10. Secrets to the Grave

Mrs. Wellers really left.

My heart had been pounding with fear that she might discover my feigned illness, but she only left a simple message: ‘Take care of yourself.’

I was still dumbfounded.

Though I wondered if this was really acceptable, the canceled schedule made my heart feel as light as if I were flying.

Annie, watching me pace between the window and the middle of the room, smiled as if I were hopeless. She was in the process of transferring tea powder, said to be good for colds, into a porcelain jar.

Though it was just a pretend illness, I had somehow received a gift of flower tea from the Duke, who seemed to have heard about my condition.

“May I join you?”

I felt sorry for Annie, as it seemed I had created more work.

Normally, after finishing my morning preparations, Annie would have been off duty for the rest of the day. But because of my fake excuse about being sick, she had been instructed to look after me a bit longer.

“Pardon?”

Annie raised her head at my suggestion. Her expression, which had always seemed cold, now felt somewhat more familiar.

“I’m rather quick with my hands. And I was feeling a bit bored, actually.”

I added with a slightly shy smile.

“Would you like to?”

I was glad she didn’t refuse my request.

I pulled over a chair that was beside her and perched lightly on its edge. It seemed somewhat funny that the person who had feigned illness was now dividing up her own get-well gift alongside her accomplice.

But it was somehow enjoyable.

Using tools like tweezers, we transferred dried flower petals into white porcelain containers. Though the pieces weren’t small, they had the disadvantage of not being easily picked up.

We sorted the flower petals in silence. It seemed to take a bit longer than expected.

But compared to having tea with Mrs. Wellers, there was nothing to complain about. No, it was more like a healing time that brought peace to mind and body.

As the sorted flower petals accumulated, the midday sunlight pouring in from outside gradually diminished. When the shadow on the windowsill had stretched to its fullest, we finally finished all our work.

Annie placed the porcelain containers one by one into the cabinet, and I watched her.

As a stranger to the ducal family, I had no idea where the tea sets belonged, so it wasn’t something I could help with. She had also firmly drawn the line that she couldn’t make me work anymore.

“It seems quite late now, you should head back.”

I quickly spoke to her, remembering that she didn’t usually stay at the ducal residence.

“But……”

Annie seemed to hesitate for some reason. Was she worried about leaving me alone and having my fake illness discovered by others in the castle?

She seemed to have a timid side despite confidently suggesting I play hooky.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Annie. I’ll keep our secret to the grave.”

I bid her farewell once more.

Then I saw Annie clutching the hem of her skirt so tightly it wrinkled.

“Please let me stay. I want to see you fall asleep before I go.”

“Pardon……?”

“Please allow me, Miss.”

Though I wasn’t really sick, she seemed unusually concerned about me today. Her eyes trembled as if anxious.

“Do you really want to?”

“Yes.”

Since she had freed me from stress today, I should grant her wish. Even if what she wanted was something this trivial.

“Very well, then.”

At my words, Annie let out a sigh of relief.

After telling her to make herself comfortable, I went to the desk and took out the letter envelopes piled in the drawer. They all came from the same address.

I began opening the letter envelopes naturally, as if Annie weren’t there with me.

Certainly at first, I had been conscious of sharing space with someone else. Of course, even during my time at home, I rarely had time to myself. But there, only family members connected by blood existed.

I had nothing to hide from Elaine and Theo.

Oh, no, there were a few things. The family’s economic situation, which was more desperate than it appeared, and the debt collectors. And the fact that Levery wasn’t my ordinary friend but a bank clerk who visited to collect debts.

But I swear that was all I hid from them. Apart from that, sharing everything with family was completely natural in our home.

Therefore, living with a complete stranger who wasn’t family required tremendous resolve from me. But here, for most of the day, Annie or other people were often with me.

During bath time, meal times, and even at bedtime, someone was beside me. Moreover, they weren’t just present. They never let me do even the most trivial things with my own hands. As a perfectly capable adult, receiving such meticulous care was quite burdensome.

Nevertheless, all of this had become routine.

While this fake engagement continued, it was a situation I had to adapt to. I could confidently bet my entire fortune that Mrs. Wellers’ intensive education had played a major role in shaping my attitude.

I scattered the letters I had received across the desk as if I had forgotten Annie was in the room. The letter papers filled with private contents were spread out on the desk.

“Miss……”

I raised my head at Annie’s slightly timid, trembling voice.

“Yes?”

When I turned around, her expression seemed somewhat anxious. Her face had turned a bit pale, and I could see sweat beading on her forehead.

“I’m sorry. May I leave now?”

Ah, I understand. She forgot some urgent matter because she was staying with me. She didn’t need to be so concerned about me.

Annie really seemed a bit strange today.

But I also found it somewhat cute that she was hesitating so much before finally saying she wanted to leave.

“Go ahead.”

No sooner had my words been heard than Annie silently bowed her head and ran toward the exit with small steps.

“Annie, goodbye.”

I called out to the back of her head as she was about to disappear through the door.

“Yes, sleep well.”

Soon I heard the sound of the door closing. At that moment, I picked up the letter paper I had spread out on the desk again.

Silence fell, except for the sound of wind made by the candle flame flickering on the lamp wick.

The mood was languid yet refreshing in this peace found after a long time.

There wasn’t much content in Theo’s letter.

The entire content was just saying he was eating well and doing fine. Even that one line seemed to have been written reluctantly at Mother’s insistence. The flowing handwriting exuded annoyance.

That boy, is he going through puberty now?

I chuckled and picked up the next letter. Seeing the mint-colored stationery, it seemed to be from my younger sister.

Unlike Theo’s, this one had lengthy stories that went on and on.

Stories about how her music teacher was surprised by her rapidly improving playing skills, how he would recommend her to a music college sponsored by the imperial family, how she received a brooch from a friend she met at church, and so on.

There were even multiple layers of stationery. Several more pages covered with dense writing were visible behind.

Though I was clearly reading the letter with my eyes, it felt like my ears were bleeding.

Ah, Elaine. I’m sorry. Reading all this in one breath is too much for your sister.

I’ll have to take a break before continuing.

I declared surrender, pushing away the afterimage of Elaine who seemed to be chattering to me in the air with both hands.

That’s when it happened.

A knocking sound came from the door.

Is it Annie?

“Annie?”

Whether she didn’t hear my voice or not, silence fell. After feeling the silence was strangely long, I called for Annie once more.

“Annie……? Did you forget something?”

There was no answer. Instead, once again, a strong and concise knocking sound echoed.

Why is she doing that?

While I was wondering, the knocking sound was heard once more with a tap.

I froze in place, not even thinking to gather the scattered letter papers.

Is it not Annie?

Then who could that person be?

There was no one who would deliberately come looking for me at this hour. I hadn’t received any indication that someone would visit me today, except for Mrs. Wellers.

What was the security like here? I hadn’t heard much about it. I had just vaguely assumed it would be good since it was inside the ducal residence.

If an intruder entered here, what were the chances I would be safe? It was right to assume those chances were almost non-existent.

The title of being Young Master Riverton’s fiancée was just an empty shell. And that fact was so public that even a snot-nosed baby in the Riverton territory would know it.

Then wouldn’t I be an easy target for an intruder?

The moment I recalled this important fact, I could only feel frustrated. I was so angry at myself for being so careless.

Moreover, this place was originally a public reception room of the ducal residence, temporarily remodeled. Because it was originally a reception room, it was located near the entrance of the ducal residence.

Of course, knight guards patrolled all areas of the ducal residence in shifts, but this wasn’t a close protection area.

The most hopeful scenario would be a drunk person mistaking this place for still being the reception room?

Tap.

When the knocking sound was heard again, I felt the tips of my hands and feet getting a bit cold. My body was about to tremble like an aspen tree.

I needed to stay calm.

“W-who is it?”

My fear was clearly evident in the words I barely managed to utter.

Please let it be nothing serious.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t locked the door after Annie left earlier. This meant that whoever was outside could invade this room whenever they wanted.

Don’t tremble, think. Think.

Looking around, there seemed to be nowhere to retreat. Unfortunately, this room was on the fourth floor of the building.

I needed a weapon. If necessary, it would be best to knock out the person outside and escape.

Where could I find a weapon to protect myself from an assailant?

I carefully rose from my seat, trying not to make a loud noise. At that moment, the only lamp illuminating the room went out. It seemed the oil had run out at this most inconvenient time.

As my vision disappeared, the fear in my heart grew even stronger.

I took a deep breath to calm my trembling heart. Only my breathing sounded loud in the quiet room. Fortunately, my eyes soon adjusted to the darkness, and the silhouettes of furniture gradually became visible.

I calmly looked around, but no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find anything like a weapon.

All the furniture and utensils had blunt ends, and there wasn’t a single object with any weight to it. As if deliberately arranged that way, nothing that could protect my body was visible anywhere.

From the beginning, someone like me who needed to freely visit the residence of the ducal family’s son wouldn’t have been given anything like a weapon.

Under my trembling hands, I felt the pile of letters I had been reading earlier.

Right, I still hadn’t finished reading the letters.

Thinking of my family, the consciousness I had half-lost to fear returned. Though my chest was still trembling and my limbs remained cold, it felt like my mind, which had been on the verge of madness, had been restrained.

I couldn’t deliver bad news to my family yet. That was because I hadn’t fully settled the compensation for this engagement.

I was still more afraid of debt than of a dangerous person.

Confronting a dangerous person would be momentary, but resolving a hopeless household budget had no deadline.

So if anyone stood in my way, I would stake everything and not let them be.

It seemed best to escape outside, passing by the distracted intruder.

With that thought, I couldn’t completely calm down, but I could manage my fearful heart.

I walked straight toward the door pretending to be crazy, then forcefully flung open the doorknob from which the knocking sound had been coming.