Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 94

“We haven’t set an exact date yet. It was said that we should hold the ceremony within the next three months.”

Rachel smiled and looked around at them, just as the young ladies did to her.

None of them revealed their thoughts in front of Rachel.

They still seemed to be wary, but if they calculated that it would benefit them, they would soon come to favor her.

‘If you hated me, as Diana said.’

But Rachel was even more disappointed that the noblewomen, who seemed to feel no hostility toward her, insulted Mike and the Duke behind their backs.

Was it just a moment of fun for them?

At the same time, Rachel smiled a little when she saw the ladies smile again.

Rachel wasn’t unaware that the aristocratic families would move for their own benefit.

Seeing it in front of her eyes made Rachel feel badly all over again.

Yeah, she shouldn’t have taken a break, it would’ve kept her family from looking ridiculous. Now Rachel felt like she understood why the young ladies were so hung up about their reputations.

Not only her, but also her family, were caught by that one mistake. So, she had no choice, but to be careful.

“More than that, I was surprised that His Majesty collapsed.”

At that time, a young lady raised the topic of Ian’s recent ailment.

“I was so surprised by the news that I felt sick to my stomach. Lady Oates must have been very shocked.”

“Yes, she must’ve been. I was very worried to hear that His Majesty, who is so robust, had fallen ill.”

“I haven’t heard anything since the news that he collapsed. Has Lady Oates heard anything? Is His Majesty all right?”

The eyes of the curious young ladies were fixed on Rachel all at once.

It was a question to figure out the relationship between Ian and Rachel.

Rachel also didn’t know what the young ladies wanted from her, or what the intention of the question was.

But she had been quick-witted since she was young.

“Yes, His Majesty has told me not to worry too much. It’s hard to say more than this because it’s the Imperial family’s business.”

Rachel blinked slowly for a moment, as if she were pondering. Then she slowly opened her mouth.

The noblewomen nodded silently as if they understood that Rachel, who’d lowered her voice, was telling a secret.

“No, who in the world would have done such a disrespectful thing to His Majesty’s teacup?”

“I know. What the heck were they up to?”

This time, the young ladies subtly gave Rachel a hint.

The noblewomen, who were curious about the incident, seemed to want to know something through this interaction.

“Who do you think is responsible for this, Lady Oates?”

Rachel had no choice, but to be cautious about this.

There must be a good reason for Ian to keep things secret so that the news didn’t leak out.

“The nature of the crime is so serious that I’m cautious about even guessing. However, it is said that the Imperial palace is investigating people, so the criminal will be caught soon.”

The young ladies seemed a little disappointed when they didn’t get the answer they wanted from Rachel, but they had no choice but to nod to Rachel’s firm attitude.

“Well, Lady Oates, why did you suddenly go back to the territory?”

One young lady asked this question casually, as if it meant nothing.

However, everyone at the party knew that the lady’s intention wasn’t due to pure curiosity.

“Yes, we were all worried.”

“Thank you for your concern, but nothing happened, so you don’t have to worry anymore. I just came down because I had an appointment with my father.”

“With Duke Oates?”

Rachel nodded lightly.

“Before we became busy preparing for the wedding, we promised to spend some time together.”

“Then did His Majesty and the lady promise to marry before then?”

“Yes.”

The young ladies frowned at Rachel’s words as if they were confused.

“Ah, I see.”

So, what was that thing with His Majesty and Diana all about?

Diane said that Rachel had put a wedge between the two of them and took her place. Besides, didn’t Diana get a necklace from Ian?

The Lucky necklace.

Saying that she’d received it directly from His Majesty, it seemed that Diana was not an ordinary person to His Majesty.

Then was His Majesty going to marry Lady Oates and leave Diana as a lover?

“But you said before that he was just close to Young Master Oates.”

“I wasn’t even engaged to His Majesty yet, so I didn’t think it would be good for both His Majesty and I if we talked about it.”

The noblewomen, who were listening to Rachel, looked at each other as if they were confused.

“You didn’t feel bad because of that, did you?”

“…Well, of course.”

“It’s natural to be careful before your engagement.”

“…You’re very understanding. As expected, I thought you ladies would understand.”

Rachel smiled at the young noblewomen who were taking her side.

“More than that, I want to ask all of you one thing.”

“Please feel free to ask, Lady Oates.”

“Actually, I lost the necklace that I received as a present from His Majesty.”

“Necklace?”

Rachel nodded quietly.

“I lost it at the Duke’s residence in the capital. I’ve looked into it, but I don’t know who’s responsible. However, if the person sold the necklace, I thought it would fall into the hands of a young noble.”

“Oh, it must be the work of a servant.”

The young ladies shook their heads quietly at Rachel’s words.

“I’ve been through that too. It was an expensive necklace that I cherished, but one day Lady Noisen came to the party wearing it.”

“How ridiculous that day was.”

Lady Noisen frowned slightly as if recalling what had happened that day.

“I was so embarrassed I couldn’t raise my head.”

“If someone steals and sells the accessories, it gets around among the ladies of the capital. What were they thinking?”

“Lady Oates, if you explain the appearance of the necklace, I will look for it.”

“I see, you lost the necklace that His Majesty gave you as a gift. How heartbroken you must have been.”

Rachel opened her mouth with a faint smile as if she was thankful for their worrying.

“It was an emerald necklace. If you see a well-crafted emerald necklace, please let me know. If you can help me, I’ll pay you as much as you want, so please let me know.”

“…An emerald necklace?”

“Yes, it was an emerald necklace decorated with diamonds.”

Rachel’s words hardened the faces of the young ladies.

“Sigh, I searched all over the mansion to find the necklace, but I couldn’t find it. So, it must’ve already been taken away.”

Rachel sighed in frustration, and opened her mouth again.

“Among the employees of our Duke’s residence, there was no one like that. If it was another necklace, I would have just lost it and moved on, but the necklace His Majesty gave me has a special meaning to me.”

“When did you lose that necklace?”

“Well, before I left the capital. I was delayed because I was looking for that necklace.”

“Lady Oates, is that necklace the Lucky necklace?”

At the cautious young lady’s question, Rachel frowned and nodded.

“Yes, that’s right! It was the Lucky necklace”

Rachel’s affirmation made the young lady smile.

“If the necklace that the lady is talking about is the Lucky necklace, I think I saw it.”

“You saw that necklace? Where…”

“At my tea party that day. To be honest, we all saw it. Isn’t that right?”

When Lady Rika said this, all the young ladies who were attending the tea party nodded. In an instant, the tea party was silent.

“It seems that the necklace has a new owner.”

Lady Rika lengthened her words as if she was trying to gauge Rachel’s reaction.

“…Could it be Lady Avery?”

Rachel’s cautious question turned the young ladies’ suspicion into confirmation.

“Yes, Lady Avery came to Lady Rika’s tea party wearing the Lucky necklace.”

“Lady Avery told me that His Majesty gave it to her as a gift, but now I see that it was a lie.”

“Ha, what a lie. Who the heck does she think she is?!”

Lady Rika and the others exhaled fiercely as if chagrined by the fact that they had been deceived by Diana.

“In fact, the necklace disappeared after Lady Avery visited. I wondered…”

“Oh, it disappeared after Lady Avery’s visit?”

“Then Lady Avery stole it!”

“Ha, isn’t she a psychopath? How dare she lie so shamelessly.”

“Sigh…”

Rachel let out a deep sigh, and touched her forehead.

The other young noblewomen became angrier then Rachel, who sighed as if she didn’t know what to do.

“Lady Oates, take it back right away!”

“How could she steal something His Majesty gave you? Unless she’s a psychopath.”

“How shameless! No one could have imagined that Lady Avery’s words were lies.”

As Rachel sat still with her head down for a while, the young lady that was sitting next to her carefully grabbed Rachel’s hand.

“Don’t worry, Lady Oates. We know where the necklace you’re looking for is, so you don’t have to worry anymore. Lady Avery will no longer be able to brazenly lie now that she’s been discovered.”

“Sigh, I really didn’t know Lady Avery would do that.”

“We all didn’t know.”

At Rachel’s shock, Lady Noisen frowned as if she was feeling sorry for her, then she squeezed Rachel’s hand with a little more strength as she held it.

“Thank you, ladies, but I’d better stop talking about this topic for now. It’s still not clear what happened, but this will only trouble Lady Avery.”

“Lady Oates! That’s not true!”

Lady Rika shook her head as Rachel tried to change the topic as if she was embarrassed because she didn’t expect the situation to disparage Diana.

“Lady Avery boasted that she received the necklace as a direct gift from His Majesty. You said that the necklace disappeared the day Lady Avery visited the Oates residence, right? She must’ve intentionally stolen it.”

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