Chapter 2.5

Waking late in the morning, Aness was startled. Dana, the maid who was like an aunt to her, was sitting at her feet, eyes red from crying.

“…Dana?”

“Sniff, Miss. You know, don’t you? I’ve cared for you dearly since you were a child in this house. I thought of you as my own daughter, cherished and loved you. Was I wrong?”

“…Ah, Dana!”

Startled, Aness quickly went to her and hugged her.

“What’s wrong? What happened? Whatever it is, it’s my fault, so please don’t cry.”

Even though she’d slept well, Aness was still not feeling well and frowned slightly. Her lower abdomen felt heavy and uncomfortable, even painful. She hadn’t realized it was because she’d overdone it the day before—right now, she was just busy trying to comfort Dana.

“Miss.”

When Aness, like a cat, clung to her, Dana’s face finally turned serious as she asked in a grave voice,

“Miss, what exactly happened yesterday?”

“!”

With that gentle yet firm tone, Aness could not bring herself to lie.  

She hesitated for a moment, then, unable to deceive even Dana, began to confess honestly. She revealed that she had been acting as a matchmaker, that it suited her so well she simply couldn’t stop, and that she had been working hard to connect the Strauss family’s young lady with the person she truly wanted. But when the young lady fell ill with food poisoning, everything got tangled up. As Dana listened, her expression grew paler and paler.  

In the end, when Aness confessed that she had stepped in to fix things and spent the night with the Empire’s Knight Commander Caron, Dana’s face was ashen.

“Miss, what on earth were you thinking…?”

Dana trailed off, trembling. In fact, she had already known that the youngest, Aness, was secretly working as a matchmaker.  

Unlike the obedient first and second daughters, who saw marriage as their only path to survival, the youngest, Aness, was clever.  

As the daughter of a humble Baron, she already knew she wouldn’t be able to marry as she wished.  

Dana had admired Aness for trying to become independent on her own, so she pretended not to know the secret.

But this was different. Now that she had gotten involved with the Empire’s most powerful Duke, Perschtmann, there would be no escaping disaster.

“Miss, do you realize what you’ve done? You deceived and shamed the Empire’s highest noble. How will you resolve this? If he decides to, he’ll find out it was you in no time.”

“But I was tricked too. I was a victim as well, and it’s unfair. I lost my chastity too.”

Aness, feeling wronged, protested, her eyes brimming with tears. Her first experience had been dreadful. Of course, it wasn’t only painful. In the end, she experienced pleasure she couldn’t resist and realized she had become a woman.  

But getting there had been unbearably painful, and even now, she hurt so much below that tears sprang to her eyes.  

That madman had lost control and moved wildly inside her all night, so she was still in pain, almost to the point of screaming. Wasn’t she the bigger victim here? But Dana’s tone was firm.

“That’s not it, Miss. You were the one who first arranged the meeting, and no matter who tricked you, you gave him the drugged tea. You’ll end up taking all the blame. If you get caught, this family will never be safe.”

“!”

Only then did Aness realize something and shudder. She hadn’t thought it through. She’d been able to keep her secret as a matchmaker until now, but if this incident exposed her, it could affect her whole family.

“Oh, Dana, what should I do? What am I supposed to do about this?”

“First, the worst one is that guild master. I don’t know what he was involved in, but preparing drugged tea so thoroughly—he might hold a grudge against the Duke, or perhaps against you.”

“Th-then…”

Aness jumped up. She had to find that guild master immediately. He was the root of all this—she had to find him and demand a solution.

“I have to find him right now. I’ll tell him to fix this, no matter what.”

But Dana shook her head as if it was useless.

“If he planned so thoroughly, he surely prepared an escape route. The Empire’s greatest guild master would be more than capable. Don’t get your hopes up.”

Having lived more than half her life, Dana could see through much of this with her experience. She had a bad feeling that the Miss had been used as bait and sacrificed.  

“By the way, Miss, how was your first experience? How do you feel now?”

Dana decided to check on the Miss’s condition first. On the tray she had prepared were painkillers and herbal tea to help her relax. At Dana’s question, Aness shuddered as she recalled the events.

“Ah, it was like… a beast. Not a person, but a complete beast. You have no idea how much it hurt. I really thought I was going to die…”

She spoke as if complaining, hugging her shoulders tightly. The sensation of his tongue hungrily tasting her bare skin came back, making her shiver.  

She remembered that hard rod that had pounded into her like crazy. The strange memory of her insides becoming wet every time he groaned roughly.  

The feeling of that long, hot, and slick thing plunging so deeply inside her came back so vividly that Aness’s face turned red and she trembled.

Seeing the frightened look on Aness’s face, Dana sighed and hugged her tightly.  

“Anyway, Miss, you really are a woman now. But it won’t be smooth like others. What should have happened only after marriage, and with such a man—normal marriage will be difficult. If he accepts you as his bride, that would be good, but if he seeks to punish you first…”

Not only her, but this humble family could be ruined.

Dana knew better than anyone how hard the Baron was working to save the family, and her heart ached.  

He was making every effort to marry off his two prettier daughters to revive the family, and it brought tears to her eyes.

“And Madam won’t just stand by. A maiden’s chastity is her greatest mission.”

Baroness Klein truly believed that. She thought protecting her daughters’ chastity was a mother’s highest virtue, so if she found out, she would be devastated and bedridden, suffering for a long time.

“Oh, Mother. What should I do? If my family falls because of me, if even my parents are ruined, if my sisters’ marriages are ruined, what then?”

Now truly realizing the situation, Aness lowered her head, her face pale. She should never have gotten involved with Duke Perschtmann, no matter what.

“What should I do, Dana…”

“First, try to find the guild master and ask him to take responsibility and resolve this. If that’s impossible…”

Dana, wise from experience, carefully offered her opinion. There was really only one solution.

“You must hide completely. If the Duke can’t find the woman he spent the night with, if he can’t find you, then this can be buried forever. So hide as thoroughly as you can. With time, he may give up.”

“Ah, that could work. All right. I’ll be careful. I won’t do this kind of work for a while. I’ll listen to Mother, study chastity, and live quietly like a mouse.”

Having learned how frightening the world could be, Aness raised her hand in a vow and spoke with determination to Dana.

“Huu, yes, Miss. You didn’t know how scary the world was and got caught up in this—just be careful from now on. Poor thing, you must have been so scared.”

Kind Dana hugged Aness and stroked her hair, sighing. She wished that this would be buried without anyone knowing, that the young lady would not get further entangled, and that she would come away with only a lesson and live safely.

But strangely, an ominous feeling kept creeping up. Her instincts had never been wrong, and she grew increasingly uneasy.

***

The second daughter of Baron Klein, Erika, was a vain maiden. She had often seen her father humbly bowing to nobles of higher rank since she was young.  

For example, he would beg to bring his daughters to social gatherings even when they weren’t invited. Of course, they couldn’t even afford dresses for the girls.  

He cleverly pleaded with the maids of noble families to get discarded dresses and fabric. His wife, with her excellent sewing skills, would work all night to alter everything.  

Imelda and Erika had to endure the humiliation of entering social halls in altered, secondhand dresses, always with a humble attitude. Even as he put his daughters through this hardship, the Baron never gave up hope.  

He believed that his fairly pretty daughters could win the hearts of higher nobles’ sons. Of course, it wasn’t entirely a foolish dream. Occasionally, marriages did happen between vastly different families.  

But it was still a long shot, and never easy.

The eldest, Imelda, was heartbroken but obedient to her parents, while the fiery Erika would come home after such humiliations and sob loudly.  

It was a shame no young girl should have to bear. Erika hated her desperately poor family, loathed her father’s servility, and resented her mother, who, despite their situation, only insisted on chastity before marriage.

For example, the equally ruined Baltimore Barony survived thanks to the marriage of the eldest daughter, Julia. Duke Gale Berks, who fell for Julia, accepted her as his wife and generously supported her family.  

He not only paid off the enormous debts that had been accumulating for generations, but also called her younger brother Dewey to the Imperial Palace and gave him a job, and even accepted her father as a member of the Imperial Council.  

Because of this, there was quite an uproar among the Empire’s nobility. Erika kept thinking about this event, vowing in her heart. She would also revive her family through marriage, just like Julia, the eldest daughter of the Baltimore family.  

But it would not be easy. She began narrowing down the most promising candidates for a groom, and finally found the most suitable one.