“Welcome back, Your Highness.”

A man who had cleared a wall more than twice a person’s height in a single bound was none other than Grand Duke Evander.

“Did you have to go in that way? You have a reputation to uphold, Your Highness.”

Grand Duke Evander shook his head at Derick’s disapproving tone.

“I can’t stand unnecessary fuss. And keeping my whereabouts hidden as much as possible matters too.”

Derick nodded.

There was no other way to avoid the eyes of Helena, scattered throughout the principality.

“Still, Miss Alicia must be thrilled. Receiving a precious ring set with a magic stone as a gift.”

“I thought so too.”

A meaningful smile formed at the corners of Grand Duke Evander’s lips. Derick, watching him, asked carefully.

“Why? Does she want something more expensive?”

“No. She refused it.”

“……Pardon?”

“A young lady known for her love of luxury and indulgence refused a high-priced ring set with a magic stone. I practically forced it on her before I left.”

Grand Duke Evander’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Alicia so unlike her reputation.

“Ha, she really is an impossible person to read.”

“That she is. Which is why she’s all the more interesting.”

Derick watched Grand Duke Evander let out a quiet laugh, then went to retrieve the horse tied to the tree.

“By the way, Your Highness, that ring…… wasn’t it your mother’s keepsake?”

“It was. Practically an heirloom.”

“Is it all right to give something that precious to the young lady?”

Grand Duke Evander’s gaze grew heavy at the question.

“Right now, the young lady matters more to me than the ring. She must arrive in the capital safely, without fail.”

Lieutenant Derick listened and slowly nodded, as though he finally understood.

“I see. The road back to the principality’s castle will not be safe either.”

“Right. That child won’t sit by and do nothing. Of course you will escort her discreetly, but just in case. And.”

Grand Duke Evander paused and slowly walked toward the window as he continued.

“The ring, I can get back later.”

“But what if something happens to the young lady?”

Derick’s question came from genuine concern.

“That is nothing to worry about.”

Grand Duke Evander’s gaze settled on the comital residence.

“If it comes to a situation where I cannot get it back, it means everything has failed. And I will no longer exist either.”

Derick could not ask anything more.

It was because of the look in his lord’s eyes, growing more resolute by the moment.

Within them, alongside that determination, lay a sad and quiet resolve.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Two days before Alicia was to leave for the capital.

The maids of the Windmore comital household had gathered in clusters here and there, whispering about yet another problem.

The question of which maid would accompany Miss Alicia to the capital.

“Haa, I suppose one of us will have to go.”

A sigh heavy with tension and dread echoed through the corridor.

“Who would want to go in this situation? Everyone knows the rumors about His Highness the Grand Duke.”

“That’s not all. They say if you fall out of favor with Helena, the whole family is finished.”

“Right. From what I’ve heard, the Shteng family’s destruction was her doing too.”

“Shh. Be careful. If someone reports us, we’re the ones who’ll be finished.”

The maids dropped their voices at once.

They shook their heads firmly, faces tight.

“Anyway, I am absolutely not going. No matter who goes, it won’t be me.”

“But there’s no other way. We don’t have a choice.”

“Haa.”

Sighs broke out all at once.

One of them looked toward Rina.

“Rina, what about you?”

“Hm? Me?”

“You’ve served the Miss longer than any of us.”

“……”

Rina could not bring herself to answer right away.

She had devoted herself to Alicia all this time, but leaving her hometown with her life on the line was an entirely different matter.

On top of that, having witnessed the poisoning incident firsthand, the maids’ talk of lives hanging in the balance felt all too real to Rina.

There was another, more important reason as well.

“Then again, it wouldn’t be easy for you either, Rina. With no parents left…… and younger siblings to look after.”

The biggest reason she could not decide easily.

‘What should I do……’

She forced a smile, but her heart was not at ease.

The maids’ grave deliberations went on and on.

And every one of those heavy sighs was reaching Alicia clearly through the door.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Alicia, leaning against the door and listening, let out a quiet sigh.

The sight of the maids, afraid.

In a way, it was entirely understandable.

The fate of the mistress determines the fate of those who serve her.

It had been the same back then.

Buried under a mountain of false charges, locked away in an underground cell.

She had been waiting for her verdict in a darkness where she could no longer even count the days.

Creak.

The door swung open with unusual roughness, and a man walked in.

“My, what a difficult time you must be having.”

Chief Minister Jeffrey Wagner.

The man who had played the most central role in branding Seraphiel a traitor.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. How did things come to this.”

He asked with a twist of his lips, a protruding belly and an extravagantly wide mustache.

“What…… brings you here?”

Even under Seraphiel’s gaze, filled with bitter resentment, Chief Minister Jeffrey did not flinch. He called out to the soldier behind him.

“Why, I have business to attend to. Men, show her what you’ve brought.”

Before the words had even finished, a soldier threw something in front of her.

Thud. Roll.

Something that rolled like a well-dried pig’s bladder came to a stop at her feet.

The room was pitch-dark save for the light seeping through the gap in the door. But it did not take long to understand what it was.

“Why is she……”

Lying on the ground in a wretched state was the head of Sophia, the lady’s maid who had served her all her life.

An indescribable pain and guilt came crashing over her. The reality that someone had died because of her, for her sake, shattered her from within.

“She was such a kind girl, caring for her ailing mother……”

Her voice trembled, and her eyes burned hot.

“Someone must bear responsibility for failing to properly serve the Crown Princess and losing the imperial heir.”

“How can you commit such an atrocity? This girl was innocent……”

“Keh, keh keh keh.”

Chief Minister Jeffrey burst out laughing.

No. He sneered.

“I’m laughing so hard I could cry.”

Wiping away his tears, Chief Minister Jeffrey barely held back his amusement and looked down at Alicia.

“How amusing. You’re dying because of yourself, yet you hold me responsible. Did not all of this stem from your own incompetence?”

“……”

Every word from Chief Minister Jeffrey pierced her heart like a poisoned needle. Just as he said, she had been utterly powerless, unable to do anything at all.

“Remember this. I will never forget you……”

“To be remembered by the noble Crown Princess. What an honor.”

At his mocking words, a venomous light rose in Seraphiel’s red eyes. But Chief Minister Jeffrey only smiled, as though the sight satisfied him.

“Well then, until we meet again. Ah, I suppose that will have to be in the next life. Heh heh heh.”

Chief Minister Jeffrey’s laughter grew more and more distant.

Silence returned.

All that remained was the head of the young lady’s maid who had served her all her life.

“Haa……”

A wound from the past that had not dulled even slightly.

Alicia rubbed her dry face and steadied her breathing with great effort.

Right. Going alone is the right choice.

She could not let someone be sacrificed again.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

The next day.

With Rina’s help, all the preparations for the journey to the capital were complete.

“This much luggage should be enough.”

“……Really?”

Rina could not help but be surprised, knowing Alicia better than anyone as someone who had indulged in luxury and extravagance.

“What about the clothes and jewelry here?”

“Give the jewelry to my brother. Distribute the clothes among the maids.”

“What? But Miss……”

“Rina, you pick first. How about this dress?”

Rina stared at Alicia without a word.

‘She’s acting strange. That dress is genuinely expensive. Could it be……’

A thought struck her.

‘She’s trying to…… choose me……’

The very idea made her dizzy.

A lowly maid had no right to refuse a young lady’s choice.

The faces of her younger brother Sam, her younger sisters, and the youngest, still so small, flashed through her mind. Four siblings in all.

“……No. I’m fine.”

“Why? You should pick first while there’s still something you like.”

“I’m fine, none of them would fit me anyway.”

Rina pushed out her round belly and forced a smile. Alicia set down the clothes she had been holding.

“Don’t worry. The person I’m taking with me isn’t you.”

“……Pardon?”

“I already know. Everyone has been worried about the trip to the capital.”

Alicia clearly knew everything, and Rina could not bring herself to deny it.

“Then who…… are you thinking of taking?”

“I’m going alone.”

“……Pardon?”

“So you don’t need to worry.”