After that, the bath went on for a long while. Marsha had kicked the two men out and apologized to Evony more than ten times.

“You’re sorry? About what though?” Evony asked.

“We have a long way to go....”

After changing the dirtied water about six times, Marsha was satisfied enough to allow Evony to leave the bathtub. Her skilled old hands truly worked in mysterious ways — Evony marveled at how smooth and moisturized her skin had become.

She had not eaten anything all day, but the aroma from the bath bomb made her forget her hunger. Dressed in a new, white nightgown that Marsha handed her, Evony awkwardly sat at the edge of a chair, fidgeting.

Despite her age, Marsha had quite the stamina. It must have been tiring enough to bathe Evony, but she exchanged the cold food for a hot plate. And she didn’t leave the room until Evony finished her meal.

Marsha softly combed Evony’s hair, and then said good night before leaving. When she was finally alone, it was late at night. Now, all alone in the beautiful white room, Evony blinked her big, dark eyes and became lost in her thoughts.

The things that had occurred that day were more peaceful and luxurious than Evony could have ever imagined.

To be honest, she thought that she’d be carted off like a slave to do hard chores or be imprisoned in the basement. Or worse, she could have been killed without anyone knowing. But everyone in the castle treated her warmly like she was a princess.

But why?

At first, she had thought that they must have mistaken her for someone else. Maybe something was awfully wrong.

Second, she had thought that all of this was just a dream.

Third, she wondered if she had lost her mind and was hallucinating.

But she now knew that all of this was reality. The people didn’t mistake her for someone else. Marsha had assured her numerous times while Evony was in the tub. Whenever she asked in her timid voice, Marsha would reply with a kind nod.

She could only come to one conclusion: the duke was showing off.

Grand Duke Schneider would already be the talk of the town as the guardian of Evony Vonieck, but now he would become famous as the person who reformed her.

She was the most infamous female death-row convict in all of Karcass. Though she was released just before the execution of her sentence, this situation was possibly temporary.

The duke was her guardian, but also her watchguard. The Karcassian judiciary had a political motive to release Evony from prison. They bent the rules to maintain the image that she was an atrocious criminal but that they were merciful.

Could Evony, the immoral murderer, ever be reformed?

Could the dirty, evil witch be reborn into an obedient lady under the guidance of a high nobleman?

The duke would be her tutor.

After thinking about this for a while, Evony finally let out a deep sigh. Whenever something happened that she could not understand, she would always ruminate until she understood.

This time was no different. There must be an inside story to the attitudes that the duke and his employees showed her.

I must not get on the wrong side of them.

Evony clenched her jaw again. If she were to relax because they had been nice to her for a day, she would most definitely be sent back to jail or become worse than a slave here.

Stay quiet and do as I am told.

That was the way she’d survived the notorious prison of Karcass for the past five years.

She could not let herself believe that this beautiful white room was hers. She didn’t even get close to the cozy-looking bed. Instead, she looked around the room for the shabbiest looking doormat and curled herself on the floor.

She was lucky that it was summer. Even the coldest section of the room was much warmer than anywhere in the prison.

I must survive. I must not die. Never ever give up, Evony.

Evony made up her mind to endure through it all once again.

* * *

The next morning, as soon as Marsha opened the door, she saw the poor girl lying on the mat.

Pity coursed through her. It was evident that Evony agonized over where to sleep because she thought she couldn’t lay a hand on anything in the room.

A moment later, Evony slowly woke to the gentle sound of the old Marsha calling her name.

“I wanted you to sleep a bit more, but let’s get up early just for today. Master is calling.”

“I’m sorry, he’s calling… me?”

“He said that you needed to sign some document. After you do that, let’s go down to the dining room and grab something good to eat, okay dear?”

Marsha waited for Evony to wash up and dressed her in a light, slightly oversized, dress. It was a simple frock with no lines or slits.

The dress was made of a fabric that was cool and soft. A perfect dress to wear on a hot day. But it was also a dress that a twelve-year-old might wear.

Nervous at the fact that the duke called for her, Evony tightly held Marsha’s hand and walked with her head down. She made sure to never look around or make any sound with her footsteps. She sensed that they crossed paths with a few servant girls, but Evony kept her eyes on the floor.

“Master. Lady Evony is here.”

“Come in.”

The sturdy door slowly opened.

Danté Bord Schneider was carelessly sitting on the floor of his office. His bottom was on the cold, carpetless floor. His legs were outstretched and he was trying to roll up his pants.

“Why are these pants so tight? They make me sweat. I don’t think it was this hot even in the desert,” he complained loudly

“Oh dear, what are you doing? Does it not embarrass you in front of the young Lady?”

“Marsha. It’s hot.”

“Then take it off!”

“May I?”

Marsha’s thick palm slapped Danté ’s back. The sound was so loud that even Evony, who had her head down this whole time, raised her head slightly, startled.

What on earth? An employee handling her master like that? Evony came to her senses and quickly lowered her head again.

“Quickly allow Lady Evony to sign the document and let her go. She needs to eat breakfast.”

Marsha left the office and Evony was left alone with the duke, who was still sitting on the floor.

Should I lower my gaze even more…Or should I kneel on the floor?

The grand duke seemed like he had no intention of getting up, so Evony was bewildered as to what she must do. Even greeting the duke was difficult.

The duke spoke first. “Did you sleep well?”

Evony nodded her head, but narrowly broke out of the habit and spoke in a small voice. “Yes, I did.”

“You don’t seem like you slept well.”

This time she didn’t reply. She couldn’t fathom his intentions, so she thought it was best to stay quiet.

Danté didn’t seem to be expecting a response, so he kept talking.

“Actually, the document itself is nothing. But as I read it, there seem to be a few problems. Let’s see. Yes, first off, the terminology is all wrong. The idiot who made this document needs to relearn the definitions of the terms in Karcassian law. And what else ... The person who drafted the document also had problems. It doesn’t even match the form a contract should have.”

Danté was still on the floor as he spoke, and Evony stood at a distance with her head down.

Danté , who realized how ridiculous they looked, slightly raised his head and asked, “Are you listening?”

“Yes.”

“It’s nice that she answers quickly,” he muttered.

Evony made a mental note of the grand duke’s preferences.

“My secretary is busy at the moment, so there is no one to really explain properly. I think we will have to write it again from the beginning… I guess you will have to see it as well?”

“Yes. Um… Sorry?”

Evony raised her gaze to watch Danté climb to his feet and walk across the room. On top of a messy desk cluttered with documents, Danté picked up one on the very top. After clicking his tongue, he thrust the paperwork into Evony's hands.

“Take a look. Ah, you do know how to read, right?”

“Yes.”

“Even the official language?”

“Yes.”

Evony, remembering her mental note that the duke preferred quick answers, nodded her head without hesitation. But the duke was taken by surprise.

“You can read the continent’s official language? Even a legal document like this?”

“Sorry..?”

“No, never mind.”

Danté held the document out. Then he studied her expressions. His face drew so close that it made her even more nervous.

Taking Danté ’s movement as a sign urging her to read quickly, she fixed her anxious eyes on the document. The Karcassian judiciary was known for their preference of convoluted legal terms and this document was no different.

But still, the content itself wasn’t too difficult to understand. There weren’t many sentences on the paper anyway, so Evony quickly scanned the document and politely handed it back to Danté .

“You read it all?”

“Yes.”

“Read what it says.”

“To this, the Judiciary of Karcass will entrust all legal authority including the right to life of Evony Vonieck, on account for the double homicide of her husband and father, to her guardian Danté Bord Schneider… The request from the Embassy of Babel is for the documents to be accompanied by notarized translation in the official language for them to be diplomatically effective…”

“Enough.”

At this, Evony, who was effortlessly going through the document, abruptly stopped reading.

Danté stood there with his arms crossed and his head tilted.

Had she done something wrong?

With her head down, she gently bit the inside of her lip. She didn’t find anything peculiar with the document. She actually thought the document contained quite courteous terms.

But Danté asked a completely unexpected question. “How did you read it?”

“Excuse me?”

“Karcass does not allow women to learn the official language, the written language even more so. I may have lived abroad for a while, but social expectations couldn’t have changed that much in that time. And you’ve been in prison for the last five years.”

Oh no. Evony's face turned pale.

Danté was right. Karcass put in place many forms of societal pressure to not allow the education of the continent’s official language to all the women in its borders. It had been law for the last 200 years.

Even the tribes of the desert allowed the basic education of its tribal language and the official language to its women, yet only Karcass denied the opportunity for its women to learn the official language.

This applied to all women regardless of their status as a commoner or a noble. It was a highly criticized policy; representative of how primitive this kingdom was in its oppression of women.

But Evony could read the official language. And she read it fluently.

“Th, that’s because…”

She couldn’t come up with an excuse. She hesitated for a while. She’d secretly learned the official language. When girls her age were into fabric dyeing and lacemaking, Evony frequently visited the library to read and naturally learned the basics of the official language.

It was in prison where she had learned how to naturally converse and comprise more difficult and complex sentences. A woman who was assigned in Evony's group of forced labor was a famous prostitute in Karcass who was proficient in the official language and above all, was very talkative.

But Evony couldn’t disclose this information to Danté . Seeing her tightly sealed lips, Danté , instead of persisting with questions, crumpled the document Evony handed back.

“Anyways, that’s that.”

“Sorry?”

“Don’t you feel that something is odd with this document?”

“Beg your pardon?”

Evony slightly lifted her eyes to see that a frown was on his forehead, as it had been when she first laid eyes on him. It was a face that showed dissatisfaction. Evony's rounded shoulders shook slightly.

“This contract… though you can’t even call it a contract, the subject of this contract is Evony Vonieck. This document regards yourself. But why is there no space for your signature?” Danté waved the crumpled document.

Evony slowly blinked her eyes watching the white piece of paper held in front of her.

She needed to think what the man’s intentions were and why he was showing her the document and getting angry over something so irrelevant.

“This is the document that makes Danté Bord Schneider the legal guardian of Evony Vonieck. Then, naturally it requires the signature of both Danté Bord Schneider and Evony Vonieck. The Judiciary can send a notary or go through the procedure of confirmation after the document is completed,” he said.

“That’s…”

“However, with this document, the court sends it to me and once I sign it, it’s done. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes.”

“You do?”

Now it was impossible not to ask. Evony raised her head towards the duke who kept asking her random questions.

“Yes, I do. But I… Why is Your Excellency angry at...”

“Evony Vonieck.”

“Yes.”

“Are you a slave?”

The grand duke’s words struck Evony's head. The voice was dreadfully deep.

Evony blinked. “No, I am not.”

“Then why do you not claim ownership over your life?”

“It’s because…” Something was off. It seemed like the duke was scolding her. Evony slowly opened and closed her rigid fingers. This was probably a test.

There was only one answer. She needed to show the duke how well she understood her place and her situation.

Maybe because it was the first question of the test, it felt quite easy. Evony slowly opened her dried lips.

“It’s because… I am a murderer.”

“What?”

“It’s because I was supposed to be executed for my crime.”

It had been a while since her right to life had not been under her control. She did everything, crawled on all fours and even ate trash to survive. Matters of ownership and rights had no influence over Evony.

You can’t shake me up with something shallow as this.

And her gaze lowered once again to the floor. Even after her confident answer, the duke did not say a word for a while.