CH 11

While working in the Count’s mansion and seeing many nobles, there was only one person who showed this kind of attitude. It’s Calex Amber, the current Duke.

It must be because they’re blood-related that they resembled each other, but his indifference and her indifference weren’t the same sort. It couldn’t be explained exactly, but Lily, who had a keen sense, could feel it.

She stopped and examined Beatrice meticulously. Maybe she didn’t like something? She’s a lady who rarely goes outside, so her heeled shoes might be uncomfortable. 

But she showed no signs of displeasure or discomfort to her. She simply turned her gaze out the window as she stood still.

As I looked at the same place, I saw a small tangled web of spiders above the large window.

Small flying insects were stuck between the transparent lines, making them very ugly. The window was so big, it was a corner that no one would seem to find easily.

“I made you see something unpleasant. I’m going to ask someone to clean it right away.”

“Leave it alone.” 

“Pardon?”

“Doesn’t it look good?”

Beatrice turned to look at Lily. She blinked her eyes, not yet grasping the situation. In fact, it was difficult to understand this situation in the first place.

Beatrice knew Lily, but Lily still didn’t know Beatrice, so she could say whatever she wanted regardless of the context.

“It is the law of nature for spiders to eat other insects using their webs, it is natural for the weak to be eaten by the strong, and that is life.”

“…”

Lily kept her mouth shut. The only reason she got this job was that she wanted revenge. Her family became victims of the Count merely because they were commoners — because they were weak and easy.

She felt resentment towards her, but she was smart enough not to show her true feelings just by these words. Beatrice didn’t care about Lily’s feelings and continued to talk.

“It is inevitable for the weak to die in nature. There’s no one we could blame for it.”

Lily’s gaze lifted from the floor and soon reached Beatrice. She was trying to kill the mood as much as she could so she could see the waves of emotion across her face.

Beatrice laughed. She took off the bright smile she copied from Floria and raised the corner of her lips as long as that of a snake — lips that could make anyone who sees it feel uneasy.

“But humans don’t eat unconditionally just because they’re weak. It’s meant to be given only to the same species… There is a reason why law and morality were created, so that you wouldn’t live like an insect.”

The quick-witted Lily understood right away.

“But unfortunately, there are insects in this mansion.”

Who was it that this woman in front of me was referring to? She couldn’t understand why Beatrice was telling this story herself. Her green eyes showed vigilance.

“You have to obey the insect’s rules.”

Beatrice spoke to Lily as if she wanted nothing and put her finger on the glass, rubbing the cold surface meaninglessly. Beatrice knew, even if she’s on her guard right now, she would eventually follow her like her previous lives.

“When the opportunity comes, don’t miss it.”

Beatrice said something she couldn’t understand at all and walked past her. Lily followed her immediately after pausing for a while. There was no more conversation between the two.

Lily was smart, so she wouldn’t miss what Beatrice said is an opportunity. The reason why she didn’t want her to understand was that she believed Lily would do her best anyway.

After that, Beatrice seemed to be looking at the study and then returned to the drawing room. Lily’s head was a mess as she walked with her.

I didn’t know what the late Duke Amber’s daughter knew or what she wanted from me, but it was certain that she didn’t have a good feeling about Count Billander — even if she seemed to not have a bad feeling either. Her eyes shone brilliantly whenever it caught sunlight, yet it contained nothing enough to make the light dull.

Those were the eyes of someone who had nothing to wish for, someone who was just looking back at what they had to do. 

Lily had never seen anyone with such eyes. She would rather be able to anticipate and prepare for how she would act if there’s something she wished for or desired, but she had no idea with those eyes she’d never seen before.

Another maid with brown hair passed by Lily as she quietly walked down the hallway.

“Go to my room at eleven.”

As she whispered in a breathless voice, the brown-haired maid glanced past her. She didn’t know where things would go, so she had no choice but to talk to like-minded people. If it’s an opportunity that would help us, we have to seize it, and if not, we have to avoid it.

* * *

Floria and Beatrice faced each other in the drawing room and said nothing. While they had been away for a while, Floria’s face was completely tired, and Beatrice saw it and said that she had to go back.

“Oh, I’m sorry that you came to visit me.”

“It’s okay. We’ll see each other often anyway.”

Floria nodded at her words that weren’t soft but were delivered in a smooth tone. There was a lot to prepare to hold her debut party together, so they would have to see each other more often in the future.  

But now that her own damn brother had openly declared his interest in Beatrice, the more she visited her, the more she would encounter him — and the more likely she would stay by his side. She had to do something about it. 

Floria liked Beatrice quite a bit, she was supposed to invite her for dinner today. She felt upset that she had to let her go in a hurry since that dog Gallot intervened.

“Let’s have dinner together next time.”

“I’d love to. Can I write you a letter next time?”

“As much as you want.”

Floria and Beatrice stood up. Beatrice would be going home while Floria went to see her off.

She sent a maid first to prepare for the carriage, so if they walk slowly, they would arrive just right on time. There was no conversation between the two as they walked.

Beatrice was so used to silence that she had no thoughts, but Floria, on the other hand, was entangled with countless thoughts in her head.

Floria thought she should warn Beatrice about her brother. She wouldn’t be able to sleep with guilt if the naive lady fell under Gallot’s charms. If she ever fell even after being warned, she would also be willing to grab her hair and dry it with her own hands.

By the time the two reached the front gate of the mansion, Floria carefully opened her mouth.

“Uhm, Lady Amber.”

“Yes?”

“This might sound weird, but…”

Beatrice’s eyes glowed golden like the sun under the sunlight, but they glowed yellow in shaded places like inside the mansion. It was like a predator’s.

“Be careful of Gallot Billander, my brother that you just met.”

“I will.”

“Hm?”

Beatrice’s voice was relatively simple compared to Floria who spoke so seriously. It showed complete indifference to her.

Floria noticed that she was not that interested in Gallot, however, she didn’t expect her to respond to her sudden warning without any questions.

“Aren’t you going to ask why?”

“You must have said that for a reason.”

“Well… yes.”

“Didn’t you say the only one I could trust is Lady Billander?”

Floria remembered telling her not to tell people other than her about the unfortunate past. Did that make sense? No, that’s not what she meant.

She understood the context of her answer instantly, but she didn’t understand why she could tell such a story and trust her so easily.

“We haven’t met before today.”

“If you were a person who would deceive me, you wouldn’t even say that. And…”

Beatrice walked a short distance and reached the front of her carriage. Floria followed and stared at her.

Amber’s knight, who was waiting for her, reached out his hand to escort her. Beatrice took it and put her foot on the tread of the carriage.

“Your smile is pretty, so it’s not bad to trust you.”

With those words, the door closed and the carriage departed. She had left without even receiving Floria’s greeting. Floria stood still and blinked her eyes.

“Huh?”

Beatrice only said that because she thought her smile that she copied was useful, but there was no way for Floria to even know that.

Beatrice looked at Laura sitting opposite her. She told her to not follow her and spend time around the Count’s residence, but she seemed to have faithfully waited in the carriage.

She told her to not follow because of that short conversation she had with Lily. Laura was a person of the Duchess, not hers, so all Beatrice’s actions would’ve been reported. She may not understand a short conversation that was out of context, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.

“Shall we go in together next time?”

“All right, Miss. Did they treat you well at the Count’s residence?”

“Yes, Lord Billander took great care of me.”

“Oh, Lord Billander has a good reputation.”

“The Lord asked to be my partner. Of course, I haven’t answered yet.”

“Lord Billander did?”

Beatrice did not miss Laura’s faint frown. Just as Count Billander’s reputation was not good among servants, Gallot, who’s helping him in his dirty hobby, was also similar. 

He seemed to be paying attention in his own way to prevent the story from spreading, but the nearby Amber family had already noticed it. This maid, one of the Duchess’ hands and feet, must be vaguely aware of it.