The Villainess Enjoys Her Married Life
Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Episode 28. A Capable Master for a Capable Servant
2023.12.28.
Hemos, absorbed in cooking, turned around at the sound of a dry cough behind him.
Yuri Anesis stood there with a trail of maids behind her, her blonde hair lustrous and her eyes ruby-red.
“For whom are you preparing that food?”
Yuri’s brows were arched high, her expression clouded with displeasure.
‘I will not kill you immediately for failing my expectations. I shall grant you a special chance.’
The Grand Duchess’s voice remained firmly etched in her mind.
“Did you come here to spy on me? How thoroughly unpleasant.”
Hemos dusted off his hands and glared at Yuri as he asked.
“The Duchess’s cheeks seem to grow plumper by the day, which worries the Grand Duchess deeply. We wondered if the kitchen might be lending her a hand.”
Hemos snorted in disdain and retorted.
“This is food to be sent as a snack for His Grace the Duke, so put your useless worries to rest.”
Yuri’s sharp gaze swept every corner of the kitchen.
It was no illusion that Eshika was growing increasingly radiant.
A lustrous sheen had returned to her dull silver hair, her hollow cheeks were filling out, and the rough texture of her skin improved with each passing day.
“……Ah, seriously! How long do you plan to stand there gawking like a fool? You’re breaking my concentration!”
Hemos barked angrily at Yuri, pointing a finger toward the edge of a shelf.
On a shabby plate sat rotting bread.
It had to be Eshika’s.
“Very well. It seems…… I have confirmed what was necessary. However……”
Yuri’s brows arched even more sharply as she continued.
“The Duchess will soon ask for refreshments to be prepared. For tea time.”
“Refreshments?”
Hemos asked back, his brow furrowing.
“Provide plenty of refreshments, but be sure to serve peanut cookies alongside them.”
“Peanuts……?”
Hemos knitted his brows.
“If anyone reproaches you later for serving peanut cookies, simply brush it off by saying the Duchess asked for them to eat alone. What follows after will be handled by the Grand Duchess, as always.”
With a lukewarm expression, Hemos nodded and said.
“Well, that is hardly difficult for me.”
Only then did Yuri turn around, a wicked smile curling the corners of her lips.
Once the maids trailing Yuri had all dispersed, Sella poked her head out from the storage room.
Hemos and Sella exchanged a glance.
**
Eshika looked on impassively at the outsiders who entered carrying catalogs.
They presented her with catalogs containing the latest dress designs.
“What is…… this?”
Butler Hans, who had accompanied them to Eshika, answered.
“His Grace the Duke has ordered the purchase of dresses for Your Grace.”
With an indifferent face, Eshika flipped through the catalog without an ounce of enthusiasm.
Every single dress was expensive and exquisite, but she had no interest in such things.
Seeing no sign of pleasure from Eshika, Hans spoke further, slightly flustered.
“He also instructed us to provide as much support as needed whenever Your Grace requires a dress in the future.”
Yet Eshika’s expression remained chilled to the bone.
After turning a few pages, Eshika handed the book straight back to Hans.
Hans looked at Eshika with dazed eyes.
“There is nothing that catches my eye.”
At her words, Hans said in fluster.
“I am aware that Your Grace possesses only a single dress. Since the Grand Duchess burned Your Grace’s other dresses…… In any case, His Grace the Duke acted out of consideration, so perhaps you might choose one?”
Kalian was not the sort of man to care about his wife’s attire.
However, if she purchased fine dresses and wore them before him, satisfying Kalian’s vanity, it might ease the guilt he had recently come to harbor toward her.
Yet Eshika spoke in a tone that made it clear she cared nothing for such things.
“If it is the Duke’s will, I have all the more reason not to choose. Take it away.”
At her resolute words, Hans let out a soft sigh.
“Your Grace…… If only to spare my face……”
“Even while fully aware of all the circumstances within this household, the butler still wishes for me to get along with His Grace the Duke.”
At Eshika’s words, Hans’s hand twitched.
Butler Hans was one of the very few in the Klaus Ducal House who showed even the slightest regard for Eshika.
Which is to say, when she was crying, he had at least pressed a dry handkerchief into her hands.
“The reason must be because I am a Brigitte.”
“……Your Grace.”
“Because it would be troublesome if I were to demand the return of the vast dowry I brought with me upon divorce.”
Hans’s face stiffened, yet he could not bring himself to deny her words.
It was the immense dowry Eshika had brought when marrying into the family that had barely allowed Klaus’s precarious finances to weather the crisis.
Under the laws of the realm, however, if the husband is demonstrably at fault, the wife has the right to demand the return of her dowry.
The reason Kalian could not openly commit adultery was also due to Hans’s earnest reminders, mindful of this very fact.
“And perhaps you are also expecting financial support from Brigitte through me.”
Acting for the sake of the family’s coffers, he could not become entirely the Grand Duchess’s man either.
Setting aside his tacit consent to her tyranny, that is.
“……I apologize.”
Hans bowed his head to Eshika.
Then he spoke in a measured tone.
“I know that Your Grace has changed recently. Unlike before, Your Grace seems not to possess the slightest interest in His Grace the Duke.”
Hans continued.
“Of course, I have nothing to say for myself regarding the way His Grace the Duke and the Grand Duchess have neglected and mistreated Your Grace until now. However, a divorce……”
Hans’s gaze sank low.
The Grand Duchess spoke with certainty regarding the outcome of the Zühen investment—whose success remained unclear—thinking they no longer needed the likes of Brigitte, but his thoughts differed.
“……I ask that you consider it carefully.”
“Do not concern yourself with that matter.”
Yet at the words that followed from Eshika, Hans’s shoulders flinched.
Looking ahead, he saw Eshika’s beautiful face adorned with a profound smile.
Her blue eyes were as vivid as jasper and as chilling as a tidal surge.
“You have served the Klaus Ducal House all your life, butler, and you will continue to do so. No matter who takes Klaus’s seat as master, you, Hans, will forever remain Klaus’s butler.”
At those words, Hans’s eyes trembled.
Hans was quick-witted, and he understood the implication behind the phrase ‘Klaus’s master’ immediately.
“It is only natural instinct for a capable servant to seek a capable master. When the current master keeps puncturing holes in the bottom of the jar, how could any gold coins remain?”
Yet within her eyes burned a cold fire that could never have belonged to the old her.
The leisurely flame of the strong, turning contemplation into conviction.
“…….”
Stepping closer to Hans, Eshika spoke in a near-whisper.
“I intend to build a proper Klaus…… What are your thoughts on that?”
That intimate, chilling voice flowed into Hans’s ear, setting his heart pounding.
**
With a knock, Hans entered Kalian’s office.
Kalian was engrossed in reviewing and signing documents.
“I have visited Her Grace with the boutique’s designers.”
Kalian paused his pen at once and focused on Hans’s words.
Ignorant of Kalian’s growing impatience, Hans hesitated.
“……However, the thing is.”
Kalian set his pen down with a sharp clatter.
“I apologize. It appears Her Grace has no interest in dresses.”
“She refused the dresses?”
Kalian’s brow furrowed.
“Yes. I attempted to persuade her, but she was so adamant that there was no way.”
“Next time, do not try to persuade her—turn right around.”
“Pardon?”
At Kalian’s words, Hans wore a puzzled expression.
“Offer a hand, and she tries to climb all the way to my head.”
The ends of Kalian’s brows rose sharply.
Faced with an unsatisfactory outcome after long patience, he vented his rage.
“Even if the accusation of luxury was a misunderstanding, does that give her the right to reject her husband’s goodwill?”
He had even consulted his close friend Gaben and shown her consideration, yet Eshika had kicked that favor away.
A mere daughter of Brigitte who bought her title with money, putting on airs of dignity as if she were a noble of Klaus’s standing.
“Eshika Klaus shall be barred from purchasing new clothes for the time being. I will make her pay the price for her choice.”
Eshika—she should have accepted that dress catalog with gratitude.
And she should have been deeply moved by Kalian’s consideration.
“……Understood, Your Grace.”
A twisting knot in his gut prevented Kalian from working any further, and he rose from his seat.
Eshika was a woman who could never best him.
No matter how grievously Kalian and Riona had wronged her, such were the inner workings of a ducal house.
Yet of late, she refused to back down an inch, engaging in a battle of wills.
“Would Your Grace care to take some fresh air?”
Watching Kalian’s mood, Hans offered quietly.
Standing with a grim expression, Kalian stepped forward immediately.
“I suppose I should.”
Working any further in this state would hardly be productive anyway.
To cool his temper, he stepped outside.
In the flower garden, a tea party with fragrant tea and sweet desserts was in full swing.
