01. The Duke and the Nanny

“I don’t trust Celestine at all.”

When Her Majesty the Queen said those words, Jeremy Lovedale realized anew that his aunt was an extremely cautious person.

Celestine Harrows was the only daughter of the Duke of Wormley, and she would hold her engagement ceremony with His Highness the Crown Prince this autumn.

And Jeremy wasn’t as cautious as his aunt.

“Didn’t you already investigate Lady Celestine thoroughly when selecting engagement candidates? Too much caution becomes a disease.”

“So you’re saying I’m a hypochondriac.”

Christabel exuded dignity and majesty befitting the queen of a nation. Her silver-white hair, faded with time, added elegance to her strict impression, and her small stature, which barely reached Jeremy’s chest, appeared larger than reality thanks to her straight posture.

Christabel raised her already upright head even higher.

“If you weren’t as clever as you are impudent, I wouldn’t have called you here. So think with that clever head of yours while I drink my tea.”

And then Christabel truly closed her mouth.

Silence descended upon the tea room where only Her Majesty the Queen and the young duke remained, all attendants dismissed.

However, Jeremy wasn’t overwhelmed by that silence. While pouring tea into Her Majesty’s cup, he merely pondered what approach would be needed to avoid categorizing ‘a mother’s true intentions to investigate her son’s fiancée’ as hypochondria.

The contemplative young man’s gaze reached beyond his aunt seated opposite him.

There hung portraits of the past kings of the Lester dynasty and their heirs. Among them, the most eye-catching was the most recently hung portrait of Crown Prince Reginald.

The Crown Prince, whose silver hair and golden eyes inherited from his mother were literally dazzling, was Her Majesty the Queen’s greatest pride. In the Lester family where sons were rare, and where children with hereditary diseases were born once every two or three generations, it was understandable to have such a perfect prince like Reginald. After the royal consort, Duke Andrew, passed away five years ago, the Queen’s affection and expectations for the Crown Prince grew even greater.

It was only a matter of time before her impatience to quickly increase the number of members from a “normal” family would be added to this.

Jeremy clearly remembered how around this time last year, Her Majesty the Queen had turned the entire kingdom upside down in search of a crown princess candidate. Lady Celestine Harrows was selected as the final candidate because she was flawless in all aspects—family, reputation, appearance, and so on.

……But why now?

All the furniture in the tea room was tailored to Her Majesty’s height, making it uncomfortable to sit in a proper posture for long.

Jeremy leaned crookedly against his chair and crossed his long legs. He didn’t hesitate to rest his chin on the armrest—a lax behavior—in front of Her Majesty. It was an action born from the composure of someone who knew he would be forgiven anyway.

“Lady Celestine herself, or the Harrows family, has been involved in some unsavory matter. Secretly at that.”

“The tea has been brewed quite deliciously.”

Christabel peered into her teacup. It meant for him to continue.

“And they don’t even know about it themselves.”

If they knew, it would be a simple matter of summoning and reprimanding them. Jeremy added a conjecture that was close to certainty.

“Or Your Majesty hopes they won’t notice.”

Christabel gazed at him steadily over her teacup.

During Duke Andrew’s lifetime, the couple’s trust had been deep. That trust in her husband extended to his nephew Jeremy, and the Lovedale siblings grew up receiving attention from their uncle and aunt in place of their parents who had passed away early.

Thus, Jeremy couldn’t ignore his aunt’s gaze.

By the fourth time he opened his mouth, he felt like a gossipy housewife, but nonetheless.

“Could it be that even His Highness the Crown Prince doesn’t know about this?”

When the Crown Prince was mentioned, Christabel finally spoke.

“I don’t want to trouble that child with something that isn’t even certain yet. Unlike you, Reginald quite likes his fiancée.”

“I’ve never been engaged, Your Majesty.”

He gently reminded her. Christabel didn’t back down.

“Then I shall see my son and nephew getting engaged side by side this autumn.”

He didn’t suppress his flowing sigh.

To Her Majesty, Lovedale was just as important as Lester. He learned much later that when his aunt was looking for a crown princess candidate, she had also selected his bride. Since then, he had been pretending not to know.

He decided to return to the main point.

“Would you like me to look into what issues Lady Celestine might have?”

“What I need is confirmation, Jeremy.”

Christabel reached out and took her nephew’s hand.

A cool sensation transmitted through her lace gloves. The temperature of her lowered voice was far colder.

“About the Duchess Harrows who gave birth to Celestine. I heard that woman was from Rosvalt.”

……With that one statement, Jeremy understood everything.

Ever since three men from the Lester family died in the war against Rosvalt thirty years ago—no, from long before that—the Kingdom of Lennox and Rosvalt had been enemies. It would be fair to say that there wasn’t a single chapter in the kingdom’s history without a record of conflict with Rosvalt.

If that country was involved, Jeremy also had a motive that couldn’t be ignored.

Christabel coldly emphasized:

“We cannot allow someone with Rosvalt blood to enter the royal family. ……And, in fact, there’s an even more important issue.”

* * *

“Bronwynner, don’t indulge Kaylee’s whims.”

The governess, Miss Carter, said.

‘Kaylee is only six years old.’

Bronwynner held back her desire to object. If she did, poor Kaylee would get her palms smacked again. She had sweated profusely trying to comfort the child who had been crying and clinging to her since dawn, saying she didn’t want to meet her “teacher.”

The governess, whom Bronwynner’s employer, Baroness Bingham, had brought in for a hefty price, was mercilessly harsh to the children. She claimed it was the educational method currently in vogue in the capital. This method even included not just learning approaches but also dietary regimens.

“And stop giving snacks to Elise too. She’s already fatter than other children her age.”

Elise was only eight years old. This time, Bronwynner couldn’t suppress her rebellious feelings.

“Elise’s snack is just half an apple and a glass of milk in the afternoon.”

“She won’t starve to death without eating that.”

The governess glared at Bronwynner.

“Someone naturally slim like you might not understand, but a child with exceptional development like Elise quickly grows bigger with just a little excess nutrition. The Baroness wishes her daughters to remain doll-like forever.”

Bronwynner smiled bitterly.

Miss Carter was much taller and bigger than Bronwynner, with a booming voice. Even most men tended to lose their nerve in front of this intimidating governess.

Ah, if only she had the same intimidating presence as Miss Carter…!

Bronwynner’s arms ached all day if she held Kaylee for just thirty minutes. It was impossible to even lift Elise, the older sister, from her bed.

The governess continued.

“Snacks are forbidden from today. Also, check if Kaylee is practicing the piano properly after tea. Is my bonnet that I entrusted to you yesterday repaired?”

Bronwynner silently brought the governess’s bonnet.

Miss Carter owned several sets of silk bonnets and dresses, somewhat extravagant for a governess. They were high-quality items that could be called premium, though slightly out of fashion.

Whenever ribbons or buttons fell off these premium items, repairing them became Bronwynner’s responsibility. Well, it was originally a maid’s job, but the governess had semi-forcibly assigned it to Bronwynner because of her excellent needlework skills.

Bronwynner knew her place and didn’t refuse the unreasonable request.

After checking the repair status of the bonnet, Miss Carter finally softened a bit.

“The Baroness invited us for tea time, and Bronwynner, you should come too.”

The Baroness was the second wife of Baron Bingham and twenty years younger than him. The Baron rarely came home, claiming to be busy, yet wanted to control his young wife’s outings and social activities.

Thus, the bored Baroness wanted to chat with servants who were at least “up to her standard.” Of course, the Baroness didn’t care how busy Bronwynner was, having taken on the nanny’s duties after the previous nanny quit because of the demanding governess.

There was another reason why Bronwynner wanted to avoid tea time with her employer and the governess.

“Mr. Bingham will also stop by briefly.”

A subtle smile lingered at the end of Miss Carter’s words.

“Mr. Bingham,” the eldest son of the Baron’s family, was the Baron’s child from his previous wife, and was only five years older than the current Baroness. He was also a dissolute man befitting the promising son of a country landowner.

For several months now, Alec Bingham had been flirting with Bronwynner, something the Baroness was completely unaware of and Miss Carter didn’t take very seriously.

Bronwynner shook her head.

“I promised to make clothes for Kaylee’s doll during tea time, so thank you, but I’ll decline.”

“I told you not to indulge Kaylee’s whims.”

“But I promised Kaylee. Shouldn’t Kaylee grow up to be a lady who understands the importance of promises?”

When Bronwynner made this excuse, the governess reluctantly closed her mouth.

The two women headed to the study room side by side.

The faces of the children sitting at the desk brightened when they saw their nanny following behind the governess. In turn, Bronwynner’s shadowed heart also brightened considerably. Elise and Kaylee, with light brown curly hair tied with apricot-colored ribbons and wearing dresses of the same color as the ribbons, were truly lovable.

Elise held up the picture she had been drawing.

“Bronwynner! Kaylee and I drew you.”

The governess’s eyes immediately sharpened.

“Today’s theme was supposed to be ‘characters from stories,’ Elise.”

Elise shrank back but still answered firmly.

“But Bronwynner is like a fairy from stories.”

Kaylee contradicted her sister with a lisp.

“Not a fairy, a princess.”

“You can’t even draw a princess well.”

Kaylee pouted her lips. Before the little ladies could start quarreling, Bronwynner intervened.

“Elise, Kaylee. You should listen to Miss Carter. You can draw the picture again.”

Elise turned a page in her sketchbook with dissatisfaction. Bronwynner glanced at Miss Carter before turning a page in Kaylee’s sketchbook as well.

Although Kaylee’s drawing wasn’t very recognizable, judging by the abundant use of pink—her favorite color—she must have wanted to draw her nanny as prettily as possible.

At that adorable notion, Bronwynner simply smiled.

From waking up at six in the morning until going to bed at midnight, she was so busy taking care of the two children and handling chores in the nursery that she barely had time to look in a mirror. Her grooming consisted only of tying up her long, thick hair into a bun and applying lotion to her face. She didn’t own any accessories, not even a common seashell brooch.

So Bronwynner Harcourt didn’t know.

That her red hair was exceptionally voluminous and glossy, that her deep olive-colored eyes contrasted with that hair and evoked a deep forest, that her skin—sometimes pale as snow, sometimes flushing rose-pink—was so fair and soft that one might want to touch it. That while her figure was so slim it could better be described as “thin,” certain parts were, contrary to that description, full and luscious.

Alec Bingham had noticed early on, and if Bronwynner herself had known what she would soon suffer because of this fact that she remained unaware of even after turning twenty……would she have perceived herself differently?

Even if she had, nothing would have changed. Bronwynner couldn’t have avoided what awaited her.

Something that could happen anytime to a woman in her position.

Something she should have learned to guard against even before fully understanding what it was.

Due to fatigue from her arduous life, Bronwynner momentarily relaxed that vigilance and forgot to raise it again.

That led to catastrophe.