Chapter 13
Recognizing it as an urgent knock, Harriot quickly helped Claude back into his jacket and continued.
“In my opinion, it would be best to send her away now. What if she actually kills someone someday?”
Harriot added that he shared Madame Melady’s opinion. Claude sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Or, this time, why don’t you really come down hard on her? She shows no signs of remorse at all.”
Claude furrowed his brow as he fastened the cufflinks on his jacket. Had the problem been that he had let it slide last time?
Despite his adjutant’s advice to scold her harshly, Claude still deferred his decision on what to do.
In truth, it wasn’t even a matter for deliberation. Was there any reason to pay this much attention to that woman?
To make matters worse, a messenger had arrived from the Imperial Palace, waiting outside to ask him to stop the Emperor, who was running around with a sword, killing and sparing courtiers.
When he remained silent despite all this, Harriot, growing uneasy, couldn’t hold back and spoke.
“A pay cut won’t cut it this time. Even when I was twelve and got caught touching your sword…”
“Tell the Head Maid to handle it as she sees fit. Confine her, double her workload, whatever.”
When Harriot tried to bring up that old story again, Claude waved his hand dismissively, as if annoyed.
“So you’re not going to call her here and scold her yourself?”
“Wouldn’t it be ridiculous for me to get involved in every little maid’s affair?”
As he said, even considering the Head Maid had informed him out of courtesy since he had brought Flora, managing the staff was originally the Head Maid’s responsibility.
It would also be a loss of face for the busy Duke to constantly interfere in the affairs of the servants.
Claude had no intention of shielding Flora this time. He had to correct her tendency to resort to violence over trivial matters, no matter what.
Besides, she was certainly not the type of woman to whine and cry over a little scolding and a few hits with a switch.
“Leniency only goes so far… Fine, do as you like.”
Harriot rather pouted, as if dissatisfied that that was all he had to say. Because he felt the Duke was particularly lenient towards that maid.
“Go and tell Flora as well. Tell her that since I ordered it, she should obediently follow the Head Maid’s instructions.”
“Understood.”
Glancing at his deflated adjutant, Claude left the office. Alone in the masterless room, Harriot grumbled once more before heading off to find the Head Maid.
—
At first, Flora had no intention of reacting to the malicious rumors that had started from who knows where.
In fact, soldiers from other divisions who praised her to her face would whisper behind her back, calling her a murderer. She had often felt contemptuous gazes even within her own unit. As always, she could just ignore them and move on.
Today was the same. She walked past servants snickering, asking how many soldiers she had fought.
But then they suddenly got offended, asking if she was ignoring them, and threw the long pole they had been holding from atop a statue they were sitting on. If she hadn’t dodged in time, she would have been hit without fail and scarred her face.
She had tried to endure it for the master’s sake, but in the end, Flora couldn’t let it go this time either.
She heard such words dozens of times a day and was provoked constantly. When she didn’t react, they only got worse.
So she changed her mind and simply threw a nearby basket to scare them. But startled by her counterattack, they panicked, fell to the ground, and broke an arm.
Clearly, it wasn’t her fault, but the Head Maid, who appeared just then, seemed to judge the situation differently based solely on the result. It was only natural that the Head Maid’s already unfavorable gaze toward Flora, following the previous incident with Salin, grew even colder.
“She probably went to the master…”
Even Flora, oblivious as she was, could tell that Madame Melady was hell-bent on getting rid of her.
*She won’t let it go this time. What will she say? Will she tell me to leave?*
Letting out sighs here and there amid such thoughts, Flora’s feet stopped abruptly as she was about to push open the main building’s door. A group of about six maids blocked her path.
Madame Melady, accompanied by the maids, began with a dignified face.
“Seize her.”
At her command, the maids approached and grabbed both of Flora’s arms. Seeing Mary behind them, stomping her feet in distress, Flora had a good idea of what was happening.
“You didn’t have to go this far. I was planning to see the master on my own feet.”
She said it meaning, ‘So don’t waste your strength.’ But to Madame Melady, who received the words, it only sounded like impertinence.
“Insolent girl.”
“You have something you wish to ask of the Duke using me, don’t you?”
Just as she thought the ensuing situation was obvious, she saw one corner of Madame Melady’s mouth lift crookedly.
Suddenly, an eerie feeling brushed the back of her neck.
“Before the master departed, he entrusted your discipline to me.”
*Ah. So that’s how it was.*
At those words, Flora obediently relaxed the strength in her body instead of resisting. It might be only natural, but somehow she felt a little disappointed.
“Lock Flora in the repentance room immediately. No, lock her in the wardrobe inside that room!”
At the unfamiliar word ‘repentance room’ followed by ‘wardrobe’, Flora’s eyes creased helplessly. A wry laugh escaped at Madame Melady’s stern voice, determined to finally correct her bad habits.
Flora gave a slight nod to the restless Mary, as if to say it was fine, and then allowed herself to be led away.
She had never been to the so-called repentance room before. The room they entered after unlocking the door hadn’t been used in years; dust flew everywhere, and there were no windows.
Her prediction that she wouldn’t get off lightly had been correct. Before she could even properly look around the room, Flora was pushed by forceful hands and locked inside a wardrobe.
*Clunk.*
Only after securing a large padlock over the handle and checking it several times did they leave her in the darkness.
The Head Maid’s departing voice was faintly audible.
“This ill-mannered maid does not deserve to be here, but I am merciful enough to do this much. Do not give her so much as a sip of water until she begs for forgiveness.”
Inside the wardrobe was so cramped that a person could barely lie down, and a damp smell stung her nose. Still, this much was bearable.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw what looked like deep scratch marks on the inside of the wooden door. Clearly, someone had clawed at it trying to get out.
*So there was another maid like me,* she thought calmly. Flora hugged her knees and rested her forehead on them.
“Hoo.”
Steadying her breathing, Flora slowly closed her eyes.
The afterimage of the man who had brought her here as if to trust him, made her do maid’s work, and occasionally preached strange lectures, flickered through her mind for a brief moment.
—
It was four days after Flora had been locked in the wardrobe that the Duke returned to the residence from his outing.
He asked for Flora as soon as he arrived.
“Bring Flora.”
“Flora… you mean?”
At his command, Madame Melady was visibly flustered. Her face, usually expressionless, showed the change clearly.
“Did I say something impossible?”
He wondered if she had caused another accident while he was away, but Madame Melady said nothing, only rolling her lost eyes.
Sensing something strange, Claude strode past her and roughly opened the door. Among the maids waiting in the corridor, Flora was nowhere to be seen.
“She’s not cleaning again in some bizarre position hanging from the roof, is she?”
“I apologize, but Flora is currently undergoing discipline.”
The Duke estimated the time he had been away and narrowed his eyes.
“Still? What kind of discipline?”
“Nothing serious. She is simply being confined.”
“Then is she confined in her room right now?”
At his ceaseless questions, she squeezed her eyes shut.
“Well… she is reflecting in the repentance room.”
Realizing that he had sensed something was wrong in the slight delay of her answer, Madame Melady barely managed to reply, but it was already too late.
Without giving anyone a chance to stop him, the Duke strode out into the corridor. The quiet wooden floorboards creaked continuously under the weight of his large, long-legged stride.
Just as he reached the so-called repentance room on the fifth floor and was about to kick the door open, he heard women’s voices from inside.
“How stubborn can she be? It would be over with a single apology, why is she being so difficult?”
“Flora, did you die in there?”
It was the voices of several maids taunting someone.
Claude, who had naturally assumed Flora was the only one inside, couldn’t stand it for a moment and entered. He found the maids giggling in front of a wardrobe inside the dirty room.
“D-Duke…”
The maids, turning their heads at the sound of the door opening roughly enough to break the latch, all became faces of sheer horror.
