I was quietly surprised by what the girl just said.
Lady Octavi, who was behind me, stepped forward to stand beside me. She cleared her throat loudly.
"Ehem. May this young lady introduce herself before speaking like that toward My Lady?"
The red-haired girl smirked. "Hmmm? How do I need to introduce myself to you, servant? Surely, you need to apologize to me with that attitude."
"I think you are the one who needs to apologize, young lady…" Lady Octavi retorted coldly.
"HA?" The girl laughed incredulously. "My Lady Aurelia, perhaps you do not train your servant well. This disgraceful servant dared to emit a single word in this great meeting."
"About th—" I began.
Immediately, Lady Octavi stuck her hand out in front of my face, cutting me off.
"No, My Lady. You don't need to speak a single word toward them before this young one apologizes."
"Is this how the Aurelius Family—a golden family that makes all nobles envy it—serves its guests?" the girl sneered. "Why does My Lady Aurelia just keep quiet about this behavior?"
"If you know well about the Aurelius Family, surely you know well whether the servants are disgraceful or not," I replied calmly.
"Aurelia!" Finally, the Prince spoke, his voice booming. "Control your servant immediately! If you let this continue, she will stain my honor."
"I don't mean to stain your honor or your renown, Crown Prince," Lady Octavi said smoothly, bowing her head slightly. "I know you are a man of honor and a man of valor in the Academy… You are my underclassman; surely I know you. But this is a disgrace for My Lady and for me."
"I am your underclassman???" The Prince squinted, taking a closer look at Lady Octavi. His eyes widened. "Don't tell me… you are The Hawk?"
The Hawk? Was that what Lady Octavi was called in the Academy?
"I don't quite like that nickname," Lady Octavi said with a grimace. "But yes, like Your Highness thinks, I am Octavi Claudi, and I am a daughter of a VISCOUNT from the Claudi Family. Maybe Your Highness knows me well from the Academy."
"I didn't know if you were from the Claudi family…" The Prince looked impressed. "You had great sword movement back in the Academy, and you achieved a perfect score on your graduation…"
I looked at Lady Octavi. I didn't know she was that amazing.
"Your words are an honor to me," Lady Octavi continued, her tone sharpening. "But the one who sits beside you needs to apologize first for her words toward My Lady and me. How dare she show that disgraceful attitude toward My Lady and me, who have a higher peerage rank than her? And I am lost for words to know she could sit beside you; even I couldn't sit beside My Lady like that."
The red-haired girl's smile faltered. She stood up and curtsied stiffly.
"I apologize for my disgraceful behavior toward My Lady Aurelia and Lady Octavi, where I didn't acknowledge and was mistaken as a servant. May this apology be pleasing to both of your hearts."
"I accept your apology," Lady Octavi said curtly.
But then, the girl—Lady Anna—said something surprising.
"How about Lady Octavi apologize on behalf of My Lady Aurelia, who brought a servant behind her with daggers strapped to her thighs?"
Clack-clack-clack.
At once, all three guards in the room dropped into defensive stances, hands on their hilts.
I was shocked beyond words. She knew. Even though I just learned about the Maid's Guard recently, and I believed even the twins didn't know about it. How does an outsider know?
"Is that true, Aurelia?" the Prince asked, his brow furrowing.
"It is true…" I answered slowly. "Adel, you may take out your daggers and remove them."
Adel stepped forward. She untied the straps from her legs.
Clatter.
The heavy sound of metal hitting the floor echoed in the room. She picked up the daggers and handed them to the nearest guard. After that, she returned to her position behind me.
"Now, I need to know," I said, leaning forward. "Who is this lovely one that could sit beside my betrothed?"
"My name is Anna Justina," she introduced herself with a flourishing bow. "Maybe My Lady has been informed about me as the daughter of a Count. Well, I will not introduce my title again."
"So it is Lady Anna then. You may call me Lady Aurelia. I am a little bit uneasy if a noble calls me 'My Lady,' besides my subjects… I believe Lady Anna knows it well, right?"
"Ha ha ha small giggling," she laughed delicately. "Surely I know it well, and it is an honor for me too, Lady Aurelia."
"Great… There is something on my mind: how does my betrothed know Lady Anna?"
When Lady Anna opened her mouth to answer, Lady Octavi suddenly leaned close to my ear.
"It would be great if this conversation happened in the garden, My Lady, to relax the atmosphere," she whispered.
I looked at her and nodded. "That is a great idea, Lady Octavi."
I turned back to them. "How about we bring this conversation to the garden? Surely I am glad to hear Lady Anna's story about my betrothed in the garden with a nice and relaxed atmosphere, rather than a dull and tense atmosphere here."
We stood up from our seats and headed to the garden.
I walked side by side with the Prince, followed by my retinue—Adel, Lady Octavi, and Gena—behind me. However, Lady Anna was not walking behind the Prince; she was walking boldly beside him.
I could feel the tension in the house. It was a sort of angry buzz. Even the servants we passed looked irritated.
At first, I thought the black dress Adel suggested was great. But seeing them both wearing white—matching each other perfectly—made my dress seem to fade into the background. I felt like a shadow.
Suddenly, I heard Lady Octavi's voice in my right ear.
"My Lady, you need to keep walking and stay side by side with the Prince…"
I blinked. I realized I had fallen behind. They were already several paces in front of me.
I tried to catch up, but somehow my feet—even my body—refused to move faster.
Gena, on my left, spoke up. "Are you alright? Perhaps you are not feeling well, My Lady?"
"Thanks for the concern, Gena. I am alright, but... but… I don't know… Why does my entire body not want to come near them?"
"So you are irritated by them," Gena noted.
"Irritated? How come I am irritated by someone I don't know well, even though I don't recall any memories with him?"
"That is your mind thinking like that," Gena whispered. "But your heart is different, My Lady. That is why I said, prepare your heart."
"Nonsense!!" I muttered, forcing my legs to move. "Nonsense!! Nonsense!! Nonsense!!"
Unfortunately, until we arrived at the garden, I stayed stubbornly behind them.
…
In the garden pavilion, a table was already prepared for us.
On the table, there were snacks, a teapot, and cups. There were four seats, which meant Lady Octavi was included in the seating arrangement.
They took their seats—again, sitting side by side. I took the seat opposite the Prince.
After I sat down, Lady Octavi whispered to me urgently.
"My Lady, you need to sit there... So you can sit side by side with the Prince. Let me sit on the seat you are sitting at."
"No," I said firmly. "I will sit here. You can sit there, Lady Octavi."
"But, My Lady…"
"Don't let me repeat my sentences!"
Immediately, Lady Octavi took the remaining seat. Once everyone was settled, Adel started pouring tea into the cups.
"Now, I want to hear Lady Anna's story back then... How did this lovely lady meet my betrothed?" I asked, stirring my tea.
Lady Anna launched into her story. It started at the Palace Academy, where she attended. They were in the same study group, so they bumped into each other constantly. They started to get to know each other.
"That was amazing," I said politely. "I could hope that I was in the Academy as well, but I still have great tutors like Lady Octavi and Gena behind me. Wait a second... Is the Palace Academy for knighthood? I heard it from my little sister. It means Lady Anna is a knight. Does it mean Lady Anna knows how to handle a sword?"
"A little bit, Lady Aurelia," Lady Anna replied modestly. "But if you compare me with Lady Octavi, I am way beyond the bottom of her."
"It is alright, Lady Anna. Because I have watched her in a match, and even with someone… surely, it is hard to catch the stage of Lady Anna's sword compared to hers."
The Prince looked surprised. "Who is the one who can be even with her?"
"The one who poured your drink, Prince," I answered, gesturing behind me.
They looked at Adel, who was standing silently by the table.
"We surely had an even match between each other," Lady Octavi admitted. "But we lost to My Lady."
"I didn't know you learned about swords, Aurelia," the Prince said, impressed.
"Is that when Lady Aurelia tried to save the four children? That Lady Octavi and this servant lost to you?" Lady Anna interjected smoothly.
I was shocked again. I looked at Lady Octavi and Adel; their faces were equally astonished.
"What do you mean about that, Anna?" the Prince asked.
"I heard from the wind rumor that Lady Aurelia almost defeated both of them in the alley when she tried to save the four children there…"
How could she know about that incident? Again, the only ones who knew were the people from the family or the residence.
"That wind rumor surely told everything," Lady Octavi laughed tightly. "Maybe it will tell about the end of the world tomorrow, right? My Lady."
"Tomorrow is the end of the world; it may be overexaggerated, Lady Octavi," Lady Anna countered with a smile. "But a rumor about Lady Aurelia leaving the Delios Temple with a lot of blood stains on her dress… may not be overexaggerated. Is that right, Lady Aurelia?"
She took a calm sip of her tea.
"Ha ha ha! small giggles," I forced a laugh. "Yes, it is overexaggerated. How could the rumor be like that?"
"Maybe the rumor could be true sometime?" Lady Anna pressed, her eyes glinting.
Out of the blue, I heard Gena's voice in my right ear.
"It is not good, My Lady… You need to excuse yourself right now."
"Why?" I whispered back.
Lady Anna looked at us. "Is there something wrong, Lady Aurelia? Or maybe the rumor that you are in a state of not feeling well is true too?"
"It is just a rumor, Lady Anna," I lied through my teeth. "Everything is fine. I am here in healthy condition, which means the rumor is just a rumor, right?"
"I hope so, Lady Aurelia," Lady Anna said with a little smirk.
Gena continued urgently in my ear. "I felt the Dianoia reaction… I thought it would be amusing to let this Dianoia reaction go without telling you, but after I saw her right now, I changed my mind."
"What do you mean by that? Explain it to me!"
"No time, My Lady…"
"Just explain it to me! Right now!"
"It is really that there is no time…"
"I th—"
"Cough!"
Like Gena said, suddenly I coughed violently.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Blood sprayed from my mouth, staining the pristine white tablecloth crimson.
I saw everyone stand up in shock—except Lady Anna. She remained seated, watching me with a satisfied smirk.
Gena, Lady Octavi, and Adel immediately surrounded me.
"Are you alright, My Lady?!"
"Yeah… I a…m… al..r cough …i.g—"
I blinked my eyes.
Suddenly, the faces of Adel, Gena, Lady Octavi, and the others vanished from my sight. Their faces morphed into people I didn't know.
I looked around. I was not in the garden anymore.
But…