Since then, Karina has always been wary of what to do in front of her stepmother. To young Karina, her stepmother, Isabella, was a very difficult person. One day, when young Karina attended a banquet held at the palace with the Marquis, she fell down at the back of the banquet hall and came back badly injured.
"Meryl!"
As soon as Marquis Milliner returned to the mansion, he nervously looked for Karina's nanny.
"Have you found it, Marquis?"
"What on earth did the nanny do instead of teaching the girl to behave and not run around!"
Despite the Marquis' sudden shouting, Meryl remained calm and asked back.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Look at that sight!"
The Marquis pointed at Karina, who was limping behind him. Meryl was shocked to see Karina's torn dress and knees.
"Miss Karina! Are you okay?"
Meryl quickly approached Karina and examined her wounds.
"How did you get hurt like this?"
"That... fell over.. ."
Karina answered hesitantly. Behind them, the Marquis continued to grumble and become angry.
"What if you get a scar on your body? Don't you know that I left you to a nanny to make sure you behave well so that such troublesome things don't happen?"
Karina felt very intimidated as if she had caused a fuss for no reason. At that time.
"Stop it, Your Grace."
A woman's voice was heard from the top of the stairs. It was Isabella, Karina's stepmother. Isabella was looking down at them with a displeased expression, holding her swollen belly.
"Oh, Ma'am! Are you feeling better?"
As soon as the Marquis of Millainer saw Isabella, he ran to her.
"I heard a loud noise outside, so I came out to check, but what the heck is going on?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Madam, don't worry about it."
"Then please be quiet. Being noisy is not good for the baby's development."
"That's right. Yes, that's right. I will give strict instructions to my servants to be quiet and not make a sound in the mansion."
Isabella, who was receiving the Marquis's pat, glanced at Karina. Her gaze was cold as she watched Karina limping from injury. It was a cold and indifferent gaze, like looking at a stone rolling on the road. The Marquis's voice fell again on Karina's head, who flinched at the gaze.
"Karina. You too, remember this. You got hurt because you were running around like a little kid! You're grounded all day
tomorrow. Go to your room and reflect."
"Ah..."
Karina was a little taken aback by the mention of the curfew.
'I'll be waiting here at this time tomorrow.'
She remembered what the boy who had helped her when she fell behind the banquet hall had said about waiting for her tomorrow. But.
"... Yes."
Karina, who was quivering her lips, gave a nod. She knew that saying anything other than "I understand" would be presumptuous and would only extend the curfew. Karina did not want to offend her father any further and be hated. That is how Karina was unable to keep her promise to the boy.
***
'It's all in the past now.'
Karina muttered as she shook off her memories. Regardless of the Marquis's intentions, she was able to place the flowers her mother liked on her grave.
'Isn't it a good thing from a mother's perspective?x'
Karina, who refused to think deeply, concluded that. She sat down in front of her mother's grave. As she gazed at the grave, she had the illusion that her mother and nanny were there with her.
"Did you have a good time with your nanny?"
The words came out without her knowing. Of course, there was no answer.
"..."
The charnel house she found alone was peaceful and, unlike what she had imagined, indifferent. Karina already knew why she didn't feel as scared as before. It was because she had now accepted the fact that she was alone, and realized that no matter how sad or distressed she was, reality would not change.
It had taken her a long time to realize and accept that. She had done enough foolish things in the past, immersing herself in sadness and just shedding tears.
"It's been a really long time since I've been here."
Karina continued speaking honestly.
"I used to run away because I was so scared of coming here. But now I realize that running away is useless."
Even if she confided in herself like this, there was no one to listen.
"There's been a lot going on. Now that I think about it, I don't know where to start."
With a faint smile, Karina closed her eyes tightly. She felt at ease when she came here. For Karina, who had no friends her age, this was a playground, so it was a familiar place filled with many memories from her childhood. It was a good place to spend some time alone and contemplating.
Karina opened her eyes again and looked at the low shelf in front of the tombstone as usual. On the shelf were candles and candleholders, and the front part was transparent like glass, so she could see inside. Inside were the old items that Karina had brought one by one whenever she visited her mother's grave. Karina opened the shelf and took out the items inside one by one.
'I brought something like this too.'
Letters decorated with pressed flowers, a music box that played a song when opened, a thread bracelet that she and her nanny had made by weaving together threads of various colors, small hairpins that a child would wear, a porcelain doll the size of a fist, etc. Looking at them, old memories came flooding back vividly. She felt both joy and longing as if she had met an old friend.
Karina snickered and fiddled with this and that before picking up the music box and opening the lid. This music box made of wood was something her mother had treasured when she was alive, so she brought it here. Karina had often spent time here with her nanny, listening to the gentle music coming from the music box. She carefully opened the lid of the music box, recalling vague old memories. However, no sound came out of the music box.
'Huh? Why can't I hear the song?'
Karina panicked and closed and opened the music box lid again. She even shook the entire music box a few times. But nothing worked.
'I guess it's broken.'
Karina put the music box down with a regretful expression. Then, a small can of ointment caught her eye.
'What is this?"
When she opened it, the ointment inside was completely used up, so it was empty. However, the faint herbal scent that had been inside still remained.
'Ah, this...!'
The smell of the herbs brought back memories from long ago that she had completely forgotten. Memories of chatting in front of this shelf.
'This is an ointment that you apply to cuts, and it's incredibly effective.'
'Take it and apply it once a day, every day. Don't miss it, right?
It was a memory of a boy who was the only one of her age that she could call a friend. Karina smiled slightly.
"Now that I think about it, I do have a friend who is similar to my peers."
Karina smiled faintly at the vague memory that came to her mind. Now that she thinks about it, she wonders what that child is doing right now.
Meanwhile, while Karina was reminiscing about the past in the charnel house, Jeremiah returned to the mansion after meeting with the Emperor.
"What about Karina?"
As soon as he returned to the mansion, he looked for Karina.
"The Grand Duchess is out now."
Butler Stephen, who welcomed Jeremiah, reported on Karina's whereabouts.
"Going out? Where to?"
"She said he was going to the charnel house and left."
"Channel house?"
"Yes, she said she was going to pay her respects at the grave of the Grand Duchess's mother."
"It's a charnel house..."
The word charnel brought back memories of his childhood when he had gone to the charnel house to meet Karina.
***
"A girl with red hair named Karina. She looks to be about 7 or 8 years old. Do you know who she is?"
On the last day of the Emperor's birthday celebration, young Jeremiah, who had been waiting for Karina all day long in the banquet hall, asked the butler. Stephen, the butler who worked in the capital mansion, knew all the noble genealogies by heart, so he asked in the hopes that he might know something about the child.
"Well, since you said you saw her at the palace banquet hall, she must be a daughter of a noble family, but since she is still young, she probably hasn't had her debutante ceremony yet, so I don't know her name."
Stephen said, seeming embarrassed.
"What? Then even the butler doesn't know?"
Jeremiah's expression turned sullen with disappointment.
"But red hair is a trait that Milliner often sees in people. Come to think of it, I heard that the daughter of the Marquis Milliner has red hair. She's about the same age as the girl you mentioned."
At those words, Jeremiah's expression brightened again.
"If it's a Milliner, they're one of the founding fathers, right? I've heard of them too! If I go and look for her, will I be able to meet her again?"
"..."
Stephen, who had been choosing his words for a moment, continued speaking with a troubled expression.
"Your Highness. It may be presumptuous of me to ask this, but... If the girl you are looking for is really the daughter of Marquis Millainer, I think it would be best for you not to meet her again."
"Huh? Why?"
"The Marquis of Millainer is a family that supports the Emperor in name and reality. It can be said that they are the central family of power that stands against the Grand Duke of Colesberg."
As a nobleman, Jeremiah had memorized the royal and noble lists and had received various educations. He understood what Stephen was saying in his head. However, he was not convinced mentally.
"He was a kid who looked younger than me. Do you really have to judge her like that?"
A look of natural discontent appeared on Jeremiah's face.
"..."
Stephen was at a loss for words to respond appropriately to Jeremiah's rebuttal. And although he spoke rudely, Jeremiah also knew that it wasn't something to blame Stephen for.
"Ha. I know what you mean."
Jeremiah answered and turned around.
'We can just meet secretly.'
Of course, he had other thoughts in his mind. Jeremiah went straight to the study, avoiding the eyes of the servants. Arriving at the study, Jeremiah took out the list of nobles and began searching for Marquis Millainer.
'Found it!'
Jeremiah read down the information about Marquis Millainer.
'My memory was right.'
Now, it was demoted to a Marquis, but he learned that it was originally a family of founding fathers. And since it was an old family, the description in the register included details related to the Marquis of Millainer and where they lived. Jeremiah quickly memorized the contents. He didn't have much time. The Emperor's birthday banquet was over, so they had to return to the north soon.
However, he felt anxious that he might never see Karina if he left like this. He wanted to meet her and ask if her injuries were okay and if she was in pain. Although he didn't really want to care, he thought it would be better to keep the fact that he had gone to Karina from others. Jeremiah started to think about how he could secretly visit the Millainer family alone and meet Karina.
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