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Chapter 18 • ────── ✦ ────── • A Snake The mansion was in a state of absolute frenzy upon her return. As Monica stepped through the entrance, she was amazed by the sheer volume of decorations and lanterns filling the garden. She had known the Mollets were wealthy, but the scale of this display was beyond anything she had imagined. “Oh, Miss Monica!” Hans the gardener greeted her with a look of relief. He had taken her packages and stacked them safely behind his work

Chapter 17 • ────── ✦ ────── • We'll Meet Again In the end, Monica left the boutique carrying four outfits, though in reality Louis was holding the boxes. By the time Monica regained her senses, she was already seated in a coffee house at the corner of the commercial street. She glared at Louis, who sat across from her. He narrowed his eyes and smiled. “My love, if you keep glaring like that—” “Louis, what’s in the bundle beside you?” “…A beautiful purple dress I bo

Chapter 16 • ────── ✦ ────── • Only to You Monica insisted on simply taking the money, but Louis maintained that such a thing was out of the question. “To send a lady away with mere cash would be improper.” “Why?” “It wounds my pride.” “But this was Garcia’s doing.” “Regardless, my pride remains at stake.” Monica had already resolved not to follow Garcia anywhere to buy clothes, regardless of whether he offered to pay. Louis, however, proved to be a formidabl

Chapter 15 • ────── ✦ ────── • Saturday's Arrangement “My wardrobe?” Riella’s face still hazy with sleep. Mrs Oran offered a bright smile. “The Mistress instructed me to help Miss Monica choose one of the dresses you sorted out last year.” Mrs Oran, perfectly dressed, stood in stark contrast to Riella, who sat in her nightclothes, clearly just risen from bed. Riella looked between Mrs Oran and Monica as explained how Lady Mollet had finally given in to Martinel

Chapter 14 • ────── ✦ ────── • Martinel Martinel was a good child. He was so considerate that Monica felt a twinge of shame for not expecting much from a boy raised in such a wealthy household. He deliberately walked in the shade to keep her cool and even handed her a fan. “You look hot, Teacher.” Just as he called Mrs. Mollet ‘madam’, Martinel addressed Monica as ‘teacher’ with the same politeness, even though he knew she was not officially his governess. Martinel w

Chapter 13 • ────── ✦ ────── • The Dull and Gloomy Physician Monica rolled up the sleeves of her forest-green dress, a garment more suited to a grandmother than a young woman. The heat left her no choice. She considered the long, heavy skirt before folding the waistline twice and securing it with pins. Exposing her calves made the temperature slightly more bearable. Still, the sweat would not stop. Fanning herself with one hand, she went to meet Martinel’s physician, a y

Chapter 12 • ────── ✦ ────── • When are You Free? In any case, since she had come this far, she couldn't simply go back. Monica pulled her fist from Garcia's hand and held her palm out flat. It was a silent demand for him to pay for her ruined dress and ribbon. “I spent my entire life savings on those.” Garcia raised his dark golden brows. “What kind of thoughtless young lady spends her entire life savings on a bit of ribbon?” “…I’d been saving up for it!”

Chapter 11 • ────── ✦ ────── • Pay Me Back! Monica glared at him again. Are you actually asking me that? Whether he understood the look or not, Garcia let out a short, hollow laugh and reached out his hand. “Hey, I asked if you were alright.” Monica couldn't find the words. In her heart, she wanted to leap up and grab the collar of this suspicious man who was looking down at her with such a doubtful face. “Just get up for now.” She truly didn't want

Chapter 10 • ────── ✦ ────── • Garcia Even after seeing him twice, he was definitely someone she knew. Louis. The man from the harbour who had guided her to the station when she first arrived in the city. “Um, Louis? Don’t you remember me? You showed me the way at the harbour two days ago…” “...Showed you the way?” There was none of the previous kindness to be found in him. The man glared at her with his blue eyes, looking fierce. “Yes, you did. Back then…”

Chapter 9 • ────── ✦ ────── • Is That You? Despite going to bed early, Monica spent the night with her eyes wide open. It wasn’t because the bed was uncomfortable. In fact, it was the coziest and most comfortable bed she had ever slept in during her twenty-odd years of life. But she found it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. In the end, she rose, while still fatigued, and washed herself again in the bathroom. She turned the tap on and waited a moment before warm water

Chapter 8 • ────── ✦ ────── • I Know My Place Dinner was very delicious. Madam Mollet asked Monica various things and shared the circumstances of the mansion. She mentioned that Mr. Mollet was difficult to see because he frequently travelled between the capital and La Spezia for work, and that the estate was at its most beautiful during the summer. Even while having dinner, Monica kept glancing at Riella. Riella handled her spoon with elegance expected of a noble young

Chapter 7 • ────── ✦ ────── • Gentle Daughter Madam Mollet had been consistently kind and gentle. Even when she frowned at Riella, a smile never left her lips. But, for the first time, genuine bewilderment appeared on her face. At the same time, her gaze shifted to Monica’s hand. “Monica?” Monica felt that gaze clearly, yet calmly bent down and gathered the torn pieces of the letter from the floor. If Madam Mollet’s gaze had been a spear, Monica would have been pier

Chapter 6 • ────── ✦ ────── • Hidden Agenda “Why did I come? I’m a little taken aback... Lizzie!” Why did she come? She truly hadn’t expected such a response from a friend she hadn’t seen in a long time, especially someone who had shared her life at the orphanage. Monica, simply just... No... Monica changed her mind. There’s no way she didn’t know. That couldn’t be. There was no point lying to herself. Liz had been hostile from the moment she saw her. Eve

Chapter 5 • ────── ✦ ────── • Lizzie “Miss Monica, I’m introducing you sooner than expected. This is Martinel.” “Hello, Miss Monica.” The young boy nestled in Mrs. Mollet’s skirts looked remarkably like her. His soft brown hair and glossy black eyes were nearly identical. His gently curved eyes, as if filled with all the goodness in the world, made him seem completely untouched by anything dirty or sorrowful. “Miss Monica, Martinel. You should call her Teacher .” “

Chapter 4 • ────── ✦ ────── • Riella The road from the train station square to the lodging was short but lively enough to delight the eyes. The dinner at the inn when after returning was also satisfying. Monica pondered the young man named Louis as she fell asleep, but she completely forgot about him the next morning because of the interview. Madam Oran had told her that the family she would be working for was called the Mollet family. The Mollet family’s mansion was in a

Chapter 3 • ────── ✦ ────── • Sol The place Monica worked during the war was a bit distant from the front line, and the wounded were brought in daily. Sol was one of the men brought in about two months before the kingdom’s defeat. During the transport, the young man’s dog tag was half torn off and worn, leaving only the name Sol and a part of his military number. He had been hit by shrapnel near where a bomb exploded. Unluckily, the shrapnel had damaged his eyes, and bo

Chapter 2 • ────── ✦ ────── • Wasted Opportunity The orphanage building, which had been converted from an old school, was cold and drafty. It was located on the outskirts of the capital, with many children but few people. Still, on days when patrons came, it looked somewhat presentable. The children would attach flowers made from scraps of fabric to the building, and wear handmade knitted ribbons in their hair. The nobles and newly rich would pat the children’s heads onc

Chapter 1 • ────── ✦ ────── • Monica The beautiful mansion and the roses that five gardeners had toiled for days to bring to bloom. Beneath the glow of gas lamps on a summer night, the flowers spilled outward in dazzling abundance. If the word wealth were to be translated into a landscape, it would look like this. It was a sight one could stare at endlessly, yet Monica could not. It was because of the man in front of her. “You’re saying you’re not Garcia...” Mo