After a few minutes passed, Rieta peeked her head out of the newspaper and saw that Agnes was chewing on a large piece of bread.
…I’m glad it worked.
She let out a sigh of relief and was about to bow her head again when her eyes met Agnes, who was looking this way.
“Urk.”
Surprised, Agnes accidentally choked on the food, and Rieta threw down the newspaper and ran to get some water.
“Cough, cough!”
“Slowly, slowly, have some water!”
Rieta patted Agnes on the back until the coughing stopped.
Agnes, who stopped coughing after a while, must have been a little embarrassed by the situation. She suddenly began to avoid Rieta’s eyes, turning her head away.
Somehow… I think she’s a bit cute?
That’s what Rieta thought, but she couldn’t say that to Agnes, who was older.
She thought that if she said that in the first place, Agnes would distance herself even more.
Then what should I say at a time like this?
She was so worried. Agnes’ quiet voice entered Rieta’s ears.
“I haven’t received it yet…”
“Huh?”
“The payment.”
Ah, it seemed that she was now answering the question Rieta had asked in the garden.
Rieta smiled brightly when she heard the unexpected answer.
“And, thank you.”
Agnes quietly thanked her with a squeezed tone, and quickly left.
Her round ears were very red.
* * *
Rieta learned of some of her father’s new policies from the newspapers and from the records in the royal family.
The most notable of all was that he put a price on title and position and sold them at a high price.
For the person who sets a price for his daughter too, there was no way he wouldn’t sell those.
Thanks to this, the palace was overflowing with people who were far from culture and duty.
They were usually idlers who wandered about various jobs without any particular duties.
And Rieta was now confronting such people.
She glared sharply at the two men who had come to the parlor of the palace.
First, they introduced themselves as knights.
“Sir Moody, Sir Taylor.”
Following their explanation, Rieta nodded her head.
“What did you come for?”
They handed out a dusty, dirty box to Rieta, who asked rather cautiously.
Opening the box, a white wedding dress caught her eye.
“…This.”
“It was said to have been worn by the Princess’ mother.”
With Moody’s explanation, Rieta happily took out the dress.
Because she seldom held her mother’s things.
She looked at the dress for a while and asked to confirm one thing.
“Why, Sirs…?”
“That, I mean . . .”
They nodded simultaneously, then went on complaining.
“The mercenaries are stealing things, so His Majesty seems to be anxious too.”
“He’s asking us knights to rummage through warehouses.”
Oh, that’s what it was. Rieta nodded.
It seemed that he was anxious about the last incident and used the surplus manpower.
Apparently, these two men weren’t doing anything much in particular, they’re just bragging about their knighthood. (That fact was tipped off by the maids.)
Rieta unfolded the dress to check, and thanked them.
“Thank you for bringing me this precious dress…”
However, she could not finish the greeting.
She noticed something odd about the dress.
There was a nasty tear at the lower end where there should have been jewels or decorations.
Rieta looked at the two knights’ faces and asked.
“Who the hell touched my mother’s dress?”
Her fingertips touched the stitches that were sticking out.
Despite the fair question, Moody and Taylor raised their cheeky faces.
“Isn’t it the role of the groom to tear off the bride’s clothes?”
“Of course the King would have touched it. He had a lot of fun.”
Adding giggles and vulgar remarks.
“…”
Rieta didn’t want to answer that dirty language, so she touched the messy dress.
Of course she didn’t have much memory of her mother, and she didn’t have any special feelings for it.
But that doesn’t mean it was okay for her mother’s belongings to be treated this way.
It would have been better if… the whole dress had been sold.
If so, it would have remained intact somewhere.
Rieta bit her lip.
“Well.”
Moody said in a nonsensical tone.
“If you look at it from a distance, you honestly wouldn’t notice. A few diamonds and sapphires smaller than the fingernails have gone missing, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a dress anymore.”
Rieta was stunned at the words. There was not the slightest consolation.
Besides, doesn’t this statement tantamount to confessing that they ripped off the jewels?
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