Chapter 105
Serene sat perfectly composed in her room, fully dressed as if awaiting an audience. There wasn’t anyone watching, so Maya wondered why she bothered, tilting her head slightly.
With a light leap, Maya landed on the room’s terrace.
She had already taken note of the servants’ general routes, so she was confident she wouldn’t be discovered by going down to the terrace.
Maya knocked softly on the terrace door, but it seemed Serene, lost in thought, didn’t hear her.
‘Breaking it down would make too much noise.’
Maya knocked again, this time with just enough force not to shatter the glass. Startled, Serene stood up and, upon seeing Maya, hurried over. Her eyes sparkled, almost as if she were pleased, and it struck Maya as curious.
Somehow, she seemed more alive now than she had during the banquet.
‘Could it be that she’s opened her heart to me this much?’
Better to consider it once inside. Maya quickly stepped in.
“How did you manage to get in here?”
Serene asked in genuine surprise. Feeling a bit awkward, Maya wondered if her answer might ruin the effect of the moment.
“I just walked,” she replied honestly, since it was the truth.
“…Does that mean the security around House Baker is that lax?”
“No, it’s not that….”
Maya remembered Tristan’s advice to acknowledge her abilities when they were worth recognizing.
“It’s just that I’m exceptionally skilled.”
Serene looked taken aback at Maya’s serious expression, and then broke into laughter.
“Haha….”
Serene, still chuckling at Maya’s reply, gestured for her to sit.
“How rude of me to keep my guest standing. Please, have a seat.”
Across from the bed, a red sofa was set up with a table holding tea and sandwiches, ready as if expecting someone to arrive.
‘Though it didn’t look like anyone had taken a sip.’
Maya recalled the atmosphere of the Baker residence. Sitting across from her, Serene spoke first.
“I assume you’re here to discuss what I told His Majesty.”
“Are you… being held here?”
Maya asked, sidestepping Serene’s question with one of her own.
The unusual presence of servants lingering near this room, along with its plain decor and small size—odd for the only daughter of House Baker—all seemed to confirm her suspicions.
“I didn’t expect you to notice so quickly.”
“I have a sharp eye for these things.”
Maya replied proudly, and Serene hesitated, not sure how to respond to that.
“Since you asked, let me explain. Yes, after the incident, instead of networking at the banquet, I rested on the terrace and became involved in the disturbance, and was confined here in this room.”
Serene’s straightforward explanation only deepened Maya’s curiosity.
“Resting on the terrace is completely reasonable, and getting involved in the incident wasn’t something you could control, was it?”
“Yes, I think so, too… but perhaps if I had been more cautious and acted according to my usual routine, this situation wouldn’t have happened. My father likely thinks of this confinement as a punishment done out of love.”
“……”
“My father’s ‘love’ will end up suffocating me with the pressure it brings.”
To Serene, Count Baker was a blood tie she longed to sever. Under the guise of fatherly love, he projected his ideals onto her, molding her like Pygmalion crafting a statue.
For Serene, her future and her life had always been answers to a test predetermined by someone else. Her own opinions had never mattered.
Even her successes brought no joy, nor did the praise she received.
Under the constant correction and punishment, Serene began losing her sense of self. She’d tried talking to other noble ladies about it, but their responses were always the same.
They said that Serene Baker was simply spoiled.
That she should be grateful to have a father who cared so much.
Blood is thicker than water, they’d say. Family is family, so even if it’s difficult, accept it.
As Maya listened to Serene, her face grew darker.
“There are certainly many ways to be trash.”
“Trash…? Could you perhaps say a bit more?” Serene asked, feeling relieved just by hearing someone speak about it honestly.
“Of course. What kind of XXXX does this kind of thing? Unbelievable XXXX.”
Drawing from her experience across several knight orders, Maya unleashed a stream of expletives, the kind no one would expect from a Grand Duchess.
Serene burst into laughter all over again.
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