It was probably one of the most unusual nights of my life.
Curled up in an uncomfortable position, I slept half-sitting, with only my head on the bed. Since my bed was occupied by a commoner I had saved, there was no other choice.
The floor was too hard, and I couldn't take another room. To avoid suspicion, I tried to behave as usual and not give away that there was someone else in my room besides me.
Since the Duke is sure to be furious, I decided to delay the moment of "confession" as long as possible. At least when we are discovered, the girl will have time to recover more or less and leave here.
I didn't close my eyes the whole night before and watched her, because who knows what might happen. But the commoner was sleeping peacefully and did not give any cause for concern. It looks like the legendary frost mushroom really worked.
I woke up in the morning feeling a slight ache in my body. It wasn't easy to spend the whole night in such an uncomfortable position. It seems that my limbs are numb.
I yawned wearily and stretched.
It was still early in the morning. Just in case, after checking the pulse of the commoner and making sure that she was all right, I was going to go to the kitchen and ask what we had for breakfast today.
I spent the whole of last night caring for the wounded woman, and I even forgot to have dinner. That's why I was terribly hungry right now.
To my surprise, when I woke up, Elisha was not there. Usually my personal maid was always by my side and came to wake me up at about the same time. Maybe something happened?
A little confused, I discovered a few more oddities. Considering that the duke did not like any noise and always adhered to strict discipline in his own house, the atmosphere in the estate was always gloomy and cold. But today, surprisingly, it was quite lively here.
The maids were whispering excitedly among themselves, discussing some hot news. The girls were so engrossed in the conversation that they didn't immediately notice that I was standing right in front of them.
— M-my lady, good morning! — they greeted, finally catching themselves.
— Haha, good morning.
Do I really look like a ghost? Even those maids didn't see me at close range, noticing me only at the last moment.
I don't think I need to worry about being suspicious. No one here cares about me anyway. What is, what is not — in principle, nothing in this world will change. The bitter fate of an insignificant heroine pleased and saddened me at the same time.
However, not everything was so simple.
As I was walking down the corridor, a maid came towards me with a stack of fresh laundry. I immediately felt the danger.
"My Lady, your laundry arrived from the laundry today," she said, "I was just about to take it to you."
I was embarrassed, mentally lamenting where Elisha had gone at such a crucial moment.
— Oh, there's no need! I can do it myself.
— But...
— It's all right! I just have nothing to do.
I took the laundry basket from her, which the maid stared at in surprise.
— Then... As you wish, miss.
Surprised by my behavior, the maid hesitated for a while. After that, I made sure that she turned into the other side of the corridor.
I let out a sigh of relief. Just at that moment, the one I had mentioned in my mind earlier appeared.
— My Lady, I'm sorry...! — Elisha stopped next to me, out of breath: — I'm a little late today...
However, I have already noticed.
— Has something happened? — I asked with genuine interest.
Considering Elisha's punctuality, this was the first time she had come to work so late. I was really curious as to why she might have been delayed.
— well... It's nothing special, — the maid stammered guiltily, — The girls and I were just hanging out in the kitchen.
— And about what? — I decided to make fun of her, — I suppose they were gossiping about handsome knights?
— My Lady, what are you talking about...! — she was instantly embarrassed, — Of course not!
— Then what's the matter? You've been gone for quite a while. I was even going to go look for you.
Suddenly, Elisha's eyes lit up, just like the girls I'd run into earlier in the hallway.
— My Lady, you don't know yet, but today this news is on all the front pages of the newspapers! Even His Lordship was excited and was about to go to the palace.
— Eh?
I was surprised that such a thing could happen in the empire in just one day.
Instead of answering, the maid handed me a slightly crumpled number of recent correspondence for review. The state newspaper of the empire, which I had never even touched before. It usually contained boring news about politics and finance that could only be of interest to someone like my father.
But... This time, a bright headline caught my attention.
When I read just one line, my breath caught in my throat, and it seemed to me that today was the most joyful event in my life.
Of course, I was not at all surprised by what was written. But seeing it live turned out to be doubly exciting. Today is the day when the romance I got into came to an end.
The news reported that the previous evening, the Crown Princess had attempted a coup d'etat, as a result of which she was killed. The heroine who preceded the onset of chaos in the country was the second princess.
Jerica Lant de Ronan, who bravely entered into battle with the villainess, emerged victorious from it.
Immediately after her death, it became known that the Crown Princess was stripped of all her regalia and henceforth has no relation to the imperial family. "The criminal who tried to bring trouble to the country has no place in our history!" was the first official comment of the imperial court.
The people warmly supported the initiative of the ministers and the emperor to deprive Kaena de Ronan of her title and any merit for life. Since the princess's body was badly mutilated, a public funeral will not take place. Instead, the girl will be buried in an unmarked grave without any honors.
The coronation of the new heir to the throne will take place in exactly one month, when all the necessary preparations will be completed. After all, there won't even be any mourning for the late Kaena.
Reading this news, which was like honey to my ears, I felt genuine satisfaction. It seems that my mission to survive in this world has been successfully completed.
I folded the newspaper and gave it back to Elisha. She watched in amazement as the smile on my face grew wider and wider.
— My Lady, what are you so happy about? Did something good happen? — She asked naively.
— I'm just in a great mood today! — I did not go into unnecessary details, — Let's have breakfast soon!
Although the sudden death of Kaena de Ronan shocked the entire empire, I was going to celebrate this event with a fragrant steak for breakfast. The cooks must have done a good job this time, because it was so tender that it melted as soon as I put it in my mouth. And it was so juicy! I was completely delighted with the delicious meat.
"As soon as I eat, I will need to think about my future plans..."
Now that my safety was no longer in danger, I could fully realize my ambitions. In the end, I still had to decide what I would exist for in the future. After all, given recent events, I began to doubt very much that my father and brother would support me for the rest of my life.
And anyway, the thought of any business still wouldn't let me go.
While I was having a peaceful breakfast in my room, I even forgot about the presence of another person here for a while. A faint cough distracted me from the endless stream of thoughts.
I immediately reacted, noticing that the commoner had already regained consciousness. I was surprised that it happened so quickly. It hasn't been more than a day!
I quickly wiped my hands with a napkin and went over to check on her. The commoner did not move and had just opened her eyes.
— Are you awake?
Her golden eyes instantly turned to me. Gradually, the wary expression on her face after waking up was replaced by a surprised one.
For some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off her face at that moment. I hadn't paid much attention to it before, since the commoner was unconscious, but... I couldn't believe that even in a novel such beautiful people could exist. Is this even allowed by nature?!
— You... Are you feeling all right? Does anything hurt? — when I came to my senses, the first thing I decided to do was to ask about her well-being.
The commoner looked at me with wide eyes.
— I... I don't remember anything.