Ch#27
“Where is that woman?”
Marsha’s face brightened as she rose to follow Laslo.
“I locked her in the laundry room. Told her not to come out until the work is done.”
“What? Locked her up?”
“How else could I punish her? She doesn’t even listen to my orders.”
Marsha’s lips puffed out in a pout.
Laslo asked no more and strode out of the parlor toward the laundry room.
At that moment, two maids who had been hovering near the lobby exchanged glances and quickly approached Laslo.
At the same time, Marsha shouted in a sharp voice.
*Spoils of war*
“You two! How dare you block the count’s path so rudely? The count is busy—step aside now!”
However, the two maids, Celia and Laila, stood tensely before Laslo as if determined.
Duchess
“C-Count! Edel is very ill! She hasn’t eaten all day and is locked in the laundry room! She has a high fever…!”
“Mrs. Bohen gave Edel an impossible amount of work! Edel asked for just half a day off, but Mrs. Bohen refused even that…”
Truly written by Lemon Frog
At their revelation, Marsha’s eyes turned ferocious.
“See, my lord? It’s exactly as I said. That woman is so cunning—she’s seduced two innocent laundry maids into her faction.”
But Laslo no longer heard Marsha’s words.
“That woman is sick?”
At those words, Celia and Laila pressed closer to Laslo as if grasping hope.
- 2 -
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“Maze District 3 Beitzli Street 53! Go there and say it’s my order—fetch the doctor! Now!”
“Her forehead was burning hot! Edel, who never showed any sign of strain before, was panting so hard today she couldn’t hide it.”
“It’s cold out, and if she stays submerged in that icy water in that state, it’ll be serious, my lord!”
Marco ran off without another word, and Laslo ordered Celia and Laila to bring Edel to a second-floor guest room and change her into dry clothes.
Marsha watched all this in a daze.
Laslo dashed straight to the laundry room.
The laundry room door was locked with a long rod, and the interior visible through the window was pitch black without even candlelight.
What the hell is the count thinking…?
The laundry maids started work around 8 a.m. And now it was 7 p.m.
She had noticed Edel was sick. But was it that bad?
*She’s been locked in there all that time?*
No, even if it was, servants collapse from overwork sometimes—why was Laslo making such a fuss?
Marsha frowned unconsciously, displeased with Laslo’s response. She should have just groveled there.
He swiftly removed the rod and flung the door open.
As Celia and Laila supported Edel and left, Laslo’s aura turned menacing in an instant.
“Assemble all the servants. You have five minutes.”
“Bring an oil lamp!”
He spoke in a voice cold enough to sever someone’s head and turned back toward the lobby.
At his shout, a servant nearby hurried over with an oil lamp, as if watching a spectacle.
Caught off guard by the sudden shift in atmosphere, Marsha sputtered incoherently.
And the sight inside the laundry room illuminated by the light was as serious as imagined.
“Hurry and gather everyone! To the lobby! Now!”
“Edel!”
The maids who followed her ran to the dorms, knocking on doors to summon the servants.
Celia and Laila screamed shrilly and rushed to the collapsed Edel before Laslo.
Fortunately, all the servants assembled in the lobby before Laslo’s patience ran out.
“W-what do we do! Edel! Pull yourself together! Edel!”
“Her whole body is like a fireball! My lord, she’ll die like this!”
“I…”
Laslo, who had been staring down with wide eyes, finally snapped to attention at Laila’s cry and approached Edel.
When Laslo spoke, the quick-witted ones realized it was time to hold their breath.
He couldn’t help but be shocked placing his hand on her pale nape. Despite lying on the cold-water-soaked floor for so long, it was burning hot, just like a fireball that could scorch his hand.▲
“I’ve given you all quite a bit of autonomy until now. I thought you’d manage yourselves. But.”
“Marco! Call Marco!”
The lobby fell so silent you could hear eyeballs rolling.
As someone quickly fetched Coachman Marco, Laslo issued urgent orders.
“You’re all too immersed in your work? Leaving one person half-dead like this.”
.
The sound of someone swallowing came with a gulp.
Marsha’s face turned deathly pale.
Laslo’s cold gaze swept over the servants before fixing on Marsha at the far left.
And with that, Laslo drove in the final nail.
“Marsha.”
“If that woman dies, you won’t go to the security office—you’ll be dragged to the Imperial Knights. Imagine what happens then. If you don’t want that, pray she survives.”
“Y-yes! My lord.”
“Edel Lancaster… right, not Lancaster anymore. Anyway, what did I say her status was?”
He then surveyed the silently standing servants while fiddling with the ring on his right hand.
“Uh… p-prisoner, you said.”
“Prisoner? No.”
“You’re all accomplices, so watch your mouths.”
Laslo emphasized each word slowly and menacingly.
At that moment, the servants felt a chill down their napes. That ring bore the seal of the owner of the mercenary guild <Calliope>, meaning Laslo could make a few people vanish if he wished.
As Laslo left, the servants exchanged glances and dispersed wordlessly. Only the dazed Marsha stood blankly.
“…The ‘prisoner’ bestowed upon me by His Imperial Majesty. Don’t you know what that means?”
“…………”
*Why did it turn out like this?*
“Didn’t you always say? You have relatives in the palace, so you ignore most laws.”
She had never imagined things unfolding this way, not even a hair’s breadth.
At that moment, the servants not aligned with Marsha inwardly cheered. The Marsha who always acted superior and ignored them had finally been caught.
They hadn’t checked how ill Edel was, so they hadn’t anticipated her collapse, nor known the ‘emperor’s gift’ label—once dismissed as mere slave talk—hid such meaning.
In contrast, Marsha froze at the atmosphere diverging from her expectations, biting her lip without responding.
What shocked her most was the gaze Laslo Criserus showed today—the man she’d dismissed as a mere mercenary illiterate.
Laslo glared at such Marsha and kindly explained.
*This is bad. That man isn’t clueless. He’s just pretending not to know.*
“If the emperor’s gift is harmed, it can even be charged as treason in severe cases. That’s why people are sometimes bestowed as gifts. Humans die one way or another anyway.”
But she didn’t know what or how much he knew.
At the word ‘treason,’ Marsha startled and lifted her head.
Marsha quickly calculated, recalling her embezzlements so far.
“Pardon? No, isn’t this different? You said to use her as a maid…!”
*He can’t know about the siphoned money. If he did, he wouldn’t have left it alone this long. So, squeeze a bit more and bolt.*
“I said use her as a maid, not harm her.”
“It’s not my fault she’s sick!”
With her head full of grievances, Marsha talked back to the end. Her dissatisfied tone was clear.
Laslo barely restrained his killing intent.
“You locked a sick person in there to die. Even if she were healthy, being confined there all day in this cold would leave her like that—so don’t say you didn’t know. Before I do the same to you.”
- 6 -
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