Your Regrets Are Late

“…Is it because Lillian’s aunt killed your maid? I will forgive you if you tell me the truth now.”

“You know it all but still deny it, like someone who somehow wants to confirm that it wasn’t Lillian’s own play.”

“Deny?”

Duke Marsetta’s eyes wavered. It seemed like he had been hit on the back of his head.

“Lari Isla von Marsetta is not my maid but a princess who had been officially registered with Duke Marsetta.”

Charelize first corrected the way Duke Marsetta called Lari.

“But… don’t worry, I never thought of her as the daughter of His Grace. Lari is only my mother’s daughter and my sister, and she has nothing to do with Your Grace.”

Duke Marsetta could never invade the relationship between the three. He wasn’t contained within her family’s fence. Duke Marsetta broke it first, so it wasn’t a matter of regret.

“I’m not going to let this matter pass. Even if you’re a duke, there would be limits to how much you could protect Lillian. Well, I don’t know if you’ll cover her like you do now, even if you know the truth.”

She didn’t miss the slightly opened Duke Marsetta’s gap and dug deep.

“…Truth? What do you mean?”

“Wouldn’t it be fun to talk about everything here?”

“Are you making fun of me right now!”

Charelize’s head turned limply to the left. Her cheek that was slapped turned red. He hit so hard that her mouth started to bleed. It was an act of anger without knowing it, so Duke Marsetta quickly examined her face.

“A-are you okay?”

“Don’t touch me.”

Charelize shook his hand away, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth.

“Since you asked what the truth is, I can tell you one thing. There’s no spy. His Grace knows best that she’s not that smart.”

“Come on, Doctor…”

“…Do you remember Dina?”

Charelize cited Dina’s work as an example, where she served before Lillian had Chenia as her exclusive maid. Dina treated Lillian with an unchanging attitude even before Lillian became a princess. She was loyal to Duke Marsetta and obeyed Lillian as she fulfilled her orders. She was a maid who would be helpful in many ways if you stayed close to her. On top of that, she was quick with her hands and feet and had her senses.

Not knowing that Lillian said that Dina looked down at her and said about this and that. Lillian told that to Duke Marsetta, which resulted in Dina being kicked out. It was really stupid. Lillian had abandoned Dina, who could have been her eyes and ears.

Moreover, Duke Marsetta knew very well about Dina’s character, who had worked for him for a long time. He couldn’t just kick her out without asking what had happened. Even though he had no choice but to appease Lillian, he knew it was unfair to Dina. Maybe he thought it was bothersome to deal with someone who couldn’t even outwit a servant and only knew how to cry. Duke Marsetta, whom Charelize knew, was like that.

Perhaps he had some thought that Lillian drank the poison herself. The fact that he had thought like that meant that he had doubts, and it seemed like it was because similar things like this were repeated.

Instead of gaining his trust, Lillian acted foolishly and made him doubt her. Furthermore, she chose Chenia, who was clingy and didn’t know how to keep her distance, as her exclusive maid. Although Lillian was a beloved daughter to Duke Marsetta, she couldn’t be a reliable successor to the family. It was either Lillian didn’t know about it, or she couldn’t admit it.

“What… are you saying?”

“If I were Lillian, I would have learned everything and made a good reputation without wasting time sleeping. At least, I wouldn’t be a feeble princess who would do nothing without the help of Your Grace, or I wouldn’t stupidly drink the poison myself.”

“…”

“I hate it so much… that we share the same blood.”

Charelize was referring to both Lillian and Duke Marsetta. She then left the room without hearing his reply.

“You’re here, Your Highness.”

Charelize went back to her room. Hailey, who was waiting for her, bowed her head. Greeted by her, Charelize waved her hand, sat down, and asked what had happened.

“Looks like Chenia is the one who spread the rumor.”

“You mean I… poisoned Lillian?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

“No wonder. The attitude of the servants was strange. All… because of Chenia. It was said that Lillian drank the Lipecha tea from my tea box. What’s going on?”

“Recently, Lady Lillian had been meeting more with Lady Esmeralda of the Marquis Schubertine.”

“I already know that. Chenia came to me and said that. No way…”

Charelize remembered that Marchioness Schubertine was the princess of Kingdom Luang, the origin of Lipecha.

“Yes. Perhaps what she said to Your Highness was probably intentional. Among the rumors that Chenia spread, there was also known that Lady Lillian liked Lipecha tea because of Lady Esmeralda.”

“You must have a hard time. I can see they’ve rolled their heads this time.”

Charelize, who burst out laughing along the way, looked really amused.

“If I have to accept a very intrusive and irritating crowd, I better have some fun.”

“Your Highness…?” Seeing her like that, bewildered Hailey called for her.

“Hailey, did you know that Marchioness Schubert has three daughters?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Among them, the eldest daughter, Lady Esmeralda, was pushed out of the line to succession because she indulged herself in luxury and didn’t have much talent. On the other hand, the second daughter, Lady Merehen, was installed as the crown princess of the Kingdom Luang. And the youngest daughter, Lady Frijia, became the little Marchioness. Lady Esmeralda, who was pushed aside by her younger siblings in everything, has a strong sense of pride and thin ears.”

“Ah…”

“Since you can’t make any contact with the intelligent second daughter or the youngest daughter, isn’t it relatively easy to contact the eldest daughter?”

“That’s… I see.”

“The Luang Kingdom only supplied Lipecha to the Duke Marsetta, Marquis Schubertine, and Viscount Blanche… Viscount Blanche is my vassal, so she couldn’t have done anything about it. Also, even if that wasn’t the case, Lipecha has been provided by Marquis Schubertine and received a good review from the public.”

“Yes. As the servant said, the Lipecha tea leaves that Lady Lillian had been running out of. Still, since Lady Esmeralda was staying in the Luang Kingdom, she couldn’t go to the Schubertine March. And… originally… the person in charge of the tea leaves box was…”

Hailey stopped talking and mumbled, which was not like her.

“Hailey?”

“Lari. That was her job, Your Highness.”

“…Right.”

“Lira quit her job because her brother is getting married, and Martin is at the Viscounty Rael. Now the person in charge of it was Anasha, the second daughter of Count Luer.”

“But?”

“It was said that Chenia, who serves Lady Lillian, became noticeably sensitive due to this and that overlapping often made noises of pain. Anasha, who shared the same room with her, said she gave away Lipecha tea from the box just once.”

“So… that’s how it happened.”

“Anasha was a close friend of mine when I was in the Faculty of Swordsmanship at Eralpier Academy. Even if she shared a room with Chenia, she wasn’t a person who would be seduced, and the fact that she didn’t pay much attention made it difficult for her to be seduced. Really… I have no face.”

“Didn’t Anasha’s parents… Count and Countess Luer were prepared to die to protect Crown Princess Elizabeth and become a vassal of Duke Marsetta? Considering their faces, it’s natural for Anasha to take over. It’s not because of you that this happened, Hailey.”

Even when others were biting and tearing each other at the usual meeting, Count Luer kept his neutrality and didn’t speak carelessly. Charelize’s mother even told her most of the work that Count and Countess Luer had done, so she knew very well their upright character that didn’t get swept away by anything. Perhaps because Anasha grew up with such parents, she was also unconditionally loyal to Charelize. She probably would have been Charelize’s exclusive maid had it not been for Lari.

That’s why Charelize didn’t blame Hailey. Rather, she focused on how to deal with future situations.

“What about Anasha?”

“By order of His Majesty the Emperor, she is being held in Helsen Prison.”

“Did the Emperor already know about this? I wonder if Lillian ever joins hands with him.”

“Me too. Things are proceeding as if they had planned this in advance.”

Presumably, Lillian drank poison in fear Charelize would tell Duke Marsetta about her father’s existence.

“D-don’t worry, Your Highness. I heard Anasha kept her mouth shut even though she was imprisoned in Helsen Prison.”

When Charelize sighed, Hailey, who took it for a different meaning, hurriedly brought her words.

“I don’t know about that.”

“Yes?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust Anasha, but if someone threatens her by using her weakness, false testimony may come out. Didn’t Count Luer catch the emperor’s eyes and get pushed out of politics?”

“Your Highness, your words…”

“If she says I ordered to poison Lillian, she will gain a lot. No… if the emperor mentions her parents’ lives before that, it will cause her in agony.”

Charelize touched her forehead, feeling a headache rushing just at that thought.

* * *

It was an afternoon that seemed to pass peacefully. She thought it would continue and end quietly, but as Charelize expected, Anasha’s statement changed. Anasha stated that she had poisoned the tea leaves for Lillian at Charelize’s order.

On the way, Charelize was immediately visited by Count and Countess Luer, who knelt down in front of her.

“It’s our fault that we raised our daughter the wrong way, Your Highness.”

“I really don’t know what to say… I’m ashamed of myself.”

“It’s not that Anasha pointed me out as the culprit from the beginning, and considering her young age, it’s understandable that she might think that way. A single testimony won’t do anything to me. I didn’t live lightly enough to give up my position of little duchess for something like this.”

Countess Luer, who eventually shed tears after listening to Charelize, nodded even more. Charelize took turns holding the hand of Count and Countess Luer and got them up.

“Are you coming in knowing where you are?”

“Get out of the way. This was the order from His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Without the permission of the little Duchess…”

At that moment, the butler’s voice was heard outside.

“Honey, isn’t that the voice of young Master Lareche?”

“It seems so. Y-Your Highness, it looks like the imperial knights have come. Hurry and avoid them.”

“Thank you for your concern, but it’s okay. I didn’t mean to run away in the first place.”

The door opened roughly, and the imperial knights entered.