There were two possibilities.

Either Sir Joseph had lost his memory, or he had lied to me.

Otherwise, with his perfect memory ability, there was no way he wouldn’t have known it would rain tonight.

‘That reaction couldn’t have been an act either.’

Lost in thought, I completely forgot what I was going to say to Sir Joseph and returned to the hotel.

And I began to organize my future attitude. Sitting in a bathtub full of warm water.

“By the way, my lady.”

Loretta, who was assisting with the bath, suddenly spoke up.

“Which of the three do you prefer, my lady?”

“Huh?”

“For remarriage, I mean.”

Ah, remarriage…

Still, it was an unexpected question.

Of course, I was well aware of how quickly the servants’ information network worked.

So it wouldn’t be strange if they knew not only that I had become engaged to Sir Joseph after the mourning period ended, but also that I had received another proposal from Sergei.

However…

“What do you mean by three?”

Is there one more person I don’t know about? As I tilted my head, Loretta’s hands massaging my shoulders slowed down.

“Count Alperon, Sage Sergei, and His Highness the Imperial Prince. These three are courting you, aren’t they?”

Huh?

“Among those three, I mean.”

Wait a minute.

I understand the first two, but regarding Imperial Prince Raphael, I was truly bewildered.

Of course, I had received a marriage proposal from him too. But that was something Emperor Godfrey and Crown Princess Adeline had done on their own.

In fact, Imperial Prince Raphael himself had already said he had no real intention of marrying me.

So to me, Imperial Prince Raphael is just a friend’s son, a friend of the children. That’s the only meaning he holds.

‘Come to think of it, Sir Joseph was also strangely linking me with Imperial Prince Raphael.’

At this point, I began to wonder if there had been some misunderstanding, and my mind became complicated. Meanwhile, Loretta, who had resumed lathering the towel with brisk movements, spoke again.

“To be honest, I think all three of them are far inferior compared to our lady.”

“…Loretta, it’s not good to judge others so carelessly.”

“Oh, my lady. That’s too idealistic. Honestly, who doesn’t calculate their partner when deciding on something as important as marriage?”

That was an irrefutable truth. Loretta continued.

“It’s just that all the servants were saying that. Someone of your caliber doesn’t really need to get married, but because of that adult inheritance law, a capable lady like you is being wronged. So I said, you should have originally received a title, but you were wronged by your elder brother from your family too.”

“By the way, what does ‘wronged’ mean?”

“Ah, it means to be forced unfairly… In other words, this whole situation is too forced upon you, my lady. Isn’t it? As if the whole world wants you to be in a bad situation! Such unfairness!”

She said it was like a new slang word used in society. As I listened, I found it quite amusing and started to laugh.

“It seems the servants are having quite interesting conversations among themselves.”

“Oh! If it displeased you, I’m sorry, my lady! It’s just that all the servants like you so much.”

“It’s alright, there’s no ill intent.”

It’s natural for the master’s actions to become gossip among the servants.

I don’t particularly feel offended by such things. After all, I haven’t done anything wrong, have I?

Besides, laughing about it improved my mood. Then I became curious about what exactly the servants were discussing.

Especially about Imperial Prince Raphael, whom Sir Joseph had been so wary of, I thought I might be able to hear some information I didn’t know.

“So, who are the others rooting for?”

“Pardon?”

“For my remarriage partner. It’s not just about who I like when bringing in a new husband, right? The children’s opinions are important, and your perspective is important too.”

While it was partly to gather information, it was also somewhat true.

There are often cases where seemingly normal people show excessive cruelty to those clearly weaker than themselves. Like that Carlos Nikolai fellow.

And I didn’t want to be associated with such a person for any reason.

“…Are you sure it’s alright to tell you?”

“Of course.”

“You won’t tell the others later?”

“Of course not. I’ll just use what we discuss here as reference.”

Only after making me promise several times did Loretta continue.

“Actually, even among the servants, there are factions. Those supporting Count Alperon, those supporting Sage Sergei, and those supporting Imperial Prince Raphael.”

Surprisingly, the faction with the strongest support was Sergei’s. Their arguments were as follows:

Of course, there were also arguments against Sergei.

…It’s said that arguments like this have even escalated into verbal fights.

“By the way, my lady, I’m also on Sage Sergei’s side!”

“Huh?”

As I looked at Loretta with surprised eyes, she lowered her voice carefully.

“Why? I even saw you having a flirtation with Sage Sergei before you got married!”

Wh-what?

My mouth gaped open like a fish without me realizing it.

I wasn’t sure exactly what ‘having a flirtation’ meant, but I could understand it contextually. Good heavens!

“Why are you so surprised? I’ve been watching you since you were young!”

“Loretta, please never mention that outside of this room.”

Especially not in front of Sir Joseph.

Loretta nodded with a mischievous smile on her face. Sigh, this is why a maid who grew up in one’s family home is scary. She knows everything about me.

“Anyway, my lady. I think it would be nice if you could fulfill your first love, if possible.”

“You misunderstand. It wasn’t something as grand as first love.”

It was just, well, a good feeling.

Like, if I were to marry, I’d want it to be with someone like that? It’s not easy to meet someone with good character who you can converse with.

“And the second largest faction is…”

“I get it. It’s Sir Joseph, right?”

“Wrong! You’re mistaken. It used to be like that, but now the faction supporting His Highness the Imperial Prince is more dominant.”

…What? Why?

The arguments of Imperial Prince Raphael’s faction, as relayed by Loretta, were as follows:

Of course, there were opposing arguments as well.

Most of the arguments were emotional appeals or unfounded claims rather than persuasive logic. As a result, the opposition was naturally weak, she said.

“But what do they mean by Imperial Prince Raphael being ‘off’?”

“I’m not sure. There are just a few people who claim that. They say his eyes look scary sometimes or something…”

Shrugging her shoulders, Loretta introduced the smallest faction supporting Sir Joseph.

“They say it’s exciting how he acts like he’ll die without the lady. It means he passionately loves the lady, right? For reference, the opposing faction dislikes exactly that point. They say he’s too dependent on the lady.”

As if she agreed, Loretta stuck out her tongue and smiled.

I was left a bit speechless. It was somewhat accurate analysis, which made it even more so. Hmm…

By now, the foam had been washed off my body and fragrant oil applied. After receiving Loretta’s thorough care, I got out of the bathtub and put on my clothes.

“So, my lady, which of the three do you have in mind?”

Loretta asked after thoroughly drying my hair. Her persistence was truly remarkable.

I just smiled without answering for a moment.

It wasn’t that I was hesitating, but rather that I didn’t want this issue to become gossip among the servants.

More than that, yes.

At this point, it became clear what I should do next and what attitude I should take.