Chương 3: An Investigation and Accusation.

Sleep hadn't come easily, despite me exhausting myself. I faded in and out of it. Sometimes I woke up panting, never remembering the nightmare that woke me up. Little by little, morning came. I inspected myself in the lone mirror in the room. I did look exactly like someone who'd not had a good night's sleep. I reached to my side, brushing at the small red box again. I didn't have to wait long at all before the door opened. It was Martha, looking about as disheveled as I did.

"You're up early, My Lady." She said tiredly, glancing at me. There was something expectant about her gaze.

"My ring is missing." I said weakly.

"I looked all over for it but I just can't find it! I haven't even been able to sleep. My Father gave me a gift and I don't even know where it is!" Nothing changed in the woman's expression, save for the subtlest hardening of her eyes.

"You probably dropped it somewhere, my lady." She said with a small bow.

"It's likely just under the bed. I will look for it later."

"I see. Thank you." I beamed at her.

"Now…for my breakfast, I'll have what I did yesterday." She bowed again and left. My smile faded as soon as the door closed. My fists slowly clenched, until the knuckles were white. I took a deep, steadying breath. Just to be absolutely sure, I did end up checking underneath the bed. Predictably, there was nothing there. By that time, Martha had returned with my food. It was cold.

"Anias, can you have the chefs bring me something?" I glanced up at Anias, my attention drifting from my reading.

"My Lady, I was told you'd had breakfast." Anias looked slightly perplexed as she gazed at me from the foot of the door.

"Yet I find myself hungry all the same." I said with a smile.

"It needn't be anything extravagant." She nodded and left me to my thoughts. The children's novels of this world were rather refreshing. They all touched on themes that seemed alien to me. I was very sure that most of the novels I'd read in my past life had been about things like self-actualization, individuality, the one over the many. Most of these novels were about the individual sacrificing their own needs for the good of their Kingdom.

I didn't particularly agree with them, but that wasn't especially important. The novel I was currently reading was a tale about a young Duchess falling in love with one of her manservants, even though she was betrothed to a Prince. In my previous life, a book like this would have had the Duchess choosing her love. Perhaps she would give up her title, live a simple life, and find it more fulfilling than her old one.

In this novel, the Duchess goes through with the betrothal, finds herself coming to love the Prince far more than she ever did her manservant. Not only that, but their union brings peace and prosperity to their nation, to the point where it would have been unethical for her to choose otherwise. Hey, at least you couldn't say it was predictable. The door opened. Anias came in again, a tray in her hand. I set the book aside as she set it on my lap. Muffins, a small section of cake. Well, it would probably be fine.

This body was thin, not fat. There was tea too. I touched the cup. It was hot. I gratefully took a small sip.

"Anias, how often does my father send me gifts?" Anias looked at me curiously and no wonder: it was something I should already know.

"He has a habit of sending you something every month…though if you asked for more he would surely have no problem sending you more." Ah, she thought I wanted more presents on top of the riches I was already getting. Nobles really did have it different. I might have felt insulted on another occasion.

"Yes, do tell my father I'd like another ring. I think a pure white is more to my liking." Anias looked both vaguely confused and vaguely disappointed. She nodded.

"It will be done, My Lady." Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I didn't expect it to come this early. It had been a few hours since I'd asked Anias to relay my message to my father. I'd expected to wait a few days, and yet now I beheld a gorgeous white ring, this time with a blue gemstone instead. I had of course suspected as much already. Our family was absurdly wealthy. That would take a lot of getting used to.

The ring came in a small black box, one big enough to fit inside a person's coat pocket. That was convenient. Rising, I moved the open box over to my dresser, came and laid down in bed again. I reached out, pressed the 'bell' as I'd taken to calling it. It was five in the evening. In other words, right when Martha was supposed to take over my care again. I only had to wait a minute before the door opened.

"Yes, My Lady? Did you need something?" She was the picture of humility. She didn't even meet my gaze, though that part was probably not humility.

"Can you pass me my brush? My hair is all tangled up." I pointed. She stiffened for a moment. It didn't take much to read her thoughts. You called me here for that? Still, she did as ordered. Martha froze at my dresser.

"My Lady…what's this?" She wasn't looking at me. It was hard not to smile.

"Oh, I asked Father for another ring after I lost the last one. That one's color didn't quite suit me much anyway."

"I-I see." She brought over the brush and I took it from her absently.

"Martha, if you ever need anything, you know all you have to do is ask, right?"

"What ever do you mean My Lady?" Her smile was frozen.

"Serving you is all I could ask for." I nodded absently.

"Thank you. I'll call for you if I need anything else." She made to leave.

"Oh and, do take care of this ring too. Though, if I lost this one, perhaps I'd ask for one in black?"

"I'll…see to it, My Lady." She moved over, opened a drawer, and set the box inside. Then, she was gone.

"I did give you a chance." I muttered into the emptiness. It was another largely sleepless night. Thankfully, this time it was by choice. I'd told my maids that I'd felt rather tired, and wanted to retire a little early. As it so happened, I was a little tired thanks to my daily exercise. The point of the exercise wasn't just to build muscle, it was also to just get used to being Esra. More than once I'd almost dropped something or tripped over myself just because I wasn't used to being quite so small.

I was starting to get the hang of it by now. At least enough to not make a fool out of myself in front of other people. The door creaked open. That was faster than I had expected. It hadn't even been an hour. Peaking past barely open eyelids, I saw just enough to make out a shadowy figure tentatively step into the room. They inspected me first. It was hard not to squirm. Seemingly satisfied, they moved over to the dresser, opened the drawer, fished something out and shoved it in their pocket. Then, they left.

It had all happened in the span of a minute or two, done with almost routine precision. A part of me was angry, to be sure. A much larger part of me was just sad.

"I'm sorry, Esra." I murmured. It was rather stupid to rob a Lady of her gift on the same day she received it. It was an action without any caution at all. You're only cautious of people you respect. Rising from the bed, I made my way over to the door and opened it. I glanced around, saw Martha just a dozen steps away.

"Stop." I put all the command I could muster into the word, which likely wasn't very much. She still stopped. Froze. Turned around, looked at me.

"M-My Lady, why are you up at this hour?" Her mask was on again, a smooth smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I just felt hungry." I said sweetly.

"I don't know, something must have woken me up. Now I want to go to the kitchens."

"I can bring you whatever you need." Martha's shoulders relaxed a little.

"Honestly I feel a bit restless too. I thought I should go there myself." I glanced around.

"But…I don't know if I remember the way. Anias took me last time." I gave the woman the most disarming look I could. In this body, it proved very effective.

"Alright, My Lady." She said finally, leading the way. The kitchens weren't empty, even this late at night. I saw two women working at a countertop, and a man who looked like he was doing the dishes. They all stopped and stared when they saw me. One of the women was about to speak. I raised my hand to stall her.

"Would the three of you be so kind as to do your Lady a favor?"

"Of-of course!" One of the women said eager, the other nodding.

"Very well. I would have two of you detain this woman. I would have the third either find Anias or my father." They stared at me again. Martha stared at me.

"My Lady what is this abo-""You stay quiet." I hissed at my maid. She trembled and stepped back. I gave a sweet smile back over to the three.

"Please, do be quick."

"I'll…I'll do it!" The man said, almost stumbling over himself in his haste to leave the room.

"My Lady please tell me what this is about!" Martha's voice was panicked. She was slowly making her way to the door. One of the two cooks blocked her path. The other stepped in close.

"I do wonder how they punish theft in this Kingdom."