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“Huh?”
“We haven’t searched the palace yet. Perhaps Her Highness kept it safely.”
“…do you think so?”
It was a hopeful assumption, but there was a problem.
If the princess picked up an unidentified piece of paper, she would have probably opened it.
Even if the princess held onto it for her, how could Keira explain why she carried such a piece of paper?
Oh, I want to make friends my age. I don’t know what to say, so I brought a cheat sheet with me?
Just imagining that conversation made Keira blush. She could feel her cheeks burning.
Rose: “My lady? Do you feel unwell?”
Keira: “N-no.”
She’d rather be unwell.
Keira: “I should send a note to the Palace.”
The next morning, the investigation team sent news to the Princess that some of the handwriting on the paper was indeed Lady Keira’s.
「At least four handwritings appear on the paper.
We cannot rule out the possibility of the contents to be ciphertext, so the team has tried to decrypt it. Unfortunately, nothing has been revealed so far.」
Arabella had a hunch that there was nothing to be decoded.
In the afternoon, she heard more news about the esteemed daughter of the Grand Duchy. She returned to the Palace.
Bella: “She came to see me? Why?!”
Arabella put down the book she was reading and shouted.
Bella asked why, but she could think of a reason why the lady would visit.
They weren’t close, so she couldn’t possibly have come to see Bella because she wanted to see her face.
Lady Keira was not a frequent visitor to the Palace either.
Then, there was only one answer left.
‘Did she know that I took the paper?’
A guilty conscience needed no accuser[1]. The remark hit the spot.
‘How did she find out I have it? Oh no, maybe the investigation team leaked it…’
The cold look distinct to the lady came to mind. Bella felt like the lady would barge in and ask if she took her stuff.
She didn’t want to admit it… but that lady really was scary.
Maybe an average person wouldn’t have cared, but the fact that the Grand Duchy’s only lady had the blood of spirits running in her made her more difficult to deal with.
Bella looked around in panic, then shook her head.
‘I can just say I picked it up by accident and kept it.’
Did she want to know if Bella hid it on purpose? Or did she wonder if Bella would keep a piece of paper she didn’t know?
In any case, Bella couldn’t ignore the Grand Duchy’s Lady, who came to the Palace.
Bella informed her maid to escort Lady Keira to the drawing room, and she headed there herself.
Keira, who had gone to the Palace just the day before, looked uneasy.
Bella: “I wanted to see you again, but I didn’t expect it so soon.”
Keira: “I greet Her Highness, Princess Arabella.”
Bella: “Please sit down.”
Bella glanced at the table and saw that Lady Keira had not touched the refreshments the maid had prepared.
It was a telltale sign that the guest was nervous. Lady Keira hadn’t taken a sip of tea or taken a bite of the snacks even though Bella was a little late from changing her clothes.
Bella: “What’s the matter? I was surprised to hear that you were here.”
Keira: “I thought I’d lost something in the salon, so I came here just in case you found anything.”
I knew it.
Her mouth felt dry, but Bella continued, pretending nothing was amiss.
Bella: “I found a sapphire ring. It must be Lady Keira’s.”
Keira: “Oh, no. The ring isn’t mine…”
Keira hesitated and mumbled, looking more flustered by the second.
Having never seen Lady Keira like this before, Bella’s eyes widened.
Keira: “It’s about this big… It’s a piece of paper…”
Keira said, measuring the size with her fingers in the air… the same size Bella was keeping.
‘It really belonged to you.’
Once she confirmed her speculation, Bella couldn’t say anything
When Bella stayed silent, Keira looked even more flustered, coming to her own conclusions.
Keira: “As expected, you haven’t seen it.”
Bella: “I don’t know if this is Lady Keira’s, but if it’s a piece of paper, I found one.”
Bella beckoned and ordered the maid standing by the door.
Bella: “You heard that, right? Bring it.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
When the maid bowed and stepped outside, Keira smiled and said.
Keira: “I don’t know how to thank you…”
Bella: “We’re not even sure if it’s Lady Keira’s missing item yet. You can thank me once you’ve checked it out yourself.”
It was not long before the maid came with a small envelope that stored the paper.
That is, the envelope with the Investigation team’s emblem stamped on it.
‘D*mn it.’
Bella quickly took the envelope away, cursing the maid’s stupidity in her mind.
She took out what was inside and placed it on the table, making sure Keira didn’t see the envelope.
Bella: “Please check if this is it.”
Keira’s face brightened when she unfolded the paper.
‘I’ve never seen such an expression on her face,’ Bella thought.
Keira: “This is mine!”
Keira was sick with worry that the maids might have thought it was trash. She breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the Princess.
Keira: “I really thought I’d lost it. I will return this favor, Your Highness.”
Bella: “No, it’s nothing. But do answer my question.”
There was a different reason why she returned the paper.
It’s…
‘I’m curious! I’m dying to know why you carry this around!’
Bella was so curious that she couldn’t even sleep last night.
Keira seemed briefly taken aback by Bella’s question but soon replied helplessly.
Keira: “If there’s anything I can answer… Yes, of course.”
Bella: “Only Lady Keira can answer this question. I’m really curious why you carry this kind of paper.”
“…”
At Bella’s question, Keira’s mouth snapped closed. After a long silence, she finally spoke.
Keira: “You opened it.”
Bella: “It’s not like I wanted to look at it or something. We had to check whether it was trash or something we had to keep safe.”
Keira: “No, I-I didn’t mean to blame you, but…”
Arabella couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Keira’s cheeks had turned bright red.
“?!”
It wasn’t just that.
‘You just stuttered, didn’t you?’
The maids blinked, wondering if their eyes saw wrong.
Seeing the people’s reactions around her, Bella was relieved to see she wasn’t mistaken.
On the other hand, Keira…
‘This is crazy.’
She wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Her face was so warm, it felt like it was about to explode.
She had rushed to the Palace without thinking of an excuse. No, even if she had time, she still wouldn’t have been able to come up with a reason to convince the Princess.
The Princess was an intelligent woman; she must have already known the identity of the paper’s owner.
Asking a question like that was just for confirmation.
In fact, Keira’s reaction now has more than enough to give the Princess an answer.
Keira: “T-that’s…”
She couldn’t think of any excuse because her mind had gone blank.
Eventually, Keira confessed the truth.
Keira: “In the salon… Scared of not being able to keep up…”
Bella: “Huh?”
Keira’s words kept trailing off.
Keira: “I can’t keep up with the conversation… And… Everyone’s saying it’s funny… I’m the only one who doesn’t get it…”
She would pause from time to time, but Bella roughly understood what she was saying.
So, to sum up…
‘So, it really was a cheat sheet?’
Lady Keira couldn’t keep up with the conversation in the salon, and she was worried she’d look ignorant, so she prepared the cheat sheet in advance.
Keira went on to explain.
Keira: “Ah, um, I-i”m not familiar with the conversations of noble ladies.”
Bella: “You’re a noble lady, aren’t you?”
Bella would understand if Keira was a commoner adopted into a noble family or a noble lady who came to the capital from the countryside.
However, she knew that Keira was born and raised in a noble family.
It was absurd that such a person was not familiar with conversations in noble society.
Keira: “I rarely went outside our home, so I’m not familiar with what people outside are talking about.”
“…”
Keira: “No matter who talks… I don’t know what to say…”
Did that sound believable?