Chapter – 10
“Here! This is the Princess Consort’s room!”
After finishing our determination to survive well with Ribed, we entered the Archduke’s mansion.
It was as large as a royal palace and very grand.
But like its master, most of the mansion was dark.
Dark-colored furniture was placed everywhere, and the chandeliers gave off a soft glow rather than a flashy one.
The maid in front of me, who looked around my age, introduced herself as Mary.
She said she would be assisting me together with Madam Hailey from now on.
“Here is a bell rope! If you need anything, just pull it anytime!”
Mary smiled brightly, full of excitement, as she explained.
“His Grace’s office and bedroom are right next to the Princess Consort’s room!”
Wow… that’s not exactly comforting.
I almost said my honest thoughts out loud but managed to hold it in.
“Sorry! I might look too excited, right?”
“Huh?”
“It’s just that it’s been so long since someone new came to the Archduke’s household—especially someone like you, Your Highness… ah, I mean Princess Consort now! Except for the Crown Prince, of course! Our master has never shown interest in women, so we were worried he might stay alone forever! We’re really grateful that you’ve come!”
Mary kept talking non-stop, even though I didn’t respond.
“Mary!”
Someone called her from downstairs.
“Oh! Sorry! The head maid, Meida, is calling me. May I go for a moment?”
“Go ahead. I already understand enough about this place.”
I quickly answered, taking the chance to escape her energy.
“I’ll be right back! Please rest in your room!”
“…Yes, take your time.”
She bowed deeply and ran downstairs.
The second she left, the entire second floor suddenly felt empty.
“Life in the Archduke’s mansion doesn’t seem like it’ll be quiet…”
It felt like I had already stepped on the wrong first stone.
I sighed while looking at the room.
Ribed and Madam Hailey silently nodded.
“Let’s go inside.”
Ribed opened the door.
I stepped into my temporary room.
“Wow.”
A quiet admiration slipped out.
The furniture was made of high-quality wood. Ivory-patterned wallpaper, marble floors, and red carpets were perfectly arranged.
“You must be tired from the long journey. Rest first.”
Ribed pointed to the bed.
“I’ll return to my room. If anything happens, ask Madam Hailey. She will always be with you.”
“Yes, Ribed. You must be tired too, so rest well.”
He left without another word.
Only then could I finally relax.
Was it because Ribed held my life in his hands? I always felt tense around him.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine.”
I had already been drinking jasmine tea from the carriage, so I wasn’t thirsty.
But something felt strange.
‘What is this?’
Even though I had never been here before, the room felt familiar.
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah… no, it’s nothing.”
Madam Hailey noticed my strange behavior.
But I didn’t want to explain this strange feeling and cause misunderstanding.
Still, my body moved on its own.
I felt like if I opened the wardrobe beside the bed, I would find a dusty child’s doll inside.
‘What is this feeling?’
I couldn’t explain it.
It was just intuition.
Still, I opened the wardrobe.
And inside—
A dirty white teddy bear was there, torn and worn out.
“Goodness, what is that?”
Madam Hailey was shocked too.
But I wasn’t listening.
A sentence suddenly appeared in my mind.
[The Archducal couple of Fidellanis once had a daughter who died.]
I tried to think more deeply about it—
Knock knock.
Someone was at the door.
I snapped out of my thoughts.
“Who is it?”
Madam Hailey’s voice rang out.
Meanwhile…
“Breaking news: The dazzling wedding of the perfect Archducal couple!”
On a ship heading toward Leviathan Island, far from the Kingdom of Baeterinum.
Eos was reading a newspaper she bought in Sanders village.
She had originally only planned to find someone who looked similar to her.
With a little disguise, hair dye, and magic to change eye color, she thought it would be enough.
But she never imagined finding such a perfect double.
The girl looked almost identical to her.
Even more surprisingly, she came from a poor, remote, unknown place—so no one knew her.
She was a hidden gem.
‘After finding her, everything became easy.’
Eos smirked as she recalled the past.
Today, thoughts of her family made her excited.
She wanted a drink.
She walked toward the ship’s bar.
But then she slipped and dropped her newspaper.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
She bent down quickly to pick it up and didn’t notice someone approaching.
They collided.
Both fell to the ground.
Her hood slipped off.
“Ah… I’m sorry!”
People around them started staring.
Eos quickly pulled her hood back on and left the place.
Unaware that the man she bumped into was still staring at her.
Back in the Mansion
The one who had knocked on my door was Mary again.
“What is it?”
I forced a smile.
“Princess Consort, there will be a banquet to welcome you.”
“A banquet?”
Both I and Madam Hailey reacted at the same time.
“What do you mean? Can you explain properly?”
Madam Hailey asked seriously.
Mary stepped closer and lowered her voice.
“It will be a welcome banquet hosted by the Marchioness of Elenium…”
“She has admired His Grace since childhood and followed him around, but failed. Rumor says she ended up marrying the Marquis because the Archduke never even looked at her…”
Ding. Ding. Ding.
A bell rang inside my head.
Of course.
This is a romance fantasy world.
Of course something like this would happen.
And I had a very bad feeling—
My peaceful life here was about to get a lot worse.
