Spoils of War Duchess

**Chapter 16**

“Those things should be instructed and questioned by calling the head maid, why are you personally stepping in…!”

Edel, who unknowingly found Rinia frustrating, suddenly remembered that her situation was very different from hers.

Edel was born a noble, and without anyone teaching her, she naturally learned how to manage subordinates by observing her superiors.

But Raslo and Rinia were different.

For them, it must have been unfamiliar and difficult to manage servants as ‘nobles.’

Edel sighed softly and asked,

“So, did the maids quit because of that? But if they do, they won’t get a letter of recommendation, and it’ll be hard for them to get another job…”

“No. Count Crissus knows that Lady Rinia is the problem, so he writes good letters of recommendation. He looks scary, but he’s a good person.”

Edel agreed with that. Raslo Crissus was surprisingly a decent person. Though he certainly looked intimidating.

Suddenly, Daisy, listening towards the door to check for any signs of movement, whispered softly,

“In fact, many maids quit because of Madam Bohen. But if they say it’s because of her, they might not get a letter of recommendation, so they leave blaming Lady Rinia.”

“Doesn’t the Count know Madam Bohen is like this?”

“Probably not. Madam Bohen pretends to be nice and capable in front of the Count. Always saying, ‘Veterans like me…'”

Daisy giggled as she imitated Masha.

Edel laughed along but internally thought the Crissus family was very peculiar.

“The head of the household seems uninterested in how the house is run, the only young lady disregards hierarchy and fusses over the maids’ affairs. Conversely, the head maid acts like a power figure, and there are factions among the few servants.”

If it were any other family, she would have considered them doomed without a second thought.

However, Raslo Crissus was not just any doomed noble.

As long as the current Emperor, Dimarcus Tuberin, maintained his position and power, Raslo Crissus would continue to thrive. Perhaps it was more accurate to say that Raslo helped solidify Dimarcus’s position.

“If the Count wants to thrive in the Empire’s noble society, he needs to find a good wife quickly to put his house in order. Otherwise, it will be hard to be part of the mainstream.”

The social circle wasn’t a place where someone could be accepted into the mainstream just by the Emperor’s decree.

Even high-ranking nobles could be ostracized if they had a bad reputation, and even low-ranking nobles could become popular if they were well-received.

Currently, Raslo Crissus wasn’t part of the social circle at all—not even trying to be.

But for the Emperor’s sake, Raslo needed to change soon.

“I hope whoever becomes the mistress of the house will pity me a little.”

Edel earnestly wished her life would continue peacefully as it was.

But it was only two days after she made that wish when Rinia Crissus suddenly called for her.

* * *

“Hmm… Are you Edel Lancaster?”

Unlike her brother, who had black hair and very light brown eyes, Rinia had reddish-brown hair and turquoise eyes.

“They don’t look much alike. Or maybe their foreheads are a bit similar?”

Rinia sat crookedly, with her legs crossed and her chin resting on her hand, looking Edel up and down with pretended arrogance. But she didn’t exude any of the charisma or intimidation that her brother did.

From what she heard, Rinia seemed to be in her mid-20s, but her face, dotted with a few freckles on her soft cheeks, looked only in her late teens.

A child pretending to be an adult. That was Edel’s first impression of Rinia.

Edel maintained her politeness as much as possible.

“Now, I am just Edel. The Lancaster family no longer exists.”

“I know that.”

Rinia replied irritably even before Edel finished speaking.

Rinia seemed to be very upset about something.

But Edel couldn’t figure out what it was, and Rinia poured out a mocking tirade at her.

“They say the Duke of Lancaster was a 60-year-old man? Did you really want to become a duchess that badly?”

Edel vaguely heard the word “disgusting” at the end, but she pretended not to hear it.

“Unfortunately, my marriage wasn’t something I could decide. I had to do as my father said.”

“Ugh, that’s horrible. How could he be your father?”

Edel barely restrained herself from saying “I agree” and just smiled faintly.

“Something even a young commoner girl can naturally think of, why couldn’t my father?”

She felt a surge of resentment towards her father, who had always been cold to his daughters.

Despite knowing Edel’s marriage was not by choice, Rinia continued with a mean question.

“If you were married, you must have slept together, right? Did you actually do it with an old man who could be your father?”

Perhaps Rinia expected Edel to shudder with shame, but Edel calmly shook her head.

“I never shared a bedroom with him. He was busy, didn’t want more children, and had a long-time mistress.”

“What? He had a mistress?”

“Yes. She probably died too. She managed the Duke of Lancaster’s funds for his rebellion.”

Rinia looked aghast.

“Then what was your role there?”

That question stabbed Edel deeply in her heart.

“‘So, what exactly was I?’

The bitterness in her mouth brought back memories of her marriage, where she had been desperate to prove her worth.

‘I merely filled a vacancy to present a perfect Duchess of Lancaster outwardly. I also took on the bothersome tasks while I was at it.’

Edel just laughed.

She genuinely laughed.

She had entertained such thoughts before, but explaining them to Rinia made her realize how foolish her past self had been.

But Rinia didn’t seem pleased by Edel’s laughter and mocked her even more.

‘Ah, were you claiming to be the perfect Duchess? Quite the pride, isn’t it? But now? You’re practically a slave.’

Whether Rinia didn’t understand the context or deliberately misinterpreted Edel’s words, she had never claimed herself to be a perfect Duchess.

Moreover, her comments about being akin to a slave were clearly intended to provoke Edel, but unfortunately, Edel remained unaffected.

‘As someone in the service of Count Crissus, I work as a maid in the laundry. I am grateful for his mercy.’

‘Lies.’

‘It’s true. I know well it could have been a far worse situation. Count Crissus saved me.’

Even when hearing her brother’s praise, Rinia didn’t smooth out her wrinkled brow.

‘Don’t get complacent. If our brother slips, what will happen? He’s a very intimidating person.’

‘I rely solely on Count Crissus’s kindness. I have no right to ask for anything else.’

‘Understood?’

‘Yes.’

What had she expected from Edel? Rinia asked with a voice filled with frustration as if she had run out of patience.

‘Are you also ignoring me?’

‘Excuse me? What are you talking about?’

‘You think it’s okay for a lowly woman to sit here and ridicule a nobleman?’

Rinia shouted as if determined to completely break Edel’s self-esteem.

But kneeling wasn’t particularly difficult for Edel. She calmly knelt down, lowering her head slightly.

‘I’m sorry. Since you didn’t tell me to sit, I thought I should stand.’

Rinia seemed taken aback by her attitude.

‘What? Don’t you have any pride?’

‘…’

‘You were a Duchess! Can you kneel so easily in front of the younger sister of a Count?’

Indeed, what Rinia desired was a display of humiliation or resistance.

‘But pride as a Duchess means little to me.’

Having already realized the worthlessness of nobility and honor while standing at a loot auction, she answered sincerely.

‘To answer your questions: firstly, I am no longer a Duchess. Secondly, Lady Rinia, you are my superior. And thirdly, kneeling isn’t that big of a deal.’

That’s right. She had fallen into the role of a slave, as Rinia had said. But what was so difficult about kneeling?

She could even bow until her forehead touched the ground if asked.

That was how upside down Edel’s world had become.

Since she did not know the intentions of those who didn’t care about her, kneeling did not hurt her pride. She was all the more grateful for the calm days she gained.

Rinia, who did not know her true feelings, only continued to scream loudly.