Chapter 9

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“What? Where did the letter come from?!”

The Hutt opened their eyes at Gillian’s shout. The cause was a letter that came for his beloved sister Helen.

Gillian Hutt, who was staring at the red wax with the Hunter family seal, opened the letter as if torn. Helen, the recipient, was just standing by her brother’s side. 

“Dear Helen? You crazy playboy.”

“That… brother. It was not Baron Karman who sent it, but the new Baroness.”

“What?”

“She’s the eldest daughter of the Rose family on the outskirts. Her name is Eliana Rose, and it hasn’t been long since the wedding was held.”

“I know that!”

Jillian, who has an ambitious personality, exclaimed ‘ha’ and flicked through the letter. Like Helen, Eliana was informed of the great news on the first night of her wedding with Karman, and was being treated as a vicious stepmother and living a difficult life. She was receiving great comfort from the diary and traces left by Helen, and she said that she wanted to meet Helen once at a social party.

Gillian had heard rumors about the stepmother Eliana. Did they say that Eliana slapped Sharchen on the cheek or grabbed her by the hair from the first day?

In any case, Gillian remembered laughing, saying, ‘A strong woman came in and I’m satisfied.’

But she too was hurt like Helen. Gillian, unable to read any more of Eliana’s desperate letter, handed it over to Helen. Helen held onto the letter without a word.

Helen hadn’t been able to socialize much since her divorce from Karman. Her personality, which used to be an introvert, got worse after the divorce, and Helen herself couldn’t give up her love for Karman.

Helen read the three-page letter slowly. Then, after holding the letter for a while, she hesitated. Gillian looked at her like that and said.

“Isn’t she from the Hunter family anyway? Ignore it. It’s enough for my beloved sister to suffer from that once.”

“No. Brother, I….”

“I want to meet this person. Miss Eliana Rose.”

“You mean going to the social party?” 

Helen hesitated.

“I don’t know. But I want to meet her.” 

“Does that mean you want to go?”

Helen nodded her head. It had been a very long time. Gillian was happy inwardly. It was heartbreaking to see his sister keep spending time alone in one room of the mansion.

“Butler! Ask the dressmaker to bring all the fashionable dresses!”

“Oh, my brother. I have a dress.”

“Doesn’t fashion matter in the social world? I heard that women in particular compete fiercely with it. I can’t let my sister’s special outing look shabby.”

Gillian smiled brightly after a long time and tapped Helen on the bridge of her nose very gently. Helen smiled a little at the sight of Gillian, whom she also loved dearly.

Gillian left the Hutt mansion after ordering the butler and maids something. He was going to the naval ship where he worked. Gillian smiled broadly. With a smile, he said to the aide who was beside him. 

“Investigate everything you know about Eliana Rose. Everything from the past to the present.” 

“Yes, sir.”

He was a man who had spent many years on the battlefield and had long witnessed the political nature  inside and outside of the royal palace. Whatever Eliana Rose meant, she was still a member of the Hunter family. 

Thinking that he should not let go of the vigilance, Gillian headed to work.

***

The postman came with a reply from Helen. Benny took the reply and headed to Eliana’s room. While passing the hallway, a woman in the same outfit as her caught Benny. It was Sharchen’s maid, May.

“The greeting is late. I’m Lady Sharchen’s maid, May. I’m in charge of the maids of this mansion.”

“I see.”

Benny gave a brief reply and walked past her. May was taken aback by Benny’s unexpected behavior and grabbed her wrist.

“I’m surprised that Lady Sharhen’s maid touched me carelessly. Are you picking a fight with me?” (Benny)

“Don’t think too highly of yourself. All mail that comes to this mansion goes through the butler or me. But, it’s the first time I’ve seen that letter.”

May was proud to take Helen’s letter from her. But Benny didn’t flinch. She was the one who, along with Eliana, took care of the Rose family.The two had been through bad days and good days together.

And when she came here, she decided to be Eliana’s gun and sword. From a long time ago, Eliana has been working hard so that the maid, Benny, could be proud wherever she was. Now it was her turn.

Besides, Benny has now risen to one more level. She was, no matter what anyone said, the personal maid of Baroness Eliana. She said while looking straight at May.

“I am the same maid as you. I’m taking orders directly from the Baroness. This letter was inspected by me, the head of the maids. So it’s like the butler and you inspected. There is no need for more inspection.”

“This is the house that acknowledges the existence of Lady Sharchen. I don’t know about other places, but you need to follow the rules of this house. If you can’t do that, I have no choice but to go to the Baron.”

“Whether family or not, does it change the fact that Lady Sharchen is the adopted daughter of the Baron and Lady Eliana is the Baroness? Go ahead and tell the Baron. So he could hear that his noble Sharchen was angry because she couldn’t take one letter away from the Baroness. I will tell the Baroness as well.”

Benny spoke, displeased, and then turned around. Then she headed straight to the Baroness’s room. The maid, May, unable to contain her anger, shook her head and turned around. Behind the pillar, Lujan was hiding.

“Bring that letter to Lady Sharchen at all costs. Otherwise I will kill you.”

“I, how can I…”

“Whatever you can!” 

May turned around and headed to Sharchen’s room. Lujan just stood there crying.

****

Hearing the commotion with May, Eliana quietly nodded her head. Benny was right. If it had been Eliana, she would have done the same. However, depending on the content, the letter may have to be sent to Sharchen.

“Why?”

Benny asked as if she didn’t understand. Eliana shrugged her shoulders and continued.

“I’m nothing in this family.” 

If Sharchen continued to lose to Eliana, Sharchen might ask Karman to make her Baroness at all cost.

Eliana still couldn’t figure out when it would be. But it was impossible to keep going strong.

Eliana opened the letter, waiting for the storm to come. Inside, there were two letters made of thick parchment.

One from Helen and one from Gillian. Helen began with a thank you for the letter and expressed her intention to participate in the social gathering with elegant sentences. The letter was quite long and dense, resembling her delicate personality.

On the other hand, Gillian politely wrote, ‘I don’t know what your intentions are, but if you let my sister get involved in a dirty operation, I won’t let it go’. It was clear that he was angry about everything, only the handwriting was neat.

He must have heard rumors about Eliana. A vicious stepmother, a strange and sensual outfit, and even a scandal of playing with the guards. Eliana burned Gillian’s letter. Then she put Helen’s letter into the envelope.

“If May asks for a letter one more time, give this to her.”

“… Okay.”

“Maybe give it to her sooner.”

When Eliana said that, Benny also had a somber expression on her face. The structure of this house was definitely strange. To the extent that Benny was at a loss for words at May’s arrogance. She felt pity for Eliana, who was caught up in a strange love game. But she looked thoughtful as she read Gillian’s letter.

With a squeaking sound, Lujan, unknown where she had been, appeared through the door. Eliana and Benny’s eyes turned to her. As Lujan’s lips opened, Eliana’s gaze turned to Benny.

When Lujan came out of the Baroness’s room again, there was a letter in her hand. A letter clearly stamped with the Hutt family seal. But that wasn’t the only thing. Lujan shoved the letter into her pocket and headed to Sharchen’s room. As a double agent, she took a deep breath.

***

When it was time for dinner, the three met at the table. Sharchen secretly glared at Eliana, but Eliana just savored the food, ignoring her gaze.

Karman wiped his mouth with a napkin as he was eating between the two women without a word.

“It was a mistake to invite Helen Hutt to a social party. I want to cancel it. Eliana, what do you think?”

As Karman spoke quietly, Sharchen put a small smile on her lips.

“You would know if you read the letter. You can’t change the story that has already happened.”

“You mean you did it knowing I was going to object?” 

“I am nothing in this house. A letter to a friend I want to interact with has to go through Sharchen’s maid.”

“Eliana!”

When Karman made a loud noise, Eliana looked at Karman without averting her eyes.

Karman continued speaking while looking into her round eyes.

“You always say you’re nothing, but you’re a pony without the reins doing whatever it wants. If you are more careless than this….” 

“What if I do?”

“I have no choice but to cut off support for the Rose family.”

Eliana bit her molars at the unexpected words. It was her weakest point. Eliana stood up, trying to control her expression. Then she bowed deeply toward Sharchen.