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Chapter 7
“Grr…!”
The maid who had been slapped glared viciously at Elizabeth.
Seeing such insolence only fueled Elizabeth’s anger.
“Who do you think you’re glaring at like that?”
She had endured countless humiliations over the past ten years, but never anything this absurd.
The chicken dish had looked perfectly normal on the outside, but it was unmistakably spoiled.
No—”spoiled” was too mild a word. The taste had been so revolting that “rotten” was more accurate.
Outraged by the blatant insult, Elizabeth trembled with fury and snapped at the stunned maids standing nearby.
“I already knew that none of you considered me a true member of the Liornet family. But how dare you serve me rotten food and pretend it was fit to eat?”
“You’re not much of a noble anyway.”
At that moment, one of the silent maids spoke up.
“Stop pretending to be a noble. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Elizabeth turned to look at the maid who had spoken.
It was Betty, a woman from a fallen baronial family who was treated as the second-in-command among the maids after Bailey.
“You’re just an illegitimate child, aren’t you? If you think about it, you’re not really any better off than we are.”
Betty had always disliked Elizabeth.
A commoner by birth who had merely caught Marquis Liornet’s eye and secured the position of Lady Liornet through sheer luck.
The thought made Betty unbearably jealous.
She had always believed herself superior to Elizabeth and treated her as beneath her.
Honestly, judging by bloodline alone, aren’t I the better one?
After learning that Elizabeth was illegitimate, that belief had only grown stronger.
“If you get disowned, you’ll be absolutely nothing. So what gives you the confidence to act so refined?”
“…You’re right. If I’m disowned, I really will be nothing.”
Betty blinked in surprise at Elizabeth’s unexpected agreement.
“Huh?”
Elizabeth even smiled as she stepped closer.
“But until Father returns, I am still Lady Liornet.”
Stopping directly in front of Betty, she asked:
“What was your name again?”
“Betty.”
“Good. Betty.”
Pointing toward the door with a bright smile, Elizabeth declared:
“You’re fired. Leave this estate immediately.”
“…What?”
“You’re fired.”
Even after Elizabeth kindly repeated herself, Betty looked unable to believe it.
“As Lady Liornet, dismissing a single servant isn’t difficult. Especially when that servant has openly disrespected her mistress.”
“My lady, you can’t do this!”
Her tone suddenly became respectful.
Betty protested desperately.
“I was hired through proper procedures! You can’t throw me out just because you feel like it!”
“That fact loses its meaning when you’re utterly unqualified to be a maid.”
Elizabeth sighed dramatically.
“You’d be wise to leave on your own. Unless you’d rather be dragged out by your coworkers.”
“Hah! And who would listen to you?”
Betty scoffed.
“Mrs. Henton is on my side. There’s not a single person here who would take your side—”
“What is all this commotion?”
At that moment, an unexpected voice cut through the room.
Everyone froze and turned toward its owner.
“…Father.”
It was Marquis Liornet.
Earlier That Evening
Bailey had spent the entire day waiting impatiently for Marquis Liornet’s return.
Just wait. The moment the master comes back, you’re finished. A filthy fake like you will be thrown out immediately!
As Bailey fumed and prayed to the goddess Elistas for the Marquis to return as soon as possible—
“Mrs. Henton! The master and the young masters are on their way back to the estate!”
Bailey nearly jumped.
Her wish had come true.
But how?
It should have taken them at least two months to return…
“What are you standing around for, Mrs. Henton? There’s no time! All three carriages have already arrived!”
At the butler’s urging, Bailey hurriedly gathered the maids.
Moments later, the great doors of the estate opened.
The three giants of House Liornet entered.
All of them stood over 190 centimeters tall.
Seeing the direct descendants of the family walk in together was imposing—almost terrifying.
Their expressions were blank.
Yet the servants who had served them for years immediately understood one thing.
Their moods were terrible.
Their silence was not calm.
It was the silence before a storm.
“Master, I thought the monster subjugation campaign would keep you away for another two months. How did you—”
“Butler.”
The Marquis interrupted.
His voice was flat.
Yet unmistakably angry.
The butler immediately fell silent.
“Where is Elizabeth?”
At those words, everyone understood.
The reason they had abandoned the monster hunt and rushed back to the capital.
It’s because of Lady Elizabeth.
Bailey smiled.
After all, she was the one who had informed the Marquis of the events unfolding in the capital.
“She is currently having dinner in her room.”
Bailey answered immediately.
Even if the Marquis discovered that rotten food had been served to Elizabeth, she wasn’t worried.
It’s not like I personally ordered the maids to do it.
She had plenty of ways to avoid blame.
Actually, this may work out even better.
If the Marquis witnessed Elizabeth throwing a tantrum after being served rotten food—
It would become the perfect excuse to accelerate her disownment.
Smiling confidently, Bailey watched as Marquis Liornet headed toward Elizabeth’s room.
Back in Elizabeth’s Room
“What is all this commotion, Elizabeth?”
“…Father.”
Everyone was stunned by the Marquis’s sudden appearance.
Elizabeth most of all.
When he questioned her, she instinctively answered.
“My apologies, Father. It’s nothing import—”
She stopped herself.
No.
She had sworn not to live like before.
Yet the moment she stood before him, old habits resurfaced automatically.
Elizabeth bit her lip.
“Eli, what happened—”
“I was disciplining a maid who served rotten food as my dinner, Father.”
Elizabeth explained everything clearly and concisely.
“During the process, another maid behaved disrespectfully toward me. I dismissed her, but she refused to obey, which caused the disturbance.”
“Rotten food?”
The Marquis looked shocked.
“What do you mean? A maid served rotten food for your dinner?”
Without speaking, Elizabeth pointed at the chicken dish on the table.
The room fell silent.
The 198-centimeter-tall Marquis strode over to the table.
He tore off a piece of the chicken and put it into his mouth.
The maids watched in terror.
Three seconds later—
His expression twisted violently.
He immediately spat the food into a handkerchief.
Then he turned back to Elizabeth.
“Eli.”
“Yes, Father.”
“So this… was your dinner tonight?”
“Yes.”
As soon as Elizabeth answered, a dreadful silence settled over the room.
The maids turned pale.
Had he exploded in anger, they might have been less frightened.
But the Marquis remained completely silent.
Lost in thought.
Everyone wondered what he was thinking.
Then—
“You.”
His voice was terrifyingly low.
Yet strangely calm.
Even so, every maid flinched.
“It would be best if each of you waited in your rooms for the time being.”
The request sounded gentle.
Yet the maids looked as though they had been sentenced to death.
Frozen in fear, none of them moved.
“Now.”
At that soft encouragement, they all gasped and fled the room as if escaping for their lives.
Soon, only Elizabeth and Marquis Liornet remained.
“Elizabeth Liornet. I returned because I have something to ask you.”
The Marquis finally broke the silence.
Elizabeth lowered her gaze.
She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye.
Did he return because of what happened in the capital? He even abandoned the monster campaign…
Biting her lip, Elizabeth suddenly knelt before him.
The Marquis’s eyes widened.
“I’m sorry, Father.”
“…Elizabeth?”
“You warned me. Yet in the end, I was exposed.”
She clenched her hands tightly.
Her nails dug into her palms.
Though she had done nothing wrong herself, she felt guilty.
She had become the stain on the great family that had kindly adopted her.
“I am truly sorry. I will resolve everything without causing any further harm to the family. So please…”
“…What in the world are you talking about?”
The Marquis sounded genuinely bewildered.
Elizabeth looked up.
His face was filled with confusion.
“First, choose.”
“…Choose?”
“There are three options.”
He held up his fingers.
“Option one: that prophet woman who couldn’t keep her mouth shut.”
A second finger.
“Option two: the Emperor who handed over your birth records and medical examination results to her.”
A third finger.
“Option three: the nobles who insulted you.”
“…What?”
“Just give me a name. Multiple answers are allowed.”
The Marquis shrugged.
“There are four of us in this family, after all.”
“Father… what are you talking about?”
“What do you mean, what am I talking about?”
The Marquis looked at her as though she were asking the obvious.
“I’m asking who we should destroy first.”
To be continued…
