Leave the Divorce to a Professional Lawyer

Robert Dumont was the chief steward who had worked for a long time at the House of Duke Richard, managing most of the staff and affairs within the household.

Following the recent assassination attempt that had been uncovered thanks to the Duchess of Richard, he had spent sleepless nights thoroughly re-investigating the backgrounds of the servants.

As a result, he had dismissed anyone who showed even the slightest suspicion, leading to a temporary shortage of manpower.

So much so that he was desperate for help, even if it came from a cat.

Therefore, when a maid showed up at the door of the Richard household with a handwritten recommendation from the former Duchess Petrov, Robert found it impossible to turn her away.

“Hmm…”

Her name was Tasha, if he recalled correctly.

Her first impression wasn’t bad.

Her hair was a pale lemon color, and her blue eyes were strikingly beautiful.

If the recommendation letter hadn’t mentioned that she was a commoner, he might have mistaken her for a lady from a minor noble family.

If only her eyes weren’t so sharp when she looked up, she would have been perfect.

“Have you worked as a maid before?”

“Yes. I briefly served Madame Olga when she was the Duchess of Petrov.”

It was reassuring to know that she had experience working in the House of Petrov.

At least she should know how to handle nobles.

‘I’ll have to investigate her background further… but since she has Madame Olga’s recommendation, it would be rude to hesitate.’

Even though Olga was no longer the mistress of the House of Petrov, she was originally from the Ducal House of Dorothea in the South. Her influence in society was still significant enough that offending her would bring no benefit.

Hiring Tasha, out of consideration for Olga’s standing, seemed like the best choice.

‘But… why do I feel so uneasy?’

However, this wasn’t a matter Robert could refuse on his own.

Rejecting Tasha might make it seem as though the House of Richard was disregarding Olga.

In the end, he told Tasha that she had been accepted.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“Thank you, Steward.”

Tasha smiled gently.

Her previously sharp impression seemed to melt away.

Without realizing it, Robert found himself staring at her.

Creak.

Natasha was led to a small room. A maid’s uniform was placed on top of her modest suitcase.

“Change into this first and come out! I’ll give you a quick tour of the mansion. Oh, I use the bed inside, so you can take this one. Do you have any other questions?”

Dorothy was kind but seemed very busy. She offered a friendly gesture, saying that although she was a senior maid, they were around the same age, so Natasha could speak informally if she wished.

Since Natasha was pretending to be three years younger than her actual age, she readily agreed.

“No, I’ll ask if something comes up.”

“Good. I’ll wait outside!”

Click.

Once the door closed, Natasha placed her suitcase on the bed and looked around.

A shared room for two maids. It was luxurious, as expected from a ducal house. Natasha searched the room thoroughly, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

‘What’s this…?’

As she felt around the opposite bed, her fingers brushed against something hard.

It felt like thin leather.

‘A journal?’

Though rare, it wasn’t unheard of. A diary made of thin leather and cheap paper was a luxury for a commoner, but the salary of a ducal maid was higher than that of an average person.

‘This might be my lucky day. There could be useful information in here.’

She considered that the journal could be submitted as evidence in court if necessary. Just as Natasha was about to pull out the journal with a hum to herself-

Knock knock.

“Are you done yet?”

“I’ll be right out!”

Reluctantly, Natasha hurriedly put on the maid’s uniform. There was no need to arouse suspicion from the start.

Clunk.

As she opened the door, Dorothy greeted her with a smile.

“Great. Let me introduce you to the House of Richard! There are just three rules to follow if you want to get by here.’

Dorothy continued, counting on her fingers.

“First, don’t speak to the Duke unless he speaks to you first.”

“Do we run into him often?”

“The area we’re in charge of is near the garden where the Duke often goes, so there are times when we might run into him. But just act like you don’t see him, okay?”

Not greeting the employer? That was a strange rule.

But for now, Natasha nodded.

“Second, remember I mentioned the garden the Duke frequents? There’s a glass greenhouse there. You must never, ever go inside!”

“What about cleaning the greenhouse?”

“The head maid takes care of that herself. So don’t even think about going near it.”

I’ll definitely have to check that out, Natasha resolved to herself.

Whatever was hidden there, she would have to investigate.

“And finally…”

Dorothy’s expression turned serious.

“Don’t smile.”

“…Don’t smile?”

“Don’t get angry, don’t cry, and don’t hesitate. Those are the basic rules of the Rochart Ducal family.”

Dorothy’s face hardened as if the smile she had shown Natasha earlier was a lie. Her voice, devoid of any tone, was eerie.

Seeing her suddenly transform like a doll, Natasha involuntarily furrowed one eyebrow.

“It might feel a bit awkward at first, but you’ll get used to it over time.”

Dorothy’s words carried a sense of foreboding. It wasn’t long before Natasha understood what she meant.

‘…It feels just like a dollhouse.’

An air of silence enveloped the entire mansion. The maids and servants didn’t even share casual conversations. They only bowed or exchanged brief glances when they saw the newly arrived Natasha. The place felt cold, as if it wasn’t even inhabited by people.

Natasha was melting into the environment, almost as if she didn’t exist.

“I’ll go wash up first.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

As the door closed with a click, Natasha silently counted to herself.

One, two, three. Then she immediately rushed to Dorothy’s bed.

According to what she had seen earlier, Dorothy wrote a brief diary almost every night before going to bed.

‘Found it!’

Natasha pulled out the diary that she had her fingers on and opened the first page.

It was a diary that had been written over the course of five years!

[That crazy woman came to visit again today.]

The beginning was ominous.

[It’s clear that Valdak doesn’t care much about us if he’s not immediately taking her in. Otherwise, why would he let a woman who torments us like this come and go as she pleases?]

The handwriting was messy, as if Dorothy had been overly agitated.

‘That woman’? Without a name, it was impossible to know exactly who she was referring to.

‘Was she being bullied in the mansion? That didn’t seem to be the case.’

It seemed more like everyone was indifferent to each other than anyone being outright bullied.

As Natasha flipped through a few more pages, there were entries about the mansion as well.

[This place is definitely strange. I’ve worked in various noble households before coming here, but I’ve never seen one so bleak. It’s not just the atmosphere; everything about this place is odd. I wouldn’t even be surprised if it turned out that the head maid was a golem created by an alchemist!]

It was similar to the impression Natasha had when she first arrived. This wasn’t normal.

[Today, I saw the young duke from a distance! He’s such a perfect person. To think I get to work for someone like him is a great fortune in itself. I wish I could serve him directly…]

If this young duke from five years ago is the same person as the current duke, then he’s likely the one who recently inherited the title.

‘His reputation isn’t as bad as I thought.’

With that in mind, Natasha decided to open the diary to the middle. The entry was from three years ago.

[It seems that woman has completely lost her mind. She came by today without any notice and forgave Kelly without saying a word when she accidentally spilled tea! What could she be up to? Moreover, the young duke has been acting strange ever since she visited.]

It didn’t seem like ‘that woman’ was a servant in the mansion. After all, it was Kelly, a maid, who had to serve tea to her.

Natasha had a hunch by this point about who Dorothy was referring to as ‘the crazy woman.’

It made sense. After all, this person was quite notorious back in the day, even if she has reformed now.

‘…Estelle Blanche.’

Estelle, the current Duchess and Natasha’s client.

‘So, she was also a terror to the maids. Not surprising, really.’

Back then, Estelle was practically a walking disaster.

It wasn’t a secret that she had fallen for the young Duke Richard at first sight when she was a child.

And being from the Blanche family, a key financial power in the East, she was a suitable marriage prospect.

The problem was that Estelle Blanche, blinded by jealousy, had stalked the young Duke Richard and slapped any young lady who even tried to get close to him.

‘When she was caught trying to sneak into the boys’ dormitory at the academy… That made headlines.’

She was a social laughingstock, having committed all sorts of disgraceful acts out of love.

‘It’s hard to imagine now.’

Given how many enemies she had back then, the list of suspects was long when she was almost poisoned.

Natasha skimmed through the rest of the pages and reached the last one, where a line caught her eye.

[Is the Duchess planning to leave? I hope it’s just my imagination.]

‘Suddenly?’

Three years ago, Dorothy had been calling her a crazy woman, but now she’s referring to her as ‘the Duchess’?

Just as Natasha was about to flip to the next page-

Click.

“I’m done washing up. Can I come in…?”

“Oh, you’re back?”

Dorothy looked at Natasha intently, sensing that something was off.

But Natasha remained calm, sitting on the bed and doing embroidery as usual.

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

Dorothy, feeling uneasy, pretended to sit on the bed while checking if her diary was still there.

It was still safely stored where she usually kept it. She let out a quiet sigh of relief.

‘Having a roommate is so inconvenient. I didn’t have to be so cautious when I had the room to myself.’

If the contents of that diary were ever revealed, it could lead to a trial for defaming a noble.

“Shall we go to sleep? We have to wake up early tomorrow since the Duke will be attending the royal banquet…”

“Let’s do that. I’ll just dry my hair and then sleep.”

They exchanged brief words, hiding their true feelings. The deep darkness of night had settled in.