MDBCD 14

Chapter 14

The troublemakers of the Grand Duke of Bayern’s household, little monsters, badly behaved children.

The twins, who had more bad nicknames than their actual names, were nine-year-old boys.

The older was Anselm, the younger Damian.

There was only one way to tell the two apart, who were identical in face and height.

Whether they were clever—or like wild animals.

Having already learned this through the aide, she wasn’t surprised at all that the twins didn’t come out to greet her.

“Hello, ma’am! No, miss! My name is Eloy. I’ve heard a lot about you from the head maid. I look forward to working with you!”

First of all, the place where Ibel decided to rest alone for a while was her private bedroom. While the tall maid who introduced herself as Eloy diligently unpacked the luggage, Ibel leaned against the window frame and looked outside.

She felt the need to organize everything she had seen on her way up from the entrance.

‘Several huge tapestries. Thick carpets laid on the floor as well… and all the windows were tightly shut.’

Moreover, no matter how thoroughly they tried to clean, it seemed they couldn’t reach the mold stuck in the cracks of the stone.

‘Or perhaps they were never ordered to clean those parts.’

In that short time, Ibel checked between the moldings, the gaps in the walls, and the corners of the stairs, and she felt an overwhelming urge to clean.

Those—those all need to be scrubbed away!

That mold!

However, since it might come off as insulting the mansion, Ibel hesitated.

How could she say it in a way that wouldn’t offend them, yet still make them clean more thoroughly…?

Just then—

“!”

Crash!

The moment she realized something was aiming at her, her body reacted first.

The sound of glass shattering rang out violently, and shards of glass poured down over her head.

Ibel’s instantaneous judgment was exceptionally sharp.

The maid frozen near the window, the breaking glass, the scattered shards, danger—everything replayed slowly in her mind.

And then—

“Duck!”

“Eek!”

Shouting sharply, Ibel tore down the curtain and threw it over both herself and the maid. Because the fabric was so thick and heavy, she lost her balance and fell, but in the end… neither of them seemed injured.

‘There’s no smell of blood.’

Under the curtain, in the darkness, Ibel’s eyes flashed fiercely.

That couldn’t be helped.

Anyone who had been to war, even for just a few years, could never remain the same as before.

As the long and deep scars left in her mind flickered in her pupils, the maid, Eloy, shrank back in fear.

The lady she had thought was gentle and quiet suddenly felt truly, truly… terrifying.

But at the same time, her heart pounded loudly.

There was no need to think about who played such a nasty prank. It had to be the young masters.

For the servants, getting lightly injured from being caught up in their pranks was an everyday occurrence.

‘But… she protected me the moment she arrived. She could have just covered herself with the curtain and left me…’

Unaware that Eloy was deeply moved, Ibel stiffened her entire body and watched her surroundings like a wild animal. There might be another attack. Yes, this was an attack.

“Ibel!”

Somewhere, she could smell gunpowder. Her stomach turned cold, and her nerves sharpened. It felt as if death was once again flickering before her eyes.

“It’s alright, Ibel.”

The familiar voice pulled her back into the light from the sudden surge of red memories from the battlefield.

A man she could trust, had always needed to trust, and was allowed to trust.

The sound of glass crunching underfoot echoed, and the curtain was suddenly pulled away. Before she could even look up at him, Ibel found herself held in strong arms.

“This is not an attack.”

How did he know?

As his calm voice soothed her, Ibel finally realized that she was trembling.

“You’re safe, Ibel.”

With a glance, Victor sent the maid away while holding Ibel, then glared outside.

A small head could be seen jumping between the trees.

He had just ordered the butler to send servants to capture Anselm. And yet, in that short time, he had already done something like this.

He knew that Anselm and Damian had driven away tutors every time. But neither of them had ever gone this far before.

Even so, leaving Ibel alone before catching Anselm was his mistake.

Carrying Ibel, he sat her on the bed, then knelt on one knee and carefully examined her condition.

Checking if her delicate skin had been scraped or cut anywhere, if any glass shards were lodged in her neck, ears, or ankles.

“I’ll call a doctor from town. I’m sorry.”

Throwing the curtain over them had been the right decision. Otherwise, either that maid or Ibel would surely have been injured.

To think that something like this happened not even an hour after bringing her to what was supposed to be a safe place—he had no excuse. At the same time, anger toward Anselm rose within him.

When he was home, the twins behaved. They tried not to cause trouble, so he hadn’t realized they were this uncontrollable.

Especially for it to be Anselm, not Damian, who did this.

Once again, even if he didn’t know, this was his fault and responsibility.

“Wait, Victor.”

But just as he was about to stand, Ibel stopped him.

Taking a deep breath, Ibel tightly shut her eyes and slowly counted backward. After that, she felt better.

“I was just startled for a moment. There’s no problem.”

“There is a problem. Didn’t it bring back unpleasant memories?”

“No. I’ve been hit by falling shells before—something like a slingshot is nothing. Really. So don’t punish the children right away.”

After calming down and thinking again, she realized it wasn’t a shell, but a slingshot.

She didn’t know what had been fired, but it surely wasn’t just a simple stone.

In other words, it was an act with hostility toward her.

But… they were still children, weren’t they?

She had already heard many times from the aide, Matthias, that the twins in this house wouldn’t be easy.

And she also knew that their relationship with the Grand Duke wasn’t very good.

“I apologize again. I promise this will never happen again, Ibel.”

“Yes, that’s a promise you must keep.”

Lifting the corners of her lips, Ibel met his deep gaze. The worry and anger within it felt almost tangible.

If he went to the children like this, he would surely scold them harshly. Their relationship would only grow more distant.

In the long run, that wasn’t a good choice.

Having steadied her mind, she looked at Victor and spoke.

“Don’t capture Anselm. Let him come back on his own. If you must punish him, banning him from going out should be enough. And when he wants to apologize, have him come and do it himself.”

Now fully composed, Ibel calmly assessed the situation.

Before coming here, she had already memorized the children’s tendencies. She had also thought about how to handle them. If the opponent was the clever Anselm, forcing an apology right now would be meaningless.

“……”

Meanwhile, Victor couldn’t speak.

At the same time as thinking he had found the right person, he wondered how she could be this calm.

Still, as he quietly looked into her amber eyes, he could tell she was sincere, so he nodded.

“Understood.”

“And don’t feel too sorry. You know I’m not doing this just because I’m soft-hearted, right?”

“…That’s true.”

At Ibel’s playful wink, Victor’s expression relaxed a little.

“You remember what I did to the officer who grabbed my butt, right?”