It wouldn’t be good if Maria got sick from being out in the cold for too long.
“It would be nice if we could,” Cesia sighed wistfully.
“Selene…” Maria gave her a lonely smile.
Cesia wasn’t Selene. After she graduated as Selene, she would have to be herself again and cut all ties with Maria. It wasn’t only Maria; everything she had gained at the Academy would become Selene’s, and in return, Cesia would receive a large sum of money. She only had to pretend to be the viscount’s daughter for a short two years, and, in addition to serving as hush money, the sum would be more than enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life. Two years ago, she hadn’t thought anything of it.
✦ ✦ ✦
JUST after returning to the Dianes’ house, Cesia changed from her school uniform into her maid’s uniform. After she undid the magic on her hair and eyes and returned to her original appearance, she headed to Selene’s room.
“Milady, it’s Cesia.”
“Come in.”
After entering, Cesia saw that, besides Selene, Raymond was also in the room. The two looked like they had just been embracing, and Selene quickly got off Raymond’s lap while he wiped his lipstick-smudged lips.
They’re really indulging themselves, Cesia thought, but then she corrected herself. They’re going to be married in a few weeks; it’s nothing to raise an eyebrow at.
“Hey, Cesia,” Raymond greeted her.
“Lord Raymond.” Cesia gave a deep servant’s bow.
“Lord Raymond” was seen as a paragon of moral virtue by many, but from Cesia’s perspective, he was an average boy for his age, sexual desire included. As Selene’s maid, I suppose I should be happy he’s on good terms with her.
“Cesia, thanks again today. Was there anything out of the ordinary?” Selene asked.
“No, nothing in particular. I was called out again like usual, however,” Cesia replied. Since it was a daily occurrence, she couldn’t call it abnormal.
Hearing Cesia’s answer, Selene’s beautiful face—which closely resembled Cesia’s—contorted into a grimace. “They don’t know when to give up, do they? Put the names of the girls who bullied you again on a list. When I become the marchioness, I’ll get back at them. Twice as much as what they did to me.”
Selene saying she would be the one to take revenge, even though she was making Cesia endure their bullying, was her standard vindictive personality.
“You’re scary, Selene,” Raymond said.
“Oh? I thought you liked girls who can hold a grudge.”
Raymond chuckled and pulled Selene in for another kiss. As the wet kissing noises echoed through the room, Cesia felt fed up when Selene lifted her face during a gap in the kissing.
“You’re still here? You can go now. The kitchen needs their dishwasher.”
“Excuse me.” Cesia nodded and left the room, heading to the kitchen. This time, she was yelled at by the chefs.
“Cesia, what were you doing?! You’re late!”
“I’m sorry.”
Did nobody else feel like washing the dishes? Seeing the plates piled high in the sink, Cesia felt annoyed again, but no matter how irritated she was, the dishes wouldn’t wash themselves. They were delicate and could break if she used cleaning magic, so she began carefully washing off the dirt stuck to each dish, one by one. During a cold season like this one, the water was freezing.
Incidentally, Cesia’s close resemblance to Selene was natural. She was Viscount Diane’s niece by blood, which made her Selene’s cousin. Her mother was Viscount Diane’s younger sister, Lilia, who ran away with a servant, the result of which was Cesia. In a cruel stroke of fate, her parents passed away during an epidemic, and, with her mother’s final words to guide her, Cesia made her way to the viscount’s estate. Viscount Diane refused to take in Cesia as family. Even that was understandable.
His younger sister’s son from an elopement years ago would have been a headache, and a daughter was just a nuisance. Still, unable to bring himself to ignore Cesia, or perhaps for some other reason, she was hired as the lowest-ranking maid in the estate. Due to her position, her pay was almost nonexistent. Her meals were leftovers of leftovers, and outside of her uniform, she only had scraps of cloth to wear. However, Cesia had nowhere else to go and was just thankful she had a roof over her head. Eventually, when Selene’s engagement to Raymond was finalized, Selene started to say, “I’ll get hassled at the Academy, so I don’t want to go.” Hearing that, her father finally remembered the niece, who closely resembled his daughter.
While washing the dishes with the bubbly detergent, Cesia remembered touching Maria’s hand. Cesia’s hands were rough from scrubbing plates, so she avoided coming into contact with others as much as possible. She could hide how her hands looked, but if anyone touched them, it would be clear that they weren’t the hands of a young noblelady.
And yet, Maria didn’t say anything. She was intelligent; Cesia knew she had to have noticed that something was off with her hands.
“Maybe after I graduate…”
We could still be friends.
Entertaining her impossible hope, Cesia sighed. When she got her reward, she would have to quit being a maid. If she stayed around the viscount’s estate, it would only be a matter of time before someone caught on to the possibility that Cesia had attended the Academy in place of her cousin. She imagined leaving the capital and searching for a place to live in a faraway village where nobody knew her or Selene.
✦ ✦ ✦
IT was only a few days before graduation, and the girls who regularly bullied Cesia were bothering her less lately. They wouldn’t want to miss preparing for the graduation party.
Cesia wouldn’t go to the party. Selene would receive her diploma in person. For that reason, and with the exams complete, Cesia didn’t have much to do except leisurely read in the nearly empty school library.
All the knowledge she had gained over the last two years of disguising herself as Selene and studying at the Academy had become a vital part of her. As for her grades, she had eked out third in her class, behind Maria and Raymond. She wouldn’t lose that knowledge—it was the only thing Selene couldn’t take from her.
“Cesia.”
Hearing her real name, Cesia’s heart jumped into her throat. Jerking her head up in a panic, she saw Raymond standing there and felt a mixture of relief and displeasure.
“Lord Raymond.” Cesia stood up from her seat and curtsied, then continued in a hushed tone. “It may not be to your satisfaction, but please address me as Selene while we’re here.”
“Ah, that’s right. My bad,” Raymond casually replied.
“Not at all…”
Cesia lowered her gaze when, out of nowhere, Raymond pushed her up against a bookshelf. She grimaced from the sudden pain in her shoulder.
“Lord Raymond? What are you—”
He grabbed her chest so tight it hurt, and Cesia felt her face go pale.
“Lord Raymond! I’m not Lady Selene!” she harshly whispered, but Raymond smirked. He licked his lips, then brought his hands down to touch Cesia’s thighs over her skirt.
“You aren’t Selene? Then, who are you?”
“I—”
“Even if anyone asks, I’ll say I was just being affectionate with my fiancée. What are you going to say?”
Cesia was at a loss for words. Here, she was Selene. Kicking up a fuss would result in it being written off as a lovers’ quarrel. She couldn’t complain as herself, either, because continuing to act as Selene at the Academy was a condition for her to be paid.
Raymond lifted her skirt, and she began to shake. When his fingers touched her bare skin, she reflexively pushed him away. “Stop it…!”
Taken by surprise, Raymond fell back on his butt. He looked up at Cesia, his face red from embarrassment and anger, and yelled, “You…! Do you know what you’ve done?!”
Jumping up, he grabbed Cesia’s hair. She trembled, not knowing what else she could do to resist him. Her eyes grew wet with tears, but not willing to give up, she glared at him. Then, an unexpected voice called for her.
“Selene? Where are you?”
It was Maria. Raymond clicked his tongue in frustration. He let go of Cesia and left before Maria reached them. Cesia plopped down on the floor helplessly and sat, hugging her shaking body.
“Selene! Are you okay?” Maria ran to her. She knelt next to Cesia and glared at Raymond’s back as he disappeared between a gap in the bookshelves. “Did that man do something to you? Are you all right?” Maria asked anxiously. She reached out to touch Cesia’s shoulder, but she stopped her hand in midair. “Selene, do you want to go to the nurse’s office?”
“I-I’m fine,” Cesia stuttered, forcing herself to speak, “it was nothing… He didn’t do anything.”
Maria winced and asked, “Can I hold your hand?”
“Yeah,” Cesia delicately held out her hand, “please…”
“Selene…” Maria firmly grasped her hand. “If you’re ever going to get payback on anyone who’s done something awful to you, let me know, okay? I’ll help you, no matter what.”
Cesia smiled faintly at Maria’s bold statement. “What are you saying?” She sighed, feeling deeply reassured by Maria’s large, cool hand.