“What the hell is going on? Why is the water so cold?”
Laura shouted at the maid who had come in to assist with the bath.
The startled maid hurriedly dipped her hand into the water. She tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what the problem was.
“...It’s warm, though?”
“The water is completely cold! What nonsense are you talking about?”
Only then did the maid show a look of realization.
“Oh. I see. In the North, everyone washes with water at this temperature. I must have overlooked that you are guests from the capital. I’m sorry. It will take quite a while to heat the water more... Is that alright?”
“You’re useless and can’t do anything right. Forget it. How long do you expect me to wait? I need to wash up quickly.”
“Yes. Then I’ll help you wash.”
“From tomorrow on, prepare warmer water! It’s really annoying.”
“Ah. Yes.”
As she watched Laura shivering in lukewarm water, a wicked smile briefly appeared on the maid’s face before disappearing.
Meanwhile, at the same time.
“Ah, it’s cold!”
Lurtasha was experiencing a similar situation.
* * *
The two women’s minor tribulations did not end there.
The autumn in the North was similar to the early winter weather of the capital.
Whether the temperature had dropped overnight or not, when she woke up in the morning, there was a droplet of snot resembling dew under her nose.
Breakfast was dry.
Lunch was too salty.
Dinner was too sweet.
For a snack, they served a bizarre herbal cookie, which was just as terrible...
The bathwater wasn’t lukewarm like yesterday, but it was hot enough to peel the skin off.
“Right now, you’re messing with us, aren’t you? Am I wrong?”
At Laura’s huffing words, Lurtasha quietly bit her lip.
That insufferable woman.
Is she really trying to get revenge like this?
These petty occurrences were undoubtedly a scheme orchestrated by Serafina.
It wasn’t enough to be a serious issue, but they were creating small, trivial inconveniences to make them leave on their own.
However, they had no intention of backing down like this.
They had come here with a purpose, and they couldn’t return until they achieved what they wanted.
‘If possible, I need to finish this before the duke returns.’
If Serafina were to become obedient like before, it would be a matter of wrapping things up quickly and going back.
Thus, the countess decided to use somewhat extreme methods to quickly revert Serafina back to her former pitiful state.
To a wretched slave who would tremble and collapse at the sight of her.
So that she would never dare to think of messing with her again.
She was confident.
Memories etched in violence are not easily forgotten.
Though she pretended to be indifferent, Serafina’s hands trembled slightly, which was proof of that.
Lurtasha immediately plotted her counterattack.
The next day.
It all began when she started to pick on Serafina, saying she would teach her how to serve tea.
“<This is terrible. Absolutely terrible! Start over from brewing the tea!>”
It wouldn’t be a problem for a mother to teach her child proper etiquette, so even if she was a bit rough, it wouldn’t be easy to make an issue out of it.
Moreover, there were servants watching, so she couldn’t act recklessly as the mistress of the mansion.
In other words, she had decided to return the favor to Serafina in the same way she had treated them.
But Lurtasha didn’t know.
“...Ah. You want me to start over from brewing the tea?”
How extraordinary the changed Serafina had become.
With a nonchalant expression, Serafina suddenly stood up and carelessly dumped tea leaves into the teacup.
“What are you doing...?”
Ignoring the astonished Laura and Lurtasha, she poured cold water into the cup filled with tea leaves.
And then.
“Gasp.”
She took out a handkerchief, covered the teacup, and began to swirl it around.
The maids watching were left in awe, covering their mouths.
‘Whatever it is, it looks cool!’
As Serafina spun the teacup vigorously, she tossed the damp handkerchief between Laura and Lurtasha, where it stuck to the wall.
Thwack.
Thwack.
In the silence, the squelching sound echoed twice.
The first sound was the handkerchief sticking to the wall, and the second was the sound of the handkerchief falling to the floor.
Serafina smiled slyly at Laura and Lurtasha, who were too shocked to close their mouths, and offered them the teacup.
“Here. I’ve brewed it in the golden ratio.”
...How did she change so much?
Laura and Lurtasha had to doubt whether the eccentric person in front of them was indeed the Serafina they knew.
Back in her room, Lurtasha began to devise a new plan.
She couldn’t stand it any longer.
She wanted to trample on that woman’s pride somehow.
Laura, quietly watching her mother, sighed and slipped out of the room.
It seemed her mother intended to speak only after suppressing Serafina’s spirit...
“When the hell am I supposed to wait until?”
At this rate, even if several more days passed, she wouldn’t be able to say a word.
It would be better to just get to the point!
With that thought, Laura headed back to find Serafina.
* * *
“What? Why are you back? Did you come to ask about the golden ratio? No way. It’s a trade secret, so I can’t tell you. Go away.”
“Are you really out of your mind?”
“When I was living with Count Adeline, I was crazy, and now I’m back to normal.”
Oh. That was a pretty good comeback.
Wow.
“Forget it. Are you alone right now?”
Laura asked, quickly scanning the surroundings.
“What about that old butler?”
“Our Barhan hasn’t aged a bit and is still in good shape. Anyway, Barhan is busy handling the duke’s affairs right now. Why?”
“Oh. Is that so?”
Laura, who answered cheerfully, showed a clear sign of relief.
It seemed Barhan, who was next to her, jotting down something in his notebook, was quite distracting.
“So why are you here?”
“I came because I have a favor to ask you.”
What ridiculous nonsense was she about to say now?
“I want you to introduce me to the prince.”
“Oh my god. This is really beyond imagination.”
“What? What did you just say?”
“Nothing. But you want me to introduce you to the prince?”
Laura nodded proudly at the question.
“Yeah! The first prince is fine, and the second prince is okay too. I saw you seemed to get along well with both of them last time.”
I was wondering why she had come all the way here after sending letters endlessly, and this was it.
Now I finally understood.
However, I couldn’t figure out what part of our interactions led her to conclude that I was close with the princes.
The second prince was one thing, but why the first prince?
The conversations we had were merely about who could smile more and spit better.
“Which part made you think we were close?”
“Well, I talked and laughed with the first prince for quite a while at the ball, and I had a cozy chat with the second prince on the day of the hunting event. The first princess did interrupt in the middle, though.”
When did she observe that closely?
“So that’s why you came? To ask me to introduce you to the prince?”
“Well, that and also, I was thinking of getting some investment from the duke.”
I doubted my ears.
What? What was she saying?
“Investment?”
“Yeah. Investment. My father is thinking about starting a business these days. I was wondering if there was anywhere to get some money, and you seem to have a surprisingly good relationship with the duke.”
“...So?”
“So what? Isn’t it a husband’s virtue to invest money in the family of his beloved wife? If we’ve raised and taken care of you this well, shouldn’t we show some gratitude?”
I was left speechless by the endless evolution of her nonsense.
“The money you received as a congratulatory gift from His Majesty must be quite a sum. Have you already spent it all?”
Though she wrapped it up as a congratulatory gift, it was essentially the money I received for being sold off to Duke Richter.
I didn’t know the exact amount, but I knew it was quite substantial...
“Money is meant to circulate. You spend it, and then it gets replenished. You wouldn’t know that, coming from the streets.”
Well, the countess and Laura’s spending habits were a bit extravagant.
The count was also fond of showing off and enjoyed entertainment, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they had already spent all the money received from the royal family.
Sudden large sums of money are usually easy to spend.
...That’s a bit fortunate.
If they succeeded in their investment and became wealthy, I might have felt a bit envious.
Thinking that way made me chuckle.
“What’s with the laughter?”
“I’m laughing because it’s funny. Would I be laughing because I’m sad? And Laura, you seem to be misunderstanding something.”
I crossed my arms firmly and tilted my head slightly.
It was the same posture I took when the countess and Laura always looked down on me.
“Right now, it’s not me who is in the position to ask for a favor; it’s you. With that kind of attitude, why would I help you?”
“...So what? Are you telling me to kneel or something?”
Kneel, huh?
Not exactly, but...
“Go ahead and try.”