Just sharing a breath with the Grand Duke felt messy and defiling, as if she herself were becoming tainted. Yet the only reason she had to join hands with a man cruel enough to slaughter his own family was simple:
“Because I have no power.”
Tragically, the current Charlotte possessed no power whatsoever. The name of the Duke of Aubry did not shine for her. Instead, her very existence was akin to the darkness of the ducal house.
Everyone in the Empire who had ever heard the name of the Duke of Aubry knew that Charlotte was an adopted commoner.
Thus, rumors were rampant that the Duke of Aubry had audaciously carried out the adoption of a commoner—something unimaginable for a noble—under the noble guise of poor relief. Consequently, the ducal house gained immense popularity among commoners and even claimed a plaque of appreciation bestowed by the imperial family.
However, what about Charlotte?
Was Charlotte truly the “child of fortune” people claimed her to be? No, far from it. She had lived a life under constant surveillance at any time and in any place.
Would that lowly wench dare to covet the power of the ducal house? Would that lucky wench dare to reach out even for the property of the ducal house? Or else, was she losing her mind and getting too big for her britches without knowing her place?
Even the vagrants on the street would observe Charlotte’s features and habitually gossip among themselves. They seemed to think that had it not been for Charlotte, they might have been the ones chosen.
How ridiculous. An unexpected stroke of fortune does not necessarily bring happiness with it. They failed to see the shadows cast over Charlotte. No, even if they saw them, they considered it only natural. They believed that having acquired a stroke of fortune beyond their station, she ought to suffer a certain degree of misfortune.
At any rate, because of this, there was not a single thing Charlotte could do as she pleased.
Therefore, she dared not propose the annulment of her engagement to Richard Cosmo. After all, her engagement to him was the sole reason Charlotte had been adopted.
Even if Charlotte used every trick in the book to proceed with an annulment, that would be the end of it. If she were lucky, she would be disowned; if she were unlucky, she would be secretly put to death.
Since Charlotte’s existence was validated solely by the ties connecting her to the Count of Cosmo’s family, she was, at best, a pawn that the ducal house could use and discard at will. (Pawn: A piece used in chess. The weakest piece.)
Therefore, Charlotte thought:
If I am a pawn, would it not do to join hands with a knight? (Knight: A piece used in chess. A high-value piece that can leap over other pieces and make free attacks.) If she joined hands with such an entity, one that could gallop across the chessboard, leap over opponents, and race into the heart of the enemy camp, then a pawn capturing a king would not merely be a product of imagination.
The knight she had thought of was the Grand Duke of Vermire. If it were him—that is to say, the Grand Duke who enjoyed the Emperor’s favor and simultaneously held the post of Minister of Military Affairs—he would be able to leap over the piece known as the Count of Cosmo’s family and press forward.
And he would be able to place the pawn in check, would he not? If the knight himself could survive as a result of that, would that not suffice?
“If the Grand Duke takes my hand.”
If that happened, breaking the engagement with Richard would be an easy task. Furthermore, she would be able to escape from the Duke of Aubry’s household, and her life could be sustained a little longer.
Of course, Charlotte was displeased by the fact that she had to rely on another’s power for her revenge. To be precise, it was miserable and horrifying. But this was her best option.
Crouching down was only for now. Once she found a stepping stone that would allow her to leap forward afterward, she would be able to spread her wings wide and soar through the azure sky.
And so.
Charlotte closed her eyes, pressing her clasped hands against her chest.
O Lord.
Please bestow mercy upon one who has no mercy.
The maid, Lily, hurried down the corridor with quick steps, still clutching her forearm where dried blood remained stark.
The wounds caused by the whip with hooks had been inflicted by the mistress of the house.
A few days ago, Lily had been subjected to hours of flogging for two reasons: making the young master of Cosmo wait, and pulling out a new dress to have Charlotte wear it.
“That wench must have truly lost her mind.”
“Were you quietly listening to the words of such a crazy bitch? You truly are a fool.” “I have never kept a servant in my house who lives without thinking.”
It is unfair. I have done nothing wrong. Arriving late to the appointment and requesting the dress were entirely Charlotte’s doing, so why must I endure such harsh beatings?
In truth, directing one’s anger toward the person who delivered the blows would be the proper emotional course, but Lily, a mere maid who dared not hate her master, deflected her anger instead. Therefore, she hated Charlotte. She intensely despised Charlotte for bringing this suffering upon her. She wanted to pay Charlotte back just as much as she had suffered this humiliation!
Bang!
And so, despite being a maid, Lily swung open Charlotte’s bedroom door without even knocking. Unlike the bright hallway illuminated by the midday sun, a gloomy interior greeted Lily. Because this was a room that the sun did not reach, it was always dark unless the lights were turned on. Looking around, Lily spotted a bulge in the bed. It seemed Charlotte was lying down.
The original Charlotte would wake up at dawn to read or take a walk. Yet why was she sleeping until now? Had she truly gone mad, just as the mistress said? Lily glared at Charlotte with sharp eyes.
“Young lady! Wake up! The sun is already high in the sky!”
Yet, despite the loud voice, Charlotte did not wake up. Stomping her feet heavily, Lily walked over and roughly yanked off the bulging blanket.
“I told you to get up!”
At that, Charlotte, who had been covering her eyes with her arm, cautiously opened them and looked up. In truth, she hadn’t been sleeping. She had simply been lying there, pretending to be lazy on purpose. Thanks to that, Charlotte once again clearly realized that her expectations regarding Lily were correct. She quietly gazed at Lily’s twisted, sneering face.
“Lily.”
Charlotte slowly sat up and spoke.
Approaching Duke Vermier was not the end of all of Charlotte’s plans. Duke Vermier was, after all, merely a tool to bypass Richard and strike the Duke of Aubry. Therefore, Charlotte had to steadily carry out her work, in other words, the tasks she needed to do in this mansion, which she had planned the moment she traveled back in time.
The first step of that plan was precisely… making people on her side. Looking at Lily, who had moved exactly as she anticipated, Charlotte slowly parted her lips.
“Do I have any official schedule today?”
“No, you don’t.”
“Then why did you wake me?”
“Pardon?”
“Isn’t it your duty to do your absolute best for the safety and well-being of the master you serve? Then why are you undermining the master’s peace of mind and acting so insolent?”
“Uh… Ah, no… I didn’t mean it like that…”
“Tell me your reason. If the reason is valid, I will forgive you, but if not, you won’t be able to avoid punishment. So speak. For what reason did you arbitrarily interrupt my rest?”
Lily couldn’t say anything. In truth, not a single part of Charlotte’s words was wrong. Wasn’t it a fact that she had blocked the young lady she served? But…
But no matter how much!
She’s a lowly-born person.
Even lower than herself, a commoner! Someone who only managed to catch the mistress’s eye by sheer luck…
Do you even know how much humiliation I’m going through because of you?
Unable to suppress her grievance, Lily’s eyes welled up with tears. Unconsciously, she wrapped her arms around herself. Due to her reckless movements, the scab seemed to have peeled off, and red blood seeped through her maid’s uniform.
“You’re hurt.”
Looking somewhat surprised, Charlotte took Lily’s arm.
It was already expected that Lily would be hit by the Duchess. Just delaying the meeting with Richard and throwing a tantrum to wear a new dress would have been enough to make the Duchess furious.
However, with an expression of complete disbelief, Charlotte dropped her eyebrows.
“Did Mother raise her whip against you again?”
“Th-That, well…”
“Because of my stubbornness, things became difficult for you. I’m sorry.”
“…N-No, it’s alright.”
Lily’s heart, which had been swelling up to the point of bursting with grievance just moments ago, subsided slightly. It might have been because of a single word of ‘I’m sorry’ gently spoken by the person she served, or perhaps because someone recognized her pain. Either way, Lily took back a little bit of the criticism she had directed at Charlotte in her mind just moments earlier.
“Come here. I’ll apply some medicine for you.”
“Th-That, I-I’ll do it myself!”
“I know because I’ve had similar wounds. Having someone else apply it is more bearable. So come here. Quickly.”
Come to think of it, the mistress wasn’t the only one who raised a hand against the servants. Lily recalled the time she had applied medicine to Charlotte’s back before.
Naturally, when people feel a sense of shared identity, the scope of what they can empathize with broadens. And the wider the range of empathy, the stronger the sense of belonging becomes.
Therefore, Lily’s heart softened somewhat at the fact that Charlotte had also experienced the pain she had gone through. At the same time, she believed that she and Charlotte were on the same level.