[CHAPTER 75]
For Dianu Ortensa, modesty was the strongest shield of all.
Any tutor would agree that the greatest worry when taking a new position was the unwanted attention of the men of the household.
Even if the feelings were mutual, it was still a problem.
No parent wanted their precious son entangled with a woman of low status who had become a tutor because she lacked a dowry or could not marry.
That was precisely what the headmistress of Sirene Girls’ School worried about most when Dianu said she wanted to become a tutor.
“No household wants a young and pretty tutor, Miss Ortensa.”
She warned that before her youth faded, Dianu would surely become entangled with the employer’s son or nephew and come to a bad end.
Whether the feelings were one sided or mutual, all the blame would fall on Dianu alone.
The reason the headmistress wrote a letter of recommendation to the Erbinjel household was likely because there were no men there who would harass Dianu.
At first, even Count Demion Erbinjel was a figure to be wary of.
She soon came to understand his character and was able to put her mind at ease.
Still, she could not let her guard down.
Living as an unmarried lady in the Catalos Empire meant exactly that.
Without a husband to protect her, she had to defend her own honor and reputation.
It was not because she thought it was right.
She knew that women in the neighboring Arasas Empire enjoyed far greater social freedom regardless of marital status.
She had read many essays by thinkers who criticized the outdated customs of Catalos.
But in the reality Dianu lived in, she was always standing at the edge of a cliff.
If she stopped to argue whether her existence was right or wrong, she would fall in an instant.
So Dianu desperately built walls.
She always dressed plainly and modestly.
She never accepted gifts from men.
She treated gentlemen who showed interest kindly but kept them at a firm distance.
When necessary, she used the authority of the Grand Duchess of Erbinjel.
The Grand Duchess, who knew Dianu’s situation well, had told her to freely make use of her name.
Only by becoming a woman whose conduct left no room for criticism could she continue this work.
After realizing that, Dianu had maintained this attitude without exception.
Then she met Rision.
And to love him, she decided to tear down the walls she had built so carefully with her own hands.
She would be criticized.
She would be mocked.
Even if people flattered her to her face, behind her back they would gossip and call her a temptress.
That was fine.
If that was the price she had to pay to love the Emperor, she was willing to pay it.
But it seemed she had not been prepared to face such crude and vicious condemnation.
“Who do you think you’re repenting to, and for what?”
“Just because His Majesty showed you a little interest, do you think that makes you something special?”
Tears clung to the corners of Bertona Aldebaron’s eyes as she shouted.
Dianu was dumbfounded.
She was the one who had been slapped, yet Bertona acted as if she were the victim.
“How long do you think you can keep that… filthy relationship with His Majesty?”
“If he meant to keep you by his side, he would have married you off to a respectable family long ago and made you a proper lady!”
Dianu slowly lowered the hand that had been covering her swollen cheek.
The chest that had burned with anger and disbelief grew cold.
Bertona stamped her foot as if she could not contain her temper.
She seemed not to even consider that someone might hear her voice.
“If it gets out that you’re no better than a back alley woman, do you think any gentleman would want to marry you?”
“The moment His Majesty grows tired of you, you’re finished.”
“Finished!”
Why does this woman hate me so much?
In truth, Dianu had even regretted snapping at Bertona’s rude attitude when they first properly spoke.
She had thought it no different from a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.
After Elpenlira opened her heart, that feeling only grew stronger.
From a maid’s perspective, a tutor who suddenly wedged herself into Oak Palace and claimed a place beside the Princess would hardly look pleasant.
She thought being hated could not be helped.
Unlike Luicilla, who quickly changed her attitude, Bertona was the type who could not suppress personal resentment.
She had even intended to overlook the incident where a maid was ordered to ruin her clothes.
That incident had brought her and Rision closer, so she tried to think it was not entirely bad and let it pass.
“Hey.”
But she could not endure it any longer.
“You’re really rotten, aren’t you?”
Perhaps because of her light tone, Bertona did not immediately realize the words were directed at her.
Only after a few seconds did her already flushed face turn even redder.
Her eyes, wide as kettle lids, blinked in disbelief.
“What… did you just say to me…?”
“I thought you were just stupid, but are your ears blocked too?”
“I said you’re rotten.”
It was obvious she had never heard such words in her life.
Bertona staggered as if she had been stabbed rather than insulted.
When Dianu stepped closer, Bertona flinched and raised both arms to shield her face.
Dianu sneered at her.
“What?”
“You hit me, but you don’t want to be hit back?”
The moment the humiliated Bertona lowered her arms, Dianu thrust her face forward as if she had been waiting for it.
Bertona let out a small scream and stumbled backward.
“You keep saying I won’t be able to get married…”
“I’ve known I wouldn’t marry since I was ten years old.”
“W what…?”
“Insulting me is one thing,”
“but where did you learn to treat His Majesty like a scoundrel?”
“You’re not just bold, you’re bursting at the seams.”
Bertona’s face went pale.
Only then did she seem to realize that her words could be taken as an insult to the Emperor himself.
“W what?”
“How could someone like me dare…?”
“Not long ago,”
“was there not an incident where someone searched Miss Ortensa’s room?”
Cora’s fear filled gaze turned toward Countess Ornin.
Only after seeing the head maid nod encouragingly did she manage to speak.
“Yes.”
“Regrettably… such an incident did occur.”
“Miss Dianu said nothing was missing, however…”
“I believe it was the work of an insider.”
That was the tentative conclusion Rision reached after inspecting the security of Oak Palace with Sir Marek Loisen.
This was a palace where imperial ladies resided.
The security was as strict as that of the Imperial Palace itself.
While he, Elpenlira, and Dianu were visiting the Erbinjel Grand Duchy, there was no sign of outsiders entering the palace or any suspicious individuals being spotted.
In the end, it pointed to an insider.
Dianu seemed unwilling to believe that the maid attending her could have done such a thing, but Rision thought otherwise.
If not bribery, then blackmail was possible.
Threaten someone’s family and most people would yield.
And the Belua Duke was someone who could erase a maid and her family without a trace.
Still, Dianu seemed to place particular trust in this maid named Cora.
Rision decided to trust her judgment.
“Miss Ortensa values you highly,”
“and the head maid here also speaks well of you.”
“So I too will place my trust in you and entrust you with an important task.”
Unable to endure any longer, Cora finally dropped to her knees.
She bowed her head and muttered, making it hard to hear clearly, but it seemed she was saying someone like her could not possibly be of help.
“Watch the situation in Oak Palace carefully,”
“and report anything unusual to the head maid here.”
“What you see and hear yourself is fine,”
“and so are rumors circulating among the maids.”
He paused before adding,
“I am doing this to protect Miss Ortensa.”
“Do you understand?”
Cora nodded, then hurriedly answered yes.
At Rision’s signal, Countess Ornin handed Cora a pouch she had prepared in advance.
“This is His Majesty’s gift to you.”
“You may go.”
After bowing hastily, Cora practically ran out of the head maid’s office.
Rision pressed his aching eyelids firmly.
Countess Ornin spoke to him cautiously.
“Shall I summon Miss Ortensa?”
After a moment of hesitation, Rision shook his head.
He wanted to see her, but he did not have the confidence to pretend composure right now.
It had not been long since he had barely pulled her out of the Belua Duke’s affair.
He wanted her to stop worrying about such matters and enjoy her life in the Imperial Palace in peace.
To do that, I need to settle the Duke’s matter quickly.
Unless he rooted out everyone who could threaten Dianu, he felt he would never be at ease.
It was time to consult Ravelan Arasas.
He could not delay any longer.
