# 13
---
Cremisa is a place where there is a lot of rain outside of summer.
Even with the patriotic fervor, it was difficult to praise the dreary days in the capital, even with a white lie.
So, Emily acted with an exaggerated gesture of shyness.
“Ma’am, let me comb your hair. What perfume would you like?”
“Violet...would be appropriate.”
Ariana raised her eyebrows in increasing astonishment at this enthusiasm for service.
Usually, the servants of the Duke's Palace disliked her, and most of them deliberately kept their distance and looked at her with contempt.
'But after a year of marriage, perhaps the caution has become less extreme.'
However, Emily seemed to come unusually frequently.
“Emily, did the butler change your position to be in charge of me? I believe you were here yesterday too.”
“Oh, no! I asked Lady Karen about that, ma’am.”
Karen Elmer, the head butler, was an old woman who had been running the palace since the time of the previous Duke.
She despises Ariana, but she has the “servant virtue” to not show it.
Because Ariana decided to leave this place, she did not care about winning the favor of the servants. She intended to leave as soon as she had a child, so she saw no need to seek power as mistress of the house.
But why has Emily changed, unlike her previous life?
“Why exactly?”
“My dream has always been to become a lady’s maid!”
"Yes."
Ariana finally understood why Emily was acting so friendly now.
For a commoner woman, the best way to earn money was to become a servant, even if that was difficult.
Among these, the position of a lady's maid who helped decorate the lady of the house was a proud position.
Ariana laughed indifferently at Emily choosing the wrong rope in this life.
“Emily, I'll tell you in advance, I have no influence in this house. You will not receive the honor you expect.”
“Ah...”
“I don't want to disappoint you. Of course, I can write as good a letter of recommendation as possible.”
Ariana still doesn't know who put the gun in her bed.
But Emily stuttered at Ariana's indifferent attitude.
“It's not because of that... In fact, I made a big mistake...”
"What? What do you mean?"
“It's okay, you can say whatever you want without fear, I won't get angry.”
“The thing is that... when I first saw you, I thought you were a person... not bad, just difficult.”
***
Emily had sometimes heard about the bad reputation of the “Crown Princess for a Day.”
She was known for being extravagant and pushing her body to survive with the current Duke. That was enough to make her think he knew her well.
So, without really knowing Ariana, she enthusiastically joined in the gossip. It was the easiest way to adapt to the capital.
This time too, the older maids quipped as usual that “the Duchess was hit by a stone.”
"How was it, Emily? You were there, weren't you?"
“I…I was…” Emily muttered awkwardly as she held stillness.
It was the scone Ariana had bought for her before she was injured.
“I don't think it's that bad. Being hit by a rock while walking, it seems... kind of pathetic.”
“What?”
“I know that the man who threw the stone was wronged, but there could have been another way.”
It is true that the man who lost his job deserved pity.
But when Emily investigated later, she discovered that it wasn't because of Ariana herf, but because of her family.
So, to what extent should family sins be tolerated?
'Difficult, very difficult.'
Emily couldn't come to a conclusion easily. But when she raised her head, she found the older servants looking at her angrily.
“Are you defending that woman now?”
“No, I'm not defending...!”
“We thought you were cute because you are from the countryside, but you don’t seem to know anything. You get excited just by seeing a car on the street!”
Emily felt wronged and shocked.
How could they condemn her for something so trivial?
***
While she was excitedly combing Ariana's hair, Emily began to complain angrily.
"How annoying that was! In my town there were no cars, so when I saw one here for the first time, I screamed in surprise, but I didn't cry! I came here by train alone!"
“Really...”
“And the scone that the lady bought me, we all shared, right? If they were going to treat me like a country girl, why would they eat the scone?”
Emily suddenly stopped and looked in the mirror, realizing her mistake.
In the mirror, Ariana was amazed with round eyes.
Emily hung her head, her face red as if she had been exposed to the stove's fire for too long.
“My mother in the countryside always said that if I kept my mouth shut, I would avoid half the problems, but my mouth seems to have feet, it is always moving and I can’t stop it.”
“Um…”
“I'm sorry, ma'am. I... I talk too much, don't I?”
“No, no... it's okay.”
Ariana laughed softly at the confused maid.
Anyway, she wasn't going to give her heart to this maid, so why not?
She knew very well that giving a heart would only bring pain.
However, after years of daily loneliness, Emily's cheerful chatter filled the void, and she felt at ease.
'And you may have heard more news about the surrounding matters.'
Emily, who was always nervous in front of important people, completely relaxed. Once she relaxed, she couldn't stop, so she continued talking while moving her hands enthusiastically.
“Ma’am, are you going to Bayern’s concert?”
“Yes, since the Duke is going.”
“I heard it's going to be held on a cruise ship! Is a party on a ship much different from a regular party?”
“No, just seeing the sea water, but it's not much different from a normal party.”
Ariana felt sorry for Emily, whose eyes sparkled with curiosity, but she hated that party so much.
Count Bayern's family will hold the launch of a new cruise ship in the port of Lentia, with a nightly party on board.
'I'll spend a day there listening to the annoying bragging.'
But the biggest reason she hated this party wasn't just Theodora.
Rather, because the Empress, who was supposed to be her mother-in-law, would be present.
The Empress had looked down on Ariana ever since she was preparing to be the Crown Princess.
“How could that girl be so rude? “My son had no taste in choosing women.”
Although the royal family abandoned Ariana to save face, the Empress continued to bother Ariana, who did not run away with Andrew to serve him, but rather became a “duchess.”
But Emily, who did not notice Ariana's coldness, continued to chatter: "And yet, it's so sexy! I want to see the dress you're going to wear, ma'am!"
“It will go along with whatever the Duke chooses-”
“Ah, the Duke always wears black! Even this morning.”
“It looks like he left for the office early.”
“Um, maybe...? But the driver, Henry, didn’t come out.”
Ariana blinked her eyes silently.
After his miraculous return, Kenneth devoted himf to rebuilding the family.
Didn't she beg him on Wednesday to make some time for her?
He devoted all his time to work, and his offices spread throughout the capital were used more than reception rooms.
'But he didn't take the driver this morning.'
Ariana gently tapped her nails on the dressing table.
If the driver didn't take it in the morning, he didn't go to the office or another noble's mansion. However, this man no longer trusts outside facilities for important matters.
'Unless it's the Imperial Palace.'
This can be explained by what the Aberdeen family did.
If he worked in the main palace office, he wouldn't need to wear the “black clothes” Emily talked about.
So, where might he have gone?
'Maybe to the separate wing of the palace?'
The Duke's Palace contains more than 300 rooms, and it was not uncommon to hear stories of servants getting lost in the vast garden.
Ariana knew that Kenneth was receiving business guests in the separate suite without her participation.
'Who might be an important enough guest for Kenneth to receive him himf?'