In the future, I would look back on the spring of our 15th year as cruel.
Once the incident with Julien was settled, another incident happened in the Duke’s house. There was never a peaceful day.
“Milady, milady! Wake up.”
I was taking a nice, long nap when a hand shook me awake. I opened my eyes.
“Why… What is it…”
Putting aside my inability to sleep at night, I had many worries that only continued to grow.
For example, how should I approach Freya and stop her from making a connection with Julien?
The best way for our kids, Carol and Julien, to reach a happy ending is for Freya to succeed on her own.
To do that, she needed to be seasoned a little first.
My head was saturated with these worries. It was my first time having to deal with this sort of thing.
I had been reading a book at my reserved seat in the study, then under the warm sunlight that fell directly over me, I fell asleep. In that moment, though, there was a voice.
"Lady Sharon! You need to wake up! Something bad has happened!”
“What in the world… Madame DeJoue…”
Madame DeJoue’s face was deadly pale, so it was something really out of the normal.
"What is it…? Tell me…”
In the end, I had to wake up. At my question, Madame DeJoue gave up her usual composure and began to scream.
“We really don’t have time for this… Please save Lady Carol!”
"Carol? What are you talking about? Tell me exactly what happened!”
Hearing Carol’s name snapped me right to attention. Were there any incidents around this time in the novel?
No, there wasn’t.
These days were supposed to go smoothly, without incident, since there was no description in the novel.
But what…
Of course, I couldn’t be sure that everything was peaceful. As with Julien’s case a little while ago, there could be things that I don’t know.
Madame DeJoue spoke faster than usual.
“At about 10 o’clock, Lady Carol summoned the maids to tell them she had lost her bracelet. One of the maids confessed that she accidentally thrown it away, but she said she thought the string bracelet was just trash. So Lady Carol became angry that the maid dared to throw away her mistress’s belongings…”
"So? What’s the problem? Carol is reasonable and kind, so it shouldn’t be too troublesome.”
“That’s not the problem! The Duchess had been, all morning… Well…”
"What. She’s cheating? Did her lover stay at the house overnight?”
“Milady, you knew that?”
My eyes twitched at Madame DeJoue’s astonishment.
That wasn’t important now.
"Haaa… Please be careful with what you say. But anyway, the Duchess was still drunk and witnessed the incident. But you know how the Duchess is… You know how she usually acts.”
"Yes. She’s nasty.”
“…Haa. So, the Duchess whipped the maid in front of Lady Carol. She said that it was because Carol was so stupid that her servants don’t know how to behave, so she should watch and learn.”
That crazy bitch.
I hurriedly stood up. Madame DeJoue fixed my appearance a little.
“Please take me there. Is Carol all right? She’s not injured, is she?”
"She’s not injured. Lady Carol wanted to return to her room, but the Duchess was holding the maids captive…”
She’s really a crazy bitch.
I don’t know how such a thing gave birth to a gentle child like Carol.
I felt like my heart was being suffocated, and I sped up.
“Not that way! How long has it been since we’ve come here that you’re still getting lost…!”
In the midst of this, I lost my way.
Where was my sense of direction?
Even in Korea, I couldn’t get the wheel without a navigator.
“Ahem. I knew it was that way!”
“…You sure seem to know.”
I changed directions to follow Madame DeJoue. Madame DeJoue quickly lost all mischief. Her lips moved as if there was something she hadn’t said yet. Finally, with difficulty, she said it.
“And, milady… The maid who was whipped has died.”
“What?”
I stopped.
“She’s dead… But first, let’s go there.”
I followed after Madame DeJoue again.
Please, Carol…!
***
It was a mess.
Carol vomited, then clung onto me, face wet with tears.
“Sharon, Sharon… Sharon… Uwaaahhhh… The maid… The maid was… B-bracelet… but… My mother… Uwaaaahhhh…”
“I heard everything. You don’t have to say it.”
I sat on the floor and hugged Carol without hesitation.
Behind Carol’s young shoulders, which shook as she cried, I could see the ghastly form of the Duchess, laughing evilly with a spiteful expression.
She was the reason why the novel’s Carol grew up wrong.
This was what Carol learned. This was what she saw!
“Carol… It’s okay, shhh… I’m here for you… Shh…”
I continued to repeat these consolations. Carol’s trembling body was too pitiful.
“So, this is how you do it, Carol! What are you doing there? I told you to look at me! It’s because you’re soft that these things look down at you! How many times have I told you not to hang out with that little bitch?!”
Even if she screamed, the Duchess could not physically harm me and Carol.
While the Duchess’s gaze was turned to us, the dead maid was moved away, and people ran from the blood-scented garden like the low tide.
“Carol, I’ll teach you a lesson directly next time if you continue to be soft like this. Do you understand?”
the Duchess threatened Carol, who couldn’t even turn to face her. She threw the blood-soaked whip in front of us and disappeared, laughing.
The sound of her laughter creepily lingered in the air.
How can that woman…
“She’s gone, Carol.”
Carol, trembling as she held the hem of my clothes, lifted her face.
"Forget about it. Okay? Put this out of your mind.”
I patted Carol, who occasionally sobbed out loud, until she calmed down.
I really wanted to live quietly.
But there was yet another thing I had to take care of.
I had to take that crazy woman out of the house.
Before our child goes insane.
***
Among the efforts I made to raise Carol properly, I had done things like this.
I had gotten rid of a young viscount’s heir or someone like that who would approach Carol for the duke’s money.
I also blocked the Duchess from selling Carol’s inheritance, the land from her grandfather, for the Duchess’s self-interest.
Again, it was another incident like that.
This was possible because I had a keen grasp of the original story, the characters’ desires, and their worldview.
Madame DeJoue began talking to me about the duchy’s internal affairs with me long ago.
The Duke and the Duchess, neither of whom were interested in their daughter or the household.
The old, careless butler.
Madame Berna, who was completely overwhelmed by Carol.
None of them took care of the duchy’s internal affairs.
It had been a while since Madame DeJoue approached the head maid and took over the work. Of course, no one knew that I, who always lazed around at home, was behind Madame DeJoue.
So I could do it again this time.
“How did it go, Madame DeJoue?”
“I took care of it as you ordered. But is this all right? I don’t think the Duke will approve…”
“No, it’ll be fine.”
The Duke in the original novel was a great man who would not even blink if the Duchess ran away with her lover or died in a carriage accident.
He wouldn’t care if I kicked out the Duchess.
“Will Lady Carol be okay…? Even with this, she’s still her mother…”
…It would be up to Carol to decide if she would continue to see her mother or not. I was just the executioner, wielding the sword.
“…I guess I have to ask. But wouldn’t she be better off without a mother like that? I… I really think so…”
“Milady, please comfort Carol well… In fact, I also don’t think the Duchess is a good influence on Lady Carol…”
“……”
I was thinking of using the dead maid to drive out the Duchess.
I don’t know if it was good luck or bad luck.
The victim was the daughter of a lower aristocrat. As a baronet, he had a title, if not much else.
She killed an aristocrat.
Even if she was drunk, this was too much.
I sent someone to the baronet to report the incident.
The maids whom I encouraged to testify were clear evidence of the Duchess’s wrongdoing.
If my predictions were correct, after being charged with murder and the Duchess is imprisoned…
The Duke will abandon her without a second thought.
And as she brought disgrace to the duchy, he would be able to divorce her without paying a cent for alimony.
With that, the Duchess would not have any family to post bail for her.
Not even her maiden home would want to help her with her besmirched honor.
In that process… My role would be important.
The Duchess needed to promise never to appear in front of Carol again and go abroad.
That was my goal.
“Dismiss the five maids who will be the witnesses and compensate them generously. Madame DeJoue, since you’re close to the head maid, please handle that conversation well.”
"Pardon?"
“Nothing good will come about from them staying here. And they went against their employer, so we can’t leave them as is.”
“Isn’t that too harsh…?”
Madame DeJoue wasn’t wrong. The reason they decided to speak out was because I urged them to.
“Hmm…”
What should I do?
But if I dismiss the maids like this, the other maids will be upset.
My thought process branched out further, and eventually, I thought of Freya, who I had been worrying about recently.
“Ah…”
If I do that… it would work.
I was thinking about how to sponsor Freya anyway.
I came up with a way to take care of two issues at once.
"Madame DeJoue. Can I take over a workshop with operable assets?”
“A workshop? What kind of …”
“For dresses. It’ll be a workshop that makes laces and designs dresses.”
“It’s possible, but… Why did you bring it up so suddenly?”
“It would be better to take over an upcoming workshop to employ the maids that will testify. I can’t write letters of recommendations for them since I don’t know the other nobles… And they also went against their employer…”
“They’ll accept the job if they can make a living through it.”
I knew they would. I’ll take over the workshop and send the maids there, and send Freya, whom I will soon meet, over to the workshop as well.
Since she cannot be with the prince, she’ll have to open her path with her own strength.
Freya unfortunately had to give up her dreams as she became the empress. But if it’s Freya, she’ll become a famous master craftsman by the time Julien and Carol are happily married.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Freya has a lot of talent but no money, while I have a lot of money.
Well, money is also a talent.
Let’s say that I’m donating my talent.
It was very fortunate that Sharon’s parents owned a mine.
I wasn’t old enough to make full use of its powers, but for now, it was enough.
"Good. With this, is everything figured out?”
“But, milady. Should you be doing this all on your own? It’s the duchy’s affair.”
It wasn’t that Madame DeJoue, who spoke worriedly, didn’t understand.
“My uncle is my guardian. Did you forget? Although I don’t have the same surname, I am still my uncle’s niece.”
“…It’s because you don’t really act like a noble lady …”
She had a point, so I didn’t argue.
But others would recognize my status. With this, I had a clear conscience.
The Duke surely claimed himself as my guardian.
Therefore, I was able to decide what to do with the maids.
“All right, has everything been solved now?”
"Most likely. The Imperial Guard will take the Duchess into custody sometime this afternoon. The trial will be held in a week.”
"Good."
Trials in this world comprised only judges, witnesses, accusers, victims, and perpetrators.
Thankfully, the system wasn’t difficult.
The judge would be a neutral person from the church without any relations to power, so they would probably punish the Duchess.
Whatever form that punishment would take.
All that’s left was to talk to Carol.
‘This is the most nerve-wracking part… It should be okay, right…?'
At this time, I had no idea what kind of change my decision would bring.