~•|•~
Knock, knock, knock!
"My Lady, this is Anne," said the woman standing in front of Inez's bedroom door in a half-dazed state.
Inez, who was drying her hair in the middle of the room, turned her head. "Come in, Anne," she said slowly.
Anne grabbed the door knob and pulled. The door opened, and Anne paused for a moment when she looked at Inez, who smiled faintly at her.
"My Lady, are you bathing yourself?" asked Anne, approaching Inez with a worried step.
"It's nothing, Anne." Inez turned around and placed the wet towel on the chair.
"Pardon me, Lady. I just came back from the market," Anne said guiltily.
Inez turned around and furrowed her brows in confusion. "The market? That's not your job, is it?" she responded.
Anne immediately pressed her lips together. She realized she had misspoken. "Uh, it's... there's something I need to buy for my children. I just got a letter from them. Please apologize to me for leaving without your permission," she said with a resigned bow and a racing heart. She knew Inez was not a mad lady. However, she was afraid that her little lie would be picked up by her lady.
Inez was silent. She glanced softly in the other direction, then smiled bitterly. "It's all right, Anne. How are your children?" she said.
"Fine." Anne looked at Inez again. "They are very well, Lady," she repeated with a sigh of relief. Inez didn't seem to pick up her little lie.
Inez gave a small nod. "Thank goodness. I took a bath by myself because I didn't see any maids. The mansion is deserted," she added.
"That... because when you left the mansion this morning, the countess fainted and fell ill. So I guess everyone is focusing on the countess' health," she explained.
"Is Arabella sick?" Inez was shocked.
"Yes, My Lady." Anne looked deeply at Inez. "Are you all right?"
"Huh?" Inez was confused for a moment. However, when she realized the question was really meant for her, she squeezed her dress.
"Did..." Inez muttered. "Did the news reach the market you visited, Anne?"
"Are you alright, My Lady?" asked Anne as she approached Inez until she was standing in front of the girl.
"How are people responding?" asked Inez, ignoring Anne's question.
"Are you alright?" asked Anne once again.
"Anne!" exclaimed Inez, glaring at her maid. "Answer my question first!"
Anne closed her eyes and swallowed heavy saliva. It was always like this. Inez always cared about people's responses, and Anne knew very well that it would hurt Inez if the responses didn't match her expectations.
"The news is all different. The only thing that is the same is that you and His Highness fell into the river. Some of them chose to wait for Beetheaven Newspaper to publish the real news," Anne explained, choosing to give up. After all, she didn't say everything she heard in the market.
"And the others?" Inez asked again.
"Lady," Anne softly said, taking Inez's trembling hand. She gently kissed the cold hand. "Don't worry about things," she said. "Please just worry about yourself now."
"Yes, Anne! I'm also worried about my image getting worse and worse in the society," Inez said, withdrew her hand from the maid. She turned away from Anne, who could only stare at the small of her back. "I'm totally fine! You can leave me alone. I'm not hungry. Don't bring me lunch and dinner. Don't bother me! And let me know when the morning's newspaper arrives!"
"Well, My Lady." Anne bowed respectfully. "Please don't overthink it," she added, which could not possibly ease Inez's worries.
The maid went out of Inez's room feeling worried. However, she could do nothing else but stand guard in front of Inez's bedroom.
~•|•~
Dante strode quickly down the corridor to the east of the palace. He deliberately passed through the east gate to avoid the nobles he did not want to meet.
However, up ahead, he saw Her Majesty the Queen and her courtiers emerge from the fork in the corridor that connected to the emerald garden.
"Your Majesty, The Queen," greeted Dante, who could not help but greet his aunt.
The number one woman in the kingdom stopped walking and turned to her right. The smile on her warm, yet stern face remained unfading, even after she heard of what had happened at the Chete River earlier. "Dante," she greeted back. Her courtiers began to look down in embarrassment at the sight of her nephew. And she smiled at their shy behavior.
"Dante Arthur De Ignacio greets Your Majesty," the captain said with a half-bow in front of the woman.
Virginia extended her hand, and Dante accepted it as a formal greeting. He lightly kissed the back of the queen's hand, then released it again.
"Are you late?" asked Virginia in a straightforward tone.
"The invitation was too sudden, Your Majesty. I couldn't have come to the palace in wet clothes," Dante answered honestly.
"Huh! As far as I know, you who are on the battlefield will immediately come to the fleet admiral even if you get two to three bullets in your chest," Virginia retorted again, which made Dante smile slightly.
"Is that so? It seems that the news published by the Beetheaven Newspaper was quite exaggerated," said Dante. "Your Majesty, the Queen, what actually happened was that I didn't come directly to the fleet admiral. The medical team removed the bullets from my chest first, operated on them, and only then I met with the fleet admiral. I would die of blood loss if I had gone straight without emergency help," he added with a low chuckle.
"Hmph, if it's like this, you look a lot like Nox," Virginia responded.
"We do have a bit in common, having been friends for a long time," Dante replied again. "Where do you want to go, Your Majesty?"
"I want to go to the main ball. I have to take care of this and that for your party's arrival, right?" chuckled Virginia with a small chuckle.
"Well, since I've already done something wrong today, if you have any objections, just cancel the ball, Your Majesty," Dante said, causing Virginia's eyebrows to furrow and the courtiers to protest.
"I've sent the letter to several families, just so you know," Virginia replied. "His Majesty may have prepared something special for you. After all, I wanted to organize a ball for you by myself," she added.
"Hmm... may I escort you to the main ball, Your Majesty?" offered Dante, extending his arm.
"Why not?" Virginia replied, taking Dante's arm. She turned to her maids, who were beginning to giggle. "Look at that, Dante! Aren't you interested in one of my courtiers?"
Dante's facial expression instantly turned straight. He didn't even glance at them, making Virginia frown.
"Why do you act like that?" Virgina chided, smacking Dante lightly on the back. "Are you so crazy about war that you can't even look at pretty girls anymore?"
"I'm not comfortable talking about this, Your Majesty," Dante refused immediately. They took a step together. "You know I'm rather shy."
"My God, I'm at a loss for words, Dante," Virginia replied with a wide smile and a shake of her head. She turned back to her maids. "Hear that, dear? He's rather shy. If you're interested, approach the captain first, okay?"
"Madame ...." The maids whined in embarrassment. Virginia chuckled in satisfaction, but Dante was as still as a walking statue.
———