Chapter 9
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Instead of delicate laundry that required warm water and not much physical effort, the clothes of the master’s siblings were not Ethel’s responsibility.
In front of her was a pile of bed sheets, thin blankets, tablecloths, towels, dishcloths, napkins, various covers, and even rags used in the mansion.
‘At least it’s a relief that the servants do their own clothes and underwear.’
Ethel sat on the wooden chair in front of the large basin, just as Celia had instructed, and began washing the pile of rags.
It was late autumn, and though the water was cold, she couldn’t start complaining now, knowing it would only get colder.
“Since it’s your first day, I’ll give you the easiest task of washing the rags and dishcloths… You just have to beat them with the washboard until they’re white, so it shouldn’t be too hard… right?”
Ethel wondered if this was really the easiest job, but she nodded without saying much.
The water in the basin turned black after just a few squeezes of the rags.
‘Where were these rags used?’
Unpleasant thoughts kept coming to mind, but she tried to push away such thoughts and continued with the laundry, trying to think of nothing at all.
The laundry room soon filled with the sounds of Celia and Lila’s chatter and the sounds of washing, as Lila had joined them.
The room suddenly became quiet about an hour into the laundry work.
“Ahem!”
Celia and Lila immediately stopped chatting and focused solely on their washing at the sound of Marsha’s sudden clearing of her throat.
Marsha walked around, pretending to check the laundry situation, and stopped in front of Ethel, as expected.
“What’s this?”
Ethel felt her body stiffen at the confrontational tone of Marsha’s voice.
Marsha picked up a rag that Ethel had already washed, shook it lightly with her fingertips, and dropped it on the floor.
“Hey, Duchess. Did the Lancaster Duchy clean the banisters with such dirty rags? In this house, Miss Linnea would grab you by the hair for this.”
But the rag Marsha dropped was almost spotless, with only faint, old stains that wouldn’t come out no matter how much it was washed.
Of course, protesting would only bring more scolding and ridicule.
‘That head maid is flaunting her power by belittling a former duchess.’
How sweet it must be for her to reverse the power dynamic, treating a noble as a servant.
Ethel suppressed the nausea rising within her again.
“I’m sorry. I’m new to this and inexperienced. I’ll wash it again.”
“You sure know how to talk. Your delicate hands have been handling things too gently, which is why it’s like this! What are you going to do with a laundry maid’s delicate hands?”
Marsha was picking on someone who had just started the job for having delicate hands.
Still, Ethel bowed her head.
“I’ll try harder.”
“That’s the least you can do. Celia! Keep an eye on this woman and don’t go easy on her! She’s a traitor; who knows what dangerous schemes she might be plotting?”
The term used to refer to Ethel had finally dropped to “this woman.”
Her brow almost furrowed for a moment, but Ethel gritted her teeth and maintained her expression.
What people like her wanted was for Ethel to get agitated and rebel. That would give them a clearer excuse to suppress her.
‘There’s no need for that… I just want to spend the rest of my life quietly doing laundry.’
Ethel felt pitiful for herself, exhausted with life at twenty-four, but she knew well that nothing sweet would come into her life.
So, she just hoped she could live with this level of life, begging that she could at least do that.
As she kept bowing and repeatedly apologizing, Marsha left, dissatisfied but without further argument.
After Marsha left, Celia and Lila whispered to each other, glancing at Ethel.
‘What will happen to me now?’
A gloomy feeling spread like a dark cloud. But all she could do now was wash the rags more cleanly.
### The Lancaster Duchy’s Failed Rebellion
The Lancaster Duchy’s attempt at independence ended in a crushing defeat, and the families involved could not escape the resulting misfortune.
Count Canyon, who had gone so far as to offer his young daughter as the old duke’s second wife to get involved, almost faced the destruction of his house.
However, Dustin Canyon once again managed to escape the crisis with his shrewd calculations and silver tongue.
“Please believe me, Your Majesty! How could I refuse the coercive orders of Duke Lancaster? He forcibly took my daughter, Ethel, and still wasn’t satisfied, so he threatened me into helping with this scheme.”
Everyone in society knew that he had done everything possible to ally with one of the ‘Four Great Houses,’ yet he insisted that she was ‘taken.’
Of course, his plea was accepted only because of his trade in confidential information and the huge bribes he paid.
“Damn it…”
Dustin cursed as he checked the halved state of his assets.
“That foolish old man, getting delusional at the end…”
The duchy’s independence plan, which was proceeding in secret, was discovered before it was complete. Duke Lancaster, who believed he would soon be king, had let his guard down.
He knew that Emperor Dimarcus, who had inherited the throne from his incompetent father, was desperate to strengthen imperial authority!
“I thought it would succeed, but the emperor decided to make an example out of them.”
Although the Lancaster Duchy was powerful enough to rival the royal family, this very power made them a perfect target to be made an example of.
A few years ago, it would have been impossible for the emperor to take down the Lancaster Duchy.
The person who made all this possible was ‘Mercenary King’ Laszlo Chrysos, who led mercenaries and allied with the emperor.
“Some lowborn scoundrel calling himself a count…! Damn it! Damn it!”
What enraged him more was that the emperor had given Ethel, once the Duchess of Lancaster, to Laszlo as a spoil of war.
Not because he pitied his daughter’s suffering, but because it felt like a warning directed at anti-imperial nobles, especially Count Canyon. That’s why he couldn’t contain his fury.
“Father, what should we do now?”
His eldest son, William, who had been watching his father’s rage, cautiously asked.
The sons, who had their necks saved thanks to their father, were now more attentive to his moods.
Dustin ground his teeth and spoke in a low voice.
“We must lie low for now. The emperor’s fierce blade could strike anywhere at any time. With his well-trained hunting dogs, he has nothing to fear.”
“Ethel has been given to that Laszlo as a trophy. Will it not affect our family?”
Dustin snapped irritably at his second son, Jeffrey’s, words.
“She should have taken her own life before suffering such humiliation. I can’t understand why Ethel clings to life. She’s a disgrace to our family!”
He genuinely believed this.
Not only had she fallen from the highest position as duchess, but she was now a slave to a dirty mercenary. Ethel should have committed suicide to preserve the honor of herself and her family.
Dustin clicked his tongue in annoyance and shook his head.
Only his two sons remained by his side out of his two sons and two daughters.
‘I surely have no luck with daughters.’
Ethel, who had shown promise and followed his teachings well, ended up disappointing him greatly. The youngest daughter, who had died early, was even more of a disappointment.
In any case, Ethel was as good as cut off along with the Lancaster Duchy, so there was no need to worry about her anymore.
“Your daughter is the Duchess of Lancaster. Won’t you be biased?”
“No, Your Majesty! A married daughter is an outsider! She has nothing to do with our family anymore. Please believe me!”
“Is that so? Then you won’t have anything to say about Ethel Lancaster’s fate, right?”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
That’s how Dustin barely managed to protect his household.
Dimarcus’s ominous smile at the end had been unsettling. Perhaps he had already decided to throw Ethel to Laszlo at that moment.
It would be hard to avoid gossip in social circles, but for now, he couldn’t show his face, so it didn’t matter.
But Dustin Canyon was not someone who would quietly hide and just survive.
“Just wait and see. I will make sure that no one dares to look down on the Canyon family again. I swear it!”
He gritted his teeth and began to instruct his two sons on what to do next.
