~Chapter 14~
Edel walked around the room with a worried face.
She had already cleaned Solia’s bed and bedroom, but she kept finding things to organize.
She thought about telling the knights that Solia hadn’t come back, but she was nervous it would make things worse, so she just waited anxiously.
Just then, the door clicked open. Solia came in, wearing a dress with green lilies of the valley and a black jacket.
“Did you wait for me? You can rest, you know.”
“No, miss. Let me help you change.”
Solia nodded and let Edel help her. Edel skillfully took off Solia’s dress, and Solia went to the bathroom in her underclothes.
While folding the dress, Edel hesitated when she saw the black jacket.
‘Anyone can see this is a man’s jacket. I shouldn’t send it to the house laundry… I’ll take it to the village laundry instead.’
After deciding, Edel went to the bathroom.
The marble tub showed Solia’s long legs. She drank the cold tea Edel had prepared and closed her eyes.
“I’ll give you a scalp massage, miss.”
“Okay…”
Edel’s gentle fingers pressed into her head, and it felt good. The warm water made Solia’s body relax.
As her tiredness faded, Solia’s face softened.
“Um, miss. The jacket you brought…”
“Oh, that’s Noah’s. Just clean it. I’ll return it myself.”
Edel nodded at Solia’s words.
In strict noble society, unmarried men and women shouldn’t be alone together.
Even being engaged would stop most rumors, but Solia and Count Lenister were not even engaged.
Edel looked at Solia with worried eyes.
Solia noticed and asked, “Why?”
Edel answered carefully.
“Oh… You were worried, Edel.”
Edel’s cheeks turned red at Solia’s sweet voice.
She thought Solia would scold her for being nosy, but instead, Solia smiled kindly.
“You’re worried I won’t have anyone to marry, aren’t you, Edel?”
“Yes… I’m scared people will gossip. If Count Lenister doesn’t propose…”
There were many people in the house who liked to talk. Even a simple picnic with Noah could become a weird rumor.
“If I can’t marry Noah, I’ll live alone forever.”
Solia knew this, but still went on the picnic with Noah.
‘No matter what people say, it doesn’t matter. I never planned to marry anyone but Noah anyway.’
Solia looked down weakly, and Edel felt awkward.
Even after a special massage and fine oils, Solia still looked sad.
Solia thought, ‘I’ll marry Noah anyway,’ but couldn’t tell Edel everything yet.
“If I can’t marry Noah, my life is over.”
Solia said in a tired voice and looked up at Edel.
Edel nodded, but her mind was somewhere else. As she helped Solia put on a gown, Solia asked,
“Edel, are you worried about something?”
Solia gently took Edel’s weak hand, and Edel finally spoke.
“Yes. Um…”
Six days later, there would be a garden party in the mansion’s freesia garden.
But a kitchen maid had burned all the rare tea leaves by mistake. Afraid of being fired, the maid begged Edel for help.
“Please, just say you burned the tea! Just this once, please help me! You’re a personal maid and you have it easier than me, right?”
“I don’t think that’s right… I don’t handle the parties, and I don’t like to lie.”
“Just say the miss asked for tea. You’ll be fine, Edel! The baron likes the miss so much these days. If you’re on her good side, you won’t get fired.”
Edel shook her head. When she refused, the other maid got angry.
She insulted Edel, saying she was just lucky to be a personal maid, acting too proud.
But Edel tried to be patient.
“You and the miss are the same! No, she’s not even a real lady. That girl, a rich man’s daughter who doesn’t even know how to treat a maid…!”
Slap! Edel slapped her coworker without meaning to.
‘It’s fine to insult me. But not the miss. She did nothing wrong.’
Edel didn’t tell Solia the kitchen maid had insulted her. She only said a maid she knew had asked her for help. Solia let go of Edel’s hand and brushed her hair.
“Did you say yes?”
“No, not yet…”
Edel put her hands together and hesitated, worried she had upset Solia. She watched Solia head to the dressing table.
‘The more I think about it, the more upset I get. How dare she use Edel to do something like that?’
Solia sat at the dressing table and closed her eyes.
Her grandmother had always blamed her for her brother’s mistakes.
If she ever talked back, her grandmother would grab her hair and slap her, yelling,
“Shut up! What good is a talkative girl?”
So, Solia knew she couldn’t let this problem get bigger.
“Haa…”
Solia let out a heavy sigh. Edel stayed quiet and focused on drying Solia’s hair.
“Miss, I’ll put some aroma oil behind your ears.”
The gentle scent helped Solia calm down. The warm bath and the care made her feel sleepy.
After changing into pajamas and lying in bed, Edel came to turn off the lights.
With only a small lamp shining, Solia reached out and took Edel’s hand.
“I’ll solve this. Edel, you don’t have to do anything.”
“But… should I…”
Edel lowered her head, not knowing what to say. Solia gave her a small smile.
“You’re my person, Edel. I can do at least that much for you.”
Edel was a good and talented maid. But she didn’t feel blindly loyal to Solia yet.
To win Edel’s true loyalty, Solia knew she had to show kindness and ability.
‘Winning someone’s heart depends on my own effort and skills.’
She decided to slowly win Edel and others over.
Six days later, at the garden party.
“This tea is not good,” said Countess Malone.
Cheryl Malone was the most successful businesswoman in the capital. She had married Count Malone and entered high society.
When she first arrived, everyone looked down on her. She was shy and stuttered, and gossip magazines called her “the poor Cinderella with a womanizer husband.”
But Cheryl was talented in business and worked very hard. After she put all her secret savings into her shop, Iris Dress Shop, it became a huge success and her life changed completely.
She lost her old shyness and became confident. She even became a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, and the gossip magazine that insulted her disappeared.
Now, she was more famous as ‘Cheryl’ than as the countess. She didn’t divorce her cheating husband because having a noble title helped her business, and the law favored nobles.
Since the famous Duchess Benzo disappeared, Cheryl was now the top lady in society.
Today was the meeting of the Five Star Ladies’ Club, led by her. But Cheryl frowned.
The baron’s mansion was supposed to be a great place for the party, as recommended by Lady Philon, but it wasn’t as nice as she said.
The food and dessert were okay, but the tea was terrible. It tasted burnt and bitter.
Lady Philon tried to hide her embarrassment as she set down her cup.
“Yes, it was fine before. I wonder why it’s bad today.”
Cheryl narrowed her eyes at the maid.
“Is this all the tea? I remember I ordered a special one.”
The new maid bowed quickly.
“There was a problem with the tea leaves…”
“You mean the special tea leaves I sent?”
Cheryl had sent the best tea leaves to the mansion herself. She always drank it before autumn, so she knew the taste well.
‘Did they burn it, or steal it…?’
If they burned tea she brought herself, it meant the house was not well managed.
Cheryl looked sharply at the maid.
“Are you saying I made a mistake?”
“N-no, it was our fault…”
Cheryl lowered her voice in frustration.
“Who’s in charge here? I heard Baron Rotten didn’t prepare the party himself.”
