The Countess casually cast her gaze toward Milena. Milena also paused with her utensils in hand and looked at the Countess. As their eyes met, the Countess gave a brief answer.
“I didn’t like them.”
She didn’t like the servants? If the mistress of the house felt that way, it wasn’t particularly strange. Milena was about to nod calmly and respond with a simple “I see,” but the Countess’s next words made her close her mouth.
“Not only did they dare to speak ill of nobility despite being mere servants, but they also directly caused harm. For a very long time.”
The phrase “for a very long time” carried weight. Milena wondered if something had happened during the five years after she left the house, but that wasn’t it. The Countess was referring to events that took place before she joined the household.
“Such servants had the power to even ruin a child’s personality. How laughable.”
There was no way the Countess could have known about Milena’s childhood experiences. Yet somehow, it felt like the Countess understood everything.
“And so?”
“So I got rid of them. Dismissed them with no letter of recommendation and a thorough beating, so you needn’t worry.”
“……”
Worry? Milena wanted to say she had never once worried about it, but the words caught in her throat.
‘I should say I don’t care how this household runs…’
Her tone said one thing, but her actions another. Faced with a faint kindness and concern she had never received in this household before, Milena couldn’t say anything at all.
Something lukewarm yet warm rose up, making her nose sting. Somehow, it felt like the Countess recognized the child she used to be. Like she was silently trying to comfort her. Milena stayed silent and quietly began cutting her steak.
Watching her, Lexion and Ashid quietly resumed their meals as well. The men, who had been on edge in case anyone tried to harm Milena, eased their tension and smiled faintly at her subtle change.
The grim, cold atmosphere around the dining table had quietly turned warm.
*
“You’re really going to sleep here with us?”
“Why not? Is that a problem?”
Lexion grinned and looked at the tiny bed where his legs would almost certainly stick out. Milena frowned as she glanced at the same bed.
“It’s clearly too small…”
“It’s fine, Auntie. I’ll snuggle up to you so Uncle won’t touch you.”
Though he’d said the three of them should sleep together, Milena had actually suggested they use separate rooms. Since she planned to sneak out to look for her mother’s belongings, being alone would be better. She subtly tried to persuade them to sleep in different rooms, but the two men were very stubborn.
In the end, she couldn’t break their will.
The soft, even breaths of the child flowed between the two adults. In the end, since sleeping together in the small, worn-out bed was impossible, they had moved to another room and now lay together in a single bed.
‘It really feels like we’re a family.’
Lying on her side and patting Ashid’s belly, Milena glanced up at Lexion.
His long lashes cast shadows, and his high nose bridge and sharp jawline made his features look unreal. With his eyes closed, he seemed less like a person and more like a dream.
“Why are you staring at me so intently?”
His red eyes cracked open, locking onto hers.
“Want to share a bed with just the two of us instead?”
She chuckled. Always teasing when he got the chance. Yes, this kind of joking was fine—just enough to make someone smile awkwardly, pleasantly. Milena responded in kind.
“If we do, Ashid will give us a hard time tomorrow. Can you handle that?”
“Hmm, yeah, that’d be a problem.”
“And besides, it doesn’t feel right to spend our wedding night in a place like this.”
At the word “wedding night,” his gaze deepened. The smile on his lips turned dangerously sweet.
“Hmm. So can I take that to mean my wife is allowing more than just a kiss?”
“That depends on how well you behave, husband.”
“Heh. Alright. I’ll be good. So let me earn your permission for this and that.”
The two, unable to fall asleep, talked quietly. When Milena finally drifted off, he stopped. Carefully, he reached out, trailing his fingers along her face and playing with the fine strands of pale golden hair.
“As your husband, I should take care of anything that burdens you.”
Savoring the warm, relaxed air, Lexion touched his swaying earring, then quietly left the room without making a sound.
As soon as the door shut silently behind him, Milena opened her eyes and sat up.
‘A burden? I don’t really have any burdens here.’
She was simply in a foul mood. After checking on the sleeping Ashid, she followed Lexion outside. She needed to visit a secret place only she knew to check if her mother’s belongings were still there.
As she walked a familiar path through the corridor, she suddenly heard the murmuring of servants and quickly hid.
“What’s going on tonight? I heard the Count blew up earlier.”
“They say Lady Larriete has vanished.”
“Didn’t she die?”
“To be precise, her corpse disappeared from the ducal estate.”
“W-What? Her corpse?!”
Lately, people had been complaining about ghost sightings. Their faces turned pale.
“See? I told you! It must really be Lady Larriete! So many people say they’ve seen her!”
“Maybe she has some grudge? She’s been wandering all over the mansion.”
“I-I’m scared. Can someone stay on night duty with me tonight?”
Despite the new maid’s pleas, no one volunteered. No one wanted to stay up all night near the bell connected to the master’s quarters, waiting for a call that might never come.
Eventually, as the chatting servants left to sleep, the new maid was left behind, teary-eyed.
Terrified, she decided to bring lots of expensive candles to keep the room bright, even if it meant using more supplies than she was allowed. Her heart pounded even harder from guilt and fear. Still, she had no choice.
“Hey.”
“Ah!”
Milena appeared without a sound, making the maid clutch her chest in shock. She couldn’t even scream and gasped for breath.
“Shh—it’s okay. Breathe. That’s it. Deep breath in, and out—”
Following her instructions, the maid slowly regained her composure, then swallowed hard.
“Did I scare you?”
The young maid, too frightened to scream, shook her head quickly.
“D-Do you need something done? I-I can pull the bell cord…”
“No, I just had a question while passing by.”
“P-Passing by?”
This was a passage only servants used. The maid tilted her head, confused, but then paled at the next question.
“What do you mean, people have seen Larriete?”
“Uh, um, well…”
‘Oh no. She must’ve heard everything we said.’
The young maid’s expression crumpled with anxiety. Was it okay to talk about this? Her eyes darted nervously until Milena spoke firmly.
“You can tell me. I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but I won’t hurt you.”
“B-But they said you and the Duchess Larriete didn’t get along…”
She meant to ask why Milena wanted to know but held her tongue. She didn’t have the courage to question a noblewoman—and especially not the infamous “villainess of the North.”
They said Larriete died because of Milena. Rumor had it that Milena killed her own sister with her own hands to steal her fiancé. Even now, five years after her sister’s death, she shamelessly lived at the ducal estate. That alone was said to prove her guilt.
Gasp. Was that why Larriete appeared as a ghost? Out of resentment toward her sister?
“Yeah, we still don’t get along.”
“W-What? E-Even now?”
“Yes, even in death. So it’s fine—go ahead and tell me.”
Her confident reply made the maid wonder if it was really okay. But who was she to refuse a noble’s command?
The Countess hated this sort of thing—especially hearing Larriete’s name come from a servant’s lips.
“Well, I haven’t seen it myself, but people say they’ve seen a ghost that looks just like Lady Larriete—ah, I mean, Her Grace the Duchess.”
“Hmm, so you all still call Larriete ‘lady,’ huh?”
Startled by Milena’s comment, the maid quickly bowed her head.
“T-That’s because the head maid still calls Her Grace that, so we’re used to it… I-I’m sorry.”
