VOM Chapter 4

‘How far have the talks with the East progressed?’

She dug through Liselotte’s memories, but there was no useful information.

It seemed that, being so focused on divorce, Liselotte hadn’t cared at all about the affairs of Grand Duke Keilos or the North.

Since she had only just derailed the divorce a moment ago, the 10,000 gold had likely not yet been paid.

‘Hm. It would be nice if I could see the letter of refusal they sent regarding cooperation.’

Mulling it over, Liselotte lightly pursed her lips as she left the dining room.

The law book she had hurriedly skimmed before coming to Eren wasn’t as difficult as she’d expected.

After all, human society was much the same everywhere. Many parts were surprisingly similar to her previous life.

With her sharp memory carrying over into this world as well, she even found it amusing to compare them.

But the bigger problem was the fact that Liselotte didn’t know her way around.

‘If you’ve been in the North for three months already, at least learn where the rooms are!’

Since leaving the dining room, she had been silently swallowing tears of frustration.

The manor was enormous, and even the corridors all looked the same.

If only she could bump into someone to ask for directions.

Only then did Liselotte notice how strangely silent the corridor was.

Looking around, she couldn’t even see the maids who usually bowed their heads in fear.

‘Don’t tell me… did everyone run away because Liselotte bullied them too much?’

Thinking back over Liselotte’s memories, it was plausible.

It had been her routine to pick on the maid attending to her simply because she didn’t like the way the girl looked at her.

Having grown up as an Imperial Princess, her eyes for detail were always sharp and elevated. Jewelry, clothing, etiquette — not a single thing escaped her notice.

She even memorized the unique features and fabric types of the ateliers, salons, and boutiques of the Capital.

‘While I was memorizing the law books, she was memorizing dresses and jewelry instead…’

And of course, Liselotte had put that knowledge to full use every single day.

In her memories, even when she had no outings, she still spent more than two hours every morning adorning herself.

It wasn’t so much vanity as it was—

‘A form of self-defense, I suppose.’

To hide the fact that she had been abandoned by God, she decorated her exterior more lavishly.

So that others would not dare to look down on her.

So that her worthless core would not be exposed.

Faces flashed through her mind — the faces of people who had looked at her with awkward expressions, seeing that she had no parents, nor any fine academic record to hang on the wall.

Even if she placed first in the entire school, the parents and children of her class never let her join in.

Even when they pretended otherwise, there was an invisible line between her and those who went to college and grew up under their parents’ roof.

Because she lacked so much, when she achieved good grades, hostile glances followed, resenting her success.

‘That kid has no trace of innocence. Why is she so hard and unyielding?’

She was the good but poor child. Yet she was never to surpass the others.

Only by fitting their standards would people show her kindness.

To avoid looking shabby, she lived even more diligently, and she paid careful attention so as not to appear small or diminished on the outside.

‘All meaningless in the end, though.’

With a bitter sigh, suddenly a loud voice rang out somewhere, tinged with outrage.

“That the divorce has been canceled — what nonsense is this?!”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Did you forget how someone who can’t even brew a single cup of tea properly ended up as a personal maid?!”

“I know. It’s only because all the others refused to take the post…”

A trembling voice followed.

The sound was strangely familiar to her ears, and she held her breath as she quietly moved toward it.

The sharper the voices became, the more clearly the conversation reached her.

“Ha, do you know what people see when they hear of House Keilos? A half-blood Princess abandoned by God, and His Grace the Grand Duke. Two people, yet together they don’t even make up one proper person.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t you realize that since the marriage House Keilos’s standing has hit rock bottom? When I heard she was leaving the North of her own accord, I thought, finally! In times already overflowing with those who belittle us…”

“But still…”

“Are you contradicting me right now?”

“N-no. I’m sorry.”

Why was it that when scolding, people could talk endlessly without even pausing to breathe?

In the midst of it all, why was her pronunciation so clear, the words striking directly into her ears?

So that was why the back of the maid with her head bowed had looked familiar — she was the one who had stopped her when she tried to take the marriage contract.

Just as she had bowed her head in front of Liselotte, now she shrank before the head maid, staring only at the floor.

And the head maid’s voice showed no sign of stopping.

“Marsha, did you tell her that subjugation comes first, so she should hold off on divorce?”

“No.”

“Don’t tell me you just cowered because that meringue-like woman got angry?”

“That’s not it…”

“Then why in the world would someone who, even this morning, was throwing a fit demanding divorce suddenly…!”

Click, clack. 

Liselotte deliberately let the heels of her shoes ring out, making her presence known.

“It almost sounds like you’re hoping for me to get divorced.”

“Y-Your Highness!”

So startled was she that the head maid’s neck snapped around to face her with lightning speed.

Liselotte tilted her head calmly and asked,

“It seems the attendants of House Keilos don’t know who their employer is.”

She slowly stepped closer.

The head maid, who had shown a flicker of panic, seemed to hesitate, then gave an answer that was polite yet so raw it bordered on insolence.

“Those were your very words of Princess Liselotte. We only sought to assist Your Highness.”

So that was how it was.

Pretending to act in Keilos’s interest. Pretending to heed her words. But the contempt underlying it all came through plainly.

‘No wonder the Grand Duke eventually snapped.’

How could anyone endure when everyone around ignored them, with nothing but a sense of duty to hold on to?

Liselotte gave a soft smile and let her words slip out.

“His Grace the Grand Duke has remained consistently silent on the matter of divorce. Yet an attendant dares to disregard His Grace’s stance, decide the conclusion as they please, and even chatter about it aloud…”

She cast a sidelong glance at the maid who still had her head bowed.

Only the crown of her head was visible, bowed so deeply.

Marsha, was it?

It seemed the head maid had pressed her hard, but in truth, she had not urged Liselotte toward divorce.

Rather, she had simply conveyed Eren’s words without objection.

Liselotte gently tugged at her wrist.

Feeling the maid flinch in surprise, she asked—

“Did you do something worth apologizing for?”

Marsha hesitated, then shook her head.

At the very least, it meant she didn’t agree with the head maid’s opinion.

Liselotte spoke firmly.

“Then don’t bow your head.”

“…Pardon?”

“You apologize when there’s something to be sorry for. If you bow and apologize for no reason, the blame will only fall on you.”

“B-but then…”

Marsha’s eyes flickered briefly toward the head maid.

Fixing her gaze on the head maid, Liselotte gave a crisp command.

“I’m your employer, aren’t I? So when things like this happen, you report to me, not to anyone else. Understood?”

“P-Princess Liselotte…!”

Marsha, who until now had only stared at the floor, turned her startled gaze to her profile.

“I have withdrawn my intention to divorce, and His Grace has accepted. Beyond that, your opinion is unnecessary.”

The head maid bit her lip tightly, then clamped her mouth shut, finally lowering her head reluctantly.

“I’m sorry. I will keep that in mind.”

In the original story, Eren Keilos had tried to meet the absurd expectations of those who scorned him — until, in the end, he snapped.

It meant that the head maid wasn’t the only one behaving this way.

All the better. She had been lost and troubled anyway.

As Liselotte quietly passed them, she spoke.

“Marsha, I have somewhere to go. Will you guide me?”

“M-me…?”

Marsha, standing frozen as if dazed, stammered in confusion.

Liselotte widened her eyes innocently, as if wondering what the problem was.

“Well, who else would I ask but my personal maid?”

“Ah, r-right! I’ll attend to you at once!”

Trotting ahead of her, Marsha glanced around nervously, not knowing where to go and not daring to ask, only letting her eyes dart about.

‘Liselotte… just how badly did you torment them that they can’t even bring themselves to ask a question?’

She promptly gave the destination.

“I’m going to the Captain of the Guard’s office.”

“A-ah, my apologies.”

As if by habit, Marsha quickly lowered her head.

As if bracing herself for a scolding, Marsha’s shoulders hunched even more.

Liselotte gathered every bit of kindness and charm she could muster, then gave a radiant smile.

“It’s all right. Will you guide me?”

“I should have noticed right away, handled it neatly and with sense…”

Liselotte raised one hand to cut her off.

“If you don’t know something, asking is how you handle it properly. Understand?”

“…Yes!”

For a moment, her eyes sparkled, and her voice came out much brighter.

Though when Liselotte glanced at her, it seemed she was still a little frightened, hesitating slightly.

But her steps carried strength, enough that it was hard to think of her as the same person who had seemed so cowed a moment before.

Everything along the long corridor felt unfamiliar.

‘So Liselotte hardly ever left her room, huh.’

For someone who had lived only in the Capital, even the gardens freezing under the North’s brutal weather felt threatening.

Her body remembered it instinctively.

Yet Marsha walked about briskly in lighter clothing than her own.

Just as Liselotte was brushing her shoulder lightly, Marsha’s steps stopped before a door.

She knocked and announced loudly,

“Sir Ail, Princess Liselotte has come to see you.”

“…Who?”

As though he couldn’t believe it, a voice worn down by life answered from inside.

Startled, Marsha stammered, then shouted even louder,

“H-Her Grace!”

As if to leave no room for further objection, she threw the door wide open.

From amidst the piles of papers on a large desk, a fine-featured man with long brown hair rose to his feet.

The very man who had come earlier in the day to deliver Grand Duke Keilos’s words — he was none other than Ail Jeneta, Captain of the Guard.