Marriage has never entered her mind back when she was the legendary Ethereal Magician. She thought that she is contented with just her students and Fernando; working for the kingdom and the people until the day she dies. But, of course, all of that changed when she was betrayed.
And now that she is in the body of a noble lady, one of the most prominent lady at that with a... not-so-nice reputation (meaning no one really likes her), how will she ever find an acceptable marriage proposal?!
She knows for a fact that the third prince is only biding his time before he would break their arrangement, she saw it in Airla's memories. It was actually one of the most heartbreaking thing that she have ever seen.
The prince directly told her, right in front of the many noblemen and women around in a tea party, that he was only with her just because his parents said so. Airla was so embarrassed that she excused herself and left for the deepest parts of the garden.
Which led to her body breaking down, and her dying in the process.
"Airla died... and no one knew." It hit her right through the heart. Yes, the young lady might have been foolish at times, she might have reacted brashly which they used as ammunition to her, but she was still just a child. She was hurting, misunderstood, and now, they are turning her into something that she is not.
Looking down at all the facts that she wrote about her, she eyed the very thing that really crawled on her nerves.
"The first prince, who once promised to protect her from her tormentors only watched after the rumors started to spread about the young lady." But still, till death she treated him as someone precious to her, an older brother that though have failed her, she still loved and cared for.
"Milady? Why are you up? You should be lying down!" She looked towards the direction of the door and saw one of the few people that cared for Airla.
"Angelica!" Sweet and caring Angelica who is a few years older than her and she have treated as something akin to an older sister. It is well-known throughout the kingdom just how much her family treated servants, and how much they value them and gave them respect.
It is unheard of for the nobility to treat commoners right, most of the time they see them as nothing more than dirt under their shoes. But, they were different.
'Which probably added to the judgement that the people have of Airla... which is not actually bad at all.'
"Milady, I am glad to hear the news! Everyone is so happy for you! The cooks even promised to cook you with the most delicious food that they could ever make!" Smiling at what Angelica said, she waved her hand to tell her to come closer. Angelica did so, confused at what her young lady wanted from her.
"Thank you, Angelica." She said, patting her in her head.
'Oh no!' She treated her like one of her students! What was she doing?!
"T-Thank you, milady though you do not have to do that at all..." She can see the blush on Angelica's cheeks, and she too might be blushing. It's not like she did it on purpose she just... did that everytime her students achieved something or congratulated her whenever she successfully made a spell work.
'Old habits die hard.'
"But I wanted to! You look so happy for me and I thought that I might do something for you as well!" She answered, still patting Angelica in the head. Said maid just nodded in response, though you could see that she is actually enjoying it.
"I am happy, milady. We really are quite joyous and is thanking the Goddess for the gift that she have bestowed upon you." She stopped patting her, though she did not stop smiling. Certainly, the servants have loved their lady so much. In all of the memories that she have viewed not once have they spoken badly about her or treated her differently because of her state.
Truthfully, they have become much more protective of her... especially her parents.
"So, why are you here?"
"I am here to help you bathe, milady. I knew how much you value cleanliness upon yourself so the mistress ordered me to help you prepare a bath." Huh, now that's something that she and Airla is in the opposite spectrum. Though she does endeavor bathe as much as she can back in her old body, she is not as afraid and as sensitive of the dirt as Airla.
She have dived in the sewers, sank in the mud, crawled on the forest floors; all the dirtiest things that a noble might have hated, especially Airla, she have done before. She is a combat mage, and a researcher at that, of course she would be willing to do something like that.
"Thank you."
A noble's bath time is AMAZING.
She was so relaxed, not to mention Angelica started scrubbing her AND have offered to massage her entire body, which she did not say no to. She was in literal heaven.
'Damn, I am missing a lot of things as a commoner.' Though she has been made as the court magician and was a literal legend to the world, she was not made into a noble out of her own choice. She was offered so many times, but she turned them down, stating that she does not need the luxuries of a noble and would rather live inside the castle to further her research and protect the king.
'I was foolish to turn down something like this.'
"Do you love it, milady?" Angelica asked, still massaging her shoulder. She grunted in response, her whole body turning into mush.
"You know milady, the rest of the servants and I think that you should just leave the third prince be. With how much he humiliated you at the last tea party, we could not stand to serve such an arrogant man if ever you married him." This is why she prefer people speaking freely in front of her, despite her status. They are unhinged, and of course, unafraid to speak the truth that they are seeing for their very own eyes.
"What would the King and Queen say...?" She asked, wanting to pry more into how much the rulers of this kingdom would favor her.
"Oh! They would grant you whatever you wish in a heartbeat! Though... you might have a hard time looking for another man willing to marry you..." And Airla might be the same her with how much freedom her servant is talking to her. Viewing her memories, she did see times where she would consult Angelica on things, preferring her to speak her heart out and not hide anything from her.
'One of these days, these noblemen and women's servants are going to leave them in favor of our house.'
"I mean... first of all your reputation is not doing well because of those stupid people outside. They do not know who you truly are, milady, and they treated you with such contempt!" She could hear the pain in Angelica's voice, knowing how attached she is to the young lady that she is personally serving.
"Also... there is the matter of your scar." Ah yes... how have she forgotten about the scar on her face? This was one of the things that Jilliana and her entourage have left her.
A confrontation happened between them which led to Airla being made as the villain and deserving of such a scar on her face. Her parents have tried asking doctors, priests, and magicians alike to look for a cure to remove her scar since Airla hated to see it so much.
'Obviously it could not be removed that easily. I have seen it once with Yuliva. She was one of the few people that was born without magic, and when she was accidentally wounded with a spell, it scarred on her skin, carving into it forever.' Yuliva have long accepted her status, but she as her master never gave up. She have found a way to transfer magic to her, through a year of research and much trust from her student. But, she would never be as powerful as others are, but she did learn how to infuse magic with her weapons.
'That girl is a terror.'
"...which is why milady, I hope you reconsider your arrangement with the third prince. He does not care for you and I fear that you may regret being with him." Ah, yes. She nodded, agreeing with what Angelica have said. The third prince does NOT deserve her nor the original Airla.
"A-Are you agreeing with me, milady?" She nodded again, this time with much conviction.
"Yes. I have had enough of the people around me pushing me as the bad guy. I deserve better." Angelica cheered for her answer, making some of the bubbles around them float from her bath. She giggled at her response.
"But- milady... who will you choose then? There are not a lot of men lining up for you..." But she knows that there is one though. One who, even after having a scar on her face, still continuously sends her letters offering her his love, unafraid to face the third prince and the nobility.
"How about Adiran Mort?"