CHAPTER 05………………………………………
As the door closed, I thought I could still sense Crimu’s presence inside.
“The young master isn’t feeling well. It seems like he’s caught a bit of a cold.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So I was just about to call for a doctor.”
“Then I should inform the Duke.”
At the mention of the Duke, the nanny frowned slightly.
“I’ll tell him myself. It’s nothing serious—just a mild fever.”
“Alright.”
“Lady Marianne, you should go have your meal now. It’s getting late.”
The nanny, who looked to be rather old, seemed slightly annoyed by my persistent questions.
Just then, a voice called out to me from behind.
It was Britta, my personal maid.
“My lady, the dining hall is this way.”
Even the guard knight, who had gone the other way earlier, looked as though he was heading toward the commotion.
Not wanting to become the subject of yet another strange rumor, I followed Britta quietly.
The next morning, everyone gathered for breakfast.
The Duke and Shevert must have returned late last night—they both looked a little tired.
Across the table, Crimu sat looking especially gloomy.
He looks like he cried yesterday… his eyes are a bit swollen too.
Even though he was a mischievous child, seeing him like that made me feel a little sorry for him.
Maybe he cried because he missed his mother.
Perhaps he cried every night.
Of course, his father—the Duke of Kerais—didn’t seem to care at all.
Growing up in that kind of environment, Crimu would later become the infamous youngest of the cruel Kerais brothers—
a man who crushed his enemies with sheer brute strength and a beastly nature.
Pushing away thoughts of that dreadful future, I took a bite of the soft meat on my fork.
That afternoon, I called for Britta, wanting to clear my tangled thoughts.
The brown-haired maid with bright eyes hurried over at once.
Compared to the maids I’d had at the Count’s estate, Britta was hardworking and kind beyond compare.
She was so gentle that I wondered, “Someone like her exists in the Duke of Kerais’ household?”
She told me she hadn’t been here long either, and was still adjusting.
Oh-ho, maybe I can be friends with her.
That alone made me like Britta.
She was still untouched by the Kerais family’s corruption—someone who could truly be my person.
With her help, I sank into a warm bath.
“Ah, that feels amazing. I’d love a good scrub.”
“A scrub?”
“…!”
I froze the moment I said it.
Sometimes I accidentally used words from my previous world—but usually only when I was alone.
Britta’s constant attentiveness sometimes made me forget she was even there.
“Ah, no, I just meant it feels nice.”
Before she could ask more, I dunked my head completely underwater.
At first she had been startled by the sight, but since I did it every bath, she’d grown used to it.
With my eyes closed, the muffled stillness of the water enveloped me.
My thoughts drifted in and out like waves—Crimu, Kerais, the murderer, Tria’s fate, Ron…
“Puhah—!”
I burst to the surface, sending water spilling over the edge.
Britta stepped back slightly and handed me a towel.
“You seem to be soaking longer than usual, my lady. Shall we get you out now?”
“Yes, I think so.”
After my bath, I sat before the mirror.
And I couldn’t help but think—being a noble really was nice.
The best thing about being reincarnated like this was being waited on hand and foot.
I didn’t have to lift a finger—servants prepared my meals, my bath, even dried my hair.
Pure luxury.
“Your hair is so beautiful, my lady.”
Britta marveled as she looked at my long red hair.
And she was right—it was stunning.
A petite body, cute face, and hair that gleamed like silk.
Some people were just born lucky.
Before I came to this world, I had frizzy half-curly hair.
Now, I could easily give myself a perfect score.
I smiled at my reflection in the mirror, and Britta giggled.
“Would you like some of this?”
On the table sat a slice of butter cake topped with honey-soaked cherries.
It had been served as dessert at lunch, but I hadn’t eaten it—
mostly because I saw the way Britta had longed for it.
“For me?”
“Yes. I’m not feeling well, but if we send it back uneaten, the chef will be upset, don’t you think?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“It’s just the two of us here. Go ahead.”
Her eyes flickered with hesitation.
So I picked up the plate and fork myself and handed them to her.
“Then let’s share. I’ll just have one bite.”
Only then did Britta nod.
After seeing me take my bite, she carefully savored the rest of the cake, as if it were a rare treasure.
The sight made my heart ache a little.
Maybe I should take back what I said earlier—about how great it was to be a noble.
Because for every person who lives in comfort, there’s someone else living in hardship.
That’s how the world worked—but at least we could still try to understand one another.
“I was nervous about living somewhere so unfamiliar, but having you here, Britta, really helps.”
“My lady…”
“I mean it. We haven’t been together long, but… thank you.”
Britta, her lips dusted with white cream, looked moved as she set down her fork.
“It’s I who should thank you, my lady.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I joined the estate around the same time you did, and honestly, I was terrified. But when I saw you, I volunteered to be your personal maid.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You were small and cute, but I could tell you had a kind heart.”
“Pfft.”
I burst out laughing at her shy but earnest compliment.
You’ve got a good eye for people.
Pleased, I found myself wanting to hear more praise—it had been so long.
“So tell me, what was your first impression of me?”
Britta, just as serious, replied earnestly:
“I think the word ‘cute’ was invented for you, my lady.”
We laughed together for a long while after that.
Then suddenly, Britta seemed to remember something.
“Now that I think about it, there were quite a few new maids who started around the same time as me.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. As you know, the Kerais household is very strict about cleanliness and order.”
She wasn’t wrong—this mansion was spotless, not a speck of dust anywhere.
I’d even wondered if the Duke might have a touch of obsessive cleanliness.
“So most servants don’t last a year. A bunch of them quit all at once recently. That’s why two new maids joined along with me—and, oh right, the new nanny too.”
“The nanny?”
“Yes, Young Master Crimu’s nanny.”
At that, Britta finished the last of her cake and stared at the empty plate.
But my mind was spinning.
I remembered the nanny’s face from the night before—gentle, but tinged with annoyance and weariness.
“What happened to the old nanny?”
“She went home to visit her daughter, apparently. So the current one is her replacement.”
“I see. Is she married?”
“Yes, but…”
Even though it was just the two of us in the room, Britta whispered as if afraid someone might overhear.
“There’s a rumor she ran away from her husband after having an affair with another man.”
“An affair? She ran away?”
A strange feeling crept over me, though I tried to stay calm.
Rumors were just rumors—not truth.
After what had happened to me, I knew better than anyone how dangerous gossip could be.
Still, I couldn’t ignore the unease.
I decided I should keep an eye on Crimu’s nanny.
“I’d like to go out for a while.”
I said to the Duke, nervous but resolute.
I couldn’t stay cooped up in the mansion forever—not when I couldn’t even recall my past clearly.
After days of deliberation, I’d made my decision.
The Duke slowly raised his head from his documents.
His calm, detached eyes met mine.
“For what reason?”
“I’d like to buy a dress.”
It was the most plausible excuse I could come up with.
After all, Marianne was thirteen—a girl at the age of wanting to look pretty.
The Duke replied, his words strangely gentle despite his cold expression.
“A fine idea. You didn’t bring much with you when you came here.”
He granted permission easily—and even gave me spending money.
I stared at the heavy pouch in my hands, bewildered.
“He gave me this much?”
“The Duke saw you touching one of the vases in the hall recently,” the butler said with a chuckle.
“…!”
“He told me to give you as much as that vase was worth. He also said, ‘Now that she’s part of the House of Kerais, she mustn’t live like a beggar.’”
Ah—that must have been right after I first arrived here.
I’d been mesmerized by all the glittering, expensive things around me and couldn’t help but touch them.
I’d even joked to myself that stealing just a few would be enough to live off of.
Who would have thought that would earn me pocket money?
Jackpot! I should’ve touched more things!
Clutching my pouch with excitement, I suddenly realized something.
The Duke had ordered that I be accompanied by a whole entourage of attendants and maids.
Wait, Father, I said I was just going shopping!
As I glanced out the carriage window at the long line of people following behind, my cheeks burned with embarrassment.
