Chapter 36
The master’s mouth was about to mention the maid’s name again. The butler slightly raised his eyebrow at that fact. However, the head maid nodded calmly in response without any change in expression.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“…I see.”
Looking somewhat displeased, Heivan replied after a beat and set down his teacup.
Tok, tok.
Heivan tapped the desk a couple of times with his fingertips, then shook his head and changed the subject.
“By the way, are the preparations for the inspection going well?”
“Ah! Yes, Your Grace. Everything is proceeding smoothly without any issues. As for the security detail…”
The butler promptly began his report, as if he had been waiting for the question. Standing beside him, the head maid waited patiently until the butler finished, then opened her mouth.
“Your Grace, may I speak with you on one matter?”
“Of course.”
Heivan looked at the head maid and nodded readily. But despite his permission, the head maid hesitated. Heivan gave her a puzzled look at her unusual behavior, and she cautiously began to speak.
“What would you think of taking the young lady with you on this inspection?”
“…Plita?”
At the unexpected suggestion, Heivan furrowed his brow. The butler, also taken aback, widened his eyes and looked at the head maid. She continued speaking despite their reactions.
“Yes, Your Grace. The young lady has never been on a trip before. She’s at an age where she should see, hear, feel, and experience many things, yet she’s spent all her time confined within the ducal estate.”
“…I’ve never ordered that the child be kept locked up.”
Heivan frowned at the head maid’s words. He was clearly displeased by the implication that the child had been “confined.” The head maid smiled and nodded.
“Of course not. And who would dare confine the young lady?”
Naturally. The butler nodded along in agreement with her words. The head maid glanced briefly at him, then added:
“However—”
“…However?”
Heivan’s gaze turned back to her.
“The young lady is still a child. Without permission from her guardian, she cannot leave the estate on her own. In fact, without an adult accompanying her, she cannot go out at all.”
“Isn’t that only natural? Plita is no ordinary child.”
The daughter of a Grand Duke—whose father stood closest to the throne—had to be protected all the more for it. Countless people would attempt to approach the child, whether to gain favor or to keep her in check.
“So it’s a necessary measure. Being young doesn’t exempt her.”
As he said this, Heivan swallowed a bitter smile. He suddenly recalled what his parents had once told him when he rebelled, wanting to live freely.
“As long as the blood of Guenters flows in your veins, as long as you were born a child of the king, you have responsibilities and duties you must uphold. You cannot abandon them, nor run away from them—how can you not understand this?”
His mother had said that to scold her naïve son, who had once snuck out of the palace to see the outside world. He had rebelled so much, hating those words.
Yet now, wasn’t he becoming just like them?
Compared to him, his daughter was mild-mannered and obedient. The head maid nodded, as if she acknowledged that about Plita.
“Even though she’s young, she understands that—hence, she has never once thrown a tantrum. But Your Grace, haven’t you noticed that she’s been acting more like a child lately?”
“……”
Heivan fell silent. He couldn’t deny her words.
The head maid smiled gently and continued.
“Since Roze became the young lady’s personal maid, she’s started to act more like a child. She’s become more curious and has taken interest in the world outside. Her nanny once came to me in tears, complaining that the young lady had been influenced by a lowly maid… but I don’t see that as a bad thing.”
“……”
“You’ve seen the change yourself, Your Grace. If you disliked it, you wouldn’t rush your work or postpone your schedule just to dine with the young lady.”
Heivan frowned, unable to come up with a rebuttal. Sensing this, the head maid pressed further.
“I heard that during your inspection, you’ll be visiting Middlepeon—just in time for a festival being held there. I’m told it’s quite a large event, drawing crowds from neighboring territories.”
“……”
“There are frequent street performances, which children particularly enjoy.”
At those words, Heivan let out a sigh. Seeing him pondering with a furrowed brow, a smile tugged at the head maid’s lips. The butler, watching his master, also smiled quietly.
At that moment, Heivan looked less like a Grand Duke and more like a young father of a little girl—
A young father flustered by inexperience and awkwardness.
“Hmm…”
After a moment of silence, Heivan awkwardly rubbed his chin and looked at the head maid.
“You seem to know quite a bit about this festival—as if you planned this all along.”
“Of course not.”
The head maid flinched for a moment but quickly answered with a calm expression. Heivan gave a small chuckle and nodded.
“Well, then… Let’s go with your suggestion. Plita can come along. There’s no harm in bringing one more child.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
“And only her personal maid will accompany her.”
“…Shall we leave the nanny behind?”
The head maid asked, surprised by the instruction. Heivan nodded.
“I don’t think the nanny needs to come. She wasn’t around yesterday either, and the child didn’t seem particularly bothered.”
In fact, he had a feeling Plita preferred being with Roze rather than the nanny. The head maid bowed politely.
“As you wish, Your Grace.”
“Make sure preparations are ready so we can depart the day after our guests leave.”
Heivan’s expression was oddly uplifted as he gave instructions to the butler and the head maid—even though it was a routine inspection trip.
* * *
“It would’ve been nice if the Grand Duke joined us.”
The Duchess set down her teacup and spoke. Isabella let out a sigh, as if she had been waiting for the moment, and replied weakly with a sorrowful expression.
“Indeed. I even asked the head maid to relay my message before tea time…”
“He refused again, didn’t he?”
Seeing Isabella trail off, the Duchess clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Even if he’s a Grand Duke, how can he be so rude to Her Majesty the Queen Dowager? I’m ashamed and embarrassed on his behalf. Aside from last night’s banquet, he hasn’t shown his face at all. No, even during the banquet, he was utterly discourteous…”
“Please, don’t say that. Perhaps I’m just lacking in his eyes.”
Isabella sighed again and forced a smile. Seeing this, the Duchess shook her head and objected.
“How could Her Majesty be lacking in anything? You’re beautiful and dignified. It’s Heivan, that stubborn boy, who’s causing all this trouble. What loyalty does he owe his brother—especially one who’s already dead—”
“Duchess, please.”
Isabella pressed a hand to her chest, pulled out a handkerchief, and dabbed at her eyes. Then, with a faint smile, she gripped the handkerchief tightly.
“I’d rather not speak about the late king. I haven’t fully processed my grief yet.”
“Oh dear, that was insensitive of me.”
The Duchess hurriedly apologized. Isabella responded appropriately and wiped her eyes a few more times. But her lips trembled faintly.
Riveus.
Her husband, whom she had killed with her own hands. She didn’t want to talk about him—let alone listen to others speak of him.
Even if the dead could no longer do anything to the living, she didn’t want to remember, nor did she want to be reminded.
Just as Isabella was trying to fix her expression and smile again, the Duchess paused her tea and glanced with interest at Roze, who had been attending to them.
“Ah, are you the young lady’s personal maid?”
“Yes? Oh, yes, I am.”
Roze, who had been quietly tending to the tea, was momentarily startled by the sudden question but soon responded in a soft voice. The Duchess looked at her with curiosity and spoke again.
“I heard you saved the young lady’s life.”
“…Yes.”
“That was quite the deed. Even if she is only half royal blood, she’s still of the Guenters’ line—and nearly lost, at that.”
Disdain toward Plita was evident in the Duchess’s words. In that moment, Roze’s lips pressed tightly together. Isabella didn’t miss it.
She twisted her lips slightly and quickly interrupted.
“Exactly. Even for one’s own child, such a deed is not easy. You’ve done something remarkable. Your name… was it Roze?”
“…Yes.”
Roze’s eyes widened in surprise, then dropped as she answered. Her heart pounded wildly. How did the Queen Dowager know her name? Had she recognized her?
The Duchess, equally surprised, turned to Isabella.
“You even remember the name of a mere maid? And not even a royal maid?”
“She saved Plita’s life and now serves as her personal attendant. It’s only right that I know her name.”
“My, my… If only Heivan knew how much Your Majesty cared.”
