Nearly six hours later, Breti finally said goodbye to the Countess of Abbott. By the time she returned to the mansion, a huge pile of luggage had been left outside — so much that it could never all fit into the tiny basement room she had once called home.

As soon as the doors opened, a small army of people began carrying her belongings inside.

“I-I can help with that.”

Uncomfortable just standing there and watching, Breti said something. She reached for a nearby trunk. However, a man noticed her and quickly took the luggage from her in a firm tone.

“No, miss. This is our job.”

Breti watched the man ascend the stairs with the trunk she’d tried to carry, and her discomfort only grew.

She couldn’t just stand still—partly because old habits from doing chores at Aurora lingered, but even more so because she knew exactly why these people were treating her with such kindness.

‘I’m not really the princess…’

They believed she was the princess who’d gone missing ten years ago, but she was nothing more than a stand-in.

While Breti was watching the servants with a look of discomfort—

“Miss, did you have a good trip?”

Bagi, coming down the stairs, spotted her and hurried over. Noticing Breti’s uneasy expression, Bagi’s face immediately darkened.

“Oh dear, miss, you don’t look well.”

“N-no, it’s not that…”

It seemed Bagi thought Breti’s anxiety about not helping with the work was actually because she was unwell.

At Bagi’s words, the busy servants all turned their attention to Breti at once.

“Miss, you look awfully pale. Did something happen while you were out?”

The man with the highest rank among the staff—a dignified older gentleman—approached Breti.

“Oh dear, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Thompson, the head steward here at Servien Manor.”

“Ah, hello.”

Breti quickly bowed in response to Thompson’s greeting. He looked briefly surprised by her gesture, then gave her a gentle smile.

“It seems today has been hard on you. I’ll have the chef prepare some warm soup right away.”

“Ah, no, please don’t—!”

“Bagi, please escort the young lady to her room.”

“Yes, sir.”

Feeling helpless, Breti followed Bagi up the stairs. Although she was only startled by the unfamiliar attention, the situation had somehow become far bigger than she had intended.

“There’s not much you’re expected to do. All you need is to become Laterna and keep my mother company while she’s bedridden.”

Karsten had said there wasn’t much she needed to do, but for Breti, just breathing in this place felt like a struggle.

“Miss, please go in and get some rest.”

Even the fact that someone else had to open the door for her was unsettling for Breti.

“I’ll be back in a moment. Please wait here.”

Breti replied with a small nod to Bagi as she entered the room. She didn’t want to cause any more fuss by accidentally using honorifics with her again.

Bagi immediately closed the door and left. Only after the door shut and she was alone did Breti sink onto the edge of the sofa and let out a deep sigh.

“Haa…”

Today, she’d been dragged all over town by Countess Abbott, popping in and out of shops she’d never even glimpsed while working as a maid in Aurora. She could only watch anxiously as the countess purchased luxurious clothes and jewelry for her.

“If anyone finds out you’re not really my sister, remember that your pitiful little life could be snuffed out in an instant.”

Karsten’s chilling threat echoed in her mind.

Still, the outing hadn’t been entirely miserable. While she was out, Breti happened to run into Daphne, who used to work with her at Aurora. Thanks to that, she’d heard some unexpected news.

“The man who took you away yesterday turned Madam Aba over to the guards.”

Seemingly distracted by Breti’s transformation into an extravagant outfit, Daphne didn’t ask for details; she simply announced that Madam Ava had been arrested.

She made sure to mention that it was all at Karsten’s command.

“The guards?”

“Yeah. Turns out, once they started investigating, all the illegal loans Madam Aba forced on people like us were exposed.”

Daphne clapped her hands in delight, truly happy for her.

Seeing Daphne so overjoyed, Breti managed a faint smile of her own. Just as Daphne said, it was a good thing.

When she was young, Breti was bound to Madam Aba because of her father’s debt. As she grew older, she gradually learned about the duchy’s laws.

The law preventing the transfer of a parent’s debt to orphaned children weighed most heavily on her heart — it applied to everyone, regardless of status.

This meant that she should never have been enslaved by her father’s debt and that there must be something wrong with the promissory note he had signed. She also discovered that Madam Aba had been charging exorbitant interest rates.

The reason Breti had remained trapped for almost ten years was entirely due to these rates.

Had her labour been valued properly, the principal of her father’s debt would have been paid off long ago.

Once Breti realised what the problem was, she waited for an opportunity to put things right. She’d hoped that if she could just get her hands on the promissory note her father had signed, she would be able to resolve the situation. However, finding time to search for evidence while carrying out all of Madam Aba’s tasks was far from easy. Most days, simply surviving — even as a lowly maid — felt like all she could hope for.

“Thanks to you, I’m finally free, too. Now I can go home.”

Daphne, beaming with happiness at the thought of returning to her hometown, said her goodbyes to Breti. She had always dreamed of the day she could go back. To her, that freedom was deeply meaningful.

Breti smiled back at Daphne’s joyful face, but unlike Daphne, she couldn’t shake a lingering unease from her heart.

‘He did in a single day what I couldn’t manage in years.’

Every time she remembered that fact, it left a bitter taste. It also infuriated her to think that, if only Madam Aba hadn’t been so shameless, her life might have turned out differently.

And she couldn’t deny the unpleasant feeling that lingered, born from the man’s heavy-handed way of forcing her into a corner.

Knock, knock—

Just as all those tangled emotions reached their peak, a knock sounded at the door.

“C-come in.”

At her invitation, the door opened and Bagi appeared.

“Miss, please have some soup.”

Bagi set a tray with a bowl of soup on the table in front of the sofa, then gently pressed a spoon into Breti’s hand.

Breti clung tightly to Bagi’s sleeve.

“I… I’d like to see His Grace.”

Now that she knew the full story, Breti couldn’t bear the thought of being swept along by his will without question—she wanted to see Karsten for herself.

Bagi looked as if she wanted to object to Breti’s use of honorifics, but forced herself to respond.

“His Grace isn’t at the manor right now.”

“Then, where…?”

“I’m sorry, miss. I don’t know anything about His Grace’s schedule either.”

Bagi answered, her face clouded with concern.

“Oh, it’s all right. Thank you.”

Breti replied quickly, noticing Bagi’s discomfort. She took a large spoonful of soup, trying to reassure her.

After that, Breti didn’t see a trace of Karsten at the manor for several days. Instead, she had to endure a whirlwind of outings and activities every day, all at the hands of Countess Abbott.

In the midst of all this, a letter arrived from the capital, where the White family’s main residence was located.

The letter was from the Duchess of White—the mother of the real Laterna, the woman Breti was now pretending to be.

Seeing the words “To Laterna” written on the envelope made Breti’s heart race.

“Miss, I’ll be going now.”

Bagi said quietly, noticing how flustered Breti was, unable to even open the letter. She quietly left the room.

Breti just sat there for a long time, staring at the unopened envelope, unable to bring herself to do anything. Eventually, night fell without her ever opening the letter.

After a long hesitation, Breti finally rose from her seat.