Chapter 3

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Pitiful Young Lady (2)
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Luise, born the daughter of a knight without a title and made Helena's lady-in-waiting at a young age, wasn't malicious from the start.

However, serving the noble young ladies, she grew jealous of their lives, how they were treated with such reverence simply because of their birth.

To Luise, Ariana was a convenient scapegoat.

Ariana Bronte, born to the Eastern Duke and Rachel, daughter of the Western Duke, yet treated worse than a common maid.

Luise felt a thrill seeing Ariana, who was of noble blood, tremble and beg before her.

But recently, Ariana had been a little strange. No, very strange.

For the past few days, Ariana had begun to act like a completely different person. It was as if another soul had entered Ariana's body.

"Eat this?"

A cold voice. Chilling eyes. Two hands calmly placed on her thighs and a perfectly straight back.

Her mere presence made the shabby room feel as grand as an imperial palace. An aura of dignity emanated from her slender shoulders, which used to cower at the sight of Luise, making it difficult to meet her gaze directly.

Ariana, who used to tear up, terrified of the dark, now looked as if she feared nothing.

Just a few days ago, every time spoiled food was brought to her, she would wrinkle her nose in disgust and shed tears. But now, Ariana showed no emotion even with rotten food in front of her.

Instead, she twisted one corner of her lips, as if amused.

Luise felt a chill run down her spine at Ariana's cold smile, but she quickly shook off the feeling and spoke.

"Do you really think the Duke and Duchess will look kindly on you now, just because you're pretending to be elegant?"

Ariana raised her eyes and gazed steadily at Luise.

Her deep blue eyes were as clear as a winter lake.

For some reason, Luise found it hard to meet Ariana's gaze directly and subtly averted her eyes.

"Do I look elegant?"

Ariana's changed way of speaking grated on Luise's nerves.

Just a few days ago, Ariana had always used honorifics when speaking to Luise. Like a maid.

Luise couldn't understand why she was suddenly acting this way.

"Stop talking nonsense and just eat it quickly! I'm busy too!"

Ariana suddenly stood up, causing Luise to instinctively take a step back.

Embarrassed that she had been pushed back by someone like Ariana, she bit her lower lip and glared at her, but Ariana took a large stride and stood close to Luise.

Though still young, Ariana was a full hand shorter than Luise, yet for some reason, Luise felt as if she were several times larger.

The quiet fury emanating from the small girl seemed to clench Luise's throat.

"Luise."

Ariana's hand lightly brushed Luise's dress.

"Your dress is pretty."

"Th-that's right. It's the kind of dress you'll never get to wear in your life."

"Do you think so?"

Luise bristled at Ariana's attitude, which was as if she were speaking to a subordinate, and shoved her shoulder hard.

Watching the frail body stumble and then collapse into a chair, Luise smiled with satisfaction.

'Right, she's just a child, after all. I don't know why I was scared.'

Luise didn't know what change of heart made Ariana act like a lady, but she was still just Ariana.

Ariana Bronte, who, even when shoved or pinched by a maid, had no one to look out for her.

"Looks like you're stalling because you don't want to eat it. Don't act out of character; just gobble it down clean!"

Ariana replied to Luise's rough words.

"Yes, I suppose I can stop stalling now."

"What?"

"I said I'll gobble it down clean, without acting out of character."

To Luise's surprise, Ariana picked up the fork without shedding a single tear.

And she began to slowly eat the spoiled food piled high on the plate.

Her hand moved the fork with such delicacy that Luise almost imagined Ariana was eating a gourmet dish served at a banquet.

She had brought only the oldest discarded food from the kitchen trash, as Helena had ordered, but Ariana ate it all, without once grimacing.

It was the first time Ariana had eaten everything so calmly, and it sent shivers down Luise's spine.

'Why is she acting like this?'

That's when it happened.

"Ugh!"

Ariana, who had calmly finished her meal as if it were a delicious dish, suddenly bent over and began to vomit.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

"Hey... hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Haaah... *cough*! Ugh!"

Finally, at the sight of Ariana getting up and throwing up on the floor, Luise's face turned pale.

No matter how poorly Ariana was treated as a young lady, her dying was a different matter. If Ariana were to die because of the food Luise had brought, Luise would not escape severe punishment.

Luise, pacing anxiously and wondering whether she should run away, didn't even notice someone opening the door and entering.

"What in the world is going on here!"

At the stern voice, she snapped back to reality and turned her head to see Dowager Duchess Kielley Bronte, Rachel, and the Dowager's ladies-in-waiting standing at the door.

Even as this happened, Ariana was clutching her stomach and vomiting, seemingly in pain.

But Rachel, her mother, instead of approaching Ariana and asking what was wrong, simply stood beside the Dowager, a subtle smile playing on her lips.

It was the Dowager, rather, who covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief and asked in an indignant voice.

"And what is this stench?!"

"Th-that is... this child... no, Young Lady Ariana suddenly had an upset stomach and vomited... and that's the smell..."

"Yes, Mother. It seems Ariana's vomiting is causing this strong smell. I'll take care of this here, so you should go rest in the garden first."

Honestly, the Dowager didn't want to get involved in such matters, so she intended to feign ignorance and follow her daughter-in-law's wishes.

However, Ariana did something unexpected.

"P-please... save me... Please save me, Grandmother... I ate spoiled food... something... must be wrong..."

The small girl, pleading for help while prostrate, was so pitiful that the ladies-in-waiting standing behind the Dowager let out small gasps of lament.

All of the Dowager's ladies-in-waiting were of noble birth, and so, for the Dowager, whose public image was paramount, she could no longer pretend not to notice the situation.

No matter how much one tried to keep it quiet, words were bound to leak out.

If she were to turn away and pretend not to know Ariana in this situation, rumors would spread that the Dowager of the Bronte Ducal House was abusing the daughter her daughter-in-law brought.

Although the Dowager didn't care for Ariana, whom Rachel had borne with the Eastern Duke, seeing a child begging for her life softened her heart.

"Call the physician."

Before the physician arrived, Rachel had the maids move Ariana to another room and gestured for Luise to leave.

Luise quickly gathered the dishes and was about to leave, but the Dowager spoke.

"You stay. I need to know what that child ate to end up like this."

"Mother, she must have just eaten too quickly and gotten indigestion. Ariana tends to be a bit gluttonous and sometimes swallows without chewing properly."

Rachel tried to cover for Luise, but the Dowager was unyielding. There were too many eyes watching.

"Didn't you smell that when you entered the room? Say no more."

Soon after, the physician arrived and examined Ariana.

To the physician's question of what she had eaten, Ariana replied in a weak voice.

"It was all mixed together... I don't know what I ate. But... the smell was terrible... it was hard to eat because of the strange odor."

"Then you shouldn't have eaten it, Young Lady."

"But... if I didn't eat it all, Luise would get angry..."

At Ariana's cautious words, glancing around, everyone's expression in the room changed by the moment.

Rachel glared at Ariana with a mix of irritation and fury, the color drained from Luise's face, and the Dowager, her ladies-in-waiting, and the physician were all in shock.

"A maid... gets angry at a Young Lady?"

Ariana did not answer the physician's question.

She merely cowered, as if terrified.

Only then did the physician realize Ariana's appearance was unbecoming of a noble young lady.

"You shouldn't wear such thin clothes in this cold weather, Young Lady."

He called them 'thin clothes' because of the onlookers, but to be precise, they were old rags that even maids wouldn't wear.

Rachel, who hadn't even thought to change Ariana's clothes, flushed red.

The physician's expression was grim as he finished his examination and stood up.

"It seems she has fallen ill from eating a lot of spoiled food. She also shows signs of malnutrition. Unless the ducal household is facing financial difficulties, I recommend providing her with meals made from fresh ingredients."

It was a rude remark, but no one reprimanded the physician.

"You're mistaken. We always provide this child with good food. It must be that a kitchen maid made a mistake today and the food spoiled."

Rachel spoke smoothly, but the physician did not seem convinced.

The physician prescribed medication to cure Ariana's food poisoning, and after Ariana mentioned she couldn't sleep, he gave her a few sleeping pills he had on hand before leaving.

A heavy silence descended upon Ariana's room.

Luise fidgeted, observing Rachel and the Dowager's expressions, while Rachel pondered how to appease the Dowager.

Ariana, lying in a 'bed' for the first time since arriving at this mansion, was wrapped in a cozy blanket, quietly observing them and planning her next move.

+++

Cyrus and Isaac had been watching the entire sequence of events from outside the window.

"How pitiful. She ended up getting sick."

Cyrus let out a cold laugh at Isaac's muttered words.

Cyrus had clearly seen Ariana's cold, blue eyes.

He had also witnessed Ariana approaching Luise and doing something before she ate the spoiled food.

Even as Ariana clutched her stomach and writhed on the floor, the ominous glint in her eyes did not subside, and when Rachel defended the maid, her piercing blue gaze did not waver in the slightest.

"Pitiful? Well, I think someone else is about to become more pitiful."

+++

In the heavy silence, Ariana waited for someone to speak.

According to the Dowager's personality, as Ariana knew it, the Dowager would surely be the first to ask about Ariana's situation.

If the Dowager had come alone, she might have pretended not to notice at this point, but there were six ladies-in-waiting accompanying her.

The Dowager wouldn't want to appear to her ladies-in-waiting as a 'cold grandmother to the child her daughter-in-law brought.'

"Does this child usually stay in a room like this?"

As Ariana had predicted, the Dowager broke the silence.

The Dowager, living in a different part of the mansion, didn't precisely know Ariana's circumstances.

Rachel quickly replied.

"Of course not, Mother. There's no way I would make my daughter stay in a place like that. We merely confined her to that room temporarily to reflect on her actions after she stole and lied."