Previously
Aracella rescues Audrey and instructs her to plant a necklace in Rosalyn's room to expose the framing attempt. Aracella then gathers all the maids and confronts Rosalyn and the Head Maid, using her own expensive gifts to Audrey as proof that the girl has no motive to steal Amy's cheaper jewelry.
Tears welled in the maids’ eyes as they looked imploringly toward Damian on one side, while on the other, Aracella watched him with a gaze as chill as a winter draft. He was caught in an awkward position.
Had there been a direct conflict between Aracella and the maids, he would not have hesitated for a second to take her side.
In this matter, however, the dispute centered on one of Aracella’s personal maids. As the master of the house, Damian had to maintain as neutral a stance as possible; only then could he preserve the loyalty and trust of those who served him.
Damian strode past the maids toward Aracella and stood at her side.
The maids’ faces fell at once, since he was clearly taking Aracella’s side. Yet the next moment, he turned toward Aracella and extended a hand to the other side as well.
Aracella let out a soft scoff.
No matter how many maids she brought, no one could replace Audrey.
Above all, dismissing Audrey—the victim of a false accusation—was hardly fair.
Damian’s reasoning was sound, but only because none of his own subordinates were implicated in the matter.
At the mention of the butler who had served him since birth, a faint flicker of irritation crossed Damian’s features.
Albert was one of the few people Damian truly trusted. If Albert had been in this position…
Damian looked quietly at Aracella, stepped a little closer, and lowered his voice.
Her calm voice cut across Damian’s words. She laid a light hand on his broad shoulder, and his body stiffened slightly under her touch.
Leaning in as though resting against a lover, Aracella whispered to him,
She was merely reminding him of the reason for their marriage that had been presented to the public, yet when Damian met her blue eyes directly, a strange sensation stirred within him.
It was as though the calm waves of a midnight sea were rushing in to engulf him.
He hesitated for a moment, weighing whether it was better to stand by his maids or yield to Aracella.
The maids had worked under him for a long time, and several held experience from the ducal estate, making them valuable staff.
Yet Aracella was the person Damian needed to hold onto most dearly right now. If he wished to retain power and inherit the title, he had to keep their marriage intact.
‘She’s the one I need more right now.’
Damian surrendered to Aracella, who stood before him with an unwavering gaze. He decided to grant her wish, passing a blind judgment just as a devoted husband would.
Damian handed down the order on flimsy reasoning. The moment he abandoned them, the maids erupted into protests.
The loudest objection came from the Head Maid. Although she would not be expelled, she could hardly consider the matter settled; her relationship with Aracella had turned utterly fraught.
To make matters worse, the maids loyal to her were now threatened with dismissal.
The majority of the maids who had sided with Rosalyn were her own followers.
A voice cut through the Head Maid’s words. It was faint and trembling, yet clear enough to pull everyone’s attention toward the left.
Audrey stood there, looking as though she had just run the entire way, her face taut and her breath coming fast.
Though she was out of breath, Audrey enunciated each word with sharp clarity.
Aracella looked at her in astonishment. Audrey seemed completely different from when they had parted ways.
Audrey brought her hands from behind her back and presented two envelopes to Aracella.
Aracella took them with a puzzled expression.
While her mistress checked the contents of the letters, Audrey stepped boldly before the maids.
The reason Audrey had kept quiet about what had happened between her and the maids was simple.
She had believed the storm would eventually pass.
If that was not the case, there was no longer any reason for her to remain silent.
She looked around at the maids, none of whom dared meet her eyes, then turned toward Damian and curtsied.
Damian’s face hardened instantly.
Amid the shocked maids, the Head Maid—looking particularly stunned—was about to speak up again.
Having finished reading through the letters, Aracella turned and threw the question at Damian out of nowhere.
The abrupt question made Damian raise an eyebrow in puzzlement.
Aracella pointed a slender, elegant finger toward Rosalyn.
Rosalyn stood with the blood drained from her face, her body frozen and her eyes fixed entirely on the letter in Aracella’s hand.
The name ‘Bradley Brown’ written on the envelope was the pseudonym the Duchess used to send correspondence.
Why was it here?
Why was that here…?
A chill crept down her spine.
She should have dealt with it the moment she read it, but she had put it off, intending to burn it after dispatching her reply.
Then Aracella’s summons had come. Unable to send the reply, she had hidden the letter behind her nightstand and rushed out.
How on earth had a letter from the Duchess and an unsent reply ended up in Aracella’s hands?
Aracella’s soft voice reading the contents sounded like a death sentence in Rosalyn’s ears.
At the same time, Damian’s gaze, fixed on her with cold detachment, felt like the falling blade of a guillotine.
‘I’m finished. It’s all over.’
A violent sense of danger washed over Rosalyn, and she bolted on sheer instinct.
She shoved the other maids aside and sprinted for the door. But she didn’t make it far before she crashed abruptly to the floor.
Aracella had cast a binding spell on her feet.
A beam of light flared from her fair hands, wrapping around Rosalyn’s legs like a rope.
Rosalyn tried to crawl away, but someone stepped directly into her path, blocking her from moving forward.
She lifted her head to see who stood before her.
It was Aracella, whose beauty was like an angel’s, but who was, in truth, a devil.
Aracella read Rosalyn’s letter in a clear, ringing voice that carried to every ear in the room.
A dull thud sounded behind her—the Head Maid had collapsed to the floor.
Sensing disaster, her lips trembled violently.
Aracella cast a calm glance at Rosalyn, then held out a handkerchief to Damian.
Her eyes bound Rosalyn as tightly as chains; the girl could not move an inch.
Without a word, Damian took Aracella’s handkerchief and shoved it into the Head Maid’s mouth.
A sudden urge to survive surged in Rosalyn’s chest, and she scrambled upright.
Feeling the noose tightening around her neck, she flailed her hands frantically.
Rosalyn extended her hand unconsciously. Aracella placed hers over it, channeling her mana through.
Rosalyn’s fingertips began to turn a deep red.
Damian narrowed his golden eyes, watching the scene with quiet contemplation.
Rosalyn stared at Aracella in sheer disbelief.
Aracella smiled gently and held out her hand.
Audrey pulled a handkerchief from her pocket right away.
Aracella’s sly smile burned into Rosalyn’s mind as utter helplessness washed over her.
Aracella took Rosalyn gently by the chin and stuffed the handkerchief into her mouth.
Though her grip was far from tight, Rosalyn found herself powerless to resist.
Damian, who had summoned the guards in the meantime, gave the command. The Head Maid and Rosalyn, bound tight, were dragged away without the chance to scream or resist.
Aracella then stepped lightly up to her husband, her back to him, and whispered as she slipped the letters into his coat pocket,
In truth, even if Rosalyn had secured the document and escaped the mansion, she wouldn’t have gained anything, as Aracella had placed a spell on it that prevented anyone else from seeing the terms.
Aracella flashed a bright smile, as though whispering sweet nothings, and took a step back.
Damian let out a low chuckle and looked down at her.
Damian turned away, his expression settling into a cold mask.
His bright golden eyes cast downward like those of a predatory beast.
It was clear that the price the traitors would pay would be severe indeed.
A heavy silence fell over those who remained. The maids wore varied expressions, but despair plainly dominated their faces.
They had been instigated by a spy and had brought trouble upon their mistress; none of them expected their punishment to be light.
The maids responded with silent nods.
Aracella looked over them, then clapped her hands together.
“Well then, shall we begin the purge?”
A thorough investigation was conducted to uncover whether any other maids had been bought out like Rosalyn and the Head Maid.
Fortunately, no one else had been bribed.
Aracella spent several days drawing up the list of maids slated for dismissal. Her priority was to expel anyone who had kept close company with those two.
Even if they had not been bribed, they were by no means entirely blameless.
Some even came to her, shedding tears and pleading their innocence.
Aracella looked down at them with cold eyes, even as a smile lingered on her lips.
Such antics no longer angered her; they merely amused her.
She tapped the edge of the desk with a tilted finger, her lips parting slowly.
Not a single maid could utter a word in response.
Struck as if by lightning, they could neither move nor speak.
They had not a single argument left to offer.