CH 76

“…Little Duchess? What brings you here…”

The attending doctor showed up after a while.

“Where is Baron Alec?”

“I think he’ll be back in two days after he goes to gather herbs in the Kallon Mountains.”

“Why did he go away too long when my nanny is in critical condition?”

“I… I apologize, Your Highness.”

When she gave Martin a vacation, she sent Baron Alec with her. To think the head doctor himself searched all over the place for getting medicinal herbs.

“I heard that her fever rose in the morning. What about her medicine?”

She suppressed her emotions by holding back her boiling anger.

“…Ah, I’ll give it to her right away.”

“Did you forget until I told you?”

“From now on, I will be careful not to let that happen. Please forgive me just this once, Your Highness.”

The doctor bowed his head, sweating profusely. Most nobles valued the gaze of others more than their genuine concern for their people’s well-being, especially when it came to their nannies. That’s why she sent Baron Alec to save the Viscount’s face. Still, the doctor never expected Charelize, who became the little duchess, to come this far.

“Which academy did you graduate from?”

“I graduated from the Eralpier Academy two years ago.”

“The Department of Medicine I know that you must pass five exams before graduating and obtaining a license to become a doctor. In addition, they graduate one year later than other departments.”

“…”

“Giving medications on time is basic of the basics. If you can’t even do that properly, can you be called as a member of the doctors? Did you graduate properly?”

She should have recognized it from the moment he walked in, smiling as soon as he was her.

“You must be thinking it’s unfair for you to hear this from me.”

When Charelize said that, the attending doctor bit his lips strongly.

“Th-that’s not right Your Highness, but…”

“But?”

“I was born as a commoner and put in a lot of effort until I entered the academy. I think you’re saying that just because I’m a commoner…”

“Were you a commoner?”

“Yes…?”

“If I was ignoring commoners and doing this for that one reason, I wouldn’t have made you as my nanny’s personal doctor in the first place.”

She could quickly figure out what kind of person he was with just a short conversation. Seeing that he suddenly brought up that he was a commoner, it seemed that he had a sense of inferiority due to his birth.

“I think you’ve been ignored a lot because you’re a commoner.”

“…”

“I don’t look down on people just because they’re commoners. Right now, there are commoners among my exclusive maids, and there are more commoners than nobles among the knights of Duke Marsetta.”

“Why…”

“Because I only keep people with excellent skill by my side. Being a commoner isn’t important to me.”

Charelize sighed and ran through her hair. “I apologize for asking about whether or not you graduated. It’s about my nanny, so I said something bad without realizing it. I didn’t mean to ignore you, but… I apologize if you felt that way.”

“This… is my first time.”

“?”

“Receiving… apology… from the noble…”

The attending doctor, who didn’t know if he would receive an apology, continued in a daze. “I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

Contrary to earlier, the doctor bowed deeply until his waist.

“My nanny… is someone very precious to me. In the future, please do your best to ensure my nanny is healthy.”

“I’ll keep in mind… Your Highness.”

His preconceived notions he had of nobility were broken. He was so ashamed that his face turned red.

* * *

Having returned to the Marsetta Duchy, Charelize gave the promised amount of her remuneration to Ibelin, writing her name on the check.

“My heart… is beating so fast right now that I think I’m going to die. Thank you. I love you.” Ibelin, who placed her hand on her chest, received it tremblingly.

“Don’t be so happy to receive what you deserve.”

“…”

Charelize said, busily handling the piles of documents while she was away. Ibelin, who was overjoyed, couldn’t hear her.

“Your Highness.”

“Lari? Come on in.”

“Your Highness, a letter has arrived from the imperial family.”

Meanwhile, Lari, who came in after knocking, announced that she had received a letter from the imperial family.

“…A letter?”

“I heard there will be a birthday banquet for Her Royal Highness Princess Veloche soon.”

As Lari said, the letter mentioned that Charelize was invited to the birthday banquet of the Royal Princess Veloche.

While her mother was alive, Charelize had never attended Royal Princess Veloche’s birthday banquet. She didn’t respond to all the rumors about it. Invitations were sent every year, but Harbert IV also didn’t make a fuss about it. She was her cousin, but they didn’t contact each other much.

Everyone knew what tragedies happened between their parents, so it was funny if they saw each other often.

“I see.”

“How… shall we respond to it?”

Since her mother should have died in her previous life the next year, Charelize thought long and hard about what to do.

“Tell the butler to get a necklace of Royal Princess Veloche’s birthstone.”

She hadn’t replied even once until now, but she remembered the look on Harbert IV’s face when he saw her for the first time. She wanted to see it again. The way he hardened his face on the day when he should be most happy.

Asking the butler to get a necklace meant she indirectly expressed her intention to attend.

“I understand, Your Highness.” Although she looked slightly surprised, Lari quickly lowered her head and replied.

Charelize could see some red mixed in with Lari’s hair. “Lari, your hair color… is it originally red?” Seeing it, Charelize unknowingly asked that.

“I-I guess it’s because of the sunlight, Your Highness. The sun is exceptionally bright today.”

“?”

“I still have a lot of work to do, so I will get going first, Your Highness.”

“Yes, don’t fall while running. Go carefully.”

Lari smiled awkwardly and hurriedly went outside, covering the top of her head.

Charelize pondered why Lari’s hair color had suddenly caught her eye.

“What’s wrong if it’s red?” Ibelin, who wondered about Charelize, asked.

“Nothing. By the way, where do you plan to stay in the future?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to go back to my aunt’s house… I’m thinking of staying in the nearby hotel.”

It was hard to explain, so Charelize changed the subject. It was just Ibelin’s fleeting curiosity. Even so, she didn’t want to get caught in troublesome things, so she didn’t ask more and moved on.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to stay at the duchy for a while? Would you like to go to the birthday banquet with me?”

“I like it. It’s not a virtue of a princess to refuse her close friend’s offer.”

“…”

“Why?”

Charelize stared at Ibelin, who said she would do so without hesitation. Feeling that gaze belatedly from her, Ibelin shrugged her shoulders.

“I remembered that you said you were giving up your rights as a royal family member.” Charelize, who didn’t expect her to accept it at once, smiled slightly.

“Without any power, a princess can only survive by being humble.” A bitter expression came over Ibelin’s face as she spoke playfully. “It’s a joke. I was dealing with it through my aunt a few days ago. Until then, I should enjoy it to the fullest.”

“…I will tell them to prepare the guest room. You must be tired from work at the villa, so get some rest.”

“Yes. If you’re tired, take a rest, Charel.”

It took a while for her to look at Ibelin’s back as she left, and Charelize focused again on her paperwork. Her gaze shifted to the sound of someone knocking on her window.  Looking out the window, she saw a blue bird holding a small note in its mouth.

“I have a child who had been trained for contact. You don’t have to worry. They like sweet and sour fruits, so they wouldn’t peck even strangers if you give them that.”

The words she had heard from Marquis Pasimello passed through her mind. Realizing that he had sent it, Charelize opened the window. Then, the blue bird sat lightly on her finger.

“So you’re the child Marquis spoke of. And the note…”

“Chirp!”

The blue bird chirped and swung its head away from her as Charelize was about to get the note. It seemed intent on not giving the note until she gave her something to put in its mouth in exchange for the note.

“I don’t have anything for you right now.”

“…”

Charelize’s stroked the blue bird’s feather. “You’re so smart.”

As if understood, the blue bird sat down on the desk and spit out the note.

[Excuse me little Duchess, by any chance, does Duke Marsetta have any other siblings?

-Dian.]

Charelize’s face hardened as she picked up the note and opened it. It seemed that Marquis Pasimello knew of Raya’s existence. Since it was something no one else should see, she took the note to the candle and burned it.

“Give it to your master well.”

Then she tore up another piece of paper, wrote the reply asking how much he knew, and handed it to the blue bird.

* * *

“Little Duchess.”

A few days later, Marquis Pasimello came to visit.

“What if Lady Luxen finds out you come here…”

“She is a quick-witted person. She must have already noticed I’m on Your Highness’s side.”

“… Indeed.”

Surprised by his visit, Charelize narrowed her brows.

“More than that, can I consider that your message means confirmation?”

“…Who did you hear it from?”

Only a few people knew of Raya’s existence. Charelize even ordered the butler to remain silent.

Although Lebanon was a group that bought and sold information, what they dealt with was completely different. Her head hurt because she thought something unexpectedly had gone wrong.

“Ah… I remembered what I heard from my father, so I checked the personal information of the members.”