Spoils of War Duchess

Chapter 20

“Speaking of small fry, it seems the daughter of Count Canyon was given to that Raslow fellow?”

“It was the most dramatic scene at the victory banquet, you know? Everyone was begging for her like a pack of dogs, and the Emperor just handed her over to Raslow.”

“It was a spectacle. Poor woman.”

Duke Berington clicked his tongue and shook his head, but Isaac chuckled.

“Count Canyon thought he could secure a connection by giving his daughter to Duke Lancaster. It’s quite laughable. But considering he managed to protect his family in this chaos, he’s not entirely a fool…”

Everyone noticed the nuance in his words.

“Are you planning to use Count Canyon?”

“These days, he’s been keeping a low profile.”

Isaac shrugged.

“Well, I’m just keeping an eye on him. I don’t think Count Canyon can achieve anything significant.”

“Even Baron Owen or Count Tessian could bring decent results if used properly.”

They continued their conversation, mentioning families that could serve as scapegoats in their place. The damage to those families was not their concern.

* * *

“Edel. Today, you go get the laundry. We’ll finish what we couldn’t wash yesterday.”

Celia, who was distributing today’s tasks, requested Edel to collect the laundry.

In fact, collecting the laundry was one of the easier tasks in the laundry room. It also allowed for a bit of rest if done discreetly.

When Edel first started working, Celia and Lila took turns collecting the laundry. But as they grew closer, they eventually began assigning the task to Edel as well.

“The head maid said she’s going out with Miss Linia, so take your time.”

This was essentially granting Edel some free time.

Edel tried to refuse, but Celia and Lila were already getting their hands wet, so she had no choice but to take a large tub and leave the laundry room.

She placed the tub in the cart at the mansion’s entrance, which was connected to the laundry room, and decided to start from the upper floors, heading straight to the second floor.

As she pushed the cart with the ease of someone who had done this for a long time, she felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

“It’s been almost two months since I started working here.”

Today marked the 50th day exactly.

Though she hadn’t been here long, Edel was increasingly concerned about the strange aspects of this count’s household.

“It doesn’t make sense that there’s no butler, and the head maid is the actual authority in the mansion…”

While a head maid is indeed an important position, they are essentially senior maids managing other maids. It’s unheard of for a head maid to wield real power in a noble house of this magnitude.

Moreover, Marsha wielded her power in a particularly petty manner.

“Creating factions among the few servants and ruling over them like a queen…”

The workload piling up wasn’t just because there were few servants.

Some servants, who were cozy with Marsha, were noticeably negligent, forcing the others to pick up the slack.

“Especially the younger or less experienced maids are suffering.”

The maids who were close to Marsha would spend time snacking or chatting with her, while the others had to take on more tasks under her orders.

Newer maids couldn’t refuse Marsha’s commands because they hadn’t been there long enough to secure a recommendation letter if they left.

“The head maid probably has significant influence and can spend money within the budget approved by the count. That’s where her power comes from.”

Given the poor quality of food and supplies in the mansion, it seemed she wasn’t even using the budget properly.

It could be that she had a poor eye for quality or simply didn’t bother looking for good merchants.

“She even manipulates Linia as she pleases. She’s probably deliberately exacerbating Linia’s insecurities.”

That way, she could easily control Linia.

Edel often saw Marsha whispering to Linia, pretending to know things.

It seemed Marsha was calling in dressmakers or jewelers she knew, but it was obvious how items chosen by the head maid would be perceived by other nobles.

Even though it wasn’t her problem, it sent chills down Edel’s spine.

“She must be getting kickbacks from those vendors.”

Edel sighed at the total chaos of the Crissis count’s household.

“Why doesn’t Count Crissis correct any of this? No matter how busy he is, he should manage his household properly to handle other matters effectively.”

Edel sighed as she collected laundry from Linia’s room.

The ownerless room was cluttered with all sorts of decorations. It seemed like she bought whatever was in fashion whenever she fancied it, without any consistent taste.

Maybe she bought them because of the head maid’s ‘trendy’ suggestions.

“If she knew a few peers, she wouldn’t be so easily manipulated by the head maid. Then again, her situation makes that difficult.”

Edel had heard that Raslow struggled to fit into noble society.

He was a man who lost his parents at a young age and ended up on the streets with his sister, only to become a mercenary king after starting as a guild errand boy.

It was easy to imagine the hardships he overcame, but the nobles didn’t appreciate his past at all.

“A commoner they despised suddenly becoming the emperor’s favorite and a great noble—they must be seething with jealousy.”

Maybe that was why, in Edel’s eyes, Raslow seemed focused solely on his duties at the palace, as if to prove himself to them.

But merely doing his job well wouldn’t make him part of the social elite, nor win him allies among the nobles.

Frankly, he lacked the appeal for nobles to swallow their pride and reach out to him first.