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CHAPTER 10

After leaving the Raiwens Grand Duke’s residence and getting into the waiting carriage, Elener finally let out a long sigh.

As she smoothed out her wrinkled dress and thought about what lay ahead, she raised her head when she felt a gaze that seemed to pierce right through her.

The Grand Duchess of Frihosen, sitting across from her, was staring at Elener with an expressionless face.

Elener felt a little awkward under her mother’s direct gaze.

Is Mother perhaps going to tell me that what I did was wrong?

But Elener did not think she had gone too far.

The Grand Duchess of Raiwens was an arrogant woman. Even when Elener had been Empress, the Grand Duchess of Raiwens would come to see Helena at every opportunity and gossip about Elener.

This had merely been Elener’s small way of paying her back for the unpleasantness she had caused back then.

Still, facing her mother’s gaze made Elener wonder if she had done something unnecessary.

I shouldn’t have provoked the Grand Duchess of Raiwens.

She regretted it a little.

After thinking it over, Elener abruptly lowered her head toward the Grand Duchess of Frihosen.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

“Sorry?”

“Yes.”

“For what?”

Elener raised her head in confusion.

“…What?”

“I’m asking what you did wrong.”

Elener studied the Grand Duchess of Frihosen’s expression.

What did I do wrong?

There was nothing but sincerity in the Grand Duchess’s eyes.

She genuinely seemed not to understand what Elener was apologizing for.

The corners of Elener’s lips lifted.

When the Grand Duchess of Frihosen saw her smiling, she looked uninterested and turned her gaze toward the window.

“Don’t pay attention to what Ariel says. She’s been saying whatever she wants since she was young. It’s as though she’ll develop an illness if she doesn’t say exactly what’s on her mind.”

Ariel?

At first, Elener did not know who the Grand Duchess was referring to by Ariel, but she soon realized.

Ariel was the name of the Grand Duchess of Raiwens.

The two women had been childhood friends for a long time.

One had been an unloved and unwanted princess, while the other had been a lonely young lady who lost both her parents and was raised by her uncle.

Considering their childhoods, it was perhaps only natural that the two had grown close.

Yet now they were complete enemies.

There must have been some story behind it…

But Elener did not know the deeper circumstances.

“You did nothing wrong today, so put your mind at ease.”

At those words, Elener felt warmth spreading through her heart.

Before the Grand Duchess of Frihosen could react, Elener moved over beside her and suddenly linked arms with her.

The Grand Duchess looked at Elener in puzzlement.

Elener paid no attention and tightened her hold on her mother’s arm.

“Thank you for saying that, Mother.”

“I was merely stating a fact.”

“If I had been the one being mistreated, you wouldn’t have just stood by and watched, would you?”

The Grand Duchess of Frihosen did not answer.

She simply offered Elener one arm without resistance.

When Elener tightened her grip around it even more, the Grand Duchess merely glanced down at their linked arms without attempting to pull away.

“But how long are you planning to hold on to me?”

“Until we arrive at the mansion.”

“…Don’t joke around.”

“I’m serious.”

At that answer, the Grand Duchess of Frihosen looked down at Elener before turning her head away.

Hin looked out the window and murmured,

“The rain doesn’t seem to be stopping, does it?”

Elener, who had been reading a book while drinking tea, turned her gaze at the remark.

The sound of rain striking the window echoed through the quiet room.

The rain, which had begun falling in the early hours of dawn, showed no sign of stopping even though it was well past lunchtime.

Watching the rainfall grow heavier, Elener nodded.

“It looks like it’s going to rain all day.”

“Yes.”

There had been no rain for quite some time, but judging by how heavily it was pouring, it did not seem likely to stop anytime soon.

As Elener watched the downpour, she felt as though the confusion that had filled her mind over the past few days was finally clearing.

The reason I came back.

The reason I was given another chance to live.

Elener did not want to repeat the same regrets again.

There was less than a year left until her marriage to Joshua.

She had to break off the engagement within that time.

She also had no intention of simply watching Joshua ascend to the imperial throne.

If Joshua sought the throne again this time, she would make sure to drag him down.

She would make him understand that coveting something that did not belong to him was a grave sin.

With those thoughts in mind, Elener brought the teacup to her lips again.

Hin, who had drawn back the curtains and was watching the raindrops falling from the roof, turned around.

“Oh, right! Come to think of it, Countess Belvoir is late, isn’t she? She usually arrives about an hour before the lesson starts.”

Countess Belvoir had been Elener’s private tutor since she was young.

In her early forties, she had one young son.

After losing her husband in an accident, she had been living with her son.

Countess Belvoir was a good person.

Even when Elener had been devastated upon learning that she was not the Grand Duchess’s biological daughter, she had been able to keep herself from falling apart because Countess Belvoir had been by her side.

Elener hurriedly glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

Hin was right.

“Could something have happened to her?”

“Shall I go and find out?”

“Yes. She’s usually very punctual about keeping appointments. I’m worried.”

“Yes. Please wait just a moment!”

Hin pushed a plate filled with various fruits toward Elener and was walking briskly toward the door when someone opened it and entered even faster than she could.

Elener frowned when she saw the young maid who had come in with Hin.

For some reason, she had a bad feeling.

The young maid was breathing heavily, apparently having run all the way up to the second floor.

With Elener’s permission, Hin handed the young maid a glass of water.

The young maid hurriedly drank it and finally caught her breath.

“Thank you, my lady. Thank you, sister.”

“Sanri. What on earth happened that made you run all the way up here like this?”

Hin urged the maid on as she set down the glass.

The young maid glanced nervously at Elener before carefully opening her mouth.

“It’s about Countess Belvoir. A servant from the Belvoir household came on horseback a little while ago and told us that she has been critically ill since last night. As soon as I heard the news, I came straight to you, my lady.”

“What?”

Elener shot to her feet in surprise.

Her knee struck the table, sending a sharp ache through it, but that was the least of her concerns right now.

Elener hurriedly asked,

“How bad is she? How bad is her condition? Has a physician seen her?”

“Yes. Apparently, a physician from nearby has already visited twice. But the physician said it was just a common cold. However, they say her fever hasn’t gone down at all throughout the night.”

“What? All night?”

Countess Belvoir always placed great importance on keeping her appointments.

The fact that she had sent someone only on the day itself to say that she could not come meant that her condition must have been far more serious than usual.

Good heavens.

A fever that had not gone down all night was certainly no ordinary problem.

Especially considering that her husband had contracted an unexplained fever several years ago, remained bedridden without improving, and passed away in less than a month.

Since Countess Belvoir was raising her son alone and maintaining the household by herself, Elener was naturally worried about her.

At the same time, she thought of the woman’s son.

The six-year-old boy whom Countess Belvoir always complained about as a troublemaker.

Even though there were servants to look after him, it had only been two years since he lost his father.

Now that his mother was critically ill as well, Elener could not help but worry about the child.

In her previous life, that child had suddenly disappeared.

The shock had caused Countess Belvoir to collapse, and she eventually died as well.

Remembering her previous life, Elener grew anxious.

She paced around for a moment before finally making up her mind and asking the young maid,

“What about the servant? Where is the servant who brought the news from the Belvoir household?”

“He left immediately after delivering the message.”

“What? In this rain? You didn’t even tell him to come inside?”

Elener frowned and scolded her.

The young maid shook her head, forgetting her fear of being disrespectful.

“I did, my lady! But he said he had to return immediately. I couldn’t stop him.”

Tears welled up in the young maid’s small face, which looked as though she feared being punished.

There was no sign of a lie.

Yes. What fault could this little girl possibly have?

Elener relaxed her expression.

“All right. I understand.”

“Yes.”

Seeing the girl sniffle, she finally looked her age.

Elener let out a small laugh.

Then she gestured to Hin, who was standing nearby with a worried expression, and Hin immediately approached.

“I’m too worried to stay here. I think I need to go see her myself.”

Hin nodded in agreement.

“Yes! I’m worried too, so I can only imagine how worried you must be, my lady. Besides, the Countess still has a young master to look after.”

“That’s right. I’m worried about that child too. I should go to the Belvoir estate, check on the Countess’s condition, and see how the boy is doing.”

“Then shall I prepare the carriage?”

“Yes. Please do.”

“Of course.”

With that, Hin left the room with the young maid.