“Fortunately, it seems like the rampant mana has all been controlled. What a stroke of luck.”
Upon Telin’s words, I also checked my mana and was surprisingly calm, finding it hard to believe that I caused a rampage yesterday.
Strangely enough, I even felt a sense of tranquility as if I had earnestly hoped for such a rampage.
At this moment, I felt confident that I could hide my mana and presence without much effort.
But suddenly, my mood sank.
It wasn’t the time to have such peaceful thoughts.
The Duchess, who noticed my darkened complexion, anxiously asked, “Where does it hurt again?”
I shook my head and spoke in a small voice, “No… I’m grateful.”
“What for?”
The one who responded to my words was the Duchess.
For some reason, I felt a bit shriveled up by her seemingly angry appearance.
“For the treatment… Thank you for not just driving me away…”
I genuinely wanted to express my gratitude for the Duchess’s leniency, who wanted to treat me even if he drove me away later.
“Hah! You’re really something.”
But before I finished speaking, the Duke ruthlessly twisted his face.
“Everyone, leave.”
It was clear that he was about to get angry.
As I saw the magicians and council members quickly disappear as they did when they entered, I hurriedly apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
“…What are you sorry for this time?”
“Burning… And for startling people because of me. I never intended for things to escalate like this…”
“So, you’re sorry because that’s all your fault?”
“…”
To some extent, yes, but I didn’t think it was entirely my fault.
However, I couldn’t bring myself to say that, so I lowered my head deeply.
“Ha, what on earth are you!”
At that moment, the Duke’s voice became slightly louder.
“Am I nothing more than an adult who you can’t rely on?”
“…”
“Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning? Unlike the Duke’s Mansion, the palace servants don’t know how you ended up in the Duke’s Mansion. The reason we kept it from spreading was for Diana, but if I knew you would be in trouble, I would have revealed it immediately. So even if you had said just a word…!”
I froze, watching the Duke explode in anger.
It wasn’t because I was scared or frightened.
After a moment, tears poured out uncontrollably.
I knew my face must have looked ugly, but once the crying started, it didn’t stop.
“No, I was trying to get angry at you…”
“Honey! Why are you making the child cry like this!”
The Duchess, with a bewildered expression, pushed the Duke away with an angry face.
“Lia, don’t cry. It’s okay now. It won’t happen again.”
And she began to wipe away my tears, trying to console me.
“I should have realized sooner. Even if you didn’t say it, I should have known. I’m sorry for being a fool. You’re still a child, how scared and difficult it must have been for you. I’m sorry for leaving you alone. I’m sorry for not understanding. I’m sorry, Lia.”
With a few words from the Duchess, all the negative thoughts I had held in my heart disappeared like melting snow.
I thought I had let everything out yesterday, but it seemed that resentment and anger were still accumulating in my heart.
And as the sense of relief filled that space, tears welled up again.
I stammered and asked, “Then… you won’t kick me out?”
In response, the Duchess asked in a surprised voice, “What? Of course not. Why would you think that?”
Finally, I burst into tears, throwing myself into the Duchess’s embrace like a little child.
“I was so scared. Everyone hated me.”
Completely helpless, I let out the innermost feelings I had hidden deep inside.
And I started to cry, wailing and shaking with intensified emotions.
The Duchess embraced me tightly, not minding that my chest was soaked with tears, and spoke firmly while patting my back.
“Yes, keep screaming like that from now on. Say you’re scared, ask for help. Don’t ever let anyone hurt you and torment you. Let us be there for you.”
At the Duchess’s words, tears burst forth from me once again.
“I’m worried that you’ll get a fever again.”
The Duchess, looking concerned, raised her hand to my forehead.
“You’ve suffered so much all night…”
Already, my face was burning so red that my head was spinning from crying so much.
It was when I was trying to hold my breath, even if it was forced, to stop crying.
“From now on, don’t do anything you don’t want to do, without worrying about it. Just do what you want. You don’t even have to do chores. You became a maid because you wanted to, and I never thought of exploiting you.”
The Duke spoke in a gruff but slightly softened tone.
Feeling like he was even looking into my heart, which had already collapsed, I cautiously asked, “But… then I’m useless?”
“Nonsense.”
He declared firmly.
“All you have to do is eat well, sleep well, and live well. That’s enough.”
And then, this time, he pulled the reins and ordered the maidservant who had rushed in to prepare a meal.
Without hesitation, food was brought to the front of the bed.
It was a gentle soup made with grains and milk, not stimulating to the throat.
I quickly extended my hand to the Duchess who wanted to feed me directly, and I started sipping the soup little by little.
The Duchess looked at me eating diligently with pride.
Feeling my cheeks getting warm, I asked quietly, “But can I continue staying here?”
“Why are you asking the same question again?”
“No, it’s not that! This is Madam’s bedroom.”
“Ah….”
The Duchess’s mouth shut hastily, as if trying to refute my words.
After coughing a few times, he said, “Your room was burned.”
“Ah.”
I bit my lip, realizing my forgetfulness.
“To cause such damage…”
That’s when it happened.
“Lia, from now on, your room will be next to Diana’s. You can stay there for a while without feeling uncomfortable because we will move you in the afternoon.”
I widened my eyes in surprise at the Duchess’s words.
Staying in the room next to Diana’s was something that didn’t happen when I first arrived at the capital due to the head maid’s objection.
“But why now?”
Come to think of it, I couldn’t see the head maid, who was always by the Duke or Duchess’s side like a shadow.
“Grandfather the Butler appeared when the magician and the council members came and went a while ago.”
Noticing my curiosity, the Duchess let out a wry smile.
“Helen received a severe punishment this time for not properly managing the maidservants.”
I was taken aback.
In the brief moment of silence, the Duke spoke.
“This time, Lucio did a great job. He interrogated each of the maidservants who bothered you and punished everyone involved before kicking them out. He didn’t even write a recommendation letter, so no noble family will…”
“Honey, there’s no need to say such things to a child.”
The Duchess interrupted the Duke’s words, as if trying to boast.
It didn’t sound like a good thing to me when I heard it.
Indeed, the Duke’s words were very harsh.
Those who had been treated well and paid a good salary as the Duke’s servants had suddenly found their livelihoods cut off overnight.
“Lia, it’s the appropriate consequence for their actions. Not only the unreasonable harassment so far but also their attempt to search your room and punish you for baseless suspicions. That was just an excuse from the beginning. They should be grateful that it only ended like this.”
With a firm expression, the Duchess held my hand tightly as if to say that I didn’t need to feel sorry.
However, contrary to the Duchess’s concerns, I didn’t have any sympathy for them.
They were the ones who tormented me, albeit only physically, crossing numerous lines.
“Especially the last incident was the worst….”
In that sense, the outcome this time was nothing but their own doing, as the Duchess said.
But one thing still bothered me.
‘Did Lucio know something and put the head maid on probation?’
I was extremely perplexed.
There was surprise at Lucio’s firm decision, whom I had known and spent a long time with, but more than anything, it was strange that the Prime Minister had been punished.
She was one of the competent servants supporting this great ducal family.
While the Duchess wasn’t in the capital, she managed the mansion with the Butler, and even now, she was assisting the Duchess by her side.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
If you like my work please support us in Patreon. Next post will be released… Due to some health problems this novel schedule will be reduced to one release a week, so next post will be released next week. Next chapters will be translated by RJR.
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