Chapter 38: Bridal-Carried by the Prince

“Lady Emma, a carriage from the Sullivan house has arrived for you.” At the sound of her maid’s voice, the girl in a white floral dress turned around. Her outfit was a far cry from the revealing clothes that were popular in the capital, but it suited her nicely.

The girl, with golden blonde hair, light green eyes, and flawless pale skin, nodded with a worried expression. The frail young thing did her best to hide her sighs from her maid. If she just sat quietly, she would appear to be a perfectly proper young lady, but alas...

“Martha? Do I reallyhave to go?” The girl had been invited to a banquet where the royal family would be in attendance. She had begged and cried to be excused from it, but she was the daughter of a count—no matter how rural her region—and an invitation from royalty was something a count’s daughter couldn’t escape.

“Lady Emma, if youtruly do not wish to go, you can tell Duchess Sullivan yourself. Now be off. You mustn’t keep her waiting.” Martha wasn’t so easily moved, well-versed in her attempts to get out of school with those same puppy-dog eyes. She’d been taking care of the girl her whole life, so she knew far too well what she was trying to do.

“M-My stomach kinda hurts!”

“You must have eaten too much.”

“I-I have a headache!”

“I’m sure it’s just your imagination.”

“I-I might have a cold?”

“A fake one, I presume.”

“Urgh... Martha, you’re so awful to me...” Emma slumped her shoulders and trudged to the carriage, fully resigned to her fate.

The woman accompanying Emma today was none other than Duchess Hilda Sullivan, her grandmother from her mother’s side. She was an exceptionally stern woman who was known throughout the capital as the Etiqu