Chapter 12
Flora let out a deep sigh. Her prediction that a troublesome situation might arise had come true, so there was no longer any reason to hold back.
“Let me see clearly whether you’ll still be able to smile with a hideous scar on that confident face of yours.”
The next moment, Salin’s threatening arm swung high toward the ceiling.
The tip of the whip, braided like a thick rope, sliced through the air at almost the same moment as Flora grabbed the arms of the maids restraining her and bent them back.
The moment the maids, their balance broken, were thrown to the floor, the tail end of the whip was caught in Flora’s hand with a snap.
It all happened with the speed of lightning, so it took Salin a considerable amount of time to understand the entire situation.
Salin and Flora faced each other, pulling on opposite ends of the taut whip.
Salin pulled the whip with all her might, but it wouldn’t budge, as if caught on a rock.
“What… what do you think you’re doing? Let go!”
She had come fully determined to correct her bad habits, so what was this situation? Salin pulled on the rope with all her strength, her palms chafing.
“Let go! I said let go!”
At that moment, Flora smirked and wound the rope tightly around her palm. Once, twice. Salin’s feet helplessly moved.
The more Flora’s hand swung in a large circle, the more Salin’s body was dragged along. Despite trying to hold her ground somehow, Salin was soon pulled right in front of Flora.
Startled by Flora’s sudden change in attitude, Salin widened her eyes. The fact that she was being overwhelmed by the pressure from a mere low-ranking maid became viscerally real to her stiff body.
Sure enough, Flora’s sky-blue eyes, which had seemed as innocent as a doll without a retort, were now terrifyingly fierce.
“You’re crazy? How dare you do this…”
“What can I say? I have no intention of being subjected to your discipline…”
Flora recited in a calm, emotionless tone.
The reason she hadn’t reacted to every single one of their provocations until now was simply because she found it troublesome. Salin’s nagging didn’t even rank as an irritating mosquito to Flora.
That being said, she had never intended to obediently bleed and get beaten from the start.
“As long as you don’t touch me, I will behave myself here.”
After giving that brief warning, Flora quickly drew a short sword from her bosom and cut through the whip she was holding. The recoil sent Salin flying to the opposite side of the room, where she crashed to the floor.
*Crash!*
A sturdy chest used for storing grain collided with Salin’s body, making a loud noise.
The maids who had gathered to set an example began to back away one by one. Terrified by the unexpected turn of events, they all turned pale.
Having forgotten that they had only intended to quietly finish the task, they were frightened by the knife handled like a toy in Flora’s hand and screamed.
Ignoring them, Flora flexed and extended her palm, surveying the maids.
*What would be better, to leave a more certain warning?* As she pondered, her eyes met the maids’ stares, which looked at her as if she were a strange being.
Familiar eyes, coexisting fear and contempt.
The realization that she had responded more than necessary followed, and a hollow sigh escaped her.
Striding over, Flora flung the door wide open and left without looking back.
—
Claude stared at the woman before him with eyes that saw a headache.
He had long since given up on the expectation that Flora would get along well with the other maids, but even he hadn’t predicted she would cause trouble in this way.
“If it had been a minor squabble between maids, I wouldn’t have come to see the master at this early hour.”
The Head Maid, accompanied by Flora, had come since early morning to request that she be dismissed immediately. While she reported all the details of the previous night’s commotion, he looked at Flora with a perplexed expression.
For the one who had caused this mess, she had no expression at all. She was expressionless throughout, as if she had done nothing wrong, and her posture was confident rather than cowering.
“Is it true you hit the maids?”
“When a blade comes at your neck, there isn’t a person anywhere who would just endure it.”
“…What did the maids do to you?”
He hadn’t expected her to deny it, but her answer was enough to fluster Claude. What did she mean, a blade at her neck?
“They were the ones who first did me harm.”
Her face, devoid of any remorseful attitude, was calm, as if simply stating facts. Seeing Flora like that, the old woman gave a look as if to say, *See?*
“What harm did they do? Did they pull your hair or something? So you swung a knife in return?”
After briefly sneering, Claude looked at the palm-sized short sword the Head Maid had placed on his desk. Compared to the longswords soldiers used, it was pitifully small, but it was still a black blade.
He continued his questions before even hearing her answer.
“To begin with, where did this dagger come from?”
“I carried it for self-defense. I needed something to protect myself.”
He had thought she was an emotionless, dull woman, but whenever Flora answered his questions decisively, Claude felt a little strange.
A feeling he had never felt even from his adjutant, who spoke informally to him—a feeling that was somehow pleasant yet also irritatingly scratched at his nerves. Unable to make a judgment, Claude soon shook off the thought.
“She threatened the maids with a blade. I believe it would be best to send her away immediately.”
Madame Melady repeatedly urged that such a dangerous maid should not be in the ducal residence, that he should kick her out as soon as possible.
But as if deaf to this reasoning, Claude’s gaze remained fixed on Flora.
Now that he looked, something was different from last time. One of Flora’s cheeks was unusually red.
Was it because of her hair, loosely tied back, or because a few strands that had fallen loose were barely touching her cheek?
*’With that temper of hers, there’s no way she got hit…’*
Averting his gaze from the irritating strands of hair, he sent the Head Maid away with a mere chin gesture, then roughly opened a drawer.
“I will confiscate this blade.”
“It was merely for self-defense.”
Flora flinched noticeably and glared at him defiantly. The maids had been the ones to start it; she had done nothing wrong. If she hadn’t used force, she would have been helplessly whipped for no reason.
“There is no one here who wants your life, so that’s an unnecessary worry. And even in a dangerous situation, attacking someone recklessly is forbidden.”
“I cannot understand that.”
As he said, Flora couldn’t agree with half of what the Duke was saying. But before she could list the reasons one by one, the fact that she might lose even that small blade made her anxious.
Nevertheless, the Duke firmly placed the dagger into the desk drawer.
“Regardless of the circumstances, it’s true you threatened the maids.”
“Will you punish me?”
His eyebrow twitched. Watching Flora’s slightly prominent red lips move, Claude somehow felt a little thirsty and languidly stroked his chin.
“I will decide on your disposition.”
Feeling sarcastic, Flora gave up on making excuses. Even if she told the truth, there was no way the Duke would understand her. Wasn’t he the man who had even gotten angry at the Head Maid over something trivial yesterday?
Wondering if she would be whipped or starved, an answer came that made her doubt her ears.
“A pay cut.”
—
After that, Flora continued to cause problems.
It hadn’t even been two months since she was brought here. She was simply curious as to why, in that short period, she was so frequently the target of disputes.
“One servant has two broken ribs, and another has a broken arm.”
As Harriot explained the circumstances of the accident, remarking on all sorts of things, Claude’s hand naturally rose to his forehead.
This time, she had used force against the male servants, and apparently both would have to lie in bed for over a month.
At this moment, he was thinking one thing.
*Maybe I shouldn’t have brought her.*
At first, it was half capriciousness to defy the Emperor, and then there was the minor pleasure of seeing the woman’s reactions.
But now, he felt like he had become the guardian of a child he was trying to raise. An unruly and stubborn child at that.
“What was the reason this time?”
“Well, servants cleaning the statue out front dropped a long pole, and that thing nearly hit the woman as she was passing by. So they apologized, but she allegedly attacked them without warning…”
“Just over such a trivial reason? She started a fight over that?”
“Yes. They said her eyes suddenly changed, and they could see murderous intent in them.”
Harriot relayed the whole story he had heard from the Head Maid, adding his own commentary. As if his head was throbbing, Claude closed his eyes and fell into thought.
She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would pick fights so arrogantly. Was she holding a grudge over having her sword taken last time? Perhaps his earlier thought that she was staging a protest might be correct.
Just as he was thinking that far, a knock sounded on the door a couple of times.
