CH 28

Blanche quickly apologized.

“Sorry. Marquis.”

The Marquis mumbled as if he was talking to himself in surprise.

“You, your voice is like Blanche’s… No, it cannot be.”

While his words were bitter, Maids 1 and 2 caught up a little bit too late with Roxanne who was weeping, and begged for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry. My lord! We didn’t know you were in the woods.”

“That’s right! If we had known that a noble man was in the forest, we wouldn’t have dared to come here!”

The Marquis clicked his tongue.

“So I asked what the hell was going on.”

Roxanne cried and shouted.

“It’s all because of that monster!”

She opened her eyes in a triangle shape and looked at Blanche.

“This monster has been given a job recently, but she doesn’t even know how to be grateful! Look, my lord. I must have broken my wrist.”

When Blanche was silent, the maids 1 and 2 also rushed to accuse her.

“That girl is a child named Irene, who was hired to do chores at the Count’s wedding. But she has a very ferocious personality, so there have been a lot of problems.”

“This is why children who are not normal should not go out. If you’re a [email protected], don’t pollute other people’s eyes like a monster, and live quietly like a mouse…”

After a moment, the Marquis felt his heart throbbing.

If you are born with an abnormality, you should live as if you were not there and not pollute the eyes of others.

It was because that thought was not foreign to the Marquis.

He kept Blanche in the house for 17 years with the same thoughts as that cruel maid. So, he lost his daughter who had escaped from her disability for the first time in a long time.

The Marquis thought.

‘If I had informed the social world that Blanche’s disability had been cured, the rumors that our family had been blessed by the goddess would have spread! If I had, my business would have come back! It’s a waste, such a waste!’

As the Marquis staggered with a twisted expression on his face, the chief servant coldly supported him.

“Are you okay, Marquis?”

“I am fine. Rather, Sauveur. Call Count Juan. It seems like I have something to say to him all of a sudden.”

The chief servant Sauveur looked at Blanche for a moment, as if he had guessed it.

“Yes. Please wait a moment, Marquis.”

Sauveur went back into the woods to find the Count.

The Marquis was only able to stand in place after being supported by one of the three escort knights.

Because of this, the three maids who tormented Blanche felt the blood draining from their bodies.

‘What do you mean Marquis! Then maybe he… ?!’

‘That red hair and green eyes. He must be Lady Mariette’s father!’

‘What do I do? How dare we make the Marquis feel uncomfortable!’

In the midst of the silence, the eyes of the Marquis turned to Blanche.

“Hey. Did you say your name is Irene?”

Blanche answered without raising her head.

“Yes. Marquis.”

“How old are you this year?”

“I am eighteen years old.”

“Your voice is similar to Blanche, and you’re even my daughter’s age. Irene. I don’t know how this sounds to you, but I once had a sick daughter like you.”

“Yes. I have heard.”

The Marquis laughed bitterly.

“The way you speak is also similar to my daughter. Usually, when I say something like this, I feel moved and cry.”

Blanche didn’t answer.

The Marquis rubbed his temples.

“I can’t do this. It’s because I’m so unwell. See you later, Irene.”

The conversation between the father and daughter who met after such a long time ended there. However, the Marquis left a knight there to convey his will to Count Juan.

After a while, the Count appeared in front of them all with a dozen entourage, guided by Sauveur.

The Count asked the Marquis’ escort knight who was left alone. He was offended by the Marquis who had called for him and disappeared.

“Where is my father-in-law?”

“The lord was ill, so he returned to the mansion first.”

“Oh my. He’s like that and it’s just Mariette’s coming-of-age ceremony. How regrettable. At such a young age, his health was already this bad.”

Even with that said, the prospective son-in-law, 23 years older than his father-in-law, raised his lips with a grumpy voice.

Apparently, he judged the escort Knight’s words to be lies. This was likely because the Marquis still disliked the Count even after the situation had reached this point.

‘If it wasn’t for my money, you would be sitting on the streets! These aristocrats!’

After reading the Count’s expression, Sauveur decided to clear the Marquis.

“It’s not what the Count thinks. The lord must have been reminded of Lady Blanche, who had passed away when she saw those three maids chasing one poor girl.”

Only then did Blanche find out. The Marquis erased Blanche’s existence with a death sentence.

Belatedly, Count Juan’s eyes turned to Blanche.

He was fed up with her face, which had been horribly distorted by burns.

“Hah! I can’t believe I have something like that in my house!”

Sauveur’s reaction, as well as the eyes of the Knight of the Marquis, were bitter. Then a large man, who had been standing at the Count’s right side all this time, tapped the Count’s arm and stopped him with his teeth.

“Boss. At ten o’clock.”

At 10 o’clock, there is the Marquis’ escort knight and Sauveur.

Belatedly, the Count coughed in vain.

“Ku-humm. This is really… I feel bad for showing my father-in-law a sight like that. So, Sauveur. From now on, tell my father-in-law about my actions clearly.”

Count Juan looked at Roxanne’s crowd with a scornful look.

“You there, the three of you are fired.”

“What?!”

“No, is that not enough? Was that not enough, Giacomo?”

Giacomo.

A faint euphoria appeared on Blanche’s face at the name of the man she had been looking for.

Yes. A wild beast that found its prey couldn’t help but be happy.

She quickly glanced at the auburn-haired man in his early forties. He was about an inch taller than Count Juan and had thick lips. He also had copper-colored skin, and had a huge body shape, but it was unclear if it was because of fat or muscles.

Giacomo grinned.

“I think it’s better to ask the maid over there than me.”

The Count nodded his head.

“Really? Then, the maid with burns. What’s your name?”

“My name is Irene. Count.”

“Irene. Do you want me to lock those three in a dungeon? If you say it, I will do it.”

Three desperate pairs of eyes met hers.

Blanche shook her head quietly. No prisoners should be added to the dungeon until Ricardo escapes.

“No. I don’t want that. Just fire them.”

Count Juan patted his belly and finally ordered.

“Did you hear that? You don’t have to work anymore, so leave this castle right now.”

Roxanne, as it was her habit, tried to blame Blanche again. But Blanche was the underdog in this situation. She was afraid to open her mouth and listened to her friends, maids 1 and 2’s cautions.

“Stop it, Roxanne!”

“Quiet!”

As Roxanne wept in embarrassment, Blanche watched silently.

Then the Count confidently said to Sauveur.

“Go on, Sauveur. Go and tell my father-in-law about this. Don’t forget to say that this son-in-law isn’t that vicious. Keuhaha!”

However, unlike the Count himself, Sauveur’s expression was only trembling.

Giacomo quickly read the atmosphere and stepped up.

“Boss. Please reconsider. Then, even the chief servant will be able to happily convey brother’s personality to the Marquis.”

The Count kept his gaze fixed on Sauveur and whispered to Giacomo.

“How else?”

Hmmm, Giacomo coughed and spoke to Blanche.

“Irene. As of today, there are three vacancies in the mansion, so I will give you one of them.”

“Thank you.”

Giacomo looked at Sauveur’s eyes at the calm voice that was neither high nor low and showed kindness again.

“From today, I will appoint you as my exclusive maid.”

“Thank you.”

The Count smiled confidently.

“Did you see that, Sauveur?”

Sauveur raised his head with an unpleasant expression. He struggled to hide his contempt for the Count and Giacomo.

“All right. I will pass on the Count’s mercy to the Marquis. Then I’ll get going.”

Sauveur left with the Marquis’ escort.

The Count bit his mouth until they  looked like a dot in the distance, then complained.

“Look at that. Anyone who saw it might think he is the Marquis!”

Likewise, Giacomo, who didn’t have a very good expression on his face, mumbled.

“Be patient. You live together. And now you will live with the most beautiful woman on the continent.”

“Kke kke. Right. That’s why I now care about the debtor’s mood. I hope the wedding day comes soon. Hehe.”

Giacomo spoke to the Count, who had an unpleasant laugh.

“But, Boss. Are you planning to hire that as a real exclusive maid?”

“Why? I think it would be nice to have that on my side, as my wife’s beauty will stand out even more.”

Giacomo elbowed him lightly.

“You have to think about the successor, Boss. That’s not good for pregnant women.”

“That’s true. Hehe. I have a young wife, and now I will have a son.”

Like an old and ruthless new groom, the Count had already decided to pass on his reproductive problems to Mariette.

Pretending not to know this fact, Giacomo matched the Count’s mood.

“I hope your son resembles you.”

At Giacomo’s joke, the Count giggled.

“Of course he will, you punk. Come on, let’s go. I’ll have to warm myself up in the fireplace in the mansion. As I get older, the cold becomes more and more terrible.”

The three maids, including Blanche, silently bowed their heads until the Count’s party left.

When the Count was far enough, maids 1 and 2 rushed at Blanche as if they found a rescue boat while drifting in the open sea.

“Irene! Save me!”

“Yes, help us!”

In a moment, Blanche checked Roxanne. Indeed, her expression was worth seeing.

Blanche was convinced.

The reason Roxanne was crying right now wasn’t just because of the pain in her broken wrist.

She laughed at Roxanne and the two maids to her heart’s content.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What power do I have?”

“Don’t be like that, but talk to the maid and Giacomo. Yes? After all, I don’t know about Roxanne, but the two of us met for the first time today!”

“Right! Now our only hope is you!”

Blanche unwittingly laughed even harder.

“Aha. So, you’re the type of people who bully the person you just met by ganging up on them?”

Only then did the two maids feel bad.

Blanche snickered and stepped back. While issuing a stern warning that maids 1 and 2 no longer touch her body.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t touch me anymore. What do you think I’ll say to the head maid when I go back to the castle? Who knows. Will you be kicked out of the castle without even being paid the right wages with just one word from me? Well. I think it would be okay to blame any sins on you since you’ll be kicked out anyway.”