Episode 41
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Eleanor’s pale, thin fingers tapped the table like she was playing piano keys.
“Miss, I’ve brought Helen,” a maid said.
“Oh… okay. Thank you. Let her in.”
Eleanor had told Irene to bring Helen.
Although Irene didn’t seem happy about Eleanor’s interest in Helen, Eleanor ignored it.
“You called for me?”
Helen stood there. Her hair was messy even though she had tried to fix it. Her soft hazel eyes looked tired.
She had lost a lot of weight in just a few days.
Eleanor guessed it was because of Catherine being locked in prison.
And she was right.
Catherine had been imprisoned so suddenly, and August had disappeared after losing his position as her knight.
Helen had no time to think or breathe.
“You said before… Catherine didn’t hurt you, right?”
Helen realized this was a continuation of their last conversation.
“…Huh? Oh, yes! That’s right!”
She quickly nodded.
‘Could it be…?’
A small hope sparked in her eyes.
Maybe… just maybe… Lady Eleanor would help and get her lady, Catherine, out of prison.
Helen hadn’t meant to hope, but it happened anyway.
To her, Catherine might not be the kindest person, but she wasn’t someone who’d commit such a serious crime.
Eleanor watched the change in Helen’s expression and quietly asked:
“Do you still serve her as your lady?”
“Yes.”
Her answer was firm.
Helen still believed in Catherine, even now.
That made her an interesting person.
“And why is that?”
“As I said before… I’m just a maid. Who am I to judge my master? That would be overstepping.”
She swallowed nervously.
Eleanor waited patiently for her to continue.
“It’s just… Lady Catherine isn’t as bad as people say. That’s all.”
Helen lived in a world of tanks—nobles above, and servants below.
In that world, it was normal for nobles to order servants around and punish them if needed.
Unless the world changed, life for people like Helen wouldn’t change either.
Good servants were praised.
Mistakes brought punishment.
Some nobles, like Eleanor, were kind and treated servants like people.
But that was rare.
There are all kinds of people in this world—good, bad, and everything in between.
Not every noble can be as kind as Eleanor.
So, servants like Helen couldn’t judge their masters easily.
Too good to be evil.
Too strict to be called kind.
To Helen, Catherine was just… normal.
She looked like a noble but behaved like a regular young girl.
Not because she was lacking in looks—she was beautiful and elegant.
But when you got closer, you’d see she was just an ordinary girl with average jealousy, pride, and selfishness.
She treated her maids just like any noble lady would.
“You’re pretty good at this.”
“Huh? Oh—thank you, my lady!”
“Is there anything you want? Just say it.”
She gave praise and rewards to those who did well.
“What are you doing? Can’t even do this right?”
“I-I’m sorry, my lady!”
“Ugh, so annoying.”
She scolded those who made mistakes.
But everyone in this house was used to the kind former Duchess—Lady Selena.
They had grown up with her gentle ways and thought all nobles should be that way.
“When Lady Selena was alive, things weren’t like this…”
“Ah, our sweet, kind lady.”
“So what if she’s a noble? That girl doesn’t even know who her real father is…”
“Shh! Be quiet! Someone might hear you!”
Since Eleanor started showing her kind nature, the complaints got worse.
“Lady Eleanor is just like Selena! So sweet and kind!”
“Look! Lady Eleanor gave us snacks and told us to take it easy!”
“She’s so kind! So different from Lady Catherine!”
Compared to Eleanor, Catherine looked cold and mean.
People always listen more to bad rumors than good ones.
“…Is it such a big deal if I scold a servant?”
Once, a maid secretly took one of Catherine’s jewels.
Catherine found out, punished the maid, and had her kicked out.
People said Catherine had gone too far.
“Huh? What?”
“I’m a noble. Your master.
Why do I have to be sweet and careful with my words to get your approval?
Do I need your praise to be accepted as a noble?”
When Catherine asked this, Helen had no answer.
She didn’t know what was right or wrong either.
Catherine wasn’t trying to step on others—she was just following the rules of their world.
But in this house, filled with memories of a kind lady, Catherine seemed like the bad one.
Helen had seen all of this up close.
“Lady Catherine never abused us.
She only scolded and punished when necessary.
And even then, she wasn’t harsh like the rumors say.
Other nobles are far stricter.
That’s why I don’t hate or blame her.
I’m just a maid.”
Helen just hoped Eleanor wouldn’t misunderstand.
She wanted her to know Catherine wasn’t as bad as she thought.
“So that’s why you trust her so much?”
“Yes. I believe… Lady Catherine isn’t someone who deserves to be locked in prison.”
It was bold of her to say that, but she wanted to give Catherine some support in this cold, lonely mansion.
That girl—so lonely, with thorns in her heart—deserved a place she could come back to.
Helen wanted to be in that place.
Eleanor listened to everything.
Then she quietly told Helen she could go.
Helen looked like she had more to say, but she only nodded and left.
Now alone, Eleanor realized something:
That’s why Helen no longer stood by her side like before.
Helen pitied Catherine.
Just like she once pitied Eleanor in the past, now she saw Catherine in the same light.
Eleanor was strong now. She could stand alone.
Helen had turned her gaze to someone else—Catherine.
Not as a noble lady, but as a young girl who needed help.
Eleanor had to admit it.
Helen was no longer on her side.
The past was gone.
With a strange mix of sadness and peace, Eleanor stared into the air.
‘I want to say sorry to my sister…’
Tok.
‘Not for forgiveness, but for ruining her childhood—me and my family.
I can’t ask her to forget. That would be selfish.’
Tok.
‘She doesn’t have to forgive me.’
Tok.
‘I’m just… sorry.’
Tok.
This happened just a few hours before Catherine was taken out of prison.
