‘She should have summoned the housekeeper to handle orders or settle disputes; why on earth would she step forward and do it herself…?’
Edel, who had felt frustrated with Lynnia before she even realized it, suddenly remembered that their situations were vastly different.
Edel had been a noble since birth. She had learned how to manage subordinates naturally by watching her superiors, even without anyone formally teaching her.
But for Laslo and Lynnia, it was different.
For them, the very act of managing servants ‘as a noble’ must have been strange and difficult.
Edel let out a small sigh and asked, “So, is that why the maids quit? But if they do that, they won’t get a letter of recommendation, making it hard for them to find new employment, right…?”
“Oh, no. Count Krissus knows that Lady Lynnia is the problem, so he still writes the recommendations for them. He may look scary, but he’s a good person.”
Edel agreed with that. Laslo Krissus was unexpectedly a decent man—even if he did look genuinely terrifying.
Suddenly, Daisy tilted her head toward the door to check for any presence, then leaned in and whispered, “To be honest, many maids quit because of Lady Bohen, too. But if they say it’s because of Lady Bohen, they might not get their recommendation, so they blame Lady Lynnia when they leave.”
“The Count doesn’t seem to know that Lady Bohen acts like that, does he?”
“I suppose so. Lady Bohen acts like she’s kind-hearted and competent in front of the Count, always saying things like, ‘A veteran like me, you see…’”
Daisy giggled, mimicking Marsha.
Edel laughed along, but inside, she found this Krissus household truly bizarre.
‘The head of the house doesn’t seem interested in how the household is run, and the only young lady ignores the social hierarchy and throws herself into the maids’ chores. Conversely, the housekeeper acts like she holds all the power, and there are factions split among the few servants they have.’
If this were any other noble family, she wouldn’t have thought twice about branding it a ‘doomed household.’
However, Laslo Krissus was no mere insignificant noble destined to fail.
As long as the status and power of the current Emperor, Demarcus Tuberine, remained solid, Laslo Krissus was sure to keep climbing. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Laslo was the one keeping Demarcus’s position solid.
‘If I am to live in the imperial noble society anyway, Count Krissus must find a good wife soon to put the house in order. Otherwise, it will be difficult for him to join the mainstream.’
The social world was not a place where one was accepted into the mainstream by the Emperor’s decree alone.
Even a high-ranking noble could be ostracized if their reputation was poor, while even a lower-ranking noble could rise as a popular figure if they played their cards right.
And currently, Laslo Krissus wasn’t even stepping into the social scene—or rather, he wasn’t making any attempt to.
But for the sake of the Emperor, Laslo would soon have to change.
‘Whomever becomes the mistress, I hope it’s someone who feels a bit of pity for me.’
Edel earnestly hoped her life would continue to flow as peacefully as it was now.
However, less than two days after that wish, Lynnia Krissus suddenly summoned Edel.
* * *
“Hmm… So you’re Edel Lancaster?”
Unlike her brother, who had black hair and very bright brown eyes, Lynnia was a young lady with reddish-brown hair and teal eyes.
‘They don’t look much alike. No, wait, maybe their brows are a bit similar?’
Lynnia sat slouching, legs crossed and chin propped on her hand, scanning Edel from head to toe. She was feigning arrogance, but the charisma or intimidation her brother possessed was completely absent.
When she heard the rumors, she thought Lynnia would at least be in her mid-twenties, but that face, with its soft cheeks dotted with a few freckles, looked like it was only in her late teens.
A child pretending to be an adult. That was Edel’s first impression of Lynnia.
Edel maintained the most polite demeanor possible.
“I am just Edel now. The Lancaster family has ceased to exist.”
“I know that.”
The way she retorted before Edel had even finished speaking revealed a spiteful streak.
Lynnia was clearly brimming with irritation over something.
Edel had no way of knowing what it was, but Lynnia began to shower her with ridicule that felt like venting.
“I heard the Duke of Lancaster was a sixty-year-old geezer? Were you that desperate to become a Duchess?”
She thought she heard the word ‘filthy’ at the end, but Edel pretended not to hear it.
“Unfortunately, my marriage was not something I could decide for myself. I had to do it because my father told me to.”
“Ugh, how horrific. How can someone like that even be a father?”
Edel desperately suppressed the urge to answer, ‘Exactly,’ and just gave a faint smile.
‘Even a young woman of common birth could figure that out, so why couldn’t Father?’
She felt a renewed sense of resentment toward the father who had always been cold to his own daughters.
Yet, even though Lynnia knew the marriage hadn’t been Edel’s choice, she asked an even meaner question.
“Since you were married, you must have slept together, right? Did you really do that thing with a man old enough to be your father?”
Lynnia probably expected Edel to shudder with shame, but Edel just shook her head calmly.
“I never shared a bedroom with him. He was busy, he didn’t want any more children, and he had a long-time mistress.”
“What? He had a mistress, too?”
“Yes. She’s likely dead now as well. She was managing the Lancaster Duke’s treason funds.”
Lynnia looked horrified.
“Then what… on earth was your role there?”
That question, if anything, stung Edel deeply.
‘That’s right, what on earth was I?’
The memory of how she had been desperate to prove her worth throughout her marriage left a bitter taste in her mouth.
“Externally, I merely filled the empty space to present a perfect Lancaster Duchy; that was all. And while I was at it, I handled the troublesome chores, too.”
Edel just smiled.
A genuine laugh escaped her.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about this before, but explaining it to Lynnia made her realize just how foolish her past self had been.
Lynnia, however, seemed displeased by her smile and sneered further.
“Ah, so you think you were a perfect Duchess? Your pride is something else. But what a shame—now you’re nothing more than a slave.”
Whether Lynnia failed to grasp the context or was intentionally pretending not to understand, she interpreted Edel’s words differently. Edel had never once claimed to be a perfect Duchess.
It was clear that her mention of being a ‘slave’ was meant to get under Edel’s skin, but unfortunately, Edel truly didn’t care.
“Count Krissus has shown mercy to someone in my position as a slave, and I am working as a maid in the laundry room. I am always grateful for it.”
“Liar.”
“It is the truth. I, too, am aware that I could have ended up in a far more terrible situation. Count Krissus saved me.”
Even though she was hearing praise for her brother, Lynnia did not smooth out her furrowed brow.
“Don’t let your guard down. You don’t know what my brother will do if things don’t go his way. My brother is a very scary person.”
“I only rely on the Count’s benevolence; I have no right to ask him to do anything for me.”
“So you do know that?”
“Yes.”
Whatever it was that Lynnia had expected from Edel, she seemed to lose her patience, and she asked with a voice full of resentment, “Are you looking down on me too?”
“Excuse me? What do you mean by that…?”
“You think, ‘Look at this lowborn girl acting like she’s a Countess’s daughter,’ don’t you?”
Edel couldn’t understand Lynnia’s sudden outburst.
“Did I say something that offended you? If you let me know which part was wrong, I will correct it.”
Even though she had spoken with as much caution as possible, bewildered by the situation, Lynnia’s anger did not subside.
“I don’t like your eyes. You’re looking down on me! Kneel! Where does a lowly servant get off looking down on her superior?”
Lynnia shouted as if she were determined to completely shatter Edel’s self-esteem.
But for Edel, kneeling was not that difficult a task. She complied obediently, kneeling right there on the floor and bowing her head submissively.
“I apologize. As I had no order to sit, I thought I was meant to remain standing.”
Her attitude seemed to catch Lynnia off guard.
“What? Do you have no pride?”
“…”
“You were a Duchess! In front of a Count’s daughter, you just—! Is it that easy for you to kneel?”
As expected, what she wanted was to see me tremble or rebel out of humiliation.
But that pride of having once been a Duchess? It means absolutely nothing to me.
I had already realized painfully well just how worthless the pride and honor of a noble were when I stood there as a trophy during the victory banquet.
A bitter taste filled Edel’s mouth, but she answered exactly as she felt.
“To answer that: first, I am no longer a Duchess; second, Lady Lynnia, you are my superior; and third, my knees aren’t exactly that expensive.”
It was true. As Lynnia said, I had been reduced to the status of a slave, so why would kneeling be difficult?
If she told me to, I could even bow until my forehead touched the floor.
That was how much the world Edel lived in had been overturned.
In any case, my pride wouldn’t be hurt by kneeling in front of those who didn’t even know me, and a peaceful day earned this way was far more valuable.
Lynnia, having no way of knowing her true feelings, merely shrieked at her.