With a twisted expression, she glanced at the head maid and slightly tilted her head before speaking again. Her soft voice dropped a little lower, carrying a warning.
“I don’t dislike those who speak their minds. But I do dislike foolish people. As a head maid, shouldn’t you have the intelligence to think about what the person you serve really needs right now?”
The parrot can be anyone, not just you.
Just as Sylvia was about to open her mouth, a voice that could not be ignored leaked out of the room.
“Mom…”
At the perfect timing, the head maid turned her head inside the room.
The new member of the ducal family stubbornly kept her lips sealed, gazing this way.
Breathing heavily as if she might collapse at any moment, she persistently searched for Melisa.
“Idel!”
Melisa did not miss the moment the head maid hesitated. She immediately pushed her aside and ran to embrace the child.
Seeing the two redheads, Sylvia shifted her gaze to check on her mistress.
The Duchess was quietly observing the scene, gripping the hem of her dress with an expression of restraint, just as when these two first came to the duchy.
‘She must be upset. I should have ensured that this floor was off-limits from the start.’
It was her own oversight. Suppressing the rising discomfort, she firmly closed the door.
Meanwhile, Melisa, with tears in her eyes, slowly ran her hands over Idel’s body, embracing her.
She needed to check if there were any issues with the constraints, as the child had engaged in an “unexpected action” that Melisa had not instructed.
“Idel, I heard you went out to the annex and collapsed. My heart nearly stopped. Why on earth did you do that? Why?”
Despite the concern in her tone, there was a sharp edge hidden in Melisa’s words.
She released the child from her embrace, grasped Idel’s cheeks, and carefully wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Melisa’s violet eyes scrutinized Idel’s eyes intently.
“…I’m sorry. I just…”
She spoke with a trembling voice and unfocused eyes.
Idel still feared her, both her own existence and being abandoned by her.
Having confirmed the most important thing, Melisa quietly issued a command in her mind.
[Enough. Just close your eyes and collapse.]
“……”
Without even moving her lips, the child simply slumped down.
Confirming that the curse was still intact, Melisa supported Idel and cried out.
“Idel? Idel! Open your eyes, Idel!”
“Sister, calm down. After all, we’ve already called for Doctor Aiman, so he’ll be here soon…”
“Calm down? You’re telling me to calm down? If she were your own daughter, would you have been this composed?”
Melisa retorted sharply, her eyes glistening with tears.
The sight of her wounded sister stirred up a strange emotion within her.
Putting aside her thoughts about Rowena, she looked forward to the day her plan would succeed. She turned to the Duke and spewed sharp words.
“Your Grace, you’ve also gone too far! I heard you scold the child in front of everyone. How much mental anguish must she have been in to suddenly collapse like this?”
“……”
Vincent’s expression grew complicated at Melisa’s words.
The image of the child screaming and rushing at him in rage was vividly etched in his mind.
‘I, hic! I don’t like any of this! I don’t like the Duke, I don’t like the Duchess, and I don’t like her either, hic! I hate everyone who always says no, and I hate this place, and I hate everything around here!’
‘I want to go home… hic! This isn’t our home… I want to see my, ugh, friends who miss me!’
The child’s words echoed in his mind.
Then his head started to throb unbearably.
‘Was what I did actually just a rationalization under the name of discipline?’
He didn’t think so. Idel had continued to do even worse things, as if mocking his attempts to discipline her.
Perhaps she, too, had been trying to teach him a lesson.
‘But…’
Seeing the child collapse with a fever, the line seemed to blur. Vincent sank deeper into a gloomy mood as he spat out his words.
“…Discipline was necessary since she did wrong. Idel crossed the line.”
“Wrong? Crossed the line? Because she spilled soup at the dinner table and rolled around with Gianna? Your Grace, she is a child. Was the child’s temper so serious that you left him alone for several days?”
“Don’t try to downplay it. The things Idel has done are not so trivial that they should be ignored. Among the servants in the ducal household, Idel has…”
“Servants.”
Melisa sharply cut off Vincent’s words, letting out a brief, mocking laugh.
It was partly an act, but seeing the Duke speaking as if protecting Rowena, she couldn’t help the sarcasm that slipped out.
“Are you still holding out? Why, because Rowena is so generous and understanding of this mess?”
Swallowing the bitterness behind her deep smile, Melisa briefly glanced towards the door.
Then she deliberately raised her voice so it could be heard outside.
“Yes, servants. Just servants! What’s the problem with that?”
“Madam, mind your tongue. They are my people.”
“Then is Idel someone else’s child?”
Feeling the atmosphere in the room growing heavy, Melisa took a deep breath.
“…It seems my emotions got the better of me due to Idel’s illness. I should take my leave before we both say things we’ll regret.”
“……”
“But, Your Grace, even if you dislike me, you must remember whose blood runs in Idel’s veins. She is your child, just like Gianna.”
With those words, she crossed the room and opened the door with a cold expression.
“No, that’s too much.”
“Shh, the door opened!”
“……”
As expected, it worked. Melisa had two objectives with this incident.
One was for her plan, and the other was to reinforce Idel’s understanding of her own position.
Relying solely on the curse was not as effective as she had thought. That’s why she gave her autonomy along with the warning.
‘Is it because she’s a child? I thought she would have understood the warning well, but she seems to have forgotten it too easily.’
Reflecting on Idel’s sudden outburst, Melisa habitually rubbed her own neck.
‘Well, I guess I can just use the hostility of the servants to isolate her.’
Idel, being perceptive, would surely recall the warnings she had received and come to realize that her world only revolves around ‘Melisa Lopez.’
Before leaving the room, Melisa turned her head and briefly took in the sight of Idel lying with her eyes closed.
Her lips cracked, and cold sweat beaded her forehead.
Even a stranger would feel pity at her pitiful state, but Melisa didn’t blink an eye.
Instead, she approached the maid named ‘Diane,’ whom Idel frequently called.
“Idel seems to care for you, doesn’t she?”
“Huh? Y-yes?”
“I’ll keep an eye on you as well. Please take good care of her.”
Her low, sticky voice slithered over Diane like a snake.
It was not out of pity for the sick child, but because Melisa thought this maid could be useful if played right.
‘There’s nothing harder than having someone you gave your heart to hate you.’
Melisa left, waiting for the day when Idel, who realized her mistake, would come to her on her own.
She wished the child would realize her mistake before Melisa had to take further action.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Even after Melisa had left, the servants had been standing firmly in their places, only relaxing their bodies once the sound of her footsteps had completely disappeared.
Those who had been running around searching for Idel let out a sigh mixed with discontent, trapped in the web Melisa had woven.
“…Honestly, what kind of sudden disaster is this?”
“I know, right? She suddenly disappeared from the mansion, and after searching desperately, now she even collapses?”
“Because of this, we must remain on standby without even a moment’s rest. And you also heard what the Countess said, didn’t you?”
“That nonsense about being just a servant?”
The servants’ faces twisted with displeasure.
Even if they were servants, they were still the people of the ducal household, not just some nobodies.
They were all carefully selected, meeting strict qualification requirements before being allowed to join.
These were people who took pride in their work. So perhaps that’s why…
Someone among the gathered group suddenly voiced a rather dangerous speculation.
“Hey, you don’t think this is all just a ruse, do you? What if the Duke, feeling pity for Miss Idel, decides to revoke the punishment he had imposed?”
