June 22, 1941
8:52 A.M.
That night, Ines slept far worse than usual. She woke up from time to time at the slightest noise or movement, and her dreams were plagued with nightmares.
She dreamt of a faceless woman with hair long enough to cover the plains of the world. They spoke for a long time, however, Ines couldn't seem to recall what exactly they had discussed.
Rubbing her forehead, Ines faintly reached for the bottom of her seat where her bags were situated.
Worst case scenario, if she couldn't get any proper rest even after several nights, she still had the tea leaves from Madam Clèmence.
Supposedly, the tea leaves were made through an experiment that was conducted with her insomnia and nightmares in mind.
The kind Madam had stated that it was only a product in the developing stage, so it'd be best if Ines used the tea leaves only when necessary as there was a chance that it held negative side effects that she had yet to discover.
'…But, it's not like it'll kill me or inflict a horrible disease—what's the worst that could happen?' She pondered, conflicted.
Nevertheless, Ines accepted the tea leaves as they held unique properties that would help her get a better night of rest.
Sitting back up, she removed her feet from the seats and she turned to look outside the window.
The carriage had abruptly stopped moving a while ago, startling her awake. Ines thought that perhaps they had come across bandits, or perhaps an incident had occurred.
However even after nearly ten minutes passed, the carriage remained still.
Even more so, it was eerily quiet.
"Excuse me?" Ines called out. She opened the window and looked for the knight and maidservant that had been assigned to her.
Upon seeing nothing but dust and gravel, she swiveled her head around in confusion. Not a single person was in sight, and the road looked utterly deserted.
'Where did everyone go? Am… Am I still dreaming?'
Knock! Knock!
"Who-?" Ines flinched. She quickly turned around and was met with the face of a stern-faced woman peeping through the slit of the curtains.
"Young miss, please open the doors—the Lord requested that I escort you over," The stern-faced woman said, her words dispelling the ominous atmosphere.
Hearing this, Ines relaxed just a tad bit. She then asked the woman, "…Are you Isla?"
"Yes, young miss."
Ines stood up from her seat and cautiously approached the door of the carriage. Pulling back the curtains, she inspected Isla's face and attire through the glass window for any signs of falsehood.
Though Sir Wright had "introduced" her to the knight and maidservant that had been assigned to her the night before, she wasn't able to take a proper look at them the night before as it was already dark outside.
Hence, Ines could only rely on searching for emblems or brooches that she had seen other maidservants and knights wearing.
At last, when she saw the brooch that she had seen all maidservants wearing the night before, Ines unlocked the door and stepped outside.
"Young miss! Allow me," Isla said. She held onto the carriage door to prevent it from closing, and she raised her other hand to assist Ines down the steep steps.
"…Thank you."
"There is no need to thank me, this is merely my duty."
In the face of such a deferential attitude and respect, Ines shifted uncomfortably and she didn't know how exactly to act.
"Excuse me, Madam Isla?"
"Please, just call me Isla," The maidservant said, shaking her head at Ines' words.
As they walked, Isla remained a couple of meters behind Ines.
"Isla," Ines said, her footsteps coming to a halt, "Pardon me, but where are we heading to? And, could you please walk next to me as well?"
Isla froze for a moment as if she were contemplating Ines' words. A beat later, she paced over and stood by the young girl's side.
She then answered, "Duke Escoffier's chateau, young miss. It's up ahead, and we'll arrive in a couple of minutes by foot if we continue walking at this pace."
.
.
.
Isla's words were in fact true, and soon, Ines was greeted with the sight of a distinctive building.
There were roses everywhere, and the greenery was especially beautiful as the assortment of plants and flowerbeds looked well taken care of.
At the gate of the chateau stood Sir Wright and knights in black armor. The older man wore a polite smile as he spoke to a man who appeared to be a butler.
Whatever they were discussing, the butler's pleasant smile soon crumbled. He bowed deeply to Sir Wright before he guided him and the knights through the gates.
After the knights had entered, other servants soon followed behind.
"Young miss, let's go," Isla said, her head cocked in the open gate's direction.
Ines nodded and trailed after the other servants. As they entered, she was once again spellbound by the beauty of the chateau.
A "curtain" of roses, the dark red uniforms of the servants, and the red bricks that made up the chateau.
Red appeared to be a common color here, she noted.
"Archduke Beaumont!" A woman heaved, snapping Ines out of her reverie.
She was a beautiful woman donned in a simple purple evening dress, her wavy locks of chestnut-colored hair cascaded below her waist like a stream of water.
"I apologize for not receiving you earlier," She bowed, her words slurred like she was out of breath. "My husband- he- he boarded a ship to the Continental Conference; I apologize, but he's not here."
'….What? Sir Wright is an Archduke? A high noble?'
One after another, shocking words were exchanged between the two nobles. Ines watched with her eyes wide open as the Duchess frantically bowed, beads of sweat on her forehead.
Sir Wright- no- Archduke Beaumont shook his head and attempted to console the panicked woman with his words.
He said with an amused smile, "Duchess Escoffier, are you alright? There is no need to be so frantic, I'm merely here to reclaim an item that I previously lent to the Duke."
"Is- Is that so?" She exhaled, color returning to her face, "In that case, would you like to stay for lunch? It's harvest season, and we just received plenty of fresh crops and fruits from the Coastal regions."
"Thank you for your generosity, Duchess Escoffier!" The Archduke said, turning back to look at the weary knights with dull armor and flaxen complexions. He then continued, "We'll take you up on that offer of yours. It seems that some of 'us' aren't exactly suited for traveling on the road."
Behind the Archduke, some of the knights trembled at his words.
"Excellent!" The Duchess smiled.
She clapped her hands, and soon servants rushed to her side. "About the item you had lent my husband, let us bring our discussion elsewhere as there are many prying ears here. As for the knights, they may visit the training ground."
"Of course," The Archduke hummed, agreeing with her words. He then turned around as if he had suddenly remembered something, his gaze sifting through the crowd of servants and knights before it finally landed on Ines.
"Duchess Escoffier, you may have heard from the other circles of nobility that I've recruited a young child who I wish to sponsor. I believe you have a grandson who is no older than ten years of age, do-"
"Archduke! Please mind your choice of words," Duchess Escoffier snapped, her expression dark. She sniffed and covered her mouth with her hand, her voice cracking as she said, "My grandson is no longer here, his funeral was held two years ago."
"…I apologize for my insensitive words, I wasn't aware of his passing."
The Duchess shook her head at his words and sighed as if she had been reminded of a horrible incident. She ran her gloved hand over her face and sighed once more before saying, "You… You didn't know, I apologize for my outburst, Archduke."
After a moment of silence, Duchess Escoffier wiped her tears and said, "Let us move on from this. As for that child whom you are sponsoring, my maidservant, Anna, will guide them around."
Standing behind the Duchess, an elderly woman bowed and stepped forward.
Archduke Beaumont stopped commenting on her words and merely nodded this time as he followed the esteemed lady through the doors to the Chateau.
Gradually, the knights left as well after seeing their Lord had departed. After all figures with prominence had left, the servants quietly raised their heads and shortly left, leaving behind only Isla and Ines.
"Young miss?" Isla whispered, "I believe the Duchess's maidservant is looking for you."
"Yeah," Ines dazedly blinked, stupefied.
'What… What was with that look on the Duchess's face?' She slowly turned her head towards where the Duchess and Archduke had left, and then back towards where the Duchess previously stood.
When the Duchess and the Archduke were conversing, all (including the knights and servants of both households) had their heads lowered to face the ground except her.
Due to her height, no one had noticed that Ines had been watching the two powerhouses talk.
The Duchess spoke with such great sorrow and heartache when mentioning her grandson's passing that even the Archduke had averted his eyes to pay his respect.
The slight shaking of her voice, the utter devastation when she mentioned his death, and the river of tears in her eyes—it was evident that she was grieving.
Duchess Escoffier cried with a blank expression, the corners of her eyes crinkled as if she were fighting back the urge to smile.
Goosebumps slowly appeared on her skin as Ines recalled what she had seen.
By no means did she look like someone in mourning, nor was there a single ounce of sadness within her eyes.
Rather, she looked eerily calm, and her face was morbidly impassive as she cried out heart-wrenching words with tears in her eyes.
On top of that, under the beaming heat of summer, the Duchess's eerily pale complexion paired with her wide smile—she was like one of those frail and helpless damsels with ailing illnesses depicted in storybooks.
But to Ines, Duchess Escoffier looked like a wrathful spirit that had crept out of their tomb.
"Young… Young miss? Are you alright?"
"…Isla?" Ines echoed. She looked away from the doors of the chateau and took a deep breath to calm herself, and then she asked, "Shall we head over? If we remain here any longer, I'm afraid the Duchess's maidservant will hold a nasty grudge against us for taking so long."
"…Yes, young miss."