Kendrick cut her off abruptly.
"They said she caused a disturbance with a knife. I can't keep a dangerous person by your side."
Although she understood his feelings, Stella, who could not give up on Marie, did not back down from her argument.
"Look. See if I'm hurt. If that kid wanted to hurt me, she would have done so long ago."
"She might have tried to harm you, but couldn't because of the knights outside the door."
"She is still a child. The hatred for the Eltons in the Empire is so severe. If we just let her go, something bad might happen. From the look of it, she seems to have strayed from her group."
Kendrick found it funny that they were arguing over something like this.
"Do you think I'm too stubborn?"
It would have been different if she had been stubborn to satisfy her own greed. However, Stella always caused trouble and conflicts out of concern for others.
"Anyway, she can't be your maid."
Kendrick spoke as if driving a nail into the ground, but Stella thought it was a relief.
'At least he isn't telling me to kick Marie out.'
If Kendrick had really made up his mind, he would have told her to send Marie away.
It’s a selfish thought, but Stella now knew all too well that Kendrick was weak against her.
"Then let's watch for a week."
"What?"
"If that child doesn't cause any trouble for a week, don't stop me from making her my lady-in-waiting."
In fact, it was Stella's right to choose a handmaiden. Asking Kendrick for his understanding was an act of consideration toward him. Kendrick nodded with a look of resignation.
And Kendrick knew that she would eventually let the Elton child stay by her side.
Before going out to meet Roy, Stella asked the servant how Marie was doing.
"How is Marie doing?"
"She's behaving well. She's not doing anything dangerous, either."
'That's a relief.'
It seemed that the servants were being territorial when Marie was brought in before. However, she was worried that stepping in to warn the other servants might backfire. Marie handled it well last time, so she will adapt to the Duke's mansion without Stella's help this time as well.
Stella went to meet Roy with steps that were not entirely light.
"Did you deliver the manuscript safely? I told you my publishing house takes good care of me, too."
"It's okay."
Stella didn't go so far as to tell Roy that she had collapsed on the street. While taking a brief break in the middle of talking about her new novel, Stella suddenly asked.
"Roy. But Roy, you studied abroad too, you know."
"Yes."
Roy nodded.
"How long did it take you to prepare for studying abroad?"
"It took me three or four months to find a good house and a good academy. It also took time to travel back and forth to the kingdom."
As expected, Roy was also a typical case. Usually, nobles try to send their children to the best possible place. Therefore, it takes a lot of time.
"Then, what could be the reason for suddenly going to study abroad?"
"Well..."
Roy rested his chin on his hand and pondered.
"Usually it's to escape."
"From what?"
"People's gazes. Rumors."
Stella fiddled with the hem of her dress. Her hands were sweating.
"Actually, there are many cases where noble daughters or sons of noble families who caused trouble as children are pushed by their parents to study abroad. I can't remember the name, but this time, a son of a certain Count's family was sent abroad after it was revealed that he had sexually harassed a maid."
Stella nodded nonchalantly on the outside, but was troubled on the inside.
'Kendrick isn't the type of person to do something like sexual harassment.'
Roy gave another example.
"Ah, you know about the murder case that happened recently, right?"
"Yeah. I heard. I heard one of the Imperial Knight apprentices died in a fight over a personal matter."
Skyle had become busy because of that incident as well. She remembered him saying that it was difficult to get out of the situation now that the Imperial Household was in disarray.
"But I understand that he was ultimately found not guilty?"
The knight who was being assaulted resisted and pushed, but he lost his balance, fell, and died after hitting his head on a stone.
"That's true, but people look at us a bit... off."
Stella agreed. Nobles are meticulous about managing their connections. Associating with someone involved in a scandal, especially one involving death, inevitably draws even harsher scrutiny.
"I heard that he also set off for his studies abroad today."
"Really?"
"It hasn't even been a week, but they'll just send him off for now. It'll be better for his mental health."
Murder cases. And sexual harassment and sexual crimes. It felt like Kendrick had absolutely no connection to such crimes.
'Kendrick isn't the type of person to kill someone out of anger.'
However, as she kept hearing these stories, her heart started pounding without her realizing it.
"But why are you suddenly bringing that up? Did you suddenly want to study abroad?"
"No."
She smiled awkwardly and shook her head.
"I was just thinking of writing a novel like that."
And then they changed the subject. Roy then asked if she was taking the magic potion he had given her last time, and Stella replied that she was taking it whenever she had the chance. Leaving the casual conversation at that, they began talking about the writing again.
It was evening. A knocking sound was heard on the study door.
'Who is it?'
It was not a situation where a servant would have come. Stella went and opened the door. Then, Marie, who was three spans shorter than Stella, was standing there wearing a servant's uniform.
"What's going on here?"
Marie bowed ninety degrees without saying a word. And she did not straighten her back for quite a while.
"I'm sorry."
Stella knew very well how soft-hearted Marie was. That is why she could guess how much courage Marie had mustered to come here. It seemed Marie had realized just how difficult it was for Stella to cover up the disturbances Marie had caused while she was serving as a lady-in-waiting.
'As expected, Marie is kind in this life, too.'
Stella looked at her with a gentle face, then her gaze fixed on one spot.
"Here."
It was her chapped lips.
"Yes?"
"What's wrong here? Did you... get hit?"
Marie shook her head.
Stella chuckled slightly at Marie's answer.
"Yes."
Marie bowed her head again.
"I want to be of help. Thank you."
Stella didn't say anything for fear of making her feel embarrassed, but she smiled slightly, raising the corners of her mouth.
"Then, would you ask people and bring me a newspaper? Hmm... if you have a newspaper from about 10 years ago, find it for me."
"All right.
Stella knew very well that although Marie was currently not good at the Imperial language, her skills would improve quickly within a few months. She watched her leave with the newspaper, looking proud of her.
***
Stella unfolded the old newspapers Marie had brought. Any incident that would have caused Kendrick to suddenly go abroad might have been reported in the newspapers. She narrowed down the cases based on a few criteria.
'A case where the culprit has not been clearly identified.'
As far as she knew, Kendrick had never been involved in any strange incidents before. If Kendrick was hiding something from Stella, it was possible because he had not been identified as the culprit.
'I don't think Kendrick is the kind of person to do that, but...'
Hearing Roy's story made her worry for no reason. The second condition was the location. Kendrick said he grew up in the western estate of Adrian when he was young. Therefore, if Kendrick was involved, it was highly likely that the incident took place in the Adrian estate.
Stella turned the pages of the newspaper one by one. Then, an event that satisfied two conditions appeared.
"Hmm..."
'You fell at the train station and are still in a vegetative state?'
There was no culprit. It appeared to be a simple accident or a suicide attempt. However, rumors circulated that a nobleman harboring a grudge against the victim had harmed her and attempted to cover up the incident. She was particularly drawn to this case.
'If I ask Kendrick directly if he knows about this incident, I'll get the answer.'
If he wasn't the culprit, he wouldn't be flustered at all by seeing this newspaper. No, it could be a case he knew nothing about. Stella put her hand in her pocket. Lady Decrit's note, asking her to come find her and telling her she would tell her Kendrick's story, was still there.
'Should I throw this away? Or....'
Should I show it to Kendrick?
Stella couldn't make a decision and clutched the note so tightly that it crumpled.
There was a knock. She was startled for no reason and hid the note inside the drawer.
"Come in."
"Stella, is writing going well?"
A deep male voice was heard. Stella immediately turned around.
'What, Kendrick?'
Kendrick entered the study with a playful smile. She burst into laughter and turned to face Kendrick.
"So you're even playing pranks like that now."
"They say love changes a person. Now, every time you sit in the study, you'll think of me."
"I've been thinking about Kendrick a lot lately. You got angry here because you misunderstood that I was doing drugs."
Come to think of it, there were times these days when Kendrick seemed even more doting than he did in the beginning after drinking the love potion. She smiled, her eyes crinkling.
'Thank god.'
"Kendrick. You're still in contact with Doctor Decrit, aren't you?"
Kendrick said with an indifferent expression.
"Well, that is true."
He looked at Stella with a questioning gaze.
"Please tell her thank you for saving me the next time you meet."
These days, they just exchange messages by mail. He said he's really busy, too.
"I see."
As the conversation stopped, Stella was wondering how to break the ice, but Kendrick asked first. He seemed concerned that her expression wasn't good.
"Are you very worried?"
"No. I was just curious. Then it seems you've been close since you were young. Good enough to help each other this much."
Kendrick's expression was bleak. Although he was still smiling, Stella sensed a subtly changed atmosphere.
"Not really."
She tried to keep quiet, fearing that asking more would arouse suspicion. However, Stella kept recalling the smile and attitude of Lady Decrit, who seemed to know something she didn't. Thinking this was the last question, she spoke.
"Can you tell me why you went to study abroad?"
"Why are you suddenly asking this question?"
"They said she caused a disturbance with a knife. I can't keep a dangerous person by your side."
Although she understood his feelings, Stella, who could not give up on Marie, did not back down from her argument.
"Look. See if I'm hurt. If that kid wanted to hurt me, she would have done so long ago."
"She might have tried to harm you, but couldn't because of the knights outside the door."
"She is still a child. The hatred for the Eltons in the Empire is so severe. If we just let her go, something bad might happen. From the look of it, she seems to have strayed from her group."
Kendrick found it funny that they were arguing over something like this.
"Do you think I'm too stubborn?"
It would have been different if she had been stubborn to satisfy her own greed. However, Stella always caused trouble and conflicts out of concern for others.
"Anyway, she can't be your maid."
Kendrick spoke as if driving a nail into the ground, but Stella thought it was a relief.
'At least he isn't telling me to kick Marie out.'
If Kendrick had really made up his mind, he would have told her to send Marie away.
It’s a selfish thought, but Stella now knew all too well that Kendrick was weak against her.
"Then let's watch for a week."
"What?"
"If that child doesn't cause any trouble for a week, don't stop me from making her my lady-in-waiting."
In fact, it was Stella's right to choose a handmaiden. Asking Kendrick for his understanding was an act of consideration toward him. Kendrick nodded with a look of resignation.
And Kendrick knew that she would eventually let the Elton child stay by her side.
***
Before going out to meet Roy, Stella asked the servant how Marie was doing.
"How is Marie doing?"
"She's behaving well. She's not doing anything dangerous, either."
'That's a relief.'
It seemed that the servants were being territorial when Marie was brought in before. However, she was worried that stepping in to warn the other servants might backfire. Marie handled it well last time, so she will adapt to the Duke's mansion without Stella's help this time as well.
Stella went to meet Roy with steps that were not entirely light.
"Did you deliver the manuscript safely? I told you my publishing house takes good care of me, too."
"It's okay."
Stella didn't go so far as to tell Roy that she had collapsed on the street. While taking a brief break in the middle of talking about her new novel, Stella suddenly asked.
"Roy. But Roy, you studied abroad too, you know."
"Yes."
Roy nodded.
"How long did it take you to prepare for studying abroad?"
"It took me three or four months to find a good house and a good academy. It also took time to travel back and forth to the kingdom."
As expected, Roy was also a typical case. Usually, nobles try to send their children to the best possible place. Therefore, it takes a lot of time.
"Then, what could be the reason for suddenly going to study abroad?"
"Well..."
Roy rested his chin on his hand and pondered.
"Usually it's to escape."
"From what?"
"People's gazes. Rumors."
Stella fiddled with the hem of her dress. Her hands were sweating.
"Actually, there are many cases where noble daughters or sons of noble families who caused trouble as children are pushed by their parents to study abroad. I can't remember the name, but this time, a son of a certain Count's family was sent abroad after it was revealed that he had sexually harassed a maid."
Stella nodded nonchalantly on the outside, but was troubled on the inside.
'Kendrick isn't the type of person to do something like sexual harassment.'
Roy gave another example.
"Ah, you know about the murder case that happened recently, right?"
"Yeah. I heard. I heard one of the Imperial Knight apprentices died in a fight over a personal matter."
Skyle had become busy because of that incident as well. She remembered him saying that it was difficult to get out of the situation now that the Imperial Household was in disarray.
"But I understand that he was ultimately found not guilty?"
The knight who was being assaulted resisted and pushed, but he lost his balance, fell, and died after hitting his head on a stone.
"That's true, but people look at us a bit... off."
Stella agreed. Nobles are meticulous about managing their connections. Associating with someone involved in a scandal, especially one involving death, inevitably draws even harsher scrutiny.
"I heard that he also set off for his studies abroad today."
"Really?"
"It hasn't even been a week, but they'll just send him off for now. It'll be better for his mental health."
Murder cases. And sexual harassment and sexual crimes. It felt like Kendrick had absolutely no connection to such crimes.
'Kendrick isn't the type of person to kill someone out of anger.'
However, as she kept hearing these stories, her heart started pounding without her realizing it.
"But why are you suddenly bringing that up? Did you suddenly want to study abroad?"
"No."
She smiled awkwardly and shook her head.
"I was just thinking of writing a novel like that."
And then they changed the subject. Roy then asked if she was taking the magic potion he had given her last time, and Stella replied that she was taking it whenever she had the chance. Leaving the casual conversation at that, they began talking about the writing again.
***
It was evening. A knocking sound was heard on the study door.
'Who is it?'
It was not a situation where a servant would have come. Stella went and opened the door. Then, Marie, who was three spans shorter than Stella, was standing there wearing a servant's uniform.
"What's going on here?"
Marie bowed ninety degrees without saying a word. And she did not straighten her back for quite a while.
"I'm sorry."
Stella knew very well how soft-hearted Marie was. That is why she could guess how much courage Marie had mustered to come here. It seemed Marie had realized just how difficult it was for Stella to cover up the disturbances Marie had caused while she was serving as a lady-in-waiting.
'As expected, Marie is kind in this life, too.'
Stella looked at her with a gentle face, then her gaze fixed on one spot.
"Here."
It was her chapped lips.
"Yes?"
"What's wrong here? Did you... get hit?"
Marie shook her head.
"I’ll hit back if they hit me. I won’t just take it.”
'So you'll hit them, but you won't let them hit you back?'
"Yes."
Marie bowed her head again.
"I want to be of help. Thank you."
Stella didn't say anything for fear of making her feel embarrassed, but she smiled slightly, raising the corners of her mouth.
"Then, would you ask people and bring me a newspaper? Hmm... if you have a newspaper from about 10 years ago, find it for me."
"All right.
Stella knew very well that although Marie was currently not good at the Imperial language, her skills would improve quickly within a few months. She watched her leave with the newspaper, looking proud of her.
***
Stella unfolded the old newspapers Marie had brought. Any incident that would have caused Kendrick to suddenly go abroad might have been reported in the newspapers. She narrowed down the cases based on a few criteria.
'A case where the culprit has not been clearly identified.'
As far as she knew, Kendrick had never been involved in any strange incidents before. If Kendrick was hiding something from Stella, it was possible because he had not been identified as the culprit.
'I don't think Kendrick is the kind of person to do that, but...'
Hearing Roy's story made her worry for no reason. The second condition was the location. Kendrick said he grew up in the western estate of Adrian when he was young. Therefore, if Kendrick was involved, it was highly likely that the incident took place in the Adrian estate.
Stella turned the pages of the newspaper one by one. Then, an event that satisfied two conditions appeared.
"Hmm..."
'You fell at the train station and are still in a vegetative state?'
There was no culprit. It appeared to be a simple accident or a suicide attempt. However, rumors circulated that a nobleman harboring a grudge against the victim had harmed her and attempted to cover up the incident. She was particularly drawn to this case.
'If I ask Kendrick directly if he knows about this incident, I'll get the answer.'
If he wasn't the culprit, he wouldn't be flustered at all by seeing this newspaper. No, it could be a case he knew nothing about. Stella put her hand in her pocket. Lady Decrit's note, asking her to come find her and telling her she would tell her Kendrick's story, was still there.
'Should I throw this away? Or....'
Should I show it to Kendrick?
Stella couldn't make a decision and clutched the note so tightly that it crumpled.
There was a knock. She was startled for no reason and hid the note inside the drawer.
"Come in."
"Stella, is writing going well?"
A deep male voice was heard. Stella immediately turned around.
'What, Kendrick?'
Kendrick entered the study with a playful smile. She burst into laughter and turned to face Kendrick.
"So you're even playing pranks like that now."
"They say love changes a person. Now, every time you sit in the study, you'll think of me."
"I've been thinking about Kendrick a lot lately. You got angry here because you misunderstood that I was doing drugs."
Come to think of it, there were times these days when Kendrick seemed even more doting than he did in the beginning after drinking the love potion. She smiled, her eyes crinkling.
'Thank god.'
"Kendrick. You're still in contact with Doctor Decrit, aren't you?"
Kendrick said with an indifferent expression.
"Well, that is true."
He looked at Stella with a questioning gaze.
"Please tell her thank you for saving me the next time you meet."
These days, they just exchange messages by mail. He said he's really busy, too.
"I see."
As the conversation stopped, Stella was wondering how to break the ice, but Kendrick asked first. He seemed concerned that her expression wasn't good.
"Are you very worried?"
"No. I was just curious. Then it seems you've been close since you were young. Good enough to help each other this much."
Kendrick's expression was bleak. Although he was still smiling, Stella sensed a subtly changed atmosphere.
"Not really."
She tried to keep quiet, fearing that asking more would arouse suspicion. However, Stella kept recalling the smile and attitude of Lady Decrit, who seemed to know something she didn't. Thinking this was the last question, she spoke.
"Can you tell me why you went to study abroad?"
"Why are you suddenly asking this question?"
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