CH 6

Clarisse quickly became convinced that Bessie wasn’t a very nice person. 

In the old room under the roof, where she went after washing herself, Clarisse pointed out her mistakes again.

“You lied. You said I could say hello to the Duchess after I wash up.”

“Noisy! Chirping without losing a word to the subject of sinners!”

“But…” 

“Besides, don’t you know that the Duchess wouldn’t want to be with a sinner like you?”

“….” 

“But if you tell me if there were any women in the party, maybe she will feel a little pity for you.” 

She tapped Clarisse on the head with her fingertips.

“Think about it now. Do you feel like answering?”

As Clarisse stood there with her lips tight, she took the only candle in the room and left.

The door slammed shut with a bang, leaving the narrow attic in darkness, followed by the sound of a latch locking.

“…!” 

Clarisse ran to the place where the last afterimage of light had disappeared and knocked on the door.

“I, it’s dark!”

Despite the story mixed with deep bewilderment, the story heard beyond the closed door was cold.

“Isn’t it a perfect environment to think?”

After that, no matter how much she shouted outside the door, no answer came back.

*****

Maximilian’s wife, Duchess Sheridan, ‘Acela Sheridan’, was a delicate woman as if she would wither in the winter wind.

Her beautiful silver hair and graceful demeanor, befitting Sheridan, the so-called winter castle, matched the title of ‘Duchess’.

But that’s just what it looks like from the outside.

When the Duchess went back to her room, she was just a Lady with a lot of anxiety.

She watched Bessie with fear in her eyes, who was still stomping and tidying up her room.

Bessie was a follower of the Duchess’s parents when she married.

Usually, they bring a maid who can make them feel comfortable, but her case was a little different.

Bessie was a watchdog.

She used to write down every single action of the Duchess and report it to her paternal family house.

Since she had left her weakness at the paternal family’s house, she always looked out for her watchers and couldn’t say a word of her properly.

“I, I… you know.” 

But today, with courage, she carefully called Bessie. 

“What is it?”

“I heard there is… a girl. The child I have to take care of.”

“Ha, take care of it? Who is who? Don’t be ridiculous. If Madam have time to care about a child you don’t know, think about having your own child!” 

The Duchess closed her lips at the word ‘child.’

Her ‘parents’, the Darrington family, were anxiously awaiting the news of “pregnancy.”

“If you give birth to a child, wouldn’t the Countess of Darrington let me go home! How long do I have to stay in this cold place?”

“I, I’m sorry about that.”

As was her habit, the Duchess gave her an apology. Even though she knows that the truth is she has nothing to be sorry for.

“If you knew.”

Her maid had her hands on her waist as she shot.

“As soon as the Duke comes back, get pregnant right away! How long will you act like a wooden rock while the Duke goes north without even looking at his wife?”

“By the way, the little girl the Duke brought….” 

“Ah, it’s none of your business! Do you care about that now? Are you okay with the Duke not even sleeping with you?” 

Her cheeks turned red at her blatant remark.

Even though they had been married for three years, the couple hadn’t slept together properly.

Maximilian, thinking of his wife’s honor, had come to her room from time to time. 

But he did nothing but read books and didn’t seem to want to spend his time with her well.

Of course, the only one who knew this at the Duke’s residence was Bessie, who was tidying up the Duchess’ bedroom. 

“…No, it’s not okay.”

“Then try on your new clothes. Make a pretty face.”

The Duchess lowered her head.

It’s good that he hasn’t been at the mansion for the past half year because of the war, so she hasn’t heard such bad words.

‘Still… I was a little relieved that the Duke didn’t come back right away. I’m sorry but….’

But he would return here in three days, and her brief freedom would be over.

The fact that this situation would not last long anyway was that she was prepared to face the war situation.

“I, I understand. I’ll do my best, so treat the child well for now. Hmm?”

“I’ll take care of it, so leave it. If anyone sees it, they’ll think you’re a real aristocrat—” 

For a moment, the Duchess was startled and quickly grabbed her arm.

“D, don’t say it!” 

“Phew, okay.” 

Bessie pushed her arm away and frowned at her.

“If you look closely, you pretend to be nice, but you’re the first one to try to deceive the Duke.” 

And she stomped out of her room.

She ran into some of the other knights while they were talking in the hallway.

Acela, who was left alone by her, no, ‘Briel’, a liar who had to pretend to be her, sighed softly.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t believe that Bessie took good care of the little child. 

* * *

Clarisse was squatting by the door and fell asleep, and after a while, she barely opened her eyes.

She probably only slept for less than an hour, but when she woke up, her room, which was empty before, had been completely changed.

First, there was light. That’s a very bright lamp.

In addition, she was wrapped in a warm blanket before she knew it.

And the best thing is—.

There was bread and soup. And that wasn’t all. There was also jam and butter, and chocolate. And next to it, there’s even a storybook that looks fun!

“This…” 

Clarisse put her hand on the nearby floor.

She stroked the cold stone several times, fiddled with several stones, and raised her head as if she realized something after a while.

“Duchess… came secretly and brought it to me? Do you mean her? Really?” 

Somehow unbelievable, Clarisse repeated the same question several times. 

“I, I… I thought she was a very scary person.”

Feeling a bit strange, Clarisse cut a small piece of bread and put it in her mouth.

“It seems to melt.”

A savory, warm white bread that spreads gently over the tongue.

“I can’t believe she gave this to a prisoner even though she was called a queen… What kind of person would the Duchess be?”

Clarisse pictured her again in her head.

Perhaps she is different from the ‘Queen’ that Clarisse thought of. 

“Maybe she’s soft and gentle like bread.”

Or warm like soup.

Or maybe it’s sweet like jam.

“Like this blanket… it would be great if she were a warm person.”

Clarisse, who had just gotten full, fell into a deep sleep while drawing pictures of the Duchess on her own.

* * *

The next morning.

Bessie went to the room under the roof with a triumphant face.

Having spent a night in a cold and dark place, she believed the child would have come to her senses and become obedient by this time. 

In fact, the maid was also aware that she was being cruel to the child.

But since she had been dispatched to this place where she would freeze to death and she hadn’t been able to return to her hometown for years, all that was left in her mind was annoyance. 

She didn’t even have someone to express her emotions freely, so she always grumbled at Briel—.

‘You’re going to raise a child in the mansion?’

Bessie was truly astounded by the stories of the knights who said, ‘The Duke said he would raise the young princess of a ruined country in the mansion until she was eighteen.’

“Why did she come here with such a burden when he could just kill her….”

Even if not, the Duke is a wooden stone who refuses to sleep with the Duchess, and the situation becomes even more desperate if there is even a child wandering around the house. 

‘I have to keep her away where the Duke can’t see it as much as possible.’

No one will blame her for treating her like this because she is a sinner anyway.

‘I did her a big favor by not sending her to a dirty, worm-filled dungeon.’

But the little girl doesn’t know that and doesn’t tell her if there’s a woman at the party, saying she’s repaying the Duke’s favor.

‘From now on, I have to make sure I know who is my master.’

She picked up a handle brush that she could see nearby.

If she holds something like a stick, the child won’t think recklessly of rebelling.

Bessie unlocked the lock and slammed the door open.

“…What is this?” 

The child, who thought she would be frustrated, fell asleep comfortably under a warm blanket.

She fell asleep so soundly that she couldn’t wake up even when the door was slammed.

“Damn, crazy girl! Where did you get this?!”

When she screamed, the child barely narrowed her eyes.

“You secretly went out and stole it, and you fell asleep well… oh my, did you even bring your meal?”

“Ah…” 

Clarisse was still half asleep when the maid came in, so she could only stare at her with a blank face.

It was because the fatigue accumulated from the long trip had not been relieved yet.

“You even stole a lamp with oil in it!”

Bessie rummaged through her room, ripping off the blanket Clarisse was using and throwing them on the floor.

Then she found a small pouch the girl was holding under the blanket.

“What else did you steal?”

“You can’t!” 

Clarisse grabs her pouch, but she quickly snatches it away and throws it away. 

“G, give it back!”

Clarisse begged, holding out her hands.

“Looks like you brought some jewels…what? It’s stone.”

“It’s my friend! Please give me back!”

“Hmph… friends? You’re making me laugh.” 

Bessie opened the window and the wooden shutters, then threw out Clarisse’s pebbles. 

“Ah…” 

As Clarisse looked at this in vain, she replied with a shrug.

“You will be punished for stealing.”

“I did nothing….” 

“You will be beaten until you die.”

At the frightening words, Clarisse couldn’t answer and only swallowed her breath.

The maid smiled, thinking that the child had finally become obedient.

“Do you want to live?”

“…I want to live.”

“You know what to do, don’t you?”

Clarisse kept her mouth shut.

“Looking at you trying to stay silent like that… It looks like there really was a woman in the party, right? Did the Duke even make you shut up? Ha, that’s going crazy.”

Bessie touched her forehead and sighed deeply.

Clarisse, who was only looking at this, looked up at her with her fist clenched.

“Do I have to answer in order to live?”

“I told you so. Are you stupid? How many times are you making me say it?”

“Then.”

Clarisse turned to the back of the maid. And she said with a very apologetic face.

“May I answer this question, Duke?”

Startled, Bessie looked behind her.