Chapter 27

“Where exactly is the Ortenza family from? I’ve never heard of them.”

“I believe there’s a Baron Ortenza in the Grand Duchy of Ervinzel.”

“Oh my, so a baron’s daughter is acting as a tutor now?”

“She’s not even his daughter. She must be a distant family member. Probably split off generations ago.”

“Then can you really even call her a proper lady?”

“Just look at her clothes. Anyone would mistake her for middle class.”

The shrill laughter stabbed at Dianne’s ears. She kept her expression smooth and polite, if only to preserve some semblance of composure.

As usual, she had come out to the rear gardens after lunch to clear her head. She’d even left Sir Reussen behind to be alone with her thoughts. But two of the princess’s attendants had gotten there first, and the moment they noticed her, they’d raised their voices for her to hear. It was obvious they wanted her to hear.

Dianne had to work hard to calm the boiling anger inside her.

‘Why on earth can’t women challenge each other to duels?’

If she were a man, she would have marched straight up and flung her gloves in Bertona’s face. People would’ve called it gallant. But a Lady wasn’t allowed to grab another Lady by the hair and drag her down.

Bertona Aldebaran noticed Dianne pausing in her steps and, with all the pride of a peacock, turned to her companion and said,

“I hear she attended a girls’ school in the capital.”

“Oh dear. Why would she?”

“Probably because her family wasn’t worth much. If your parents can’t teach proper manners, I suppose you have to send your daughter off to—”

Before she could finish, her companion quickly clamped a hand over Bertona’s mouth. Not because of Dianne’s expression, though her face was growing more and more demonic by the second.

“I’ve truly heard enough.”

A familiar voice, dripping with contempt and annoyance, came from behind Bertona. Their footsteps sounded firm and steady.

Dianne’s mouth fell open. Pushing through the hedges of the garden came none other than Princess Elphenlira.

“Y-Your Highness!”

Bertona and her companion immediately grabbed their skirts and dropped into hasty curtsies. The princess gazed down at them with eyes like a frozen lake.

The princess was dressed much as she had been at the hunting grounds.An oversized shirt meant for a man, riding breeches tucked into tall boots, and a short sword strapped to her hip. In that moment, she looked less like a princess and more like a boyish young knight.

Sweeping a stray leaf from her tousled golden hair and brushing dirt from her shoulder, the princess looked every bit as though she’d just woken from a nap in the woods.

“Bertona. Luisilla.”

The two maids hesitantly raised their heads. The princess asked,

“What is the foremost virtue of a lady-in-waiting?”

Bertona and Luisilla were silent. Dianne, despite everything, found herself pitying them. If she’d been in their shoes, she wouldn’t have been able to answer either.

Only when they saw the growing fire in the princess’s eyes did the two finally speak in unison, trembling.

“Silence… Your Highness…”

“Correct. Silence. And yet here I find my ladies, in my own palace, clucking like hens without the slightest decorum. Am I to tolerate this spectacle?”

“…”

“Did Ornin not tell you that I loathe gossip and rumors? Or is it Ornin herself I should be reprimanding?”

At the mention of Countess Ornin’s name, the two maids turned paler still. As if rehearsed, they dropped their heads lower, near begging now.

“Forgive us, Your Highness. We’ve been thoughtless and spoke without restraint.”

“It won’t happen again. Please, Your Highness, have mercy and pardon us.”

But the princess had no intention of pulling out the knife. She twisted it instead, her expression unforgiving.

“And whom were you so gleefully gossiping about?”

Bertona and Luisilla glanced at each other but said nothing. The princess’s voice sharpened with fury.

“She is the one chosen by His Majesty. Or did Ornin forget to mention that, too?”

The two maids began to tremble like frightened little animals caught in a trap.

Elphenlira delivered the final blow.

“Are you daring to question the Emperor’s judgment?”

The two girls looked as though they might drop to their knees at any moment. Even Dianne, only a bystander, felt a chill crawl across her skin.

And yet the princess—who had just crushed her maids beneath her heel without the faintest hint of remorse—didn’t so much as glance in Dianne’s direction. She turned away as if none of this had anything to do with her.

“Do not show yourselves to me until you receive word. The final decision will be left to Ornin.”

With that, the princess disappeared once more into the hedges, the same way she’d come. The maids burst into tears as soon as she was gone, fleeing the garden in disgrace.

In the silence left behind, only Dianne remained in the wake of the storm.

‘What… just happened?’

The princess hadn’t stood up for her. That much was clear. Their offense had not been “insulting Dianne Ortenza.”

And yet, something had changed. That much was undeniable. The princess had shown herself to Dianne of her own will, and in the end, what she had done amounted to protecting her.

“It’s not like she’s had a change of heart…”

Still, was it alright to hope? Even just a little? Dianne left the garden with a lighter step than before, her thoughts swirling. She couldn’t wait to tell Sir Reussen what had just happened.