Chapter 18: 18

“It’s all my fault. Please punish me.”

 

The butler replied with his head bowed.

 

“I have no intention of punishing you. The urgent thing right now is finding someone with that connection.”

 

“When I hired new servants, I got recommendations from all the places they worked for before.”

 

“It’s not something that can be done alone. I don’t think anyone who would have done this would have made a deal with just one person.”

 

“Then…”

 

“First of all, call the three new servants who just joined.”

 

“I understand, young Master.”

 

When the butler bowed his head and left the room, the head maid, who was still there, asked, “Your Highness, what are you going to do?”

 

“Head maid, do you know when humans are the ugliest?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“When they are stuck on a dead end, all they can do is slander others.”

 

Charelize smiled bitterly.

 

“Come to think of it, little Duchess once told me to spread bad rumors about Princess Lillian!”

 

“Ah, that happened to me too!”

 

“I was ordered to spill wine to Princess Lillian…”

 

They even made up things that didn’t exist. Wherever they followed her first, flattering her, and did what she ordered, they already became the ugly human being.

 

“Young Master, I have called the three you mentioned.”

 

“Take them in.”

 

“Greeting to the little Duchess. My name is Mari.”

 

“May Goddess Resina’s blessing reach you. My name is Jenny.”

 

“My name is Kanna. I came in through a recommendation letter from Baron Ite.”

 

Three new servants who came inside each introduced themselves.

 

“I see. First, Mari.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

“You were working at Count Yvonne before working here, right?”

 

“Yes. It was about a year and eight months.”

 

“Why did you quit your job in Count Yvonne?”

 

Charelize looked closely at the paper on which Mari’s personal information was handed to her by the butler and asked about it.

 

“I was a servant who had Countess Yvonne as my master, but the Countess was getting divorced.”

 

“…”

 

“It was difficult for me to keep working for Countess, so Countess Yvonne wrote me a letter of recommendation.”

 

Everyone looked surprised at Mari’s words.

 

Count Yvonne and his wife were undoubtedly rumored to be a lovebird in society. After 8 years of marriage, Countess became pregnant, and it was known that their affectionate relationship became more loving. They didn’t know she got divorced because there were no rumors about that.

 

“I get it for now. Next, Jenny.”

 

“Did you call for me, Your Highness?”

 

“It is said that you worked for Viscount Loen for quite a long time… Why did you quit?”

 

“I… serve the only child of Viscount Loen, Lady Cassandra.”

 

“If it’s Lady Loen…”

 

“In an accident last year… After the lady passed away, madam was distressed whenever she saw me, reminding her of the young lady. So, she advised me to quit.”

 

As Jenny said, the Viscount Loen couple had only one child, whom they had at a late age. That couple’s love for their only daughter was truly great since she was a child who had been hard to get.

 

On the day their daughter was born, Viscountess made a huge donation to the temple of the Goddess Resina. She didn’t force her daughter to attend the academy, nor did she force her to study excessive manners.

 

Grown-up in such a comfortable environment with good parents, Lady Loen died before her 11th birthday. She got into a carriage accident. The coachman who drove the carriage, with Baron and Baroness Sierra, also died.

 

The one who survived the accident was Jenny, who served Cassandra like her own daughter since she was young. From Viscountess Loen’s point of view, who loved her daughter very much, she was distressed enough to look at Jenny.

 

“…I understand that it has been quite some time since Lady Loen’s accident happened. So you stopped working as a servant nine months ago.”

 

“Actually… My father has a disability in his legs and cannot work. I had five younger siblings, so I quickly ran out of money to live on my retirement money.”

 

“…I’m sorry for asking such a question.”

 

“It’s okay, Your Highness.”

 

Charelize realized she had made a mistake and quickly apologized.

 

“Lastly… was it Kanna who was recommended by Baron Ite?”

 

“You’re right, Your Highness. Baron Ite wrote me a letter of recommendation.”

 

“If it’s Baron Ite… He has been Duke’s vassal for a long time. Even if I don’t ask, I can trust you.”

 

“…thank you, Your Highness.”

 

Kanna smiled at Charelize’s words.

 

“The three of you are free to leave. I can’t wait to hear the results of your work.”

 

The three of them bowed their heads and said goodbye. The butler beside her said, puzzled, “She got the recommendation from Baron Ite, but is it really okay if young Master doesn’t ask Kanna anything.”

 

“I did it on purpose.”

 

“You have other intentions.”

 

“That’s right. I’m not quite sure who it is yet, but I’m sure it’s one of the three.”

 

Charelize thought as she chewed through her conversation with Kanna.

 

In her previous life, she had no memory of hiring a servant who had received Baron Ite’s recommendation. Perhaps she was mistaken, so she chose to watch without making hasty judgments for now.

 

“After my mother passed away, five people quit their job.”

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“Yes, young Master. All five of them had worked for madam.”

 

Charelize sighed. It wouldn’t have been easy for them to voluntarily quit their job in Duchy Marsetta. But it proved that they were loyal to their master.

 

“Look into the current situation of those five people and support their living expenses.”

 

“I will follow your orders, young Master.”

 

There was a saying that her mother always used to say.

 

“Princess. It’s not right to mistreat servants.”

 

“Yes.”

“If you mistreat them, that arrow will come back to you. Instead of burdening them by doing a lot, it is the right thing to treat them at least as human beings.”

 

“Yes, Mother.”

 

“It’s… to help each other, and then the day will come when you will be rewarded for it.”

 

The woman was trampled by some thugs on the street, where everyone saw her being beaten and eventually got kicked out. Her mother brought that woman, paid for her treatment, waited for her to get better, and later allowed her to work as the servant of the duchy. The woman, whose body became healthy, became her mother’s apprentice maid. And after her mother’s funeral, she stopped working at the duchy.

 

Charelize got up from her seat and walked toward her jewelry box.

 

“Your Highness, why is the jewelry box suddenly…?”

 

She opened the jewelry box and said as she pulled out a pair of emerald studded earrings, “With this… I will find her who dared to betray her master and make her pay the price.”

 

Charelize brought the earrings in her hand to the window where the sunlight was reflected.

 

“I will see some ugly things soon.”

 

* * *

 

The next day, Charelize sent a letter in advance to visit Countess Yvonne.

 

“I see the little Duchess Marsetta. May Goddess Resina’s blessing reach you.”

 

“May Countess Yvonne be protected too. I’m sorry to see you suddenly.”

 

“It’s okay. Please come inside.”

 

Countess Yvonne was holding her newborn son.

 

“Baby… don’t cry. Be a good boy.”

 

“I think it’s time for the young Master to go to bed.”

 

“The sun is strong and hot, so close the curtains and put him to sleep.”

 

Countess Yvonne soothed her son with her clumsy hand. She handed him over to the nanny, who immediately wept at the stranger’s appearance.

 

“Have some.”

 

“It smells good.”

 

Countess Yvonne’s eyes darkened as she walked to the parlor and offered tea. She looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept in a few days. Even though she said that with a slight smile, she seemed to forcefully raise the corners of her mouth.

 

“The young Master seems to resemble Count Yvonne a lot.”

 

“…does he not look like me?”

 

Countess Yvonne looked like she was holding back something that was coming up.

 

“Do you know a servant named Mari?”

 

“…”

 

“Countess?”

 

“…”

 

“Countess Yvonne.”

 

Countess Yvonne’s eyes, hearing that name, lost focus for a moment. She came to her senses after Charelize called her name several times about what she was thinking of so much.

 

“She… was the servant I hired. I wrote a letter of recommendation through the butler, but I don’t know what happened to her after that.”

 

“After my mother passed away, many servants have quit their jobs, so I have urgently hired people.”

 

“No way… Did you hire Mari?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Charelize nodded slightly.

 

“You seem to have a story you want to tell.”

 

“…so do you want tea?”

 

There has been a long silence.

 

“If you don’t mind, I’ll listen.”

 

“…After eight years, I had a child. Finally, I expected to be a mother. I was happy with each passing day. The sound of my child’s small beating heart was so lovely…”

 

Countess Yvonne, who had been agonizing for a long time, spoke with difficulty.

 

“I tried to give a lot of love, even the share of the baby I had lost before… I’ve been waiting for it, even giving it a name even though the gender hadn’t yet been confirmed.”

 

“…”

 

“My husband… he was having an affair. With that kid, Mari.”

 

“…”

 

“You know, my husband and  I… didn’t get married because of politics, but because we really loved each other… I always wanted to be with him… and we got married… As soon as I saw them kissing, I lost my mind and fainted.”

 

Countess Yvonne’s world shattered when she saw her husband kneeling on his knees and begging for forgiveness. When she heard from the doctor that she got a miscarriage, she collapsed. Her husband said in his own mouth that it was a mistake.

 

Countess Yvonne didn’t eat, despite the concern of her servant, who had been crying when she collapsed. In fact, breathing itself made her feel guilty. She was an ugly mother who couldn’t protect her precious child.

 

She saw an imagination of a child resembling her husband playing in the garden. As she closed her eyes, the sound of her baby’s heart murmured in her ear.

 

Another fact was more shocking and terrifying than when she found out that her husband had an affair.

 

“That child… she became a mother.”

 

“…”

 

“She became a mother and had a happy expression on her face.”

 

Mari, who took her baby, had become a mother. 

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