Chapter 15
Madame Melady recalled the young boy who had sobbed, telling her not to lock him away, and bit her lips tightly.
What had she done back then? She had forcibly peeled the hand of the five-year-old child clinging to her collar and shoved him into the wardrobe.
The reason this memory, over twenty years old, became clear only now was due to the great disparity between that helpless boy and the grown master before her eyes.
Only then did she instantly understand the master’s excessive actions today. The longer the Duke’s silence lasted, the more anxious the Head Maid became.
“I only ordered her confined to a room. I didn’t know she was locked in a wardrobe.”
Seeking a way out, Madame Melady lied blatantly without a single change in expression.
“The Head Maid confined her but didn’t know?”
“Yes. I clearly ordered her confined to a room and to be given food at set times. I don’t know exactly how things turned out…”
She exchanged a brief glance with the trembling Salin, then composed her brazen expression.
“I don’t know.”
Claude, who had briefly surveyed the indignant faces of a few maids behind her, twisted his mouth.
He had already thoroughly grasped the circumstances.
Not only had the Head Maid been hearing bad rumors about Flora almost daily, but he had also heard that Flora was being mistreated by the other maids.
But even a fool could see the situation by now.
All the servants had been ostracizing and tormenting Flora. With the Head Maid’s tacit approval.
He had seen countless two-faced people in his life, but he had no idea such a thing was happening even within this residence.
“Then let me ask you just one thing, Head Maid. Were you aware of the rumors circulating about Flora?”
“Well, that…”
“Head Maid, if so, is that not also your fault?”
“…Pardon?”
“Why are you so surprised? Is it not your duty to oversee the maids? Since you failed to control your subordinates, you must take corresponding responsibility.”
His tone sounded quite considerate of the old woman at first, but the content was extremely sharp.
The color drained from Madame Melady’s face, which was always wrapped in elegance.
“H-However, Master…”
“Spare me the excuse that you couldn’t anticipate the consequences.”
The Duke, imbued with a cold sneer, dismissed it as if there was no need to hear further.
He was truly furious to the core.
He couldn’t help but lament the fact that the lower ranks dared to wield power and authority as if they were the masters, and that they had been subtly exerting authority over the other maids.
Moreover, the Head Maid’s brazen face, clearly knowing the truth but refusing to confess it, made him want to curse.
“It’s unfortunate. I have no choice but to dismiss you, having known you since I was a child.”
However, his expression as he said this was not regretful at all. The more the Head Maid’s expression distorted, the deeper the Duke’s sneer became.
“Ah, I almost forgot. Do not expect a letter of recommendation from the House of Heinster. I cannot bear to see you end up elsewhere.”
With those amused-sounding words, Claude rose from his seat. He followed up with an order to also punish and expel the other servants who had been summoned.
Glancing over the ashen-faced people as if they didn’t exist, Claude put on a deliberately generous smile and muttered to himself.
“I thought the house I returned to after eight years felt unusually unwelcoming. Now I understand why a bit. It was because it was full of nauseating faces.”
Their generous master never made empty promises.
Even though the Head Maid, who had dedicated her life to the ducal residence, abandoned her pride and pleaded, the Duke’s order was not reversed.
Furthermore, the servants who were dragged out were flogged all night, and the maids were no different. After the corporal punishment for the crime of insulting the nobility, they were immediately kicked out empty-handed.
—
At the soft, plush sensation against her cheek, Flora slowly opened her eyes.
“Flora, are you coming to? Here, drink some water.”
Flora, opening her blurry eyes, took the water glass from Mary, who had a worried expression, and moistened her lips. As the cool refreshment passed down her throat, she felt her mind clear a little.
“You’re probably still weak, so lie down. The doctor said you need to rest.”
“I’m… fine now. But where is this…?”
Acknowledging that she had held out but ultimately lost consciousness, Flora looked around the room she was lying in.
“It’s a relief. The master came just in time and pulled you out.”
“The master?”
“Yes. The master was furious when he found out that the Head Maid and that Salin had deliberately locked you up without giving you food.”
She didn’t remember clearly, but she thought someone had carried her in a dream. It must have been the master. Flora took another sip of water.
“But why are you, Mary…”
Just as Flora was about to ask why Mary was in her room, she stopped, noticing Mary’s red, swollen eyes.
As if sensing the unasked question, Mary suddenly threw her arms around Flora.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Flora. I said we should help each other, but I couldn’t do anything.”
Mary, literally shedding thick tears, began to sob sorrowfully.
The tears soaking the thin dress fabric made Flora stiffen, not knowing what to do. Then she moved her hand, slowly stroking Mary’s back.
It was an incredibly awkward gesture, but somehow she felt she should comfort her.
After crying in Flora’s arms for some time, Mary seemed to calm down and slowly pulled back. Then, looking embarrassed for having burst into tears in front of a patient, she smiled shyly.
“Sorry… I showed you a disgraceful sight while you’re sick.”
“Are you alright now?”
“I should be asking you that. Whew. Anyway, everyone was kicked out, so from now on, no one will bother you, Flora.”
“Kicked out?”
Tilting her head as if to ask what that meant, Mary told Flora everything that had happened in the residence while she was unconscious.
“I’ve been at this residence for over two years, but I’ve never seen the Duke so terrifyingly angry.”
Flora just blinked her large eyes. Grabbing both of Flora’s hands, Mary continued, saying she still got chills just thinking about it.
“Actually, confining you was the Head Maid’s own decision. It was those girls who stopped me from bringing you food.”
“…But it was clearly the master’s order…”
“Yes. The Head Maid lied. She’s always done that. Whenever a new girl came, Salin would use force to ‘correct their bad habits,’ and the Head Maid, knowing full well, would tacitly allow it from behind. And this time, the master found out about it belatedly.”
Flora had already anticipated as much. Considering that the Head Maid, when she had briefly stopped by when Salin called Flora to the storage room, had left without a word, it seemed such incidents were common.
However, the Duke getting angry over her being confined, and furthermore dismissing Madame Melady, who had managed the ducal residence’s household for decades, seemed somehow excessive.
Seeing her puzzled expression, Mary confessed as if sighing.
“The master is a very generous person to us. He gives us gifts at New Year’s, and the pay is good compared to the work. But…”
She continued, staring blankly past Flora as if recalling something.
“He is absolutely not a benevolent enough person to tolerate those who take advantage of his kindness and act arbitrarily. Everyone says so. That at times like that, he resembles the former Duke.”
The more she listened to Mary, the more things she didn’t understand. At least, the Duke’s disposition as she had seen was simply arrogant, like any other high-ranking noble.
*Or not.*
Then, recalling her first meeting with him, Flora momentarily wondered if her judgment was correct.
If he had been like the other high-ranking nobles she had seen countless times, he would never have helped her.
*I don’t know.*
As if feeling stifled, she shook off all the thoughts filling her mind.
“Sleep more.”
“I’m fine now.”
“The butler said you’re exempt from work for the time being. Rest well this time.”
“I’m really fine…”
But Mary, pulling the blanket up neatly to Flora’s chin, was adamant.
Feeling like a child, Flora looked at Mary without a word. Mary said firmly, as if she were a teacher.
“As a maid belonging to this house, you must take proper care of your health.”
“….”
“Working by force while sick is also an inconvenience to the master.”
In the end, Flora couldn’t say anything more and had to obediently lie down. After that, she was treated like a complete invalid, drinking the bitter liquid brought to her as a tonic to regain strength.
—
After taking the medicine Mary brought, Flora fell into a deep sleep.
Pushing open her heavy eyelids, she saw the dark sky beyond the window. It seemed she had repeated opening and closing her eyes several times, but quite some time had passed in between.
As she tried to sit up, Flora groaned. Her head was dizzy, perhaps because the medicine was still in effect.
Holding her forehead and trying to suppress the headache, a deep voice suddenly reached her ears.
“I thought you had a strong will to live, but was I mistaken?”
“…Master?”
Only then noticing the Duke sitting by the window, looking her way, Flora muttered blankly. Whenever she opened her eyes, she was always alone, but this time someone had been watching over her.
The Duke pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. Looking at him, who seemed somehow a little angry, he clicked his tongue.
“You’ve done another rather foolish thing.”
“…Was I in the wrong this time too?”
“I knew you had a reckless personality, but I didn’t expect you to make me confirm it with my own eyes again.”
When she tried to throw off the blanket and get up, the Duke grabbed her shoulder and forced her back down onto the bed.
“Stop being stubborn and lie down. You’re a patient.”
Flora looked at him with a face that asked why he was here. The reprimand, tinged with a hint of concern, was somehow unfamiliar and confusing.
