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Chapter 16
Suppressing a twitch at the corner of their mouths, the two quickly exchanged glances.
Who was Cain?
He was the Duke who didn’t even spare a glance for any noble lady who approached him.
So much so that when his marriage proposals were repeatedly rejected, there had even been a young noblewoman who became a maid in his mansion just to find a way to make contact.
Celia Dorn, Jaden’s personal maid, was exactly that case.
Of course, she gained nothing. After all, she was dealing with the Dragon-Blooded Duke.
Yet this very Duke had lent clothes to the “Squirrel Lady”? The atmosphere was anything but ordinary.
“There’s definitely something going on between them!”
Neither Becky nor Marie had ever imagined a day like this while working in the mansion. Could it be that spring had finally come to the Duke’s household?
Both were thrilled, but they kept it to themselves.
After all, outsiders shouldn’t meddle in someone else’s love affairs—it could have unintended consequences.
Although their imagination circuits were blazing, they remained composed and focused on their duties as maids.
“Shall we take the clothes to the laundry for you?”
“Would that be alright? Sorry to trouble you…”
“Of course!”
Viola had no idea what the two were thinking and was simply happy.
‘I was already wondering how to return the jacket.’
Unlike Cain, who mostly stayed in the main building, she spent time in the annex. They rarely crossed paths, and it felt awkward to return the clothes in person.
She took the jacket from the wardrobe, folded it neatly with practiced hands, and handed it to the maids.
“We’ll come again tomorrow to take care of Lady Melody!”
“Alright, see you tomorrow.”
“Heehee! Woo!”
As Viola waved goodbye, Melody waved along happily.
The maids headed straight for the laundry.
Their steps felt unusually light, and there was no doubt why: it was because of Viola.
“I really was surprised earlier. I’ve never seen anyone that beautiful.”
“Me too… and she was so understanding even though I was clumsy and slow…”
During their time at the Duke’s mansion, their slow and timid actions had caused plenty of trouble.
Yet today, having met Viola for the first time, she had not minded at all.
“What could her relationship with the Duke be? A secret lover?”
“Hmm… I hope so.”
If that were true, one day she might formally become the lady of the Duke’s household.
As Becky and Marie chatted excitedly in low voices, they suddenly froze.
“You there. Stop for a moment.”
A sharp voice like nails scratching glass made the maids squeeze their eyes shut.
“What’s this? How dare you have our Duke’s jacket?”
Ugh. Caught at the worst possible moment.
Of all people, it had to be Celia.
Although a noble lady from the Count’s family, neither Becky nor Marie liked her much. She was known to be quite a nuisance.
“Haven’t you answered yet?”
Even as Celia pressed them, the two exchanged glances and hesitated to speak.
They had done nothing wrong, but worried that any misstep might cause trouble for Viola.
Then, Celia finally spoke nonsense that made no sense at all.
“I heard there are nasty maids who steal and sell clothes. Could it be you?”
Her expression brimmed with triumph as if she had accomplished something.
Celia Dorn.
She was the cherished youngest daughter of the Dorn Count, born only after her father had three sons.
Perhaps because of her upbringing, her willful personality was as renowned in society as her beauty—but she didn’t care.
After all, she would live comfortably under her father’s protection and only needed to marry suitably.
One day, at a banquet, she caught sight of Cain from afar and fell completely for him.
‘…So this is what it means to be Dragon-Blooded!’
Even from a distance, his appearance was unreal. Celia sent repeated proposals to her father for him, all of which were rejected.
Yet she could not give up.
Eventually, she asked her father, Count Dorn, to secure her a place in the Duke’s mansion.
Although normally a closed household, the Duke’s friendship with her father and the late Duke made it possible.
Under the pretense of wanting to serve a Dragon-Blooded closely, her true intention was simple: to use Jaden as an excuse to get close to Cain.
“Your proposals were unfortunate, but this seems like a good opportunity, Celia.”
“Father thinks so too?”
“Of course! If the minor duke hadn’t suddenly fallen for some fallen noble girl, you’d have been the Duke’s wife already.”
In fact, that had been true.
Celia had been in a marriage arrangement with the minor duke since childhood, thanks to the friendship of their fathers. But the arrangement fell through when the minor duke fell in love with another girl.
Cain was the only younger brother of that minor duke, so the late Duke would certainly have approved of this arrangement.
Count Dorn patted Celia on the back and encouraged her.
“This time, you’ll become the Duke’s wife, Celia.”
Celia nodded eagerly.
‘Well, who else could become the Duke’s wife besides me?’
She considered herself the prospective Duchess. With such inflated hopes, she entered the Duke’s mansion.
But reality was a nightmare.
‘Haah… I have to take care of this unpleasant brat all day.’
Jaden was no ordinary child.
His icy gaze and the sense of unease he radiated made her shiver just by being near him.
If she were to become the Duchess as planned, she’d need to correct that habit.
Yet three years passed, and her dreams were unfulfilled.
Even though she had become a maid, she hadn’t caught a glimpse of Cain’s hair.
‘Even today!’
Hearing that Cain had gone to Jaden’s room, she had rushed in a custom high-end dress from a famous boutique. Yet she had missed him again.
Eventually, she wandered the mansion in a sour mood.
Then, by chance, she came across the maids carrying Cain’s jacket, and her mood could hardly be anything but cheerful.
Celia scrutinized the two maids suspiciously.
“Are you the nasty maids who steal and sell clothes?”
The Count’s household did have such servants occasionally.
If these girls had really done that, it would be her perfect chance to meet Cain.
But her triumphant expression didn’t last long.
The maids answered unexpectedly.
“We’re just returning the clothes the Duke lent!”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
Celia’s expression froze. Lent? To whom?
Given Cain’s usual indifferent attitude, she could never have imagined it.
“To whom did he lend them?”
“To the apothecary.”
Even without hearing her name, a face suddenly came to mind.
‘…Could it be her?’
Celia recalled the woman she had seen in Jaden’s room earlier.
Looking back, it must have been the new healer.
‘The Duke personally lent his jacket to that woman? Why?’
Celia was quite popular in society thanks to her pretty looks.
As someone skilled at manipulating men, she instinctively knew that such an action must indicate at least minimal favor.
Yet no matter what, to think the Duke would do this for a lowly commoner?
Admittedly, she was beautiful.
Her delicate, pure features, loosely tied pink hair with natural shine, and huge expressive eyes…
She naturally triggered a protective instinct.
‘But that’s all there is.’
The woman didn’t know how to dress herself up. To aspire to the position of a Duchess, one must treat her body like a gem.
But this woman? She didn’t even care that blood was running down her arms.
After throwing herself around like that, how could she possibly become a noble Duchess?
