Karina made a puzzled expression as she watched Charlotte hesitate.
“Why? Is there something strange?”
“There’s a close maid at the laundry who shared the same room as that maid, Jen.”
“Jen?”
Charlotte nodded and continued.
“That maid said that my friend would never commit suicide. The circumstantial evidence and witnesses were too conclusive, so it was ignored.”
“Really?”
Karina’s expression changed.
“Where is that maid ZJn now?”
“She left this morning, saying she was going to go home after taking the vacation she had requested in advance.”
“Then when will she be back?”
“A week later.”
“A week?”
Karina sighed.
‘If she’s a close maid who shared the same room, she would be the one who knows the most about that dead maid.’
She felt sorry for missing the chance to hear the real story.
“Yes.”
Karina handed Charlotte a pouch of gold coins.
“This is the price for your answer. Take it.”
“Ah..."
Charlotte groaned as she looked at the purse in Karina’s hand.
She soon made a troubled expression.
The reason Karina handed her the purse was clear.
It meant that she did not want any unnecessary trouble, but at the same time, that she did not think of Charlotte as her person yet.
Charlotte opened her mouth with a solemn expression as if she had made up her mind.
“Your Highness. I am sorry, but I will not accept it.”
“...Why?”
Karina asked with a bewildered expression.
Charlotte met Karina’s gaze and bowed deeply.
“I sincerely want to become your person, Your Highness.”
“Huh...?”
Karina was a little taken aback by his sudden statement that he wanted to become her person.
“I know that you still have a hard time trusting me. I have done many wrong things up until now. However, please wait and see what I do in the future and decide.”
Charlotte raised her head again with a sincere expression.
“I don’t want to be accepted right away. I will show you a better side of myself and gain your trust. Just let me do whatever you want me to do!”
“Ah... Yes.”
Karina was taken aback but agreed.
“Then find out more about that maid named Jen. About the dead maid. I want to know if there is anything suspicious about her death.”
Charlotte’s expression brightened at Karina’s order.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity, Your Highness. I won’t disappoint you.”
Charlotte returned with a satisfied expression.
‘What on earth is this situation...’
She was dumbfounded by the completely unexpected situation, but she didn’t feel bad about it.
‘We’ll see if she’s sincere.’
Karina controlled her expression.
And she left the room.
She planned to personally inspect the room of the kitchen maid who was found dead yesterday.
'I don't know what's left, but I can't just stay in my room and kill time. It's better to do something.'
Karina headed to the kitchen.
Since they were working in the same place, she would know where the maid's quarters were, and she would be able to hear directly about the maid's usual behavior and attitude.
As she quickly crossed the hallway, she saw a magnificent carriage coming into the Grand Duke's residence from afar beyond the window.
'What is it...?'
Karina stopped walking and looked out the window with a puzzled expression.
Judging from the luxurious gold-plated white carriage, it was an imperial carriage.
When she saw it, a memory from the past suddenly came to mind.
'Oh, no way! Now that I think about it, the Emperor's letter arrived around this time!'
This year was the 300th anniversary of the founding of the empire.
To commemorate this, there has been an uproar since last year, saying that a bigger, more magnificent banquet would be held than before.
So this New Year's Festival was longer than before, and the preparations were extensive.
And the Grand Duke of Colesburg in the north was also the blood of the imperial family, so they had been ordered to prepare to come up to the capital in advance.
As expected, a man got out of the carriage that arrived in front of the mansion, holding a letter with the imperial emblem as if it were a treasure.
Karina's heart became more anxious.
'If we go to the capital in this situation, the investigation behind the scenes will be swept under the rug. We have to hurry even more. There is not much time.'
Karina’s eyes sank deeply.
She hurriedly went to the kitchen, where she heard voices inside.
“Wasn’t the investigation already over? Why are you calling them in one by one for questioning?”
“The Grand Duchess didn’t understand and wanted a reinvestigation.”
“No, anyone can see that it’s because of guilt, so what difference would it make if you reinvestigated? There was even a will.”
“We’re just doing what we’re told.”
“Come to think of it, the girl who shared a room with that maid said that this wasn’t suicide.”
“Really? Then if you’re going to interrogate her, shouldn’t you be interrogating her?”
“She got a vacation this morning.”
“In this situation?”
“She had applied for it before, so she got permission.”
“She lived in London, so it was far away, so she got a week. By then, the interrogation and reinvestigation would have been over.”
“She was glad that they were reinvestigating her before she left.”
“She’s on vacation, so she doesn’t have to be interrogated.”
The complaints continued.
There seemed to be nothing to gain from the servants here.
However, she did get one thing.
'The house of the maid who is said to be friendly is called Lundium.'
To get to Lundium from the north, one had to rent a carriage in the city and ride to the westernmost village.
Then, one had to change carriages and set off on the journey toward Lundium.
It took a whole day just to get to the westernmost village, and another day to get to Lundium from there.
Karina returned to her room in a hurry.
'Charlotte said she left this morning, so she must have gone to the city. I have to rent a carriage to the westernmost village. Then, if I go now, I might be able to catch up!'
Karina quickly prepared to leave.
She considered leaving a note for Mikhail when he returned but decided against it.
'Michael will be in the city too, so I can go and meet him.'
Karina left the mansion right away.
Karina arrived in the city and headed to the public carriage rental office to find a carriage to the westernmost village.
"Yes, that's right. There is a carriage heading to the western end of town this afternoon. It will leave at 3 p.m."
“Was there a woman who rented that carriage alone?”
“Yes. There were a few, but since the departure time was 3 p.m., they all dispersed to go sightseeing in the city. If you wait here, they will probably show up on time.”
At 3 p.m., there would be a five-hour wait.
‘I’d rather meet up with Mikhail, who went to Selena, and then come back.’
With that thought, Karina also went into the city.
Growling.
“Huh?”
Her stomach growled and hunger came over her.
Thinking about it, she hadn’t eaten anything since she woke up this morning.
She remembered the last time she went into the city with Mikhail and the delicious street food she had bought.
‘Should I walk around and look around?’
Karina licked her lips and tried to find a place where there was a stall selling food.
Then, a delicious smell wafted from nearby.
‘Wow. It smells good.’
She followed the smell and saw a place selling fried bread like last time.
‘Ah! That!'
Karina's eyes sparkled.
The bread she had eaten with Mikhail was piled up on one side.
Gulping her mouth open, Karina approached the stall to buy some bread.
"Come in! One bag for 1 rekel!"
Karina searched her pockets to take out her money.
"Huh? What's this?"
Something hard and long was caught in her robe pocket.
She took it out and found the hairpin Mikhail had bought her last time.
"Oh, it's here."
Ever since she encountered the monster that day, she had been absent-minded and had forgotten about it.
'Now that I found it, I should take good care of it.'
Karina divided her hair in half and tied it up in a half-up bun like she had learned then, and secured it with a hairpin.
She felt good because it seemed to be better secured than the clumsy bun she had made last time.
She raised her head satisfied, but in the alley across the street, she saw a woman with purple hair.
'Oh! Is that Selena?'
Karina thought so because it was an uncommon hair color.
The purple-haired woman entered the shabby-looking building.
'Why is she here when she should be receiving the request from Mikhail?'
Karina wondered.
Karina also entered the building to find Selena.
The inside of the building was quite spacious compared to the narrow exterior.
And there were quite a few people inside.
'What is this place?'
The inside of the building looked like a break room for taking a short break.
A man sitting at one side of a table opened his mouth.
"Are you going to leave your luggage?"
"Luggage?"
When Karina made a bewildered expression, the man said.
"Oh, or are you going to pick it up? What kind of luggage did you leave?"
The man got up from his seat and walked to one side where his luggage was piled up.
It was purple hair, but it wasn’t Selena. She had mistaken the person.
Embarrassed, Karina turned around.
‘Let’s buy some donuts and go to the flower shop. I think it would be better to go and meet up with Mikhail.’
And she decided that she could go to the carriage rental shop on time. As Karina was about to leave with that determination, a group of large men came in.
Among them, a man with a rough look and a large body entered last and blocked the entrance.
'What is this?'
Her way out was blocked because of them.
As she was about to tell him to move so she could leave, the man blocking the entrance looked Karina up and down unpleasantly.
"..."
Karina was about to say something at the unpleasant gaze, but the man spoke first.
"Are you the Grand Duchess?"
It was a rough voice that seemed to scratch her throat and she didn't want to hear it.
“Why? Is there something strange?”
“There’s a close maid at the laundry who shared the same room as that maid, Jen.”
“Jen?”
Charlotte nodded and continued.
“That maid said that my friend would never commit suicide. The circumstantial evidence and witnesses were too conclusive, so it was ignored.”
“Really?”
Karina’s expression changed.
“Where is that maid ZJn now?”
“She left this morning, saying she was going to go home after taking the vacation she had requested in advance.”
“Then when will she be back?”
“A week later.”
“A week?”
Karina sighed.
‘If she’s a close maid who shared the same room, she would be the one who knows the most about that dead maid.’
She felt sorry for missing the chance to hear the real story.
“Yes.”
Karina handed Charlotte a pouch of gold coins.
“This is the price for your answer. Take it.”
“Ah..."
Charlotte groaned as she looked at the purse in Karina’s hand.
She soon made a troubled expression.
The reason Karina handed her the purse was clear.
It meant that she did not want any unnecessary trouble, but at the same time, that she did not think of Charlotte as her person yet.
Charlotte opened her mouth with a solemn expression as if she had made up her mind.
“Your Highness. I am sorry, but I will not accept it.”
“...Why?”
Karina asked with a bewildered expression.
Charlotte met Karina’s gaze and bowed deeply.
“I sincerely want to become your person, Your Highness.”
“Huh...?”
Karina was a little taken aback by his sudden statement that he wanted to become her person.
“I know that you still have a hard time trusting me. I have done many wrong things up until now. However, please wait and see what I do in the future and decide.”
Charlotte raised her head again with a sincere expression.
“I don’t want to be accepted right away. I will show you a better side of myself and gain your trust. Just let me do whatever you want me to do!”
“Ah... Yes.”
Karina was taken aback but agreed.
“Then find out more about that maid named Jen. About the dead maid. I want to know if there is anything suspicious about her death.”
Charlotte’s expression brightened at Karina’s order.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity, Your Highness. I won’t disappoint you.”
Charlotte returned with a satisfied expression.
‘What on earth is this situation...’
She was dumbfounded by the completely unexpected situation, but she didn’t feel bad about it.
‘We’ll see if she’s sincere.’
Karina controlled her expression.
And she left the room.
She planned to personally inspect the room of the kitchen maid who was found dead yesterday.
'I don't know what's left, but I can't just stay in my room and kill time. It's better to do something.'
Karina headed to the kitchen.
Since they were working in the same place, she would know where the maid's quarters were, and she would be able to hear directly about the maid's usual behavior and attitude.
As she quickly crossed the hallway, she saw a magnificent carriage coming into the Grand Duke's residence from afar beyond the window.
'What is it...?'
Karina stopped walking and looked out the window with a puzzled expression.
Judging from the luxurious gold-plated white carriage, it was an imperial carriage.
When she saw it, a memory from the past suddenly came to mind.
'Oh, no way! Now that I think about it, the Emperor's letter arrived around this time!'
This year was the 300th anniversary of the founding of the empire.
To commemorate this, there has been an uproar since last year, saying that a bigger, more magnificent banquet would be held than before.
So this New Year's Festival was longer than before, and the preparations were extensive.
And the Grand Duke of Colesburg in the north was also the blood of the imperial family, so they had been ordered to prepare to come up to the capital in advance.
As expected, a man got out of the carriage that arrived in front of the mansion, holding a letter with the imperial emblem as if it were a treasure.
Karina's heart became more anxious.
'If we go to the capital in this situation, the investigation behind the scenes will be swept under the rug. We have to hurry even more. There is not much time.'
Karina’s eyes sank deeply.
She hurriedly went to the kitchen, where she heard voices inside.
“Wasn’t the investigation already over? Why are you calling them in one by one for questioning?”
“The Grand Duchess didn’t understand and wanted a reinvestigation.”
“No, anyone can see that it’s because of guilt, so what difference would it make if you reinvestigated? There was even a will.”
“We’re just doing what we’re told.”
“Come to think of it, the girl who shared a room with that maid said that this wasn’t suicide.”
“Really? Then if you’re going to interrogate her, shouldn’t you be interrogating her?”
“She got a vacation this morning.”
“In this situation?”
“She had applied for it before, so she got permission.”
“She lived in London, so it was far away, so she got a week. By then, the interrogation and reinvestigation would have been over.”
“She was glad that they were reinvestigating her before she left.”
“She’s on vacation, so she doesn’t have to be interrogated.”
The complaints continued.
There seemed to be nothing to gain from the servants here.
However, she did get one thing.
'The house of the maid who is said to be friendly is called Lundium.'
To get to Lundium from the north, one had to rent a carriage in the city and ride to the westernmost village.
Then, one had to change carriages and set off on the journey toward Lundium.
It took a whole day just to get to the westernmost village, and another day to get to Lundium from there.
Karina returned to her room in a hurry.
'Charlotte said she left this morning, so she must have gone to the city. I have to rent a carriage to the westernmost village. Then, if I go now, I might be able to catch up!'
Karina quickly prepared to leave.
She considered leaving a note for Mikhail when he returned but decided against it.
'Michael will be in the city too, so I can go and meet him.'
Karina left the mansion right away.
***
Karina arrived in the city and headed to the public carriage rental office to find a carriage to the westernmost village.
"Yes, that's right. There is a carriage heading to the western end of town this afternoon. It will leave at 3 p.m."
“Was there a woman who rented that carriage alone?”
“Yes. There were a few, but since the departure time was 3 p.m., they all dispersed to go sightseeing in the city. If you wait here, they will probably show up on time.”
At 3 p.m., there would be a five-hour wait.
‘I’d rather meet up with Mikhail, who went to Selena, and then come back.’
With that thought, Karina also went into the city.
Growling.
“Huh?”
Her stomach growled and hunger came over her.
Thinking about it, she hadn’t eaten anything since she woke up this morning.
She remembered the last time she went into the city with Mikhail and the delicious street food she had bought.
‘Should I walk around and look around?’
Karina licked her lips and tried to find a place where there was a stall selling food.
Then, a delicious smell wafted from nearby.
‘Wow. It smells good.’
She followed the smell and saw a place selling fried bread like last time.
‘Ah! That!'
Karina's eyes sparkled.
The bread she had eaten with Mikhail was piled up on one side.
Gulping her mouth open, Karina approached the stall to buy some bread.
"Come in! One bag for 1 rekel!"
Karina searched her pockets to take out her money.
"Huh? What's this?"
Something hard and long was caught in her robe pocket.
She took it out and found the hairpin Mikhail had bought her last time.
"Oh, it's here."
Ever since she encountered the monster that day, she had been absent-minded and had forgotten about it.
'Now that I found it, I should take good care of it.'
Karina divided her hair in half and tied it up in a half-up bun like she had learned then, and secured it with a hairpin.
She felt good because it seemed to be better secured than the clumsy bun she had made last time.
She raised her head satisfied, but in the alley across the street, she saw a woman with purple hair.
'Oh! Is that Selena?'
Karina thought so because it was an uncommon hair color.
The purple-haired woman entered the shabby-looking building.
'Why is she here when she should be receiving the request from Mikhail?'
Karina wondered.
Karina also entered the building to find Selena.
The inside of the building was quite spacious compared to the narrow exterior.
And there were quite a few people inside.
'What is this place?'
The inside of the building looked like a break room for taking a short break.
A man sitting at one side of a table opened his mouth.
"Are you going to leave your luggage?"
"Luggage?"
When Karina made a bewildered expression, the man said.
"Oh, or are you going to pick it up? What kind of luggage did you leave?"
The man got up from his seat and walked to one side where his luggage was piled up.
Judging from the way he limped, it seemed like his legs were not working well.
Karina looked a little embarrassed at his attitude of standing awkwardly and waiting for his answer.
"I thought someone I knew just came in here, so I followed him."
"Say that quickly."
The man went back to his seat with a look of having gotten up for no reason.
Karina stood there and looked around the room.
She was looking for the purple-haired woman, but to others, it seemed like she was just looking around to see what was going on there.
The mother of the children, who was sitting on one chair with her two children on either side of her, said,
“This is a place where you can leave your luggage for a while. If you leave it at a carriage rental shop, it’s very expensive. Nobles or high-ranking people can use that place, but for people like us who are poor, it’s hard to pay that kind of money to leave it for a while and carry it around. That’s why we leave our luggage here for a while. It’s much cheaper here.”
“Oh, I see.”
Karina nodded slightly and blinked. It was the first time she had heard of a place like this.
It was amazing to learn something new.
“There’s a lot of luggage today.”
In the room next to her, there was a rustling sound as if someone was organizing their luggage.
Karina just popped her head out and peered into the room.
Between the people crouching and organizing their luggage, she saw the purple hair she had seen earlier.
But.
‘Ah...’
Karina looked a little embarrassed at his attitude of standing awkwardly and waiting for his answer.
"I thought someone I knew just came in here, so I followed him."
"Say that quickly."
The man went back to his seat with a look of having gotten up for no reason.
Karina stood there and looked around the room.
She was looking for the purple-haired woman, but to others, it seemed like she was just looking around to see what was going on there.
The mother of the children, who was sitting on one chair with her two children on either side of her, said,
“This is a place where you can leave your luggage for a while. If you leave it at a carriage rental shop, it’s very expensive. Nobles or high-ranking people can use that place, but for people like us who are poor, it’s hard to pay that kind of money to leave it for a while and carry it around. That’s why we leave our luggage here for a while. It’s much cheaper here.”
“Oh, I see.”
Karina nodded slightly and blinked. It was the first time she had heard of a place like this.
It was amazing to learn something new.
“There’s a lot of luggage today.”
In the room next to her, there was a rustling sound as if someone was organizing their luggage.
Karina just popped her head out and peered into the room.
Between the people crouching and organizing their luggage, she saw the purple hair she had seen earlier.
But.
‘Ah...’
It was purple hair, but it wasn’t Selena. She had mistaken the person.
Embarrassed, Karina turned around.
‘Let’s buy some donuts and go to the flower shop. I think it would be better to go and meet up with Mikhail.’
And she decided that she could go to the carriage rental shop on time. As Karina was about to leave with that determination, a group of large men came in.
Among them, a man with a rough look and a large body entered last and blocked the entrance.
'What is this?'
Her way out was blocked because of them.
As she was about to tell him to move so she could leave, the man blocking the entrance looked Karina up and down unpleasantly.
"..."
Karina was about to say something at the unpleasant gaze, but the man spoke first.
"Are you the Grand Duchess?"
It was a rough voice that seemed to scratch her throat and she didn't want to hear it.
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