Chapter 1. The fiancé is back
***
After a while, the butler, who returned from seeing Leila off, politely asked Philen.
“What shall I do with Young Lady Leila’s stuff, Master? The Young Lady told me to throw them all away, but…”
“You don’t need to throw them away.”
Because she’s bound to come back soon.
“Keep them all in the storage.”
“I understand.”
The butler, who was sad to throw away Leila’s stuff inwardly, quickly followed Philen’s orders.
According to the butler’s instructions, the servants diligently moved her stuff and the maids cleaned her room.
Misa watched it with a gloomy look.
The butler approached Misa and patted her on the back.
“Misa, don’t be so sad. The Young Lady will definitely come back.”
“Will she?”
“Yes, of course. According to the saying of a certain country in the east, a quarrel between a married couple is like, is it cutting a knife with water?”
“It’s not cutting a knife with water, it’s cutting water with a knife, butler.”
A passing servant corrected the butler’s words.
The butler shed a glimpse of the servant who broke the mood and coughed.
“Ehem hum, anyway, there is no woman that suits the Master other than the young lady…”
“Woman that suits?”
The butler turned around, startled at the sudden coy voice.
Then he saw Cecily wearing a thin shawl.
With her long, wavy hair hanging down beautifully, she was so beautiful that people didn’t even think she was pregnant.
“Little Young Lady.”
The butler hurriedly bowed his head and greeted her. The same goes for Misa and other servants.
“The title is wrong.”
“Yes?”
“You have to call me just Young Lady now. Isn’t that woman not here?”
At Cecily’s declaration that she was no less than the mansion’s hostess, the butler and the other servants’ expressions subtly hardened.
Misa completely ignored Cecily.
Cecily also didn’t care about her and called a servant who was passing by her.
“What are you carrying right now?”
“This is Young Lady Leila’s stuff.”
“Where are you taking it?”
“To the storage. The Duke said to keep it in the storage.”
Keeping her stuff in the storage without throwing them away.
Philen still had lingering feelings for Leila. That’s what it meant.
I’ve been driving a wedge between those two, and he still hasn’t thrown away his lingering feelings for her?
I don’t like it.
Cecily frowned slightly and moved her hand.
“Bring it here.”
The servant didn’t move immediately and looked into the butler’s eyes.
“Are you ignoring me?!”
As Cecily shouted hysterically, the butler sighed deeply and nodded.
It meant to do what she wanted.
The servant took the box and brought it to Cecily.
Then Cecily rummaged through Leila’s stuff as if it was hers.
“My Lady, that is Young Lady Leila’s stuff.”
When the unseen Misa said a word, Cecily’s eyes went up sharply.
“Who do you dare to talk back to when you’re just a maid?”
“…I apologize.”
Misa bowed down and apologized, but Cecily continued to be sarcastic.
“A maid like you thinks the Duke of the Empire is no big deal, huh? No, maybe it’s because there hasn’t been a proper hostess until now.”
Misa clenched her fists as Cecily openly shot Leila.
‘Young Lady Leila is a hundred times or a thousand times better than you!’ Those words lingered in her mouth, but couldn’t come out.
How could she say that? Her opponent was the woman with Philen’s child.
The moment you provoke her by mistake, you will be kicked out of the mansion and your life will be at risk.
“Hmph.”
Cecily snorted and rummaged through Leila’s stuff again.
Then she found something wrapped in a luxurious cloth and took it out.
What was wrapped in the cloth were bottles of red and blue liquid.
She thought it was a jewel, but it wasn’t. She was disappointed.
Still, if it were something Leila was holding, it wouldn’t be an ordinary item.
It could be an expensive magic drug, so Cecily took the vials.
Chapter 3. The Emperor’s Aide.
About five days after leaving the Duke of Williot. I came back to the capital again with Sarah.
I never thought I’d be back this early.
Getting off the rented carriage, I now looked around.
Maybe because I had been here a few times, I was familiar with the street to some extent.
In particular, the huge Imperial Palace that was not too far away caught my eye.
That’s where I will be working in the future.
My heart was pounding. I looked at the Imperial Palace for a long time.
Sarah, who had paid for the carriage, sprinted to my side.
“Where are we going now?”
“Well, shall we go to the inn first?”
I used to stay at Duke Williot’s mansion in the capital, but now I couldn’t do that anymore. I needed another place to stay.
I’ll have to find a house first.
How much was the housing price in the capital? It could be expensive since it’s in the capital, right?
I hope the money I have can solve it.
Leaving aside the worries about a house for a while, I went to a nearby inn to unwind.
I paid the accommodation fee for two days and headed to our assigned room.
“The room is much smaller than I thought.”
Sarah, who checked the room, asked worriedly.
“Is it okay for you to stay in a place like this?”
“It’s okay.”
This was good enough. There were no bugs, and I didn’t have to sleep on the floor without a blanket.
…and there’s no strange hands reaching out every night too.
“Then I’ll organize our stuff simply. Because when we find a house, we have to move immediately.”
Sarah smiled vigorously and unpacked the luggage.
Oh my, I should find a house right away.
As soon as I finished organizing my stuff, I opened my bag thinking that I had to find a house first.
Inside the small bag was a wallet, a notarized document from betting with Philen, and a necklace from Kalian.
Since we had broken up, there would be no fighting with Philen over trivial things like now, but I brought the notarized document in case something went wrong.
I hope I don’t use this.
I looked at the document bitterly and picked up the box next to it.
It was the box containing the necklace I received from Kalian.
When I opened the box, I saw the necklace shining brightly in blue under the sunlight.
Come to think of it, I haven’t given him something in return yet.
As I received a lot of help, I wanted to give him a proper gift.
What should I give as a gift that would make him happy?
Jewelry? Or clothes?
An ordinary nobleman would have wanted that, but it was the emperor.
Giving the emperor a material gift wouldn’t impress him.
His treasury should be filled with more valuable treasures than what I gave him.
Then, as expected, it should be a gift from the heart, right?
“Sarah, what would be a gift from the heart to give?”
“A gift from the heart?”
Sarah, who was diligently organizing her stuff, looked back at me.
“Yeah. If possible, it’s with sincerity.”
“If it’s a gift from the heart with sincerity, shouldn’t it be a handkerchief embroidered by yourself?”
Embroidered handkerchief.
Suddenly, I remembered the handkerchief I gave to Kalian before.
A handkerchief with the Duke of Williot’s crest on it.
“Why do you ask about a gift from the heart all of a sudden?”
“There’s someone who I have to give something in return.”
“My lady? Ah, then an embroidered handkerchief will not work. Because My Lady can’t embroider.”
“No, a handkerchief will do.”
It still bothered me that Kalian took the handkerchief with the Duke of Williot’s crest.
I should take this opportunity to give him the handkerchief with the Imperial crest on it, and ask him to return the handkerchief he took before.
“Sarah, let’s go outside.”
I left my bag and only took my wallet.
Sarah, who was quickly ready to go out, stood close to me and asked.
“Are we going to find a house, My Lady?”
“No, let’s go to the embroidery store first.”
*****
“Your Majesty, Lady Leila Thebesa is here.”
Kalian, who was looking at the document in the office, put the document down at Rahel’s words, the head attendant, and looked at him.
“Who’s here?”
“Lady Leila Thebesa is here.”
“Is it the Leila Thebesa I’m thinking of?”
“If you are thinking about Lady Leila Thebesa, who was recently selected as an aide after passing the open official test as the top, you are right.”
Of course.
As far as he knew, there was only one Leila Thebesa.
But why was she here? Wasn’t she gone down to the Williot estate?
Did she come back again? It hadn’t even been two weeks yet.
It was good that she came early because he didn’t really like waiting too long, but it made him nervous.
He had an ominous feeling that she would refuse to be his aide.
“Bring her here.”
He was concentrating on the document again when Rahel returned.
Behind him, he saw Leila, dressed in a light sky-blue dress with her hair neatly tied up.
“Leila Thebesa, I greet the sun of the Empire.”
Leila grabbed the hem of her skirt and greeted him in a somewhat dignified yet elegant manner.
It suited her better than a fancy dress full of jewels.
After greeting her with a light nod, Kalian moved to the table.
“Sit down.”
When Kalian, who was seated at the higher seat, gestured, Leila finally sat down.
[T/N: higher seat = a seat of a person who is of high-ranking or who is older.]
Kalian stared at Leila’s face as the maids set the table.
He was trying to read what she was thinking in advance, but it was difficult to read her thoughts with her expressionless face.
She’s the type who’s good at hiding her thoughts. I like her even more.
After taking a sip of tea, Kalian started with a small talk.
“I thought it would take three weeks, so I couldn’t believe you came to see me in two weeks. You came back earlier than I thought. When did you come to the capital?”
“I came yesterday.”
Is that why her complexion doesn’t look very good?
“Then, you should unwind your fatigue from travel.”
“I think I should give you an answer quickly.”
…is she trying to reject it?
It was as if he had eaten a bitter herbal medicine in his mouth. Kalian’s lips were slightly lowered.
“Looks like you have decided.”
“Yes, I have.”
Leila clenched her hands on her lap tightly and looked at Kalian. She looked quite nervous.
There’s no way she would be that nervous if she said yes.
“…are you rejecting it?”
Leila’s eyes widened slightly at Kalian’s words. It was like the expression of a person who was hit right on the mark.
As expected, it was a rejection.
His annoyance soared. Philen, he was very upset that he lost to that man.
Kalian frowned and was about to say something, but before that, Leila opened her mouth.
“No.”
Kalian immediately swallowed what he was about to say and listened to Leila.
“I’m here to tell you that I accept the position of an aide.”