Chapter 52
“Is it true that Anna got hurt?”
“What happened?”
The servants gathered in the break room all bombarded Rone with questions.
Rone, who had just come to the break room to enjoy a rare break, looked troubled.
‘I should’ve just gone straight back to the dormitory.’
Glancing at Tinya next to her, she saw that she too looked uncomfortable.
“She just slipped in the bath.”
“That’s right! She didn’t see the soap on the floor.”
Tinya’s casual explanation gave Rone the courage to shrug and speak up.
“Was she alone when it happened?”
“Pardon?”
When the two explained it was an unavoidable accident, one of the servants narrowed his eyes and asked,
“I’m asking whether she was cleaning the bath alone when it happened. If so, she could have been seriously hurt.”
He pressured Rone for a clear answer with a persistent look.
“Oh, no. She happened to be attending to the Grand Duchess at the time. Before she could fall, Her Grace caught her.”
The maid who asked earlier sighed in relief, but the one who had pressed Rone didn’t seem satisfied with the answer and twisted his mouth.
“Then why are there rumors that she got hurt?”
“She twisted her ankle as she slipped. If the Grand Duchess hadn’t caught her, it could have been much worse.”
Rone recalled that tense moment. Usually, she cleaned up all the bath supplies right after use, but she must have forgotten that day.
If Lady Evelyn hadn’t quickly reached out and caught Anna by the waist, the injury could’ve been serious.
“It startled us all so much, haha. We all ended up sitting down from shock.”
Tinya chimed in confidently, recalling how impressively the Grand Duchess had reacted in that moment.
“We didn’t even realize Anna was falling, but the Grand Duchess moved so fast, water splashed to the sides, and in a blink, she was holding Anna!”
“Wow, Sword Masters really are something else, huh? Tinya, didn’t anything like that happen back in the capital? Maybe then those weird rumors wouldn’t have started.”
Another male servant, intrigued by Tinya’s animated gestures, asked curiously.
“Oh, there were… circumstances.”
“Circumstances? Isn’t revealing she’s a Sword Master a good thing?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“No way! The Grand Duchess cares deeply about Young Master Beret.”
“She kept it a secret because she cares so much for her brother.”
This time, Rone spoke up before Tinya could, recalling how Beret cried harder than anyone on the wedding day.
Some even joked it looked like someone had gotten injured rather than married.
“Oh, you mean the one who was supposed to be sick? He looked fine to me. Isn’t it a lie?”
“No, it’s true. He really was unconscious for over ten years.”
Tinya shook her head.
“Everyone in the Count’s household did their best to save him, but nothing worked.”
She took a short breath before continuing.
“There was even talk of appointing a new heir. If it had come out that the Grand Duchess was a Sword Master, the succession might’ve become unclear once he woke up.”
“And that legendary herb—was that real?”
The skeptical question prompted a scoffing laugh from Tinya.
“Of course! If you don’t believe it, check with the temple. He received healing from a priest every day. If not for that, we would’ve held his funeral long ago.”
Ugh, there are always people who don’t believe. Tinya shot a glare at the servant clearly itching to spread bad rumors.
That one had a habit of dragging Lady Evelyn’s name into every issue.
“Ahem, well, it’s just amazing, you know? That she found a legendary herb that even northern herbalists with years of mountain experience couldn’t.”
“Exactly. How did she even find it?”
The servants were full of curiosity about the Count’s daughter, who became Grand Duchess after discovering the herb.
Especially since it was said she was once infamous in the capital as a cursed noble lady—shocking news indeed.
The head butler had warned everyone to be careful with their words, or they’d be fired. So most kept quiet.
But rumors involving nobility are always tempting.
Not to mention, a few people were actually demoted after gossiping about a minor knight’s injury, making the rumors seem more plausible.
“I heard she found it by chance while searching in the snowy mountains. Her Grace’s sincere wish must have reached the gods.”
Disturbed by the growing suspicion toward her mistress, Tinya clenched her fists and spoke with resolve.
“I also heard the Grand Duke packed food for her before she left!”
When Rone added that detail, the servants nodded in recognition.
“Still, it’s amazing. To really find the legendary herb… Do you think Madam might be able to pull the Holy Sword too?”
“Lady Evelyn isn’t interested in things like that!”
Tinya scoffed, and the servants laughed. Only Rone awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth without smiling.
“If finding an herb makes you a hero, then everyone would be a hero!”
As the joke about the new Grand Duchess being a hero spread, the servant who was itching to bad-mouth her frowned.
“You have to be chosen by the Holy Sword to be the next Hero. And the next Hero will surely come from House Graham.”
His firm declaration made most nod along.
“Yeah, thank goodness this crisis is passing quietly. Just hearing about an Evil God is terrifying.”
“Evil gods, holy swords… aren’t those all just legends?”
Tinya asked nervously, and the servants nodded.
“We only studied them in history too, but they say an evil god is really sealed in the snowy mountains.”
“Eek! I’ve never heard that before! Do northern people really believe that?!”
Tinya looked horrified and glanced toward the snowy mountains out the window. The servants grinned.
“Do people in the capital learn something else? Still, we’ve got the Grand Duke holding the line, and the Grand Duchess is a Sword Master, so the North should be safe.”
“Exactly! Nothing to fear! It’s probably not even real.”
Those who believed the Holy Sword still stood planted in the garden spoke with certainty.
“What if the two of them have a child? Would that child pull the Holy Sword?”
One servant asked hopefully.
“Huh? Where’d that come from?”
“No, think about it. Both are amazing Sword Masters. We may not know much about the Grand Duchess’s skill, but the knights say she’s incredible!”
The one who brought up succession lowered his voice.
“Wouldn’t a child born from two such amazing people be naturally gifted with the sword? They’d inherit the skills of both families!”
“Oh?”
“If such a gifted child is born, maybe a new hero will really arise, just like in the legends! After all, it takes someone immensely strong to defeat an Evil God.”
Everyone nodded at the logic.
“A child of the two of them…”
Tinya’s eyes widened. Seeing her glowing face, the servants burst into laughter again.
“Just thinking about it makes me happy.”
“Tinya, you truly serve the Grand Duchess with your heart.”
“Of course! I owe my life to the Beret family. If not for Her Grace, I might’ve died long ago!”
Tinya blushed and nodded, her face glowing with happiness—so much so that no one noticed the strange glint that briefly passed through her eyes.
“I’m a northerner now too. I’ll do everything I can for the future Hero who may be born!”
Her cheerful voice echoed through the drawing room.
And just like that, Anna’s injury was brushed off as a minor incident.
“Don’t you think it’s suspicious?”
“What is?”
“Anna getting hurt.”
After everyone had gone back to their duties, the servant who had doubted the Grand Duchess finding the herb spoke quietly to his colleague.
He kept his voice low, glancing around.
“Come on, it was just an accident.”
The other, who was headed toward the stables, gestured for him to stop talking nonsense.
“If you get kicked out of the Grand Duke’s estate, where will you go? Want to mine ores outside in this cold?”
He scolded the man, clearly displeased with his habit of stirring rumors about the Grand Duchess when everyone else was trying to keep things quiet.
