"My Lady, just what are you doing inside that wardrobe?"
Mira's voice echoed through the chamber as she opened the wardrobe and found Yulianna inside it like a lost child. She watched her biting her nails, murmuring under her breath as if she were at war with herself.
"I'm thinking, Mira. Just save your nagging for later, okay?"
Sighing, Mira placed the dresses on the sofa before returning to Yulianna. "Sulking, you mean, my lady?"
Hearing this, Yulianna hissed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Ahh—damn it, this is driving me crazy! I can't even think straight, Mira. What do I do?"
"Do what, my lady? What are you so worried about that you'd hide inside the wardrobe?"
"You…" Yulianna trailed off, watching her maid wait patiently for her words. "Did I ever mention the name Lord Micael to you before?"
"Lord Micael? No, you didn't. Why?"
Hopelessly, Yulianna's shoulders slumped. She went back to biting her nails, forcing her mind to recall something from the past—but she couldn't grasp even a fragment of it.
Why did this woman get into that accident? Come to think of it, it was far too coincidental that she drowned in that river just as her birthday was approaching. Just what did she know?
"My lady, at this rate, you'll go bald from running your fingers through your hair endlessly like that." Mira's voice cut into her thoughts once more.
"I don't know what you're so worried about, but you should take it slowly. Don't force yourself to remember what your mind has already forgotten. It won't do you any good."
"Mira, is your ability mind reading? Because you're very good at it," Yulianna replied, a hint of sarcasm lacing her voice.
"I don't have any reading ability, my lady."
"Then how did you know I was forcing myself to remember something?"
Mira paused, then offered a flat smile. "Anyone who sees you like this would think so, my lady. You look like your head is about to burst if you keep at it."
"You… were you always this tricky?" Yulianna asked suspiciously. "Why does it feel like you're becoming more comfortable as the days go by? I'm sure you didn't act like this before."
Mira smiled again. "I could say the same thing, my lady. I was quite confident that you didn't behave the way you do now before. Should I enlighten you—"
"Oh—right, I just remembered I have something important to do, Mira. I'll see you later at lunch." With that, Yulianna sprinted out of the chamber in a flash.
Mira could only shake her head as she returned to her chores. Even now, I still can't predict my lady's behavior.
—
Yulianna headed straight for Lady Vera's chamber, ignoring the startled looks of the maids as she glided through the hallway like a viper.
When she reached the towering doors, she knocked relentlessly until they opened, revealing her so-called stepmother's stern face.
"Well, that was faster than I expected," she muttered, a broad smile forming on her lips.
"Do you have any decency left at all?" Lady Vera snapped in her usual cold voice. "Do you know what you were—"
"Cut it out, stepmother, will you?" Yulianna interrupted, her tone flat with boredom. She stepped inside without waiting for an invitation and settled herself onto the soft velvet sofa.
"I'm here to confirm something," she continued, her expression hardening. "So you'd better tell me the truth if you still want to stay in this place."
Lady Vera scoffed, disbelief etched across her face. "Do you even hear yourself? How dare you threaten me in that tone—"
"Listen carefully, ma'am. Don't make me repeat myself, I'll say it once." Yulianna cut her off, watching Lady Vera stiffen.
"If you keep wasting my time with nonsense, I will keep my word. I can say this because I can—and you can't do anything about it. So don't fucking wear down my patience. I'm about to lose control. You wouldn't want me to put the blame on you, would you?"
The authority in Yulianna's voice silenced Lady Vera. A tense stillness followed, their eyes waging a silent war.
At last, Lady Vera looked away. She took a seat opposite Yulianna, swallowing hard. "What do you want?"
"The river accident," Yulianna said, easing herself slightly. "Do you know anything about it?"
She met Lady Vera's gaze head-on. Disbelief and irritation stared back at her, but there was no trace of guilt that Yulianna could see.
"So now you're accusing me?" Lady Vera replied disdainfully. A flicker of pain crossed her eyes, too fleeting for Yulianna to fully catch.
"I don't know anything about it," Lady Vera added, her voice firm. She scoffed again, this time glaring with open hatred. "First you blamed me for your recklessness during the hunting competition, and now this river incident?"
Yulianna exhaled quietly. "If you're not guilty, then I didn't mean to accuse you."
"Guilty? Hah!" Lady Vera shouted, veins standing out along her neck. "The only thing I'm guilty of is staying in this place and dealing with people like you!"
Yulianna's eyes narrowed. "Why do you hate my existence so much?"
Lady Vera let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "Hate? I despise people like you, those born with privilege who look down on commoners as if their existence were a sin."
"Your resentment toward nobles who look down on you has nothing to do with me," Yulianna said coolly. She stood, then paused beside Lady Vera. "Your judgment of others is no different from the rotten nobles you despise most. You don't just hate them, you hate the fact that you could never have the life they did, and you blame others for it. That's the kind of person I hate the most."
Without another glance, Yulianna left Lady Vera's chamber.
She walked through the hallway absentmindedly, trying to piece together the fragments in her mind. She was close—so close—to uncovering the truth behind the river incident, yet something was still missing.
Without wasting any more time, she headed toward the one place she knew might hold the final answer—the shed in the garden.
—
"M-My Lady, w-what are you doing here?"
It took Yulianna a few moments to reach the garden behind the manor. Just as she expected, the maid she had anticipated stood inside the shed, her face pale.
Gotcha.
Smiling broadly, Yulianna stepped inside. "My, I should be the one asking you that question," she said, moving closer as the maid instinctively stepped back. "Lunch is coming—shouldn't you be helping the others prepare for it?"
Wide-eyed, the maid seemed to remember. "F-Forgive me, my lady. I—I wasn't thinking clearly. I should take my leave—"
"Not so fast, my dear." Yulianna closed the distance between them.
Do people in this era always look this good?
"W-What do you mean, m-my lady?"
Yulianna lifted a hand and gently fixed a loose strand of the maid's hair, making her eyes widen even more. "I mean… I just arrived, and you're already leaving? Why don't you stay a while and enlighten me?"
"M-My lady?"
The corner of Yulianna's lips curved upward. "I don't remember much about what happened in that river," she said, glancing toward the wide stretch of water not far from the garden. "Would you mind recalling what actually happened before I drowned?"
Sweat poured down the maid's face. Her breathing grew shallow, her eyes wide with shock as her body trembled. If Yulianna hadn't caught her, she would have collapsed.
"I—I…" the maid stammered.
"Easy. I'm not going to eat you alive," Yulianna soothed, steadying her. "This is important to me. I know you were here when the incident happened, and I need you to tell me what you saw."
The maid broke down in sobs. "I-I'm so sorry, my lady. I shouldn't have let you do it. It's my fault—I failed to protect you."
"Tell me your name," Yulianna asked gently, wiping away her tears with her thumb.
"L-Lena..."
"Alright, Lena." Yulianna offered a soft smile. "I know this is your favorite place to unwind, and that it's become a haunting one after the incident. But you need to tell me what you saw that day."
Lena hesitated, guilt and regret clouding her face before she began to sob again. "I-I was resting here at the time, waiting for the sun to fully set," she said shakily.
"Then I noticed you watching the sunset near the cliff. I didn't think much of it—you love wandering the garden. But then you started crying, and I went to you and asked what was wrong. You asked for my name, too."
"I'm afraid I might not be able to watch the sunset again, Lena."
"T-That's what you said… and then y-you…"
Lena's body shook violently, her cries echoing through the shed. She couldn't seem to steady herself—whether from grief or terror, Yulianna couldn't tell. Though she longed for answers, Yulianna didn't rush her. She knew what Lena had witnessed was far too traumatic.
She continued rubbing Lena's back, waiting patiently despite the tension tightening in her chest. By now, part of her already knew the truth—but she refused to draw conclusions without hearing it.
"Tell me, Lena. What happened next?" Yulianna asked softly.
"Y-You smiled… and j-jumped into the river, my lady. I didn't even realize what was happening. I'm so sorry."
She did end her life.
Yulianna released a long breath. The mystery behind the river incident was finally solved—it had been orchestrated by Yulianna herself and made to look like an accident. But why?
Uncovering the truth didn't answer all her questions. If anything, it marked only the beginning. This was merely the first puzzle she had unlocked in unraveling the mystery of why the real Yulianna had been so desperate to end her life.