“Come to think of it, your family lives around here, right, Kelly?”
“They live in a small town in the capital’s suburbs.”
“I’d like to go and convince your parents to give up on their matchmaking efforts.”
“Lady Agnes...” Kelly’s eyes flickered quietly. “Thank you very much for worrying about me. In their letters, my parents told me to go home for a bit, but I don’t want to get you involved.”
Be that as it may, Kelly’s family still insisted on trying to bring her back, so if their letters weren’t effective, there was a chance they would come to our estate in person. Up until now, I’d sheltered many noblewomen in our estate who’d suffered at the hands of their families. I’d seen many families, my own included, where differences in opinion had led to problems. Countless self-proclaimed guardians and people involved with the former noblewomen we safeguarded had barged in to try and take them back. Every last one of those people had been completely unreasonable and only tried to impose their own opinions on others.
Maybe Kelly’s family isn’t like that, though. In any case, I need to talk to them. I believed this was where I should sternly convey what Kelly wanted to her family—as the margravine! I’ll firmly protect Kelly’s wishes like a sturdy levee!
Perhaps sensing my inner determination, Kelly swiftly spoke up.
“Excuse me, Lady Agnes, but I truly am all right.”
“I want to worry about you. Besides, your family home is close to here, so this is the chance to properly convey your intentions to them.”
“But we’ve come here to celebrate the princes’ birthday...”
“We’ve arrived ahead of time, so it will be fine for only me to take a detour. I’ll need to come up with an excuse to give to Lord Nazel...”
“Excuse me for a moment.” Kelly suddenly walked up to the door.
“Hmm?”
Next, without saying a word, she quickly threw the door open, revealing Lord Nazel, who was standing there like he wanted to say something. I was left completely slack-jawed.
“I’m sorry. I came here to call you two to dinner, but Agnes was loud, so I could hear your conversation.”
“O-Oh no...” I had meant to be quiet, but I’d gotten emotional before knowing and raised my voice. I covered my mouth with both hands and stood stock-still. “I-I’m sorry, Kelly...”
“Please, don’t worry about it. I’m the one who noticed him but kept quiet.” Kelly was as kind as ever...
“Thank you, Kelly. Let’s all go have dinner then.”
However, my attempt to trick Lord Nazel ended in failure. He was looking at me with a very pressuring smile.
“So, Agnes? What kind of excuse were you planning to give me?”
“Eep!” I started retreating toward the wall and was about to say, “It was nothing!” but Lord Nazel walked over and captured me before I could say anything. I was caught between Lord Nazel and a hard wall—there was nowhere to run.
But I don’t want to reveal Kelly’s personal circumstances without her permission. What should I do? Though I figured he’d already heard most of it.
“Well, um, you see...”
As I was chewing on my words, Kelly shut the door again and spoke up.
“Things will likely become confusing if I keep this secret, so I’m going to reveal everything myself. You see, my family has been sending me letters...” Kelly promptly gave Lord Nazel the same explanation she’d given me earlier. Thus he unexpectedly came to know the details surrounding the marriage interview, and his reaction was similar to mine.
“I see. Even though you turned them down, they keep attempting to force you into a marriage interview. They sure have some nerve trying to forcibly take away Sutrena’s valuable head handmaiden.” Lord Nazel’s anger was quiet, but definitely present. “So that’s how it is. I understand Kelly’s family situation to a certain extent now. It seems that there’s something behind her parents’ unyielding attitude. The person they want you to marry might have offered your family something.”
“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but your reasoning makes sense. The first letter politely suggested the marriage interview, but as I kept refusing, the tone of the letters got harsher and harsher, and the contents shifted to trying to force me into the marriage.”
According to Kelly, the latest letter had included threatening words such as, “You would disregard your parents’ kindness? What a coldhearted daughter,” “Don’t you care about what happens to our lives at all?” and even “There will be consequences for this, you heartless girl.”
“Therefore,” Kelly continued, “I’ve been worried that sooner or later, someone from my family will come to Sutrena and cause trouble for the House of Florescruz.”
If Kelly hadn’t told us any of this today, she would have probably continued being stressed over her family all on her own. This time, meddling in her business was the correct choice.
It seemed that Lord Nazel was also seriously considering how to deal with Kelly’s marriage interview. However, his arms were still gently keeping me in place.
“Agnes, are you planning to go meet Kelly’s parents?” he asked.
I replied with a vigorous nod.
“All right. In that case, I’ll go with you. I’m Kelly’s employer and the head of the House of Florescruz.”
Although Kelly was always with me, Lord Nazel was her actual employer. She held the high-ranking position of head handmaiden in our estate and had served us longer than any of our other servants. It wouldn’t be strange for Lord Nazel, the head of the household, to go meet her parents...I supposed.
“Will that be all right with you, Kelly?” I thought I should check with the person in the center of this, just in case.
Kelly hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.
“I sincerely apologize for all the trouble my family circumstances have caused you.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re always a huge help to us. Right, Lord Nazel?”
“Of course. You always put yourself last, so I’d like you to let us help you at least at a time like this.” It seemed that Lord Nazel and I were of the same mind.
Kelly was the only person who’d accompanied Lord Nazel and me to Sutrena, back when we’d had no idea how things would unfold. She was important to both of us.
“I’ll talk to Prince Valen. Now then, let’s go actually have dinner this time,” Lord Nazel said.
Kelly and I both nodded in response.