Chapter 3

To her relief, Countess Evelina showed no interest in the affairs of House Ervinzel. Her barrage of questions were focused entirely on Dianne herself.

“So, Miss Dianne. How did you come to be a governess? Was it always your dream?”

Hardly. No matter how insignificant the family, a noble lady officially listed in the Peerage would never voluntarily take up a profession.

Though the age had come where women could inherit titles, a noblewoman’s virtue was still most clearly measured by one thing. Marrying well. And to marry well, one needed an adequate dowry.

Dianne had none. What little she might have had long since been spent on her education. And without a dowry, no noblewoman could marry with dignity.

For a lady who could not marry, there was only one path left to maintain a graceful life. To become the governess of a noble household, one of impeccable reputation.

Surely, a woman of Countess Evelina’s station knew all of this, being the head lady-in-waiting to the Imperial Princess. Dianne was aware there was more behind her questions than mere curiosity, but she couldn’t tell what that intent might be.

“I doubt my personal affairs are of much interest to you.”

“I’m not asking simply to satisfy my curiosity, if that’s what you think.”

“Then… may I ask why you’re interested in me?”

The countess came to a stop before a large, thick tree with a wide trunk, its branches spreading wide above them to frame a perfect view of the lake. Beneath it, a table had already been set with tea and light refreshments. The ladies-in-waiting trailing behind them stepped forward to serve.

“Let’s sit, shall we, Miss Ortenza?”

Dianne took the seat opposite the countess. Once the table was set, the attendants withdrew with the maids, leaving the two of them alone.

While Dianne made a polite show of sipping her tea, Countess Evelina gazed out over the lake, bathed in early afternoon light. Then, she spoke.

“In truth, I’m not the one who summoned you today.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“It was His Majesty the Emperor who selected you, Miss Ortenza.”

Dianne carefully set her teacup down.

Countess Evelina still wore that serene, unreadable smile. Dianne tried to mirror it with one of her own, though there was no telling how successful it was.

“Miss Ortenza. How much do you know about Princess Elphenlira?”

How much did she know about the princess?

Only as much as any loyal subject of the empire would know.

Elphenlira Catalos e Catalos.

The only woman in the empire permitted to bear the imperial name itself.

She was the younger sister of Emperor Rezion Catalos e Catalos, who had ascended the throne at the age of just twenty and was now in the sixth year of his reign.

Elphenlira had made her debut into society the year before last, so she must be eighteen now. If the widely circulated portraits were to be believed, the princess was a vision of dazzling beauty, with radiant golden hair, and a bright smile that lit up her face.

Which is to say, Dianne knew almost nothing. She schooled her expression into one of perfect humility.

“I wouldn’t presume to say I know anything about Her Highness.”

“At present, the princess is in the midst of marriage negotiations with the Crown Prince of the Arathos Empire.”

She didn’t show it outwardly, but Dianne was genuinely shocked.

Catalos and Arathos were not even jokingly on friendly terms.

Long ago, the two nations had begun as neighboring states with a shared border. But as they carved up the continent between them through war, politics, and schemes, they had arrived at the delicate, uneasy peace that existed today.

‘When the late emperor passed away, the Arathos Empire sent the crown prince as their representative.’

Gossips whispered that the old emperor of Arathos was said to never even sleep facing the Catalos palace. Yet clearly, something had shifted. But this? Marriage to the Catalos princess? That was another level entirely.

Countess Evelina took a sip of tea and added calmly,

“Of course, this information must not leave this place. I trust you understand without needing to be told, Miss Ortenza?”

Dianne offered a disarming smile.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“Good. You seem like a clever lady. By now, I imagine you’ve guessed why you were summoned.”

It was impossible not to know, unless you were a fool.

An imperial princess in the middle of an ongoing historic marriage alliance. Her head lady-in-waiting. A governess from the House of Ervinzel, a house tied by blood to the imperial family.

Only one conclusion could be drawn from that combination.

“Until the marriage is secured, you will serve as Her Highness’s tutor. By direct order of His Majesty the Emperor.”

Thus, at twenty-one years of age, Dianne Ortenza became the governess to the Imperial Princess.