Chapter 49

Anna's life in the detached palace.

Serving Lady Anna is not a hardship but a source of fulfillment and purpose for Anna.

I want to see Father.

Is there any way to get out of the castle? A frontal assault is out of the question.

Fortunately, I have a rough idea of the structure of this Vayu's detached palace from the boundary challenge.

There, I made a pleasant discovery.

There is a secret passage from Vayu's detached palace to the castle.

It's a hidden corridor, something like a double hallway, on the other side of the wall.

It extends to the royal castle, winding and complex. It's probably an escape route for the royal family in case of a fall.

I haven't mapped out the entire Vayu palace yet, but I'm gradually writing it down.

I hope that if I ever need to, I can use this map to get to the town below. I'm struggling as best I can.

Anna told me not to overdo it, but when I said, "I'll run away with you," she nodded with a slight smile.

However, I don't think I can get back to the Lattiche territory without a carriage or even a horse.

A lady's legs have no endurance. The most exercise she gets is dancing. Fortunately, I know how to ride a pony. I think I can ride it if it's not too temperamental.

“Pii?”

“Chappie, you're coming with me. Lattiche is a wonderful place.

It's safe, beautiful, and a very nice place.”

“Gii?”

“Huh, I want to introduce you to Father and Mother. I've made a really cute friend.”

Lifting up Chappie, who had come padding up to her feet, she hugged him tightly.

I want to welcome the cute Chappie as a member of the duke's family.

Father doesn't approve of keeping dogs, cats, or even birds. I see small guard dogs or hunting dogs outside the mansion from time to time, so I don't think he hates animals to the point of wanting to eradicate them.

Chappie is a mysterious creature, but he's a good boy with no malice or ill intent.

To begin with, I don't think this creature could survive in the wild.

By the way, there's something else that's been bothering me.

There's someone in this palace. Someone other than Anna and me. I think it's a human.

I can't remember if there was anyone I didn't play with.

Father, Latti Mother, Kishtria, Julius, Micaelis, and Jibril are the only people I can think of. Anna and Sebastian, of course.

To be honest, I don't think there are many people I'm comfortable with.

“...Raven?”

I remember the small servant.

The boy with the exotic features whom Father said he would re-educate. The boy with the dark skin and hair as black as a new moon's night.

Is he nearby?

But there are only a few people I can be close to or touch.

Besides my family of three, there's Sebastian, the steward and butler who has been with me since I was a child.

Julius, my personal servant.

Even the maids are limited to Anna, my personal lady-in-waiting.

Of course, there are many maids in the Lattiche ducal mansion, but only Anna is trusted enough by Father and me to be allowed to serve me.

By process of elimination, it could only be that boy.

Raven is alive—she covered her mouth with a trembling hand.

Father is very selective about who he allows near me. There are only a few people who can pass his strict scrutiny. Only those who won't hurt me and whom I have allowed.

I wonder if he would come if I called him, but I shook my head. Raven is working. I can't call him just to alleviate my loneliness. If he doesn't come, it's probably because he can't show himself while working.

But it's nice to know there's someone else I can trust besides Anna.

On the other hand, I feel bad for him, who is younger than me and is protecting me in such a hostile place.

I realize now that I am protected by many people.

---

Anna was being held.

I know she will return the same day, but that doesn't change the unpleasantness.

She coldly observed the men, who, despite their fine appearance, couldn't hide their frivolous smiles.

"Lord Anna, there's no need to be so tense. We are on Lady Albertine's side.

We are also worried about how the princess must be feeling, isolated and without friends in the royal palace, having never been seen in society."

The man with the condescending eyes is surely the son of Count Geithrude.

He has a sweet and well-proportioned face. His honey-blonde hair is tied at the nape of his neck, and his slightly drooping vermilion eyes are known to be sexy.

He is famous as a playboy, but according to Jibril, he is just a frivolous womanizer. Last year, he was jilted by a wealthy viscount's family due to his bad reputation with women. The next time he tried to get engaged, he was harshly rejected for trying to force premarital relations.

"We are concerned that her health is not strong and that she should not be burdened.

It is because of your dedication that we want to help as well."

The man with the dirty smile and grand gestures is surely the son of Duke Mijura.

A young man with short black hair and slanted black eyes. His sharp features and lean, well-toned body are said to be like tempered steel. He is the third son of a ducal family and is said to be a knight in training, but according to Lattine, he is a one-man show with a hot head and a strong sense of self.

"Hey, that's why we want to meet Lady Albertine.

Bring her here! No matter how fine a lady, she must be lonely, right?"

The boy with the childlike face and curly pink-blonde hair is the son of Viscount Divar. His honey face is used to approach women, and according to Kishtria, he often causes infidelity scandals due to his sexual desires. He was recently on the verge of being disowned by his viscount's family. He even tried to seduce Lattine and was soundly defeated. In a way, he has earned the title of hero.

The three of them are a perfect trio of foolish rich boys.

No, and Anna decided immediately.

Lady Albertine may not be a face fanatic, but she is a lady with a very discerning eye.

With her father, who has the most beautiful face in the world, and the other people with high facial value, she is someone who is treated like a butterfly or a flower.

The likes of these foolish rich boys, who think they are the epitome of justice, are an eyesore. They would surely defile the eyes of Anna's beloved mistress.

They can dream all they want, but she hopes they will self-destruct in a place where they won't enter her beloved lady's field of vision.

"Please leave."

"Eh, that's mean! Why, Anna! Just bring her here for a moment!"

"Without the permission of the Duke of Lattiche, or at least the permission of King Lauses, Lady Lattine, or her son Kishtria, it is impossible."

"Is that so difficult? I won't do anything to harm your mistress, you know."

These three fools are worse than bacteria.

Anna is so disgusted that she wants to disinfect the filth right away.

When Anna doesn't give a favorable response, their masks fall off easily, and their true colors are revealed.

In fact, the other day, when Fortuna, the earl, asked about Albertine's well-being, he was more pathetic, writhing and fidgeting like a girl. It was quite disgusting.

When Grail and Kishtria confronted him, he was a well-dressed, well-mannered, and well-groomed man.

"Please leave. I have been strictly ordered not to let anyone without permission see her."

This is from Grail and the royal family.

Every time Anna leaves the detached palace, there are people who try to make contact. They are all trying to reach Albertine through Anna.

Their quality varies widely. Some hand letters to Anna through butlers or servants, which is polite. It's unacceptable to speak directly to Albertine, but it's a legitimate approach to ask the members of the Lattiche ducal family. It's also a good approach to stop and greet Anna directly. Some, thinking Anna is just a maid, try to wield their power overtly.

The most troublesome are the people connected to the royal family, but Anna has been absolutely cold and unyielding.

She is so cold and mechanical that some officials have a hard time with her.

She looks slender, but her steel will makes her seem larger.

Anna has long since discarded any delicate nerves that would make her flinch at the sight of foolish rich boys. If she had such sensitivity, she couldn't be a servant in the Lattiche ducal family.

The three fools are frustrated that things aren't going their way, but they are cowed by Anna's stern demeanor, which only makes her more irritated.

These spineless fools don't deserve to be near Albertine.

"Then I will take my leave."

She gives a model bow for a maid, which is a waste for the three fools. She starts to leave, but the womanizer grabs her arm in a panic.

"Wait! The conversation isn't over!"

"I'm done. I can't even relay a message without permission."

Anna quickly pulls her arm away.

The slime didn't expect Anna to pull away, and he looks stunned.

She has no time to waste on such fools. She has a beloved mistress waiting for her in that vast, lonely detached palace.

—Recently, she has a pet, but it's only a mascot.

The last time, it got stuck in a vase and cried. Albertine tried to get it out, but her weak lady's strength was not enough. In the end, Anna had to call the shadow to get it out.

The guard is unusually subservient to Anna.

Despite his large build, he has a strange underling-like quality.

If you tell him to carry something, he will. If you tell him to draw water from the well and fill a jug, he will.

He is probably guarding Albertine in hiding today.

As a man, if he ever tried anything improper—Anna finds it amusing, but she doesn't sense any such intent from the guard.

"Wait! You shit!"

She walks quickly through the palace, not waiting. Today, she needs to get more wheat, salt, and fragrant oil.

Julius brought some, so she has enough for now, but she wants to stock up in case of a siege. If it comes to the worst, she will have to use the shadow while she is in the detached palace.

She reorganizes her plans in her head. She has to cut some things because she wasted time with the fools.

"This conversation isn't over—"

Anna gives a puzzled look at the fool's unnatural interruption.

She raises an eyebrow in displeasure and crosses her arms. A man is standing there, touching his Kaiser beard lightly and narrowing his dull eyes.

The golden-haired fool is backing away, and the black-haired and pink-haired ones look uncomfortable.

"What are you doing to my niece's lady-in-waiting? Has the House of Geithrude obtained permission to see her before me?"

"Well, that... that..."

"There's no way you could have. So did you bribe someone, or did you deceive some woman again?"

"No, no, I didn't do anything like that."

Clifford snorts at the vague, evasive answer.

As the son of Duke Fortuna and a count, Clifford is the highest-ranking of the group.

While not a duke, Clifford is a pure-blooded noble and the next head of one of the four great ducal families, so he has considerable power.

"Then I will report this to the royal family and the council. Of course, to the House of Lattiche as well. My House of Fortuna will lodge a protest."

"Wait! We are concerned for the princess, we are worried—"

"—She is not a princess. Albertine is the daughter of the Duke of Lattiche."

With a cold voice and a piercing gaze, Clifford sends the three fools scurrying away.

While it is widely believed that she will be transferred to the royal family, it has not been decided yet. Her father, the duke, is absent, and King Lauses has not agreed to the process.

The council is calling for Albertine to be brought to the royal family as soon as possible, but the situation is at a standstill because she is isolated in the detached palace.

That's why so many people have appeared before Anna, trying to stand out or outdo each other.

At first, it was just to get what they wanted, but when suspicious magic circles and abnormally large barrels appeared, Anna decided to inspect everything herself.

For example, a man was inside the barrel. He was from some duke's family, but when Anna stuck a pin in the barrel, he rolled out.

She watches the three fools run away in a clumsy manner and snorts again.

"By the way, Lady Anna."

Usually, Clifford doesn't use "Lord" for servants.

And the constant fidgeting has started again. Anna knows exactly what he wants to know, but she returns a cold gaze. This man's father is the reason her beloved princess suffered.

His fidgeting fingers seem to reflect his inner conflict.

"Is Albertine... well, that is, is she still suffering? I've heard from others that she is still quite weakened, and I'm worried that she might be bedridden from depression.

I've heard that she is not very healthy. If there is anything she needs, please let me know."

"Lady Albertine wishes to see her father, the Duke."

"Ugh."

Clifford, the big-bearded siscon, clutches his chest and crouches. Anna looks down at him with brown eyes as cold as permafrost.

Her eyes say, "What a pain, this guy."

But it is true that Lady Albertine has not called for the bearded man.

"Well... well, it can't be helped. It's difficult. I'm trying to bring him back, but the messengers' legs have stopped... It seems that this stampede is worse than I thought."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. The detached palace must be quite bleak, not having been used for a long time. Does she have any favorite things?"

"That's not necessary. It's fine as it is."

"Gems? Dresses? I'll have them prepared. They might comfort her a little. Diamonds? No, to match her eyes, peridot or emerald? Or perhaps tourmaline or beryl... chrome diopside? A little unusual, but green garnet? But the best would be sardonyx?"

She sighs. Lady Albertine wouldn't be happy with gems. Dresses are just things to her now. She would be put off by dresses and jewelry from a man she doesn't know well.

"If you give her that, she will surely be offended."

Clifford, who had been muttering, stopped. He turned to Anna awkwardly, like a rusty tin robot.

His face was one of despair.

"Then what can I do for her? I had a grudge with Grail, but I don't hate Albertine. I admit I said mean things. I can't be happy when I or my family are insulted... and I was involved in the cause of this situation.

I know she is not Christina, but the resemblance is too strong. I know I'm overlapping too much.

I want to understand Albertine, to understand her as herself. But I know too little about her.

What can I do for her?"

Indeed, a young lady would normally be happy to receive the latest dresses and shiny gems.

But Albertine is not a normal lady.

She would be happier with a single flower given with heart than with expensive gems.

"Think about it. About Albertine, not Christina."

That's all Anna can say.

---

A few days later, Anna received a palm-sized sachet and a bouquet of cute gerberas from Clifford.

Albertine was surprised by the gift, but when she realized it was from Clifford, she became serious.

However, the pink gerberas were in her strike zone, and the sachet had a gentle scent. After some hesitation, she decorated her room with them, saying they had passed Anna's inspection.

But the gift was destroyed by Chappie within half a day. The gerberas and the sachet's potpourri were scattered and eaten.

As punishment, Anna hung the creature by the window. The creature chirped like a mad clock for a long