Chapter 82. Francis, Part VIII
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
She wanted to learn how to write. If possible, she wanted to be a maid who did more important work than just chores... like serving the lady in front of her.
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Dian’s little dream began from then. Julietta was willing to invest her time for Dian.
Dian began to learn, little by little, from Julietta. Julietta couldn’t spare much time with her, because she had to avoid Simone’s eyes, but that short time was so happy.
Julietta wanted to teach Dian everything she knew, not just writing. She taught Dian the manners she had learned that day, reviewed them, taught her to dance, and they practiced dancing together.
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To Julietta, Dian was like a new friend. Julietta soon told Dian about another world she knew of.
"Is there really no difference in social status?"
"They don’t have a visible social class. The country votes for the king, and the people choose who they want. They also protest for him to step down if the king does something wrong."
"That’s great. I think it’s a great country, even just listening to it."
"If poor people study hard in that country, they can get a good job and explore their future. Of course, it’s more difficult than going through a needle hole, but they’re still given the chance, and they develop themselves with hope."
"It’s really exciting to hear. Where is this country? I want to go too! If I go and try hard, I think I can have a better life."
Julietta shook her head with a sad expression. "Unfortunately, the road to the country has been cut off. I could come out, but I couldn’t go back."
Julietta asked, looking down at the crooked letters on the paper in front of Dian, "Dian, did you hear anything about me when you followed Sir Caden?"
Dian was at a loss for words when Julietta asked.
"I know that you know who I am. When I was practicing teaching you what I had learned because I was bad at manners, you never showed that it was weird. No matter how sick Princess Kiellini has been since she was a child, even if she was learning all the education for her debut for the first time, it must have been weird to you."
When Dian lowered her eyes with a sorry face, Julietta laughed. "Dian, I’m working hard now for a better future. I think Dian will also have a better future if you try. Don’t you think so?"
Dian raised her head carefully and looked up at Julietta. She smiled and answered excitedly at the sight of the lady with vivid green eyes smiling at her, "Yes! I’m sure I will."
"Yes, then let’s work hard together! About ten years from now, the two of us will be laughing about today, saying ’Oh, that’s what happened to us before. It was really hard back then.’ "
Dian nodded strongly at Julietta’s words. "Yes. I want to speak to you with a smile in ten years!"
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So Julietta and Dian spent their days happily relying on each other. However, Vera caught her while teaching writing and practicing dancing together with Dian, but only told her to be careful so that the Marquise wouldn’t know.
While studying with Dian like that again today, Vera came to her. She glanced at Dian who rose from the desk in a hurry, but again said nothing. "Madame is looking for you."
"Now? Is something wrong?" This was the time for Simone to take a nap before dinner. It was the only time of the day she could take a break, so Julietta asked why, but Vera only told her to go quickly.
Julietta smiled apologetically at Dian and hurried to adjust her dress. She went straight down to Simone’s bedroom on the second floor.
"Did you call me?"
Simone scanned the Duke’s letter one more time and gestured to Julietta to sit down. "My brother sent me a message."
Simone saw Julieta sitting there with her eyes drooping gently. She looked like a beautiful and elegant lady with dignity, who really had been born into the family of the Duke.
’Is it because half of her blood is noble?’ She sighed, pressing down on her splitting forehead.
"Now that Iris’s coming-of-age ceremony is a month away, he’s asking us to come up to the capital for the rest of our preparations."
As Simone said that, she recalled the situation when she had gone to see Regina a few days ago...
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"Aunt, how’s the girl’s education going? Is she acting properly now? Is she enough that she will not do anything wrong to my name?" Regina asked sharply with a remarkably haggard face.
"Don’t worry, it’s going well without much trouble. She’s actually quite amazingly good at it."
Regina’s voice grew sharper at Simone’s words. "What a surprise! Does she look more like Princess Kielini than I do?"
Simone sighed unconsciously. Regina had been saying that for two months.
"I don’t think so. How can she deceive her natural origins? You don’t have to think about it because she can’t keep up with your elegance and grace."
Every time she heard the same answer, Regina’s anger melted away, so Simone gave her the answer she wanted, just like a machine.
"But I heard that her mother was an actress in the theater. Where would that vulgarity go?"
Today she seemed to be in a worse mood, and she even mentioned the origin of the woman who had given birth to Julietta. Simone nodded sympathetically, as if to comfort Regina.
"Yes, that’s right. She can’t deceive her origin. So, don’t pay any more attention to the girl’s work. I’m worried that your health has gotten worse, because your face looks darker these days."
"I don’t care about the girl. I’m just getting nervous because of my strange life in a separate house. I need to send a message to my father. I can’t wait to get her to Dublin and go back to the main house."
Regina didn’t think her sensitivity was due to an inferiority complex about Julietta. Simone shook her head at her niece, who thought it was just because she wanted to go back to the main house.
"You’d better put off going up to Dublin as much as you can. It’s better to reduce people’s interaction with you before and after her debut."
Regina was only more irritated by Simone’s advice. When the Duke was contacted by his daughter, he sent Simone a magic message...
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"He’s asking us to come up to Dublin to prepare for the debut."
Julietta asked suspiciously at Simone’s words, "Didn’t we decide to go up as late as possible?"
Originally, she was supposed to go up to Dublin about two weeks before her debut. Even though she understood that Julietta might question the sudden change of schedule, Simone was upset.
"You just have to do as you are told. My brother has an idea, so he wants us to come up faster than planned."
When Simone reacted sharply to the little question, Julietta nodded as if she understood, "When are we leaving?"
"We’ll start early tomorrow morning."
Julietta rose from her seat at the words and said, "Then I have to pack up, so I’ll leave."
Simone didn’t give her permission, but Julietta rose up from her seat as she pleased and went up. Simone soon gave up trying to scold her. On the day they were caught, the family of Duke Kiellini would disappear from the map, and under that fear, her body and her mind were exhausted. Still, she agreed to proceed with the tremendous work.
In the beginning, she had visited Regina in the annex every day, but now it was hard enough to visit her twice a week...
At first, there had been a mixture of affection and sympathy when taking on her young niece. At the same time, she had come down to the countryside, boldly turning her back on the flamboyant society for the purpose of investing in her shaky future. Simone’s rural life, which had begun like that, had been just hard, working day by day with her spoiled, selfish niece and cold brother.
The reason she was now helping to make Julietta a substitute of Regina was that she didn’t want to make all her work so far for nothing. She was forced to step in because she would be protected by the family of Duke Kiellini only if Regina became the next Duke.
It started with mixed understanding, but as Iris’s debut date approached, Simone began to be afraid as she returned to reality.
But she could not turn it back, even if she regretted it now. The Duke of Kiellini, her brother, would not forgive her and in this mansion, there was Sir Caden, Maribel’s grandson, who knew about it all...