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Chapter 10
The skin of my palm stung from friction, but I didn’t stop—I slapped her cheek again.
The maid’s head snapped to the side completely.
“First, for insulting your master. Second, for embarrassing your master in front of a guest.”
The maid stared at me in disbelief, clutching her cheek as if she couldn’t accept that she had been hit by a child smaller than herself.
“D-Do you really think you’ll get away with this?”
“And if I don’t?”
When I replied slowly in an emotionless voice, she flinched and stepped back.
“Are you going to tattle to your brother or something? How amusing. Go on then. I’m quite curious how your dear brother will react.”
I spoke lazily while paying attention to the presence in the hallway.
‘Poor thing.’
You probably don’t even realize.
That you’re digging your own grave with your own tongue.
The maid hadn’t even properly closed the door when she came in. Even a slightly raised voice would echo through the hallway.
If she had closed it properly… well, I would’ve opened it myself anyway.
‘If this had been quiet, I wouldn’t have had to see Richard first thing in the morning.’
But with this level of commotion, Richard would be here soon.
He’d probably get bored after waking up and come over, trying to stir trouble and see what Helios looks like.
Richard’s behavior was completely predictable to me.
Compared to dealing with the unpredictable Amon, everyone else was far too easy to read.
‘W-what?’
Meanwhile, the maid Mandy was completely flustered.
‘Is that really the same Billiette I know?’
In truth, Mandy had only been working at the viscount’s estate for a year.
She had been assigned as the young lady’s attendant simply because her predecessor had disappeared.
One day the previous maid just stopped coming to work—whether she ran away or something else happened—and Mandy took her place.
She had never really questioned why the more experienced maids avoided serving the young lady.
She simply thought she was lucky.
Lady Billiette was not particularly difficult. She always tried desperately to gain favor with her father or older brother.
A strange girl who did nothing but dress up and practice acting in front of the mirror while the men of the household handled important matters.
That was Mandy’s impression of her.
‘Just a useless girl.’
She didn’t seem to be favored by her father either, and even her belongings and room décor were modest.
She barely had any jewelry—steal even one piece and it would be immediately noticeable.
So if Mandy became the lover of young master Richard, the true heir of the house, then Billiette would be beneath her.
That was what Mandy had subconsciously believed.
“Go bring new food. If I’m not satisfied, you’ll be punished again, so behave properly.”
But the cold, expressionless command from that child—who exactly was she?
Meeting those sharp golden eyes like a bird of prey sent a chill down Mandy’s spine.
For a moment, she felt like a rat or a frog staring at a predator.
And that overwhelming pressure turned into irrational anger along with fear.
They weren’t even alone—it was in front of a guest, no less.
In simple terms, Mandy felt humiliated and furious.
Why am I afraid of a kid like this?!
“D-Don’t try to interfere in my relationship with young master Richard! We are truly in love!”
“And so?”
“S-So… so…”
“You didn’t seriously think you could become the lady of this house, did you?”
Poking directly at the desire she had been hiding made Mandy snap.
Honestly, wasn’t it true?
There was no lady of the house yet, so naturally Richard’s lover would become the mistress.
She had worked so hard to gain his favor!
“I’m not someone who brings food or anything like that! Assign those tasks to another maid!”
Mandy shouted proudly.
I raised an eyebrow at her.
Though she didn’t notice it, Richard’s unpleasant smell of alcohol was getting closer.
‘Five, three, one.’
Timing it perfectly, I collapsed in front of her and began to cry transparent tears.
Crying was an easy performance.
“W-What now?! Are you insane?!”
The startled maid shouted, but I bit my lip and let a tear fall onto my skirt.
I had practiced in front of mirrors countless times—I knew exactly how to cry to look the most pitiful and beautiful at the same time.
“W-What is all this commotion?”
A stern, pretentious but weak voice came at that exact moment.
Without hesitation, I lifted my head and ran straight into Richard’s arms.
It all happened in less than three seconds—too fast for the maid to react.
“Boohoo… brother!”
“My sweet sister. Why are you crying? Did your husband make you cry?”
Richard instinctively tried to soothe me while looking around the room.
The maid panicked, and I seized the moment, putting on my most innocent, helpless expression.
“B-Brother… is it true? Is that maid going to become the mistress of the house? That’s not true, right?”
“What?”
Richard’s expression instantly darkened.
“S-She said she was the lady of the house! She even brought me this kind of food! She said you allowed it, brother. That’s not true, is it?”
“Ha.”
Richard’s eyes shifted to the ruined bowl of soup.
Then, he looked at Helios in alarm.
‘Damn it. That kid is actually a high noble! He’ll be a duke after the upcoming New Year’s Festival! How humiliating is this in front of a future duke?!’
To be honest, Richard hadn’t even liked the maid from last night.
She was pretty, but arrogant and increasingly rude.
He had planned to ignore her after sleeping with her, but this situation was getting worse by the second.
‘I only told her to gather information!’
That boy might not understand now, but he would later.
He might think the Sache family was so poor they couldn’t even serve proper food.
Worse, he might assume they couldn’t control their servants.
And think of them as a low-ranking noble house.
Richard had a strong inferiority complex about being born into a viscount’s family, and he admired higher nobility.
No matter how young Helios was, and even if the Izeph ducal house had fallen, he would still become a proper duke.
Because his father intended to restore Helios Izeph’s title.
That meant he was on a completely different level from a landless viscount family.
Once reinstated, all of the vast western territory would belong to the Duke of Izeph.
Richard did not want Helios to witness this situation any further.
“L-Lies! I never said I was the lady of the house! And why are you making me cook new soup this early in the morning anyway? Since when did we even eat this early?!”
At that moment, the maid shouted back arrogantly, full of defiance.
Meanwhile, his younger sister Billiette…
She had a teary, pitiful expression, looking utterly fragile.
“Broooother…”
Cute, pretty, obedient—and capable of acting so sweetly.
‘And most importantly, she’s obedient. When something happens, she clings to me. As expected… I really am reliable.’
