Episode 25. A Lucky Day
It was the day she had arranged to meet Bianca. The location was a teahouse on the Imperial Palace aristocratic street. Martha arrived first. She sat by the window and looked toward the door. Bianca had not yet arrived. And sitting beside her was Leon.
Martha had thought about how this situation had come about the entire journey there. She had originally intended to come alone. Meeting Bianca by herself was sufficient. Bianca would be honest with Martha. Having a third party present might actually be a hindrance. However, Claude said no.
"It is not easy to know Miss Bianca's true intentions alone. Let Leon go with you."
Martha could not understand those words. It seemed that Bianca would be even more cautious if Leon were present. Why had Claude paired her with Leon? What was her father thinking? Martha pondered these thoughts for a moment, then simply let them go. In any case, Leon was there.
The two of them sat in the teahouse, waiting for Bianca. The sounds of other customers in the teahouse hung low. There was silence between them. Martha looked out the window. Leon also looked out the window. It was silent. Leon was the first to break the silence.
"Princess."
Martha looked at Leon. Leon spoke as he raised his teacup.
"Why did you say in the letter that you would forgive only 30 percent?"
Martha looked at Leon. Leon looked at Martha. Their gazes were calm. It was the look of someone asking a question out of curiosity. Without any particular emotion. Martha looked into those eyes and remained silent for a moment. Then, a thought crossed her mind.
Before the regression, the day Martha remembered was strange from the very morning Duke Claude and the Duchess had been nagging Serena at the breakfast table. About her conduct in high society, her engagement to Prince Leon, and the family's reputation. Serena listened to the nagging with a stiff expression. Edward added a comment as well, telling her to do things properly.
Serena stormed off the table and went into her room. Martha followed her. In the room, Serena was having her dress fitted. It was the day for the tailoring of the banquet dress. Two young maids entered with the tailor. The task was to secure the dress with pins. The young maid's hand trembled. It was due to nervousness. While gripping the pin, she lightly pricked Serena in the side. Serena let out a small scream. The maid froze. Serena endured it. She let it slide. However, a little later, she was pricked again. It was on her wrist. This time, Serena cried out. The maid looked as if she were about to cry.
After the tailoring was finished and the maids had left, Serena said to Martha.
"I'm not going to the banquet today."
Martha said.
"You said Prince Leon is coming, Miss."
Serena froze for a moment before speaking.
"That's why I don't want to go."
Martha looked at Serena as she listened. Serena's eyes were wavering. Watching this, Martha thought.
'This young lady likes Prince Leon. That's why she's scared.'
Martha comforted Serena. She helped her put on the dress. She styled her hair. She tried to ease Serena's tension by talking about this and that on the way. Serena still went to the banquet, carrying a heavy heart. As she entered the hall, Martha stood anxiously behind her. She hoped nothing would happen today. But nothing did happen.
It was when the banquet was in full swing. Bianca and her entourage approached Serena, who was sitting in a corner, searching only for Leon. They were not very talkative. Their words were short and biting. Yet, they struck precisely at Serena's weak points. Everything Serena had been holding back since morning exploded all at once. Her father's nagging, Edward's scolding, being pricked by a thumbtack, the banquet she didn't want to attend, and Bianca's venomous words.
Serena screamed. She screamed loud enough to shake the banquet hall. At that very moment, Leon entered. The timing was just wrong. He entered right then, of all times. Leon saw Serena screaming. And he said.
"This is not fitting for the occasion."
The banquet hall fell silent. Leon continued.
"I am breaking off the engagement."
Martha remembered that night. After returning to the mansion, Serena went into her room and did not come out for several days. When Marta placed a meal by the door, she left it there without eating. There was no answer when called. When knocked, the door was locked. On the night of the third day, Martha forced the door open. Serena was in bed. At the sight, Martha's heart sank. She called a doctor. She nursed her for several days. Martha did not leave that room until Serena opened her eyes again.
Even after that, Serena was ill for a long time. Her body weakened. She suffered from a constant stream of minor ailments. She did not eat. She did not sleep. She became silent. Martha stayed by her side the whole time. Oh, young lady. You fool. Why go to such lengths?
Martha returned to the present. Leon was watching her. Martha looked at Leon. She looked into his eyes. This man, sitting calmly with a teacup in his hand, asking.
"Why?"
For 30 percent. Marta thought to herself.
'If it were me, I would really pull out all of his hair.'
That thought came out of her mouth. Quietly.
"If it were me, I would really pull out all of his hair."
Leon stopped. Martha looked out the window. Leon said.
"You're saying you'll pull out all my hair?"
Martha looked at Leon.
"When did I?"
"Just now."
Martha looked at Leon for a moment and said.
"You need to be forgiven 35 percent more from now on."
Leon looked at Martha.
"And the other 35 percent?"
"You don't need to know."
Martha looked out the window again. Leon looked at Martha. Something passed through his eyes. Just then, the teahouse door opened. It was Bianca. She was wearing a glamorous dress again today. Jewels sparkled.
As she entered, she spotted Martha and Leon and stopped for a moment. Then, walking over, she said.
"What brings you both to ask to see me?"
She looked back and forth between the two as she sat down.
"Well, you aren't planning to make a shocking announcement that you two have reunited, are you?"
Martha said.
"No."
Bianca nodded and looked at the menu.
"That's a relief. Then, let's start with the tea."
The black tea was served. Martha looked around. Lucy approached the guests at a nearby table and quietly guided them to another seat. Siegfried did the same. Before long, the area around this table was cleared. Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca took a sip of tea and said.
"What is it? Why go to such lengths to clear a seat like this?"
Martha said.
"Bianca."
"What is it?"
"What is your dream?"
Bianca looked at Martha.
"Suddenly?"
"Suddenly."
Bianca looked at Martha for a moment and said.
"Why? Are you going to make it happen if I tell you?"
"Dreams don't necessarily have to come true."
Bianca looked at Martha. Martha said.
"My dream is to be the most beautiful woman in the world."
Bianca froze for a moment, then laughed heartily.
"Because of me, you won't be able to achieve that dream, hoho."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca's laughter subsided. Martha spoke.
"I have an older brother, but..."
Bianca looked at Martha. Martha swallowed hard for a moment and said,
"Actually, my dream was to inherit my father's position."
Bianca froze. She looked at Martha. The teacup she was holding tilted. It fell onto the table and shattered. The black tea spilled out. Unaware of this, Bianca continued to look at Martha. Martha's words were true. Before her regression, Martha was the daughter of a small tenant farmer. She had an older brother, but he had been spoiled and raised in a pampered manner, completely unrelated to her parents' backbreaking labors or their debts. He always took the family's money and lived a life steeped in gambling and alcohol, and eventually, to resolve the family's debts, Martha had to leave her family at a young age and enter a noble household as a lady-in-waiting.
Martha was skilled with her hands and loved farming. She thought to herself.
'If it weren't for the debt, and if it weren't for my brother, wouldn't I have taken over my father and run a small farm?'
"Serena... are you serious about that?"
Martha said.
"Yeah. Because it's just a dream."
Bianca glanced at Martha for a moment. Her gaze was different. It was the first time she had looked at Martha properly. It was a different look from before. Bianca spoke slowly.
"Actually."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca lowered her gaze and said.
"That is my dream."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca touched the broken teacup shards on the table with her finger and spoke.
"I am the eldest daughter of the Marquis de Drua. Everyone takes it for granted. That my brother will inherit the family, and that I will marry somewhere else. I have never said that I wanted to inherit the family. Not once."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca said.
"But Serena calls that a dream."
"Because it is a dream."
"It is a dream, but one that cannot be achieved."
"It could be achieved!"
Bianca looked at Martha. Martha said.
"Bianca."
"What is it?"
"Do you have no intention of becoming the Crown Princess?"
Bianca looked at Martha. Martha continued.
"You are the most likely candidate for Crown Princess in this Empire right now. You are the eldest daughter of the Marquis de Drua and have influence in high society."
Bianca looked at Martha for a moment and said.
"It is nice that the Crown Princess is the Empress, but."
"But."
"I have no priority in my life."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca said.
"If I become the Crown Princess, my dreams will vanish completely. If I enter the Imperial Household, my brother will inherit the Drua family, and I will become a member of the Imperial Household. My life will no longer be my own."
Listening to her, Martha thought. This young lady knew it all along. Bianca said.
"Are you asking what I would do if the Crown Prince proposed?"
Martha said.
"Yes."
Bianca thought for a moment and said.
"Ugh, I don't like that kind of yellow hair."
Leon looked at Bianca. Bianca looked at Leon and spoke.
"I like jet-black hair like Young Master Leon here. How about me, Young Master? Hehe."
Leon looked at Bianca expressionlessly. Bianca waved her hand and said.
"What? That's boring. I was just joking."
Then she looked at Martha.
"I should try refusing politely for now. If that doesn't work, I'll just go around socializing and get a reputation as a villainess like Serena used to."
Martha said.
"Just like me."
"Right. There is a precedent."
"I wouldn't recommend that method."
"I know. Anyway, I absolutely do not want to enter the Imperial Family. I wouldn't want to even if the Crown Prince proposed to me himself."
Martha looked at Leon as she listened. Leon looked at Martha. Their eyes exchanged. They had a clear direction. Bianca was someone who could very well join their side. If she were to refuse the position of Crown Princess, she could fall out of favor with the Empress, putting the very existence of their family at risk.
Leon rose from his seat and said.
"I have an appointment, so I will be leaving now."
Bianca looked at Leon. Leon nodded at Bianca and looked at Martha. Martha looked at Leon as well. Leon spoke in a low voice.
"Later."
Martha nodded. The teahouse door closed. Bianca looked at the door Leon had left through, then looked at Martha.
"Is he always that quiet?"
"He has always been."
"Doesn't it make you uncomfortable?"
"I like it when he's quiet because it's peaceful."
Bianca looked at Martha and let out a smirk. Lucy placed a new teacup down and stepped back. Bianca fiddled with the teacup and looked at Martha. Her gaze was different from before. It was the look of someone finally bringing out something they had held onto for a long time. Bianca said.
"Serena."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca continued to fiddle with the teacup while gazing intently into Martha's eyes.
"Why did you do that back then?"
Martha asked.
"Back then? What back then?"
Bianca said.
"At the banquet that day."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca's gaze was serious. There was no bitterness. There was no provocation. It was simply a look of genuine inquiry. Bianca said.
"I approached you first. That day. We..."
"..."
"We went to mock you."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca took her hand off the teacup.
"To be honest, Serena."
"Yes."
"Back then, I hated Serena."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca spoke while looking out the window.
"Serena, who only had eyes for Prince Leon. Serena, who chose dresses to catch his eye, who went to banquets at the news that he was coming, and who waited only for him to notice you."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca continued.
"You didn't even think about getting close to the other young ladies in society, and only looked at Prince Leon. I hated seeing Serena like that so much. I couldn't understand a woman who was controlled by one man like that."
As she listened, Martha thought. So that was it. Her dislike of Miss Serena wasn't just a simple social squabble. Bianca said.
"That is why I approached you that day. I indeed went to mock you, and I was indeed wrong."
"..."
"But back then, I really didn't like that woman."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca looked at Martha.
"But now."
Bianca said, picking up her teacup and putting it back down.
"It's fascinating and nice that we've reached a point where we sit here drinking tea like this."
"But."
"I've always felt uneasy in the back of my mind. About the things I said and did back then."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca looked out the window for a moment, then looked at Martha. Then she stood up. Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca stood before Martha and bowed deeply. Respectfully. So low that it seemed unbefitting of a queen of society.
"I'm sorry about what happened that day, Serena."
The teahouse fell silent for a moment. Martha looked at Bianca, who was bowing. She placed her hand over Bianca's head. Lightly. Naturally. And she said.
"I forgive your sins."
Bianca raised her head. Martha looked at Bianca. They looked at each other for a moment. And they laughed at the same time. Bianca tried to calm her laughter as she sat down, but it didn't work well. Martha couldn't stop laughing either. The two of them were laughing in one corner of the teahouse. When the laughter subsided, Martha spoke.
"A lot has happened since that morning. I got nagged by Father, scolded by my brother, pricked by a pin several times while tailoring a dress, and was forced to go to a banquet I didn't want to attend."
Bianca remained silent.
"But then Bianca's group came over and said something. The explosion was the result of everything that day building up."
Bianca said.
"But I'm the one who pulled the trigger."
"That's right."
"That's why I'm apologizing."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca took a sip of tea and looked out the window.
"But honestly, if I have to say it again..."
"Yeah."
"It feels like the Serena now isn't the Serena from back then. Not caring about Prince Leon, not caring about high society, eating when you want to eat, and saying what you have to say. Sometimes I still can't believe that person is the same person from back then."
"People do change."
"That suddenly?"
"As you live."
Bianca glanced at Martha for a moment as she heard those words.
"Serena keeps saying 'as you live."
"Because it's true."
Bianca said, picking up her teacup.
"Can I become like Serena as I live?"
Martha looked at Bianca.
"How?"
"By being confident about everything, acting like you know everything, and just doing everything."
Martha looked at Bianca and said.
"Bianca, you are already confident. You are the queen of society. Someone who has lived confidently there."
Bianca looked at Martha for a moment, then lowered her gaze.
"I don't know if that is confidence or just pretending to be strong."
Hearing that, Martha thought. So this young lady thinks that way, too. Martha said.
"If you keep pretending to be strong for a long time, it becomes the real thing. And Bianca."
"Why?"
"You, too, will be forgiven 35 percent from now on. Right by my side."
Bianca looked at Martha.
"What is 35 percent?"
"There is such a thing."
Bianca said, looking at Martha.
"And the remaining 65 percent?"
"That is someone else's share."
Bianca looked at Martha for a moment, then sipped her tea.
"...Serena is a really strange person."
"I hear that often."
"But being strange isn't so bad, sometimes."
The afternoon sunlight was setting outside the teahouse window. Martha recalled Serena's appearance before the regression.
Martha began running after Serena, who was rushing out of the mansion without even properly dressing after receiving a letter from somewhere. She ran so well despite her frail body that just thinking about it made her legs tremble with fear while chasing her. Serena stopped walking, seemingly having reached her destination, and stared intently at one spot.
Without a moment to look anywhere, Martha clutched her heart, which was pounding from the long run, and slumped to the ground. Shortly after, Serena slumped down as well. Yet, her gaze remained fixed on a single point. Martha followed Serena's eyes. It was Leon's mansion, where a banner reading 'Leon-Bianca's Engagement Ceremony' hung.
[Lucy's Secret Shock Journal - Episode 25]
I met Miss Bianca today.
Shock No. 1: The Princess muttered to herself to Young Master Leon, "If it were me, I would have pulled out all his hair." The Young Master heard it. The Princess said, "Please accept 35 percent more forgiveness." The Young Master asked, "What about the other 35 percent?" and replied, "You don't need to know."
I can't keep up with what percentage that is anymore.
Shock No. 2: Miss Bianca said she did not want to become the Crown Princess. She said, "I don't like yellow hair." She told Young Master Leon, "I prefer black hair." The Young Master looked expressionless. Mr Siegfried cleared his throat beside him.
Shock No. 3. After Young Master Leon left, Miss Bianca brought up the story of that day's banquet to the Princess. She said she disliked Princess Serena, who only looked at Young Master Leon. She said she couldn't understand seeing her being controlled by one man. She spoke honestly.
Shock No. 4. Miss Bianca stood up from her seat and apologized politely. Then, the Princess placed her hand on Miss Bianca's head and said, "I forgive your sin." The two of them laughed at the same time in the teahouse. I almost laughed too.
Shock No. 5: The Princess said, "You, too, will be forgiven 35 percent from now on, right by my side." Miss Bianca asked, "What is 35 percent?" and the Princess replied, "There is such a thing." It seems Miss Bianca has truly become our ally today.
I wonder how the Princess manages to make people like this. Is it something you learn as you live? I still don't know.
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