Chapter 5 Part 1

The long outing was finally over. Starting with choosing a dress, followed by matching shoes that would go well with the dress, and then preparing all the accessories. 

Irina actually wondered what was the use of dresses, shoes, and accessories. It all felt pointless. 

Of course, her personality was partly to blame for thinking this way. Irina was never the type to be picky when buying something. On the contrary, it was Olga who made a fuss and sensitively chose things on behalf of Irina, who was naturally simple-minded.

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Perhaps today too, if it weren’t for Olga, Irina would have stopped shopping and hurried back to Lehman estate, thinking that shoes and jewelry were things she did already have at home.

“I’m tired…” 

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Irina sat down on the sofa. She asked Olga to heat the bath water and prepare a cup of warm milk tea. Olga happily responded to Irina’s command as if she wasn’t tired from being out all day.

In the room where Olga had disappeared, Irina rested her chin on the armrest of the sofa and half-lay there. 

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“….. It’s bad.” 

Being alone in the quiet room, the resentment she had been suppressing rose again. 

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Of course, the target of this resentment was none other than Rumpel. Upon reflection, she still thought he was too much. 

Although he was a man who appeared and disappeared suddenly, couldn’t he at least say goodbye when he left? She couldn’t bear it because she felt stupid for feeling happy for the fleeting moment of choosing a dress with him.

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Irina puffed up her cheeks and furrowed her brow. Since no one was watching, she indulged in her frustration. 

Just as she was grumbling to herself, Olga returned with the milk tea. Irina savored the warm, fragrant milk tea.

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‘Come to think of it, this teacup…’

It was the same cup  Rumpel drank tea from when he came to her room the previous night. Though he wasn’t here, she felt that this situation, with only traces of him remaining, was quite strange. Frankly, it also felt a little empty and hollow.

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Irina gently pressed her lips to the cup Rumpel had kissed. Even though they were just sharing the same cup, she had a strange feeling that their lips were touching.

“Huh… Why on earth am I like this?”

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She couldn’t understand why she could think of him even in a teacup. Irina reprimanded herself with a sigh.

It was a night where the more she met him, the more she hated herself, and it felt like something she couldn’t understand was happening over and over again.

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* * *

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“Miss, wake up. Miss.” 

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Olga’s voice was unusually excited early in the morning. Even half-asleep, Irina could tell why Olga sounded so cheerful. However, the more in a good mood Olga was, the more Irina’s own mood sank.

“Just a little longer, I’ll sleep a little longer.” 

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“No! What an important day today is. You need to get up early and prepare to go out.” 

Olga answered firmly, as if she was not going to back down. As if that wasn’t enough, she even pulled down the quilt that Irina was covering.

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Thanks to that, Irina had no choice but to sit up from her lying down to relieve the feeling of emptiness.

“What time is it?”

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“It’s not even 6 o’clock yet.”

“…Isn’t that too much? You woke me up an hour and a half earlier than usual.”

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“Of course! Today is a different day than usual. Can you wake up as usual?”

Despite Irina’s grumbling, Olga didn’t care at all. With a grumpy expression, Irina summoned all her strength and got out of bed.

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“I heated up the bath water. Please go in quickly, Miss.”

“Oh my God, already? What time did you wake up, Olga?”

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“Me? I think I woke up around 5 o’clock. Don’t worry. My eyes just opened on their own so I’m not tired.”

When Irina got to know that Olga, who had woken her up, had gotten up an hour earlier than her, it seemed unreasonable to complain anymore. 

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So, without saying another word, Irina got out of the bed and headed to the bathroom.

“Ugh…”

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As soon as she entered the bathroom, Irina plugged her nose.

She didn’t know how much fragrant oil Olga had used, but the bathroom was filled with the scent of flowers. Irina didn’t dislike the scent of flowers, but the combination of so many fragrances was giving her a headache.

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“Olga, how much fragrant oil did you use?”

“Four kinds! Should I mix in more?”

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“No, no!”

Irina felt exasperated at Olga’s response, who seemed ready to pour more fragrant oil into the bathwater at any moment.

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Getting up an hour earlier than usual and the bath was covered with fragrant oil. In addition, there were makeup, hairdo, and changing clothes that will follow.

The thought that it was all for the sake of attending Emperor Knezh’s banquet was exhausting.

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The people of the Lehman family, including Olga, were overjoyed and excited when they heard that Irina had been invited by the Emperor and that a banquet was being held for the Lehman family. 

The problem was that for Irina, attending that banquet felt nothing but depressing and gloomy. Unable to express these feelings to anyone, her chest felt tight and heavy, as though a stone had been placed on her heart.

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On top of that, Irina’s instincts keenly wanted to express an ominous premonition that something bad was going to happen.

Irina desperately wished that this anxiety was just her imagination.

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“Miss.”

She had been taking a bath for a while. Irina, who had surrendered herself to Olga and closed her eyes, looked at her at the sudden call.

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Olga was staring at Irina’s chest with a puzzled expression. Irina, without thinking, followed Olga’s gaze and moved her gaze to her chest. 

‘Oh my God…!’

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Irina’s face turned red when she saw the red spots on her chest. She knew exactly where they came from. They were marks made by Rumpel.

“Did a bug bite you?” 

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“Uh, huh? Well, I guess so…. Yeah, it was itchy…”

Irina struggled to hide her embarrassment. She found a way out thanks to Olga asking her first if she had been bitten by a bug.

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Irina nodded her head vigorously, trying to conceal her embarrassment. Olga’s expression then softened with relief.

“That’s a relief. I thought you were unwell… … . Anyway, I’ll tell them to get some herbs right away to repel the bugs.”

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“Y-yes. Thank you, Olga.”

“You’re welcome.”

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Irina calmed her pounding heart. Once she realized that the hickey remained on her body, she knew that Rumpel’s marks wouldn’t be just on her chest.

Rumpel had touched and caressed Irina’s body as if it were his own. So, his marks would be all over her body.

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She had managed to pass it off as bug bites for now, but she was worried about what to do in the future. Irina swallowed hard, trying to keep it from Olga.

‘I’m sorry, Rumpel. I’ve turned you into a bug…’

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Irina apologized inwardly, even though she knew Rumpel couldn’t know about this, feeling a sense of guilt. In fact, despite the fact that all of this happened because of Rumpel.

 

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* * *

 

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After taking a heart-pounding bath, Irina was surrounded by three maids who arranged her hair.

They carefully dried her wet hair with a towel, brushed her hair with rose oil several times with a large, dense comb to give it shine. The smooth, rich hair created bouncy curls.

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In fact, up to this point, it had been a daily routine. So, it wasn’t something that would make her feel particularly tired or distressed. Nevertheless, Irina felt so sore today that she couldn’t bear it.

“Miss, please stay still.”

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Olga finally couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke. No matter how close Olga was to Irina, there were only a handful of instances where she spoke in such a scary way.

The fact that Olga had said a word proved that Irina’s bottom had been fidgeting incessantly.

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“I’m sorry, Olga…”

“Do you not want to go to the Imperial Palace? Other noble ladies are upset because they were not invited to the imperial banquet, but I don’t understand why you dislike it so much.”

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“…Was it that obvious?”

“Of course! I’m not a fool, how could I not know when you show such dislike!”

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At her exasperated reaction, Irina bit her lip in embarrassment and cautiously looked at Olga. Then, Olga narrowed her eyes and dismissed the other maids.

As the most experienced and highest-ranking among the maids, Olga’s orders were quickly obeyed, and the other maids left the room.

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“Tell me. What’s the problem?”

Once they were alone, Olga asked directly.

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Irina looked at Olga and moved her lips several times. She had no idea where to start or how to explain this complicated and confusing matter.

“It’s just that…”

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“Miss, I’m your person. You know that. So, you can tell me.”

“Olga, it’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just… I don’t know where to start or how to explain this.”

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“Really?”

“Of course. If I have to trust only one person in the world, it would be you, Olga.”

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Irina spoke sincerely.

She had been hiding the truth from Olga, but it was definitely not because she didn’t trust her. It was simply because her heart wasn’t ready, so she couldn’t say anything.

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Irina desperately hoped that her true feelings would be fully conveyed to Olga.

“I understand, Miss. Thank you for saying that.”

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Fortunately, Irina’s feelings reached Olga. Olga nodded with tearful face. Irina looked at Olga and calmed her troubled heart.

If she were to tell everything as it was, the unknown man named Rumpel bothered her. Again, it wasn’t because she didn’t believe in Olga.

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Rumpel was a man whom Irina herself didn’t know well. So, she doubted whether it was right to talk about him.