CH 37

“What’s the matter!”

Elysia’s eyes narrowed at the Countess’s behavior as she entered the room pretending to know nothing, knowing she had already heard everything.

The Countess, who couldn’t have known that there was Catherine, was different from Rowena. Although she revealed her greedy eyes on the dress hung on the hanger, she quickly came to her senses.

She reacted differently than Rowena, who was easily caught in the trap.

‘Is this because she’s been rolling around in social circles, though?’

Even so, she still couldn’t take her eyes off Catherine’s dress as if she liked the dress. In fact, it was a dress that even Elysia, who was not familiar with dresses, admired. So, it must be even more for the Countess who loved dresses and jewelry.

The Countess was not treated as a proper noble because of her family doing loan business. She showed off her prestige by buying more expensive things. Elysia didn’t know anything else, although it was a rotten family as far as money was concerned.

“You’re here, mother.”

“You called me urgently…”

Uttering her words, her eyes were still on Catherine and the hanger. There was ridicule at the reaction that did not deviate even a single inch of expectation.

“Mother, I think one of the maids misrepresented me to Rowena.”

As soon as the Countess entered her room, Rowena’s complexion became noticeably paler. Her body twitched and trembled. It was as if there was something between the two that Elysia didn’t know. She had never seen her so scared of Angelina. After all, Rowena always tried to look good to her.

“What do you mean…?”

“Who was the maid who worked in my room?”

Elysia didn’t even know the names of the maids working in her room. Of course, there were things she didn’t want to know, though they didn’t want to tell her their name either. This was her position in the present County Caitlyn.

“The children who come to your room are the ones I pay special attention to.”

She knew it, too. All the maids who came into her room were from the Countess, so she needed to be more certain.

“Call the maid, please.”

She did not know why the Countess had filled the maids who attended her with her own maids. On purpose, she had attached her limbs to see and know her every move. In particular, one of them was a maid that Angelina loved very much.

Elysia remembered seeing the maid standing behind Angelina and looking up every morning when she received the punishment from the Countess. She was probably the maid Angelina trusted quite a bit…?

“Who are you talking about?”

“The child who served Mother.”

The child was so trusted that she would punish Elysia for her master during the Countess’ busy days. It seemed that the maid who had quite a rank, if not the chief, resembled her master’s disposition, and she would ignore her.

“You, you called me…”

Perhaps, she had already received a warning before she was called. Her whole body trembled in fear.

“Now, tell me. Did I say I’d give Rowena a dress?”

“That, that…”

Even in the midst of this, Elysia’s eyebrows narrowed at the sight of the Countess. Rowena seemed like she was on the verge of falling.

“Mother! I think I heard it wrong…!”

Rowena’s mournful clinging to the Countess didn’t even bother Angelina. It was surprising that she was the niece whom she cherished and loved so much. Obviously, Elysia knew she would choose Rowena rather than the maid.

“Elysia, is this the child?”

“Yes. Obviously, this child spoke my mind.”

“No, Your Grace…!”

The maid, lying flat on the floor, begging with her hands and feet, was about to faint. No one from the County didn’t know that the Countess had bad habits. She knew her very well because she had even been beaten a few times.

She also beat Elysia, a member of the Count but an illegitimate child, how scary that must be to the maids?

“First of all, I’m so sorry that Madame Catherine has to see this.”

“No, Countess.”

“Even if it’s for mother’s sake, Madame, we shouldn’t just let it go.”

Angelina was hoping for a relationship with Catherine.

It was because if she wore Catherine’s dress that only the great nobles could wear, her status in her social circle would change. That was why Catherine’s dress had a lot of meaning. She wanted to wear it, but it wasn’t something she could wear.

“Of course. If she misrepresents what she said, you will have to punish the person who misrepresented it.”

The maid, who fell on the floor, trembled like a tree at the words that they would punish the one who misrepresented. Punishing only the maid wasn’t what Elysia wanted. If she’d only punished the maid, she wouldn’t have raised the issue this far.

“The person who misrepresented is also a problem, though Rowena also acted in front of Madame.”

“What does that mean?”

“Making a fuss about wearing my dress in front of people…”

Even though it was all a planned riot, Elysia acted like a really troubled person. She wasn’t completely lying, as she actually was even embarrassed by Rowena for her reckless arguing.

“Miss, Elysia… please…”

Elysia’s face hardened at the maid’s act, who called her the Miss, when she was the one who enjoyed tormenting her so much.

“By the way, I didn’t even know your name. Didn’t you give your full name to the master you served?”

“That… I don’t think you’d ever want to know my name….”

Lies.

She told the lies well when she didn’t even treat Elysia like a proper Miss because of Angelina’s orders in the first place.

“You think I was such a bad owner?”

“Daisy, I am Daisy.”

She never had a chance to be a bad master because she didn’t even like talking to her.

“Tell me, Daisy. What did I say?”

“….”

“Come on, tell me.”

Even when she asked to tell her, Daisy didn’t answer and was shivering. She seemed to be looking into the Countess’s eyes. However, pretending to be okay, how frightened she must have been by bringing the maid before her eyes.

“That… I…”

“You must have heard what I was saying.”

“Miss, I was wrong.”

Elysia would give Rowena the dress, yet she wasn’t sure of that. It was her and the maid who extended their interpretation. Nonetheless, Daisy would never tell the truth. It was the power that made lies into truth.

“Did I say I would give Rowena the dress?”

“Go ahead, say it.”

As Rowena’s complexion changed at every word, she felt strange. Not long ago, such a situation was unimaginable for the Countess to be on her side.

“Mother…”

The Countess who turned away from Rowena’s earnest cry was new. Angelina chose neither Rowena nor Daisy nor anyone.

Angelina chose…

“Madam, I’m so sorry for showing you in such a disgraceful way.”

“No, Countess.”

It was Catherine—neither her niece, her blood, nor the cherished maid. Perhaps, the Countess would be happy with this situation. After all, it was thanks to Rowena that she was able to talk to Catherine.

“Miss Elysia…”

Here, Rowena’s fate would be different depending on the maid’s answer. Surely, the Countess would have done everything before she brought the maid.

This was a fight with a winner.

“I never said anything like that.”

“No!”

…Whose hand the Countess would support was a natural outcome. No one in this room knew about it.

“Mother! Apparently, the maid told me that sister would give me the dress.”

“Rowena, this isn’t just about our family.”

“Si, sister… I…”

Knowing this, she sold Daisy to escape.

“Still, Elysia, even if you didn’t say that, this kid could have conveyed it differently, wouldn’t she?”

This, too, was the expected direction. The Countess, no matter how, would choose Rowena over her beloved maid.

“Daisy, tell me how you told Rowena without a single mistake.”

“Sorry! I can’t remember…”

Elysia almost burst out of laughter at how it didn’t go as far as expected. She was determined to get away saying she couldn’t remember what happened a while ago. If it was going to end with just punishing the maid, she wouldn’t even start.

“If you really can’t remember anything…”

“It’s not a lie! I don’t really remember—”

“I can make you remember.”

“…Yes?”

Turning her head to the Countess at the sight of Daisy asking a foolish question when Elysia said that she would make her remember, she spoke.

“I’m sure mother will take care of it.”

It was the Countess who ordered her to say that she didn’t remember. Only when the word of permission comes from the Countess’ mouth would the maid’s mouth be opened.

“Elysia, how am I going to remind her of things that she forgot?”

“Mother.”

Elysia stared into the Countess’s brown eyes. Her greedy eyes were still on the dress over her shoulder.

“This is something that cannot be overlooked. Mother, the hostess of County Caitlin, would know better.”

“Right. So, I’m going to punish her maid.”

As soon as the Countess finished speaking, Rowena’s face brightened.

In the end, it was Rowena, whom Angelina was thinking about that she chose. It was a choice she knew well though she couldn’t understand why Rowena was so nervous that she would be abandoned.

Her reaction was absolutely not acting. She was afraid she would really be thrown away by the Countess. Rowena reacted unexpectedly, even though she was not a card Angelina would ever throw away compared to one of the maids.