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Instinctively sensing something was off, I urgently spoke,
"Oh my."
Only then did the maid, startled, stop in her tracks, noticing my presence.
"The maid has arrived."
Rudian, belatedly turning around, greeted her with a hint of delight.
"Kanna?"
"Your Highness, I am sorry to have kept you waiting."
"I'm okay. But what about Bellita? Is her stomach still hurting?"
"That's..."
The maid, seemingly flustered by Rudian's question, nodded and continued,
"Yes, that's right. Head Maid Bellita is in a lot of pain, so she couldn't come to fetch Your Highness and sent me instead."
"Ooh, I see."
"And who is this next to you...?"
She couldn't see my face properly as I was in the shadows.
I stepped out of the darkness.
"It's me, Leticia."
Even if she was an ordinary commoner, no maid in the Imperial Palace could fail to recognize the face of the Duchess.
"Ah, it was the Duchess. But what brings you here...?"
"I came out for a short walk, and His Highness was all alone. I was worried, so I was keeping him company."
"I see. Thank you. I should have come sooner."
The maid, Kanna, gave me a perfunctory bow, looking rather uncomfortable.
Then, she took Rudian's hand.
"Then, Your Highness, shall we go back together?"
"Eeh, I want to play more..."
"You need to sleep early so you can grow up big and strong."
Rudian clearly did not want to accept Kanna's suggestion, but he still nodded obediently.
"Then, I'll be going back first."
Kanna turned around, holding Rudian's hand.
Rudian pouted but still waved his small hand at me.
But I couldn't wave back at the child.
'Just now, did I see that wrong?'
Was it just my imagination that Kanna looked like she was about to push Rudian into the pond a moment ago?
Even now, taking Rudian away felt like she was trying to run away from me, and I kept getting groundless, uneasy premonitions.
As I continued to look at Rudian, who kept looking back at me, I finally stopped them.
"Your Highness."
Then, Kanna looked at me as if I were a nuisance.
I smiled brightly and suggested,
"Would you like to go see your uncle with me? You said you wanted to see him earlier."
Rudian's eyes sparkled at my words.
On the other hand, Kanna's expression visibly hardened.
It was as if the emotions she had been trying to suppress had burst out.
"Madam, it's time for His Highness to sleep. Please don't give him false hope."
"It's not like it'll be a problem if he sleeps an hour later, right? And His Highness seems to want to go to the banquet."
"Are you trying to use His Highness to gain favor with His Majesty?"
As I stubbornly persisted, Kanna's eyes suddenly turned sharp.
'Oh, that's a perspective I hadn't considered.'
Well, yes. Since my image now is that of a villainess, she might think that way.
It was a rational assumption.
But her sudden change in attitude was enough to fuel my suspicions.
It was like...
At first, she was trying to pass by quietly, afraid of arousing suspicion, but when I approached the truth, she got angry?
'Then I'll have to find out what she's hiding so carefully.'
I decided to provoke Kanna even more.
"I haven't thought of that, but it's not a bad idea either."
"What did you say?!"
"Anyway, my intention was that since he is the one who will lead this empire in the future, there's no harm in learning about the foundation of the country, the founding festival, in advance."
"His Highness's education is entirely the responsibility of the Crown Prince's Palace. It's not something the Duchess should be involved in."
"But if I become the Grand Duchess of Delua, I can suggest it as His Highness's aunt."
"Duchess!"
I smiled at the maid, who was caught by my blatant provocation and was furious, and suggested,
"Then, let's do this."
"What trick are you planning now..."
"Since the nanny isn't here, the person who takes care of His Highness the most in the Crown Prince's Palace is Head Maid Bellita, so let's meet the Head Maid and get her permission. How about that?"
Kanna's eyes began to shake violently at my suggestion.
But in this situation, Kanna had no reason to be flustered at all.
'She may be annoyed and bothered by my stubborn behavior.'
But that attitude gave me certainty.
'As expected, she was planning to harm Rudian.'
She needs to get rid of Rudian by keeping the Head Maid away, but if she meets her, she'll miss the opportunity.
The maid, who was anxiously racking her brains, finally opened her mouth.
"If you insist on not backing down, then I will go and ask Maid Bellita."
...Unexpectedly docile?
I thought she would come up with another reason to resist, but the maid turned around, leaving Rudian behind.
Things were going too smoothly to be suspicious.
'Is she planning to wait for the next opportunity?'
But at that moment.
'...Huh?'
The maid's back suddenly turned black.
As I blinked in surprise, the maid entered the darkness of the night and became invisible.
'What was that? Did I see it wrong...?'
As I watched the disappearing maid with suspicion, I heard Rudian's voice.
"Leticia."
Rudian's voice was gloomy and subdued.
Rudian was looking at the disappearing maid with uneasy eyes.
'He must be worried that we fought because of him.'
I suddenly felt sorry for having argued with the maid in front of the child.
I carefully took Rudian's hand, sat down to meet his eyes.
"I'm sorry for acting so selfishly, Your Highness. But please believe just this one thing."
"..."
"I came to protect Your Highness. Going back a very long time."
It's a nonsensical story, and I know Rudian won't understand what I'm saying.
But I believed that my sincerity in wanting to protect the child would be conveyed.
Rudian stared intently into my eyes and, as expected, didn't seem to understand my words, but nodded slightly as if he believed me.
I smiled to reassure the child and held his small hand.
'Let's take Rudian to Idris in the meantime.'
I stubbornly stayed by Rudian's side, but I can't stay by Rudian's side all night.
As Kanna said, others would see me as a villainess trying to gain the Emperor's favor by using Rudian.
It's better to have his uncle, Idris, protect Rudian than me staying by his side.
'Next, I need to find out who's behind that maid.'
Perhaps the person behind that maid is the one who framed Idris for treason.
"Then, shall we go meet your uncle?"
"Yes...!"
When Idris's name came up, Rudian's expression brightened up as if he had forgotten all his worries.
It was then that we finally tried to leave the pond with Rudian.
"Ugh...!"
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind hit me.
No, it 'attacked' me.
Such a dense and powerful wind could not have occurred naturally.
'Magic...?'
And it was aimed precisely at me.
Staggered by the sudden attack, I leaned straight back. Towards the pond behind me.
Rudian, who was holding my hand, was also pulled back with me.
At the same time, I saw the maid who had cast the magic from afar.
Only then did I realize.
Why the maid who turned away from me and Rudian earlier looked black.
I wasn't seeing things wrong.
'It was because at that moment, that person decided to kill me...!'
It meant that she was an existence that would harm me.
But it was a late realization.
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