The Duchess of the Attic

The next morning.

Opal sighed loudly before the piled invitation.

"That's what I should say..."

"Did they follow you that they found out where you were staying in just one night?

"Or did you look up every rental that looks like it?

"What do you think? I also rented a carriage when I rented this mansion, so I might have looked into the features of the carriage."

"I see."

Opal left pretty early last night, so I guess the rumors spread quickly after that.

Many of the invitees had the names of those who weren't at the Viscount's night club last night.

"But it's pretty rare for you."

"What did you answer yesterday about me?

"I'm too busy to leave my desk," he replied.

"Oh, so they didn't think that the old marquis was in this country."

"Should I have told him properly?

"No, that's fine. I'm free to move."

When he saw Claude laughing at him, Opal just raised a single eyebrow and said nothing.

Claude seems to be working in this country too, but Opal will tell me if he needs to.

Opal sighed again as he wrapped up the invitation.

"The people in this country who met the Marquis Roussel in person seem to have a lot of hard mouth."

"No, mostly because I left it to the deputy. I haven't actually met him. Even within the kingdom of Tysey, I've only recently begun to show my face to the royal palace as Marquis Roussel."

"Oh, you did"

Until my father told me a year ago, Opal also thought the Marquis Roussel was an elderly man.

Nevertheless, it should be more rumoured that the Marquis Roussel was from the Kingdom of Société, but I guess there is still some reason why it hasn't.

"This is Claude's share. I'll let you know if I'll be there or not."

"Oh, okay. Which one will Opal attend, by the way?

"I haven't decided yet. So I'll be absent from anything that's close to the date."

"So what are your plans for the future?

"Because of this, I'm going to extend my legs to the city of Novoli after going to the territory and seeing how it goes"

"Novoli..."

"I knew it was too far away?

"Lately there have been rumors of thieves coming out."

"A thief? Were you talking to the Duke of McCloud before?

"No, it's not like that. It's pretty small, too. It's the opposite of where the thieves are headed, but I'll take you on your way."

"It's okay. I'll put on a good escort."

"I'm worried about you. If it's true, I hope I can come with you, but I can't do that, so at least let me drive you along the way."

"Okay."

It was an opal I said no to once, but the only way to persuade me gently was to break it.

Then Claude laughs satisfactorily.

"I'm going to act differently for a while, but this looks like a couple now."

"Lonely?"

"Nothing… now"

It's a topic I shook from myself, but when I'm asked straight, I get mean.

Still, Claude laughed without looking angry.

I hate myself for not being honest, but Claude gets it right.

In the end Opal also laughed and ended the discussion.

- That afternoon.

Opal was visiting a women's shelter in Wangdu for comfort.

The facility also serves as a hub for the organisation launched by Opal, where many officials work.

Most of them were women on the protected side at first, but now they were trying to be independent.

(And then there's understanding of society...)

Opal was reflecting on his conversation with the facility staff and the women in the car on his return.

It's a situation where most protected women have been caged unmarried, fired from work, or abandoned by their families.

Nevertheless, not only do I protect them, but I get them to work according to their circumstances.

If you are pregnant, you are entrusted with tasks such as cooking and laundry in the facility, rest immediately after childbirth, other than taking care of your baby, and gradually return to your original job, taking into account your physical condition.

When the child turns one year old, she leaves daytime parenting to the women in the institution, and she goes out to work to reintegrate into society - aiming to leave the institution, but that's hard.

There are not many places for unmarried mothers to work.

As Mrs. Northam dismissed Beth, the world has a strong feeling about her unmarried mother.

In a society where I couldn't get a decent job without a reference, I was mostly dismissed without a reference.

On top of that, even if the child is too big to handle, he often doesn't get hired for the reason that he is an unmarried mother.

It's only been a little over a year since Opal launched this charity, but there were already not enough places for the women to accept it.

(I can give them as much financial assistance as they can live with, but then they can't...)

Opal has enough wealth to roar.

Enough to feed many mothers and children for decades even as it is.

But that doesn't solve anything.

Women supported by opals and protection groups are probably just a handful of women in need of support.

If we go to the provinces, many women and children are in distress without anyone being able to help them, and they are the worst of all dead.

I want it to be the kind of society that many people in this country will understand and support if possible.

Of course I know how steep and distant that is on the road.

But if you don't aim - if you don't start, nothing will change.

(Men are always involved in the cause of women being hunted down in the first place. It's strange that only women are responsible for that)

Whatever it was like. I wouldn't get pregnant without the presence of a man.

There are also women in protective facilities who have been constantly seeking protection from their husbands' violence.

Everyone has a difficult situation.

Yet as the same woman, why can we overlook a woman in such a situation?

Besides, many upper-class women even scorn.

(We need to change it from that consciousness first...)

I hope you don't at least try to exclude me, even if I don't understand everything.

Even if you can't admit it, I want you to at least leave me alone.

And if you can afford it, I need your help, just a little bit.

If each person's consciousness changes, society changes little by little.

It's a big problem for one opal to have, but that's also why it's rewarding.

Determined to do what needed to be done first, Opal held both hands for a long time.