Julietta’s Dressup

Chapter 85. Francis, Part XI

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryin

Maribel put the water pipe she was holding down on the desk and moved toward Phoebe.

“There’s no time. Come on. Get up. You have to change your clothes before the Marquise comes.”

Maribel coolly turned Phoebe who was staggering and then hurriedly stripped her dress off. Maribel dressed Phoebe in the simple dress she had bought in Lebatum on her way out of the brothel, and ordered her to lie down again.

“Now a noblewoman will come to see your body soon. She won’t get close, but you’ll have to hold your breath as long as you can, like you’re dead. Can you do it?”

Of course! She had to do it because she could survive. Even if she had to hold her breath and die, she had to seize the opportunity given her.

As soon as Phoebe nodded hard and laid down again, Maribel put the sheet on top of her head. The moment she threw the stage dress Phoebe had worn into the side room and came back into the living room, the door opened without any warning.

The Marquise entered Maribel’s residence in a hurry, her braided hair to one side, dressed in a simple out-of-the-way suit and a hat with a thick veil. As soon as she opened the door, Ivana turned to Maribel, looking down at the body covered with a sheet that was visible as soon as the door was opened.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. After directing the evening performance, I came down and found that she fell to the floor like this.”

“What was the cause of death?”

“I couldn’t call a doctor and check it out, so I don’t know. I tried to take her out before anyone could see her, but I thought you’d want to check on the body, so I called you in a hurry.”

Ivana ordered the maid following her to take off the sheet.

The frightened maid lifted one end of the sheet slightly. Under the bright magical light, the maid stepped back, dropping the sheet in surprise as the blood-stained face was revealed. Despite the hideous appearance, Ivana checked the hair color and features and ordered the maid, “Check the color of her eyes.”

When the flustered maid couldn’t think of putting her hand on the body’s face, Maribel approached her, deftly covered the body, and raised Phoebe’s eyelids.

“Green, green eyes, madam,” the quick-checking maid said and then retreated to the doorway. Maribel calmly covered the body with the sheet, stood up, and looked back at Marquise Anais.

“Why did she die just as His Excellency, Marquis Anais, was out of Austern?”

Ivana flew into a rage when Maribel asked doubtfully, “Don’t tell me, you suspect I killed her?”

“That’s not going to happen. If you had been thinking about that, you wouldn’t have waited until now. I just thought it was weird.” Ivana turned away, irritated by Maribel’s words, without seeking further confirmation.

“Take care of the body. You should not bury her where her mother is, and nothing should fall into the sight of the Marquis.”

“Yes, ma’am. Don’t worry. I am not a person who would make such a mistake. I hope you’ll go home and sleep well.”

Ivana thought that Maribel’s antagonism was because she felt sorry for Julietta’s death, and replied with a rare soft voice, “I understand how sorry you are for the loss of the child you’ve been raising. But I really didn’t do anything. I know even His Excellency thinks she was already dead, so I didn’t have to think of killing her. In my heart, it’s been a long time since she died.”

Ivana said her piece and went out without saying goodbye. Maribel closed the door behind her as she disappeared with Liam, who was waiting outside.

Maribel looked outside to find any indication of people at the door for a while before calling for Phoebe, who was still lying down, after enough time had passed. “Get up.”

At Maribel’s command, Phoebe took off the sheet and sat up carefully. When she began to massage her leg, feeling pain as the medicine’s effect seemed to have disappeared with her vomiting, Maribel took a pill from the room, gave it to her, and said, “You’re dead as of today’s date. Phoebe from the Rotesam brothel is no longer in the world. Therefore, I can’t keep you by my side, because you and I don’t know each other at all. I want to get you out of here as soon as possible, but I wonder if it’s even possible for you to survive on that leg. You said that selling your body is worse than dying, and working to make ends meet is the only thing you can do. Cutting off your leg and ordering a prosthetic leg for you is all I can do for you.”

When Phoebe tried to express her gratitude with astonished eyes, Maribel raised her hand to silence her.

“I’m about to do something very important right now. You don’t have to be thankful, because it’s a choice to make sure there’s no unlucky thing involved.”

Maribel lifted Phoebe up. “I’ll call a doctor tomorrow, so go get some rest today.”

“Can I still stay here for a while?” Phoebe said anxiously, recalling the man who had brought the poison and the lady who had checked her death.

“The master of the servant will only look at the fact that Mrs. Anais has confirmed someone’s death today, so he has little interest in you. Likewise, Mrs. Anais has confirmed the death of the person she wanted to see dead, so there’s nothing to be interested in here anymore.”

Maribel continued to speak, looking down at the carpet stained with brown liquid, “She doesn’t care a bit about you, but if she finds out that I’ve deceived her by the fact that you are still alive, I may disappear without a trace.”

“Well, I’ll be careful not to get caught. I will not move out of the room. If he comes in, I won’t be caught hiding myself under the bed.”

At Phoebe’s desperate words, Maribel laughed, curling the corners of her eyes. “I believe that you’ll never forget what I risked saving you.”

Maribel then sent her back to her room. She picked up the small bottle on the table left after Phoebe drank it.

When she looked into the bottle, she found that the mouth was narrower than the bottle and some remnant had been left behind. Maribel took the lid she had thrown on her desk, closed it tightly, and carefully put the bottle inside her secret stash.

She thought she would find out what poison was in that bottle, and how Phoebe was able to survive, contrary to the servant’s firm belief that she would die soon.

After being ordered by the Duke, Julietta and her group left Tilia early in the morning and were able to make their way to Baden during the late hours of the night.

Only

As she went into her lodgings that night, Julietta looked at the inn opposite her. The inn was the one she had stayed a few months ago when she had followed Prince Killian to Bertino.

Recalling the Prince who was arrogant, mean, and capricious, but still had a kind and friendly side, Julietta glanced at Simone, one of her new employers. Seeing her hand wrapped around her forehead, she had to admit that the Prince was a pretty good man for an employer.

“Kiellini mansion in Dublin is where Regina lived until she was five years old. But she has been sick since she was born, so she was almost always in bed, and it’s like a strange place.”

Simone refused to eat and opened her mouth to tell Julietta what to do tomorrow. Looking at Simone ordering her maid to bring the tea, Julietta put down her fork.

“It’s okay. Finish eating. As we continuously ran without taking a break all day, and ate with the food we packed from the mansion in Tilia, it would have been insufficient for you, who are much younger.”

When Julietta looked at Simone’s unusual behavior with an unknowingly angry look, Simone took a sip of Vera’s Dureng tea and after putting it down, said, “You don’t have to look at it with those eyes. Isn’t it natural for me, as an aunt, to worry about you? It’s easy to be suspicious of people, if you look at everything with those big eyes.”

Julietta looked at Simone, who had picked up the teacup again, and picked up her fork again.

Ever since Julietta had given her a massage on her shoulders and neck, she had been given a regular massage by Vera. Sometimes Julietta gave a massage to her to help Vera.