The carriage arrived at the Platine house. When the coachman opened the door Seratina got out first and offered her hand to Elsa. She thought Elsa would swat it away but she surprisingly took her hand.
"...Thank you."
Seratina said it was fine and headed inside first. She went back to her room and let out a breath as she sat on the sofa.
Someone knocked on the door and her maid came in saying "Excuse me Lady Seratina."
"Nadia. Prepare the bath."
"Yes my lady. And I brought you some herbal tea."
"Thank you."
She took the mug from the cart and drank the dark green liquid without thinking twice. The herbal tea she always drinks after parties helps her feel less tired.
"Lady Elsa is back too but you two were together...?"
"Yeah. She said it would look bad for the Platine family if I walked to town to catch a carriage, so she let me ride with her."
"Lord Grigio is..."
"He was totally focused on the saintess, so I just came home."
"I see."
Nadia looked uncomfortable so Seratina smiled and told her not to worry about it and to go prepare the bath. She handed back the empty mug and Nadia said she would come get her when the bath was ready and left.
"I get how Schwartz feels though..."
She totally gets how Schwartz feels having someone he loves but not being able to be with them. If she could not be with her husband from her past life, she would probably lose her mind too. Because of her past life memories she does not need love from her parents or from Schwartz so she is pretty much fine. Seratina thinks Elsa is a cute little sister but she has no idea what Elsa thinks of her. Elsa told her straight up that she hated her before so yeah, she is definitely hated. Probably.
While she was thinking about this Nadia came to tell her the bath was ready. She said she would be right there and got up from the sofa to head to the bathroom with Nadia.
After her bath she was in her room drinking cold tea when Nadia came rushing in looking flustered.
"Lady Seratina, Lord Grigio is here to see you."
"Schwartz?"
He probably just realized she had come home without saying anything. It had been over two hours since Seratina and Elsa got back. She was told he looked pretty panicked and figured she could not avoid seeing him, so she handed her empty teacup to Nadia and headed to the entrance hall.
…
Schwartz was standing in front of the door with his hair a bit messy and sweat streaks on his cheeks. When Seratina showed her face, he called out "Seratina!" in a desperate voice.
"Why did you leave early? And without saying a word to me!"
"Well... you were completely focused on the saintess so I figured you would not miss me."
"I am sorry I was by Lucia side and neglected you. But you should not have left without saying anything."
"Whether I am there or not does not really matter to you does it? Why are you making such a big deal about it?"
"What? Do you think I am the kind of man who would not care if his fiancée suddenly disappeared?"
"I would not say that but..."
Still if you asked her whether Schwartz liked her he would definitely have trouble answering. He had forgotten about their dates several times and canceled escorts he had promised ahead of time on the day of. When she pointed this out he looked away awkwardly.
"Th-that was..."
"I am sorry for leaving without saying anything. I thought you would not care if I just disappeared on my own."
She was not being sarcastic but speaking from her heart, though it probably sounded like sarcasm to Schwartz.
"I got home safely so please do not worry about it. By the way, what happened to the saintess?"
"I left Lucia with Count Lunaria. She is fine."
She was not particularly worried about that.
"I see. Well please careful when you get home."
"...Yeah I will. Seratina, next time please say something to me even if it is just a word."
With that Schwartz left. Come to think of it she forgot to ask when he realized Seratina was not there. Not that it really mattered so she convinced herself not to worry about it and went back to her room.
---
The next morning Nadia woke her up as usual and she got ready for the day like always. When she went to the dining room her parents and Elsa were already there eating breakfast.
"Good morning."
She bowed and greeted her family but got no response. Seratina was used to this and went to her seat. Her parents were chatting happily with Elsa at the dining table while Seratina sat silently in the chair, Nadia pulled out for her and reached for the breakfast that had been set out. She was cutting the nicely toasted bacon with her knife and fork when a sharp voice came across the table.
"Oh you are here Seratina. When did you arrive?"
"My. Eating without greeting us first. What terrible manners."
"I did greet you this morning."
"Your voice was too quiet! We did not hear anything at all!"
Arguing here would just be a pain. She repeated her morning greeting twice as loud as before. She got scolded for being too loud but since they said her first greeting was too quiet, she made her voice louder and argued back. Saying anything more would just irritate her parents, especially her father, so she kept quiet and hurried through her meal. Nadia was watching her with concern but if things got bad, she could just use magic to distract her parents.
"Really! Yesterday you came home without telling Lord Schwartz anything! He came here looking all panicked asking us about you!"
"I did not want to interrupt him while he was with the saintess."
"It is because you are so inadequate that Schwartz cannot forget about the saintess! Do your job as his fiancée properly!"
She thought she was doing enough. But they would not listen to her so she kept that to herself.
"I am sorry. I will be more careful from now on."
"We should have made Elsa Schwartz fiancée instead."
"It cannot be helped. Duke Grigio wanted Seratina. He is willing to take a daughter whose only good point is her magical talent. We should be grateful."
It was not just her but almost no one born into the Platine family has magical talent. Rarely someone like Seratina is born with it. That is what her father envies. Seratina listened to her parents complaints with one ear and out the other as she quickly finished breakfast and got up to leave the dining room. Come to think of it, usually Elsa would join in with her parents mean comments but this morning she had not said anything.
"She will probably do it at lunch or dinner anyway."
As she headed back to her room she tried to remember what she had planned for today. But there was nothing scheduled. That meant Seratina knew exactly where she wanted to go. She went into her room and turned to Nadia who had come back with her.
"I am going out in an hour."
"Where to?"
"A walk around town. I will not be going to any noble shops so arrange for a small carriage."
"Understood, Lady Seratina."
After Nadia left the room, Seratina sat on the edge of her bed and closed her eyes.
She thought about Schwartz and Lucia from yesterday. Lovers who love each other but cannot be together because of her standing in their way. Watching Schwartz and Lucia gaze at each other with passionate eyes reminded her of her husband from her past life. She used to look at Feres like that too. Because she loved him from the bottom of her heart. The pain of not being able to be with the person you love is beyond imagination.
Seratina did not love Schwartz and had no lingering feelings for him, so she decided. She would set him free.
Fortunately, she had no attachment to the Platine family either. If anything she would miss Nadia but she was an excellent maid. Even if Seratina disappeared she would not be fired. Originally no one wanted to take care of Seratina who was not loved by Duke and Duchess Platine. Except for Nadia who was attracted by the high salary.
She had been wary that Nadia would treat her roughly like the other servants but she was someone who did her job properly. She did not mix personal and professional matters. That was very helpful.
"Come to think of it, Schwartz and I have not really done much as an engaged couple."
Since becoming engaged they had monthly dates, but the location was always the same fountain square in town where they would meet and go to the Grigio family cafe for sweets. Seratina would bring up topics and Schwartz would nod along appropriately and that was it. Sometimes they would visit each other families but they never went to each other private rooms. Even then, Seratina would bring up topics and the conversation would end. Schwartz rarely started conversations on his own. Thinking about it, last night was one of the few times they had a long conversation.
Seratina always gave gifts for birthdays and regularly. From Schwartz she only got message cards. Even on birthdays he could at least send flowers, but he stubbornly only sent message cards.
Seratina never complained about this. Schwartz prioritized Lucia even though Seratina was his prior engagement so complaining would only make him show his disgust openly. Also, the fact that Schwartz never asked for her thoughts on his gifts showed how little he cared. She received message cards so she thanked him each time but he would either make a stern face or glare at her with quiet anger in his gray eyes. Maybe he wanted to tell her to shut up but staying silent would just waste time.
Anyway, she was a bit shocked to realize there was no one who would be troubled if she disappeared but in a way, it was lucky because she did not have to feel guilty about it.
When it was time Nadia came, and she put on light makeup tied up her hair put on a hat and left her room.
"Oh sister. Are you going somewhere?"
She ran into Elsa who seemed to be in a good mood.
"Yes. What about you?"
"I am going to buy jewelry from a merchant who is coming to see mom. You were not invited so it would be pointless for you to come."
"I see. I will not be back for a while so take your time choosing."
"A while? W-where are you going...?"
"Just somewhere."
For some reason Elsa looked anxious, so she gave a vague answer and turned her back on Elsa as she left the entrance hall.