CH 59.1

The Reincarnated Lady Overcomes Her Fear of the Past 1

Wearing a black dress I had brought from my hometown, I check for any oddities.

My attire consists of a long, simple skirt. The slight embroidery on the collar is a floral pattern I sewed myself during moments of free time.

After extensive searching for suitable casual wear for going out, I finally found one dress, which was actually a bit too plain, so adding the embroidery turned out to be the right choice.

Today was the day I would finally leave for the McClain territory.

Alberto will be coming to pick me up soon. I was so excited that I had already prepared myself. All that was left was to wait for Alberto.

As I was restlessly walking around the room, I heard a knock at the door.

Thinking that Alberto had arrived earlier than expected, I impulsively opened the door without uttering a word.

I didn’t expect to see a different person standing there, so the moment I saw their face, I was startled and let out a small scream of surprise.

This kind of blunder happens because I never make sure to identify the other party first.

“I’m sorry for startling you, Riela…. What’s wrong?”

Just as I was taken aback by her sudden appearance, it appeared that Riela, who had come to visit, was equally surprised. I apologized to her, who stood a little distance away from the door as she looked at me.

I never thought my colleagues would visit me so early in the morning.

From today onwards I’m taking some days off work. Until the ceremony at Rosemary’s memorial monument was over, I had taken a leave of absence from my work at the Knights’ Corps.

However, since I will be accompanying Alberto, the Knights Commander, Eva-sama has told me that it’s not much of a departure from my usual responsibilities.

Also, because I’ve informed those directly involved in my work that I would be going away, Riela naturally knew that I would be leaving today.

That’s why I didn’t know why she came to visit me.

“I’m sorry for visiting you so early… There was something work-related I wanted to confirm before Marie left. Do you think you can spare me a few minutes?”

“If it’s just a while….”

Riela and I had worked together on several occasions during the time when we served as palace maids and were considered potential fiancée candidates.

While performing our duties as palace maids, we were advised to avoid emphasizing our statuses and positions, so we refrained from using honorifics among ourselves. Thus, even though she and I addressed each other by name, we didn’t have a particularly intimate relationship.

Since she herself had been working as a maid in the royal palace even before the commotion involving potential fiancée candidates arose, she taught me some things about her work.

However, she had a strong attitude toward me, perhaps because she was aiming for the position of fiancée, or perhaps because she was fond of Reynaldo and Alberto.

There were times when she would give me sharp glances like she did the other day, but she’s still serious about her work, so it’s possible for her to visit me like now.

I nodded and followed Riela down the hallway of the royal palace.

“I understand that you’re going to the McClain territory? I heard there’s going to be a memorial monument dedication ceremony for Lady Rosemary.”

“Oh really?”

“So, it’s true that you’re a distant relative of Lady Rosemary.”

In response to Riela’s conversation, I chuckled and brushed it off.

Riela explained why she came looking for me as we walked swiftly through the corridors and staircases of the palace.

“The uniforms of the knights were misplaced in the stockpile in the basement of the royal palace. They seemed new, so I thought they had just been tailored, but it’s possible they were accidentally relocated to the storage. I wanted to confirm with McClain-sama or Eva-sama, but I remembered that the knights’ uniforms were arranged by the maids of the Corps. That’s why I wanted to check with Marie first and then report back to McClain-sama later.”

“I did request them, that’s true. But still, why would they end up in the stockpile?”

The stockpile is a place akin to the palace’s warehouse and it’s also a place where emergency provisions are stored, but it’s rarely visited. Furthermore, it’s located unfavorably in the palace’s basement and is rarely used.

Although I’ve occasionally had the opportunity to use it for work, I’ve never ventured deep inside; I only went in and out.

Riela urged me to take the key out of the stockpile and go inside. I took the candlestick placed near the door and lit it with a match placed beside it.

Prompted by Riela, who took out the key to the stockpile and entered, I held the candlestick near the door and lit it with the match beside it.

“That’s where the uniforms are placed. I thought they were palace uniforms, but they’re different.”

I looked at the burlap sack that Riela was pointing towards.

Although I was hesitant about proceeding in the darkness, I moved forward to confirm. Casting a glance at Riela, I noticed she was using her hand to keep the entrance door from closing.

I took a step forward.

“Do you know there’s a rumor going around that Marie has been getting attention from both Duke Rose and McClain-sama lately?”

“Yes. I know.”

As I took another step forward, I began to feel slightly cautious.

“Is it true that you’ve been subjected to malicious behavior?”

“I guess so. I’ve had to deal with situations like that.”

I was sometimes harassed by women residing in the palace who would intentionally trip me up or splash water on me in a conspicuous manner. All of this was out of envy, and I did not take it personally.

I knew that responding to such harassment would only give them more satisfaction, so I chose to ignore it.

There were some who openly displayed their attitude, but after a while, I stopped seeing them. It’s just my assumption, but I think that those who are watching the situation from the sidelines are subtly informing Reynaldo and Alberto.

I never tell them anything that happened. And they don’t tell me anything either.

If it’s mentioned, it could potentially lead to a conflict, so both sides are probably silently avoiding the issue.

Could it be that Riela is also trying to harass me?