The Marquis looked at the intelligence note sent by Reina with serious eyes.

[ – Lord Arthur is picky about mushrooms. ]

“…..”

The Marchioness was sitting on the sofa with her face red with anger, panting.

“Are these two playing with me as a pair? ……Am I funny?!”

“…..”

Dr. Lorenson was checking her pulse and blood pressure beside her, and Mrs. Hurst handed her a cup of cold water.

“…..”

Reina.

The maid who was currently acting as Arthur’s wife instead of Christina.

The Marquis, Antonio Julius, had remembered that maid’s name for a while now.

It was from the moment when she revived Julius, who had been in crisis since ‘that article’ appeared in the newsletter.

[ Lady Christina visits families of war veterans with Lord Arthur, belatedly revealed and becomes a topic! ]

– I didn’t know she was Lady Christina.

– She came with Lord Arthur, and was quietly crying in the back……

“…..”

A few days ago, when the incident of him slapping the cheek of a knight named Lionel had grown and Julius’ reputation was about to plummet.

That incident had a more decisive impact on Julius’ revival than the ‘Arthur’s interview’ that Julius had obtained at such a great cost and difficulty.

The belated revelation that ‘Lady Christina’ had visited the families of war veterans became a topic.

“…..”

Crying behind Arthur while visiting the bereaved families?

If it was Christina, that would be utterly impossible.

That incident left a deep impression on the Marquis.

Thanks to that maid being by Arthur’s side, he had gained an unexpected benefit.

The maid’s behavior was far better than having a daughter of his own.

As a result, the Marquis’ evaluation of Reina was generous in his heart.

It was probably the most generous evaluation a father-in-law could give towards his son-in-law’s mistress in the world.

At first, he was bewildered and angry, but now he even thought it was fortunate that it was that girl Arthur was keeping.

At least for now, it was much more reassuring to have that maid pretending to be Christina by Arthur’s side.

She wouldn’t cause any big trouble as long as she valued her own life, would she?

It was a sensitive time, and his daughter was ill-mannered and by no means a careful character.

Honestly, the Marquis even wanted to entrust Christina’s role to that maid for a longer time if she could just do this much.

Just a little longer, until his position as Grand Duke was stabilized and Julius’ reputation was firmly established.

“…..”

He also wanted to fix his daughter’s manners while he was at it.

If it weren’t for the Crown Prince and Lord Rembrandt, he would have done so……

The Marquis quietly looked at the intelligence note that the girl, ‘maid Reina’, had brought.

[ – Lord Arthur is picky about mushrooms. ]

“…..”

In the Marquis’ subconscious, a vague expectation had grown that this girl would do something plausible and valuable.

This girl was useful.

Much more so than his daughter.

The Marquis looked at the note intently and muttered softly.

“Could this possibly have some other meaning?”

The Marchioness, who had been panting with excitement, glared at him sharply while holding her head.

“What other meaning!”

“…..”

The Marquis narrowed his eyes and said.

“Think about why he would be picky about mushrooms.”

She was about to shout that she didn’t need to worry about the reasons for that bastard’s pickiness about mushrooms or whatever, but the Marquis continued.

“Like having a serious allergy?”

“!”

At that moment, the Marchioness’ eyes widened.

The Marquis stroked his chin, glared at the note, and muttered.

“An allergy that could be life-threatening would certainly be a big weakness.”

“!”

As the Marchioness’ eyes changed at his words, the Marquis looked at her, clicking his tongue as if reproaching.

“……But thanks to you, Arthur will guess that that maid girl is watching him, so if he has such an allergy, he’ll be trying not to let it show at all.”

“……!”

The Marquis continued, seemingly convinced by his own words.

“So she won’t have any way to confirm whether it’s an allergy or not. She can only observe.”

Finally, the Marquis pointed at the note on the table and said decisively, with a confident conclusion.

“She sent this message to mean that there’s a possibility Arthur has a mushroom allergy, so we should check.”

“!”

The Marquis stroked his chin meaningfully.

Moreover, this content……

[ – Lord Arthur is picky about mushrooms. ]

“She must have written it this way to package it so there wouldn’t be a problem even if the note was discovered.”

“!”

The Marquis realized Reina’s thoroughness and admired it.

Isn’t she a genius at intelligence?

If he really has a severe mushroom allergy, this is valuable information.

Of course, it might not be a serious allergy to the extent of being a decisive weakness, but……

If she noticed circumstances of Arthur avoiding mushrooms in just a week,

and focused on the possibility of an allergy to ask us for help in confirming Arthur’s allergy.

Even just that would mean this maid girl has achieved quite good results in a short time.

And that in a hostile environment where everyone around her is aware of her intelligence activities.

Keen observation. Excellent insight. Thorough handling of tasks.

Is she born for this?

The Marquis smiled with satisfaction, interlacing his fingers on his knee and crossing his legs.

“That Reina girl, she’s quite useful, isn’t she?”

The Marquis chuckled, mocking his wife as if she couldn’t even grasp such a clear intention when a capable maid brought this information.

“You’re right. That girl was worth keeping alive.”

The Marquis ordered Mrs. Hurst with arrogant eyes.

“Check if Arthur has a mushroom allergy. Ah, but be careful not to feed him too many mushrooms, as it might be dangerous.”

He added quite generously.

“Just confirm it.”

We mustn’t accidentally kill precious Arthur.

The Marquis raised his chin confidently, as if he had already grasped Arthur’s lifeline.

[This is the timeline separator]

Arthur, upon returning, received a report from Lionel about how Reina had been doing while he was away.

“She was sleeping in her dress. She woke up later than usual.”

“…..”

Only then did Arthur realize that he had forgotten to ask the maid to change Reina’s clothes.

He had been too preoccupied to think of it.

As Arthur listened silently, Lionel’s report continued.

“She didn’t seem to be in particularly bad condition. After changing clothes, the waiting doctor looked at her forehead wound. He said today was the last day for dressing. He said the wound has healed.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes. He said it healed well without scarring. However……”

Lionel’s voice continued.

“The conversation she had with the doctor afterwards is a bit concerning. It might be nothing, but……”

Arthur leaned back in his chair and urged him to continue with his eyes.

“The doctor said he has a lecture trip next week, so he’ll send his son instead.”

Arthur’s eyes changed subtly.

“…..”

A look urging him to continue.

The report went on.

“He said he’d have his son visit to look after the young lady while he’s away, and also to express gratitude. He said he hadn’t had a chance to thank you for giving his son a new job. He mentioned he met his son yesterday, and that his son was adapting well.”

“…..”

Arthur chuckled and put a cigar in his mouth.

“What did my wife say to that?”

As Arthur lit his cigar while looking at him, Lionel continued his report.

“She said that was fortunate. She asked if there were any difficulties. The doctor said, well, the patient is healthy, and always treats him kindly, so he’s working without much difficulty. They had that kind of conversation.”

“…..”

Arthur quietly exhaled cigar smoke.

Lionel’s report continued.

“After that, she drank her usual medicinal tea, and the doctor left.”

“…..”

Arthur slowly finished one cigar in his seat.

Then he patted Lionel’s shoulder once, saying he did a good job, smiled slightly, and entered the bridal chamber.

[This is the timeline separator]

“……”

“……”

Honestly, Reina had no expertise in makeup.

She vaguely felt that Marina’s makeup was an amazing skill, but that was it.

As with most amazing skills, it looks easy when an expert does it, but when you try to imitate it, you can’t and it doesn’t turn out the same.

“……”

But even Reina, with her lack of discernment, could tell this wasn’t right.

“……Brody?”

“So, sorry!”

Brody was trying hard, applying and blending various things, but she just couldn’t get that feel.

Rather, she couldn’t even achieve the ‘ordinarily pretty’ look – adequately clean and innocent-looking – that Brody usually gave her.

The highlight on the bridge of her nose made it look like a shiny stair railing, and the excessive blush on her cheeks made it look like she had been slapped.

The eyelids, thickly applied with golden pearl, sparkled too much, looking like a silkworm covered in gold dust, and the red rouge on her lips, which didn’t match the gold, was also excessive.

When Brody, flustered by applying too much blush, tried to lightly rub her cheeks to erase it, the clumped powder began to crack and smear.

The more Brody touched it in panic, the stranger it became.

“……”

“……”

Reina thought she should stop Brody now.

“Brody, this……”

Clunk.

At that moment, the door opened and Arthur and Lionel entered.

Gasp.

Brody, who was reapplying blush to Reina’s cheeks, froze, inhaling sharply.

“……”

Arthur’s gaze turned to Reina through the mirror.

“……”

Lord Lionel, seeing Reina’s face, inhaled sharply and stopped behind Arthur.

“……”

Reina unconsciously raised her hand to cover her mouth.

“……”

Brody already knew something had gone wrong.

Trembling, she dropped the brush and prostrated herself, sobbing.

“I’m, I’m sorry, miss!”

Reina, flustered, looked down at the prostrate Brody.

“Pl, please don’t throw me away.”

Reina hurriedly raised her up.

“It, it’s okay. It’s okay. How can everything always be perfect? Sometimes there are mistakes……”

Even as she spoke, Reina looked at Arthur nervously and was flustered.

Is it okay for me to comfort Brody like this in front of them?

Miss Christina would never have forgiven this……

But Lord Arthur, Lord Lionel, and Brody all know I’m not Miss Christina, so I couldn’t just throw an ashtray at Brody while performing a method acting of being possessed by Miss Christina.

I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.

I want to cry too.

Reina comforted Brody while sweating profusely.

“It’s okay. I said it’s okay! It’s unique and I like it.”

Ahem.

Behind her, Lord Lionel cleared his throat, suppressing an embarrassed laugh.

Next, he lowered his head, avoiding eye contact and biting his lip.

Reina’s face was shocking enough to test the composure of a serious knight.

“……”

Arthur gestured for Lionel to leave, and after Lionel paid his respects and withdrew, he entered the room alone.

“Good work. You can go now.”

The order to leave was also given to Brody.

“Yes, yes, no, I, the young lady’s makeup……”

Brody sobbed, stammering about the unfinished task.

Arthur smiled slightly.

“It’s fine, so go. I’ll do it.”

What? What will you do?

Arthur nodded towards the door.

“Leave.”

“……”

Both Reina and Brody were bewildered, but Brody couldn’t insist any further.

Since the incident at dinner a few days ago, Brody and Marina had been a little afraid of Arthur.

Brody looked at Reina with desperate eyes while stealthily avoiding Arthur.

Don’t throw me away……

“……”

And she bowed and backed out of the room.

“……”

“……”

Only the two of them remained in the room.

In front of Reina, who was covering the lower half of her face with one hand, not knowing what to do with her ridiculous makeup, Arthur silently took off his gloves.

“……”

Reina, sitting in front of the dressing table, avoided Arthur’s gaze.

She wanted to quickly wipe off this embarrassing makeup.

Scrape.

Arthur pulled up a chair and sat down right in front of Reina.

So close that their knees almost touched, Reina looked at him awkwardly tense.