# 41
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Suddenly, Allen screamed, closed the door, and left the room.
She looked at the door, worried that Diana might wake from her sleep, then made eye contact with the Duchess.
She smiled awkwardly at the Duchess' seemingly awkward smile.
“It is not easy to raise a son.”
With that in mind, I bowed and left the Duchess's room, clutching the letter I was clutching tightly to my chest.
My heart swelled with excitement at this unexpected and surprising message.
* * *
slam -
The waves hit the castle wall and crashed into white drops.
The Grand Siege of the Duchy of Pylos, which seemed to have been copied directly from a landscape painting, was quiet and gloomy inside, despite its beautiful exterior.
At that time, the silence was broken by the sound of busy steps and knocking.
“His leader!”
“Oh, it's Nick, did you get a message from me?”
"Yes? There is no such thing."
Bianca, who was sitting in the Knight Commander's office and looking out the window, seemed disappointed by the answer of Nick, the assistant who had just arrived.
Then I fiddled with the hairpin I had in my pocket.
I thought it would be cute for the little girl to put her bangs up and expose her forehead, so I bought it without thinking.
When she placed it on the desk, Nick tilted his head.
“Do you have a message waiting for you?”
“Hmm...instead of waiting, I keep thinking about it.”
“Oh my God! Commander, you can’t believe you found a man… No, is this a gift from that man? That’s excellent, but only children use this gift… It doesn’t seem like it, but it’s very good.”
“You are exaggerating and your voice is not clear.”
Bianca asked, scowling at Nick who was talking nonsense.
“But why?”
“Ah, His Highness Ren has woken up and sent someone from the main castle, I believe he is already there...”
Bianca nodded vigorously and got up from her seat while the assistant continued talking.
* * *
It's been a few days since I received Bianca's letter.
I was touched and thrilled that the person who wrote the first letter I ever received was Bianca Marietta, and I tried to write a response that very day.
But it's been a few days already, and I've hit a huge wall...
This is correct.
He banned me from the title at the beginning of the letter.
At first, I blindly tried to write “Dear Bianca,” but that sounded too friendly.
However, the tone of “Dear Countess Marietta” was very harsh and not childish.
Moreover, I wanted to express my admiration in addition to the title, so I hesitated about what to say before the title.
After much deliberation, my mind now focuses on “Countess Bianca Marietta, Commander of the Knights of the Duchy of Pylos, the most wonderful person in the world.”
You are a very patriotic person, so I think it was a good decision to include information about the emirate….
"Hello !"
When I thought about it again, I wondered what kind of problem this was.
'Why did the professors and superiors teach me letters, martial arts, magic, and even herbal cultivation, but they didn't teach me how to reply to letters? !’
I screamed inwardly, pressing my head back.
Even though Bianca didn't expect me to write a good letter, I wanted to give her the best response possible.
“Ah, it would be nice to have someone to help me.”
The Duchess is very busy and Diana is just learning to read.
There was Allen, the last bastion, but according to the Duchess, she was worried because he was lazy in his studies and did not read books at all.
“I'd rather be better than that.”
It's a sound that would make Allen jump and fuss if he heard it, but I've seen and read different things during my stay in the guild, and I'm better than ever.
However, today, after finishing cleaning early, I returned to the room and the letter paper was empty, meaningless after worrying for a long time.
I took a deep breath, looked at the clock, and quickly stood up.
Diana's last class today was an art class that ended relatively early.
So, after the lesson, Diana promised that we would go on a palace-sponsored walk.
“Maybe Allen will come too.”
I remembered that Allen looked very envious when he heard that I was going on a walk with Diana.
He was training in the afternoon, so I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but for some reason, there seemed like a good chance I would bump into Allen.
It was a time when I was pacing frantically, lost in my thoughts.
“Noona!”
Class ended earlier than I expected when I saw Diana running towards me.
“Miss, don't run! You might fall!”
“Kiya!”
Diana lightly ignored my words and immediately fell into my arms.
The gardener in the garden and the passing maids looked at me and Diana with envious eyes, as if they were distracted by the appearance of the beautiful princess.
I shrugged for no reason.
At that, Diana struggled out of my arms and gave me something.
“Noona, noona, gift!”
What I was surprised by was the drawing paper used in the classroom.
“Miss, this....!”
I covered my mouth and looked at Diana.
Seeing my appearance, the people around me quietly approached me and glanced at the drawing paper.
One after another, question marks appeared on the faces of those who examined the photo.
It seems difficult to determine the identity of the twisted image painted by Diana.
“...What is that pink mass?”
Even this small voice was heard.
But I saw it with my own eyes.
This pink, pink, pink thing is...
"Miss! You were drawing a princess, weren't you?"
Diana is the princess in her favorite storybook!
How could I not know? This is a book I read until I finish.
"Hah! That's right!"
Diana seemed pleased that I recognized the painting, so she nodded with a flushed expression and hugged me again.
“Thank you, miss, you are giving me this as a gift.”
“Hehe, because you are my princess!”
Diana's excited voice rang out.
Only then did people realize who they were in the photo and smiled happily.
“You really like the princess.”
"Hah! I like you!"
When an elderly gardener asked a question, Diana answered bravely.
That was when the atmosphere became softer due to Diana's innocent appearance.
A laugh burst out from somewhere.
“Well, our princess is generous.”
As everyone's eyes gathered, Sophie opened her mouth as if she was waiting.
“Even when we went to the salon, she kept praising Leah for being beautiful. All the other noble ladies were curious about this maid.”
The tips of my ears burned from the unexpected words.
A few days ago, I asked Diana how she felt about going to the salon, and she smiled and said it was fun.
I felt sad and proud, but I had no idea I would be telling my story there too.
“The very beautiful girl that everyone can see is a princess and she is said to be the most beautiful girl in the world, so who wouldn’t have any expectations? But I’m a little worried, the other ladies might be surprised when they visit the Duchy.”
“Buhoobhahahaha.”
The people around him laughed at the exaggerated gesture of shaking his head as if he was truly worried.
Meanwhile, whenever Diana told me I was beautiful, I felt a little embarrassed, but honestly, I was happy.
People around me also laughed and said that Diana who followed me was cute, so I didn't care much about her...
Being publicly ridiculed gave me a sense of shame that was unmatched when Allen would always call me ugly.
'. …I'm not pretty either.'
Because I wasn't very confident about my appearance, I never judged or belittled the appearance of others in my life, but suddenly a thorn appeared inside me.
As I stared at Sophie with a sullen expression without realizing it, Diana tilted her head and looked back and forth between Sophie and me.
“What happened?”
“Nothing, miss. I was amazed by her generous and wise disposition.”
“Is Diana generous?”
"certainly."
Sophie smiled brightly and spoke warmly.
“They say that children her age usually love beautiful, exquisite things, however, she values the inside of a person more than the outside, so I feel proud to be her follower.”
“Hmm...”
Little Diana didn't seem to understand what Sophie meant.
But it wasn't me.
It's impossible not to feel the bones in spoken compliments.
Although the rank of a maid from a noble family is much higher than that of a commoner, in the end she is also a maid.
And what Sophie said now were in no way words or actions that a mere employee could say to the princess.
That was when I was about to get angry at the lady and ask her what she was talking about.
“...these.”
It suddenly became cold.
Allen was standing there with a frightened expression on his face.
“Diana, what are you honestly listening to?”
“Huh?”
Diana opened her eyes wide and tilted her head with a frightened face, as if Allen, who spoke to her harshly, was unfamiliar to her.
“You're making fun now, they say Leah is beautiful even though she's not.”
Allen looked with a smile at each of the employees who agreed with Sophie's words.
Allen's eyes were frighteningly cold and terrifying.
The playful side that had always been there was nowhere to be found.
I realized again that he was Duke Elad's son.
Even though the murderous spirit he was exhaling wasn't directed at me, it was enough to sting my skin.
"No! Leia is beautiful!"
However, Diana, now realizing that she was not praising me, grumbled and became angry as if she had never felt such a feeling of murder.
“This, this, ugly thing!”
Diana was so angry that she felt like she would burst into tears at any moment.
Alan looked sharply at Sophie and put his hand on Diana's shoulder as if to comfort her.
“How dare you laugh at the princess? The maid of the duke’s family, so openly?”
“Yes, sir! I am not, how could I...”
Frightened Sophie looked at me with upset eyes.