The Ugly Lady’s Secret Pouch

Lila quickly made her way to the parlour, her face beaming with joy. The unpleasant memories from earlier had already faded into the distance.

As she made her way to the parlour, Lila caught up with Jessie about Amanda.

“So, besides Karin and Gale, there’s another one?”

“Yes, but…”

Reaching the first floor, she turned to Jessie.

“Why?”

Jessie hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly to Lila.

“She was trying to cover her face with a hood, and when I saw that, it reminded me… of the person I used to be, and I’m sorry I dare say this to you, but I thought maybe you could take a look, after all, you’ve shown me a new world.”

Lila was intrigued by Jessie’s words, as she wasn’t usually one to voice her opinions.

She wondered what kind of story Karin had brought with her here.

Bringing her here would mean that she wanted to work with her in the future to sell her beauty creams.

“Hmmm…”

As she murmured to herself, Jessie leaned in deeply.

“I apologise if that was presumptuous, my lady.”

“No, Jessie.”

Lila placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and smiled kindly. With a pat on the shoulder, Lila resumed her halting pace. Hurriedly, Jessie led the way.

Opening the door to the parlour, Jessie spoke.

“The Duchess of Montefeltra is here. Please be at her service.”

Karin, Gale, and Amanda, who had been distracted by the desserts and tea they had never seen before, jumped to their feet.

“Karin, Gale.”

Lila entered, beaming. Karin blushed at the sight of Lila, looking even more beautiful than before.

“You look beautiful today, my lady.”

Karin, who had been trained by Joshua for only a short time, returned the greeting politely.

“You’re still beautiful, too, Karin.”

Karin was delighted by Lila’s response.

“I can’t tell you how good those beauty creams and face washes you gave me are. My friends would be begging me to sell them to them as soon as possible, they come to my house every day begging to be cleaned.”

“Hmmm, me too. I can’t tell you how many times my friends have asked me to give it to their girlfriends. The Duchess’s beauty cream really does work.”

Gale chimed in shyly.

Amanda tugged at her hood and bowed her head deeply. She couldn’t believe she’d made it this far, and now her heart was racing at the sight of a noblewoman.

Amanda sucked in a sharp breath, unable to contain her anxiety. Lila stared at her.

Most of her face was covered, but the backs of her hands and hair were raggedly damaged.

“Who is this woman?”

She asked. She was curious about the woman’s face.

“Ah… that Duchess, that…”

Karin hesitated and spoke cautiously, but Amanda couldn’t wait and apologised.

“My apologies, Duchess. I let Karin take me with her. I will receive the punishment, so please forgive Karin and Gale.”

Amanda felt the corners of her eyes heat up; she could feel the fear. She remembered Charlotte treating her like an object and slapping her repeatedly.

To a lesser extent than Charlotte, the same was true of the other servants. She was well aware of the viciousness of the maids who had ignored and bullied Amanda for being a mere servant.

Lila studied Amanda’s face, which was now bare. The wound was healed, but the faint scars were visible.

Lila studied Amanda’s flushed face wordlessly, and when she saw that her eyes were on the verge of bursting into tears, she spoke quickly.

“What’s your name?”

Amanda, who didn’t immediately realise she was being asked, looked bewildered at Karin’s gesture.

“Oh, I’m Amanda Green.”

“Yes, Amanda.”

“Yes, Madame.”

There was nothing wrong with the way she bowed at Lila’s summons. Karin and Gale were commoners and had nothing to do with the nobility, so she didn’t mind, but Amanda had the demeanour of someone who had lived in a noble house.

“Have you ever worked for an aristocrat?”

Lila’s question made Amanda ponder, and she bit her lip tightly. She knew she should answer right away, but the words wouldn’t come out.

That’s when Karin cautiously interjected.

“Madame, may I speak to you?”

“Sure.”

“So…”

Karin told her what she’d been told, about the place where Amanda had worked, how she’d been unjustly kicked out, and about the family in Amanda’s hometown living off the money she sent.

Lila’s eyes widened at the mention of Amanda working for the Countess Pinatelli.

“Charlotte P. Pinatelli?”

Amanda broke out in a cold sweat at the mere mention of Charlotte’s name. She clasped her trembling hands together.

Lila had a pretty good idea of her demeanour. It was obvious how she’d been treated.

And she was angry, wondering why she was making such a fuss about her face.

“Well, I never thought I’d hear her name again.”

Lila chuckled, remembering the Autumn Ball. The more she thought about it, the more she felt ridiculous.

It was the worst kind of rudeness, the kind that was okay when you were being rude yourself, but only pointed out when others were being rude.

At the sound of Lila’s voice, which had been made cold by Charlotte, Amanda began to tremble, and not just her hands, but her whole body.

Karin and Gale were equally surprised, so they were unable to add to the conversation.

With the unpleasant thoughts out of the way, Lila smiled at Amanda.

“Amanda Green.”

“Yes, Madame.”

There was a shudder and a click, a clatter of teeth.

“If you’d like to sit down, and have some hot tea.”

Turning to Karin, Lila asked.

“Have you had enough tea and refreshments?”

“Yes, Madame.”

“Let’s get some work done first, and then we can have a proper tea time again. I’m sure you have many questions for me… For now, I think we should go to my room for a chat, not here.”

“…Do you mind if we go?”

“Of course you can.”

Gale wondered if he should go. The thought of entering the Duchess’s chambers was daunting.

He wondered if the heavens understood his concern, but Vincent came into the parlour.

“My lady, the Duke has sent for Mr Gale.”

“Ah, yes, then Gale can hear about it later. Through Karin.”

“Well, I’ll be leaving.”

Gale hurried to his feet, waved to Lila, and followed Vincent out the door. Lila watched Amanda sip her tea, then turned to Karin.

“I have a lot for you to do, and I’m going to have to train you today.”

“Yes, I understand, and I’m very much looking forward to it. Your cosmetics are nothing short of miraculous!”

Karin was motivated. When she’d first heard the news from Gale, she’d been skeptical, but now that she’d been on the receiving end of Lila’s mysterious makeup regime, she was determined to follow her lead.

In fact, she wanted to thank Lila for calling her.

“Really, I’m so grateful that you hired me.”

Karin said the first thing that came to mind. Lila let out a small laugh at her words.

“You know, I’ve been thinking lately, it seems like a coincidence, but maybe it’s not. Karin, you and…”

The cobalt eyes that had been staring at Karin moved to Amanda.

“…And Amanda, and Gale. You’re important to me, so instead of thanking me, shouldn’t you be thanking the heavens for making you?”

Amanda sipped her tea, startled. The Duchess, whom she had seen for the first time today, was so different from the nobles she was used to seeing, she could only stare at her blankly.

“In that case, I should thank the heavens a few times, it must have been Lupus guiding me.”

“Hoo-hoo, yeah.”

Lila said, sensing that Amanda was being genuine.

“So, shall we move?”

Jessie, who had been standing by, followed Lila. Karin and Amanda followed them up to the third floor, the tension palpable.

The higher they went, the more decorative and ornate it became. They had thought the first floor from the concourse was amazing, but the third floor, reserved for the Duke and Duchess, was beyond their imagination.

They swallowed hard when they saw the grey wolf with glowing emerald eyes carved into the massive doors.

Jessie opened the door, and Lila stepped in casually.

Karin and Amanda, the sight seeming somehow unreal, hesitated, then followed Jessie’s gesture and hobbled in.

* * *

“Royal Father, why do you say no? It’s a premarital cohabitation period. They’re not even officially married, so I don’t understand why you’re objecting.”

To Theobald, who could not help but stiffen in disbelief, the emperor spoke casually.

“I don’t know what the child is making all this fuss about.”

The Emperor drew his bowstring with a sullen expression. A middle-aged man, he handled the unstrung bow with ease.

Standing beside him, Theobald spoke again, trying to persuade.

“As much as I’d like to bring her back right now, I have to wait. It’s not as if I’m asking you to do anything else, I’m just asking you to give me a formal marriage licence, and I can take care of everything after that. It’s hard for Lyla to get bitten, so I must help her.”

WHOOSH.

The arrow flew out, slightly deflecting from the centre of the bull’s-eye.

“Oh, I can’t concentrate because you’re chirping next to me!”

“Royal Father, please.”

“I’ve already given my blessing to the Duke, so what’s the point in coming and changing the agreement. A grown man who can’t even handle himself, blame your eyes for not recognising such a child sooner. Blame whoever. And why don’t you have any powers! Whether it’s strength or magic, if you’re an imperial, you should have been born with some sort of ability!”

Theobald actually chuckled at the Emperor’s words, blaming him for his lack of abilities as usual.

The very reason he had no powers would be proof that he had saved her life.

“Well, then, I’ll take care of it.”

When it seemed unlikely that his request would be granted, Theobald immediately turned his back, ignoring the Emperor’s dragging tongue behind him.