The Villainess Enjoys Her Married Life
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
화6. 물벼락
2023.12.06.
‘Even seeing that face stirs nothing in my heart anymore. I do not even wish to exchange words with him.’
Stepping into her room, Eshika stretched languidly before lying down on the bed.
Through the tiny window of the cramped back room, the sky was visible.
Watching the drifting wisps of clouds, she closed her eyes.
The moment she first met Kalian Klaus, the moment she fell for him, flashed through her mind.
Intertwined with it came the memories of Yeongryeong meeting the Emperor in her past life.
‘The outcome was ruin in both. How foolish I was, chasing after hollow husks.’
Eshika lifted her eyelids once more.
‘Yet from now on, this life belongs to me.’
A cool, sharp brilliance gleamed within her blue eyes.
Though she had not yet regained the strength of her past life, she possessed the knowledge and experience to assess the reality before her with absolute clarity.
Things would change—slowly, but undeniably.
Thud—
Suddenly, the sound of the door swinging open without a knock echoed through the room.
Slowly pushing herself up from the bed, Eshika laid eyes on four women.
The three in front were personal maids serving the Grand Duchess directly.
Backed by the Grand Duchess’s authority, they were women who wielded unchecked influence within the ducal estate.
‘I expected as much, but their reaction is remarkably swift.’
And standing behind them was Yuri, newly crowned with the title of Head Maid.
The corner of her mouth twisted into a crooked smirk.
The three maids, carrying buckets brimmed with freezing water, hurled them straight at Eshika.
Splash—! Whoosh—!
Icy water crashed over Eshika.
Her neatly combed hair was drenched completely, and her clothes were soaked through.
Even after they emptied the buckets, water continued to stream endlessly from her chin and the cuffs of her sleeves.
Yuri stepped past the maids with clicking heels, coming to a halt right in front of Eshika.
Lifting her chin haughtily, she spoke.
“The Grand Duchess ordered me to bring you some refreshing cold water.”
A frigid sneer played upon Yuri’s lips.
“She said that when it comes to curing insolence, cold water is far more effective than fragrant tea.”
Delightful mockery dripped from her voice.
“My, though… you look just like a drowned rat, don’t you?”
At Yuri’s words, the maids behind her burst into snickering laughter.
Water dripped steadily from the ends of Eshika’s hair, damp strands clinging to her face.
Yuri felt immensely thrilled seeing Eshika in such a wretched state.
A duchess in name only—who did she think she was, sharing tea with Kalian?
Furthermore, she had reportedly walked off without even a parting courtesy before Kalian had risen from his seat.
So Yuri had reported the incident, deliberately stoking the Grand Duchess’s irritation.
Having purposely drawn freezing water to throw over her, she expected Eshika to be half out of her mind with distress.
Eshika slowly pushed back the wet hair obscuring her vision.
“…”
Meeting Eshika’s blue eyes, Yuri’s brow twitched.
In those eyes, where she expected to see terror or weeping from the ice-cold dousing, there was not the slightest stir of emotion.
Yuri would never know.
That from childhood, Cheon Yeong-ryeong had trained for dozens of days at a time in frozen valleys of glacial ice.
Though this body remained frail, her sheer mental fortitude was far beyond flinching at a petty trick like this.
“…Ha.”
Without the slightest agitation, she stepped down from the bed and smoothly swept her hair back from her face.
The maids standing behind Yuri also flinched, unnerved by Eshika’s utterly unbothered reaction.
Torment was only amusing when the victim gave a reaction.
Yet Eshika…
“…Are you finished?”
With an unruffled expression—no, with eyes looking at something utterly pitiful—she leaned her face closer to Yuri.
Yuri’s smirk, once turned up high, trembled faintly.
“…You…”
“Tell the Grand Duchess I drank the cold water well.”
Eshika parted her lips, her voice flowing out smooth and calm.
“…What an honor to have it brought by her prospective daughter-in-law in person. You two must have grown quite close?”
Soon, Eshika’s gaze shifted toward the maids behind Yuri.
At the words ‘prospective daughter-in-law,’ Yuri’s hand twitched.
“What on earth are you—!”
“Are you feeling shy in front of the maids? You’re the one who said it. That you would become the daughter-in-law of Klaus.”
“…!”
For now, the Grand Duchess must not catch wind of Yuri setting her sights on Kalian.
Eshika had suffered relentless torment precisely because of the Grand Duchess’s suffocating maternal possessiveness.
If Yuri, who had barely become Head Maid by offering bribes of jewelry, were to cross the Grand Duchess… her very life might be in jeopardy.
“Wh-when did I ever say such a thing!”
When Yuri looked back, the maids behind her were exchanging subtle, meaningful glances.
And Eshika, a smirk playing on her lips, was watching Yuri’s flustered state with clear amusement.
‘Did she bring this up on purpose?’
Yuri’s eyes shook. Eshika—that foolish girl could never possess the cunning to calculate such a move in a situation like this…!
Grr. She ground her teeth.
“And.”
Eshika turned her gaze back to the maids behind Yuri.
“Emilia, Annie, Lusa. I will remember well what the three of you have done today. Your manner of serving your superior is truly remarkable…”
At the calm yet icy voice, the frozen maids flinched as well.
“I shall be sure to… bestow a proper reward upon you someday.”
The Duchess knew their names?
The Duchess of Klaus had always been a frail, pathetic woman who did nothing but drape herself in jewels and dress up every day.
When the displeased Grand Duchess threatened to cast her out, she had begged and pleaded, agreeing to self-reflect in this squalid back room and relocating here. But people did not change so easily.
Yet the gaze of the drenched Duchess right now…
‘It’s giving me chills.’
It was utterly terrifying. A subtle killing intent drifted in her eyes, and with the faint smirk curling her lips… did she not look just like a witch?
The maids’ faces grew increasingly rigid.
“L-let’s go.”
Yuri, trembling as she clenched her fists tightly, whipped around.
The three maids scurried after her.
The stride that had been so pompous when they entered was now reduced to anxious, hurried steps.
**
“Madam, I brought dry clothes, but… the clothes are…”
Sella bowed so low before Eshika that she was practically prostrating herself, pleading for forgiveness.
“I am so sorry, but I could only obtain a maid’s uniform.”
Eshika changed her clothes in silence, but Sella was anxiously watching her every expression.
Shaking out her wet hair, Eshika reflected.
About the luxurious dresses she had brought with her when she married.
The room originally assigned to her had been spacious and bathed in abundant sunlight.
It had been an opulent chamber befitting the status of the Duchess of Klaus.
But the Grand Duchess began tormenting Eshika by nitpicking at every little thing, and with Kalian offering no protection whatsoever, Eshika’s standing could only shrink.
In the end, the Grand Duchess delivered an ultimatum: if she was going to act so lavishly and tarnish the family’s honor, she should get a divorce…
Eshika had moved into this sunless, secluded back room of her own accord.
She had surrendered all her dresses and jewelry to the Grand Duchess, save for two formal gowns reserved for official occasions.
Since Yuri had ruined one of those two gowns under the pretense of an accident, Eshika was effectively left with only a single dress.
‘And no doubt this outfit is also by the Grand Duchess’s design.’
For a noblewoman, donning a maid’s uniform was a profound humiliation.
Thus, Eshika was meant to choose: shiver in soaked clothes until they dried, or suffer devastating humiliation by dressing in the garb of lowly maids.
“How does it look, Sella?”
Adjusting her attire, Eshika wore the maid’s dress Sella had brought and asked her.
Sella slowly lifted her head, looking at Eshika with mild astonishment.
“Madam…”
Even a common maid’s dress could not conceal Eshika’s extraordinary presence.
The lofty, unyielding grace flowing from her posture was remarkable, and though Sella had never realized it before, she was undeniably beautiful now.
‘Why on earth does His Grace not cherish Madam?’
It was striking enough to bring such a thought unbidden to her mind.
“It appears to fit Madam perfectly, but still, for Ma… Madam to wear a maid’s uniform is…”
“No, I am asking if I look like a real maid.”
“How could that be! Madam is the noble Duchess of Klaus—!”
Eshika furrowed her delicate brows.
“I am asking what I must do to appear like a convincing maid.”
Startled, Sella answered.
“…Maids usually tie their hair up, so it would be better to tie it.”
“Yes. That is the answer I wanted. I prefer what is practical. I despise useless trash that merely looks pretty. I wore more than enough of those in my past life…”
Eshika parted her lips with a wicked glint in her smile.
“In that sense, this outfit you brought and your advice to tie my hair—I like them very much.”
“Th-thank you, Madam.”
Eshika looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Fortune is ever-changing; she had gained attire well-suited for movement, so how could she not be pleased?
Sella, who had been terrified anticipating the Duchess’s rage and despair, stared at Eshika in dumbfounded bewilderment.
As Eshika gathered and tied her hair into a single tail, she wore a smile of genuine amusement.
And at that very moment, a man was making his way toward the Klaus Ducal Estate.
