Chapter 47: Eitana, the Head Chambermaid (2)│Read translated stories and daily updates at: Awebstories.com
Eitana escorted Alesia out of the palace at the end of the allotted time.
Alesia didn’t say anything to Eitana, just said her goodbye and walked away.
—○
(This can’t be. It’s not possible. Because Aura-sama was beheaded and died, he couldn’t have appeared before me.)
I told myself this over and over again, trying not to lose my composure.
Many years ago, I was in the midst of the crowd.
I watched her die in the midst of people yelling at her to be killed as soon as possible.
I assumed it was my responsibility.
I sat silently in the sunshade I wore over my head to keep the people around me from noticing my tears.
The great wizard who was interrogated and tortured but refused to admit her guilt until the very end.
My beloved Lady Aura.
Before becoming the king’s betrothed, she traveled throughout the country for the benefit of her people, creating water and causing crops to grow.
Only I, a housekeeper devoted to Aura-sama, visited her daily after she was imprisoned to encourage her.
“Only Eitana is convinced of my innocence—thank you very much. May God bless you.”
Aura-sama stood firm, even though her throat was burned so that she could not utter the incantation, and she was beaten and kicked, her whole body covered with scars and bruises. Her hair was blood-stained and in bunches here and there, but she maintained her dignity.
I was younger than she was, and I adored her as if she were a goddess, like my older sister.
But…In the room of Aura-sama, whom I adored so much, I planted a forged letter.
—○█○—
“I can’t do it, Prime Minister!”
“I understand. Your mother and siblings could then be killed in an “accident”. They could live longer if you were a little more adaptable. I’m sorry.”
“T-This has nothing to do with my family!”
“Yes, it does. You are aware of this, aren’t you? You’re worthless, and all you have to do to protect your family is plant a letter. I’ll even give you a reward—be wise, Eitana, and demonstrate your filial piety.”
Because of the flood, the country was in disarray. I didn’t have the status or money to ask for protection for my family, and I didn’t want to die to discredit Aura-sama. I also knew that if I refused out of loyalty, that role would have to be filled by someone else.
Since he was accused of causing the flood, Aura-sama has been imprisoned. Aura-room sama’s was guarded, but I was allowed to enter after saying, “I was ordered to dispose of Aura-sama’s clothes.”
Nobody expected Aura-sama’s beloved housekeeper to plant a forged letter. Even the security guard followed me into the room, but he turned away as I packed the ladies’ underwear.
As a result, a letter was discovered in Aura-sama’s room ten days after I placed it, stating that “she had made a secret agreement with someone from another country,” and as solid evidence of treason, Aura-sama was sentenced to death.
Aura-sama was concerned about my future when I went to see her for the last time to say goodbye.
“You may face difficulties in the future as a result of your service to me. I apologize, Eitana. Thank you for everything you’ve done—May God love you and give you a long life.”
Her voice, which sounded like the agonizing breath of a burned throat, had become so shrill due to her weakened state that I could only hear it if I held my ear close to her mouth.
—○█○—
It was late in the afternoon. Eitana recalls every detail vividly while drinking an unfamiliar drink in her palace room.
She packed first, then wrote a letter.
As penance, she apologized to Lady Aura again.
—○
I want this to be the final chapter.
I wrote in the letter that I was going to commit suicide on the road.
…I’ll leave at dawn to live quietly somewhere far away.
I made an effort not to feel guilty about my family.
I had never married; instead, I worked and sent money to my siblings until they were adults. For decades, I have carried my heart’s anguish alone.
I want to be liberated.
I can hear Alesia’s, or rather Aura-sama’s, voice asking, “This can’t be an accident. You did this.”
The King and Queen, the Prime Minister, and their families. The great men were killed to the point of being replaced by new ones.
Everything was swept up in a wave of anger from the people, and nobles were killed without a trial.
Among the ladies-in-waiting, the daughters of the high nobility disappeared one day, and there were rumors that they had fled the country or died in private executions.
I was not noticed because I was the daughter of a low-ranking noble family, and I was able to continue working for the new king.
—○
Eitana poured herself a glass of strong wine and gulped it down.
“…God had not forgotten what I had done.”
As she poured the second cup of tea, a girl named Alesia said to her, “Thank you, Eitana-san.”
—○
I didn’t tell her who I was. Did Her Highness Edna reveal who would be meeting her ahead of time?
No, she didn’t. In fact, Mimir was in charge of picking up Alesia. Just before the meeting, I took over. Alesia, on the other hand, recognized my name because she was the reincarnation of Aura-sama.
But how could she have been reincarnated?
“Perhaps she could do it.”
Aura-sama accomplished many feats that I never imagined were possible. Maybe that’s why she could be reborn, to settle her grudge.
—○
Eitana drank the entire bottle of liquor before falling asleep on the floor with her head against the bed.
—○
“You work extremely hard. I’m fortunate to have found a reliable housekeeper. Please accept this. For all of your cleaning efforts and for always buying me hawthorn candy.”
In my dream, Aura-sama praised me as a new housekeeper.
Aura-sama hands me a bracelet studded with large round crystals.
That’s when I awoke with a severe headache.
—○
Eitana imagined her parents sleeping eternally beneath the tomb and her siblings laughing with their children and grandchildren.
—○
I was just trying to protect my family at the time.
The prime minister’s thin, wrinkled face comes to mind.
“It’s his fault, not mine.”
Maybe I’ll be forgiven if I can restore Aura-sama’s honor.
I feel bad for my siblings, but they must deal with this on their own.
I’ve put in a lot of effort for my family.
There will be no more.
—○
She takes her crystal bracelet from the back drawer.
(I could sell it and profit.)
However, it appears to be stuck in something in the drawer—the small bag containing the bracelet is difficult to remove.
Eitana, who is drunk, pulls on it with all her might, and the hook appears to come loose, and the small crystal bags pop out.
The bracelet inside jumped out and fell to the floor.
The string that held the bracelet together snapped, most likely as a result of the impact, and the crystal beads scattered.
—Read translated stories and daily updates at: Awebstories.com—
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