RGBR 10

Chapter 10

After leaving the Grand Duke of Raiwens’s residence and getting into the waiting carriage, Elenor finally let out a long sigh.

As she smoothed the wrinkles in her dress and thought about what lay ahead, she felt a piercing gaze and raised her head.

The Grand Duchess of Frihosen, sitting across from her, was staring at Elenor with an expressionless face.

When Elenor met her mother’s direct gaze, she felt a little awkward.

Does Mother think I did something wrong?

But Elenor didn’t think she had gone too far.

The Grand Duchess of Raiwens was an arrogant woman. Even when Elenor had been the Imperial Consort, the Grand Duchess of Raiwens had frequently visited Helena and complained about Elenor behind her back.

All Elenor had done was repay, in a small way, the unpleasantness she had endured back then.

Still, seeing her mother’s gaze made her wonder if she had done something unnecessary.

I shouldn’t have provoked the Grand Duchess of Raiwens.

She regretted it, just a little.

After thinking it over, Elenor immediately bowed her head toward the Grand Duchess of Frihosen.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

“Sorry?”

“Yes.”

“For what?”

Elenor was momentarily flustered and raised her head.

“…Pardon?”

“I’m asking what you did wrong.”

Elenor studied her mother’s expression.

What did I do wrong?

There was nothing but sincerity in the Grand Duchess of Frihosen’s eyes.

She genuinely seemed unable to understand what Elenor was apologizing for.

The corners of Elenor’s lips lifted.

Seeing Elenor smile, the Grand Duchess of Frihosen looked disinterested and turned her gaze toward the window.

“Don’t pay attention to what Ariel says. She’s been saying whatever she wants since she was young. As though she’ll suffer some kind of heartache if she doesn’t say exactly what she’s thinking.”

Ariel?

At first, Elenor didn’t know who her mother was referring to, but she soon realized.

Ariel was the name of the Grand Duchess of Raiwens.

The two women had been childhood friends for a long time.

One had been an unloved and unwanted Imperial Princess, while the other had lost both of her parents and grown up alone under the care of her uncle.

Considering their childhoods, it was perhaps only natural that the two had grown close.

But now they were bitter enemies.

There must have been some reason for it…

Elenor simply didn’t know the deeper story behind their estrangement.

“You did nothing wrong today, so put your mind at ease.”

At those words, Elenor felt warmth spread through her heart.

Before the Grand Duchess of Frihosen could react, Elenor moved over beside her and immediately linked arms with her.

The Grand Duchess looked at Elenor in confusion.

Elenor paid no attention and tightened her grip around her mother’s arm.

“Thank you for saying that, Mother.”

“I merely told you the truth.”

“If I had been the one being mistreated, you wouldn’t have just stood by and watched, would you?”

The Grand Duchess of Frihosen didn’t answer.

She simply offered one arm to Elenor without protest.

When Elenor held onto it even more tightly, her mother merely glanced down at her captured arm instead of pulling it away.

“But how long are you planning to hold on?”

“Until we arrive at the estate.”

“…Don’t joke around.”

“I’m serious.”

At that answer, the Grand Duchess of Frihosen looked down at Elenor before turning her head away.

“The rain really isn’t letting up, is it?”

Hin murmured as she looked out the window.

Elenor, who had been reading a book while drinking tea, turned her gaze toward her.

The sound of rain striking the window echoed through the quiet room.

The rain had begun falling early that morning, and even though it was well past lunchtime, it still showed no sign of stopping.

Watching the rainfall grow heavier and heavier, Elenor nodded.

“It certainly looks like it’s going to rain all day.”

“Yes.”

There hadn’t been any rain for quite some time.

Judging by how heavily it was pouring now, however, it didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon.

As Elenor watched the falling rain, she felt as though the confusion that had clouded her mind over the past few days was finally clearing.

The reason I returned.

The reason I was given another life.

Elenor didn’t want to repeat the same regrets again.

There was less than a year left until her marriage to Joshua.

She had to break off the engagement within that time.

And she had no intention of quietly watching Joshua take the throne, either.

If Joshua sought the throne again this time, she would make sure to bring him down.

She would teach him that coveting something that did not belong to him was a grave sin.

With those thoughts, Elenor brought the teacup back to her lips.

Hin, who had drawn back the curtain and was watching the raindrops falling from the roof, suddenly turned around.

“Oh, right! Come to think of it, why is Countess Belvor late? She usually arrives about one gak before the scheduled lesson.”

Countess Belvor had been Elenor’s tutor since she was young.

She was in her early forties and had a young son.

After losing her husband in an accident, she had been living with her son.

Countess Belvor was a good person.

Even when Elenor had been devastated after discovering that she was not the Grand Duchess’s biological daughter, Countess Belvor had been by her side and helped her keep from falling apart.

Elenor hurriedly glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

Hin was right.

“I wonder if something happened to her.”

“Shall I go and find out?”

“Yes. She’s always been very punctual. I’m worried.”

“Yes. Please wait just a moment!”

After pushing a plate filled with various fruits toward Elenor, Hin hurried toward the door.

But before she could reach it, someone opened the door and entered faster than she did.

Elenor frowned when she saw the young maid approaching alongside Hin.

She had a bad feeling about this.

The young maid was breathing heavily, apparently having run all the way up to the second floor.

With Elenor’s permission, Hin brought the young maid a glass of water.

The girl hurriedly drank it down and finally caught her breath.

“Thank you, Miss. Thank you, Sister.”

“Sanri. What on earth happened that made you run up here like this?”

Hin urged the maid on as she took the empty glass.

The young maid cautiously opened her mouth, glancing at Elenor.

“It’s about Countess Belvor. A servant from the House of Belvor came on horseback a little while ago and told us that the Countess has been critically ill since last night. As soon as I heard the news, I came straight here to tell you, Miss.”

“What?”

Startled, Elenor sprang to her feet.

Her knee struck the table, sending a dull ache through her leg, but that was the least of her concerns.

She hurriedly asked,

“How bad is she? How bad? Has a physician seen her?”

“Yes. They say a physician from nearby has already visited twice. But the physician said it was only an ordinary cold. However, her fever hasn’t gone down all night.”

“What? All night?”

Countess Belvor, who valued keeping her appointments, had sent someone to inform them only on the day of the lesson that she couldn’t come.

That alone meant that her condition must have been far from ordinary.

Good heavens… Her fever hasn’t gone down all night?

That was certainly not something minor.

It was even more concerning when Elenor remembered that Countess Belvor’s husband had contracted a fever of unknown cause several years ago.

He had remained bedridden, never improving, and had passed away in less than a month.

Since Countess Belvor was raising her son alone while maintaining her household, Elenor was naturally worried about the woman herself.

But she also immediately thought of her son.

The six-year-old boy Countess Belvor always complained about, calling him a little troublemaker.

Even though there were servants to look after him, it had only been two years since he had lost his father.

Now, with his mother critically ill as well, Elenor couldn’t help worrying about the child.

In her previous life, that boy had suddenly disappeared.

The shock had caused Countess Belvor to collapse, and she eventually passed away.

Remembering her previous life, Elenor grew anxious.

She paced around the room for a moment before finally making up her mind.

She turned to the young maid and asked,

“What about the servant? Where is the servant who brought the news from the House of Belvor?”

“He left immediately after delivering the message.”

“What? In this rain, you didn’t even tell him to come inside?”

Elenor frowned and scolded her.

The young maid forgot her fear of being rude and shook her head.

“I did, Miss! But he said he had to return right away. I couldn’t stop him.”

The young maid’s small face was filled with tears, as though she were afraid Elenor might punish her.

There was no sign of a lie in her expression.

That’s right. What fault could this little girl possibly have?

Elenor relaxed her expression.

“All right. I understand.”

“Yes.”

Seeing the girl sniffle, Elenor finally noticed how young she truly looked.

She gave a small, amused smile.

Then she beckoned to Hin, who was standing nearby with a worried expression.

Hin immediately approached.

“I’m too worried to just sit here. I think I need to go see her myself.”

Hin nodded in agreement.

“Yes! I’m worried too, so I can only imagine how you must feel, Miss. And the Countess still has a young son.”

“Exactly. I can’t stop thinking about that child, either. I need to go to the estate, check on the Countess’s condition, and see how the boy is doing.”

“Then shall I prepare the carriage?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Of course.”

With that, Hin took the young maid with her and left the room.