Actually, I was the Real One

A hostess was often responsible for banquets held by nobles.
However, there was no mistress in the Grand Duchy of Parvis.
The first wife was divorced, and the second died shortly after giving birth to Zeke.

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Thus, Keira became the person in charge of the banquet.
But considering her age, she couldn’t have had much experience taking charge of such events.

Ludwig: “I invited a madam to assist you.
You’ve never hosted a banquet like this before, so you’ll need help.”

If she had experience before she went back in time, she wouldn’t have needed assistance, but sadly it wasn’t the case.

Ludwig had Viscountess Shore in mind to assist Keira.
As Rose described, the Viscountess was a composed and level headed woman.

“She’s an elegant but fastidious woman.”

Her scheduled visit was after lunch.

Keira was lost in thought as she walked.

‘Should I send someone to the Magic Tower to ask if there’s magic that can turn back time… No, I’ve already searched about spirits; it would be suspicious to send someone to the Magic Tower.’

While it was natural for her to be interested in spirits, she had nothing to do with people at the Magic Tower.
It would be suspicious if she asked about magic that could turn back time out of nowhere.

Things would be more difficult if the Grand Duke kept a close eye on her tracks because of it.

‘As far as I know, there isn’t magic that could turn back time.’

Keira learned magic and performed quite well, though she only studied combat magic.
Magic related to time and space, on the other hand, was difficult to learn.

If it was even possible to turn back time, magicians would consider it a miracle, not magic.

So, let’s say that a miracle of going back in time happened.
Why was Keira, who did nothing, the only one who had memories of the past? Who and why did they turn back time, and why did she have memories of the past?

Just why?

It was useless no matter how much she thought about it.

At that time, there was a shadow walking near where she was, treading slowly, still unaware that Keira was there.

Emily: “Ack! M-milady.”

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Keira: “Oh, Emily.”

She walked cautiously to Keira, her face showing her surprise when Keira called her by her name.

Emily: “Y-you know my name…?”

Keira: “Yes, Rose told me.”

Her memory was not so bad that she’d forget what she heard yesterday.

Keira: “But what are you doing?”

Emily: “I-I’m here to give this to you.”

Emily stuttered, holding out a book.
Originally, she only planned to have Rose pass it on to the lady.

“Why don’t you give it to her yourself? It’s good to make a lasting impression[1] on her.”

Rose then refused to take the book, giving her no choice but to give the item to the lady herself.

Lasting impression?

Emily, who wanted to live a long and peaceful life, had no desire to catch the attention of the fearsome lady.

She didn’t expect such a woman to read romance novels, but that didn’t necessarily mean Emily stopped being scared of her.

Emily: “Yesterday, you asked me to recommend a book similar to ‘Stella. ’”

Keira: “Oh, right.”

Keira glanced at the spot behind Emily where two people were standing behind a pillar.

‘Why are they hiding behind the pillars?’

Maybe it was Emily’s colleagues.
They were probably walking together and hid when Emily approached Keira.

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It was suspicious why maids in the house were hiding like thieves, but Keira thought of a possibility.

‘By any chance…?’

Were they hiding from afar because they wanted to talk about the books like she wanted to the other day?

Unbeknownst to Keira, Emily brought her friends because she was afraid to go alone.

People often perceive others’ actions by their own standards.[2]

Keira: “Don’t hide behind the pillar.
Come out.”

She heard them gasp.

Soon after, two maids around Emily’s age appeared.
For reasons Keira couldn’t comprehend, the two maids looked pale.

(Maid 1): “M-m-milady, this is…”

(Maid 2): “W-we didn’t mean to eavesdrop like that.”

Keira: “I know.”

If they had every intention of spying, they wouldn’t have been so clumsy in hiding.

‘Calm down, calm down,’ Keira thought to herself as she tried to hold in her excitement.
It was a little embarrassing to show too much joy at the situation.

Keira: “Did you happen to be hiding to talk about the book?”

(Maid 1): “…Pardon?”

(Maid 2): “…Yes?”

The two maids, Lira and Miranda, eyed each other.
What was milady talking about? It was unexpected, but it was better than the lady thinking they were spying on her.

They nodded their heads desperately.

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“Yes, yes!”

“O-of course, since we’re not properly educated, we can’t have a conversation that suits your level, but–!”

Keira: “Oh, that’s what’s it was, then?”

So, that’s why they were hiding.
Keira nodded softly.

‘Because they were scared to talk to me, they just hid and stared from afar.’

Just as she couldn’t join in on the maids’ conversation because she was shy.

She felt a sense of camaraderie.

‘Is this really… an opportunity?’

A chance to talk about hobbies with others in a natural way!

She was still a little embarrassed to talk with many people about romance novels, but she couldn’t resist the opening that came.

Keira calmed her trembling heart and opened her mouth.

Keira: “This book, I’d like to hear a little bit about it before I read it.”

Maid: “Y-yes?”

Keira tried to speak naturally, but she guessed it wasn’t enough.
The maids were trembling.

‘What else did I do wrong this time?’

It was like that when interacting with the knights; it really was hard to get along with the employees of the house.

Keira once again spoke softly.

Keira: “I want to hear a little bit about this book before I read it.”

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The maids couldn’t help but answer when the lady asked them.
Emily trembled and squeezed out an answer.

Emily: “The main character, a maid, meets His Majesty the Crown Prince, and ascends to the throne…”

Maid: “It’s a story about a maid working at the palace, and becoming the Hwangjabi[3].”

Keira: “…Hwangjabi? Does that make sense?”

The prince bringing a maid into the royal family… She’s never heard of such a thing.

Stella was a little poor, but she was a noble.
It wasn’t absurd for her to end up with a rich count.

No matter how blindly in love a prince was, would he marry a commoner? Keira didn’t think anyone would ever see that.

“That is… it’s because it’s a novel.”

“Yes, it’s a novel.”

“There are fantasy novels where the protagonist travels to a different world or reincarnates into a completely different person.
Compared to that, it’s realistic for a maid to end up marrying a prince.”

Was that so?

Keira’s head tilted.

In fact, one of the works published by a renowned writer recently was about a person who turned into a worm.

Compared to that, wasn’t it more realistic for a maid to become a princess consort?

By the time she nodded, convinced, Emily spoke more.

[1] The author used “눈도장” (nundojang) and it’s a saying akin to ‘catch their attention.’ [2] Most likely, this means people would have different interpretations of other people’s actions.
[3] 황자비 (hwangjabi) means ‘the prince’s wife’

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