The difference was that, unlike what she had expected—namely, joining them as a normal companion after the Empress’s moderate persuasion—
“Lady Beatrice! You’re here! Right this way.”
“Oh, yes. Hello, Lady Kaya.”
“I’m glad to see you so often these days. Thank you for participating in today’s training as well. Now then, shall we begin? Today I’ll be teaching you how to manage teacups and tableware, as well as how to identify poisons, medicines, and the like.”
“Oh, yes.”
She had joined as one of the Crown Prince’s attendant ladies. Secretly, no less.
‘...I guess something I said must have caught Her Majesty the Empress’s playful side.’
Of course, when the Empress first made the suggestion, Beatrice had tried to stop her.
Her reason was that if the truth came out, she might get tangled up in an unnecessary scandal.
‘Honestly, it’s absurd, but Crowell and I already have a history of being dragged into pointless rumors because of Valoa Crawford!’
The Empress, who understood high society’s nature better than anyone, smiled calmly and quickly came up with a solution.
First, using her authority, she would grant Beatrice the status of a “special envoy,” then ask the Crown Prince’s aides for cooperation.
After that, if Beatrice’s duties were limited to office support and external errands—
Ta-da!
‘Beatrice Hartwell, special undercover investigator disguised as a maid, is born.’
To be honest, Beatrice still could not quite believe that the Crown Prince’s aides had agreed to help hide her.
They had drawn a line, saying that if anything went wrong, it might make the Crown Prince seem like someone who still could not stand on his own without the Empress’s support. But honestly?
‘To me, it looks like they’re all excited to secretly fool their superior again.’
How should she put it? It felt like legally permitted office mischief.
Anyway, that was how Beatrice officially received a mission that was not officially a mission from the Empress.
Investigate the marquessate as much as possible, and if she found any clues related to the “illness of unknown origin,” record them and report back.
While Beatrice was remembering the Empress’s instructions, the training continued.
“...Next, I’ll teach you the types of seasonal tea leaves appropriate for the current season, how to drink them, and which food pairings are unsuitable. Please memorize them here.”
“Oh, yes. Uh… yes? All of this? Right now?”
“Yes. Of course, Lady Beatrice won’t need to manage His Highness’s daily affairs, and the Crown Prince’s palace maid captain, Naod, will always accompany you. But we never know how things may turn out when you’re in disguise.”
Beatrice, without complaining, began memorizing everything the maid captain had organized.
‘I’m honestly used to this now!’
Since the announcement of Duke Alex and Valoa Crawford’s punishment and the knights’ preparations for departure, Beatrice had been receiving continuous training from the maid captain.
Not only maid duties, but also all sorts of useful magical instruction.
Her excuse that she was like Zedric and specialized in alchemy rather than magic would not work.
“All right. I think I’ve taught you everything I can help with. You’ve worked hard, Lady Beatrice!”
“Wow!”
“You leave tomorrow, yes? Have you packed everything?”
“More or less! I packed the glasses, clothes, makeup, and hair dye Her Majesty sent me, and I didn’t forget anything. But will this really work?”
At Beatrice’s uncertain expression, the maid captain gave a slight smile and asked,
“Heh, do you think your husband will notice?”
“Hmm, maybe a little? Clyde is sharp, and we used to dress up in disguise all the time when we were kids...”
“Hm... Well, those disguise items are all things Her Majesty personally uses. She often goes out in them, and her disguise has never been exposed once.”
“...Oh, yes?”
So the items in her hands were that valuable?
Seeing Beatrice’s wavering eyes, the maid captain smiled reassuringly and continued,
“I mean that to say their quality is trustworthy. It will be hard for you to be found out.”
“Aha.”
“But even so, if Lord Clyde were to recognize you, then...”
That would surely be because of love.
‘Love...’
Beatrice stuffed a coat into her bag while recalling the maid captain’s words.
It was a romantic and tender thing to say, something that would work well for a newlywed couple. Unfortunately, this time, it was the wrong prediction.
‘Clyde and I didn’t get married because we’re in love.’
Even if Clyde recognized her, it would not be because of love, but surely because...
Knock, knock, knock.
The knock at the door cut off Beatrice’s thoughts.
She hurriedly shoved the packed luggage under the bed, grabbed a nearby notebook as a decoy, and flopped onto the sofa.
Then she caught her breath and called out loudly,
“Come in!”
With a creak, the door opened and the visitor appeared.
Beatrice, who had only lazily lifted her head while lying down, widened her eyes slightly.
She had thought it would be her older brother or her father, but Clyde was standing at the door.
Thinking she might have seen wrong, Beatrice rubbed her eyes and sat up with a small “Huh?”
“Clyde? What are you doing here at this hour?”
“What do you mean? Someone was so busy that she put her husband second, so I came looking for her.”
“Huh? What is this all of a sudden?”
What husband? Suddenly talking about a husband? Wasn’t the public performance outside enough already?
Watching Clyde walk into the room as if it were his own, Beatrice blinked as though she had just heard something absurd.
Clyde, used to that reaction, casually approached and lightly tapped her forehead with the back of his hand.
“At the very least, we only had the wedding. We haven’t even been living together yet. If a husband is leaving for a while, what do you think it looks like if the couple doesn’t spend the previous night together?”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
She had been so focused on the secret plan to follow him that she had not thought of that.
“I already told your family that you were upset because I hesitated and told you late, so keep that in mind.”
“What! My image!”
“So, whose fault is it that you never showed your face? Every time I came looking, you were never there.”
“That’s because—!”
Beatrice barely swallowed the complaint that rose to her throat.
It was already over; there was no point saying more. It would only hurt her mouth.
Meanwhile, Clyde casually moved the things off the sofa and sat down next to Beatrice.
He looked more comfortable there than in his own home, and Beatrice nudged his calf with her foot before speaking.
“So, you’re staying the night here?”
“Yeah.”
“Can’t you just be a husband who goes home unable to comfort his upset wife?”
“No.”
“Tch...”
Clyde’s sudden visit made Beatrice’s mind feel tangled.
There was still a bit left to pack, and tomorrow morning’s schedule would obviously become a mess.
‘For now, tomorrow morning I’ll send Clyde off in front of the palace as a loving couple. Then I’ll quickly change clothes at a nearby palace.’
As Beatrice imagined tomorrow morning in her head, Clyde called her calmly.
“By the way, Bia.”
“Why.”
“Where are you going?”
Shit.
Barely swallowing the heart that nearly leapt out of her chest, Beatrice darted her eyes around.
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“The luggage bag was sticking out from under the bed.”
“...”
“And when I mentioned just now that you were upset, your family reacted in a way that seemed like they understood.”
Tss... Useless, all of them.
Beatrice remembered the expression her parents had worn when she first told them she was going on a trip with friends.
She let out a small groan, then sighed and said to Clyde as if it were nothing.
“I told my family I was going on a trip with friends.”
“Your cover story? Then what’s the real reason?”
“The real reason is research with Her Majesty the Empress. I’ve been busy lately because of that. Someone was being provocative, asking whether earning a title was so easy.”
“Research with Her Majesty...”
Why was this bastard repeating her every word today?
Watching Clyde’s unusually serious profile, Beatrice eventually stood up and walked toward him.
If she let this continue, her heart would explode and she would die.
From her experience fighting with her older brothers, in moments like this the best move was to do something that would throw the other person off balance.
After mentally sorting through the few options in her overworked head, Beatrice chose to grab his face with both hands and make eye contact.
