The Maid's Contract Marriage - Chapter 30

As soon as Arthur, who had escorted Reina to her bedroom, left saying he needed to talk more with the Crown Prince,

The pale Reina hurriedly went to the desk, grasped a pen, and fumbled around searching for paper.

Finally finding a small notebook, Reina tore out a page, sat down, and began writing on it, pressing firmly with the quill pen.

【 I met His Highness the Crown Prince. 】

【 He said he would invite young lady Christina to the debutante ball. 】

【 He saw my face, what should I do? 】

【 His Highness thinks I am young lady Christina. 】

Then Reina bit her lip as she read the note over and over, before picking up the quill pen again and

Adding the sentence 【 He suddenly came to the mansion. There was no time to avoid him. 】 in the cramped margin.

She felt she needed to explain that it was a situation she could not control.

“……”

Reina nervously read the short note over and over, biting her nails.

Everything is a complete mess…….

And I haven’t even found Lord Arthur’s weakness yet…….

Reina’s gaze trembled anxiously.

“……”

The Marchioness will be expecting my report since she told me to bring back Lord Arthur’s weakness, but to think my first report would be something like this.

Will I receive a harsh rebuke?

If Grandmother gets angry…….

Reina anxiously paced the room, clutching the note to her lips.

“……”

She wanted to add that we were in Lord Arthur’s private garden, that the Crown Prince appeared suddenly without warning, and that His Highness said his presence here was a secret.

She also felt she should add that it seemed impossible to avoid the historically largest debutante ball that all noble ladies aged 17 to 23 must attend.

But the small piece of paper was already full of writing with no space for additional words.

She had to convey only the most urgent information.

In a size she could secretly pass to Teacher Lorenson who would come in the morning…….

“……”

Reina waited for the ink on the note to dry, then flipped it over and wrote a bit more on the back.

After blowing on it again to dry it, she folded it small so the ink wouldn’t smudge and hid it between the headboard and mattress of the bed.

So she could find an opportunity to discreetly pass it to Teacher Lorenson when he came tomorrow…….

“……”

She checked several more times to make sure it was safely hidden and not visible from the outside,

Then she tested if she could subtly retrieve it from under the sheets while sitting leaning against the headboard.

“……”

Then Reina sat blankly on the bed.

「Do you need help?」

「How can I help you?」

“……”

She recalled Lord Rembrandt’s words offering to help.

But it seemed like an utterly impossible notion.

Setting aside that she couldn’t trust the true intentions of someone she had only just met.

Lord Rembrandt was ultimately a member of the imperial family.

Moreover, he was His Highness the Crown Prince’s cousin.

Even if his desire to show compassion to her was sincere, fundamentally Lord Rembrandt was closer to the Crown Prince’s side than to Julius’ maid.

For Reina, it was safer to keep her distance rather than approach him seeking help.

If she foolishly relied on his help, the Marchioness might find out that Lord Rembrandt had figured everything out.

He might even be harmed if he tried to protect me.

“……”

The only fortunate thing for Reina was that she could at least omit from her report to the Marchioness the fact that she had met Lord Rembrandt and that he already knew everything.

Reina leaned her head against the bedpost, exhausted.

[This is the timeline separator]

As soon as Arthur left the room, Kay and Tristan flanked him on either side and began walking with him. After a moment, Rukan joined them, straightening his sleeves.

Lionel, who had been guarding the corridor with the knights, gave a brief salute. Arthur nodded to him to take over guarding Reina and walked past.

Kay reported quietly as they walked.

“Your Excellency. It seems the Crown Prince’s army has not departed for the capital as scheduled. I’m afraid that once again……”

Arthur cut off Kay’s report.

“I know. I just met with him.”

Kay’s eyes widened as he swallowed.

“……You met His Highness? Did he come here?”

Arthur continued expressionlessly.

“Yes. He saw my wife’s face. She was quite flustered because of it. He even invited her to the capital.”

Kay groaned and clutched his head, looking troubled.

Rukan tentatively offered an opinion.

“……Couldn’t we tell His Highness the Crown Prince? I’m sure he would take our side.”

Arthur dismissed the idea.

“Keep your mouth shut. If Kyle finds out, things will get out of hand.”

Then he nodded to Tristan.

“The Captain of the Imperial Guard should be nearby. He’ll be looking for the Crown Prince, so go tell him to check Lord Rembrandt’s quarters. He’ll be there.”

“Yes, sir.”

Next he turned to Kay and ordered.

“Look into the social season and debutante ball resuming this spring. Whether ‘Christina’ absolutely must attend. My wife received an invitation from Kyle. It seems difficult to decline.”

“Yes, sir.”

[This is the timeline separator]

When Rembrandt returned to the guest house where he was staying.

Francis, who had been sitting on the sofa in the reception room reading a book, sensed someone’s presence and closed his book, standing up.

“Lord Rembrandt, you’ve returned?”

Rembrandt smiled.

“Francis, see who’s come to visit.”

And following behind Rembrandt, another guest entered.

Seeing him, Francis’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“……Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

The tall, handsome blond man raised his head and smiled at him.

Startled, Francis forgot to even offer a greeting and hurriedly moved from in front of the sofa, rushing towards them.

“Your Highness! Oh my goodness. Is it really you?”

The Crown Prince smiled at him and offered a brief greeting, extending his hand for a handshake.

“It’s been a while.”

It had been five years since they’d last met, after the Crown Prince’s departure for the campaign.

Francis smiled broadly in surprise as he grasped the prince’s hand firmly with both of his own, following it with an embrace.

“It’s been so long! How……Did you come with the triumphant army? How could you arrive without any notice! I heard you were heading straight to the Imperial Palace!”

The Crown Prince laughed and shook Francis’s hand.

“That was the plan, but it felt wrong to just pass by. I stopped in briefly. Rembrandt is here, you’re here. And I was curious about Arthur’s lady as well.”

Francis smiled and rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“Ah, once again you include me in the list. I’m honored. Are you in good health?”

The Crown Prince smiled, crinkling his nose.

“Thanks to you. Well, and as everyone says, thanks to Arthur too.”

Rembrandt gestured for the Crown Prince to take a seat.

“Please, sit down.”

Francis automatically left the seats of honor for the Crown Prince and Rembrandt, moving to the opposite side as he asked.

“Have you met the Marquis and his wife?”

The Crown Prince sat in the seat of honor and continued.

“No, well. It might seem like I’m dragging out the schedule for returning to the capital too much, and it would probably make everyone nervous one way or another. The Marquis has enough to worry about with just Arthur, so I’ll quietly stay for a day or two before leaving.”

“They would be delighted and surprised if they knew Your Highness had come.”

“That’s a bit annoying too.”

Francis frowned.

“Is the inadequate supply situation true?”

“Oh, it was a complete mess. Didn’t Arthur tell you?”

“I haven’t had a chance to speak with Lord Arthur at all. The Marquis has hidden him away so thoroughly and won’t let anyone see him. Lord Rembrandt barely managed to meet him just once. It hasn’t been my turn yet.”

Rembrandt’s butler entered the reception room pushing a trolley and began setting out tea.

Francis continued speaking.

“It seems you’ve been quite busy as the victorious general in various ways. Visiting bereaved families, visiting veterans, giving interviews……I saw in the newsletter that Lord Arthur actually gave a rather positive explanation about the inadequate supplies during the interview.”

The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Arthur gave a positive explanation? I wonder what he got in return?”

Rembrandt interjected briefly.

“Bonuses for veterans and pensions for bereaved families. ……Quite a lot.”

The Crown Prince looked surprised, then laughed.

“Well done. It can’t have been easy to get that from that penny-pincher.”

“He’s become the First Prince, he should do at least that much.”

Francis asked the Crown Prince again.

“Ah, did you happen to meet with Lord Arthur before coming here?”

“Yes. I went to see him first and just finished talking with him. Rembrandt and I are coming from there now.”

“I see. Did you perhaps also see Lady Christina……”

The Crown Prince scratched his nose bridge and smiled.

“Yes, I saw her. She seems like a good woman. I was worried, but Arthur made a good marriage.”

Francis looked at the Crown Prince with slightly surprised eyes.

“You met her? Lady Christina?”

“Yes. Francis, you haven’t met her?”

Francis shook his head.

“Not at all. Marquis Julius has her hidden away so thoroughly. It’s not just me, he won’t even show her to Lord Rembrandt. He even set up a portrait session but she didn’t show up at all. His pride is really……”

“Is that so?”

The Crown Prince picked up his teacup and said with puzzlement.

“She didn’t seem like such a prideful young lady to me?”

Rembrandt smiled as naturally as he could and lifted his teacup slightly to hide his expression.

Francis showed subtle interest in the Crown Prince’s words and lowered his voice.

“Really? What was she like?”

It was not a conversation they would have had in an official setting, but the Crown Prince, Rembrandt, and Francis had been friends since childhood, studying together.

The Crown Prince spoke casually, as if mentioning a friend’s girlfriend.

“Pretty, polite. The pure yet elegant type?”

Rembrandt silently stirred his tea as he watched the Crown Prince describe ‘Reina’ as Christina.

The Crown Prince continued speaking.

“I’d only heard talk of her being fussy and everything being shrouded in mystery, so I thought she might be a bit strange……But unexpectedly, how should I put it……She seemed like the quiet, careful type. The kind adults like.”

“Is that so?”

“……”

Rembrandt hid his troubled expression with a slight smile and averted his gaze.

But soon the ball was passed to him.

“What do you think? You knew the lady from before, right?”

Ahem.

Rembrandt coughed lightly while drinking his tea.

Francis looked at him quizzically, as if to say ‘What is this about?’

Rembrandt covered his mouth with his fist and looked at the Crown Prince with a slight frown.

“We agreed not to talk about that.”

“Ah, sorry. Is it a secret between the two of you?”

“?”

Francis looked at Rembrandt in confusion.

The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he looked at Rembrandt.

“You……You’re not really involved with Arthur’s lady, are you?”

“I’m not. Should I swear on my aunt’s dignity?”

The Crown Prince said incredulously.

“Why would you swear on that, she’s my mother.”