Chapter 4

"My mother's hobby is embroidery. Unfortunately, that talent wasn't passed down to me."

The noble lady had nominated me to join her mother, who is my grandmother by blood and a duchess, in her embroidery circle.

As the noble lady said, the duchess is famous for her embroidery skills. Despite the decline in her eyesight due to age, her recent works lack the intricacy of her younger days. However, her color choices, backed by her experience, and the needlework discernible from her pieces are truly remarkable.

"My not-so-young mother has said she wants to do embroidery with me. But I can't fulfill her request. I would be delighted if you, my friend, could fulfill her wish."

I was so excited about the prospect of embroidering with someone I respected that I didn't notice when we became friends. I realized this only after I returned home.

The duchess, out of kindness, taught me the etiquette of the high nobility. Her guidance, having raised the noble lady to be the ideal young lady, was excellent. I was even praised by my parents and brother for the change in me.

In society, the noble lady is known as the ideal young lady, but at the duchess's house, she practices riding and swordsmanship, archery, and spear fighting with the knights.

Noticing my gaze at her Adam's apple, the noble lady realized that involving me would increase her practice time. The noble lady, who was supposed to be embroidering with the duchess and me, ended up sweating with the knights.

After practice, she would come to the room where the duchess and I were embroidering, not to embroider but to take a nap. She would lie on the chaise lounge, relaxed and a bit slothful, which surprised me at first. I recalled that my brother used to be like this and felt a bit nostalgic.

"What a troublesome child."

The duchess only smiled wryly.

"I don't know if our choice was the right one."

I sensed the duchess's anguish in those words.

The duke and duchess raised the noble lady as a young lady to ensure her survival, regardless of her own will.

Outside the mansion, at the academy, the noble lady is always dressed in a dress, hiding her mouth with a fan, and smiling calmly. Inside the mansion, she lives actively as a young man.

"Whether at the academy or at the mansion, she is living happily."

I wanted to say, "I don't think it's wrong," but I didn't finish the sentence. The duchess smiled.

Sharing secrets brings people closer. I had become the noble lady's friend and eventually her best friend. I laughed at her complaints about the trouble of acting as a noble young lady at the academy.

My role at the duchess's house gradually changed. At first, I only joined the duchess in embroidery and accompanied my best friend during her naps.

"Even a young girl like me can sit in on conversations between my father and his friends. I would be happy if you could join us too."

My best friend, with a desperate look that was the opposite of her calm tone, begged me not to refuse. I couldn't refuse. I was allowed to join the duchess and her friends in discussions about politics and economics, not just my best friend.

Though it was through eavesdropping, I learned things that a poor count's daughter would never know. The content was something I could never reveal. The duchess's thoughts, which were becoming clear, made my spine chill.