Ch#16
Something like that should be handled by summoning the head maid and questioning her, so why step in personally…
Edel, who had unwittingly found Linia frustrating, suddenly remembered that her own circumstances were vastly different from Linia’s.
Edel had been born a noble and, without anyone teaching her, naturally learned how to command inferiors simply by observing superiors.
But that wasn’t the case for Laslo or Linia.
For them, ordering servants around ‘as nobles’ must have been unfamiliar and difficult from the start.
Edel let out a small sigh and asked,
“So the maids quit because of that? But then they won’t get recommendation letters, which would make reemployment difficult…”
“No. Lady Linia knows the count is aware she’s the issue, so he writes good recommendation letters. He looks scary, but he’s a good man.”
Edel agreed with that. Laslo Criserus was unexpectedly decent. Though he did look truly frightening.
Suddenly, Daisy tilted her ear toward the door to check for footsteps, then whispered softly as she added,
*Spoils of war
Duchess
“Actually, lots of maids quit because of Mrs. Bohen, but if they say that, they might not get recommendation letters, so they blame Lady Linia on the way out.”
“Probably. Mrs. Bohen acts all nice and competent in front of the count. Always going on about, ‘As a veteran like me.’”
“Doesn’t the count know what Mrs. Bohen is like?”
Daisy giggled while imitating Marsha.
Truly written by Lemon Frog
Edel laughed along, but inwardly she thought House Criserus was truly peculiar.
‘The master seems disinterested in household affairs, the only lady disregards hierarchies to get worked up over maids. Meanwhile, the head maid struts around like she’s in power, and factions have formed among the few servants.’
If another house were like this, she wouldn’t hesitate to call it ‘a family on the brink of ruin.’
However, Laslo Criserus was no noble pushover headed for downfall.
As long as Emperor Dimarcus Tuberin’s position and authority remained secure, Laslo Criserus was bound to rise steadily. Or more accurately, Laslo was the one solidifying Dimarcus’s throne.
‘If he’s to survive in the empire’s noble society anyway, Count Criserus needs to marry a good wife soon and get his house in order. Otherwise, breaking into the mainstream will be tough.’
- 2 -
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High society wasn’t a place that welcomed someone into the mainstream on the emperor’s orders alone.
She caught a faint ‘filthy’ at the end but pretended not to hear.
Even high nobles could be ostracized if their reputation soured, while low nobles could become popular if they played their cards right.
And right now, Laslo Criserus couldn’t even set foot—no, wasn’t even allowed in—high society.
“Unfortunately, my marriage wasn’t something I could decide. I had to obey my father.”
But for the emperor’s sake too, Laslo needed to change soon.
“Ugh, gross. How’s that even a father?”
‘Whoever becomes the lady of the house, I hope she’s someone who pities me a little.’
Edel swallowed the urge to say ‘Exactly’ and just smiled faintly.
Edel desperately wished her life would continue peacefully like this.
Even a common-born young girl could think of that, so why hadn’t her father realized it?
Yet not even two days after wishing that, Linia Criserus suddenly summoned Edel.
Her father, who had always been cold to his daughters, was newly resented.
And Linia, knowing the marriage hadn’t been Edel’s choice, asked an even crueler question.
“Hmph… So you’re Edel Lancaster?”
“If you got married, you must’ve slept together too, right? Did you really do it with a geezer old enough to be your dad?”
Unlike her brother with his black hair and very light brown eyes, Linia was a young lady with reddish-brown hair and turquoise eyes.
She probably expected Edel to shudder in shame, but Edel calmly shook her head.
‘They don’t resemble each other much. Or maybe around the glabella?’
“I never shared a bedroom with him. He was busy, didn’t want more children, and had a long-time mistress besides.”
“What? He had a mistress too?”
Linia sat with her legs crossed, chin propped, arrogantly scanning Edel up and down while pretending to be haughty, but she exuded none of her brother’s charisma or intimidation.
“Yes. She probably died too. She was managing the Lancaster Duke’s treason funds.”
She’d thought from the rumors she was at least mid-twenties, but the soft-cheeked face with a few freckles looked barely late teens.
A child playing adult. That was Edel’s first impression of Linia.
Linia looked appalled.
Edel maintained the most polite demeanor she could.
“Then what the hell was your role there?”
“Now I’m just Edel. The Lancaster family is gone, after all.”
“I know that.”
That question instead pierced Edel’s heart painfully.
Her snappy reply before Edel even finished speaking felt malicious.
‘So what the hell was I, exactly?’
Linia seemed deeply annoyed about something.
But Edel had no idea what, and Linia unleashed mocking jabs like she was venting on her.
Memories of desperately trying to prove her worth throughout her marriage left a bitter taste.
“The Lancaster Duke was a 60-year-old geezer, right? You really wanted to be his duchess that bad?”
“I was just filling an empty spot to present a perfect Lancaster Duke’s family to the world. And taking on the bothersome tasks as a bonus.”
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