Chapter 2: 2

Erin stood in the room where she had lived for the past nine years.

It was sparsely empty after all the furniture and luggages were taken out, but even though it was like this, it was still stunningly beautiful.

Lily-patterned marble floors, ornate goldwork adorning the light green walls, and sparkling chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

She’ll probably never come back.

Now she will be leaving this small space, which was surrounded by familiar furniture and atmosphere, forever.

Erin was scheduled to leave the palace today.

‘It was never meant for me in the first place.’

This was originally the residence of the Crown Princess.

Erin lived here because her husband, the Duke of Lievensberg, was the emperor’s grandson and the heir to the empire.

As a result, Erin lived here as the hostess of the imperial palace for nine years.

‘When I was younger, I never thought I would have a life like this.’

Erin’s father was originally a poor knight. He was the second son of the Marquis of Briscia, but was disowned from the family after marrying an immigrant baker.

Her mother, who was a baker, worked at a store in a remote town. She was also an Erdan, an immigrant from the north. According to the imperial classification standards, she was a lower-class person with no family and no property.

Her parents were not favorably looked upon by others, but they were still very happy.

It was because of this that Erin’s childhood was beautifully colored and full of happy memories.

As a former baker, her mother made food and sweet desserts from scratch every day.

Erin learned how to make bread and sweets for fun, after helping her mother in the kitchen everyday.

Young Erin loved to bake cakes and make bread.

She learned to bake cakes from her mother in the kitchen, where the white flour rose every day. She loved watching the dough rise in the oven. It was fun to make rose petals out of snow-white whipped cream, and rich chocolate out of cocoa beans with aromatic flavor.

“Erin is truly gifted.”

Her mother beamed with pride as she took Erin’s little scones off the tray.

As soon as she took a bite, the hard scone crumbled, releasing a savory buttery flavor into her mouth. With each bite, the soft bread melted on the tip of her tongue.

Erin ate one in a hurry.

Her mother smiled and whispered to Erin.

“It’s a secret, but we Erdans actually have better taste than the Imperial people.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So I’m sure Erin can make a delicious cake too.”

“Yeah! I’m definitely going to be a cake maker!”

Erin nodded, while smiling happily.

“I want to have a store full of cakes someday.”

With that dream in mind, she worked hard to learn how to make cakes and sweets in between her studies.

‘We may not have been rich, but we were happy.’

But that happiness was short-lived when Erin turned 19. Her cousin, the Marquis of Briscia, was killed in a carriage accident that year.

Her Uncle, who was a former marquis, had lived a life of debauchery and had long since fallen ill and died.

He had only one child, her cousin, who had no children of his own.

There were no other worthy relatives in the family to succeed him. Inevitably, Erin’s father took over the title of Marquis.

Her father, a poor knight, and her mother, a baker, became the owner of a marquisate overnight, and Erin became a young marchioness.

It was an extraordinary rise for a family of three, but the reality of their lives was quite grim.

The Marquisate was on the verge of bankruptcy.

‘We never rose up to become noblemen, but instead we became a bunch of debtors.’

Her father became a marquis, but he was much poorer than when he was a knight. He was promoted to a higher ranking commanding officer because he was a marquis, but the salary was barely enough to put food on the table.

In fact, there was a way out of his poverty, if only his father had been more level-headed. The Marquis of Briscia was an old and prestigious family, and her only daughter, Erin, was the current heiress.

The man who marries Erin will become the Marquis of Briscia in the future.

Even if the title was a debt-ridden one, there were many wealthy men who wanted to buy the name and title for money.

But her father refused all such proposals.

“I’m not going to sell you for money.”

Erin appreciated her father’s kindness, but she was worried that even she herself would rather marry a wealthy man than drown in debts.

If they stayed this way, the family of three would be bankrupt and all of them would be sold into slavery.

But then a marriage proposal suddenly came from the imperial court.

There was little reason to refuse. So Erin accepted the duke’s proposal of marriage, eager to be of help to her family.

She thought she would never regret it. She would be the bride of a sweet, handsome duke, and she can also help her parents live happily ever after.

Sadly, she truly believed that at that time. Erin looked around the room for the last time and was about to get sentimental, but the sound of sniffing next to her interrupted it.

“Melly, don’t cry.”

“Huuhhuu…Hik… Yes, Your Highness.”

A small, light brown-haired maid hastily bowed her head and wiped away her tears. The maid, who went by the name of ‘Melly‘, was the maid in charge of beverages in the Imperial Palace.

“I’m not your highness anymore, you can just call me Erin.”

The words brought tears to Melly’s eyes again. She had a pretty face, except for the freckles on the bridge of her nose.

Erin smiled and walked over to Melly and handed her a handkerchief.

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“Thank you for all your help, the coffee and tea you made was really delicious.”

Ever since coffee was imported from beyond the southern coast, the demand for it increased, especially among the aristocracy.

Even inside the Imperial palace, there were separate servants or maids in charge of tea and coffee.

Melly hesitated, then plucked up the courage to ask.

“Uh, Ms. Erin. Can you, uh, take me with you?”

“What?”

“That… if you hire me to be your handmaiden…”

‘I thought I knew what you were talking about.’

Melly was pretty close to Erin.

Erin would often call her over to talk about tea. Now there will be a different owner of the crown princess’ palace. Having Melly here would put her in an awkward position.

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‘… I’m conflicted.’

Part of her wanted to take Melly with her, but she knew she couldn’t afford a maid for the time being.

She’d need to save every cent of her dowry to get a shop and start her business.

Erin was about to say no when there was a sudden knock at the door.

Before she could answer, a nervous-looking middle-aged woman opened the door and walked into the room.

It was Mrs. Brennan, the crown princess’ maid of honor.

She didn’t even bother saying hello and spoke in a commanding tone.

“Lady Erin, please finish tidying up. The maids are waiting for you to leave so they can clean this place immediately.”

Her husband, the Duke, Raymond, had brought his lover, Serena, to the palace shortly after his marriage with Erin.

Since he was already married, he didn’t even bother to hide the fact that he had a lover and lived with her in his palace.

He even made her a relative of his subordinate, the Count of Brennan, and elevated her status to that of a count’s daughter.

As the daughter of a lowly noble, and even as a rising one, Serena’s status would normally have kept her out of the palace.

This Mrs. Brennan was a member of the House Brennan. She supported Serena and hated Erin very much. For the past nine years, she’d been criticizing and sabotaging everything Erin did.

If there was an event at the palace, she’d watch with a lighted eye to see if Erin was spending a dime more than the past empresses.

If anything went wrong in the palace, she would spread a rumor that would be magnified a hundredfold and blamed it all on Erin.

Still, Erin couldn’t get angry and was left to put up with it.

Her marriage cleared House Briscia’s debts and gave them a steady income.

Neither her mother nor her father had to struggle anymore. Her parents told Erin not to endure it, but she figured it was a small price to pay just to know that her family was no longer in debt.

And it was a marriage the emperor had requested himself. No matter how hard things have become, Erin could not ask for a divorce herself.

All she could do was do her best to play her part and be careful not to be criticized anymore.

Her husband had a lover living in his palace, and the nobles laughed at her and despised her for growing up among the commoners, but she had to put up with it all.

So she endured it all, again… and again.

‘But now I don’t have to put up with it anymore.’

Her Father couldn’t bear to see his own daughter being neglected by the Duke, so he volunteered to make contributions during a dangerous battle, hoping to make a name for himself somehow. He thought that if he gained a higher position, it would help Erin.

As a senior commander, he led a desperate effort to defeat the enemy and win a spectacular victory. As he had hoped, he was decorated for his work and became a hero. But he did not return alive.

Her mother, who was left alone, became ill and passed away not long after.

‘I wanted to sacrifice myself to make my parents happy. But sacrificing for this happiness ended up making everyone unhappy.’

It wasn’t until she lost them that she felt a deep regret.

‘I won’t live like that anymore.’

Until the end, her late parents wanted Erin to be free and live happily ever after.

Now she will fulfill their wish.

Erin laughed and said it with ease.

“Did you come here on purpose to say that? Don’t worry. I’m leaving now.”

“……?”

“Didn’t you understand? I said, I’m leaving.”

Mrs. Brennan flinched at the sneer in her voice.

‘What, what is it with this poor duchess, and why is she so confident today?’

People who didn’t know any better would say that the Duchess was a wicked woman who wore a mask and had an affair, but Mrs. Brennan, who had seen her up close, knew that it was all a bunch of nonsense.

There was nothing sinister about the Duchess at all.

The usual Erin to put it mildly, was quiet and graceful, and to put it bluntly, a pushover.

She was always quietly going about her business and taking insults in a stride.

When her husband ignored her, when nobles laughed and mocked her in public, she pretended not to hear them and smiled at them like a fool.

People cursed that it was all a pretense, but in Mrs. Brennan’s eyes, it wasn’t. Erin was glazed that way by nature.

‘Hmm. Maybe she’s angry because she’s about to be kicked out, but let’s see…’

Swallowing her inward sneer, Mrs. Brennan raised an eyebrow as she spotted Melly standing off to one side.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I’m… here to say goodbye to your highness, Erin…”

Before the words were out of her mouth, Mrs. Brennan slapped Melly across the cheek.

Pa!

Melly stumbled back, unable to scream. Mrs. Brennan withdrew her hand and flashed a satisfied smile at her.

Still, she didn’t like this little brat. She was simply a handmaiden but she was so close to the Duchess.

“Who told you it was okay to come in here without permission?”

“Well, I’m…”

Melly put a hand on her battered cheek and wiped away a tear.

A red handprint remained on her white cheek. Mrs. Brennan shouted ferociously, as if she would eat her.

“Get out of here!”

Erin, who had been watching all of this from the sidelines, took a step forward.

“Mrs. Brennan.”

Mrs. Brennan looked back at Erin and was surprised again. There was a flash of confidence and determination in Erin’s eyes that she hadn’t seen normally in the quiet woman.

Erin let out a short, and cold smile.

“I am dismissing you from your position as Maid of Honor, effective immediately, and you are to pack your things and leave this palace.”

“……What, what?”

Mrs. Brennan stared at Erin with a dumbfounded expression.

Erin smirked.

“Didn’t you hear? You’re fired.”

⚘

TL NOTE:

 I like Erin already. It was sad that she had to lose both her parents but at least she can start anew. I was glad she left that cheating scum of a husband!

See you next Chapter~

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