Chapter 35: The Missing Duchess

I thought I had learned a lot by becoming the Duchess of Keppel. However, it was only that I could now see the world from a higher vantage point. But when my position changed again and I was no longer a noble, I started noticing things I hadn’t seen before. Like these, for example:

“About the Duchess of Keppel—she didn’t go away to recover.”

“What? Then what happened?”

“She’s gone missing.”

I never knew commoners were so interested in the lives of nobles. Now that I think about it, nobles do tend to be beautiful and well-dressed, so they must seem like celebrities in this world. And among them, I had recently become a huge star.

“That’s right. They say the Duke of Keppel only claimed she went away to recover, but in reality, he’s been fiercely searching for the missing Duchess all over the place.”

“Nobody’s seen her since the title ceremony.”

“I’ve heard about it too. They say wizards kidnapped her.”

“What? Why?”

“Probably to threaten the Duke of Keppel and Count Hershey.”

“Right. Those bastards even attacked Her Majesty the Empress, and the Duchess of Keppel was stabbed in her place.”

“Maybe they took revenge because their plan failed?”

I ignored my coworkers at the opera house gossiping about me and continued with my work. My work being… cleaning. But it seems I’m the only one cleaning while the others are just chatting. Ah, the sorrows of being the youngest.

“So, is she dead?”

“Probably? They say the Duke of Keppel holds a funeral for every unidentified body that turns up, just in case it’s the missing Duchess.”

Autumn was already fading away. It had been three months since I left the Keppel household. Honestly, I had hoped to be declared missing. That way, people who believed I might be dead would pressure Ian to remarry. But Ian kept up the official stance that I was just away for recovery, and so the social season ended with that.

Even so, my disappearance only made my popularity skyrocket, thanks to Ian’s actions. Ian didn’t publicly announce my disappearance, but a few days ago, he published my portrait in the newspaper, calling me the first woman to receive the highest honor. His true intention was probably to have people recognize me and help find me. Otherwise, there was no reason to advertise the award I received months ago now.

“But she really is incredibly beautiful.”

“What would it feel like to live with a face like that?”

And so, my portrait caused a stir, and thanks to that, the official reason for my award became known. Meanwhile, unofficially, stories spread about how I sacrificed my life to save the Empress, even knowing that my husband loved her. These days, my story is being romanticized as the tragic life of a beautiful woman. Ha ha ha…

“Walter’s such a lucky bastard. At least he got to go on a date with her once.”

“Hey, don’t even bring it up in front of him. He got drunk and cried his eyes out.”

“Oh dear, poor Walter. He must still really like her.”

Well, to me, Walter’s tears seemed more like tears of capitalism. He was doing just fine until my portrait spread and people started showing interest; then all of a sudden, his weeping and wailing felt like a performance.

Recently, there’s even been talk about making an opera based on my story, with Walter rumored to take the lead role. I don’t even want to imagine what the storyline would be. As I was finishing up the cleaning by myself, a familiar face approached and spoke to me.

“Anne, I’ll take care of the rest. You should sit down and rest.”

“Huh? It’s okay…”

“You’re not feeling well, right?”

I was so grateful to Betty, who was always looking out for me, that I beamed at her. Betty was a friend I met when I first arrived at this opera house. Initially, I came to the opera house intending to blackmail Walter into helping me using the murder threat letter he had sent me. He had written in his letter that, with no clear identity, the only way he could make a living was by singing.

However, when I actually came to the opera house, I couldn’t meet Walter. Unlike Isabella, who would find me on her own when I was near because of my magical presence, I couldn’t expect the same from Walter.

In the end, I had no choice but to ask the woman sitting at the ticket booth to deliver a letter to Walter, and that woman was Betty.

Betty had sighed deeply and then told me that if I really wanted to meet Walter, I might as well try out for the audition that day and become his coworker. Fortunately, I passed the audition and got the job without having to blackmail Walter.

“Oh, by the way, would you like to work with me tonight?”

“Huh?”

“You know I sing at the pub, right? I need some friends to help with the chorus. If you want to come, I’ll pay you.”

“Really?”

I was so happy about the unexpected offer that I eagerly nodded. Betty hurriedly finished the cleaning and grabbed my hand. I followed her, and we practiced the chorus with the other coworkers who had already arrived. They were all minor performers like me who were struggling to make ends meet. Betty must have gone out of her way to gather friends like me and look after us.

Winter was approaching. When winter comes, I’ll need heating, and if I don’t want to catch pneumonia from washing in cold water, I’ll need to heat the water too, so I’ll need a lot of firewood.

The price of firewood in the capital was three times higher than in the countryside, where I used to live with my mother. Understandably so, since there’s no nearby forest. I still had some money left, but I would need to save up for travel expenses if I wanted to leave the capital in the spring, so it seemed like a good idea to earn what I could while I could.

“But is it okay to bring this dress?”

Feeling uneasy, I looked over the dress I was wearing to see if there were any damages. Betty, sensing my worry, playfully reassured me.

“Who cares? It’s not like we ever wear these clothes anyway.”

We had borrowed the stage costumes without the opera director’s permission. My outfit was just a common maid’s dress, so it wouldn’t matter much if it got a little dirty, but Betty’s dress had once been worn by the prima donna, and if it got ruined, we’d be in big trouble. I wasn’t sure if this was okay. I was worried but didn’t dare mention it, fearing they’d tell me to back out.

Betty flaunted her fancy dress as she entered the pub where tonight’s performance was happening. The three of us who were in charge of the chorus followed her like maids. There was a fairly large stage in the pub, and the guitarist sitting there waved when he saw Betty. He was Betty’s boyfriend.

“Make sure to nail the chorus just like we practiced.”

I nodded in response to Betty’s words. As dusk fell, the pub started to fill up with people. Since it was in a fairly developed commercial district, there were quite a few well-dressed patrons among the crowd.

While Betty sang, I joined the other chorus members in singing as we had rehearsed. Betty had promised to sing five songs, and as soon as she was done, she handed over the money. Counting the coins in my hand, I felt a surge of happiness.

“We’ll head out first. Call us next time!”

Betty seemed in high spirits, having received a good amount of tips. She and her boyfriend left the pub, their arms wrapped around each other’s waists.

“Shall we grab a drink too?”

“This place is too expensive. Let’s go somewhere cheaper.”

I hesitated for a moment but then decided to follow them, thinking it might be a good opportunity to make friends other than Betty. Although I had lived in the capital for over three years, this was my first time coming to a place like this. As we entered a back alley that nobles would never frequent, we found a worn-out, old pub. Unlike the place we had just sung at, this one seemed to cater to the working class, and the patrons all looked worn out by life.

“Not bad, right?”

The redhead who offered me a beer grinned. What was their name again? I awkwardly smiled and nodded. I couldn’t tell if the beer was good, but it was drinkable. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember the names of these two. It wasn’t because I had a bad memory, but because the three of us were among the least likely to be noticed members of the opera company.

“By the way, what’s your name again?”

“Anne.”

“Ah, right. That’s what Betty called you. Are you close with Betty?”

Close? Could I say that? We had only known each other for about three months… As I hesitated, the redhead chuckled and said,

“Not very close, huh?”

“No, we’re close.”

Maybe my answer was too timid because they both burst out laughing.

“We’re connected by fate, so let’s get closer too. We need to stick together and help each other out.”

“Yeah, Anne, you’re probably more comfortable with us than with Betty, right?”

In the opera company, the prima donna’s status was immense, to the point where her nose might as well be higher than that of Princess Ophelia.

Betty wasn’t the prima donna, but she was talented enough to be considered for the position and pretty enough to be seated at the ticketing booth to attract customers, so the other members found her somewhat intimidating. But she’s actually a nice person. While I was lost in my thoughts, their conversation had already moved on.

“But she’s really transparent, isn’t she?”

“…You noticed too?”

“Right, right. Weren’t we just props?”

“Exactly. She probably thinks she looks prettier by making us stand in the background.”

“…?”

“Man, we spent the whole day practicing, and this is all the money we got…”

“Exactly. What’s 20 nips anyway?”

I had been so happy with my 20 nips, but now I suddenly feel awkward. Why had this turned into a Betty-bashing session? I couldn’t join in, but I also couldn’t just get up and leave, so I sipped my beer awkwardly. This beer costs 3 nips per glass, so it would be a shame to waste it.

“I saw she made at least 10 leads.”

Whoa. Really? My eyes widened in surprise.

“I saw it too. One of her tips was a check.”

In our world, checks are blank checks issued by noble families who regularly transact with the bank. In other words, one of the people who tipped Betty was a noble, and since the denominations recorded in the checkbook are usually in leads, I couldn’t tell exactly how much Betty had earned, but it must have been a lot. Wow, I’m so jealous.

“She can’t even sing that well, but because she’s pretty, she makes that much money… Ugh, this rotten world.”

“And she changes boyfriends all the time.”

“I heard she spends all the money she makes on contraceptives.”

“If she made that much, shouldn’t she have given us at least one lead each?”

Why do they care if she has a boyfriend or not?