Chapter 8

After graduating from the academy, I obtained a job teaching embroidery to the daughters of noble families, thanks to the mother of my best friend, the late duchess.

The late duchess, a master of embroidery, often invited me to her mansion to embroider together, and many noble ladies wished to learn embroidery from me after seeing my work.

I learned various things, including manners and etiquette, from the late duchess. Thanks to her kindness, I could confidently conduct myself even when invited to the mansions of high-ranking nobles.

Even when invited to the splendid mansions of the nobility, I was not nervous, as I was familiar with the ducal mansion, which was said to be on par with the royal palace.

The retired duke and duchess regularly invited me to their home. They were always delighted by my visits and treated me with great hospitality. The current duke, who had inherited the title, also asked me to visit, saying that his parents would be lonely without me.

Meeting people of different status and age requires caution. However, thanks to the duke and duchess's consideration to help me stay relaxed, my visits continued.

I never missed visiting my best friend's grave. While living in this safe country, I fulfilled my role of mourning for my deceased friend with all my might.

For my friend, whose whereabouts were unknown, I embroidered the drawing he had given me onto a piece of fabric. It was a work that I could not show to anyone. To embroider it on a large piece of fabric, I needed time and a place. The late duchess kindly provided me with a place.

I embroidered each stitch, praying and wishing. The current and late dukes promised to send the emblem of the neighboring kingdom's royal family, which I had embroidered on a large piece of fabric, to the appropriate place. I did not ask where it would be sent.

Even after retiring, the late duke's influence remained unchanged. Various people visited the late duke. I was allowed to join the late duke and his friends. The tradition of my best friend's farewell before her departure continued naturally.

It was a gathering of high-ranking nobles, and naturally, the neighboring kingdom was a topic of conversation. In the neighboring kingdom, rebellions were breaking out in various regions due to the king's tyranny. The flags flying over the rebels bore the traditional emblem of the neighboring kingdom's royal family, which the current king had abolished. It was the same design I had embroidered and given to my friend. The flag, which linked the rebels to the former king whom my friend had killed, made the neighboring king furious.

Naturally, his anger was directed at the ducal family. The envoy sent from the neighboring kingdom requested an inspection of my best friend's grave. The king of this country granted permission with several conditions. On that day, the coffin, which had been sealed and unseen by anyone, was opened. Inside, a skeleton wrapped in a dress lay.

The late duchess and duke, the current duke and duchess, and I, who was specially allowed to be present as a best friend, shed tears at the rudeness of the neighboring kingdom's envoy. The envoy apologized to us and returned.

The story of the grave of the young and tragically deceased noble daughter being forcibly opened spread from this country to the neighboring kingdom. It further tarnished the reputation of the tyrannical king and alienated the people even more.