NRAL | CH 41

~Chapter 41~

The Rotten Lifeline

It was a warm afternoon.

“Courtney, come over and try some cookies.”

Eleanor, who was enjoying tea time in the garden, kindly suggested.

At that, a maid who had been lingering out of sight peeked her head out. Courtney, the gray-haired maid, hurried over, panting as if she had been working hard.

Eleanor smiled at her and handed her a cookie filled with butter.

“Thank you, Miss.”

Courtney naturally reached out to take the cookie.

Thanks to Hilda’s words about the shortage of maids, Courtney had quickly seized the opportunity and had been working by Eleanor’s side for about a week now. On the first day, Eleanor had seemed distant, as if a cold breeze were blowing around her. But as the days went by, she gradually began to open up to Courtney.

Their conversations became longer, and Courtney found that Eleanor, surprisingly, seemed to be someone who craved affection.

‘Actually, she’s more in need of affection than I thought,’ Courtney thought to herself.

Courtney had only treated her a bit kindly to keep things smooth, yet Eleanor reacted emotionally even to small gestures. She was quick to trust and open her heart.

At first, it felt good. Eleanor, who maintained a neutral expression with the other servants, smiled at her, which gave Courtney a strange sense of superiority.

Of course, it wasn’t the same as how Hilda was treated, but considering the time they’d spent together, it seemed like Eleanor might actually like her more.

“Thank you so much for looking after me, Courtney. Even though you know I’m a fake… I’ve never met a kind girl like you.”

Eleanor even said this.

Hearing such words, where Eleanor lowered herself and lifted Courtney up, day after day, made Courtney’s pride swell.

After hearing it so often, maybe it even brainwashed her a bit. Before she knew it, Courtney really began to think like Eleanor said.

‘Actually, Miss should be grateful to me. Who else would want to serve a fake lady like her? Someone whose background is unknown and could be kicked out at any moment?’

Ever since the theft incident, it was Eleanor who had gained a stronger position in the Duke’s house, but Courtney thought of herself as someone who had to personally take care of a troublesome burden.

As she kept thinking this way, discontent began to build.

‘Being friendly with her, I thought I’d get something more out of it, but all I got were some crumbs of cookies?’

Courtney had heard from the other maids that Natalie had received jewelry from Lady Nora. Eleanor only said thank you, but there was no real reward.

She was the kind of person who could only take but never give. That was exactly how Eleanor was. The way Hilda, who was like a close servant to her, was dressed made it clear.

‘I’m such a fool. I didn’t even realize I was grabbing a rotten lifeline!’

Not long ago, she had been happy to be serving such a good lady, but now Courtney regretted it deeply.

And around the time she had repeated those regrets a dozen or so times, a new lifeline appeared before her.

“Courtney, are you busy right now?”

Natalie—the one who’d become the official princess and grown so arrogant she wouldn’t even speak to most of the staff—had come to her and started a conversation.

“Nattie! No, I’m not busy at all!”

Instinctively, Courtney realized this was an opportunity, and she quickly answered, even calling Natalie by her nickname. Although she noticed Natalie’s face looked darker lately, Courtney’s vanity only focused on the glittering jewelry, not Natalie’s gloomy eyes.

“Good. Then, would you like to talk for a moment? Oh, where are Hilda and the head maid right now?”

Courtney swallowed her breath eagerly.

The head maid, Maria, and Hilda were both considered to be Eleanor’s people. Courtney knew that mentioning them wasn’t because she was genuinely concerned about where they were.

This was something she had been waiting for, so she made a quick decision.

“Head Maid’s busy, and Hilda went for a walk with the young lady. Lucky timing, Right?”

“Yeah, perfect timing.”

Natalie smiled faintly, looking tired, and led Courtney to a secluded spot where no one would pass by.

“How can someone’s thoughts be so easy to read?”

Hilda tilted her head, genuinely puzzled, as she looked at the tightly closed door. She was referring to how Courtney had just hurriedly excused herself, saying she had something urgent to do.

“I guess she went to report that the lady is secretly exchanging letters with someone. She was really eager to read the letter’s contents,” Hilda said.

Eleanor gave a small, knowing laugh in agreement.

“Isn’t it helpful? She’s moving exactly how we want her to.”

The kind smile that had been directed at Courtney moments ago quickly disappeared, replaced by a cold sneer.

As she said, Courtney had indeed been moving just as they had intended. The information they wanted to get to Nora was quickly passed through Courtney. Among the things Courtney had been told was that Eleanor was secretly exchanging letters with someone.

“Then why don’t you show her the content of the letters?” Hilda asked. “After all, we made up the letters ourselves.”

“If I make it too easy to see the content, Nora will get suspicious. I’ve let Courtney, feel just that much of an attachment. She’ll think she’s being trusted, but that’s it,”

Although Eleanor was known for being soft with her maids, she was certain that Nora wasn’t a fool. She wouldn’t blindly believe everything Courtney passed on, but instead, would only pick up what she needed, keeping her suspicions high. After all, she had already been caught off guard once.

‘Well, Nora has been desperate with the debutante ball coming up in a week,’ Eleanor thought, rubbing her forehead as she remembered the constant pressure from Nora and the butlers over the last few days. Just recalling it made her head throb.

“How can we prepare the debutante ball with this budget?! Eleanor, I know you don’t like me, but we still need to separate public and private matters! If you truly loved Astria, you’d understand!” Nora had shouted the day after the attack, acting as if the incident had nothing to do with her.

“Well, if you hadn’t spent so much money on dresses and ballroom decorations, Astria might have had a bit more,” Eleanor shot back, not backing down. “Why did you buy so much silk and lace for the highest quality dresses? You’re thinking of using this for the ball, are you? I’m not sure whether to call it brave or… foolish.”

Nora’s face flushed with anger as Eleanor sarcastically pointed out her mistakes.

“How dare you criticize me?! What do you know about this?”

“Well, I know quite a lot. You know I’ve organized these kinds of events before. Thanks to that, the remaining budget is enough to handle the ball decorations. It’s fortunate, isn’t it? You don’t have to thank me, though. Here, take a look at the revised budget. I’ve already had it approved by father.”

“You…!”

“What? You want to complain to Father again? Tell him this isn’t enough for you?”

But since the Duke of Astria was now involved, Nora couldn’t say anything more.

After the attack, the Duke had become very sensitive and easily angered, even over small things. He had a hard time settling the issue with the capital police and silencing the rumors spreading in secret.

Asking him for more money for a ball now would only backfire. She’d be lucky if the event wasn’t canceled altogether.

In the end, Nora clenched her teeth and backed down.

She likely had the butler try to find flaws in the budget Eleanor had made, but as confident as she was, Eleanor was experienced in organizing events. She had no doubt that there were no flaws in the plans.

There were times when she wanted to mess things up and ruin the ball completely. But she knew she couldn’t afford to be reckless.

The debutante ball had to go smoothly. It didn’t have to be perfect, but it couldn’t be a mess either.

‘Only then will all the guests focus on Nora’s fall from grace.’

Eleanor brushed her bangs back with a smile.

“My lady, has there been any letter from him?”

Hilda’s cheerful voice broke her thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“That person, the one who’s both frightening and kind.”

Hilda carefully avoided directly naming him, in case anyone was listening.

The person Hilda was referring to was obvious: Karshian Royster, the man who had scared her with his intimidating gaze but had been surprisingly kind. After that day, Hilda had been teasing her about her relationship with him every day, so it was impossible for Eleanor to not know who she meant.

“I told you, Hilda. There’s nothing between us.”

“Well, the other kitchen maids say that someone like Lord Ernst, who’s so gentle, would be better for dating,” Hilda continued, teasing.

“There’s nothing between me and Lord Ernst either. That time I touched his hair was just to test you… Are you making fun of me now?” Eleanor narrowed her eyes.

“No! I would never!” Hilda giggled, clearly enjoying herself. “If this subject makes you uncomfortable, I won’t talk about it anymore.”

“Fine, don’t.”

“Actually, I do have one question, but it’s just my personal curiosity. I’m not teasing you, really.”

“…What is it?”

“Do you prefer light brown hair, or black hair?”

“Hilda.”

“If you don’t like that, how about green eyes or red eyes?”

“Hilda!” Eleanor raised her voice, and Hilda burst out laughing before running off.

Seeing her run away made Eleanor want to catch her, so she got up and chased after Hilda. However, after years of being a maid and building up speed, Hilda was too quick, and Eleanor was left standing, unable to catch a single strand of her hair.

“Feels like I’m a little kid again.”

She laughed as she chased after her. She’d run before, back in the poorhouse, when she had chased after someone who stole her bread, but this was the first time she had run like this, playing with someone else.

It was ridiculous, but also amusing. Lately, she felt like she had been having a lot of new experiences.

‘I never imagined I’d be laughing like this in this mansion, or sharing secrets with Karshian Royster, just a few months ago.’

Eleanor sat down, trying to calm her breathing, and remembered her conversation with Karshian. She had already replayed it so many times that she had almost memorized it by now.

“I didn’t expect you to wait until the end.”

After finishing selecting fabric for a dress and finalizing measurements, Mrs. Corcos left Karshian’s townhouse. He had waited in a separate sitting room for the entire time.

“Well, I guess you didn’t want to leave an outsider alone in your home.”

“…That’s not exactly the reason.”

“Then, are you always this kind to people you don’t dislike?”

She had subtly teased him, but Karshian answered with silence.

Feeling a little embarrassed for pushing too much, Eleanor turned to leave.

“Lady Eleanor.”

His low voice brushed her ear just as she was about to say goodbye.

“Will you send me an invitation as well?”