* * *
Just as Marin was about to enter the annex, she heard voices from behind the building.
“Yuria, what’s up with that commoner? Does she think she’s all high and mighty?”
“I’m sure she does. She’s just a commoner, yet she’s managed to settle right into the annex.”
“Exactly. She’s probably a courtesan.”
“No, she isn’t. Lady Marin said she is here to assist His Grace the Duke.”
Yuria hurried to defend Marin as if it were her own business.
“‘Lady’? Since when do commoners call each other Lady?”
“Right? Does that woman think she’s actually a lady? It’s hilarious.”
Marin resumed the steps she had paused. The gossip of the servants didn’t matter much.
She was someone who would leave this place soon anyway. There was no need to appease the servants or win them over to her side.
“Then is her mother a courtesan, too? The way she holds her head up, she acts like she’s a noble.”
Marin tightened her grip on the fairy tale book she was holding.
She didn’t mind being insulted or misunderstood. But bringing her mother into it was the exception.
“Stop it! Don’t talk about Lady Roanna that way!”
Yuria shouted, her voice trembling with rage.
“Where does an orphan like you get the nerve to raise your voice? Do you want to be properly re-educated?”
As she turned the corner behind the building, she saw a maid raising her hand at Yuria.
Without a second thought, Marin hurled the hardcover fairy tale book at the maid’s back.
The sharp corner of the sturdy book struck the maid’s spine with a dull thud.
“Aaargh!”
“Where do you think you’re putting those hands?”
“Lady Marin?”
“Yuria, come here.”
The moment Yuria stepped toward Marin, the maid with long, slit-like eyes lunged and grabbed Yuria’s red hair.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Let go of her.”
Marin suppressed her rising bile and glared fiercely at the maid.
“Funny. Why should I listen to your orders?”
“It’s not an order; let’s call it a request.”
“A request? That’s not how you make a request. Should I get on my knees or something?”
Marin’s last shred of patience snapped.
“You are so rude and ignorant that you aren’t even worth the breath.”
“Ha, a courtesan acting like she’s an actual noble. Do you think you’re something special just because you’re favored by His Grace?”
The maid holding Yuria’s hair sneered with a triumphant expression. Judging by the look of her, she was clearly the ringleader.
Marin rolled up her sleeves and marched toward the maid.
As she drew near, the flustered maid instinctively let go of Yuria’s hair.
Not missing the moment, Marin quickly pulled Yuria behind her.
Having lost her hold, the maid raised her voice, her face twisted in disbelief.
“Girls, it’s time for some re-education.”
At those words, the plump maid and the one who had been struck by the book came rushing over, surrounding the pair.
“La, Lady Marin.”
“Yuria, stand behind me. I’ll protect you.”
Marin clenched her fists and stood firmly in front of Yuria.
* * *
Gerald had been struggling for days, engulfed in emotions he had never felt in his life.
“Why have you been staying awake without sleeping?”
“It’s bothersome.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s been so long that it’s bothersome. It feels as if I won’t wake up if I fall asleep once.”
The remark about being bothered, which he had confessed to Imsi, was actually rooted in fear.
He was a man who had once cut down a monster three times his size in a single strike.
Who would have thought that a man who didn’t know the meaning of fear would develop such a sensation?
He hadn’t realized it himself, and that was why he had subconsciously blurted it out to her.
But he shouldn’t have said it to Imsi.
“Coward. Hmph.”
She had even laughed at him to his face.
“She’s brave.”
Gerald chuckled to himself, feeling a surge of genuine admiration.
What on earth did Imsi rely on to be so brave?
A woman who deceived and mocked him, the Western Duke.
“Does she have multiple lives?”
Then, suddenly, the commotion from outside reached his ears—faint, intermittent, and shrill.
A fight between women, was it?
Gerald felt a strange, sharp premonition.
“Kay.”
“……”
Kay appeared swiftly, prostrating himself before him.
“Tell Olive to bring Imsi here.”
“……”
Kay disappeared without a word, his footsteps faster than usual. It was as if he had been waiting for this very command.
Once Kay was gone, the office returned to a suffocating silence.
* * *
Yuria bit her lip, watching Marin, who was smaller and thinner than her, trying to shield her.
She didn’t want to cause trouble for Butler Sebas, who had introduced her to the position. That was why she had endured the torment of “re-education” until now.
But here she was, causing trouble for Marin—the very person the butler had insisted she serve with care.
“Lady Marin, thank you. I’ll handle this, so please, hurry and get away.”
“Get away? Why would I do that? They need a little education themselves.”
The head maid glared at Marin and shrieked.
“Education, my foot! Don’t you dare use such a sacred word!”
Marin scoffed, cutting the head maid off.
“You’ll only learn when you get a taste of the real thing! Girls, start!”
The maids surrounding them swung their arms violently. Marin didn’t back down, shoving and hitting back at anything she could reach.
In an instant, five women were entangled in a mess of screams and clawing hands.
Marin intentionally shrieked as loud as she could, ensuring the sound carried.
“Eek! Let go of my hair?!”
Marin’s hair was a disheveled ruin as the head maid yanked it back.
“If you’re going to let go, why did you grab it in the first place!”
The head maid pulled even harder.
“Help me! Eek! Aaaah!”
Even as she screamed louder on purpose, not a single person appeared.
“What is all this commotion?!”
She finally arrived.
A stern-looking middle-aged woman stormed in. Following behind her, Butler Sebas looked at Marin with a shocked expression.
“Lady Marin!”
Marin, pinned under the weight of the maids, barely raised her head at the sound of the butler’s booming voice.
“Hello……”
Though she had screamed for effect, she felt her face burn at the sight of him.
“Goodness, stand up at once.”
Butler Sebas grabbed the maids by the scruffs of their necks and tossed them aside, one by one.
“Ow.”
“Aack.”
“Aaaargh.”
The maids, unceremoniously thrown to the ground, shrieked.
Butler Sebas quickly helped Marin and Yuria to their feet.
“Yuria, what is all this?”
“I am sorry.”
Yuria muttered, her face on the verge of tears as she felt completely disgraced.
“Forget the apologies, how did things end up like this?”
Under the stern gaze of Butler Sebas, Yuria stammered out an explanation.
“The maids called Lady Marin and Lady Roanna… courtesans……”
The faces of Butler Sebas and the Head Maid Page hardened instantly.
This was a major incident.
“Butler, this is a commotion caused by the maids; may I handle it myself?” Head Maid Page stepped forward, her voice icy.
“Under normal circumstances, that would be fine. But Lady Marin is neither a maid nor a courtesan. This is not a matter that can be easily overlooked.”
“Yes. I understand. My apologies, Lady Marin.”
Head Maid Page approached Marin and bowed deeply.
She was a head maid who rarely bowed to anyone but the Duke. Seeing this, the other maids began to tremble in terror.
“I cannot say that it is alright.”
At Marin’s resolute response, the Head Maid lifted her head, looking at her with cold, unwavering eyes.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Those maids insulted not only me but my mother as well. That is something I absolutely cannot forgive.”
Head Maid Page turned to look coldly at the maids huddled in the corner.
“Tell me what you desire. Anything at all.”
“May I decide the punishment on your behalf, Head Maid?”