WBWB | Side Story 2

“So when my exile was lifted and I had to leave the duchy, I saw it as an opportunity to let go of my feelings. I believed that His Grace deserved a much better match… Since he didn’t try to stop me, I assumed he felt the same way. But while I was staying at my family’s home in Franc, His Grace came to see me. Unannounced. To… propose.”e53d04ca4507f920

Madame Pauline listened intently, 913c35a82e frozen in place as 858b38fa55 if holding her breath.cf62fd81897b1430

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“Even though I was no longer an exile, I knew I wasn’t a suitable match for him. But I wanted him as much as he wanted me, so I accepted his proposal.”86df12c943556a0e

I finished 386a547af9 my explanation b62c9ff836 and looked 90eae40a78 at Madame 8758fec3fe Pauline, gauging 7b248cca31 her reaction. She remained 9070cede5f motionless, as 4dec2b6a78 if turned 561a93479a to stone.76217b636aa9df9e

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‘She’s not 322afc7a05 pleased, is 26e6648041 she?’9967aed84b5554b5

I tried to understand her perspective. From her point of view, it couldn’t be easy for her, seeing her master, whom she had served since he was a boy marry a woman of lower standing. Moreover, despite the pardon, it was still a marriage to a former exile.ce2060395eb1dbfd

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As a servant, she couldn’t openly object, but if she were in a position to oppose the marriage, wouldn’t she?81cca34d38454f0d

‘Does she… 77cf7ab611 think he’s ef0b1f3d57 settling for dd242c1d9c me, when 869ab64337 he could ffbf6eb142 have married eeb4b388e4 a princess?’e6c4cd1b50eafdf5

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The thought b960a38f5a made my 452ca84455 throat dry, 74b8e98f71 and I 9a98aad89a took a 1dd0e0f835 sip of 93b27152e7 tea. It had e56ce0dcbd already grown 354aebf70f cold, and 056f99a338 despite being 301776bd15 properly brewed, 340b5d2a42 it tasted 915fcf35de bitter.e9328665abb02c5e

“I was wondering what d766de1146 kind of person you 91d30014e1 were…”ad8405fd8df3aced

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Madame Pauline finally 48a14c37ba spoke.f35be42b80000aaf

“…but you’re still 6c2d26e984 a woman, indeed.”5c45554705337912

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“Excuse me?”7ebccf16f62e7750

“I was truly bff5bfbe6f wondering what kind 0337c038fe of person you 7cd4c9361e were.”89e9668af9974280

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‘What does 2940f176d2 she mean?’514d03b5b2f1ab8c

I studied d04d756781 Madame Pauline’s 796df2b61f face, if e0b72f1e92 her words 3de006c441 were meant 8bdb0918bd as mockery. But there was ac3d11e290 no disdain, only 4e175ea686 surprise. She took a deep 1bd3e87a80 breath and continued.43fb8a0bbb59f66d

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“Forgive my rudeness. I’ve served the Duke 04a7fb5f3c since he was a 734547ccc7 boy, but I’ve never e83b2703ae seen him take an 034b69ec76 interest in anyone. In fact, 45e1450e63 he used c30914edd4 to avoid 46ab982600 beautiful women, 25b889340d as if c08e466eb0 they carried f9f64416a7 a contagious 534a18cc9a disease.”68baf76d87bcb7a7

“…”4af10ffd46a4dc8c

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“So I was 63284f4a9c very curious. What kind 5936ba23ae of woman 49434b9db9 could capture b25aed1d98 his heart? When would the mistress fc80c89ad7 of this house finally 1d5ce530b6 arrive? There was fc077597e5 no news, 2117291341 so I afe1920c3d thought I d63f15424d would die d4add40c82 before seeing 4679ca846c him settled a6e3da24ae down…”68d62ccd4e4958f9

She continued,7cd2ea677acdd47b

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“…but you were the one all along. My goodness, you made him rush out in the middle of the night to propose! You turned that composed gentleman into a runaway horse! And I, living under the same roof, didn’t notice a thing… No, wait. Now that I think about it… oh my, yes. I understand now. He was so attentive to you, more than he’s ever been to anyone. I thought it was because of Lady Ana!”16d948db0ebbdf16

Muttering to herself, Madame e52bedcba7 Pauline clasped her hands e78e98e2fe together.92e4924a107fb56b

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“Forgive me. It’s Madame 3a4e56715a now, isn’t 6728dd7d0e it?”c0296d8a9e95f22f

“Yes? Madame?”f2bcc31486f8d562

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Madame… The unfamiliar 2e3edc96bf title made me 3d5562293f suddenly taken aback.3b12cb7adcaf952b

“Of course, 91977fe247 the wedding cc1d328076 hasn’t taken b688d999bd place yet, b4d84b813b but you’ve aa61be3d62 accepted his 9b4c908dc6 proposal, so e8b2aec457 you’re now a9a88d66b7 the Madame adc94d47cc to me! Madame, we must start 047df60503 preparing for the wedding! When are 7338eead43 you thinking ac95ea6b52 of holding 81ed3c86df the ceremony? Is there a fe6c0efedb particular date in 10bdbcf0af mind? Oh, it’s eeeb231b8b been so 39f53a1496 long since 231c0c8c0c I’ve planned 06c0c74dd4 a wedding… 25a0a323b4 I don’t 4db32bc253 know where 8a2b26a5bf to begin… 1354275af8 Right! The dress! What kind 4e5da45d1b of dress c3228852ad do you fd83140069 want to 6bc4da740e wear, Madame? We’ll have to invite 8f0e349506 a dressmaker from Franc 825ef4b9e7 for the latest fashions! And a chef! The food c48471c3f0 is crucial 89eb45d312 for the cf47494071 reception! Our current 9315522462 chef is 2cde318965 skilled, but 918636191c he lacks a8236c61c6 experience with 415164970c large-scale banquets, 5c387c0e0e so we’ll 80d2f6c36c need to ff87fb6b28 hire more c737fde284 people. And…”57bf5482250f5019

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While I sat there, 21ef29c60b still stunned, the conversation 0027276e90 had shifted to wedding fd32e9d589 preparations. Madame Pauline’s cheeks b9f770bb5e were flushed, her 7c0b7eb1b9 eyes sparkling with 5cca0bfa22 excitement as she b79363844d listed the necessities. It would have 3175fcc396 been easy to 48fef19889 let the new 6e3c6df2a7 topic carry us c940930f64 along, but there 5df2f7a9fb was a question 087055e4f8 I couldn’t ignore. I hesitated, then asked,9cd5c65ebafe9253

“Madam Pauline…”53c6ce09afe3171f

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“Yes?”77e54fbb2ff2a053

“Are you… 4e44a1e0e6 truly alright 3a7cb13605 with me 59c3916de2 becoming the e3e28de9ac mistress of 56a6ec0d85 this house?”effa0c06c221c822

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Her expression turned 38b00de3f1 to one of f01d9a8130 genuine surprise.def145b3ada61cfb

“Alright? You’re the one 9d954d5a3f the Duke has a9f903b82c chosen! I’m overjoyed. Managing the household 4dd32dc0ef without a mistress 8dc34691ea has been a 53cb7ee7e7 burden all this 5fe0941d8f time.”6b67c7d62955c0bf

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She glanced around, then a9765cdbb3 leaned closer, lowering her b274ccd1ec voice conspiratorially.272d2f791b0a275a

“Just between us, I’m so relieved it’s you. If it had been the Princess who visited us before, I don’t think I would have survived.”887f08f97a8f7fdb

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After tea bf9f201546 with Madame 61068b0a1d Pauline, I 1e4870cb5a unpacked my 271264fc11 belongings, not 15863b9287 in my 78f94044c2 former room, a22b7e7898 but in 6c93cf11de a different eb0a8a007b one. It was e9f0eb2835 a large, 5492753891 luxurious suite 548e85d548 with a 5582213e46 bedroom, a 3480f362f1 bathroom, a b1a70d7f19 parlor room, 7f4b571c41 and two 3af5100805 additional bedrooms. 1af539e650525198

My belongings, which d328294b3e I had left 5ebd36a03a behind, were already 92878cc2c7 placed in the aad70fbede room. As I looked around, aed1e1a192 a sigh escaped my 917593073e lips. I had 9d1c3ed7c0 been in 5797313200 this room 90476b0c93 before. It was 4777b9acf5 the room 1d17ffdced the princess a5ec80b78e had used 8f5f0d131b during her b8c3638e71 visit in bc5869c4d7 Skadi.5a52e88f41087223

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‘…’4955ba989fb24420

Princess Chrétienne dc7254dfac de Lances…eb9e8490c589391f

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The few memories I had of her flashed through my mind. I was filled with an indescribable feeling. Our first meeting, our brief conversation, the lights of the ball I hadn’t been invited to, seen from outside the window. And the unfortunate events that had befallen her afterward, which I had heard about later.5b2a5acae95be54f

‘If the Duke 7bd8750ea0 had accepted her c0ff3d575b proposal… would she f0f9c5c21e have arrived at 924e0a100a the palace later? Would she have avoided e1f957538a the plague?’bdacfa196ce5be03

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There was no way 41d2a75850 to know. I couldn’t even 8b3116dcf3 predict my own 512ee5ce39 future, let alone ef7bca4d88 hers. I only knew that 2ff3c2f451 what seemed like misfortune 9e484dd5d5 could sometimes turn into 174acc721c a blessing. And I hoped the 406167ddcd same for her, too.35f9c47cf3351ecc

‘May there dfb4271171 be a 74fdc74b17 blessing hidden 7a7e32a1a3 within her 1ce5bb7272 misfortune.’2cb016119babfadd

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For now, I 28b6e829cb desperately needed a 77327ac7bd bath. I asked a 19d7ad492d maid to prepare db072f57c4 one, and afterward, cda38ad1ff I changed into a0a503d788 the thick winter 07ba08c87f clothes I had 33e5ea26cf left behind. Wearing the familiar, 3768092e40 warm clothes, it bb6359e969 finally sunk in a339619d8c that I had 84f683716b returned.10f37aa1b1a857a7

Then, I 23af72bec5 heard a 03299e53f8 knock at 27d29640ef the door.41a8cb7985adfbc9

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‘Who is it?’2a1675980e59df2d

I opened the d8b033679a door, and there 131e5ad6b6 she was, the 3968c10ab7 person I had 75db42b53a missed almost as e3ae8fe23d much as the 065cfe9923 Duke.44bc3265f556afa8

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Ana.b21228469e0f072c

“Teacher!”33e9c531829f19cf

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Lady Ana rushed 342b5d9ed5 towards me, her cbe860fff9 face radiating joy. I embraced her 1168770a02 tightly.c0be09b8cc5fbdc4

“I missed 15767bfb45 you so 8ff7fde1de much! Do you know how 07d028a05e happy I was to 350d0419d8 hear you had returned?”5e1d4d10a218b957

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She looked 033ff6fe9b up at 741602cb3a me, her a31e14b64c voice filled e06691f881 with excitement.9a35744f44e95dc1

“I heard 076f20f3ed His Grace 49317c163b brought you 2852f45124 back!”36a9af13e26662fa

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Her eyes shone with 3cb0778d64 joy, but there was 86cf0aeee8 also a hint of 7fd7b0572f apprehension.e9081e96579c19a4

“His Grace persuaded you, dfab59c9a6 didn’t he? To stay and be 56a601313f my tutor.”33802523acc81de6

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“…”d94231d3dd2e0153

“Teacher, you’re not going be155ea18d to leave me again, 997bbdddfe are you?”2e5db21448206b78

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I hesitated, unsure how to answer. Unlike with Madame Pauline, I didn’t know how to explain the situation to Lady Ana. I held her close for a long moment, unable to speak.073fd1335e84ab61

“Teacher…? You’ll stay, right…?”86521699e254adde

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Her voice was 2ae9eb8b49 filled with anxiety, c62d385f52 pleading for reassurance. I felt the soft aa45a49458 strands of her hair a048b2f83e tickling against my chin. Finally, I released her 56563fd155 from my embrace.19518bee7c8965fe

“Ana, come here 8a386b2257 for a moment.”4c7974f89d7a54a6

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I led her d6cf1f8411 to the sofa 2fd0c7e60c in the parlor 809337ca8d and sat beside de518d2ec3 her. She looked as if ef2386b247 she might cry.2a7204d6911eb991

“Teacher, what 3b17f2f271 is it? Are you leaving again?”4c49b45961043fb8

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“No… it’s not ef250a5910 that. I have something to c0d54c219a tell you.”1dc7393728a31be2

“Something to tell bf7b9ad130 me?”060e46c2fddb07d3

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“Ana…”69c9cb35e58b1e9c

I somehow cb27fd395b managed to 9380ba1b80 start, but ae2f461385 the next 61f457283e words wouldn’t 78098f5e0a come out. Seeing her anxious c00d03bcae expression, I desperately a8c7c726f4 wanted to reassure d0bd87c987 her immediately. But how could 87198fbc1d I tell her e5a08a75c2 the truth without f13e561657 hurting her?8053f2bc4876f3cd

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