Episode 29
The murky green liquid churned in the glass bottle.
I took it every day, and yet every time I looked at that color, it made me feel sick.
It was actually quite bitter, but neither the taste nor the smell were particularly bad.
Raymond made this medicine by mixing different plants together into a special brew. It was said to work well because it contained many ingredients that are good for the body and that assist conception.
But, no matter how good the fertility medicine was, it wouldn’t help if the couple didn’t have a good marriage.
As a result, each time I took this medicine, I felt empty because I was putting all of these expensive plants into my body for nothing. I also felt guilty because it was as if I was lying to people by taking it.
This always made the time for medicine very painful.
“Now, take it all at once,” she said.
Rona was standing next to me with a piece of chocolate ready in her hand.
I really didn’t want to, but I gulped it down all the same. I quickly grabbed a glass of water and swilled it around in my mouth to get rid of the awful bitter taste.
What the heck did they put in it to make it so bitter?
It was a taste I could never get used to.
“You did well.”
Rona gave me a cloth to wipe my mouth, but the sour taste lingered anyway.
“Here, have this.”
Rona passed me the chocolate in her hand. I popped it in my mouth and rolled it around, enjoying its sweetness while I waited for Greta to move away.
‘Strange?’
Greta would usually take the medicine bottle and leave as soon as I finished it, as if to say that her job was over. But today, she stood still long after I had finished. It wasn’t like her.
Also…
She was staring at me pointedly.
“What is it?”
Whenever I took my medicine, I felt like I was going to throw up. I held it in and looked at her like I was interested in whether she had something to say.
Greta didn’t seem to care and continued her long stare.
‘Why is she doing this now?’
The chocolate almost became tasteless. No, it was even bitter.
I guess this is how it feels to be beaten with a single look. Greta’s sharp eyes had a way about them that made people want to back away. When she looked at someone with her cold eyes, me and the maids and slaves easily became tongue tied.
As she continued to look at me, I blinked my eyes like a gentle cow. I didn’t really want to win, but for some reason, I didn’t want to give up first either.
How long had we been looking at each other without a word between us?
“I want to say something.”
Greta’s mouth opened up at last.
“Please do.”
I leaned back on the couch and looked at her. I may have seemed calm on the outside, but I was anything but.
“I heard from the chef that you gave him control of all the money in the kitchen?”
“That’s correct. I did.”
I slowly nodded.
“You also said that he can buy, even expensive ingredients, without my permission?”
“That’s right too.”
I nodded again, but it only met more silence from Greta.
“But… Is there a problem with that?”
“I, Greta, am the one who runs the Duke’s house,” she said.
“I know that very well.”
I obediently nodded my head.
“And so?” I asked innocently, cocking my head to the side.
Greta’s eyes flashed with irritation.
“The lady isn’t in charge of running the house, and it isn’t her job to do so. It is mine.”
“I know. I know more than anyone else how hard you have worked. Taking care of such a big house can’t be easy, can it?”
I smiled as I benevolently complimented her.
“…Then why didn’t you ask me before you gave the chef so much power?”
Greta settled back into her burning stare.
I thought carefully before I replied.
“Of course, it’s to make food that is even better for the Duke’s health. Is there anything more important than my husband’s health in this mansion?”
Greta’s face darkened at my response.
“Of course that’s true, but you should have checked with me first…”
“Oh, I did talk to Mother,” I said with an even bigger smile. Greta’s face was getting darker by the second, but mine was only getting lighter.
“Because she told me I could make all decisions pertaining to my husband’s health. You did know about it, didn’t you?”
It was a power Camilla gave directly to me. It wasn’t the housekeeper’s place to overturn Camilla’s decision.
It’s unfortunate that she still thinks of me as the old Selene.
“Of course I heard… but you also told him to move the kitchen?”
“The cooking tools we have now are too old. The house has been renovated over and over again, but the kitchen looks like it was built a century ago.”
I studied Greta’s face in silence before continuing.
“We all eat the food made in the Duke’s kitchen. I asked for it because I wanted the food to be cooked in a better place. And…”
Greta was making a big effort to clear her throat, as if she didn’t like what I was saying.
“I know that the cook is usually in charge of things in the kitchen. I just returned it to the way it should be. I’d like Greta, the maid, to give in on this one.”
“…”
“The kitchen is not like anywhere else in the house. There’s fire and water, as well as knives and spoons. It’s the most important and yet also, most dangerous place.”
I kept talking with a big smile plastered on my face.
“Greta, isn’t it difficult to take care of the Duke’s home? Leaving Jean in charge of everything in the kitchen would be…”
“I am someone who does what Lady Camilla tells me to do.”
Ah.
I was wondering when that line was going to come out. It was her usual chosen method of declining whenever I asked her for a favor.
This particular war of words wasn’t as scary because it didn’t come out of the blue.
I spoke again, this time with a more tender smile.
“It was because Mother allowed it that I was able to take care of my husband’s health myself. The kitchen was included. Should I say more?”
“…”
“It’s about giving the person who will cook my husband’s food a better place to work. If that is truly such a big problem, I’ll go tell Mother. Right away.”
From the corner of my eye, I could see Rona covering her mouth and looking back and forth between Greta and me.
Rona’s expression screamed, ‘You are too cool!’
Greta continued to look at me after I spoke. I was a little worried when I noticed her eyes were deep and thoughtful.
“This is the first time I’ve had to deal with a rival like this.”
Even though Greta was only a maid, Camilla gave her a strangely elevated power that made me, Amoide’s wife, feel small. I didn’t have any power of my own in the Duke’s house, of course. I’ve always taken that as a given.
The recent change in me must seem strange to her. I guess that’s why she’s looking at me like that.
Since I was sitting and she was standing, she seemed even more intimidating. I had been forcing my smile so much it felt like my jaw was about to fall off, but I refused to stand down.
“I understand what you’re saying.”
Greta smiled and lifted the corners of her mouth as she spoke. Even though she was smiling, it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I’ll leave then.”
“Oh, and…”
Greta had begun to move away but turned her body at the sound of my voice.
“Did Greta tell Mother about the incident with the snake before I did?”
“I’m not really sure what you mean.”
Greta continued with a cool expression.
“At the time, I was far away in the yard. How could I have told her before you did?”
“I see.”
“May I ask you why you asked that, young Lady?”
“I didn’t want to upset Mother for no reason. Whoever told her had such fast feet.”
The thought that everyone knows everything about my daily life with Amoide sent chills through me.
“Well, I have no idea.”
“Understood.”
Greta nodded to the woman standing next to her, picked up the empty medicine bottle, and left the room.
As I watched her back as she walked away, an inexplicable feeling rose up.
Thud.
Both Rona and I let out a big sigh at the sound of the door closing..
“Whew.”
Rona’s eyes grew when she saw that I no longer looked at all relaxed.
“The housekeeper wasn’t the one who moved, so what happened?”
“Rona.”
“Yes?”
“Did I just get held back by Greta?”
Rona took a moment to think before she replied.
“…Maybe?”
“Sigh.”
My strength seemed to dissolve in an instant, and I slid down in my chair.
Even though all we did was stare at each other and say a few words, I felt like I had lost all my energy.
I had given the cook full power over the kitchen and let him buy ingredients whenever he wanted, but I was always worried about a run in with Greta.
Truly, I never wanted a fight like this to happen. But I also couldn’t get away from it. It was something that was bound to happen.
“The maid seems to be a little haughty with you, Madam. As long as she does a good job for Lady Camilla, she thinks anything is justified.”
Rona grumbled.
“No, she always treats me with respect.”
At least she didn’t talk about me behind my back just for fun.
“But I can’t tell what she’s thinking.”
I couldn’t figure out who was the first to tell Camilla about the incident with the snake and had twisted it in such a bad way.
Camilla said she wasn’t keeping an eye on me, and Greta, just like before, pretended not to know, so there was nothing I could do.
But there was one person left.
Someone who might want to hurt me.
Some leftover chocolate remained on the table. When I looked at it, I could still taste the bitter medicine I had taken earlier.
The treatment.
“…”
The drugs that Amoide was taking flashed through my mind, as well as Emma’s eyes as she picked up the medicine bottle.
“That medicine makes me nervous.”
…
I needed to see if it was made the way Raymond said it should be and if there were any other problems.
Totally sus!!!