Chapter 53

Chapter 53

—

Meanwhile, around the same time.

At an underground place where people rarely came.

It was a basement that was filled with antique furnishings, and it seemed to be beneath someone’s villa.

And, there were two men sitting opposite each other.

Two tall, handsome men.

Amidst the stony silence that was as grave as the dark evening, one man opened his lips first to speak.

“I believe there’s something going on at the Valentine’s these days.”

“Allegedly, the nanny of the two ducal princesses had been abusing them all this time. It’s been revealed recently, and the household has been in a state of panic since then.”

The man who first initiated this conversation tilted his head to the side.

“…It’s already been revealed? As expected…”

The man on the opposite side asked, but he soon nodded to himself. The other man couldn’t hear what he said to himself.

“Why, is there a problem?”

“No, it’s not like that. Then, has the nanny been executed?”

“Not yet. I believe it took them some time to confirm who else has been involved in the abuse. Well, now that it’s over, she’s about to be executed.”

‘Executed.’

At the familiar word, the man moistened his dry lips with his red tongue.

When he closed his eyelids deeply and opened them slowly, he faintly felt something like a heartbeat.

“Then, that house’s servants will pour out.”

“Well, I suppose.”

The simplest and most effective punishment that could be given to servants was to kick them out without a recommendation letter.

No matter how much power the Valentine Duchy had, they would not kill or dispose of everyone who was involved in the crime.

All that’s left was to punish them accordingly…

Locking them up in prison would just be a waste of resources, and it would be a complicated process as well.

Therefore, the punishment that could be given would instead be flogging, confiscation of belongings, and firing them without a recommendation letter.

And to any servant, a recommendation letter held much weight.

If they went without it, this meant that they would never be able to work for a noble ever again.

In other words, this was tantamount to stripping them of their livelihood forever.

There was no better punishment compared to this.

The man nodded satisfactorily and leaned back on his chair.

In the dark, the pale fingertips swept the table pleasantly.

“Just in time, this is good. Even if that wasn’t the case, there’s something I wanted to check.”

As he said this, he sipped on a glass of wine. The other man asked back.

“Something you want to check? What is it?”

It was a question asked casually.

The other man asked it not because he genuinely wanted to know, but only something he asked offhandedly.

However, the man’s expression hardened with such frostiness in an instant the moment he was asked the question.

The relaxed smile that was on his lips just now vanished, and a glare from him glinted brightly.

“Why do you ask?”

At his inhumane, unhinged tone, the other man clicked his tongue.

‘Ah.’

Again, he touched a nerve.

This man sometimes acted like this.

Regardless of whether it was an inconsequential question or a trivial comment, his eyes would become as blood-curdling as this.

Like a person who’s gone insane over something.

‘He already wasn’t normal to begin with, but…’

It was only a few months ago that this glinting gaze began to induce chills.

“Mine. All mine.”

As the other man continued to click his tongue, he repeated the same words.

Clearly.

Rather, with a slurred tone as though he was drunk.

The man with a red tongue grinned, licking his dry lips again.

“Don’t turn your attention to what’s mine. If you even dare look, I’ll kill everyone.”

The terrible words that were muttered under his breath didn’t seem to be a lie, and so the other man could only shake his head.

No matter what happened, he was determined not to touch that guy’s belongings.

* * *

A few days later, in the morning.

Beneath the midsummer sun, the Valentine Duchy’s residence started the day with a lot of noise.

The ongoing search for Katie’s accomplices was finally over, and all the servants of the lateral mansion poured out of the ducal residence.

Whether proven guilty or innocent.

However, the difference between the two groups was evident.

Their expressions were vastly different.

The former cried unceasingly, while the latter couldn’t help but smile.

Both groups were fired from the residence in the same way, but their situations were completely polar.

The former group was treated no better than criminals.

They were flogged as punishment, on top of their salary being withheld.

Not to mention that their future was bleak because they were dismissed with just the clothes on their backs and no recommendation letters.

The latter group consisted of individuals who were worried about the trauma inflicted unto the two ducal princesses, yet they were still dismissed from the residence.

At first glance, people might think that this was unfair, but no one was dissatisfied by this conclusion.

In return for being dismissed, they received recommendation letters with the duke’s personal seal along with a severance pay that no one would be unhappy with.

It’s already been decided which household they’d be sent to next, so even if they left the ducal residence, it was not a loss on their part.

The former group looked at the latter group with envy in their eyes.

And one of those who were envious was Marie.

Marie, who had once been Rosetta exclusive maid.

With legs swollen from all the floggings she had to receive, she limped away as she wiped off the tears that dripped down her face.

‘…I’m supposed to belong to that group…’

Rather than with this group of people who were limping as they were kicked out without a single coin, she should have been with that group who had recommendation letters and severance pay in their hands.

Marie felt as though she had been bitterly wronged.

Wasn’t it that the ducal princess promised her?

If she helped her, then her crimes would be buried, was what she was told.

Of course, what Rosetta said was, ‘I’ll let you live,’ but memories could easily change to suit one’s benefit.

Marie chewed her lower lip in frustration and resentment.

‘Where the hell should I go… I need to find a job…’

She had no clue at all.

Before coming here, she had three years of experience as a maid in another noble household.

Then, she entered this ducal residence and worked here for seven years.

Ten years in total. She had always worked as a maid of a noble family, so it was impossible for her to change jobs.

“Huu…”

However, despite how desolate it was, she had no choice but to leave this place first.

What’s the point in pacing around the front yard of the house she had just been kicked out of?

If she were to loiter around here with nothing to gain and by some chance she stood out to a person from the duke’s side as someone like ‘Katie’, what then?

Katie.

As she recalled the name of the superior who she had worked under for such a long time, Marie immediately raised one corner of her mouth crookedly.

A smile soon came over the tear-streaked face.

‘Right, I’m at least better than that woman.’

Katie had been executed a few days ago.

The execution site was in the backyard of the Valentine residence.

It was a place that was clearly visible even from the servants’ lodgings, where many of them were detained as they were under investigation. It was evidently an example for all others to see.

Indeed, seeing a sinner face her death was gruesome.

‘Well, it’s good though.’

As she witnessed it first hand a few days ago, Marie laughed while Katie had been executed.

She held not a shred of sympathy for that woman.

In the first place, wasn’t it all her fault that she ended up this way and met a fate like this?

It seemed like Marie herself had forgotten of the benefits she had reaped while being an accomplice to Katie all that time in the past.

She felt better about herself.

The very fact that there was someone worse-off than her comforted her.

Because she was still the kind of person who was delighted by the misfortune of others.

Grooowl.

Her stomach growled as her mood got a little better.

She had been kicked out first thing in the morning, so she hadn’t been able to eat yet.

Rummaging through her sparse pockets, she found a few faded coins. After eating just two meals, these would be all gone.

“Huuuu…”

Letting out a deeper sigh, Marie began to trudge away.

No one came to pick her up, so she had to walk.

As she walked, she stopped many times due to the aching of her calves, and before she knew it, everyone around her was gone and she was the only one left.

How long had she been walking?

She’s been walking through a path dense with foliage around her, but then suddenly, someone appeared in front of her.

“Ack—”

As Marie was limping, she couldn’t avoid the person she ran into abruptly.

With how firm and well-built the physique of the other person was, at their collision, Marie plopped down to the ground like a weak paper doll.

“Ow…”

It already hurt so much that it felt like her flogged calves were about to explode, but the pain doubled the moment she fell to the dirt floor.

The pain that shot up her legs made her entire body numb.

She clenched her teeth and glared up at the person she collided with.

“What’s this? Why would you come out all of a sudden and…”

Her lips had shot out her grievances with a cry, but the words that flowed out gradually trailed off.

“Goodness. Are you alright?”

Because the person in front of her was someone she knew well enough.

Marie scrambled to her feet.

She was still in pain, but as she was faced with an urgent situation, even all the terrible pain she felt was pushed back to the back of her mind.

“I… I greet your noble lordship.”

Marie bowed deeply towards him.

The man smiled at her as he looked down at the back of her head.

* * *

Marie gulped dryly as she looked at the food served before her.

‘Is this just a dream? Is this all real?’

The food at the table were all luxurious dishes that nobles usually ate.

Her nose was hit with a scent that was so scrumptious that her mouth started watering even before she had taken a bite.

However, instead of immediately picking up the silverware, she glanced towards the person sitting across her.

She couldn’t believe such an important person sitting at the same table as her.

“Truly, you wouldn’t mind eating together with someone like me, sir?”

As she was limping on the side of the road, the nobleman she had encountered gave Marie a ride in his carriage.

Not only that.

When her tactless stomach had suddenly rumbled, he smiled like a gentleman and brought her to a restaurant.

And now, this was the present.

It was such a strange situation. A maid who was recently ejected from the ducal residence she had been working at was now sitting at the same table as a man of another high-ranking noble family, sharing a meal together.

At the baffling situation she found herself in, Marie couldn’t even pick up the silverware before her.

The man smiled at Marie.

“There’s so much food here, so I wonder why you’re not eating.”

The man spoke lightly, but he soon picked up his own set of silverware first as if to be considerate towards the other person.

“Come now, let’s eat. You must be starving.”

As he urged her, his voice sounded so sweet.

To the extent that the listener wouldn’t be able to tell whether it was honey or poison.

Exceedingly.

Perilously.