Dry and cold, Jocelyn’s words made Ariante’s face flush red. Tears welled up in her big eyes, and before Mayana could grab her, she quickly turned and ran down the stairs.

“Your Highness, wait!”

Mayana tried to catch her, but Ariante had already vanished. The sound of her retreating footsteps echoed around the banister, and Mayana turned to Jocelyn with a look of despair.

“There was no need to speak so harshly.”

With an emotionless face, Jocelyn looked down at Mayana.

“I don’t know how you managed to deceive His Grace, but it would be best to stop filling Her Highness with unnecessary fantasies.”

“What are you talking about? Deceive? What are you even saying? And Her Highness is…!”

“If Princess Ariante is to inherit the Valterminster dukedom, she cannot have a single flaw. If that little wretch were to tarnish the dukedom’s honor because of you…”

Jocelyn’s upper body slowly leaned forward. Unconsciously, Mayana bit her lip and glared at her. A shadow crossed her vision… a sinister flash in Jocelyn’s green eyes, almost black.

“I’ll make you again, unable to even sew with your body. Then you’ll have to beg by the riverbank for the rest of your life. Just like that filthy old woman.”

Mayana’s eyes widened in shock.

“A filthy old woman? What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?”

Jocelyn wore a mocking smile.

“It’s best not to pretend to be stupid at times like this. You must have met her too. Did not His Grace take you from that beggar’s hovel?”

Mayana’s breath quickened. Was she talking about Lady Celin? Liliya, who married Sedilroy’s brother, and Lady Celin, her grandmother?

The very person who kindly offered Mayana a place to sleep on a rainy night.

“Housekeeper, if the person you’re talking about is who I think it is, if you’re talking about Liliya’s grandmother, isn’t that incredibly rude?”

“Ha! ‘Miss Liliya?’ ‘Miss Liliya’!”

Jocelyn suddenly burst into a crazed laugh, then straightened up as if nothing had happened. Then, as if ignoring Mayana, she walked past her and disappeared.

Mayana’s fingertips trembled as she gripped the banister.

‘What is that woman thinking…?’

Jocelyn was merely the duke’s housekeeper. An unusually loyal housekeeper… but that might not be all.

She clearly despised Ariante. Not just disliked, but seemed unbearable every time she was reminded that Ariante would naturally inherit the dukedom. Plus, she scorned Liliya and even her grandmother, Lady Celin.

But why?

Mayana, breathing heavily, suddenly raised her head.

I need to find Her Highness first, Mayana thought.

“Your Highness, where are you? Princess Ariante!”

Mayana’s voice echoed once through the opulent and empty halls of the duke’s mansion.

“Your Highness!”

The scattered servants, busy with their work, looked at Mayana with curious eyes. Someone might have seen where Ariante had gone, but no one spoke to Mayana.

“Has no one seen Her Highness?”

Mayana asked, but no one answered. Angrily eyeing a servant who was avoiding her gaze while cleaning a vase, Mayana swept her skirt to one side and went into the corner of the mansion.

“Princess Ariante! Where are you?”
Is there someone missing in the mansion? Mayana thought. There were numerous hallways and countless doors with windows in the duke’s mansion. Ariante could have quickly slipped outside without catching anyone’s eye….

That’s when it happened.

At first, Mayana thought she had misheard and almost ignored the sound. A bouncing noise, like someone tapping on a wooden box.

At first, it seemed to come sporadically, but the sound seemed to grow louder.

‘What’s that noise?’

Mayana, with her ears perked, looked around to find the direction of the sound. Then, she saw a door hidden along the inner hallway wall. It was a storeroom for keeping things like coal, oil, or dried grains.

“Your Highness?”

Mayana opened the door and looked inside, but there was no one in the storeroom except for boxes and sacks stacked everywhere.

Suddenly, there was a thud! again, and she felt a slight shake at her feet. On the floor was a wooden hatch, similar to the floor of a carriage….

“My God!”

Startled, Mayana retreated and reached down with determined thought to pull hard on the floor’s handle.

“Princess Ariante!”

Upon opening the wooden floor door, Ariante was revealed, her face pale and streaming with tears. Mayana almost screamed as she hugged Ariante, pulling her out of the hole, and embraced her trembling body.

“Your Highness, what happened? No, it’s okay now. You’re safe.”

“Foot….”

Ariante whimpered in a tiny voice.

“What? Your Highness, what did you say?”

“My foot hurts….”

Mayana quickly touched Ariante’s ankle. As soon as she touched it, Ariante screamed and flinched. Mayana sensed that the ankle was sprained, and picked Ariante up quickly, hurrying to stand.

(This is a time separator.)

Ariante was sitting quietly on the bed, looking sullen. An old doctor was touching her ankle, and she bit her small lips hard, trying to endure the pain, looking quite pitiable.