardeners said that Milady’s clothes were torn… and that the master himself removed his shirt as well…”
“It’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it romantic to have a rendezvous at a secluded place in the garden?”
“Ah, that, well. Rona.”
“It’s okay! You’re in the middle of your passionate love affair~! You’ve been taking good care of His Grace, and you even collapsed last time. What a spark you have in your relationship, Milady!”
“It was just that the snake went into my dress…”
No matter how much I tried to deny it though, it seemed like the excited Rona couldn’t hear me.
She continued enthusiastically, “As expected, you two are in the prime of your lives. The reason why His Grace was curt with you before was only because he was too shy to express himself properly.”
Again, again! This child was writing a novel on her own. Reality wasn’t the rose-colored world she imagined.
Rona continued squealing as her hands flailed around.
As I fanned my heavily flushed face, Rona suddenly noticed something in the middle of my chest.
“Oh my, Millady, this…”
“Huh?”
“These look like… nail marks?”
“Huuuh?”
When I looked down to inspect the area in question, I noticed the part where my skin was red. It was an area that the dress couldn’t cover.
…What’s this? Why was there a mark here?
Amidst this confusion, I re-analyzed the clues I had from what transpired earlier.
What came to mind was the moment Amoide shoved his hand roughly inside my dress, then promptly took it out.
‘No way. Back then…?’
The nail marks were left behind probably when he did that.
Everything went by so fast that I didn’t even feel the slightest pain. A snake, as thick as my forearm, fluttered its forked tongue right at my face, so I had no time to process anything.
“You must have been very, very passionate.”
Look at this delusional young maid in front of me…
‘It’s not like that, I already told you that is not what happened.’ As much as I wanted to say these words, they were stuck in my throat.
“You’ve been having your communal nights together all this time, but it’s the first time you came back in this state… I’m sure your efforts are paying off, Milady!”
“What? Y-yeah, I guess…”
I managed to put on a stiff smile, then turned away.
‘That’s because he never touched me at all.’
Since I couldn’t tell this to anyone until the day I die, I figured it would have been better if he pounced on me of his own volition instead, now that he’s full of energy.
After soaking in the bath, I changed into a new dress and dried my hair.
Rona was skillfully brushing my hair in front of a mirror.
I gazed at my reflection and kept pulling up the fabric around my chest. The marks that were blindingly red were bothering me.
“Do I have any other dress that has a higher collar?”
This dress was loose in some parts, but tight-fitting around the chest, which was why the size and shape of my chest were emphasized more than necessary.
“You have plump breasts, but all the dresses here are too tight for you around the chest. Who ordered these?”
Rona grumbled to herself.
“The size is all wrong, and most are out of fashion. Look, Milady, this kind of subtle flower pattern was in style more than three years ago.” She said, pointing to the embroidery on my dress.
“I know that more noticeable, colorful flower patterns are trendy these days.
She let out a deep sigh, upset at her lady’s situation.
“This wouldn’t happen if you went to the boutique yourself, Milady.”
“…Enough.”
What was she talking about? What the public knew about the Duchess of Efret was that she was a mysterious woman covered by a veil.
She was the Duchess who never attended any social events.
This was the result of Camilla’s attempt to hide her daughter-in-law, ashamed that she hailed from a poor fallen aristocrat whose family was falling apart. So, as a result, all the people knew about the Duchess was that she was taking care of her ailing husband.
Hiding the truth like this was only possible because the Duchy was some ways away from the heart of the Capital.
Rumors went rampant because they didn’t know the real situation because the Ducal estate’s affairs were covered up.
Rather than addressing the rumors, Camilla even helped those rumors prosper because she had to put a lid on the truth that her daughter-in-law, essentially, had been bought. Nonetheless, Camilla still had a reputation to uphold.
The mansion’s staff were also all asked to keep their mouths shut.
Fortunately, many were hesitant to be kicked out of the mansion, so they themselves were strict about this family’s affairs.
“It’s not that important, Rona.”
My priority was to prevent a bleak future. If it was out of fashion or if it didn’t fit well, it didn’t matter.
“I don’t even go out often, anyway.”
I said this calmly. At this, Rona became more upset.
Knock, knock.
We both turned our heads at the same time as we heard the sudden sound. Camilla’s maid opened the door and came in.
“The Madam is looking for you.”
Sitting on an armchair was Camilla who glared at me venomously with all her might. As if I were seeing the snake from earlier again, I hesitated in front of her.
“You called?”
I bent slightly into a curtsey, but Camilla just continued glaring at me.
It stayed that way for quite a while.
After some time, a stray thought popped into my head. Maybe the snake wasn’t that bad. But then, Camilla finally spoke.
“Is it true that my son captured that snake with his bare hands?”
“…You heard?”
News surely traveled fast within these walls, it seems.
“Just answer me.”
“It’s true.”
Amoide did catch the snake, and with his bare hands.
Maybe that’s why Camilla looked livid.
“This unseemly…”
Tsk. It was the sound of her tongue clicking. I winced slightly as it echoed throughout the room.
From the moment I stepped through that door, I was already at fault. Even though I sat before her in a soft, comfortable chair, it felt like invisible thorns were slowly prickling my skin.
‘This again. What now, what else am I supposed to say here for?
I could feel the air around me grow ominous.
“Of all things, you had to get caught doing that?!”
Camilla’s high-pitched screech pierced through my ears sharply.
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