The dress she wore—made of pale pink satin with abundant pleats—wasn’t much different from what noble girls wore. Of course it wasn’t. This was a dress that had belonged to Countess Hervonne’s young niece.

Ann flushed. She recalled Charlotte saying she’d received compensation beyond her station. 

Ann had thought nothing of it when she’d heard those words, but meeting a girl the same age and from the same background stirred a faint sense of shame.

If not for Lennox… If Lennox had wanted to keep her as his maid, Ann would be sweeping the palace corridors right now wearing the same maid’s uniform as Monica.

So her circumstances changed solely according to Lennox’s will. If Lennox suddenly decided one day that her treatment was excessive and demoted her to maid, she could become just like Monica at any time.

“…That’s not true.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m not much different from you either.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Monica tilted her head, seemingly confused. Ann bit her lips tightly with a reddened nose, then turned around. She heard the maid’s voice at her ear. Ann emerged from her reminiscence and looked at the maids.

“Miss.”

“I’m fine, Monica.”

“When we get to Belvyrund, you should see a physician.”

Alissa, the maid sitting directly across from Monica, opened her lips. Unlike Monica, she had long, straight black hair and a noticeably pale complexion. She was three or four years older than Monica, with narrow shoulders and a height as tall as young men her age.

Ann, who’d been looking at her, tried to shake her head but stopped, thinking of her usual personality. Though Alissa was a maid, she was truly more stubborn than most noblewomen.

Compared to her, Ann had a softer personality. Ann had never once broken Alissa’s stubbornness.

“Understood?”

“Understood.”

Ann nodded at Alissa, who demanded a definite answer. She was tired. Lately she felt tired even after resting. It was exactly like when she’d been pregnant with Lennox’s child.

‘Pregnancy, what nonsense…’

Ann scolded herself for the thought that had suddenly intruded without warning and tried to drive away the improper sensation. There was no way she was pregnant. Ann hadn’t been with anyone since then.

After that, Ann never created a moment where she’d be left alone with him in a narrow closed room. Because she couldn’t know what might happen.

“Miss, look outside. The scenery is so beautiful.”

Monica suddenly spoke. Ann, who’d been blankly thinking of Lennox, turned her head at her servant’s words and looked out the window.

The landscape flowing like a river, ripened in the late summer sunlight, was beautiful enough to hurt the eyes. The poplar trees holding the sunlight and the flowing stream were bright and cheerful, seemingly unaware of her turmoil. Ann stared blankly out the window.

* * *

Saphoras, where Belvyrund was located, was a place with relatively cool summers. 

Ann, who arrived at Belvyrund after traveling for three full days, smiled at the estate’s servants who’d come out to meet her at the Queen Dowager’s notice. 

The old faces who’d guarded Belvyrund for decades were familiar faces to Ann as well.

“It’s been a long time, Miss. You seem to have grown a lot since I last saw you.”

Among the servants standing in a line, an elderly woman stepped forward. 

The woman with a plump build and warm impression was a kitchen maid named Emma, the most senior among Belvyrund’s servants. 

She’d also cherished and doted on young Ann, who’d visited with Lennox, like a niece. Ann smiled broadly, like meeting a relative after a long time.

“I’ve been grown for a while now, Emma.”

“To an old woman’s eyes, you’re still a little miss.”

Emma replied with a laugh. Ann gently hugged her and kissed her cheek. Though she’d been told she could come to Saphoras anytime, she’d actually missed it enough to want to run here right away.

In truth, even though it was a royal villa, because it was as rustic as it was pastoral, Ingrid and her maids didn’t visit often. Thanks to that, at Saphoras, Ann could enjoy freedom with Lennox.

“You’ve been well?”

“Of course. And you, Miss…”

Had her face not looked good even as a polite lie? 

Frank and candid Emma couldn’t continue and only smiled. Pity dwelt in her wrinkled face. Ann smiled faintly at her. The more she hurt, the more she should smile so people around her would worry less.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Yes. Monica and Alissa too. It’s been a long time for you girls. Let’s go in quickly.”

Emma said cheerfully, turning to look at Ann’s maids. The two maids, who’d been greeting the servants, turned to look at Emma and nodded. Ann tilted her head back, gazing at the beautiful estate that hadn’t changed, then moved her feet.

Ann, who arrived at the bedroom she usually used at Belvyrund, took off her bonnet and set it down on the bed, then looked around the room.

Whether the servants had diligently swept and cleaned at Ingrid’s notice, it was spotless without a speck of dust. The bedroom, lacking splendor but antique, maintained simplicity and cleanliness. Since it had originally been a monastery, that was natural…

Ann recalled the chapel where she’d occasionally gone to worship with Lennox. 

The hands that had rummaged shamelessly over her chest and between her legs, the lips that had burrowed into the nape of her neck. The past time when she didn’t know what state of mind she’d been living in flickered hazily.

It seemed like ancient history, but wasn’t it just three years ago? Even up to three years ago, Ann had lived as such a foolish wench.

“Miss.”

Alissa approached Ann, who was looking out the window. Ann turned her head to look at her.

“I called for a physician. He says he’ll arrive before dinner, so it would be good to meet him before the meal.”

Alissa, who’d come to her side, placed her hand on Ann’s forehead. Ann smiled at the maid who worried about her like a mother bird and checked her health.

“I don’t have a fever.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Lisa must be tired too, so go rest quickly.”

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about you than myself. You’ve been increasingly unwell.”

“When you say it like that, it’s like I’m some sickly noble lady.”

“Being sickly is the truth.”

Alissa answered with a sigh. Ann stared at her maid in surprise. Alissa seemed to find her reaction strange instead.

“A healthy young lady doesn’t collapse in broad daylight and go down to the countryside twice for recuperation.”

“That’s…”

She had nothing to say. Though she’d never once thought of herself as an unhealthy woman, when she recalled her fellow noble young ladies, Alissa’s words weren’t wrong. Ann chewed on the bitterness, then parted her lips to make an excuse reluctantly.

“Coming down today is for marriage. You know that.”

“Oh my. That’s different from what I heard from Countess Hervonne.”

“What did the Countess say?”

“She said since your health isn’t good, there’s also a recuperation purpose. She said if you seem even slightly tired, we should send away any gentleman.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So while you’re here, you need to regain your health. Of course, it would be nice if you meet good gentlemen in the process.”

Alissa took Ann’s hand. Ann looked at Alissa, who was more like a friend than a maid. Though she had a few young ladies she called friends, in truth she couldn’t know whether they thought of Ann as a friend.

They had young ladies closer than Ann, and those young ladies were all noble maidens of similar standing. From the rank of their families to their fathers’ titles and their fiancés’ titles. 

They would chatter about being bridesmaids at each other’s weddings, young ladies whose even their tastes were similar. And Ann was a woman with no family to speak of.

“Thank you, Alissa.”

“For what?”

“It would have been really nice if I’d had a good older sister like Alissa.”

“I wonder. My younger sister says having me as an older sister is very difficult.”

Alissa smiled playfully. Ann grinned back at her faint smile. A thought suddenly occurred to her. The thought that it would be nice if she could stay with Alissa and Monica even after marriage. 

No matter how stern Ingrid was toward Ann, wouldn’t she grant that much?

As Alissa had said, around sunset, the physician came. Ann met with him for an examination, then had an early dinner. When she said she didn’t want to eat alone, Emma, Monica, and Alissa joined her for the meal.

Normally this would be absolutely impossible. But whenever they said how could they possibly share a table with their mistress, Ann answered like this:

“I’m not a noble. I’m not much different from all of you.”

Though Ann received the favor of the King, the Queen Dowager, and noblewomen, in the end Ann’s status wasn’t much different from the servants. So it didn’t really matter.

“The stew is very delicious.”

“Right? It’s lamb caught this afternoon. We struggled to remove the gamey smell until you arrived, Miss.”

Emma answered with a broad smile. Ann smiled while eating the thick stew one spoonful at a time. The vegetables and lamb that crumbled softly were absolutely wonderful in taste.

Emma said she was pleased that Ann ate well and would help her recover her health while at Belvyrund. Ann felt good but also sorry for making so many people worry.

“Thank you, Emma. And Monica, and Alissa too.”