Whatever she saw or felt, Julietta, who was recognized for her seemingly unprecedented calmness and unflappability, had taken charge of the Prince’s secret affairs at the recommendation of the Chief Maid, waging a war everyday on hard work as her salary doubled.

An example of that war: her tired body on a bed which was damp with sweat.

Julietta jumped up, kicked her foot off the bed, took off her thick cottony underwear and smelled it first. She put the damp part on her nose in hopes that the wet part was not dirty, as she had to wear it again tomorrow. Fortunately, it didn’t smell.

“Whew, I was scared to death. I was too relaxed today. I can’t believe I laid down right away without checking my bed. It hurts my pride to make this rudimentary mistake.”

She carefully hung her thick inner dress by the window. She then laid down with a blanket on the floor, wearing only one sheet of thin underwear.

She also didn’t forget to take off the thick iron glasses covering almost half of her face. She removed all the eyebrow and skin makeup she had been wearing since she was five years old. As soon as she closed her eyes, she fell asleep.

PR NOTES:
[The next scene below shifts from when Julietta was still living at Eileen Theatre]

“Yes, I’m coming now. I’m coming!”

Amelie, the head of the prop room at Eileen Theatre, the best theatre in the Austern Empire, glared at her when she saw Julietta walking in a leisurely pace.

“Julie, did you hear me? I need these pants mended by today or did you not hear me?”

The seams of the hunting pants worn by the male actor of the upcoming show “Lady Donatera” had exploded during rehearsal yesterday. Julietta, who had forgotten to mend the clothes which would be worn at the show today, snatched the pants instantly with a puzzled look.

“I’ll do it right now.”

“We have less than an hour left before the show. What have you been doing so far? Are you having some new silly ideas because Lillian likes you a lot?”

Lillian was the best prima donna in the Eileen Theatre. Amelia used to mutter that Julietta had become spoiled by the embrace of Lillian ever since she was a child. After that, Amelie would constantly nag her saying, “Don’t overrate yourself,” or “Wake up and listen!” throughout her stitching.

“I’ll bring the pants to them right now,” Julietta told Amelie, showing her the repaired pants. “And this simple mending would have been done if Amelie had mended it at the time you called me.”

With a pout, Julietta picked up the pants and ran off without saying another word.

“As you’re growing up and getting old, you don’t even listen to me anymore,” Amelie said as she clicked her tongue at the back of Julietta’s head.

Sophie smiled. “She’s already a big girl. She’s seventeen years old now.”

“That’s why I’m worried. The theatre is a dangerous place for a seventeen year old girl. No matter how hard she hides her looks, there’s no one who wouldn’t go after a blooming maiden. I’m worried that the male actors will keep looking at Julietta.”

Amelie wished Julietta could do her job quietly in the supply room behind the stage but she was walking around the theatre like a wild boar hit by wildfire and Amelie was worried if she was doing her job properly.

“In case of the male actors, I’m less worried, as they should consider the theatre owner Maribel. Lillian’s also so fond of her that they won’t be able to do anything rash. I’m more worried that she’ll be seen by aristocrats while she’s walking around,” Sophie, who was working on Lillian’s dress ruffle, sighed. 

Living in the theatre since the age of five, Maribel, the owner of the theatre, had disguised Julietta. The juice of one of the dressing ingredients, the metum fruit, had been applied on her milky white skin and her vibrant blonde hair had been hidden in a brick and mortar colored wig. Moreover, she wore clothes that were three times larger to hide her figure as much as possible, but her natural beauty could not be completely overshadowed. 

As a result, Amelie and Sophie, who had been taking care of Julietta since she was young, were always anxious.

“I think I’ll have to do something about it sooner or later. I asked if she wanted to be on stage because she watched the actresses carefully but she said no. I just want her to find a young nice man and get married.”

Sophie shook her head at Amelie’s worried remarks.

“Well, I’m also worried that her life will be flat when she gets married. To the common people, her looks are like poison. I think it’s Maribel’s attempt at taking advantage of her beauty. The owner of the theatre was the one who introduced Stella to Marquis Anais. Well, since she was an actress, she wouldn’t have been able to avoid that kind of life.”

“Is she going to keep that kid hidden? That couldn’t be,” Sophie sighed, as if she could not believe it.

“That’s even scarier. It’s already strange that Maribel took on a five year old with compassion. I’m even more worried that the owner of the theatre has a very big plan and has kept Julie hidden from the start because of it.”

“Why don’t we tell the Marquis? She’s a bastard but she’s his daughter. He would not pretend he doesn’t know her,” Amelie said as if it was the better option.

“Do you think so? Unlike in the past, these days, a lover and their illegitimate children are more likely to be treated with contempt. She can only be protected if she is officially registered in the family of the Marquis but the Marquis can’t do that. He knows Julie has grown up in the theatre but he’s never been here and he’s pretending not to know. I don’t think he’s going to get Julie now. If she attracts the Marquis’ wife’s attention, she would be harassed or treated badly. You've experienced how scary the Marquis’ wife was when Stella died,” Sophie finished in a sad voice, she shook her head as heavy stillness came to the prop room.

When Stella, who had lived in splendor, was driven out empty-handed and came back to the theatre with her little daughter, the owner of the theatre, Maribel, looked carefully at the bright and golden-hair illegitimate child. Amelia and Sophie were really surprised when Maribel, who had been silent for a while, let the mother and daughter stay in her quarters. The owner of the theatre was a woman who showed no pity for no gain. At any rate, under Maribel’s protection, whether it was capricious or sympathetic, the mother and daughter began living in the theatre after that.

Even when Stella couldn’t pick up her spirits due to the shock of being thrown out of her house so suddenly, the young Julietta used to run errands inside the theatre to pay for their meals. However, not long after such a peaceful life, Maribel was visited by the Marquis’ wife.

Amelia and Sophie felt sorry for the poor mother and daughter but Maribel did not take any action after Stella died. Only then did Julietta don a brick colored wig and spread the juice of the metum fruit on her face.

Shortly after the visit of Mrs. Anais, Stella, who had been suffering from a long drawn-out illness, finally died.

After the sudden death of her mother, before the young daughter could get herself together, though it was not known how they knew, Mrs. Anais sent people and took Stella’s dead body. After the sudden expulsion, Stella had died, so both Sophie and Amelie thought that the Marquis’ wife may have felt a prick of conscience and would have a funeral for her.

Maribel let Julietta out of her living quarters to live in a  small room next to the prop room, so Amelie and Sophie naturally took care of the young Julietta.

“Now that little thing is so big, time sure flies.” After reminiscing about Stella's death, Sophie, who was lost in old thoughts, tapped her eyes that held tears with a cloth.

“You know what? Now that this year is the year of her coming-of-age ceremony… I’m worried because she hasn’t become mature and is always scatterbrained and reckless. I feel like I’m seeing a child put up in the water,” Amelie sighed as she loaded the last repaired dress in the cart.