Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 8 Part 2

“No, it’s fine. She wouldn’t have managed her affairs so poorly that you could have easily uncovered them.”

Though the Empress Dowager shook her head, a hint of regret lingered in her expression. Eleanor briefly regretted not being more proactive during her time at the Mecklen estate.

“I’ll look into it further,” Berenice offered, stepping in beside Eleanor.

“Also, find out where Rachel is right now. And if she’s dead, investigate how she lived.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Empress Dowager looked at Berenice with a gaze full of trust. Meanwhile, Eleanor recalled a conversation she had previously.

“Do you know much about Caroline?”

It was the first question the Empress Dowager asked when she secretly summoned Eleanor after the scandal broke. Eleanor had expected to be interrogated about her relationship with Childe, so the unexpected mention of Caroline’s name caught her off guard.

“I don’t know much about her.”

“That’s strange. If that were the case, there wouldn’t be a reason for such a false scandal to arise.”

The Empress Dowager emphasized the words ‘false scandal,’ tilting her head as she gently reassured Eleanor.

“I believe in you.”

“Your Majesty…”

“If I were to guess, you came to this palace to escape the Mecklen family, didn’t you?”

“……!”

“Someone who clings so desperately to me to get away from that family wouldn’t have made such a rash mistake out of mere emotion.”

The Empress Dowager had seen through Eleanor clearly. As Eleanor remained speechless, the Empress Dowager continued in a serious tone, “I don’t know what happened between you and Caroline in the Mecklen household.”

“……”

“But it would be difficult to face her alone.”

The Empress Dowager’s eyes grew distant as she recalled the past. “There was a time, long ago, when I had a maid whom I cherished dearly. It was before I began keeping ladies-in-waiting like you and the others.”

At that time, the Empress Dowager had only just ascended to her position as Empress, inexperienced and still young, much like Caroline. She hadn’t understood people well and had been clumsy in her responses. She had been as frightened as a mouse before a snake.

“Did you know? It’s no longer the case, but there used to be a custom where you could bring your maid to a party.”

“I believe I’ve heard of such a custom, Your Majesty.”

“Back then, I brought my favorite maid to a party hosted by the Duke of Ezester.”

While the Empress Dowager was enjoying the party, her cherished maid made the mistake of spilling wine on someone’s dress. And the person she had spilled it on was none other than Caroline.

“Suddenly, the maid disappeared. I searched for her for a long time, and it wasn’t until the party was almost over that she returned, her face a complete mess from being beaten.”

“……!”

Eleanor shuddered violently. The story of the maid crying with a bruised face felt as if it were her own.

“Caroline was from a provincial noble family. Back then, it was a label that followed her around. She claimed the maid had insulted her because of her provincial origins.”

“How could that be…”

“In the end, I had the maid apologize directly to Caroline. The difference in their ranks was too great. Allowing a servant’s insubordination would have undermined the social order within the imperial court.”

At the time, the Empress Dowager hadn’t known whose side to take and was torn between the two. The maid had indeed made a mistake. However, she had also confided to the Empress Dowager that Caroline had deliberately bumped into her, leading to the altercation. Caroline had started the trouble, but the maid’s response had escalated the situation beyond control.

All the nobles had turned their eyes to the Empress Dowager. Unfamiliar with politics and people, she had ultimately been swayed by the prevailing atmosphere and had the maid expelled from the palace. But Caroline hadn’t stopped there.

“She’s a viper.”

“……?”

“She never forgets a grudge. Once she harbors malice, she will pursue it to the end. Though the maid was sent out of the palace, she was forced to move several times and eventually emigrated to another country.”

“Are you saying…?”

“Caroline pursued her relentlessly, tormenting her. Even though the maid begged for forgiveness, Caroline continued to make her life miserable.”

As the Empress Dowager reflected on those past events, the old pain resurfaced. Though the maid who had emigrated eventually lived a better life, the mere mention of Caroline still sent shivers down her spine.

Caroline, a provincial noble, had eventually secured her place as the Duchess of Mecklen, flaunting her success. After the Rachel incident, the Mecklen family’s reputation, which had plummeted, was restored to its former glory with Caroline’s arrival.

“That’s why I dislike Caroline.”

“Your Majesty…”

“So I want you to be honest with me. I keep getting the feeling that, like that maid back then, something might be going on between you and Caroline.”

As the Empress Dowager candidly shared her past, Eleanor’s resolve began to waver. The truth was, she couldn’t handle Caroline on her own. Even now, Caroline was tightening her grip, continuously pushing her into a corner. With the scandal involving Childe, she needed help more than ever. After much internal struggle, Eleanor finally decided to reveal her thoughts.

“By the way… Rachel had a child, didn’t she?”

The Empress Dowager’s voice, tinged with concern, snapped Eleanor out of her thoughts. She quickly regained her composure and nodded.

“Yes. It doesn’t seem like the child was born out of an affair. If that were the case, Caroline would have never hidden it. She would have used it as leverage to torment her.”

“You’re right,” the Empress Dowager agreed.

“We need to find that child,” Berenice added to the Empress Dowager’s response.

Rachel held a key role in Caroline’s secrets. The Empress Dowager tried to piece together the faint memories in her mind. “If Rachel was pregnant with the previous Duke’s child and gave birth to it… then that incident becomes entirely invalid.”

“It’s much like the current situation with the Duchess,” Berenice murmured softly.

The incident with Rachel mirrored the situation Eleanor now found herself in.

The Empress Dowager, realizing this, nodded. “Yes. It’s similar.”

“……!”

“It’s the exact same as what happened 22 years ago.”

When the scandal broke out, Rachel was driven out of her position, and Caroline took over as the Duchess of Mecklen. If the scandal involving Childe had continued, Eleanor would have been ousted from her role as the Empress Dowager’s lady-in-waiting and handed over to Caroline.

‘Nothing has changed, neither then nor now.’

The Empress Dowager, now certain that Caroline was behind the current incident, felt a surge of anger.

“Come to think of it, Eleanor does remind me of Rachel in some ways.”

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

“Their appearance. Well, Rachel’s face was different from Eleanor’s, but… their hair color, for one. And now that I think about it, there’s a similar aura in their faces.”

Berenice, who had never seen Rachel, didn’t fully grasp the Empress Dowager’s comparison. But Eleanor immediately thought of Countess Hilda. The idea that despite their different appearances, they shared a similar atmosphere.

At first, Eleanor thought the Empress Dowager was referring to their similar hair and eye color, but hearing it a second time made her genuinely curious.

What kind of person was Rachel?

***

‘Am I going to get caught up in this mess?’

Brianna, who had stepped out into the garden under the pretense of taking a break, paced nervously. Ever since Childe had been brought to trial, the scandal involving the Duchess of Mecklen had been taking a strange turn. According to rumors, the investigation was focusing on the idea that Childe hadn’t acted alone in the scandal. They were searching for an accomplice, and the piece of dress Childe had as evidence was the key clue.

The usual confidence Brianna carried was gone, leaving her feeling anxious and considerably deflated.

“Why did it have to be the dress I gave him?”

She couldn’t shake the fear that if the investigation continued, her name might come up. Although she had no involvement in the incident, the thought of Caroline made her feel uneasy, preventing her from dismissing the possibility entirely.

‘It must be Madam Caroline.’

What began as suspicion had now solidified into certainty. Brianna was convinced that Caroline was the mastermind behind all of this. However, she couldn’t act rashly. It was Caroline who had supported her in becoming one of the Empress Dowager’s ladies-in-waiting. Caroline was also a friend of her mother and the mother of Ernst, the man Brianna had feelings for.

What if Madam Caroline was implicated, and Ernst ended up suffering because of it?

“How did things get so tangled up?”

Brianna kicked at the grass in frustration. She was torn between staying silent, risking being falsely accused of aiding Childe, and revealing the truth, which would complicate her already intricate relationships.

Moreover, the political situation was becoming increasingly unstable. The fallout from Childe’s scandal had spread far and wide, affecting many parties. The most significant consequence was the sudden shutdown of Eros. The charges were that the magazine had defamed the Duchess of Mecklen, damaged the Empress Dowager’s honor, and brought harm to the imperial family. The closure of the empire’s largest publication overnight had been a severe shock to Brianna.

‘I should just pretend I don’t know anything.’

In the end, there was only one answer. Just because she had gifted the dress didn’t mean she was automatically connected to Childe’s crime. She could simply insist that she had given it to the Duchess out of goodwill, nothing more. Trying to soothe her growing unease, Brianna let out a deep sigh.

“Lady Brianna!”

“Countess Lorentz?”

Hearing her name called from afar, Brianna stood up.

“There you are. I was looking for you since you weren’t at the lunch table.”

“Oh, it’s that late already?”

“It’s well past noon. You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Come, let’s go.”

Only then did Brianna realize how much the sun had dipped. She had been so preoccupied with Childe’s situation that she hadn’t even noticed the time passing. As Countess Lorentz gently tugged at her arm, Brianna quietly followed her.

“Is something bothering you?”

“Pardon?”

“You’ve been so quiet lately. You’ve even been skipping meals more often, haven’t you?”

Despite her efforts to appear calm, Brianna’s emotions were easy to read. When Countess Lorentz, with her sharp eye, noticed her unease, Brianna quickly turned her head.

“Oh, no. It’s nothing, really.”

“Nothing? You seem to have a lot on your mind. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Countess Lorentz coaxed her gently, her concern for Brianna’s worries apparent.

As she looked up at the towering, rounded roof of the distant palace, Brianna hesitated. But the weight of her thoughts was too heavy to share carelessly.

After much hesitation, Brianna finally managed to say a single sentence. “It’s really nothing… nothing at all.

And with that, Brianna chose to remain silent.

***

As Brianna and Countess Lorentz headed off for their meal, Eleanor, acting under the Empress Dowager’s orders, was moving in secret. She boarded a carriage that took her to none other than the underground prison directly managed by the Imperial family. The prison, where criminals guilty of severe offenses were confined, exuded a gloomy atmosphere right from the entrance.

“I was informed in advance by Her Majesty,” the warden, who oversaw the prison, greeted Eleanor.

Dressed in attire that starkly contrasted with the somber surroundings, the noblewoman stepped into the prison where Childe was being held.