Chapter 5

“… I need to placate Paris first.”

Irina muttered to herself.

Him working with Lady Young wasn’t great, but it didn’t matter, because her daughter’s happiness was top priority.

Irina had no intention of forgetting about it, but she thought she shouldn’t broach that subject for now, as to not upset Paris any further.

An unfamiliar voice caught her as she was about to get up from her seat with a fresh mind.

“How could such a thing happen? It must have been awful this afternoon.”

It was a faint voice from her bedroom.

“… What?”

A thin door connected her daughter’s room and Irina’s bedroom. A voice was leaking through the crack in the door. Of course, it wasn’t her husband’s. It was a woman’s voice. A soft light and a whispering voice leaked through the crack in the door.

Irina approached the door as quietly as a cat.

She looked through the crack in the door and saw two people moving by the bedside.

A small sized woman with freckles on her face and a cat-like appearance. She was the new maid Mary who came in six months ago.

She was sitting on Irina’s bed, shaking her legs.

“Anyway, his wife collapsed and now he’s staying out overnight. The master is too much.”

Where Mary was looking, a slender, curly-haired servant was sitting by the window.

These were the servants Paris had brought directly from the Count of Arcensis.

Irina held her breath and watched their conversation.

“You should have seen Madam earlier this morning. If I lived with a woman like that, I’d have an affair.”

Paul shrugged. Mary shook her head.

“Honestly, even if the master is cheating, I admit it. If my husband was that handsome, it makes sense he’d offer it once or twice.”

“Look. I thought women would too. Except, Madam. With half her face like that and her personality, you’d have to be crazy.”

“A beauty with a beast, hahaha.”

Irina pondered for a moment. She should go in and criticize the maid for sitting on her master’s bed carelessly. The arrogance of using the master’s room as if it was her own, she should be struck with a stick, but if Irina made a commotion now, Juliet might wake up.

When it comes to gossip, she was the type of person who understood it, swearing about ones’ boss. Moreover, she was overly accustomed to the rumors of this theme. An ugly woman who gets a decent man and doesn’t even appreciate it. She was tired of having to respond every time.

Irina decided to punish her at dawn and started to walk away from the door.

“I am glad that Miss Juliet only resembles Master Paris.”

“She’s lucky she has her mother. If she hadn’t jumped into the fire that day, Juliet would’ve turned out just like her mother.”

It was a conversation that caught her attention in an instant. Irina felt a spark in her eyes.

You dare speak about my daughter, by mentioning that terrible accident that almost killed Juliet?

Two years ago. An unknown fire broke out in their mansion. Arson was evident from the smell of oil, but the culprit had not been caught. At dawn, when everyone was asleep, a fire engulfed the mansion in red. Irina woke up from the flames.

Her first instinct was Juliet.

No heat was felt. She jumped into the fire in her pajamas and rescued Juliet.

Her face was scorched by the flames and the smoke choked her breath, but she did not suffer.

She was only afraid of what would happen to her daughter.

She got burns from her left arm to her cheek that day, but not a single hair on Juliet’s head was burned.

And that day, like today, there was no husband at home.

“I know. Who do you want her personality to resemble? She shouldn’t be like her mother.”

“It’s a pain in the ass when a woman is like that. But resembling the master is a bit…”

“Hey, it might be better for the girl. If she’s like her father she may act a little cheap, but if you have a face that can be admired by all men, a woman’s life is in full bloom. Just like that Lady Young. She’d live a more comfortable life than Madam… Whoops! Ack, Madam…!”

The figure of Irina, who slowly appeared with her face floating in the light of her lamp, was quite eerie.

“Ack…!”

Mary sprung off the bed.

“Shh.”

Irina put her index finger to her mouth quietly before they could get any louder.

Irina closed the door to her daughter’s bedroom, her other hand still holding the lamp.

click.

The two stood still, unable to breathe, silence lingered around the room for a moment.

“Madam, I,”

“I never allowed you to speak.”

“…”

Irina put down the lamp on the tea table in the center of her bedroom with a relaxed gesture.

When her blue flame-like eyes fell on them, the two threw themselves down in front of Irina.

“We were wrong, madam. Truly wrong.”

Mary and Paul, whoever came first, began pleading.

Irina rummaged through the chest of drawers beside her bed.

As she moved, a long shadow fell on the servant Paul’s body.

“Lift your head.”

“I was really wrong, huh!”

Irina shoved her hand roughly into Paul’s mouth, grabbed the tip of his tongue and pulled it out.

In an instant, Irina’s dagger touched Paul’s tongue.

“wrong… ah…!”

Frightened, Paul began to tremble.

Mary pleaded with tears, as if her own tongue was in danger of being cut off.

“My Lady! Madam, please have mercy. Never again. Please.”

“It was fun when you insulted others with this tongue. Are you now afraid of getting it taken out?”

The tip of the blade slowly dug into Paul’s tongue.

“Be still. I am mercifully trying to finish it with one cut.”

“aah…!”

Paul shut his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks.

He prepared for the pain to come as his tongue was cut off.

“…”

But what he expected did not happen.

Irina looked at his expression for a moment, then let his tongue go. She got up and threw her dagger to the floor.

tak.

With the light sound of the knife falling, Paul fell down.

“Gasp. Ugh…”

Irina looked down at Paul with a dry expression.

The cool moonlight cast dark shadows on her face.

“If I show you more mercy than I do now, what will you reward me with?”

At her unexpected remark, they looked up at her, puzzled.

“Reward… huh?”

“I have no mercy for idiots who don’t understand even if given a chance.”

As Irina looked at the dagger at her feet, Mary screamed hastily.

“I will do anything! Any dirty work you ask of me…”

“Shh.”

Irina put her index finger to her mouth again and glanced toward Juliet’s bedroom.

Mary shut her mouth and nodded her head.

“As you said, my personality is eccentric…”

Irina whispered and sat on her bed.

Mary and Paul swallowed dry saliva and turned themselves towards her.

“Originally, I would have ripped you apart, like Cherry does to her prey.”

There was no exaggeration in the husky voice. The two shivered as they recalled Cherry’s wretched fangs.

“Prove now that you are worthy enough to be spared, in exchange for allegiance. If you fail, I will send you two back to my hometown.”

Mary and Paul gasped.

The Levart estate was the northernmost border of the kingdom. It was a harsh mountainous area, and the battles with savages and monsters, thieves and soldiers from neighboring countries, vagrants, and deserters were never-ending hell. The people from Levart were so bad-tempered that even other northerners couldn’t bear them.

None of the affluent capitalists wanted to leave their families behind and go to an unfamiliar land of death. Paul and Mary realized. Why are they feeling so extreme fear now?

Irina was not a lady who only scolds servants.

She was a warrior in the north who had to survive or die fighting.

Irina opened her mouth again.

“If you have nothing to say,”

Mary eyes widened as she tried to get up.

“Debt of the master! I know it… It’s a huge debt that the family doesn’t know about. I know because it’s my job to keep the master’s secret letters from the madam’s eyes.”

Mary screamed loudly, then looked at Juliet’s bedroom door and lowered her voice.

Irina’s eyes twitched slightly.

She thought something would come out if she stabbed Paris’ favorite servants. A big debt that even her family doesn’t know about?

She got more information than expected.

“I don’t know exactly how much, but since he borrowed money many times, it must be a large amount. I have some friends at the top of the bank, so I know it well. I can tell you for sure.”

“Tell me more.”

“It’s a debt owed two years ago. He is paying interest every time somehow… It seemed that he was unable to repay the principal.”

Irina was a little shocked.

It was two years ago. He has been borrowing money for a much longer time than expected?

“I have something to tell you. The master has a carriage that my lady does not know about. And also, a house.”

At Paul’s words, Irina narrowed her eyes.

His advice was more speculative. Paul said he was acquainted with the servant who oversaw the night guard. He said that Paris often goes out at night, and so that Irina did not know where he was going, he changed into a separate wagon and rode to another place.

Paris has been staying out at night since they were newlyweds, because he was so free-spirited.

He had agreed with Irina that he would inform her of his schedule ahead of time as long as she stopped continuing her swordsmanship training after their marriage.

But as time went on, Paris sought to control all her wild hobbies.

Eventually, his agreement was broken, and Paris went in and out of the house at will.

Irina was astonished.

After getting to know him better, she believed in him even if he stayed out.

Earlier today, he seemed to be offended at her words, but what the hell was he doing?