C30
After thinking out loud, I picked up one of the paintings that had fallen to the floor and handed it to the head of the maids who seemed to have finished her conversation with Laura.
"This is the only decent portrait."
It was the smallest of the eight paintings.
"Just because Laura accepts your apology doesn't mean I'm giving it to you instead of breaking it."
The head maid hugged the tattered painting tightly with an expression of emotion.
"Thank you. Thank you very much, young lady. Thank you too, Laura."
"Make sure you never do it again."
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind!"
This was my strategy of "receiving thanks after being scolded to exhaustion." Usually, if you do ten things right and one wrong, you get criticized, but on the other hand, you often receive quite favorable attention.
Now, let's think about it carefully and try to escape before they notice anything strange.
If they contact the Cassius mansion in the capital and tell them to detain me there, things would become a little more problematic.
After dismissing the head maid and the three maids, I took the jewelry box that I had placed in the safe in my room. For now, I put the things Leandro had given me that were worth money.
Since he's a wonderful older brother to the female protagonist, he won't do something so unpleasant as to take back the gift he gave me when we parted, right, Mr. Leandro?
Anyway, it became mine the moment he gave it.
Apart from that, I didn't have anything I was particularly attached to, so I just took one or two things besides the diary.
"Let's get out quickly!"
"Yes."
"Oh, let's go now!"
I left the place where I had stayed for two years, accompanied by Terence and Laura, who shared my luggage. I had the feeling that I would never return.
"Come this way."
We only chose passages that the servants didn't use frequently.
While I was here, I couldn't act as a hostess and was very free, so observing people was one of my pastimes. Thanks to this, I had a rough idea of who passed where and when in my work system.
Even if they saw me leaving, it was obvious that they would catch me and ask where I was going.
"There's a dog's burrow there."
I also found the dog's burrow while walking through the garden on a day off because I couldn't control my free time.
I don't know if the hole is big enough for Terence to pass through, but he could probably jump a high wall.
But even when we almost reached the hole, we had no choice but to stop.
"It's been a while, young lady."
The old man stood in front of me and courteously bowed his head.
"... butler."
He was the general manager of all Cassius employees, the most trusted servant of the duke, and the head of the butlers.
"It's difficult."
If the head butler hesitates to make repairs, other employees will come. Of course, they couldn't harm me, but if they clung to the hem of my skirt, my departure would inevitably be delayed.
The head butler, perhaps aware of my concerns, closely observed the refreshing garden landscape.
"I remember the first time the young lady came here after getting married."
It was a calm and weak attitude.
"When she looked at this castle that I had spent half my life cultivating and said it was beautiful, I felt happy inside."
At a moment like this, I intuitively realized that this was just a story of the past.
The butler knows the series of events surrounding my divorce.
"I heard the story from Mr. Leandro. The young master, or rather the young duke, only briefly informed me of the situation."
"Are you going to call someone and stop me from leaving?"
"By no means. If I were to do that, I would have already canceled all transportation to the train station or blocked all the roads in Ashton."
"Really?!"
I didn't know if it would be possible to tie me down until the trial date, but the loss to this city and Cassius territory would be significant.
"Well, since Terence is here, the worst won't happen."
Once Terence communicates with the emperor, it's over. As much as it's Cassius, they couldn't imprison the emperor's son without justification.
But that would make things quite troublesome, so I asked, feeling a bit nervous.
"So, what do you want from me?"
"... Nothing specific. I just came today to bid my farewell."
"Last? Isn't there a guarantee that I'll get divorced?"
"The fact that a marriage is maintained doesn't mean that the couple has to live in the same house."
Furthermore.
"Whether it succeeds or not, it's as clear as day that the lady's heart will never return to this place."
The head butler, who seemed older than me and had the impression of a wise man, stepped aside. It seemed like he was telling me to hurry.
At that moment, I could hear the voices of the Cassius soldiers patrolling from a distance.
"Young lady..."
"Let's go quickly."
At Terence and Laura's urging, I passed by the butler with a sense of unease and headed for the dog's burrow.
After leaving Cassius Castle without any issues, we boarded the carriage we had used to get here.
Thanks to us giving the driver a generous tip in advance, he dropped us off, pretended to leave, and exited the castle to wait nearby.
"Where should we go?"
Terence tried to answer the driver's question.