Soft Sheets, Sharp Words
Nothing cleared the fog of drink quite like a proper night’s sleep.
The trouble was that the moment her eyes opened, her stomach lurched and her head felt ready to split.
“……Ugh.”
Riena stirred beneath the soft covers with a faint groan. The instant she woke, her skull pounded as if someone were driving a hammer into it.
She squeezed her eyes shut again and tugged the blanket up to her chin.
She hadn’t drunk that much last night……
No.
She had drunk a fair bit, hadn’t she.
Embarrassed for no good reason, she had drained two whole bottles, and the consequences were crashing down on her all at once.
What time is it?
Even with her eyes closed, the room was bright enough that morning seemed certain.
Ordinarily a maid would have come to wake her at the appointed hour; the absence of any footsteps suggested she had simply risen a little earlier than usual.
The moment someone comes in, I’ll ask for water.
Something cool to drink would help her gather her wits. Today she was due to call on Lady Peasant, and she needed whatever clarity she could manage.
Ha…… but this is so comfortable……
Riena nuzzled her cheek into the fluffy bedding and looped an arm around something solid.
The soft rustle of crumpled sheets was oddly pleasant, and the large “doll” she was clutching was exactly the size she liked.
What’s more, it radiated a warmth almost like a person’s, which felt wonderfully—
“Hm?”
Like a person?
A chill raced down her spine. With effort, Riena forced one eyelid open.
And then.
“…….”
“…….”
Riena squeezed her eyes shut again and pretended to be asleep.
……Saying she could die of embarrassment had not been an exaggeration.
Riena now understood, with painful clarity, that a person truly could perish from sheer mortification alone. She fought down a wild urge to fling herself out the window then and there.
“I—I’m so sorry, my lady. His Grace ordered that no one was to be admitted……”
“……It’s fine.”
He had been sleeping; of course the servants hadn’t wanted to disturb him. Fully grasping Herman’s feelings on the matter, she pushed her hair back once and let out a sigh.
I’ve lost my mind. Truly!
If she was drunk, she should have simply rolled herself neatly into the blankets and gone to sleep!
Why cling to him like that?!
She had no idea when she had started holding him. From the moment she woke, she had already been……clutching Herman tightly.
Whatever she had been doing in her sleep, Herman’s face when she opened her eyes had been a sight to behold.
She had never seen him look so startled in her life.
He had been thoroughly rattled himself; the way he had hurried off to wash was burned into her memory.
Ah…… he must have been so uncomfortable.
Sharing a room was one thing—if they slept apart, she could shrug it off. Today had been different. She had wrapped herself around that solid frame the way a child clutches a favorite doll!
Herman was a light sleeper. He must have been awake all night.
She had stolen rest from a man who was already exhausted. The thought alone made her feel wretched all over again.
He had told her it was fine, but how could it possibly have been fine?
His face looked a touch more drawn than yesterday, and that only made her feel worse.
I really mustn’t drink for a while.
If she lived alone, it might not matter. Now that they were sharing a bed, she had no desire to put on another display like today’s.
“All finished, my lady!”
“Thank you.”
Riena braced a hand on the vanity and rose slowly. She would have liked to move with brisk efficiency, but even the slightest motion set her head throbbing violently.
……I’m not going to be sick in the carriage, am I?
Her stomach had settled somewhat, but the hangover headache remained the real problem.
Canceling an appointment already arranged was out of the question, so she forced her aching body out of the room.
“I shall see you comfortably to your destination, my lady.”
The coachman waiting for the mistress of the house bowed his head.
Riena returned the greeting, took the maid’s hand, and climbed into the carriage.
Bang—!
The door had scarcely shut before she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.
It was nearly an hour by carriage to the Marquisate. Best to sleep a little along the way.
Her plan for reclaiming the seal was already fully formed.
“Hmm—”
Afternoon tea was Lady Peasant’s favorite hour.
To hold a cup with elegant poise, gaze out over the garden, and savor unhurried leisure—that, more than anything, delighted her as a privilege reserved for those who truly possessed wealth.
And yet.
“My lady! My lady!”
Such frantic footsteps.
At the urgent sound approaching from afar, Lady Peasant’s brow faintly furrowed. The maid attending her likewise turned an uneasy glance toward the conservatory entrance.
A moment later, a maid burst into the greenhouse, gasping for breath.
“Molly!”
The attendant at her side scolded the girl harshly at once. How dare she behave so rudely before the mistress of the house?
Ordinarily the girl would have dropped her head in apology—yet somehow she did not even kneel.
Sensing something amiss, the attendant’s lips parted.
In that instant—
“Sh-she’s here! Right now!”
The maid called Molly spoke first.
“Who is here?”
At the news of an unexpected visitor, Lady Peasant set down her cup. By the schedule delivered that morning, no one was expected today.
Which meant someone had arrived without so much as a word of notice.
Who on earth would dare call at House Peasant unannounced?
“Th-that is……”
“Never mind. Just send them away. Do they think this is their own house?”
Making no effort to hide her displeasure, Lady Peasant snapped the order to throw the visitor out at once.
Even so, the maid could not bring herself to leave the conservatory.
“Th-the guest is……”
Recalling the figure she had encountered in the main house, the maid moved her trembling lips.
“It’s Lady Bertis, my lady……!”
Tap, tap, tap—!
Quickened strides soon crossed the corridor of the main house.
Maids who spotted her from afar hastily opened the drawing-room doors.
Without so much as a knock—without even announcing her presence—Lady Peasant swept into the parlor, and the moment her eyes fell on the woman sitting calmly on the sofa, her brow furrowed deeply.
“Ha!”
Well, well. And who should it be.
“Your manners remain as vulgar as ever—then and now.”
Lady Peasant leveled a cutting rebuke at her visitor and planted one hand on her hip.
Sensing that slanted stare, Riena tipped her chin up a fraction.
“You’ve arrived?”
“……You’ve arrived?”
Had the girl finally lost her mind?
After scraping by in some wretched existence and then becoming a great noble again, did she truly fancy herself someone of consequence?
The shameless way she opened her mouth in greeting instead of offering a proper courtesy was beyond belief.
That such a low creature should be the mistress of House Bertis……
Seeing with her own eyes what she had only read in the papers made her head swim.
“I saw the article. You’ve decided to reunite with Herman, I hear.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Riena nodded without the slightest hesitation.
That very composure only grated further on Lady Peasant’s nerves.
“I thought something was odd from the moment you appeared at your brother’s funeral.”
“…….”
“I should have thrown you out then.”
Lady Peasant clicked her tongue and sneered.
“Did having it and losing it make you miss it?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you divorced, you acted as if you hadn’t a shred of regret.”
She twisted the corner of her mouth upward.
“Remarrying after a mere year. How shameless.”
“…….”
“Aren’t you embarrassed? Even if you’ve come crawling back, do you think anyone in society will welcome you? No one will want to associate with you.”
“That’s something I can look into later.”
“……What did you say?”
The bold reply left Lady Peasant momentarily speechless.
In the old days, pressure of this degree would have made her bow her head without protest.
Now it was different. As if she had become an entirely different person, she answered with unbroken composure and not a hint of intimidation.
“You’ve gone mad. Becoming a duchess has made you blind to everything, has it?”
“No.”
Riena straightened her spine and corrected her posture.
“I simply decided it was time I came to my senses.”
At that, Lady Peasant let out a hollow laugh.
Come to her senses? She had clearly gone completely around the bend.
Fixing her with a piercing stare, Lady Peasant drew a long breath. At first she had meant only to throw her out at once—but since they had crossed paths, she might as well settle a few curiosities.
“How did you manage to come back?”
After carrying on as if you had left for good.
“What—did you blackmail the boy somehow? Don’t tell me you’ve already gotten yourself with child.”
“Not a child.”
Riena let Lady Peasant’s words slide lightly past and smiled faintly.
“As for blackmail—”
Well. That starts now.