Chapter 5
At that moment, Angela crawled on her knees and grabbed the hem of Bianca’s dress.
“Miss… please… we’re sorry. We were thoughtless and rude!”
The commotion drew the head maid running.
Her face stiffened at the scene before her:
Lizzy grabbed by her hair by Bianca,
Angela kneeling on the floor holding the dress hem, Angela’s face covered in blood.
“What is going on here?”
As the head maid approached, Bianca released Lizzy’s hair and shoved her.
Lizzy yelped and fell to the floor.
“Hey, head maid. How do you even train these servants?”
Understanding the situation, the head maid helped the two girls up and bowed deeply.
“What are you standing there for? Can’t you apologize? You rude brats!”
Lizzy and Angela bowed, trembling, and apologized.
The head maid bowed deeply too.
“We’re truly sorry, Miss. These girls… after the late mistress’s generous example, forgot their place.”
“….”
Bianca’s face hardened at those words.
She fell silent for a moment, then twisted her lips into a sharp smile.
She was extremely displeased.
The late mistress’s generosity?
‘Elisabeth was generous, but I am not.’
The servants calling her “Miss,” the head maid’s stiff attitude—nothing pleased Bianca.
Her voice dropped coldly.
“Head maid.”
“…Yes, Miss?”
“Get your mind straight. You’d better remember who is the lady of this house now.”
The cold warning made the head maid flinch and bow even lower, which annoyed Bianca more.
“Why aren’t you answering? Are you ignoring me?!”
Just as her hand was about to rise again,
Footsteps approached from behind.
Bianca’s fierce expression vanished instantly.
She covered her face with her hands as if crying.
“What is it?”
The low, calm voice.
Bianca turned, startled, tears welling in her eyes.
Louis frowned slightly and looked at the head maid.
“Explain.”
“Yes, Master. Well… um…”
The head maid glanced at the girls and Bianca.
Bianca’s cold stare pierced her—a clear warning.
“…These girls were rude to you, Miss.”
“In what way?”
“They… didn’t control their mouths…”
The head maid hesitated. Bianca spoke first, her voice trembling pitifully.
“They don’t like me coming in his house.”
“…Huh?”
Louis frowned.
A servant judging the master’s guest? Unthinkable.
The head maid bowed deeply.
“It’s entirely my fault. After the mistress passed, I neglected the house’s atmosphere. I will train them properly so this never happens again. Please… forgive them just this once.”
She roughly pushed the two girls down.
They knelt on the floor.
“We’re sorry! We won’t do it again!”
“Please forgive us… just this once!”
Louis, finding the scene ridiculous, sighed and rubbed his forehead. Then he looked at Bianca.
“What do you want to do?”
What could she want?
She wanted to tear these insolent girls apart.
But Bianca hid that thought, lowering her head in a sad expression.
“What power do I have… They probably dislike me because they miss Elie…”
“No! That’s not… that’s really not it!”
“Sniff… I’m sorry… please…”
Seeing the girls begging for forgiveness again, Louis raised his hand.
Listening further gave him a headache.
“So?”
“They’ve reflected enough. Please forgive them. I ask you too.”
Bianca lowered herself like a saint, gently holding Angela’s swollen cheek.
Quietly, so Louis wouldn’t notice.
“…Right? Child?”
Bianca’s hand stroked the cheek tenderly,
but her long nails subtly dug into the skin.
“Yes… thank you. Really, thank you…”
It stung, but Angela gritted her teeth and endured.
“Good. You are merciful.”
Louis nodded without expression and turned away.
Whether sincere or just annoyed, no one could tell.
Bianca followed behind him, timid and gentle, the stormy rage from moments ago completely gone.
The only ones left trembling were the wounded servants.
***
“Phew. I’m a bit tired today.”
Louis flopped onto the sofa. Bianca approached with a bottle of wine.
“Have a drink. It’ll help with your fatigue.”
Louis looked up, his gaze darker than usual.
When their eyes met, Bianca paused, uneasy inside.
Louis was evasive and self-centered.
He hated troublesome things and whining.
What he wanted was simple:
A pretty, obedient, quiet woman who smiled beside him.
He had abandoned his wife for Bianca for that reason.
Elisabeth had always acted on her own and handled everything herself. She could never be controlled.
Bianca set the wine on the table and leaned slightly against Louis.
Normally, he would have moved first, but today he didn’t.
“I said you’re tired.”
His voice was dry.
“…I was just trying to serve you.”
Bianca pouted, playful, holding the glass out.
The red liquid swayed like temptation.
Louis grabbed the glass and drank in one gulp.
With a slight buzz, his expression loosened.
Bianca seized the moment.
“I’m sorry. The servants insulted me… I couldn’t stand it if you got scolded because of me.”
“Tomorrow, return to the viscountess house. There are people watching. Even now, it’s too much.”
His tone was firm, but softened slightly at the end.
“Yes. Understood.”
Bianca obediently answered and slowly leaned on his shoulder.
Louis sipped the wine, glancing at her.
Full lips, smooth shoulders, silk dress hugging her body.
The sweet scent brushed his nose, awakening his senses.
His hand moved to her back. He pulled at the dress strap.
Clink, clink. The strap loosened, sliding the fabric below her chest. His eyes were filled with desire.
***
Elisabeth stood in front of the full-length mirror.
Her once-platinum curls, her lifelong trademark, were now black.
Her lavender-like violet eyes had turned silver-gray.
Some in society occasionally changed hair color, but only to enhance or soften features.
This dramatic change was unprecedented.
All thanks to the “Akham” elixir the man had brought.
‘It really feels like an Akham.’
The black hair was a hallmark of the Akham.
Even with just her hair and eye color changed, she looked like a completely different person.
…No.
It wasn’t just her appearance. Perhaps her heart had changed too.
Elisabeth touched the wound by her temple.
She couldn’t call a healing priest while in hiding, but the doctor the man brought was skilled.
More importantly, the medicine worked wonders.
Her head wound and bruises had nearly healed, leaving only faint marks.
Recalling that day, her chest ached again.
Haa…
Elisabeth took a deep breath, calming her throbbing heart.
She had stayed here for weeks, never stepping outside the mansion.
‘Where is that man… doing what?’
The man who saved her, Isaac, as he had introduced himself, had left after that day and had not appeared since.
As she thought of him, a knock came at the door.
She looked up.
Only one person could be here.
“Come in, Laura.”
A kind, gentle maid who had stayed by her side since the first day she was bedridden.
With her permission, the door clicked open.
But the footsteps sounded… heavy, unfamiliar.
