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Episode 29
Fortunately, the depth of the artificial pond was only waist-deep at the deepest point, so she could walk without having to swim.
The white petals that had covered the water surface diverged along the path, paving a way, and a red dress submerged in water unfolded beneath the surface of the water like flower petals.
Elisabeth, who had become wet and unappealing, wept bitterly under the cherry tree in full bloom.
Sophia slowly moved closer to Elizabeth.
The wind blew and the cherry blossom scent was thick as white petals flew.
Sophia carefully reached out her arms towards Elizabeth.
“It’s okay, Elizabeth.”
Then the cat, who recognized the friendly savior, quickly embraced her.
Elizabeth, wet with water, raised his claws slightly and gripped her dress.
“You must have been very surprised.”
Sophia patted Elizabeth on the back, whose body was shaking.
Normally, there would have been a sound of “tapping” and moderately fluff noise, but Elisabeth’s wet fur only made a watery sound.
“Meow.”
As if Elizabeth was bewildered, he pressed his head to her shoulder.
His previously lush, silky white hair was drooping like a wet mop, but somehow it seemed cuter.
He rubbed his head against her cheek, knowing that he had no one to turn to but Sophia.
Even when Mikhail tried to touch him, she wondered if it was the same arrogant cat that scratched him.
“It’s okay. I’ll take you to your mother.”
Sophia walked out of the pond again holding Elizabeth, who was firmly settled in her arms, and weighed more than 10kg, perhaps because his fur was wet.
As Sophia seems to be going back into the deep water, she sees Elizabeth climbing over her shoulder.
It seems like he hated water.
Fortunately, Elizabeth stopped crying and sat still.
Although the hem of her dress was wet and rough, it wasn’t difficult for her to get out of the pond.
As they came out again across the pond covered with white petals, the servants rushed to the shore and stretched out their hands.
Sophia got out of the pond with the help of the servants, and they took a towel for Elizabeth and put him safely in the restless Empress’s arms.
“Oh, Elizabeth!”
The Empress’s hand brushed Elizabeth’s wet body.
The other servants covered Sophia with a large robe.
“Sophia, thank you so much. You saved my Elizabeth.”
The Empress expressed her gratitude while holding Elizabeth tightly in her arms.
“No. If not for me, someone else would have saved Elizabeth.”
Sophia smiled awkwardly.
The eyes of the ladies around her were unusual.
They seemed to think Sophia calculatingly jumped in to look good for the Empress.
But that was a misconception that overestimated Sophia.
Even Sophia thought her recent save was too hasty.
‘I need to fix my mentality
 To think I was enraptured by a cute cat
!’
It wasn’t that Elizabeth couldn’t swim, so she could have called a servant to save him.
However, even before her possession, she had never seen a servant, and she was in a position to work in her house and at work.
So unlike other nobles, she didn’t have a habit of calling a servant and trying to solve her affairs, and she jumped right in.
Like a maid or a servant would do.
‘The rumor that I was a maid and my act just now must’ve made everyone more suspicious
’
Sophia glanced at her surroundings.
Fortunately, not everyone seems to have such suspicions. They seem to be suspicious of something else

‘More than that, the dress that Killian bought is all wet.’
Sophia looked down at her wet dress.
Her upper body was damp from Elizabeth’s wet body, and her skirt was heavy with complete wetness below her waist.
The water dripped down like a waterfall onto the grass.
The pond water was clean, but the bright red dress was dull with muddy water, and there are cherry blossom petals everywhere.
‘It’s a very expensive outfit, wouldn’t Killian feel upset about it?’
Because she ruined the expensive clothes he gave her as a gift

Sophia turned pale later.
‘Above all, what can I do with this outfit
?’
It was unreasonable to continue teatime in this outfit.
She didn’t have any clothes to change into right now, so she had no choice but to go back to the Duke’s residence

Then the Empress came up to Sophia and patted a towel on her shoulder.
“Sophia’s clothes are all wet. Come and take her to change her clothes.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Elizabeth must also be washed once.”
The Empress interrupted the tea party and entered the palace with Sophia.
~*~
The Palace of Internus, decorated with pink marble and gold, had a completely different atmosphere from that of Count Frauss or the Duchy.
Count Frauss had a lot of extravagant decorations as if to show off his wealth, and the Duchy was simple with few colors and few decorations.
On the other hand, the Palace of Internus was not decorated with much decoration, but the unique brilliance of marble stood out.
In particular, because of the chandelier reflected on the smooth marble, the entire palace shimmered as if string lights were wrapped around the wall.
Furthermore, the gold decorations with points in various places emphasized the luxury.
Sophia followed the leading maid, looking around like a tourist in a European palace.
Water dripped everywhere she walked, and the servants who followed her immediately wiped the water away.
Marble floors are slippery and can cause accidents if not wiped dry.
Sophia seems to be bothered every step.
“Sorry. You have to clean it up because of me
”
‘I shouldn’t have jumped in.’
As Sophia put her hands together and apologized, the maids following her looked at each other with bewilderment, and they laughed.
“It’s okay, Miss.”
The maids seemed to think that Sophia, who said she was sorry for this, was unusual.
‘Ah, wouldn’t it be strange if I apologized to the person below me for this?’
It’s a damn world where you can’t even apologize.
Sophia, biting her lip, followed the head maid.
“Come this way.”
While the empress went to wash Elizabeth, the head maid took her to a large dressing room.
In the dressing room, which was separated by a single curtain, there seemed to be more than ten wardrobes alone.
The maids were mechanically skillful, measuring Sophia and passing her on to the head maid.
“You’re very skinny.”
Upon seeing her measurements, the maid muttered, and she opened up the oldest-looking wardrobe of many.
“Here’s a dress that Her Majesty wore often when she was young.”
“Wow, these are the clothes that Her Majesty the Empress wore yourself?”
“It’s the Empress’s Palace.”
The maid answered the question so firmly that Sophia was embarrassed. She looked through the dresses the maids had pulled out, and they gestured to pick a few.
“This is probably right for you. Choose your favorites.”
“Can I wear this?”
“The Empress did. It’s the clothes she wore when she was young anyway, so she doesn’t wear them very often these days.”
The maid said sternly.
Sophia looked at the three dresses in front of her.
‘Huh, those shiny things are all gems, aren’t they?’
The first one that caught her eyes was the diamond studded along the neckline and chest decoration.
It was so splendid that it felt like a piece of diamond would fall off every time she walked.
She passed because she didn’t have the courage to wear it.
Sophia then turned to see a dress as purple as a lilac flower.
‘That’s a heartbreak dress.’
She passed the second dress because she was not used to drastic exposure.
In the end, all that was left was a coral dress with a large ribbon on the back.
As Sophia picked out the coral dress, the maids quickly arranged the dress and approached Sophia. Read only at pm tl.
“Excuse me, Miss.”
The nominally polite maids took off Sophia’s dress in an instant.
At her professional touch, Sophia was stunned and naked.
When her skinny body was exposed, the maid looked around her as if to inspect her. Then, her gaze rests on her waist.
“You have a pretty big scar.”
“Oh, it’s a scar from a childhood injury.”
Sophia remembered that she also had a scar on her back.
‘Is it a problem?’
In the past, she read in a book that women destined to be chosen as the Empress or Crown Princess should not have scars on their bodies.
Maybe there are similar rules like that in this world

Fortunately, however, the maid nodded her head to others without saying a word.
Maids who brought basins and towels from the bathing room wiped my legs that were dirty from entering and exiting the pond.
Not to mention, Jenny, the maid of the Duchy, wasn’t good at it because she didn’t have much experience in dressing women

At that time, the door to the dressing room opened, and the Empress entered through the partition that had been placed at the entrance.
Perhaps Elizabeth was entrusted to the hands of the servants for a wash.
“Oh, Sophia. I didn’t know you would like that dress.”
The Empress smiled as she looked at Sophia in her petticoat and the coral dress the maid was holding next to her.
And she skillfully sat on the couch on one side of the dressing room.
“Thank you so much for today. Elizabeth is like my child.”
“It’s nothing. Elizabeth is so pretty that I didn’t even realize I went out like that first.”
At Sophia’s words, the empress’s lips were filled with joy.
“By the way, Sophia, I had a lot of questions for you, but it turned out well.”
The Empress smiled and met her eyes.
Sophia only then realized that the empress had come here to treat her alone.
The empress also knew that the ladies wouldn’t like her if she was only interested in her during tea time.