Episode 20

The sensation was familiar. It helped me regain my composure quickly. Though a white flash momentarily blinded my vision, I managed to keep my balance and avoid falling.

“How dare you!”

Servi, who had just slapped me, exploded in anger. It was a rare sight for someone who always pretended to be rational and smart.

He never resorted to physical violence himself, thinking it beneath him.

Even when he pushed me before, it was clear he lost his temper because of Aria.

‘So, he really loses his composure when Aria is involved.’

I slowly lifted my hand to my face. I could feel a small cut.

‘So, he’s decided to drop the pretense of being a saint?’

“You brought this on yourself.”

Seeing me touch my wound dazedly, Servi seemed to think I was scared and came on stronger.

He always did this. He would crush his opponent’s spirit in some way and, when he felt it was sufficiently cowed, would begin his tirade disguised as a lecture.

I was certain it wasn’t Seth but Servi who had put the dead rat in my stocking on New Year’s Eve. Tormenting someone from the shadows was his way.

“I spoiled you, and now you’re accusing Aria of being a thief.”

His voice was full of anger. I deliberately stayed silent, waiting for his next words.

Whenever he rebuked me, a certain phrase always slipped out.

“You’re different from Aria, who grew up on the streets.”

As expected, the moment those words left his mouth, I almost laughed.

‘Just as I thought.’

Bringing up my origins was his tried-and-true method.

‘How could he not have changed at all?’

Now, it worked to my advantage.

I twisted my lips and strained my voice, trying to look shocked rather than amused, and furrowed my eyebrows to appear distressed.

“But Sir Servi.”

“You should be grateful we brought a filthy street child like you this far.”

Servi, regaining his composure, whispered coldly. I opened my mouth in a daze again.

“…Filthy?”

“Yes. Filthy.”

Servi continued decisively.

“Your kind, who grew up in filth, probably scavenged for scraps, stole, and mingled with the dirtiest creatures.”

“……”

“We took you into our family and let you live in comfort, and this is how you repay us? You don’t know your place.”

“……”

“Why are you so desperate to cling to those lemons?”

“They aren’t just lemons.”

“Ah. You probably never had fruits like lemons, so you think they’re precious?”

“They are a gift from the Grand Duke…”

“You dare accuse Aria, of all people, of theft to cover up your greed?”

Servi shot back coldly.

“Coveting what belongs to others and questioning people are typical of a street thief. Didn’t you take Aria’s belongings and shamelessly claim them as yours?”

“I just…”

“Anyway, those who come from such places always show their true colors.”

Clang.

Amidst his barrage of insults, something fell to the floor. It was a teaspoon.

As Servi and I turned to look, Aria’s face was pale. Lady Ellie, standing behind her, looked equally shocked.

Taking advantage of the moment, I spoke pitifully.

“Those words are too harsh, Sir Servi.”

“……”

And then, I dropped a bombshell.

“Not just me, but Aria also lived on the streets.”

Until she reclaimed her status, Aria, like me, was a street urchin.

In fact, she had lived on the streets even longer than I did. Though she was adopted by a poor baron’s family in between, Aria had only recently entered the Duke’s household as a lady.

I had heard these insults daily. Being called a street rat was nothing new to me.

‘But for Aria, it’s different.’

Servi rarely hurled such abuse in front of Aria.

Aria must have felt the same sting from Servi’s words as I did. She would now know how he truly felt about children who lived on the streets.

“I can handle such words,” I muttered as if deeply shocked, “but how could you say such things in front of Aria?”

“……!”

Finally, Servi seemed to realize the implications of what he had said. He turned to look at Aria, his face pale.

Since the Duke’s household was nearly accused of treason in my previous life, this was the first time I had seen Servi look like this.

“…Aria.”

Lady Ellie quickly shook her head, signaling that the situation was bad.

Aria’s face was unusually pale, almost ashen.

Servi slowly opened his mouth to speak.

“Aria, I…”

“I moved the lemons!”

Suddenly, one of the maids, who had been working in the mansion for a long time, interrupted, trying to change the atmosphere and divert the topic.

‘Oh no, that’s the wrong move.’

Aria’s face paled even more at the maid’s interruption.

‘She’s realized it wasn’t actually her gift.’

Unaware of this, the maid continued to speak.

“I didn’t mean any harm… I just thought it might be for Miss Aria!”

The maid quickly added, realizing that her initial excuse wasn’t enough.

“And food gifts should be sent to the kitchen or the dining room!”

“So you mistakenly placed it there? It was only left in the kitchen?”

“Yes. So please, punish me instead…”

That’s a convenient excuse, but…

“Then…”

I said, my lips trembling slightly,

“…no one told Aria it wasn’t hers until she took it herself?”

If I put it that way, it really makes Aria seem like she unintentionally stole it.

Aria’s face darkened even more as she remembered what Servi had said earlier.

“……”

The atmosphere grew colder. Lady Ellie clenched her fists tightly, looking as if she had been insulted herself.

“It’s okay, Aria.”

I whispered gently.

“If you want to drink it, go ahead. You gave me clothes, remember? Thanks to you, I was able to meet the Grand Duke.”

“I…”

“Aria.”

I glanced at Servi as I spoke.

“…it’s not a sin for us to like fruits like lemons.”

The intention was to remind everyone of Servi’s earlier words about us being from the streets and never having tasted such things.

Aria followed my gaze to Servi, then quickly stood up, as if she had been burned.

Servi shouted in surprise at her reaction.

“Aria!”

“Sorry. I just want to be alone for a moment.”

“You’re different, Aria!”

“…I know.”

Aria began to walk away, her steps unsteady and clearly wounded.

‘Servi had always been good at pretending to be a good brother.’

The image he had carefully crafted had been shattered, which must have been quite a blow.

Servi hurriedly followed after Aria, and the maids, looking flustered, trailed behind. In an instant, only Lady Ellie and I were left.

“How dare you.”

Lady Ellie spat out the words, her usual accent more pronounced due to her agitation.

Her usually pale skin flushed red with anger.

“How dare you say such things to Miss Aria!”

“What did I say?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know! You are truly a vile and wicked girl!”

As I had hoped, Lady Ellie, infuriated, stormed towards me. She grabbed my wrist tightly.

“I will make sure the Duke knows exactly how you insulted Miss Aria! This will be the last time you get to enjoy being called a lady of the house…”

“That won’t do, Nanny.”

I shook off her grip and addressed her as ‘nanny,’ watching her shudder in response.

“Even though you didn’t take proper care of me, I don’t want to cause trouble for someone who’s supposed to be the Duke’s nanny. Think how sad the others would be.”

“And who is in trouble right now…”

“Of course, it’s you, Nanny. Imagine the rumors if people found out about a nanny sneaking into the Duke’s bedroom regularly.”

“……!”

For a moment, Lady Ellie’s face turned pale again. She bit out her words with effort.

“Now you’re resorting to such slander. You are truly…”

“Nanny, there’s no such thing as a perfect secret under the sky.”

“Vile, uneducated, insolent…”

“To be honest, if it were just sneaking into his bedroom, there would be no need for such an uproar.”

I sighed as if exasperated.

“The Duke has been alone for a long time. Since he hasn’t taken a new Duchess, it wouldn’t be scandalous in noble society for him to spend time with someone who is practically the children’s stepmother.”

“…….”

“But why are you so upset? Oh, is it because your relationship started when the Duchess was still alive?”

Lady Ellie’s clenched fists trembled visibly.

“Do you really think no one saw you sneaking out of the Duke’s bedroom at dawn?”

“Lies.”

‘The only liar here has been you,’ I thought as I continued to smile gently.

“You know, the blue negligee that Aria gifted you after coming to the Duke’s house.”

“How do you know about that? Did you rummage through others’ rooms?”

I saw it in the original story. Ignoring her question, I pressed on.

“It was Aria’s first gift, right?”

Then, I delivered the final blow.

“Did you perhaps wear it when you visited the Duke?”

Lady Ellie’s face visibly hardened.