Chapter 7: The End of a Long Day

As I absentmindedly stared at the handkerchief, Father spoke to me.

“Did you really receive those letters?”

“Ah, yes.
That’s right.
If you ask Lloyd, he’ll know.
He should remember that there have been quite a lot of letters recently.”

Lloyd, you’re amazing.
I praised Lloyd wholeheartedly in my heart.

“Why didn’t you show those letters to me?”

“At first, I thought they were just a prank.
So I threw them away right away.”

As I searched for excuses, irritation welled up, and I stopped trying to justify myself.

“If you had seen those letters, what would you have done, Father?”

Caught off guard by my retort, Father fell silent again.

“They said that you were actually a sacrifice meant to pave the way for him to marry his mistress.”

I continued, recalling the contents.

“By assigning the mistress as my maid, isolating me in the estate, ruining my reputation, weakening me little by little until I died.
Then Jason-sama would become the tragic widower who lost his wife.”

I said it with a touch of self-mockery.
This was, without a doubt, exactly what had happened.

Even spoken quietly and calmly, the weight of it seemed to reach Father.
His face turned pale, his expression empty.

When I shifted closer, Father stepped back.

“There’s something wrong with you today.
Go rest at once.
We’ll talk tomorrow.”

With that, he hurried out of the room.

Left sitting alone in the silent room, I realized just how exhausted I was.
Today felt twice as long as an ordinary day.

“Young Lady.”

The sudden voice startled me.
Oh right, Bell was still here.

“Earlier, you were so intense it sent chills down my spine.
I was holding my breath the whole time.”

Bell helped me to my feet.

“Please rest in your room.
The Count said the same, so you likely won’t be summoned again tonight.”

“You’re right.
I’m tired.”

The moment I said it, exhaustion truly washed over me.

That night, I dreamed.
In the dream, I was having my wedding dress changed.
Mary and two other maids were helping me.

Carried by the afterglow of the ceremony, I felt a little giddy.
The two maids looked happy too, smiling as they spoke to me.

My room in the marquis estate was filled with flowers, bright and cheerful.
It was still a bit early for dusk, the curtains were wide open, and a pleasant breeze flowed in.

I was standing outside on the balcony, peering into the room.
It seemed there were two of me.

From outside, I could clearly see the people inside.

The happy me and the two maids.

Only Mary was looking at me with cold eyes.
But I didn’t notice her gaze at all.

Even though I should have slept well, I still felt drowsy when I woke the next morning.

Maybe it was because I dreamed of my first self.

I was desperately warning myself right there beside her, yet she never noticed.
Well, it was a dream after all, I thought, brushing my hair back.

My hair is brown and naturally wavy, so it gets terribly messy when I wake up.
To prevent that, I usually wear a nightcap, but I hadn’t last night.

I was too tired even to braid it before bed, so for once I slept as I was.

I always envy people with smooth, silky hair.
Like my younger sister’s glossy, sleek hair.

My brother used to tease me about this hair often.
He’d say I was like a dog and ruffle it roughly with his hands more times than I could count.

When I looked in the mirror, I saw a messy-haired, tired—

…No, let me rephrase that!

It’s the face of a reasonably cute eighteen-year-old girl.

I decided yesterday, in my dream, to stop belittling myself.

Because I was always looking down, I missed such obvious hostility.

“Lift your head properly and look at the people around you—
learn to distinguish those who feel goodwill toward you from those who don’t.”

In the dream, I had strained my voice to scold myself.

Now, the me in the mirror was staring straight ahead, eyes opened wider than usual.

My pale green eyes shimmered softly, and they might actually be quite pretty.

That’s right.
Not bad at all.

I always thought they looked faint and unreliable, but that wasn’t true.

My cheeks and lips were pink as well.
Toward the end of my last life, my face had been dull and colorless.

Compared to that, this is healthy and lovely.

They’re not plump, tempting lips like Lady Mary’s, but—

I studied my face closely like that.

It was probably about thirty minutes later when Bell came in.

“Good morning.
Did you sleep well?”

“Good morning, Bell.
Could you fix my hair?
It’s spread out so badly I don’t know what to do with it.”

“Leave it to me.
Your hair has volume, Young Lady, so depending on how it’s styled, it can look quite luxurious.
You usually keep it plain, but why not try something more glamorous for a change?
It will lift your spirits.”

I was about to say that my usual hairstyle was fine, but I reconsidered.

“I’d like to try something glamorous.
I’ll leave it to you, so do it differently from usual.”

Bell looked surprised at first, then eagerly began brushing my hair.
She applied hair cream, braided sections of it, and inserted a beautiful comb that looked like a cluster of small white flowers.
She stepped back a little to check the result.

“Young Lady, you look wonderful.
The white flower comb really brings out your green eyes.”

“You’re right.
It’s lovely.”

“Let’s try some of the accessories you’ve put away.
They’ll suit you beautifully.”

With a cream-colored dress and the emerald brooch Grandmother had given me, the voluminous, glamorous hairstyle created an unexpectedly radiant impression.

“I’ve heard from Lloyd-sama that breakfast will be taken with the whole family present.
We should head to the breakfast room soon.”

Breakfast with the entire family doesn’t happen often, but we had done exactly that the day before my wedding—two days ago now.

It was later than usual, with a proper course served, and it took time.

Bracing myself to be questioned about yesterday, I headed to the breakfast room.

“Good morning.”

When I greeted them and lifted my face, everyone was looking at me.
Not just my family, but the servants as well.

“Big Sister, you feel different today.
You look so glamorous and beautiful.”

I wondered what I usually looked like, but I was happy.

“Thank you.
I had Bell change my hairstyle for a change of pace.”

As I answered, I instinctively lowered my gaze, but I quickly lifted my face again and smiled at my sister, Noel.

She looked about to gasp in surprise again, but Father spoke before she could.

“Everyone knows that Brian of the Rose Ducal House visited last night.
I’ll relay what was discussed then.
He is going to hear the Deal Marquis House’s side today.
After that, he will come to speak with us again, so we have been told not to contact the Deal Marquis House until then.”

My brother Eric started to complain.

“Yesterday I was surrounded by my friends, all demanding to know what was going on.
So what’s the truth of it, Maria?”