Side Story 2

The carriage that departed from Castle Elmano in the dark dawn before sunrise finally stopped in front of a small mansion on the outskirts of the capital as the sun was beginning to set.

Marie, stepping down from the carriage, was wearing an old, plain dress she already owned rather than the new dress Lariella had given her.

The dark ash-colored dress with buttons densely lining up to the neck was very similar in design to the maid’s uniform she usually wore.

In truth, while Marie was thoroughly accustomed to dressing others, she had rarely dressed herself up.

Moreover, after wearing the old-fashioned maid’s uniform almost daily for several years, the mere thought of wearing a bright dress with a deeply cut neckline, her hair draped long over one shoulder, and high shoes with flower decorations made her feel so strange and awkward that her shoulders involuntarily hunched.

After hanging the new dress in a corner of her room and deliberating all night, Marie finally put on her usual drab dress, tied her hair tightly into a bun as always, and boarded the carriage.

The new dress she couldn’t bring herself to wear was inside the large bag she carried off the carriage.

The Duchess had told her that this dress suited her very well, but Marie, with her superior eye for beauty, knew all too well that it wasn’t true.

A dress with such a special color would suit a lady with striking hair color and glamorous appearance better than herself with her unremarkable brown hair and common brown eyes.

For example, it would be perfect for a beauty like her younger sister, Elenne, whose bright red hair could be spotted from afar, whose snow-white face was set with transparent green eyes like embedded jewels, and whose dazzling beauty made anyone turn to look twice.

It would have been nice if she could have worn the new dress the Duchess had given her, but Marie was content just receiving the Duchess’s sentiment.

Beautiful dresses should go to those who could make them shine the most.

That was the conclusion reached by Marie Herona, “the most outstanding and capable lady’s maid in the capital.”

Practically dragging her large bag, Marie crossed the small garden and pulled the string attached to the door a couple of times.

Hearing the bell, slow footsteps gradually approached from inside, and shortly after, the old wooden door swung open.

“Oh my, Miss Marie! It’s been so long.”

The person who opened the door was an elderly maid who was said to have been in this mansion even before Marie’s father, Viscount Herona, was born. The maid greeted Marie looking even older than the last time she had seen her.

“It’s been a while, Louisa. Have you been well?”

Marie gave the old maid a welcoming smile.

“Oh, yes indeed. Please come in, Miss. The Viscount is currently away, and the Viscountess is in the reception room with Miss Elenne. Shall I go and announce your arrival?”

“No, Louisa. I’ll go myself. You can go back to your duties.”

As the maid bowed her head and turned to walk away, the smile slowly disappeared from Marie’s face.

The maid, who had appeared to have knee problems the last time Marie saw her, was now noticeably limping.

No matter how small the mansion was, there was no way she could properly work with such an aged and uncomfortable body. Even now, dust was thickly piled up everywhere Marie looked.

There was only one reason why they couldn’t hire more young and healthy maids despite this situation. Money. Which meant the economic situation of the Herona viscounty hadn’t improved at all.

Marie sighed softly and walked in the opposite direction from where Louisa had disappeared.

The reception room was at the front of the corridor. After knocking and opening the door, Marie put down her bag at the entrance and went inside.

“Oh, Sister Marie!”

Elenne was the first to acknowledge her.

Sitting on a long sofa, Elenne opened her pretty green eyes wide, then jumped up and approached Marie.

“Why have you come after so long? I’ve been so curious about how you’re doing at Castle Elmano. Did I have to ask others about my sister’s news?”

Elenne held both of Marie’s hands and put on a deliberately hurt expression.

“I’ve been busy. I’m sorry.”

Marie smiled widely as she looked at her still-beautiful sister.

In the Herona viscounty with four daughters, while the three older daughters had fairly decent appearances, the youngest daughter Elenne had been an exceptionally pretty child from a young age.

It was all because of Elenne that Marie came to enjoy dressing others.

Dressing up her sister, who looked pretty in anything and beautiful no matter what, was much more fun and enjoyable than dressing herself.

Then, by chance, she helped a count’s daughter who was about to make her social debut, and as word spread, she received introductions here and there, leading to her current position.

“What brings you here so suddenly without any notice?”

Marie turned toward the sharp voice that interrupted her warm greetings with Elenne.

The Viscountess’s face showed more bewilderment than joy at seeing her third daughter who had returned home after a long time.

“And what’s that huge bag? Don’t tell me…… you quit your job? Or were you fired? Why, what did you do wrong?”

Marie quickly shook her head at her mother, who was pointing at the large bag at the entrance and interrogating her without context.

“No, Mother. The Duchess specially gave me a vacation. She even provided me with generous travel money and told me to have a good trip. Being fired? That’s impossible.”

At those words, the Viscountess’s voice immediately softened.

“Ah, I see. Well, it’s fortunate that you’re still serving the Duchess.”

The Viscountess leaned back on the sofa after having abruptly risen.

“I was actually planning to contact you to come by because there’s some business to discuss, so this works out well.”

The Viscountess stretched her arm toward the sofa and waved her hand up and down.

“I have something to tell you, so sit down here.”

Though Marie had a bad feeling about this sudden “something to tell,” she obediently sat where her mother indicated.

The Viscountess narrowed her eyes and alternately looked at her two daughters sitting side by side on the long sofa.

Placed next to each other like this, one shone more brightly while the other looked even more drab.

There were good reasons why the depth of affection she felt for each of her children differed.

Wasn’t it natural that her heart leaned toward the one who sparkled more and was more lovable?

With such self-justification, the Viscountess began to smoothly reveal something Marie could never have anticipated.

“A few days ago, would you believe it, we received a marriage proposal from the Parker family. And not from the second son, but from Lucien, the Count’s heir himself. My goodness, what greater honor could there be for our family? Naturally, I immediately wrote back accepting the proposal. So we’re now in a rush to prepare for the wedding.”

Marie tilted her head in confusion upon hearing her mother’s words. She looked at her mother with a bewildered expression.

“……For me?”

The Viscountess snorted as if she’d heard something ridiculous. Elenne, sitting beside Marie, covered her mouth with her hand and let out a small giggle while pretending to clear her throat.

“Of course not. It’s for your sister Elenne, naturally.”

Marie’s brow furrowed terribly upon hearing her mother’s answer.

When her eldest sister got married, and again when her second sister got married, her mother had threatened her like this:

‘In our family, we must marry in order of age. If we can’t marry off your older sisters first, you’ll never even dream of getting married yourself!’

Using that excuse, her mother had scraped up every last penny Marie had saved from her work as a lady’s maid to use as dowry for her two older sisters. As a result, despite being the most popular lady’s maid in the capital for several years already, Marie didn’t have a single coin saved.

The only fortunate thing was that the salary at the Elmano ducal family was quite high.

With this level of pay, she thought she could save enough dowry in a year to marry into a decent family. That’s why Marie had been so anxious about the possibility of the Duchess dismissing her.

But her second sister had married just half a year ago, and unless Marie had somehow become the youngest and Elenne had become the third daughter in the meantime, her mother’s words made no sense at all.

“But Mother, you said our family must marry in order of age……”

As the bewildered Marie opened her mouth, the Viscountess raised her right hand to cut her off.

“Then what am I supposed to do when not a single marriage proposal comes in for you?”

The Viscountess cut in with a cold voice.

That was a lie. Marie was certain of it.

Among the noble ladies, there were those who liked her diligence and said they would send marriage proposals, and others who offered to connect her with good families.

Yet there had been no word from home, so Marie had simply thought, ‘Mother must have her reasons,’ or ‘Perhaps something wasn’t to her liking or the conditions weren’t right,’ or ‘It’s impossible to marry until I save up for a dowry anyway,’ and let it pass.

But there was no way not a single proposal had come in.

“But even last time, Baroness Delsion told me……”

Marie tried to argue, but once again her words were mercilessly cut off by the Viscountess’s cold voice.

“And you. What kind of appearance is that?”

Looking Marie up and down with a thorny gaze, the Viscountess suddenly began to criticize her appearance, which had remained unchanged for years.

“Even if you work as a lady’s maid, you should have dressed properly when coming home. What would people say? You’re the girl who supposedly sees all the most expensive and finest things in the capital, and yet look at your appearance, tsk. It’s because you look like that that you haven’t received a single marriage proposal at your age.”