Chapter 6

Episode 06 Is Love That Important?

I had to soothe the maid who was about to faint after seeing my face. I was given a bag of ice. Somehow, around the evening when the swelling had subsided, I ate alongside the Marquis.

To be honest, it was a little awkward, so I was pushing food into my mouth to quickly finish as the Marquis talked. I wondered what I would do if he asked if something happened in the palace, but fortunately he didn’t.

“Are you sure you’re not going to choose a knight?”

“I think our family knights are enough.”

“If you don’t have any particular reason to dislike it, go to the ceremony.”

The Marquis paused and spoke in a calm voice.

“…..Every year, small families or commoners become knights to seek for success, but are often not chosen due to their weaknesses. If I choose to choose anyway, it is to strengthen the union between the families by choosing the retainer of a powerful family.”

‘Is this because it creates a connection? I thought that modern society and the fantasy world; the places where people live are all the same.

“A knight of noble birth values only himself, and his mouth is light, so he cannot be entrusted with secrets. Although there are many cases in which the owner is serving a knight due to the disorganized relationship, that is not the duty of the knight.”

The Marquis, who had touched the tip of the knife for a while, added with a sharp glance.

“You send him to go to where you can’t go, you let him do what you can’t, one who won’t tell anyone about it, so… if you find any nonsense, bring in someone to die for

you.”

Eris is so good at decorating evil schemes, so Eris may need such a knight. Not me. But it’s strange, as it couldn’t be, but it seemed like the Marquis was telling me. Not to Eris, but to me.

That’s how it seemed. I don’t know Eris. She has a ferocious heart, but I just vaguely mimicked ‘the noble lady’, not Eris. Minor habits, tastes, and preferences would have changed.

People who had watched Eris all their lives couldn’t help but recognize it. My hand holding the fork trembled.

Should I apologize? I’m sorry I stole your daughter’s body? What if I apologize? Will you want to kick me out? Will he blame me?

I was more afraid now than the time when I was caught by Hubris. Because it’s a psychological debt. I feel guilty for taking away her beloved family.

The Marquis looked at my hand and sighed. I closed my eyes tightly because I thought I was wrong,

And he held my hand. When I looked up at him in surprise, he passed without saying a word. The blunt consideration brought tears to my eyes.

I missed my dad.

‘What happened to me? Is he dead? Is he alive? Would my parents be looking for me if I went missing?’

In my head, a picture of my parents who would distribute leaflets while looking for their daughter was drawn. Would my younger brother, who used to be immature, calm our parents as much during that time? Can I go back?

It was scary.

It is scary.

I want to go home.

Emma was a maidservant who had worked in this mansion since her birth. Emma’s mother also worked for the Marquis, and if Emma had a daughter someday, she would work here too.

She remembered the day when the girl, was first born. The white skin and red cheeks were so lovely that she thought all, babies were so pretty.

When she gently touched her cheek for fear of breaking, her small hand tightly holding my finger was soft and warm and she shed a little tear. So Emma fell in love.

The girl grew beautifully day by day. In this world, Helena, the maid of the Imperial Palace, is said to be the most beautiful, but Emma could be confident that the girl was saying such things to people who didn’t know her.

‘If Emma was looking at the dark blue hair planted after cutting the night sky, the skin shining like snow, the green eyes that resembled a forest in the middle of summer, and the bloody lips redder than a rose, she felt a desire to express her heart out.

The girl was the only daughter of a noble family in the country, so her appearance was different. She always did her best, and she wanted the people around her to be the best. She even refused to meet her own standards, or even became angry.

In the streets, she said she was arrogant and proud, and Emma hated the people who said that.

‘What are the complaints that the most precious lady in the country deserves?

She said that her fiancé was the prince, and she was the body that would one day become the empress. Her future will always be high up anyway, and people were jealous of it and always tried to trash her lady.

The more they did, the more she tried. She thoroughly fostered herself to prevent another disgrace. She studied when she was teased for being stupid, and she put a lot of effort into her appearance so that she wouldn’t be told that she has become uglier than before.

When she heard the harsh words, she paid ten times as much as she did when he touched her things, twenty times as much as he did.

She didn’t have to be pretty to those who didn’t like her. Rather, she acted more vicious than the rumors. Emma, who was sad that a beautiful baby was hated, asked why, and the girl replied with a strange face.

– I have to be mean, so you guys won’t be ignored.

– But unlike you, we’re from a humble background.

– Foolishness, men of high posts are insidious, and they make fun of me by putting me on top of you as lowly people. That’s what they’re saying, and the owner (father) knows. Because I can’t see it, make sure you guys hold your heads high.

As soon as the palace recognized her as a woman of marriageable age, they sent people to teach her royal court manners and practical affairs of the palace,

At that time, her young lady could hardly sleep. Oftentimes, she used to run out of energy, but she never skipped visiting the Imperial Palace. She continued to go and return, still dazzlingly dressed but with a pale face.

There was a rumor that the Crown Prince hated her, but there was no way to express it.

Emma could not console. She watched as it hurt the young lady’s high self-esteem. Emma was anxious about the girl. Her young lady was melting away.

‘It was a sunny day. After the long winter, the weather finally cleared up, and the servants were all busy tidying up their closets.

Emma was also carrying a blanket in her arms and totteringly, unsteadily, moving her feet. It was then. What she saw in the far corner.

The young lady didn’t cry. Even though she was criticized by everyone for being a tough woman, she never shed a tear in front of people.

So was that day. The young lady was just sitting. She wasn’t crying, she didn’t even look at the forest.

Emma was suddenly struck with fear.

– My lady.

Eris did not answer.

– My lady, the floor is still cold.

Eris didn’t get up.

– My lady, my lady, please say something…!

Eris did not cry. Emma ran to her and wrapped the blanket around her as if she was hiding the young lady. Finally shielded from everything, Eris asked.

– Is love that important?

– Pardon?

– But it’s a position that you can’t just sit in with just love. That’s not a good thing. Can you be an empress if you just love the Emperor and smile? The empress, the empress… She’s a person who assists the Emperor, and I learned that way, and I worked hard.

They don’t appreciate her efforts. Her sincerity is not seen. Her determination is treated as self-righteousness, and she is considered arrogant when she is motivated.

Because she’s not nice, because she’s not sweet, because a villainess is disgusting.

– I like it even if you (the Crown Prince) don’t love me. But I can admit it. Huh? …She can only laugh, but everyone loves her……

Finally, the blanket got wet. Oh, Emma wished how good it would have been if she had been a witch. If only she could hide Eris’ tears right now because they were raining down.

But Emma was just an ordinary and ugly maidservant, so all she could do was pray. May all of Eris’ wishes come true.

However, Eris wished that she would be able to disappear at that time.

Miracles work in the most unfortunate way.

Emma was a maid who worked in this mansion from the time she was born. She could actually say that she had watched Eris longer than Eris’ parents, and she was confident. So Emma was so sure that her lady had suddenly changed.

She didn’t tap her fourth finger lightly when she’s contemplating something anymore. Her habit of drinking a glass of water before she went to bed, and the habit of chewing the tips of her fingernails when she was nervous.

Instead, she began to cross her legs lightly one day and found spicy spices that she had not eaten.

Emma thought she knew better than anyone else, but the lady kept feeling unfamiliar. Changed speech, changed steps, changed habits…… Emma was sometimes caught up by the urge to grab and shake her lady.

Who?

She will be kicked out as a crazy woman, but she wanted to ask. She wanted to shout in her heart, “Who the hell are you?”, and, “Where did my lady go?”

‘It was a simple thing to say that she had

simply lost her memory, but yet she remembered all the really important facts.

What’s really driving Emma crazy was that the young lady was trying her best to ”pretend to be fine’.

So Emma was even more suspicious. What if the young lady was taken away by a bad witch? If you ask for help, you will be executed as a witch. The helpless Emma won’t be able to save her.

But one night, Emma decided to ask questions she wanted to throw up again and again everyday.

When she suddenly woke up thirsty, Emma unconsciously sneaked open the door of the young lady. This is because she sometimes checked it, to cover the fire well again if the lady kicks it.

But instead of her sleeping young lady, what greeted Emma was a crumpled blanket that had lost her master. Emma’s heart hurt.

‘Nowadays, there are many unusual accidents. There were times when the lady was stabbed by an eccentric, and there were times when the stall keeper managed to get his foot on the wrong spot on the roof.

What if it wasn’t an accident? What if someone was executing a clever plan to hurt Eris?

No, no, no. Emma barely picked up a candle and ran barefoot. Emma couldn’t call Eris because her voice broke. It was a big deal if the kidnapper noticed and ran away or hurt Eris, so Emma ran regardless of the cut of her foot.

Please don’t go too far.