Chapter 16: CH 15

Translated by worry

Edited by SipsTea

When she thinks about her past, another man immediately comes to mind. She snapped out of her thoughts. He’s someone you’ll meet again even if you don’t think about it, so there’s no need to worry about him.

Her golden eyes shone brilliantly in the sunlight. Whatever kind of impression her gentle smile made on the man was beyond her interest.

Kahneman pondered as he stared at her smile. She remained indifferent to me yet she grinned like a warm sunbeam when I mentioned the word ‘happy’.

Now I think I understand what Agatha meant when she said her daughter was quite awkward. Beatrice is bad at expressing her feelings properly, as if she was a torn picture.

These were traits seen only in those who haven’t talked with other people for a very long time. In his head, he recalled the information he got about Beatrice Amber and realized that it made sense, her composure must have only recently improved.

“Me too, thank you for accepting my proposal.”

There was no one there to correct his misunderstanding — which was mostly wrong.

* * *

Early in the morning, the Count and his son left the mansion with their servants due to business problems. Lily, Gallot’s personal maid, had to clean up.

It was normal to peek at documents while cleaning Gallot’s office and private room. Amanda, the maid of Count Heliot, might be doing exactly the same.

They were not wary of them at all since they expected that lowly commoners couldn’t read.

Since their respective masters were absent, the maids had complete freedom. Floria would also be leaving soon for her visit with Lady Amber, so she would be able to relax for a while.

After cleaning every nook and cranny in Gallot’s and the Count’s room, Amanda came downstairs with her bucket and mop.

“It’s break time after cleaning, right? Do you want some cookies or something?”

“Okay.”

“Let’s head to the break room.”

They placed the bucket and the mop they were holding back where the servants reside. Most of the servants were still working, so the break room on the first floor was empty. It’s only natural for both of them to have time to follow their respective masters.

Lily shut the door and took a cookie from the shelf while Amanda made cheap tea for the servants to drink. There were no words said between them, yet they shared an unusually pleasant atmosphere.

“Is Lady Floria visiting the Amber’s estate today?”

“Yes, she’s staying there for the time being.”

“This is because Gallot showed interest in Duke Amber’s daughter, right?”

“Precisely. She doesn’t like the men in her family after all.”

“Do you know Lady Floria that well?”

“…Well, yes.”

It was likely that Floria didn’t know what purpose they had — that she and Lily were some of the maids who share the same purpose.

Count Billander had destroyed their family and friends, so they returned to seek revenge. There were once eight maids, including Lily and Amanda, but three had since vanished, leaving only five.

One gave up revenge and ran away, the other was caught trying to steal information and died, and the other committed suicide because she could not withstand depression.

Rosa, the person caught stealing information, chose not to report it to keep the rest of the people safe, but what she found couldn’t be used to incriminate the Count and his son. It was, for example, a dog’s death.

Rosa found a ledger that was a breakdown of the amount of money from the sexual exploitation of commoners — who were taken away by force. However, it appeared to be nothing more than a record of employing prostitutes at first glance. 

And even if there was evidence that they had been forcibly taken away, it was not enough evidence for commoners to accuse and punish the nobility.

As much as their family and friends were destroyed, the maids had anticipated a reasonable punishment at first. It was like that when Rosa was alive, however, no one wanted the Count and his son to be punished that way now.

“You don’t know her intentions yet, do you?”

“I haven’t even visited the Count since then.”

“It’s hard to believe that a duke’s daughter like her holds a grudge against a count for the same reason we do.”

“She didn’t seem like she had a grudge in the first place.”

“But she said to grab the opportunity when it comes.”

“That’s right.”

“Should I believe it?”

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“I don’t know. I don’t know how that woman knew what we were up to in the first place, especially since even the Count’s family don’t know about this. I’m not sure what opportunity she was talking about.”

“Grab that opportunity when it comes. If it doesn’t, then go ahead and do as we’d planned. Don’t give up.” 

They no longer wanted the country to punish them, they wanted to kill them all with their own hands now. The pain their families, friends, and themselves were going through was real, and no law in the Empire could earn them justice.

What if they did put their lives on the line and begged in front of the palace gates? The Count would just have to pay a small fine even if their situation reached the imperial family’s ears. They couldn’t believe that their crimes would be forgiven so quickly. So no, they didn’t consider a mere punishment as enough.

Lily, Amanda, and the rest of their companions were still maids in charge of their respective masters. To poison the glass, they needed to build trust with them first. It’ll take a few more years, but no one was willing to give up nonetheless.

“Oh, she’s leaving.” 

Lily glances out the window with her head raised. A carriage of the size of a dot could be seen coming out of the Billanders’ main gate in the distance. 

The only member of the family who had no ill will. Lily was resentful of their miss at first. She was of nobility, unlike them who were commoners with no power.

With her resentment, she assumed that if they knew what her father and brother were up to, she wouldn’t intervene. However, after seeing Floria being slapped by her father, she quietly gave up her expectations.

It wasn’t because she didn’t understand her, it was because she knew then that no one would risk themselves for the sake of others. So, they must settle this on their own. All they had left were themselves.

“Amelia looks depressed these days. We’re staying in the same room, so please take care of her.”

“Okay. See you later.”

When Amanda and Lily parted ways after the conversation, Floria sat in the carriage. Beatrice sent her a letter inviting her to the ducal estate without visiting the Count’s residence first, possibly because she warned her about her brother.

Floria thought that it would be better if she went to her instead. She would do that even a hundred times than to let her meet Gallot, so she replied that she would visit as soon as she received the letter. Emily, the maid across from her, has a box on her lap covered in a luxurious cloth.

“Will the Duke or his brother be at the estate right now?”

“No, I don’t believe so. The Duke is constantly summoned to the palace, and Felix is a member of the Royal Order. He’s most likely doing his work by now.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen those two.”

“I’m used to seeing their faces when I was young.”

“Is that so?”

“Are you tired of seeing them often?”

Floria had frequent interactions with the Duke since childhood, which was one of the main reasons she’s being considered as a candidate for his fiancée.

Count Billander was a vassal of the Duke, so he made Gallot, who was around the same age as Calex, his playmate. Floria always followed her brother, so she became close with Calex, too. Later on, the two interacted even without Gallot.

The relationship between Calex and Gallot was not bad, but that’s about it. An ambiguous relationship that was neither good nor bad.

“Neither Calex nor Felix have any feelings for me. It’s just that we’ve been so close since childhood that it’s quite strange for me to become a candidate for Calex’s fiancée.”

“Isn’t it better than marrying a man you don’t know at all?”

“I’d rather marry a man I don’t know. We’ve been close for too long.”

“Oh my, I’m sure the Duke will be disappointed to hear that.”

“Unfortunately, Calex should get married soon. He’s already old enough yet he doesn’t even have a fiancee.”

As a child, Floria really hated Felix’s teasing, but thanks to his frivolous personality, they became friends pretty quickly.

Calex maintained his politeness despite drawing a line between them when he was older, but it was especially hard to get closer to him now.

It was also Felix’s fault that Gallot wasn’t very friendly with Calex since he said that he didn’t like him — simply because he, unfortunately, looked like an unlikeable person. He was known to be vocal about his likes and dislikes ever since he was a child.

While chatting with Emily, the carriage reached the ducal estate. Floria gazed at the door as the knight escorted her down the carriage. There, she saw Beatrice with her maid, her raven black hair flowing under the shade.

“Welcome, Lady Billander.”

“Thank you for the invitation, Lady Amber.”

Floria smiled softly, a bit different from the previous time they met. As she brought her inside, Beatrice noticed her hair gleamed like gold silk in the sunlight. She smiled as she averted her gaze.

“It’s a little less chilly today, so I told them to make room inside the garden’s greenhouse.”

“Ah, you’re talking about the former duke’s greenhouse, right? It was full of red flowers when I last went because it was summer, does it still have those?”

“There must’ve been red flowers before, but it’s mostly full of yellow flowers right now.”

Floria heard Beatrice’s reply, but she shut her mouth and avoided her gaze for a moment. She asked her without hesitation, knowing that her treatment had been lacking until recently. She really should’ve given it more thought. She was uncomfortable even just walking around the greenhouse.

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