The carriage rattled through the bustling street.

Reina nervously pulled her loose hood back up to cover her face.

“……”

It’ll be alright… right?

There was no other choice.

Although the Marchioness had told her to avoid going out as much as possible, she would understand my decision if she knew the circumstances.

She said to ‘refrain from’ going out,

And Lord Rembrandt said to ‘avoid it at all costs, no matter the excuse’.

Rather than meeting Lord Rembrandt, it was better to come out with Lord Arthur.

Reina anxiously recalled the conversation before departure.

·

·

·

“I need to go out.”

Reina was startled and looked at him.

“What? Go out?”

Then what should I do?

The Marchioness will surely call for me.

If she asks if I’ve found any of his weaknesses in the meantime…

Reina inadvertently blurted out words to stop him, flustered.

“You’ve only been back for a few days. You’ve barely rested for a day, why not rest a bit more……”

But Arthur smiled gently as he put on his outerwear over his shirt.

“I should get going soon. I’ve already been idle for too long. They gave me a grand welcome ceremony as the victorious general of the century, but it wouldn’t do to just stay cooped up in my room. One day might be understandable, but if I stay in bed and don’t come out, people will look at me askance. I mustn’t appear lazy.”

Reina stood up awkwardly.

Arthur continued.

“In fact, resting for just one day yesterday was already quite exceptional. Thanks to the Marquis’s consideration, who was desperate to let me rest.”

And that was also thanks to Reina.

“……”

Seeing Reina’s bewildered face, Arthur added with a gentle smile.

“I have duties as the victorious general. There’s much to do. Yesterday I only met Lord Rembrandt, but normally I should have been running around all day meeting people the Marquis wanted to introduce.”

I see. Lord Arthur is busy.

Now that I hear it, it’s obvious, why didn’t I think of it?

Unconsciously, I thought he’d just stay in his room like Lady Christina.

Since such an important person had been away for so long, I thought he’d rest completely for at least a month, no, a week…

Reina awkwardly tried to help him.

Something like…

Tying his cravat, or attaching his cufflinks, or helping him put on his coat, shouldn’t I be doing such things?

But Arthur, being a soldier, perfectly dressed himself in the blink of an eye and became impeccable on his own.

“……”

Reina, who had gotten up but couldn’t find anything to do, wandered uselessly in front of him.

Arthur, who had finished by pinning a badge to his chest, turned to her and asked.

“Will you come with me?”

Reina’s eyes widened.

Come with him?

Reina couldn’t go out. Because she was the fake Christina.

She was a stand-in, and couldn’t show her face outside.

Reina stiffly mumbled the excuse the Marchioness had given her.

“Ah… I… I’m not feeling well…”

Arthur smiled as if he saw right through her.

“Then will you meet Lord Rembrandt first? I think I should help move his work along a bit. The portrait, I mean.”

The answer came reflexively.

“No. I don’t want to meet any man other than you.”

Absolutely not Lord Rembrandt.

“……”

“……”

And an awkward silence fell between them.

Realizing something had gone wrong, Reina’s face turned tomato red again.

“Make an excuse that you’re not feeling well, or that you don’t want to meet any man other than your husband.”

Strange?

It didn’t feel like this when the Marchioness said it?

What exactly is the problem?

“……”

Arthur paused for a moment, then smiled slightly.

“Then let’s go out together. We’ll meet Lord Rembrandt together later. I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave you alone. For various reasons.”

Then he picked up a piece of clothing and came close, wrapping it around her shoulders.

Reina flinched and shrank back as she was enveloped in his arms.

Without any particular contact, he lightly draped it over Reina’s shrinking shoulders.

Thud…

A hooded cape coat was placed on her shoulders.

As he put the hood on and adjusted her attire, Reina stood stiffly, holding her breath.

His two hands lingered near Reina’s cheeks as he slightly pulled and arranged the hood and collar.

The scent…

Arthur looked down at Reina, who was avoiding his eyes in bewilderment, with a gentle face.

“…Keep your face covered when we go out. Because you are modest.”

Arthur smiled gently as he touched her hood.

·

·

·

“…Where are we going?”

Arthur answered Reina’s question simply.

“To my subordinate’s house.”

It seems that what he had conveyed to the coachman was his subordinate’s address.

Reina hesitated a little before asking.

“Is it someone who’s always close to you?”

“Tristan? No. It’s another subordinate’s house.”

Arthur added with a bland smile.

“You already know about Tristan. I’ll introduce you properly soon.”

“Ah… no.”

As a fake wife, being introduced to your close associates, how are you going to introduce me?

It felt like a mess, but she couldn’t say she didn’t want to be introduced either.

“…Yes.”

Reina reluctantly answered, trailing off at the end.

“……”

The carriage turned into a busy street near the square.

Although she had come out as he suggested, she couldn’t help feeling anxious.

Reina kept fidgeting with the hood on her head, worried about showing her face.

It should be fine since I’m not going out as ‘the young lady’, right?

It should be okay…

“……”

Arthur watched Reina, who kept pulling at her hood as if anxious.

·

·

·

She’s a maid who has worked at the Julius mansion for over ten years. It seems she’s been working since the youngest age one can work as a maid.

She mainly does ordinary cleaning, garden maintenance, laundry, sewing, and occasionally serves the young lady. Apparently, she’s one of the few maids that ‘Lady Christina’, who doesn’t keep a dedicated personal maid, sometimes calls as a body servant.

She stays at the Marquis’s residence 24 hours a day and rarely goes home. It seems she has a family outside, but no one knows about her family, so we’re still looking into it.

There’s nothing particularly notable about her reputation among the maids.

They say she has a ‘wallflower personality’.

She doesn’t have a bad reputation or any enemies, but she tends to be alone and doesn’t have any close maid friends.

The only person she’s said to be close to is Taylor Lorenson, the son of Dr. Alvin Lorenson, the family physician. He’s a doctor like his father and is employed by the Marquis’s family.

There’s a lot of talk about whether they’re lovers or not, but it seems to be true that they’re close. Many people know about it.

We’ll get back to that later, returning to ‘Reina’…

It seems she’s well-known among the maids for her striking appearance, but she’s so quiet and lacks any notable features or presence besides her looks.

She has no friends and is just a quiet servant who’s only known for being somewhat pretty, so I couldn’t get any more information than that.

It seems the Marquis’s household doesn’t like talk about the mansion’s internal affairs circulating among others, so they appear to be keeping people’s mouths shut.

Personally, I got the impression of a maid who is noticeable yet unnoticeable.

I’m cautious because this isn’t confirmed, but when rumors about a maid with outstanding looks are this quiet, there’s a possibility she’s being used for the Marquis family’s less than clean affairs.

That might be why the Marquis’s household is managing the rumors.

I repeat, please be careful.

She could be a dangerous woman.

·

·

·

While the carriage stopped briefly at a busy intersection, murmuring voices from outside could be heard through the window.

“Is the supply shortage real?”

“It seems so. They say no one received what was collected from us to be sent through the supply line.”

“Oh my, goodness.”

“We sent a cotton garment and a blessed necklace along with a letter for my father, but he says he never received them. He pretended to have received them all this time so we wouldn’t feel bad… He only told us this morning that he actually didn’t receive anything, and I’m really upset…”

“Ah…”

After a sympathetic exclamation, the voices continued.

“He said it’s okay, that the thought we sent reached him and that’s why he returned safely, but the whole family was crying and it was such a mess.”

“……”

As the carriage started moving again, the voices of the people faded away.

Reina’s face hardened.

Supply shortage.

She had heard rumors about it within the Marquis’s household as one of the topics they were trying to keep quiet, but…

Hearing the words of the returned soldiers’ families made it feel real.

It wasn’t just a problem of the delivered goods being meager.

People’s feelings didn’t reach their loved ones.

They deceived the desperate feelings of the people.

Now that the conscripted soldiers had returned to the territory, it was only a matter of time before everyone learned about the supply shortage.

…What should I do?

As Reina, who had no relatives conscripted for the war, she had only thought that the Marquis’s household had been too harsh on the soldiers and Lord Arthur, but

As ‘Christina’, Reina didn’t know what to do.

“……”

Arthur must have heard the voices from outside the carriage too.

He didn’t say anything.

Once she started to worry, she kept hearing the stories from the street through the carriage window.

“Don’t talk about this in front of Hannah. Her husband died in battle two years ago. If she finds out he left without properly receiving the letters and things we sent all this time, she’ll be too heartbroken.”

“How can we hide it… She’ll find out eventually…”

“Even if she finds out, we don’t have to tell her about it now…”

“……”

Her eyes met Arthur’s.

He just smiled slightly with an unreadable expression.

“We’ve arrived, my lord.”

The carriage came to a stop.

Arthur got out first, then took Reina’s hand to help her out of the carriage.

Reina carefully stepped down from the carriage, holding the hem of her dress.

Tristan was standing a little way from the front of the mansion, waiting.

Reina stiffened unknowingly.

Tristan spotted them, paid his respects, then lightly ran over.

“You’ve arrived.”

“This is my wife.”

Arthur suddenly introduced Reina.

“?!”

So suddenly?

Reina, flustered, hurriedly curtsied while gripping her dress.

“I-I’m Christina.”

Tristan looked at her.

Receiving his gaze, Reina shrank back, not knowing what to do.

Ah, so you’re ‘Christina’?

It seemed to be written in his eyes.

“……”

However, Tristan politely bowed and kissed the back of Reina’s hand.

“I’m Tristan, my lady.”