“You must have seen it wrong.”
Ronald replied in an annoyed voice. Then Solid answered with a slightly agitated tone.
“Why would I see it wrong? You know my room is right next to Sophia’s. I heard a strange sound from the terrace, so I looked out, and I saw something pale. At the time, I thought it was a ghost, but now I realize it was definitely Sophia’s nightgown. I saw it go into her room.”
“Even if it was Sophia, she must have had a reason.”
It was a little surprising that Ronald was trying to defend her. Sophia felt thankful toward Ronald, but she didn’t agree with him. It wasn’t because she had a good reason. Just like Solid said, Sophia really wasn’t acting “normal.”
“Forget it. I don’t even know why I’m pointing out Sophia’s flaws. I hate it too, so let’s stop talking about it.”
Solid sighed as she spoke. Ronald seemed like he wanted to say something more in her place, but Sophia didn’t want to hear it anymore.
She quickly turned around, passed through the hallway, and went back outside. The fact that Solid had seen her was making her dizzy and making her heart pound.
‘So that’s why she had that expression that day.’
Sophia thought. She remembered how, at the next day’s meal, when the countess scolded Sophia for sleeping with the window open, Solid had eaten in unusual silence. Now that she thought about it, Solid had been unusually quiet.
“Haa…”
Sophia sighed and sat on the stairs. She felt like it was all over for her in high society now that Solid knew. She didn’t think Solid would keep the secret. Just as Solid felt distant from her, Sophia had also quietly felt distance from Solid.
When Solid would pause mid-conversation and say, “Ah, you probably don’t know this,” or when she’d awkwardly smile and avoid her eyes—those moments.
Was it really foolish of her to hope that Solid would understand her?
‘There probably isn’t anyone besides me who would.’
The Duke’s words came back to her. A bitter feeling rose from deep in her chest to her throat. At the time, she had brushed it off, thinking it was just another way of flirting, but now she wondered—maybe the Duke really was the only person who didn’t see her as strange.
The next day, Sophia woke up in her bedroom. The Duke said it was fine to stay in Rillum for another day, but Solid had said she wanted to return soon.
‘Samuel’s worries keep getting worse. Sometimes, when I read his letters, I think he might need to see a doctor. He keeps thinking everything is threatening me and our baby!’
That hopeless Samuel.
Her way of speaking had been famous since they got engaged. Things like, “He’s pressuring me so much about the wedding that I have no choice but to rush it.”
Samuel actually liked it when people thought he was desperate and madly in love with Solid. Solid and Samuel collected the laughter they caused in others like starlight.
The countess frowned at Solid’s early pregnancy, but people Solid’s age probably just assumed it was natural for the couple. Just like Sophia once had.
So no matter how the truth behind the early pregnancy came out, it probably wouldn’t harm Solid in the end. Sophia thought this as she watched Solid fussing over a letter from Samuel that had just arrived, as if ready to read it aloud right away.
‘But not me. If people hear that I was standing on the balcony at night, they’ll just think I’m a crazy woman who drank poison. The Duke will suddenly become a pitiful man caught up with a madwoman. He’ll soon be forced by society’s pressure to abandon me.’
High society loved turning pitiful women into gossip, but they were overly generous to pitiful men. Sophia had learned that well during her short time in society. She knew that everyone would probably rush in to “save” the Duke from a madwoman like her.
‘I can’t let Solid leave like this.’
Sophia muttered the same thing over and over, but there wasn’t any real solution.
The anxiety, like poison, gnawed at her nerves, and even though she took medicine, she couldn’t sleep well.
So the next morning, even when it was time to get up, Sophia just kept nodding off.
“My lady… my lady, are you alright?”
Erica called her several times in a worried voice as Sophia, still tired, barely moved. With barely opened eyes, Sophia reached out her hand.
Erica, used to this now, handed her a handkerchief soaked in perfume along with the medicine. Because of the terrible smell she woke up with every morning, this had become a routine.
After taking the medicine, Sophia held the perfumed handkerchief under her nose.
But even the strong perfume and the awful smell that clung to her didn’t overpower her physical fatigue. It felt like the medicine, which hadn’t worked well the night before, was now finally taking effect. Sophia kept dozing off. Seeing her head droop repeatedly, Erica said:
“This won’t do! Even if we can’t open the window, we should at least open the curtains! The room is so dark, of course you’re sleepy!”
Erica spoke strongly and, not even waiting for Sophia’s reply, rushed to the window and threw open the curtains. Bright white light poured in—and so did the terrible smell.
“Eri… Erica…”
Still sleepy, Sophia called out. She wanted to tell her to close the curtains again. But the drowsiness made it hard to speak.
Meanwhile, Erica was muttering something by the window and didn’t come close.
“Oh my goodness… why is that tree moving? What… what is that?”
Outside on the terrace, even though there wasn’t much wind, one tree was shaking strangely. Erica squinted at it.
It really looked like something was there. An animal? But the movement wasn’t like that of a small creature like a squirrel…
“Kyaaaah!”
Erica screamed and fell back. She had locked eyes with something—it was a person’s eyes!
“Gua… Guards! Call the guards! No, my lady, get out of here! There’s an intruder!”
Erica, completely panicked, wrapped a blanket around Sophia and tried to get her to stand up. In a daze, Sophia stood and turned to look at the window. At first, she didn’t recognize it, but soon she realized the figure was Ronald. His hair was full of leaves, and he was waving happily.
“Sophia! I caught it!”
He shouted something. The window was closed, so it was hard to hear, but after repeating it many times, she understood. Still, Erica, convinced there was an intruder, was shouting for the guards, and the guards on the second floor rushed over in response to her screams. Not only that, other maids also came running to the room.
“Oh my! My lady, are you alright?”
“Where is the intruder, my lady?”
Everyone was in a panic trying to find the intruder. Meanwhile, Ronald, who had no idea he was the “intruder,” thought people had come to see what he caught. Excited, he tried to show it off by climbing down the tree…
Thud.
“Oh my!”
…Only to fall straight to the ground.
“What on earth is all this commotion?”
It didn’t take long for the count to hear about the chaos. Solid stood beside Ronald like a guilty criminal, while Ronald looked blank, still not understanding what he had done wrong.
The countess was fanning herself with an agitated look as she stared at Ronald, and Sophia, now dressed, sat blankly beside the countess.
Felix, the only one who seemed calm, answered the count’s question.
“The maids say Ronald tried to enter Sophia’s room.”
“How disgraceful!”
The countess fanned herself faster, her face full of disapproval.
“To sneak into a lady’s room—his betrothed no less—while she’s in her nightgown? You do know that’s a serious offense, don’t you?”
“He probably wasn’t trying to sneak in. As you know, my brother isn’t the type…”
“I think it’s best if you stay quiet, Lady Sandel. I’d like to hear from Lord Medecia himself.”
The count cut off Solid’s timid excuse in a firm voice. Calling her “Lady Sandel” made it clear how displeased he was.
Despite taking medicine to numb her sense of smell, Sophia was still overwhelmed by nausea. But seeing how things could escalate into a conflict between families because of Ronald’s mistake, she felt she had to speak up.
Holding her dizzy head, Sophia stood up.
“Solid is right. This must be a misunderstanding. Ronald was in the tree outside my room’s terrace, but he wasn’t trying to come into my room.”
“Sophia!”
Solid, surprised and relieved, stood up at Sophia’s rescue. But she had to sit back down quickly when Anita stopped her.
Sophia didn’t particularly like the relief on Solid’s face, but staying silent wasn’t her style.
