Translator: Nox

Chapter 92

Chapter 92: Olivia's Achilles Heel

Betty's heart pounded. She involuntarily raised her head to see the Princess Consort standing there, elegant and poised.

Mrs. Timberlin swiftly changed her frosty expression to one of great affection.

"Your Highness!"

The servants quietly sighed at her voice, as light as a spring breeze.

"Welcome. What brings you here?"

"Well, I noticed these curtains are quite dirty."

Olivia approached the curtains with a natural, flowing grace. They were not dirty in any way, no matter how one looked at them.

Olivia silently gazed at Mrs. Timberlin, who, as if utterly disgusted, flicked the curtains with her fingertips and raised her voice.

She needed to break the Princess Consort's spirit in this instance, so that the servants of the Prince's residence would bow to her in the future.

"Look. There are stains and fuzz, aren't there? You can see it without looking closely. They must have hung the curtains from last year without washing them. That's usually what servants do when there's no Head Maid or butler to supervise."

"..."

The faces of the servants standing in the hallway, including Betty, turned cold.

Mrs. Timberlin continued, unconcerned.

"Trust me and replace the curtains, Your Highness. Order them to be replaced right away. And if possible, the color should be an elegant Bordeaux, not this navy blue. Who uses navy blue curtains these days? No one."

Then, Olivia slowly turned and looked at Betty. The middle-aged woman, her cheeks flushed red, kept her eyes lowered.

Mrs. Timberlin covered her mouth with her fingers and smiled with her eyes.

Just as she thought. A commoner would do as she was told.

However, the Princess Consort said something completely different.

"Betty, according to the schedule you reported to me, today the servants of the residence are supposed to tend to the garden in preparation for winter and replace various bedding items, is that correct?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"You must be busy all day."

"..."

"Go and do what you need to do."

"Yes? Then what about these curtains...?"

"With so much to do, when would you have time to fix the curtains? We'll discuss that later. Bring tea and refreshments for Mrs. Timberlin and me."

Betty reflexively glanced at Mrs. Timberlin's face behind Olivia. Her expression was terribly distorted.

But she didn't dare to defy the Princess Consort's command, so she could only mutter to herself. Betty quickly bowed her head.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Olivia took a slow, deep breath and turned around with a smile. She glanced at the noblewoman's face, which was barely holding its expression together, and took the first step.

"Let's go, Countess Timberine."

Countess Timberine trembled with rising humiliation and followed Olivia. Soon, they arrived at the Princess Consort's study, and Countess Timberine didn't bother to hide her sharp emotions.

She maintained a very cynical expression, making the atmosphere frigid.

But Olivia, unconcerned, took the Biographical Dictionary she had received from her yesterday, placed it on the table, and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but if you have any issues to point out in the residence, please tell me directly from now on."

"There are so many things to tell you that it's difficult to report them all individually."

"Do so nonetheless."

Countess Timberine hesitated for a moment at her rather firm attitude. She had thought she was weak and wouldn't dare to say a word... Was she acting like this because she was arrogant?

Countess Timberine calmed her anger and opened her mouth calmly.

"Originally, you should gain the trust of those closest to you, Your Highness. For example, the Queen Consort has gained the trust of Head Maid Paulsmen."

"..."

"Just now, you rejected my suggestion in front of everyone. Even if you didn't like my suggestion, it wasn't right to act that way in that setting."

At that moment, Betty appeared with a knock and served refreshments.

"Thank you, Betty. You've worked hard."

"It's nothing, Your Highness. Please call me anytime."

As Betty politely greeted them and disappeared, Olivia spoke.

"How does it look? Doesn't it seem like I've gained her trust?"

"...Pardon?"

As Countess Timberine belatedly asked back, the Princess Consort smiled even more brightly.

"Countess. Your role is to inform me about the nobility in general. I will follow your teachings with all my heart. However, matters inside the residence are separate. If there are parts inside the residence that need to be corrected, let me know. It is my responsibility to convey that to the servants."

"..."

"Didn't you say yesterday? That the most important thing is to know the limits of my decision-making authority."

Countess Timberine blinked blankly and nodded with a small, self-deprecating laugh.

"Yes... I did."

"The servants of this residence are under my decision-making authority. Under no circumstances is physical violence allowed."

"..."

"Please be mindful of that in the future. Now, let's begin the lesson."

Countess Timberine, who had been deprived of her initiative in an instant, twitched her eyebrows and clenched her fist hidden in her skirt tightly.

Her gray eyes flickered fiercely.

"Yes. Then... let's look at your posture again. Stand up."

As if to relieve her resentment, Countess Timberine drove Olivia hard. She tightened the Corset a little more and didn't allow her to sit down for a moment.

"Straighten your back, lower your shoulders! No, no. Try again, again!"

Olivia slowly inhaled and returned to the beginning again.

Under the guise of being a teacher chosen by the Queen Consort, she acted as if she would burn Olivia to ashes.

The Princess Consort, who looked as if she would burst into tears at any moment, never once frowned. Even with her face pale, she practiced tenaciously.

Moreover, she had memorized the Biographical Dictionary she had given her just yesterday with a ghostly memory, which made Countess Timberine even more irritated.

"No, no!! Walk again! Your knees are buckling, your knees!!"

The servants who had entered to replace the refreshments in the middle of the lesson trembled all over at Countess Timberine's voice, which was as sharp as frost.

"Goodness. She's really getting to the Princess Consort."

"She keeps making her stand without a moment's rest. She must be doing that because she didn't take her side this morning."

"If we had to take down the curtains in the hallway today, we would all be exhausted. Are they a little heavy?"

More than five hours after the start of the lesson, Betty also sighed repeatedly and looked at the room where the Princess Consort and Countess Timberine were.

Even the words of the passing servants made her feel uneasy.

After much deliberation, Betty carefully entered the room with a tray. She intended to replace the now-cold refreshments again and check the Princess Consort's face.

"..."

But there was nothing more to check. The Princess Consort was utterly pale.

There was no sign that she had touched her share of the refreshments, and only Countess Timberine's was empty.

When Betty entered, Countess Timberine drove Olivia even harder with a sharper voice.

"You must do it properly, Your Highness! Straighten your shoulders a little more, straighten your back!"

The sharp voice, filled with annoyance and irritability, made her chest feel stuffy just listening to it. Betty glanced at Olivia as she cleared the refreshments.

"...?"

But her posture was not strange at all. Although she was a maid, Betty had served the Prince and seen royalty many times. In her eyes, the Princess Consort's posture was elegant, and there was nothing to fix.

Betty lowered her head and quickly cleared the refreshments. She had to hold her breath because her hands were about to tremble.

Olivia was not allowed to sit down even after Betty had finished setting up the new refreshments.

And a little later, cold sweat began to flow from Olivia's forehead. She felt dizzy to the point where her vision was spinning, and she was short of breath even when she was still.

The world went dark for a moment, and she heard tinnitus in her ears. She felt like she would collapse if she lost her mind, so she stopped in her place and closed her eyes tightly.

Only then did Countess Timberine speak kindly.

"Oh dear, you must be very tired?"

When Olivia slowly opened her eyes, she approached Olivia with a brightly smiling face and supported her.

"But you've improved a lot. At first, I didn't even know where to start teaching you, but now it's not that bad. Now, sit down and have some refreshments."

Countess Timberine acted affectionately as if she had never been sharp.

"You must have been hungry? But if you're too full, your movements will be sluggish. I ask for your understanding, Your Highness."

Olivia had no strength to reply. Her hands trembled as she held the teacup, causing it to shake. Countess Timberine watched Olivia's fingertips with a sharp gaze and immediately pointed it out.

"Oh dear, the teacup and saucer are making noise."

"My hands are shaking because I'm hungry."

"Excuses are bad."

In the end, Olivia put the teacup down as it was and stared intently at Countess Timberine. Her eyes, as black as the deep sea, felt vast.

As a result of dealing with Olivia for two days, Countess Timberine realized that she was by no means an easy person.

However, Countess Timberine was determined to suppress the Princess Consort's spirit and subjugate her. She smiled very gently and whispered.

"The Queen Consort went through a lot of trouble to have me appointed as Your Highness's etiquette teacher."

Olivia's movements stopped at the word "Queen Consort."

"The Queen Consort tried to arrange for many noblewomen in the capital to be Your Highness's etiquette teacher. Among them was my sister-in-law, Marchioness Rettium. But none of them worked out."

Countess Timberine touched Olivia's Achilles heel.

"When you contacted me... I was actually in a very difficult situation. It's a time when my children need a lot of attention. Nevertheless, I couldn't refuse the Queen Consort's earnest request, so I rushed here. For the sake of the Queen Consort's honor, I will do my best to teach you."