Chapter 6
“Mrs. Bohen, Mrs. Bohen! I just heard from the knight outside that this woman is the ‘Duchess of Lancaster!'”
“What? The Duchess of Lancaster?”
Marsha’s eyes widened as she scanned Idel up and down once more. However, she had no intention of respecting Idel. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“My, my, it’s a day to remember when a duchess is treated like a servant. Ho ho ho!”
With a sly smile, Marsha pretended to be generous as she commanded the maid who was laughing along with her.
“Anyway, we must follow the count’s orders. Mina! First, wash, feed, and put this woman to bed. The room at the end of the hallway, right? Give her that room.”
“Understood!”
“And you, the new one. What’s your name?”
Idel didn’t particularly mind being called ‘the new one’ by the head maid. She would have been happier if she had been assured that she wouldn’t be called to Laszlo’s bedroom, but since she couldn’t be sure of that yet, she couldn’t bring herself to smile.
She answered in the softest voice she could manage.
“Idel, ma’am.”
It felt strange yet oddly comforting not to attach ‘Lancaster’ or ‘Canyon’ to her name.
“Oh my, you answer so gracefully, must be because you’re a noble? Ho ho ho! You’ll have to keep that decorum up.”
Marsha’s eyes sparkled as if she anticipated something amusing, then she signaled the young maid and turned away.
The young maid, named Mina, raised her chin and looked down at Idel arrogantly once Marsha was gone. It reminded Idel of how Marsha behaved when Laszlo was not around.
“You look a mess. Follow me, ‘Duchess.'”
Despite Mina’s sarcasm, Idel wasn’t particularly upset. She had endured worse mockery and slander in society; this was nothing.
Mina, seemingly too busy to taunt further, led Idel directly to the bathroom.
“This is the water bucket, this is the dipper, this is the soap, this is the towel. Do you even know how to wash yourself with just this explanation?”
“No, but I don’t have any clothes to change into… Do you have any spare maid uniforms?”
“There should be some from maids who quit… I’ll find one for you. Just wash up first. The smell is unbearable.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
“Goodness, you even thank me. Still so composed, aren’t you?”
Mina sneered but didn’t forget to explain everything necessary.
“After you’re done washing, go to the room at the end of the hallway. That’s your room. I’ll bring your meal there, so eat, and return the tray to the kitchen in the morning.”
“What time should I go to the kitchen in the morning?”
“Seven a.m. Don’t be even a little late, or you’ll be punished.”
“Got it.”
Seeing Idel show no sign of being upset or humiliated, Mina seemed annoyed and added one more thing.
“You better get a good night’s sleep. Starting tomorrow, you’ll understand how hard the maids you used to order around worked.”
With that, Mina turned on her heel and left Idel alone.
Mina seemed to want to see Idel fume with anger, but compared to Marsha, she still seemed quite naive.
‘Still, she’s rather kind. Bringing me clothes and food,’ Idel thought.
Idel was grateful even for such small gestures of kindness.
It made sense, considering that in the past, a traitor of her magnitude would be executed in the town square, pelted to death by stones. It was understandable that people harbored ill feelings toward her.
‘First, I should wash. Like that maid said, it seems I smell pretty bad.’
Despite her efforts to maintain cleanliness, compared to the days when she used the finest cosmetics and perfumes, she constantly felt like she smelled.
It was late October, and the thought of washing with cold water was daunting. However, it was better than stinking, so Idel gritted her teeth and poured the cold water over herself.
“Ahhh.”
The water was colder than she had anticipated.
A shuddering breath escaped through her chattering teeth.
‘Let’s wash quickly. As fast as possible.’
Idel took the handkerchief she had wrapped around her neck, soaked it in water, lathered it with soap, and began scrubbing her body, which was covered in sweat and grime.
In the dim and quiet bathroom, scrubbing her body vigorously, she suddenly burst into hollow laughter.
‘To think that just three weeks ago, I was being bathed by maids…’
It felt as though those luxurious days had been three years ago, not three weeks.
Looking back, she realized she had been a sheltered flower in a greenhouse.
Even on the day when the doom of the ducal family became apparent, she had worried about the future while soaking in a bronze tub, surrounded by warm, scented water, attended by maids.
‘From now on, I’ll have to wash with cold water, even in the dead of winter. It seems the Chrysus family doesn’t provide warm water to their servants.’
To avoid frostbite, she would probably only be able to wipe herself with a damp cloth. By spring, her skin might be dry and flaking.
As a duchess or a countess’s daughter, such indignities were unimaginable, but she had to accept this new reality.
‘At least I’m not dead. And it’s not like I’m facing something so unbearable that death would be preferable.’
Even though she had considered giving up on life when she came here, she wasn’t someone desperate to die. All living beings have an instinct to survive.
As long as she wasn’t reduced to a plaything for someone’s vulgar desires, she wanted to live.
She didn’t aspire to a grand life.
She only wished for a quiet, modest existence where she could take care of herself. That was all she wanted.
That’s why she saw a glimmer of hope in Laszlo’s decision to hand her over to the head maid as an ‘extra hand.’
‘At least he doesn’t seem to have immediate plans to do anything to me… Let’s stay sharp and learn to work diligently.’
Idel carefully untied her braided hair and washed it with soapy water. If it had been warm water, the grime and oil would have washed away easily, but with cold water, it only seemed to stick more.
Still, she had to do her best. That’s how she had always lived.
Once she finished washing, Idel quickly dried herself and took out a maid’s uniform from a basket of clothes someone had left behind.
She didn’t know who it had belonged to, but it was quite large in the bust and she had to roll up the sleeves, though the skirt was rather short, coming well above her ankles.
‘Still, this is better than nothing. They even provided a chemise and drawers.’
There was no petticoat to puff out the skirt, but Idel was thankful she didn’t have to wear just a single dress over her bare skin.
It was much better than putting on her dirty, smelly clothes again.
She exited the bathroom with her old clothes in hand and headed down the hallway to the room Mina had pointed out. A faint light was leaking from the open door of the room at the very end.
That seemed to be her room.
When she opened the door, she found a room with a sloped ceiling and a small window through which cold air seeped in. Inside, there was a narrow bed, a table, and a shabby chair.
There was no wardrobe, but there were three nails on the wall, which were presumably for hanging clothes.
The room seemed to have been empty for a while, as the dust on the table and cobwebs in the corners were noticeable.
‘So, people live in such small rooms too.’
It was the first time she had ever seen a room this small. The terrace of the room she used to occupy was larger than this.
However, Idel quickly dismissed the thought.
‘I am no longer a noble.’
A criminal who should have been beheaded and displayed on the castle walls, she had to be grateful for having a room of her own, even if it was like this.
In fact, what she was most grateful for was the meal placed on the table. It was just a loaf of brown bread, a cup of water, and half a browned apple.
‘Let’s eat.’
The meal she had in the prison during the day had long been digested. With the tension of anticipating death gone and having just finished bathing, she was ravenously hungry.
Idel locked the door securely, sat down, and carefully tore into the bread.
The bread was dry and sour, and it tasted awful, but she chewed diligently and washed it down with small sips of water.
After finishing the bread, she bit into the small piece of apple.
“Haa…”
The apple made a crisp sound as she bit into it, and the sweet and sour juice filled her mouth, suddenly making her feel alive.
She always preferred fruit over cakes, cookies, or puddings. The sweet and tangy taste of seasonal fruit was far more refreshing than the sweetness of cream or sugar.
Even while being transported to the capital in a rickety cart, she had missed fruit so much.
‘I thought I’d never taste a piece of fruit again before I died.’
Reflecting on her wretchedness with that thought, now she was chewing on a small piece of apple.
Even something as small as that gave her courage.
“Will I be able to eat fruit again tomorrow?”
She smiled for no reason.
If she could hold on, finding hope in these small sweetnesses, maybe one day she’d find peace.
‘I’ll leave cleaning the room for tomorrow. As that maid said, I should get a good night’s sleep tonight.’
Having finished every bit of food on the tray, Idel carefully folded her old clothes and lay down on the bed.
The bed was hard, but it didn’t take her more than five minutes to fall asleep.
