Ch#45
The next morning, Marsha looked furious from the top of her head down at breakfast.
It was understandable—she’d lost her position as Linia’s personal maid. She must have been pocketing a fair share from that role.
“I have no idea what scheme you’re up to. Seducing innocent Miss Linia for what?”
Marsha glared at Edel as if grinding her teeth and hurled accusations, but Edel wanted to throw those words right back at her. What were *you* planning to do by keeping Linia in your grasp?
*‘Still, better to keep my mouth shut. If I engage, she’ll twist anything to grab at me.’*
But Marsha couldn’t contain her rage and spewed curses at Edel.
“You seduced the Count too, didn’t you? Did you strip in front of him? How else would he place a traitor criminal like you by Miss Linia’s side? That’s it, isn’t it!”
*Spoils of war*
*Duchess*
She seemed to expect the surrounding servants to chime in agreement.
Edel could ignore the other nonsense, but not that last bit.
“Shall I relay those exact words to the Count? Confident your tongue won’t get cut off?”
“What? You insolent wretch!”
“You’re the one who spoke baseless rumors about the master—why call *me* insolent? I don’t even know why you’re so furious to begin with.”
Truly written by Lemon Frog
A few nearby servants nodded, while Marsha’s followers just watched her cue.
“Miss Linia decided to change her personal maid—what can I or you do about it? Will yelling at me change that?”
“What did you whisper in the miss’s ear!”
“I didn’t whisper anything. I simply selected dresses and jewels that suit the miss and did makeup fitting for her.”
Marsha, searching for words to snap back, could only clench her molars tightly. No matter her long maid experience, it couldn’t compare to Edel’s time at high society’s peak.
And as everyone shared that thought, a few couldn’t suppress smirks and turned away.
Even at breakfast, the head maid’s power was visibly tilting.
- 2 -
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In any case, she couldn’t refuse to summon Edel after saying that much. Laslo realized the late hour only upon seeing her arrive in a nightgown draped with a shawl and felt flustered.
*‘I’ll completely ruin you from now on, Mrs. Bohen. I have no intention of serving a rotten human like you for life.’*
Edel steeled her resolve, recalling Marsha’s embezzlement and corruption.
*‘It’s been so long since I’ve seen Linia that excited.’*
She’d always had such a bright expression before, but after becoming a noble, she’d gradually wilted.
Edel had become Linia’s personal maid—at Linia’s own fervent request.
Honest and lively tomboy, yet sharp-minded even as a child, steadily managing a house without an elder brother.
That’s why she’d been complacent.
Laslo now felt a bit less uncomfortable facing the Celestine Marchioness Dowager, but couldn’t deny a lingering unease.
*‘What on earth made me think that?’*
She’d assumed Linia would adapt boldly even as a noble, becoming a confident and poised noble lady.
“Brother! Give me Edel Lancaster!”
Lasio grew anxious and uneasy seeing Linia appear more unhappy than before despite the bigger, better house, more money, and more servants.
Linia burst into his room after returning from the party and spouted something outrageous.
He’d asked what happened, and she’d poured out every detail of the three days as if waiting for the question.
But he didn’t know how to make his sister happy, and his duties piled up. Linia’s issue got pushed back.
Then suddenly Edel emerged as the solution—how could he not welcome it?
On the first day of that Camille Emerson woman’s party, hearing she’d returned enduring only mockery without a single proper conversation made his fist clench tight.
*‘Helping Linia, who made her kneel. Does that woman have no pride? Or is she some angel……?’*
“So I went back to the party dressed as Edel prepared, and people treated me differently, right? They even gave me compliments!”
“You didn’t misunderstand, did you?”
He’d sincerely told Edel she didn’t have to if she didn’t want to—it wasn’t a lie. But Edel had gladly promised to do her best.
At that moment, he was truly grateful to her.
“No! They never even said that much before.”
Not just the good room and pay naturally afforded a personal maid—he wanted to give her more.
So he’d summoned her.
He doubted nobles would change attitudes so easily over just dresses, accessories, makeup, and hairstyle.
But Linia insisted it was real, repeatedly emphasizing, then pulled an invitation from her bag and waved it.
“I even got invited to another party right there! They hadn’t planned to originally, but gave it hastily after seeing my changed look!”
Edel, arriving before him, looked far more refined than when working in the laundry or kitchen.
She’d always been neater than other servants, but without her clothes getting wet, dirty, or wrinkled, she shone even more.
Even her plain maid uniform looked like a duchess’s indoor dress.
“Fine, even if it was all mockery as I said, it doesn’t matter. Thanks to Edel, it was the first time I returned without humiliation. I *need* that woman!”
*‘Clothes make the person, huh.’*
*‘First time,’ ‘returned without humiliation.’*
Each word stabbed painfully at Laslo’s heart.
“You called for me…… Count?”
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