CH 95

〈Riley’s POV〉

After the incident at Fabro’s mansion, Riley was put on probation.

Because of that, the only thing I could do in the stuffy room was to think of the princess and regret it.

‘I shouldn’t have said that, I should have responded back like this!’

If the Grand Duke had seen that insolence, he would have lost affection.

Thoughts above continued one after another.

Riley was a person who didn’t even think about the words from her lips she had spoken lightly to tease, but only remembered that Merria drove her away.

For me, Merria was a dreary woman who had a better bloodline than me and luckily caught Reukis’ eye.

I could have laughed at Shannon for being lowly.

Even that won’t work for Merria, so she was angry and feverish as she couldn’t ridicule her.

Riley, who still has Reukis in the corner of her heart, was on the edge of the line.

Along with her father, Her Majesty the Grand Duke, and all the young children in their family provoked her anger.

Riley pursed her lips and glared at Merria.

‘Again, that woman…’

Although she hadn’t seen her for quite some time, Riley recognized Merria at once.

Those whitish blonde hair, and those unlucky red eyes.

It was only natural that it was engraved in my mind since I spent a few days reflecting on it alone.

So when she first walked in as Merria rolled the curtains, she couldn’t help but be surprised by Riley.

But the surprise was for only a brief moment.

I didn’t even wonder why and how Merria was in this store, which I came to for the first time.

Clearly and importantly, for Riley, was that Merria was not a bad match to face.

As much as Riley expected, Merria overwhelmed the atmosphere as she appeared.

The way she looked at me was so arrogant that I couldn’t look at her without biting the soft flesh in my mouth.

However, it was impossible to go against their natural status.

So I greeted her politely because of that.

It was a very typical greeting in accordance with etiquette.

I couldn’t finish gritting my teeth, but Merria didn’t seem to care much.

After that, Riley could see why Merria showed up here in the first place.

‘What do you say, Lexie? Isn’t that dress very familiar?’

Merria’s eyes were fixed precisely on the dress she had chosen for herself.

In all likelihood, it belongs to the princess.

Merria, just like me, must have come to this store with the guidance of her maid.

The maid must be the accuser, seeing them arguing next to her in a fiery rage.

Riley scoffed at Merria, who had previously told her of a servant’s loyalty, as hard as she could.

‘Who’s looking at who in astonishment?’

At Merria’s words, the owner immediately left to dispose of the dress.

Finishing the work in front of her eyes will prove my innocence later on.

Again, only Shannon, Riley, Merria, and her maid were left in the shop.

Now that she’s done with her business, Riley thought Merria would leave soon.

After Merria was gone, she had to carefully pick up Shannon’s dress again.

Riley, a little bit angry at the thought, shook her head slightly.

Then Riley smiled at Merria and spoke, “I never imagined that the Duke’s maid would do such a thing.”

She seemed to offer consolation, but the corners of her mouth were slightly raised.

At the sarcastic remark, Merria raised an eyebrow.

Riley continued speaking without losing the smile on her lips.

“Princess, if you’re done talking, can we do our business?”

Merria’s eyebrows gathered to a frown when Riley said, “If you’re done, go quickly.”

It was obvious what Riley, who regained momentum if she backed down, would do to Shannon.

There were as many dresses as most dressing rooms here.

She can’t claim all of those things as Merria’s.

So, getting Shannon out of here was the priority.

Merria did not respond to Riley’s words.

Instead, she walked towards Shannon, where she stood far away to the side of the store.

Shannon stared at her as she approached with a puzzled face.

“It’s been a while. I’m sorry that I couldn’t ask your name back then.”

At Merria’s witty words, Shannon shook her head.

Merria knew Shannon very well, but it was only natural for her that Shannon did not recognize her.

In the previous incident at the alleyway it’s the only conversation they had.

I haven’t seen Shannon since the day she accidentally knocked the cake over.

Even on the Coming-of-Age Night, Merria only saw Shannon at a glance.

“I’ve bumped into you before.”

It was Lexie who was holding the cake, to be exact.

Shannon still didn’t seem to remember her.

‘Guess what I’m saying.’ When Merria spoke with the shape of her mouth, Shannon raised an eyebrow.

She had been out today at the behest of Riley along her threats.

When she first followed ‘Shannon’ into Magner’s mansion, Riley had a hard time.

Riley used to call Shannon to dress her up when she went to a party.

She was trying to sublimate her inferiority complex into a sense of superiority.

‘You’re nothing but a maid with that smug face.’

It was like a spell that clouded Riley’s sense of entitlement.

But to her, who already knew Shannon’s bloodline, it just seemed ridiculous.

Still, she never stopped or blamed Riley for her actions.

Rather, she was part of the encouraging side.

As much as the kind-hearted Shannon was hurt and jumped into her blanket, she persuaded her to do more.

So that Shannon can dig into my arms. (It’s Ariene in the guise of Shannon.)

‘This is something I didn’t expect.’

I glanced at Riley, who was standing far away, frowning.

Even after changing myself to her body, I expected she would be living alone in the annex.

Riley’s hostility deepened after the Count called Shannon into the main mansion.

Of course, I didn’t care about such glances or abusive language, but now I was busy serving only Helena.

In the meantime, it was a little annoying for such a little girl to walk around in front of me.

Apparently, the relationship between the princess who suddenly appeared and Riley was not very good.

Besides, she acts like a princess, helping the weak.

I had no reason to refuse this favor.

Shannon looked at Merria with teary eyes.

There was no such thing as bumping into a princess in my memory.

Then, who she met on the day the princess talked about was the ‘Real Shannon’.

Who knew there was an outsider in Shannon’s little world that I had created.

She smiled faintly as her innocent eyes lit up. If she was Shannon, she would have said this,

“Yes… I was sorry then.”

‘Cause that stupid little girl has always had to say sorry with her mouth.’

✿

Merria left the store with Shannon that way.

I thought Riley was going to stop her, but she let it go, surprisingly easily.

The way she looked at the three people leaving the store was pretty sharp.

As she moved away from Riley, Shannon gave her thanks to Merria.

“Thank you for your help.”

It was a picture-like smile with peach-colored cheeks burning red.

However, the eyes that were seen under the fluttering eyelashes looked very cold, unlike the light colors.

Merria, who thought she would be crying, paused for a moment and then raised the corners of her lips.

Shannon has a soft and delicate personality as much as her clear appearance.

She was so beautiful that her eyes quickly became dry, but because of that, whenever I faced Shannon, I always felt sorry and uncomfortable.

That’s why I didn’t want to think about it more consciously…

When I met Shannon’s hard gaze directly, it felt like my worries were vanishing.

‘The original Shannon cried a lot and was soft-hearted, but did Shannon change just as I changed?’ Merria thought, facing Shannon and noticing the change.

We stopped in front of a cafe while walking without much conversation.

It was a place that sold tea and coffee during the day and light cocktails when the sun began to set.

After pondering for a moment, Merria said to Shannon, “Do you have time?”

“…?”

She had a lot of things to ask Shannon, so it was a pity to separate from her like this.

Merria asked with a small smile, “If you’re not busy, can we have a cup of tea?”

“If it’s alcohol, that’s also fine.” Shannon replied with a captivating smile.

Merria nodded her head and called for Lexie.

“Go back to the mansion first.”

“I’ll be waiting over there.”

Lexie stirred, but Merria didn’t have time to care about Lexie. Because she wanted to focus only on Shannon, who she was facing right now.

After sending Lexie back first, the two entered the store.

A sparse group of people were sitting under the dim lighting.

When we sat down, the staff brought a menu and water.

Merria, who was looking at the menu, said to Shannon, “Since you’ve given me time, I’ll take all of today’s share.”

“Please…”

Shannon nodded and picked this and that on the menu.

Merria ordered a glass of lemon-based cocktail.

‘I was going to relax with a light drink.’

After a while, the employee who had taken the order came back with a drink in both hands.

He placed the red one in front of Shannon and the blue one in front of Merria.

Merria lifted the glass and looked at the sea-like Marinen Bay.

This cocktail, which has a refreshing taste with lemon, has been drunk by Merria at a masquerade before.

I remembered the day I met Reukis for a while and smiled.

The two grabbed each other’s glasses and cheered for each other as if they had made a promise.

Clink~

A light sound of the thin glass touching spread, and Merria lightly moistened her lips.

Shannon emptied half of the cocktail at a time, as if she liked it.

“The color is very pretty. What’s the name of it?”

At Merria’s question, Shannon tilted her head.

“I don’t know. I picked it based on the picture on the menu.”

Shannon continued after finishing the remaining half.

“It tastes like cherry a lot, isn’t it Pinatio?”

“Cherry…?”

Even after she emptied the bottom of her glass, Merria’s mouth was wide open at Shannon’s response.

Obviously, because Shannon couldn’t eat cherries.