Ch#83
Spoils of War
Duchess
By Lemon Frog
Episode 83
"Count. Could you tell me what happened?"
Edel, who seemed to be pondering something deeply, asked in a serious voice.
In the past, he would have kept his mouth shut even in front of Edel. But now, for some reason, he wanted to confide in her.
Perhaps he even wanted to test her.
*If she doesn't understand, I can just brush it off as nothing much.*
Laslo hesitated before slowly beginning to unravel the story one piece at a time.
Every time he achieved military merit, Edmund had praised him by comparing him to the Imperial Knights Order leader and other great knights, drawing envy and checks from the others; pretending to elevate him while scraping at the Imperial Guard members' pride; downplaying himself while highlighting what Laslo received to plant the idea that it was unfair...
"That bastard was the one who schemed to let those idiots who molested you into this house, and he's the one who goaded me into hosting this party. Do you think stuff like this is just my paranoid delusion?"
Honestly, he was anxious. Of course she'd say no, but he knew he might come across as someone trapped in victim mentality.
However, Edel shook her head with a grave expression.
"That's a textbook high society attack. A very advanced one at that. He builds a good image for himself while putting the other in a bind, and he even leaves a clear escape route."
"......You mean that seriously?"
"Of course. I've faced those kinds of attacks dozens, hundreds of times in my life. I couldn't not know."
For a moment, shame washed over him for spilling every little pent-up grievance like a tattletale, but Laslo felt all the built-up resentment melt away at Edel's words acknowledging his injustice.
So for a while, he couldn't do anything. Not even listen to her words.
"Wait a second... Don't say anything."
With Edel frozen stiff before him, Laslo took several deep breaths alone.
He hadn't realized it until now, but he'd been quite wronged. His emotions were on the verge of exploding like this.
.
"Count... Are you alright?"
"Phew... I'm fine now. Sorry. I showed some ugliness."
"Ugliness? Not at all."
Edel gave a faint smile. Laslo felt greatly comforted by her expression, as if she understood everything.
"You've... been through a lot of this too?"
"It happened as often as meals. Not just from one person, but from everyone who saw me as a rival."
"How did you overcome it?"
At Laslo's question, Edel fell silent this time. The grueling days of her fierce past rose vividly like yesterday, days so painful that now she wondered how she'd endured them.
"I had no choice but to become... even more perfect. To the point where those trying to tear me down looked ridiculous instead."
"Did that make the attacks on you stop?"
"No. Humans harbor envy and resentment even toward gods—how much more painful must it be when another human outshines them?"
Edel lowered her gaze with a bitter smile.
"And the things I pursued were just ornaments anyway. The more I strove for perfection, the more I confirmed I wasn't the flawless person others imagined."
It had truly been agonizing.
Her insides bursting with anger and injustice, yet unable to confront it outright, forced to whip herself even harder—those days of receiving no comfort from anyone, only reprimands...
"In the end, only an empty shell remained. No thoughts or feelings of my own, just a hollow house built entirely of the etiquette and rules others had set..."
Realizing she'd said too much, Edel clamped her mouth shut.
"A-Anyway, hearing your story makes me think Sir Milton is even more dangerous. Of course you'll handle yourself well, Count, but he might approach other servants besides me, so be extra cautious."
However, Laslo had no interest in other topics.
Edel's words about only an 'empty shell' remaining stabbed strangely at his heart.
*So that's why, even after becoming spoils of war, you could stay so upright and unshaken.
That's why there was no hesitation in your resolve to die.
That's why becoming a laundry maid overnight didn't faze you.
The reason you never wavered no matter who insulted you, the reason you could thank me—someone you could rightly call your enemy—it was all because you saw yourself as an empty shell.*
As the resentment toward Edmund melted away, pity for Edel flowed in to fill its place.
"You're undervaluing yourself. Far too much."
Edel gave no reply. But from her awkward smile, it was clear she didn't agree with Laslo.
"An empty shell... If it's a shell so perfect no one could imitate it, then it's no longer just a shell. The bone-shattering effort, agony, torment, endless resignation and motivation—those things already fill the inside."
From then on, the smile vanished from Edel's lips.
"I'm grateful for all the effort you put into protecting yourself. Thanks to you doing that, Linia, I, and everyone in this mansion found hope."
"I did Mon...?"
"Hey, I was just a back-alley thug cracking peanuts with my dumb head. You think taming someone like me to this extent is no big deal?"
Edel's lips, which had quirked into a smirk, began to tremble faintly, and round teardrops welled in her blinking eyes, streaming down her cheeks.
She bit her lip to hold back, but the tears overflowed like a burst dam.
She never dreamed the efforts dismissed even by her family would be acknowledged by Laslo Creaser, this man.
And she never knew someone recognizing her efforts and pain would stir such overwhelming emotion.
"Hic... , Hic."
Edel, head bowed deeply and stifling sobs as if pressing them down, looked so poignant it made him want to pull her into a tight embrace.
However, Laslo didn't.
He now knew treating her as someone about to collapse just because she was crying would be an insult to her strength.
As he waited quietly, Edel soon gathered her emotions. Laslo simply handed her his handkerchief silently.
"Thank you. I showed ugliness before you, Count."
.
"If this is ugliness, show it as much as you want. In front of me—"
"Pardon?"
"Ah, slip of the tongue. Not just in front of me, I mean, just... don't cry alone."
Edel smiled again. She could feel the tenderness seeping through his gruff pretense.
In the awkward yet warm, fluffy atmosphere, the two cleared their throats needlessly.
Only after a long while did Laslo remember why he'd come here.
"Anyway, uh... Ahem, we'll have to keep a closer eye on Edmund Milton."
"Ah, yes! I think so too. Wasn't his promotion to Imperial Guard deputy commander rather sudden?"
"Yeah. Someone must be pushing him from behind. His Majesty plans to keep him close and watch him..."
"He suggested the party to find fault with you, Count. He wouldn't have known the mansion had changed this much, and if we'd held it in the old state, then probably..."
"Aha!"
Laslo finally realized Edmund hadn't known about the changes to Creaser Mansion.
"I thought he was just expecting me to fumble in front of people."
Laslo shook his head. And with that, the talk of Edmund ended.
"Anyway, don't worry about it for no reason and forget that bastard. Wash that spot clean where his filthy hand touched."
Edel giggled inwardly at Laslo's odd addendum, thinking he seemed just like a jealous man, pointing sternly at her shoulder with his fingertip.
Linia had lost interest in everything since the party ended. The sudden influx of invitations, buying pretty clothes or jewelry, learning etiquette or dance from Edel—all of it elicited
"Huh? Oh?"
"Miss...?"
"You've seemed unable to focus lately."
"Ah...!! So-Sorry. Where were we?"
Linia, lost in thought, hurriedly flipped through the book in panic. She knew teaching history, culture, rhetoric, and various etiquettes three times a week for two hours each wasn't easy for Edel either.
However, Edel snapped the book shut instead.
"When your head's cluttered, it's better to just rest. Shall we have some tea and chat today?"
Linia, who had tensed thinking Edel was angry, slumped her shoulders and apologized.
.
