Chapter 28: Twenty seven

After Rasputina had briefly explained her ingenious plan to find the mysterious former head maid Cecilla, Theo sat in silence for a long time before finally picking up his teacup—only to find that it was empty. 

Maria noticed it too while keeping Anastasia entertained and quickly approached him with the teapot in hand. “Uncle Theo, please have another serving of tea.” 

“Mm, thanks.” He gave his teacup to her and shifted his gaze onto the invitation letter that was still on the table. “So, you think there’s a high possibility Cecilla will appear at the Exposition Universelle?” 

“It is well nigh possible,” Rasputina said in the most confident tone she could muster. “The head maid has a very close and trusting relationship with Her Highness as her personal attendant, and abruptly being forced to leave before she could see Her Highness nursed back to health must have worried her greatly. When she learns that we are attending the Exposition Universelle, she will definitely feel compelled to get a glimpse of Anastasia, though she probably won’t appear in front of us as she still thinks that she is under suspicion of having poisoned the princess.”

“You say that, but how are you going to locate Cecilla among the crowd of visitors in the exposition grounds?” Theo sat back, interlacing his fingers together in front of him. “Especially since you likely will not be able to leave Anastasia’s side whenever you wish.” 

“Precisely, so that’s where you come in…” The sound of the front door opening interrupted their conversation. “…we’ll talk later.” 

Theo nodded his head and hurriedly stood up from his seat before walking out of the kitchen. “Babushka, do you need any help? Let me help you with these…”

“Babushka? Who’s that?” Anastasia asked curiously, watching Theo leave. 

“The innkeeper,” Rasputina replied. “I usually call her ‘Granny’, though.” 

She idly twirled a loose strand of rose-coloured hair around her fingertip. “Souka…” 

“If you have nothing better to do, why don’t you start studying the language here?” Rasputina suggested while drinking her tea. “It’s awfully tiring to translate everything that comes out of your mouth constantly, you know…” 

Anastasia shot her a cold look, but her expression softened when Maria, who overheard their conversation, eagerly agreed to help her practise the Empire’s language. 

“Since Anastasia is part of the royal family, starting off by learning formal words and sayings will be of more benefit,” Maria said, pulling her chair towards the attentive princess. “For example, if this is our first meeting, you would say something like ravie de vous rencontrer. Try saying it slowly.” 

“E-eh? Uh…havi de vou oncontre?” 

“Stick your tongue to the top of your mouth, then press only the tip of your tongue against your lower front teeth.” 

“Hai…?”

“Open your mouth and create a vibration at the back of your throat. Ra. Ra. Ra-vee.”

“Ra. Ra. Ra-vee.” 

“Mm-hmm, much better! Try saying the full sentence again…” 

Rasputina quietly excused herself while Maria taught Anastasia a crash course in the language of aristocracy; she found Theo in the master bedroom upstairs, reading a newspaper while sitting cross-legged on his bed. 

“Has Granny retired to her chamber?” she asked while taking a look around the bedroom. 

“I told her to not come out until you two leave,” he said quietly. “There’s a chance she might recognise Anastasia, and Lord knows what will happen if she realises the princess of the Empire is currently inside her cottage.” 

“I see…so, you and Maria are now staying in this room together?” Rasputina glanced at the layer of dust on the unkempt bed beside Theo’s. “Doesn’t look like it, though.” 

You are reading story This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! at novel35.com

“She sleeps with the babushka. I’m not as vile as you, you know.” He smirked and put down the newspaper in his hand. “You haven’t finished talking about your plan, right? Let’s hear it now.” 

She produced a small booklet and passed it to Theo. “Four days from now, Anastasia and I will be taken to Cetheri Station in the west of the capital. I want you to be there as well.” 

“Me? At Cetheri Station?” He glanced at the booklet and raised an eyebrow. “Le train de luxe “Orient Express” est quotidien entre le Capital-Versailles-Sirap…wait a minute, this is a train timetable, isn’t it?”

“What else could it be?” Rasputina smiled. “The Orient Express bound for Sirap on the tenth—buy a ticket for yourself on that train. When you reach Sirap, seek a gentleman named Benedict. I wrote his address down on the back of the timetable. Once you are there...” She paused to hand him a simple calling card before continuing, “pass whoever receives you this—there is a note written on the back explaining my request. Head to the Exposition Universelle immediately after you’re done. Of course, I’ll compensate you for your help accordingly.”

Theo gave her a half-smile. “Too much trouble, can I refuse?” 

“...” The corners of her lips dropped, then turned up almost immediately when a thought flashed into her mind. “I’ll strip naked right here and now, is that sort of compensation satisfactory for you?” 

“No thanks,” he said firmly. “I was just joking, of course I would help a bratukha in need anytime.”

“There’s obviously something wrong with your mind for refusing such an offer,” she muttered. “So, what are you reading in that newspaper? I didnʼt think of you as someone particularly interested in current affairs.” 

“Elementary research, my dear Saintess,Sherlock Holmes reference” he said sarcastically. “You canʼt possibly be going into a massive worldʼs fair blindly searching for someone, can you?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Well, what have you found out in your so-called research, my dear Theo?” 

“Many interesting things, in fact. The grounds of the Exposition Universelle cover an area of roughly five hundred acres in the capital city Hacerne, with eighty thousand estimated exhibitors presenting over two thousand individual exhibitions. As of yesterday, the organising committee has reported that forty million tickets have been sold.”

“...huh?”

“Forty million.” Theo smiled wryly. “Even if we searched continuously for the full duration of ten days that you and Anastasia will be there, I frankly donʼt see how we can possibly find a needle in a haystack.”

“I-I have absolute faith in Master,” she mumbled, faking a reassuring smile. “Just trust his instructions and youʼll find Cecilla in no time. We canʼt afford to lose this precious opportunity to find a cure for Anastasia.” 

“Whatever you say, boss.” Theo shook his head and pointed at a paragraph in the newspaper article he had been reading. “Also, thereʼs one thing thatʼs been bothering me—itʼs about the invited nations to the Exposition Universelle.”

His serious tone made Rasputina uneasy for some reason. “S-so? What about it?” 

“The…the Ottoski Federation is officially attending the Exposition as well,” he said quietly. “I believe you know about the current state of relations between the Empire and the Federation. This may just be me being extra paranoid, but please be extremely careful when you are there.”

 

You can find story with these keywords: This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness!, Read This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness!, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! novel, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! book, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! story, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! full, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! Latest Chapter