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Chapter 9
“As you can tell from the way I’m dressed, my position in the family was no different from that of a maid.”
Diena held out her worn, tattered dress.
“In this situation, if my uncle learns about my ability, it’s far too obvious what he’ll do.”
“What do you think he would do?”
“He’d use me as much as he could. I know my uncle. He’d pretend to be kind on the surface, but he’d never let me rest and would drain my ability until the day I died.”
Hasen muttered with an incredulous expression.
“Surely not. No matter how bad someone is, how could a person do something worse than a beast? Are you saying the Duke of Rothwell is that kind of man?”
Diena smiled bitterly.
Because her uncle truly was worse than a beast…
She understood why people found it hard to believe. He hid his true nature well. But—
Barkan will be different.
Barkan stared directly at Diena.
Others would never believe her words. The Duke of Rothwell enjoyed an excellent public reputation.
“Yeah. If it’s that bastard, he’d absolutely do something like that.”
But he alone knew Diena was telling the truth.
“I thought I was the only one who knew what he was really like. Turns out you knew too.”
Their eyes met.
“I want to follow you, Barkan. I don’t want to be used anymore, and I want revenge against the Rothwell family members who tormented me. Please let me work for you.”
Every word Diena said sounded absurd.
Now she was even talking about taking revenge on the Rothwell family. Honestly, it was ridiculous.
As long as they had Balthazar’s power and the Temple backing them, they were untouchable.
“What kind of work can you do?”
“If you take me with you, you’ll find out.”
Even so, he found himself curious.
What exactly could she do?
Narrowing his eyes, Barkan asked,
“Have you never considered that I might use you too?”
“At least you’d be using me for something, right? Then I’d at least get my revenge against my uncle. He hates you very much, after all.”
“You…”
Hiding her anxiety, Diena maintained a confident expression as she waited for his response.
Soon, his lips parted.
“You’re bold.”
Just as she expected.
“But you’re a kid with terrible judgment. People would laugh if they saw this. Abandoning the Rothwell Ducal House and choosing Cardian.”
Scratching his head, Barkan looked out the window.
“Well, come along for now.”
Bringing this child into the family estate was dangerous. His power could run wild at any moment.
That was why every servant of the Cardian family was physically well-trained.
Still, since she supposedly possessed a purification ability, letting her stay temporarily should be fine.
Well, if she wants to leave later, I’ll find her a safe place to stay.
Somewhere warmer and safer than the Cardian estate.
Just until she could stand on her own feet.
That was what he thought.
Some time later, they arrived at their destination.
Before them stood a mansion cloaked in a gloomy atmosphere.
Yet Diena couldn’t help but admire its magnificent scale.
As expected. It truly is worthy of being compared to the Rothwell family.
The Cardian family was wealthy.
I heard they invested wisely and operated trading companies with the funds they received after being elevated to a ducal house.
All of that had been Barkan’s doing.
Although the family had an official head, he spent more time outside the estate than within it.
As a result, Barkan had naturally taken charge of managing both the mansion and the family’s merchant businesses.
“Turns out I’m pretty talented at running things. That’s why our family became ridiculously rich.”
Diena looked around the unfamiliar mansion.
When I met Barkan, the family had already been destroyed and fallen into poverty, so I never really realized it.
She had thought he was exaggerating.
But the Cardian family of this era was astonishingly wealthy.
At that moment, a butler emerged from the mansion to greet Barkan.
“Jordic, where’s Father?”
“He has not yet returned from the subjugation campaign. He said this one would take quite some time.”
“I see. Looks like I’ll have to leave again immediately. Please take good care of Bianca.”
“Didn’t you just return from a mission?”
“Yeah, but a guest showed up. I’m only dropping this child off before heading out again.”
“A guest?”
Barkan nodded and gestured toward Diena, who was standing awkwardly beside him.
“She’ll be staying with our family starting today.”
Jordic looked stunned.
Diena appeared far too fragile.
Everyone who worked for or even briefly visited the family was physically trained. Jordic himself was tall and muscular.
The maids were no exception.
The Cardian family was not a place suited for the weak.
Because this was not a Purification Zone, supplies of the Temple’s suppression medicine were unreliable. Any ability user could lose control at any time.
And yet he was bringing that tiny, delicate creature into the estate?
“Lord Barkan, if she is to be considered a guest of our family, then she seems…”
“Too fragile?”
“Y-Yes.”
“No. She’s stronger than she looks. Don’t judge her by appearances.”
“Strong?”
“Maybe not physically, but mentally. I think.”
Barkan lifted one corner of his mouth and looked at Diena.
“Right?”
“Yes. There’s no need to worry. I can take care of myself.”
“See how quickly she answered? I’m right, aren’t I, Jordic?”
Jordic looked at Diena suspiciously.
He couldn’t understand what part of her was supposedly strong.
“Young Master.”
“Just a few months. That should be enough.”
Barkan cut him off before he could continue.
In the end, Jordic let out a faint sigh.
“Understood.”
He could hardly oppose a decision made by his master.
“Then shall we treat her as a guest?”
The moment the head butler finished speaking, Diena immediately lifted her head.
“No. Please give me work.”
“Work?”
Jordic blinked in surprise.
Barkan also looked at her skeptically.
“You really want to work that badly?”
“It feels uncomfortable doing nothing.”
“That’s unusual. I hate working, yet I still have to do it. But there probably isn’t much in this estate that you can do.”
“I don’t mind maid work. I’m good at it.”
“…Maid work?”
“Yes. At my previous home, I worked alongside the maids.”
The daughter of a ducal house doing maid work?
Barkan’s eyes widened.
“Please let me work for you, Barkan.”
The words Diena had spoken on the way here suddenly resurfaced.
So this was the kind of work she meant.
He remembered the Duke of Rothwell calling her useless.
If she had been forced to prove her worth simply to live in her own home, then her desire for revenge and her reasons for speaking this way made some sense.
Barkan stared at Diena.
She met his gaze without looking away.
He had originally planned to hide the fact that she was from the Rothwell family and give her some sort of cover identity.
But he had never intended to make her work as a maid.
Still, Barkan nodded.
He was not the type to stop someone from doing what they wanted.
“Call Matilda.”
Soon, a middle-aged woman came out of the mansion.
It was Matilda, the head maid of the family.
“Is there any work this child could do? Something among the maids’ duties?”
“Yes, there is.”
“What kind of work?”
“Looking at how frail she is, one position immediately comes to mind. She could become Lady Bianca’s maid.”
“Bianca’s?”
“Yes. Another maid quit not long ago.”
At that answer, Barkan let out a small sigh.
“Did Bianca cause trouble again?”
