Betrayed by My Fiancé, I Changed My Role from a Viscount’s Daughter to a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen - CH 29

「I–I’m so tired～～～～!!」

With a thud, I threw myself down on the bed in my room.

I couldn’t care less that my dress is wrinkled. It was only around noon, but I felt exhausted, as if I had done hard labor all day.

It was a very long way back with a sermon from Ryniel-sama, no kidding.

『Is it alright, Marsha-dono. Listen to me carefully.』

I know from my own experience that a sermon that begins with that preface cannot be refuted, excused, or excused.

What do I think of His Majesty’s words, according to Ryniel-sama? Do I understand the true meaning of this order by Myra-sama? Do I envision what will happen if the engagement is annulled?

The emphasis was on these three points.

By His Majesty’s words, I mean the marriage that troubles me. I had been putting it off for some reason, thinking that I would not be able to move forward unless I did something about my engagement to Raul first, but Ryniel-sama saw right through that and scolded me firmly for putting it off.

And the true meaning of Myra-sama’s order. I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t know about this until Ryniel-sama pointed it out to me. It was because she was thinking about my situation when the engagement was annulled, and that was why she gave that order.

As long as Her Majesty wants me to be her nanny, I don’t need to imagine that there will be a lot of people who will come up to me to try to sit as my fiancée or companion.

I, too, could have expected that much.

I also know that the purpose of the approaching people will not be my fiancée or spouse, but only my future nanny title and the child who will be the next heir to the throne’s baby brother.

But that wasn’t what Myra-sama was worried about. Here is what Ryniel-sama had to say at that time.

「You should realize that you are not used to being treated like a man or a woman. If you were like that with me, you would be dragged into a fight with a man of a hundred battles in an instant, and you would find yourself unable to move. And even if you regret it at the time and try to escape, you can’t get out, like a bottomless swamp… I’m sure the same woman’s hands are entwined around your feet…」

The analogy is scary! But I also understood it very clearly.

In other words, get used to men, get used to treating women, get used to being seduced, so that you don’t get caught by strange men.

When I countered that I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for such a strange man, I was still kicked to the curb and told euphemistically that I would’ve to break off the engagement with the flower garden in my brain before I could say anything. I couldn’t say anything, and I had a strange way of convincing myself,『I see, he’s a decent guy.』

And I guessed that this was the reason for Ryniel-sama’s ridicule. I guessed that both the sweet words and the smile were training things. It was an uncharacteristic behavior of Ryniel-sama, and I can understand it, but I wish he would have told me first if he could have. I don’t want to waste my mental energy.

Other sermons went on and on all the way to my parents’ house, and finally ended just now.

「Haaaaah, I wish I could just fall asleep…」

I know it doesn’t work that way, but I don’t want to move in any way. I am hungry, I want to change my dress, and I want to see Father and Brother. If I go to bed now, I won’t be able to sleep at night, so I want to stay awake somehow, but my eyelids are falling gradually.

Just as I was about to give up and let sleepiness take over, I heard a knock at the door.

「…Fuah.」

With one foot in the dream, I manage to reply back.

「Ah, I knew it.」

I opened my eyelids with a wince at the familiar voice that opened the door and entered the room.

「…Meari」

「Yes. It’s your maid, Meari. Come on, please wake up. It would be a shame to fall asleep after you’ve come all the way home.」

I could hear the clinking and scraping of dishes, and my nose was stimulated by the faintly fragrant aroma of good tea.

「Are you hungry? Meari’s special smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich. And it’s served with our own Gracis honey. You can eat it as it is, or sweeten it with honey, or again, drizzle it in your tea as you like, it’s Milady’s favorite. If you don’t get up, it’ll end up in Meari’s stomach, is that OK with you?」

What the heck?

「Uuuugh… I’m getting up!」

This was the moment when appetite triumphed over sleepiness, even though I had been so sleepy.

「I love Milady who’s like that. Yes, please get out of bed and sit down. Your tea is getting cold.」

「Yes, yes, I’m coming.」

I got up my heavy body and crawled out of bed. At that moment, the hair ornament slips off my head.

「Oh, Milady, did you have a hair ornament like this?」

Meari, who picked it up, said.

「Ah— yeah. I got it.」

「Heh, isn’t it very nice? Who gave it to you?」

「…Yeah, it’s from Ryniel-sama…」

It was given to me when I parted from Ryniel-sama in front of the mansion.

『You are a much more attractive woman than you think. Have more confidence.』

Ryniel-sama, with an expression so soft that it was hard to believe that he had been preaching just a few minutes before, held out a hair ornament wrapped in a handkerchief and said. As I was preparing myself, remembering the content of the previous sermon, Ryniel-sama decorated my hair with a hair ornament that he himself inserted into my hair with a gesture that I was used to.

『This is a memorial. Today is your first date with me. I look forward to seeing your hair ornament adorn you tomorrow.』

That means wear it and go to work.

I looked over at Ryniel-sama, who had just said what he wanted to say and gallantly left.

「This seems more like a memorial, or a warning.」

A gift in the name of commemoration after preaching. A true candy and whip. It sounds like a reminder to remember the content of the sermon.

「Nhn? What does that mean???」

「No. It’s nothing.」

I sat back in my chair and sipped the tea Meari had brewed for me.

「Meari, you’ve put on some weight since I last saw you.」

Meari, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, was definitely plump, if not fat.

「And the amount of sandwiches. Not only am I going to eat it, Meari going to eat it too.」

The amount of sandwiches on the plate is not enough for one person to eat. Even if it was for two people, it would still be too much. And there’s the calorie-crazed honey.

「It’s all right. The Master has asked me to eat this honey, so it’s part of my job.」

「You’re an idiot. Why, it’s part of my job to eat honey.」

I can’t stand to be paid for such work.

「It’s true. He told me to eat this and get good nutrition. You can have Master ask him about it.」

Since Meari says this so openly, it must not be a lie, but why should Father order Meari to eat honey? And not just regular honey, but expensive, high quality honey, no matter how much it comes from our own territory?

「Don’t you have enough nutrition and nothing else?」

What’s the point of getting any plumper? Your face is plump, but isn’t your stomach area a bit dangerous? Is it my imagination that the ribbon on my apron string looks very close to the edge? Where was your spartan attitude toward me when I was younger to maintain my style?

「Oh, it’s not my nourishment, Milady.」

「Your stomach?」

It appears to be Meari’s fat, or rather nourishment, no matter how you look at it?

「Yes, that’s correct.」

Meari put her hand on her round, fat belly and gave it a big smile as she slowly stroked it.

「This honey is nourishment for the baby here!」

「………………Hah?」

Excuse me? What’s in your stomach?

「………………Haaaaaaaaaahh!?」

The moment I realized this, a ridiculous voice came out of the pit of my stomach.