Chapter 74
“You learn quickly. This is exactly the moment to look into your partner’s eyes. You’re doing very well.”
“Ah… that’s because the teacher is good.”
Edel smiled warmly.
Laszlo, feeling his heart pounding from earlier, took a deep breath to ease his chest. He lifted the hands intertwined with Edel’s high into the air.
At that, Edel spun gracefully, like a flower blooming in full bloom, moving away before returning into his arms.
‘Beautiful.’
He thought so unintentionally.
Until now, he had dismissed noble dances as nothing more than frivolous entertainment. Yet, as the waltz approached its end, he found himself wishing it could last longer.
The dance, which seemed as if it could go on forever, ended with the musician’s final note.
Edel stepped back, separating her body from Laszlo’s, and naturally released her hand.
Was this how it felt when a butterfly perched on your hand flew away?
“Thank you for your effort.”
Edel’s polite greeting snapped Laszlo out of his thoughts.
“Effort? Not at all. It was quite enjoyable.”
Edel’s cheeks seemed to flush slightly, but she quickly turned her gaze toward Rinia.
“My lady, do you have a better sense of the waltz now?”
Rinia, equally mesmerized, was lost in thought.
“Wow… Edel, you were so beautiful! And brother, you were amazing too! I was shocked!”
She clapped enthusiastically and ran to Edel’s side.
Afterward, Rinia’s dancing improved significantly.
Though she wasn’t as skilled or natural as Edel, visualizing Edel’s movements in her mind helped her avoid complete mistakes.
As Rinia returned to her room with Laszlo after practice, she wore a dreamy expression and mumbled softly.
“She looked like a princess… the kind of princess I used to imagine as a child, spinning right in front of me.”
Ordinarily, Laszlo would have dismissed her as talking nonsense, but for once, he couldn’t disagree.
Still, feeling shy about saying anything more about Edel, he blurted out something random.
“To me, you looked like a princess too.”
“…What?”
Rinia, who had never heard such sentimental words from her brother, stared at him with wide eyes.
“What? Do I have to escort you all the way to your room now? Go on.”
Realizing his slip, Laszlo quickly retreated into his room, avoiding his sister’s gaze entirely. No, he fled.
Left standing outside her brother’s room, Rinia eventually let out a laugh.
“Living long enough, you see all sorts of things…”
Though she chuckled, her cheeks glowed with a happy blush. The genuine comment and Laszlo’s flustered reaction were moments she felt she’d never forget, even until the end of her days.
Edel took charge of overseeing the entirety of the Crises household’s operations, preparing for the family’s first grand party.
Even the servants with prior experience in other noble houses were astonished at Edel’s competence. For the house’s original staff, it was a daily series of surprises.
“I never knew the Edel who used to do laundry with me was this kind of person.”
“We might have forgotten, but Edel was a duchess.”
Celia and Lila shivered as they recalled who Edel truly was.
If the Lancaster ducal family hadn’t been destroyed, someone like her would never have crossed paths with them. The fact that they had addressed her by name and ordered her to do laundry now seemed utterly surreal.
Daisy felt the same way.
“Father, I don’t think I can call Edel ‘sister’ anymore. It doesn’t feel right.”
“Even the count and the lady of the house seem to follow her every word these days.”
But everyone liked it that way.
The master of the house, Laszlo, who rarely stayed at the mansion, was now frequently seen around. Even his perpetually stern face occasionally softened with a smile.
The most remarkable change, however, was in Rinia, who had been a whirlwind of uncontrollable hysteria.
She no longer snapped at the servants or threw objects in anger. Her expression was much brighter, and she even laughed out loud.
“I can’t imagine life without Edel now. It feels like that time before she came is already fading from memory.”
“Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it! The trouble we had with that witch of a maid…”
Daisy, who had nearly been falsely accused of theft because of Marsha, nodded vigorously.
“The goddess Parra punishes the wicked, and to witness it firsthand… Marsha fell into her own trap and faced divine retribution. Serves her right.”
“Exactly. Let’s stop talking about her. Just thinking about it brings bad luck.”
“That’s right! There’s not even enough time to talk about good things.”
The affectionate father and daughter quickly shifted their conversation to how delicious dinner had been that evening. The name “Marsha Boehn” faded from their minds as if it had never existed.
However, Marsha Boehn could never forget Edel or the Crises household.
How could she? The mansion on Durum Street, which had been her dream, disappeared in an instant.
Not only that, but she had to sell almost everything she owned to repay the debt written on her promissory notes. Without any letters of recommendation, finding employment as a head maid, or even as a regular maid, was nearly impossible.
In the end, she managed to get hired at a private laundry service constantly short on staff. However, her days of idleness at the Crises household had spoiled her, making the work unbearably grueling.
“Edel, that wicked woman! Does she think she’ll stay young forever? Just wait until she gets older—Count Crises will toss her aside without a second thought! It’s obvious! She’ll probably end up sold off somewhere as a courtesan, the wretched woman!”
Reduced to near poverty, Marsha cursed Edel every day. Although Laszlo was the one who had thrown her out, she believed Edel was the one who had orchestrated the situation.
“If it weren’t for her, I could have easily manipulated that mercenary fool! That mansion would have been mine! Oh, it’s so unfair!”
The vanished wealth and dreams haunted her daily. Each time, the bitterness toward Edel and Laszlo consumed her, driving her to the point of obsession. She began plotting revenge, unable to let go of her hatred.
At that moment, someone sought her out.
“Marsha Boehn?”
“Wh-Who’s looking for me?”
“I have something that might interest you. Care to talk in my carriage for a bit?”
“Why should I trust you?”
Despite trembling like a leaf, Marsha cautiously observed the stranger.
He wore a hooded robe and a cowl that concealed his face below the eyes. From his piercing gaze alone, she could tell he was strikingly handsome. However, his cold, steel-gray eyes exuded an intimidating aura.
“I heard you were the head maid of the Crises household before being cast out.”
“H-How do you know that…? No, you’ve got it wrong! It was all a plot by some conniving wildcat of a woman!”
“I’m not here to punish you. Quite the opposite—I’m here to help. Don’t you want to get revenge on Count Crises for ruining you?”
The word revenge made Marsha’s eyes blaze with fury. She abandoned any thought of discerning her visitor’s identity and clung desperately to his robe.
“Revenge? Are you saying I have a way to get back at them?”
The robed man, Edmund, smiled slyly, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“Of course. And it won’t even be difficult. All I need is for you to sell me the information you have. I’ll pay generously.”
The idea of making money from her knowledge made Marsha’s eyes gleam with excitement. Penniless and desperate, she couldn’t resist.
“Anything! I’ll tell you everything I know! But… how much will you pay me?”
“I don’t care for petty haggling. 5,000 Lingtons. Take it or leave it.”
For someone struggling to afford her next meal, 5,000 Lingtons was a godsend.
Marsha nodded fervently.
“I’ll sell! Whatever you want to know, just ask!”
“I’m glad we see eye to eye.”
Edmund ushered Marsha into his carriage and began asking questions.
“You mentioned being ruined by some ‘conniving wildcat of a woman.’ Who might that be?”
“Edel! The former Duchess of the fallen Lancaster family!”
“Interesting. Edel Lancaster holds considerable power within the Crises household, then?”
Marsha gritted her teeth in rage.
“She’s just a pretty-faced wench dragged in as a prisoner! What else would she be good for? She’s become the mercenary’s mistress, that’s what! And using her position, she threw me out!”
The way she referred to Laszlo as a “mercenary” amused Edmund greatly.
He nodded, feigning understanding, and pressed further.
“You’ve been through a lot. But why would she feel the need to expel you specifically?”
“Because she needed to seize control of that household, and I was the only one who saw through her schemes! Do you have any idea how cunning and greedy she is?”
Edmund narrowed his eyes, recalling the praise he had heard about Edel Lancaster. Her reputation starkly contrasted with Marsha’s portrayal.
