Chapter 14

"By the way, have you heard?"

"Heard, heard! It's about the young lady hosting a tea party, right?"

"Exactly! She never invited us before, but ever since the Duke got married, we've been receiving invitations, right? Everyone is very interested, you know?"

"Apparently, she was even invited to the Princess's tea party! When she came back, she was in a terrible state, it seems."

In the servants' dining room where we were having a meal together, such voices reached our ears.

But, I already knew about this topic.

Because of my marriage to my husband, Elise seemed to have been freed from the Princess's anger and was receiving invitations from all over.

The reason for this was obvious; they wanted to know about me.

Why was I chosen, and why me, specifically.

But there wasn't much information, and since no one had even met me, I was just a target of ridicule.

More than anyone, she had been close to the Princess and had aimed for the position of my husband's official wife, but she lost it to someone no one knew.

Moreover, her opponent was me, who had a bad reputation in society.

After the Princess's tea party, which I can guess ended with her being thoroughly mocked, she should have stayed quiet, but she seemed anxious and was attending various evening parties.

It seemed she hadn't given up on the position of my husband's official wife and was now hosting a tea party at this Duke's residence.

Formally hosting an evening party is a man's job, but hosting a tea party in the afternoon is a woman's job.

She apparently wanted to show her influence in the Lindbergh Duke's household.

All I could say was, "Good luck with that."

The guests invited were mostly high-ranking nobles, and honestly, since I was a guest in the house, I thought she should read the room a bit more.

Well, it's not me who will be embarrassed by overreaching, so it's fine.

But, I thought she would at least come to ask for permission from the lady of the house.

The unseen Viscountess Elise, I really want to see her lately.

When I first came here, I was so exhausted that I had no interest, but now that I'm feeling better, I'm curious about various things.

"Hey, stop getting lost in the conversation and hurry up and eat. Because of that tea party, we have extra work to do."

Lil, who was eating without stopping, said with a troubled look.

Apparently, they had to thoroughly clean the annex where Elise was staying.

And they even had to create a garden.

I wondered where the money was coming from, but it was obvious that Mrs. Miriam was diverting funds from the Duke's budget.

Of course, all the expenses related to Elise's social activities were paid by the Duke's household.

Is that okay?

My husband must know about it but is ignoring it because it's troublesome to get involved.

I wish he would have taken care of his own household.

Moreover, shouldn't personal matters be settled before marriage?

To leave everything to your spouse is just how cruel can you be?

"Today's assignments are, I and Laila will clean the annex, but I think Reina is peeling in the dining room? Where are you assigned, Ril?"

"Um... I think I'm with the two of you."

It's a lie.

Of course, I haven't told the three of them about myself.

When we first met, I was thinking of an excuse, but they didn't ask anything because of my pitiful appearance and just sympathized with me.

"Is that so? Let's work hard together. But, Reina, you're lucky. If you ran into that arrogant young lady, it would be troublesome, so I wish I was with you."

Laila said enviously.

After finishing our meal, we headed to the annex with cleaning supplies.

"By the way, are you two okay if you encounter Miss Elise?"

I was worried because I had been picked on for my appearance when we met.

"It's fine, it's fine! When important people pass by, maids bow deeply, so they can't see our faces."

I remembered that was true.

While cleaning, I hoped to catch a glimpse of Elise somewhere, and I stepped into the annex with Lil, Laila, and other cleaning maids.

Then, I found myself recalling the words of an old wise man.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

When I entered the annex, the maids were bustling about, and I realized that my husband, who had been away from the mansion for a month, was planning to meet Elise.

"He's coming to see the Duke."

"Apparently, it's about the tea party. Maybe he's here to stop it?"

Since no one had heard about it, it must have been a sudden plan.

The purpose didn't matter.

The only thing I understood was that I should run away as soon as possible.

For some reason, my survival instinct whispered that I shouldn't meet him.

"Um, I forgot something, I'll go back to get it!"

"If you don't come back soon, you'll miss the Duke."

I felt bad about Lil winking at me, but missing him was fine.

I didn't want to see him, so it was okay.

But, rushing out was a mistake.

I felt that if I had stayed quietly cleaning in the annex, the chance of encountering him would have been much lower.

In a mansion like this, the possibility of meeting someone you didn't plan to meet was almost a miracle. Meeting someone you didn't want to see was a sign of very bad luck.

And I had very bad luck.

I cursed the timing.

To get from the annex to the main house, you had to go through a single corridor.

However, an unexpected situation occurred.

The red hair and imposing figure were unmistakable.

The person walking towards me was still impeccably dressed, and I tried to blend in as just a maid and immediately bowed deeply at the end of the corridor.

I wished with all my heart that he would walk away quickly and waited.

The sound of his footsteps grew louder—.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped in front of me.

Why did he stop!

I felt his gaze and my hands started to sweat.

I could sense him approaching slowly. Then, his shoes came into my field of vision.

I wanted to believe that it was just unusual to see a maid here.

"You have an interesting outfit on."

"..."

"Why are you silent? I really want to know how you spent the past month. I'm curious if you enjoyed your decadent life, Mrs.?"

Those words left me with no choice but to give up.