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Chapter 13
Even though someone was clearly signaling her to stop, she continued without hesitation.
“I understand the duke entered a marriage he didn’t want, but still, the lady is so pitiful. She rushed all the way here from a distant land after becoming a duchess, and now she’s treated like she doesn’t exist. Sigh…”
Molly shook her head dramatically and even pretended to wipe her eyes.
I leaned in from behind her and whispered,
“Even if she’s being treated like she doesn’t exist, wouldn’t the lady have woken up by now? Maybe you should go check.”
At that, she replied with a sneer.
“Did I not say? Our lady wasn’t born into some noble upbringing, so changing clothes alone is nothing for her…”
Smiling faintly, Molly turned around—and froze the moment she saw me.
“Ah… m’lady…”
She couldn’t even finish her sentence properly.
“No matter what your origins were, you are now the duchess. It seems you still want to deny reality, Molly.”
My expression remained calm and gentle as usual, but my voice came out cold on its own.
Keeping her around had already reached its limit today. I had tolerated her because she was useful, but she seemed to think I was a fool rather than her master.
“T-That’s not it! I just went to wake you up this morning, but you were sleeping so soundly… I only thought it was pitiful for you to be alone… please don’t misunderstand me, my lady.”
“Pitiful?”
I repeated it.
She flinched, then said awkwardly,
“I… I don’t think I should say it myself…”
“You’ve been talking nonstop all morning, though.”
As I crossed my arms and looked around, the maids quickly avoided my gaze and stepped back.
“M-M’lady… what’s wrong with you today? You seem strange…”
She forced a weak smile, clearly trying to escape the situation. She had never imagined I would confront her like this in front of everyone. It was obvious she was thinking, “Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Not only do you treat your mistress with contempt, you even insult the duke in public. Molly, you’ve lost your mind.”
At my words, she jumped in shock. So she was afraid of the duke, after all.
“I-I never insulted the duke!”
“Is insulting the duchess any different from insulting the duke?”
My cold remark turned her face pale. She could only open and close her mouth helplessly.
“If you wanted to return home so badly, you should’ve come to me quietly. I would’ve let you go without all this mess.”
“Stella, you… how dare you—!”
She even pointed at me in front of everyone, a completely reckless act toward her mistress. That sealed it.
“Housekeeper.”
I called out firmly.
The housekeeper approached quickly.
“Yes, my lady.”
“Since I’m still unfamiliar with the ducal household’s rules, tell me—what is the punishment for a servant who behaves this way toward their master?”
The housekeeper looked at Molly and replied calmly,
“They are beaten short of death, then sent to the stables to handle horse waste.”
Molly collapsed onto the ground.
“N-No…”
The maids all frowned. Just hearing it seemed to describe the most vile and exhausting work in the estate.
“I see.”
I nodded slowly, pretending to consider her fate.
Molly, who had always looked at me with venomous eyes, now looked like a pitiful lamb begging for mercy.
“Still, she came all the way here with me from my hometown. I can’t send her to the stables. She simply didn’t understand the rules. Beat her until she reflects on her wrongdoing, then expel her from the estate. Give her enough money for travel back home.”
“Yes, my lady.”
At the housekeeper’s signal, the maids approached Molly.
“M-M’lady! I was wrong! Please forgive me!”
I never thought I would hear her beg so easily. She grabbed my legs, but it was already too late.
I leaned down and whispered so only she could hear.
“I told you, didn’t I? That you’d be used and thrown away. How does it feel—being used and discarded?”
Her eyes widened.
“You… b-bitch!”
The maids restrained her, but in a final burst of desperation, she clawed at me. I barely managed to avoid it.
“W-What is she doing!”
The servants nearby looked horrified as she was dragged away, now clearly out of her mind.
“Remember who your master is, Molly.”
I muttered softly as she disappeared—though it seemed others heard me.
The mocking looks I had once received on my arrival were gone now.
Even if they feared me, thinking I was cruel to my own maid, that was enough.
Unlike Kayla, I had no intention of becoming a duchess who was looked down on—not by her husband, and not by her servants.
At the same time
From somewhere nearby, a group of men watched the scene unfold. Ricardo and his knights had returned from morning training.
“Looks like the lady is quite angry.”
Erenhart spoke with mild curiosity.
His pale silver-blue hair swayed gently in the wind. Despite his delicate features, his build was strong and well-trained.
The ducal household had been full of knights and lacked a mistress for a long time, so seeing a servant being disciplined so early in the morning was unusual.
Karun looked confused.
“Wait… isn’t that the maid she brought from her family home?”
The knights around him reacted in surprise.
“No way. She wouldn’t treat a maid who came all the way with her like that.”
“Even the cruelest noblewoman wouldn’t do something like that.”
“What could have upset her so much on the very first morning?”
Karun glanced at Ricardo.
Erenhart answered instead,
“Probably just asserting authority as the mistress. Not our concern.”
Sensing Ricardo’s displeased expression, the knights exchanged glances and stayed silent.
Then Gary spoke carefully.
“She must have done something deserving punishment. I saw her whispering with the other maids this morning.”
Unlike the others, Gary subtly defended the duchess. He disliked the marriage, but he disliked internal conflict even more.
He looked at Ricardo’s profile.
That was not the gaze of a husband.
It was the look one gives an enemy.
‘This house will be walking on thin ice.’
As the knights looked again, the punished maid was being dragged away—while Stella stood watching with folded arms, looking satisfied.
‘She doesn’t look ordinary at all.’
Even Gary had to admit it.
Ricardo said nothing. He turned away first.
The image of the woman sleeping peacefully the night before overlapped with the sharp, ruthless woman just now.
And his disgust toward her deepened.
Later that morning
With Molly finally gone, I felt like a weight had been removed.
As I returned to my room feeling refreshed, the housekeeper approached me.
“My lady, I will select a suitable girl to assist you.”
I hesitated.
I had just removed one troublemaker—bringing in another could be risky.
“Thank you, but I’ll take my time choosing. It’s important to see who fits well with me.”
The housekeeper looked slightly surprised, then bowed.
“Understood. For now, we will rotate maids to attend you.”
“Good.”
As she left, I thought calmly.
Even if they were servants, they would be with me almost all day.
And who could guarantee that the next maid wouldn’t be another spy planted by the Empress?
