From Stella being Cayla’s half-sister to the possibility that the angelic female lead, Yerena, might actually be the villainess, my head was spinning.
‘Wait. Let’s get a grip and think from the beginning again.’
I clasped my hands around my head, trying to focus on the situation. Where to believe the original story, and where not to. It was the biggest confusion of my life.
The office door closed cautiously.
As Ricardo sat down, Gary quickly pulled out a letter from his inner pocket and handed it to him. Ricardo skimmed the letter rapidly right there. “Now that we have a solid weakness of that fox-like old man, let’s proceed with the plan quickly.”
Ricardo slowly nodded at Gary’s words. The letter in his hand contained a detailed account of the dirty secrets of one of the seven members of the Empire’s Elder Council. He was a man on the Empress’s side, and he was to be the first one to be removed as they chipped away at her influence. Ricardo slowly clenched the letter, thinking of the past. He knew that the old council member’s influence behind the Empress was the reason the Emperor had given him the title of duke and a territory and sent him away from the royal family. It was less of a reward for his victory in the war and more of a message that there was no place for him in the royal family. Now, he held the leash of that old fox who gave cunning advice from behind the Empress.
Just then, a knock sounded from outside, and Ernhart entered. “Your Grace.” He bowed to Ricardo, and upon seeing Gary inside, he gave him a brief nod as well.
“What is it?”
“I’ve come to report on the upcoming hunting tournament.”
At his words, Gary stroked his chin and muttered to himself. “Come to think of it, it’s already hunting season.”
The hunting tournament was one of the annual royal events held between spring and summer. The winner was always Ricardo, who was right in front of him.
While it was called a hunting tournament, it was a major event hosted by the royal family, so it was no different from a social gathering for the empire’s most prestigious nobles. It was also the only time they could see the Duke of Zenkisch, who rarely appeared at parties or social gatherings. In the past, it had even become a spectacle to see the young ladies of the capital dressing up like peacocks to catch his eye. Ricardo, while finding the annual hunting tournament tiresome, had never once given up the victory to another prince or noble.
Ernhart continued, seeking Ricardo’s consent. “This time, our lady will also have to attend. She’s now a member of the family, and it’s her first hunting tournament.”
Ricardo, as if he had no interest in the hunting tournament, burned the letter he had just read with a candle flame, erasing all traces of it.
“Of course she should. She must attend.” Gary nodded, answering Ernhart’s question for him.
“Yes. As it happens, there is a small brown horse suitable for our lady to ride. It might be good for her to practice in advance to get used to the horse. But…”
Ernhart trailed off, looking somewhere out the window. Gary also followed Ernhart’s gaze with a curious look. “What is it?”
Even at Gary’s question, Ernhart didn’t open his mouth right away and, uncharacteristically, looked around. Ricardo’s gaze finally turned to his subordinate.
“Well, it’s just that I heard something on my way…” Ernhart scratched the back of his head slightly and spoke cautiously.
“How frustrating. What did you hear?” At Gary’s urging, Ernhart replied. “A moment ago, there was a carriage accident in the mansion.”
“Oh. That. It was a simple accident. It’s nothing.” When Gary said this in a deflated voice, Ernhart nodded and continued. “Yes. But the servants and maids were whispering that our lady seemed to have been quite shaken by it.”
“What?”
As soon as he heard that, Gary looked at Ricardo. His face seemed to have hardened even more than before.
“Since when have you paid so much attention to what the low-borns chatter about? What happened a moment ago was something no one could have predicted.”
“Yes, of course. But it seems our lady hasn’t recovered from the shock yet.”
“What do you mean…” Ricardo, who had been listening quietly, now turned his gaze to the window. He stood up and walked closer to the window, as if to get a better look. Naturally, Gary and Ernhart also stood behind Ricardo, looking out the window.
“She’s still there.” Even though the guests had already left, Stella was still alone in the spot where the carriage had been. She looked somehow anxious, walking back and forth in the same place. Ricardo stared intently at her, while Gary and Ernhart exchanged glances and shrugged slightly.
The events of a moment ago came back to Ricardo’s mind. In fact, at the moment the horse rushed forward, he had reached out his hand to pull that woman toward him. It happened so fast that his body reacted first, and he didn’t even know why he did it. But his hand, which he had extended toward the woman, was held by someone else, who fell into his arms. The situation was obscured by a cloud of dust, so he didn’t have time to confirm who had fallen into his arms. It was only after the dust settled that he realized the person in his arms was Yerena. The woman he had originally tried to help had fallen to the ground, and she was grimacing in pain. The servants quickly ran to help the woman, but Ricardo was momentarily confused. Why was it that his hand had reached out to that woman first, and not to Yerena? That was the most baffling thing. It was a moment when his instincts had taken over before his mind could even think. He couldn’t believe that his hand had moved toward that woman first, not to Yerena, whom he had known for a long time.
The woman’s behavior was also unexpected. Anyone in a moment of danger would instinctively lean on the person next to them. Regardless of their relationship, he was her husband, the person she should have relied on the most at that moment. She should have instinctively reached out and grabbed him, but the woman didn’t approach him at all.
‘Does this mean she has no trust in me as a husband?’
Then what was that look in her eyes when she saw him and Yerena, a look of disappointment? Ricardo’s mood sank.
“Oh?!”
Ricardo, who had been lost in his own thoughts, looked up when he heard Ernhart’s voice.
Outside the window, she was standing still, clutching her head. She looked deeply troubled and distressed. A slight frown formed on Ricardo’s forehead as he watched her.
“It seems our lady was truly shocked.” Gary muttered to himself. He swallowed the words that she had every right to be, unable to say them out loud. Ricardo just watched Stella silently.
“Ugh…”
When the doctor came and put medicine on my wound, it stung so much that I groaned involuntarily.
“A sharp stone was embedded quite deeply in your skin. It must have been very painful, but you endured it well.”
He wrapped a bandage around my wrist with a serious face. “Is my wrist broken?”
He smiled faintly at my urgent question. “No. The ligament is just a little strained. It will gradually get better if you don’t put too much strain on your wrist.”
As I turned the white bandage wrapped around my wrist this way and that, I let out a grumbling remark without realizing it. “I wish I had been hit by a horse’s hoof instead; then I might have woken up again.”
“Pardon?” He looked at me with a bewildered expression, as if my words were strange.
“It’s nothing.”
When I shook my head, he shrugged and said, “Then I’ll come back in a few days to check on your condition.”
As the doctor got up to pack his bag, the head maid came in. “My lady. I have brought the child you asked for.”
Behind the head maid, a maid with her head bowed low stood. She looked very nervous, probably because she had been called by the duchess without knowing why.
‘Is that really Ana?’
I got up from my seat and walked toward her. She had a single brown braid and cute freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose. She slowly looked up at me, blinking her big brown eyes.
Ana, the only one among the workers at the ducal mansion who became Stella’s friend. A peer who laughed and cried with the lonely Stella. Seeing Ana felt both strange and wonderful, like meeting a long-lost friend, and a smile naturally spread across my face.
Maybe I was looking at her too intently with my eyes sparkling, because Ana became even more flustered.
“…M-my lady?”
I noticed that the head maid, Ana, and even the doctor who hadn’t left yet were all looking at me strangely, so I calmed my excitement.
“Ah, yes. Are you Ana?”
“…Yes, my lady.”
Seeing the fear in her eyes, she had probably already heard how I had kicked out Molly.
