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Chapter 6
William ignored my words and walked away without even responding, which annoyed me, but I was too exhausted to do anything about it.
After waiting three hours, I returned home. Instead of heading to the annex, I walked straight toward the main mansion.
Immediately, the servants, including Head Maid Marsha, blocked my path.
“Duchess.”
When I called out to Cecilia, who had been walking ahead, she spoke with a displeased expression.
“From now on, Arabella will stay in the main building.”
The moment Cecilia finished speaking, she quickly walked away.
“Mother!”
Rosaline hurried after her with a shocked look on her face.
I smiled at the servants’ twisted expressions before entering a room with a beautiful view overlooking the back garden.
Then I laid my exhausted body down on the soft, luxurious-looking bed.
“Mission one complete.”
I wanted to fall asleep immediately, but I forced myself upright and pulled the bell cord to summon a maid.
“Bring me a meal.”
With a body this frail, even skipping a single meal could be disastrous. I needed to nourish myself properly.
Building stamina for revenge, and improving my appearance for my social debut.
That was my second mission.
It wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight, but using my experience as a celebrity, I planned to transform this body into a completed masterpiece as quickly as possible.
Arabella’s appearance was already exceptional.
It had only been neglected.
If I polished it properly, I could easily secure a favorable position in high society.
My social debut would be extremely important for the life ahead of me—a life aimed at revenge and success.
Especially for someone like me, who had to start from nothing in this empire.
In a society built on class and status, the one thing I absolutely needed was connections.
I needed to build a network, create businesses, accumulate wealth, and gather people who would stand on my side when the time came to destroy House Lewin.
That meant my most important priority right now was my debut into noble society.
A dazzling, perfect debut.
As I sank into thought, the door suddenly burst open.
Eva barged into the room so rudely that it was unbelievable for someone entering her master’s chamber. She noisily placed the dishes on the table as if announcing her presence.
Crossing my arms, I silently watched her insolence before sitting down at the table once she finished.
Without saying a word, Eva tried to leave.
“Eva, where are you going without attending me during my meal?”
Eva looked at me as if I were ridiculous.
“I have to run an errand for the head maid… ma’am.”
Though she reluctantly used honorifics, her face looked deeply resentful. Why was it so difficult for me to receive what should have been basic treatment?
“The head maid’s errands cannot take priority over me. Stay and serve.”
Unable to hide her displeasure, Eva walked over to my side.
I tasted the soup first, and my expression immediately soured.
The salad, the bread, the sea bass steak—every single dish had clearly been tampered with.
“Bring me the chef.”
“…What?”
“Are you always this slow to understand? Or do you only fail to understand me?”
“Ah, well… if the food doesn’t suit your taste, I’ll remove it.”
Judging from Eva’s strange reaction, this probably wasn’t the chef’s doing.
Actually, that made things even better.
As Eva reached for the plate, I grabbed her wrist.
What was she trying to do, secretly switching the plates like a gambling trick?
“Bring the chef. Immediately.”
Looking at Eva, who was panicking helplessly, I pulled the bell cord again.
A short while later, the head chef entered the room.
He had once worked in the imperial palace and possessed tremendous pride in his cooking. Unlike the household servants, he had almost no interaction with Arabella.
The reason Arabella’s meals had always been terrible was because she’d been fed leftovers the servants had already picked through.
“What is the matter, my lady?”
“Did you prepare these dishes?”
“Yes. Are they not to your liking?”
“Why don’t you taste them yourself?”
The chef’s expression darkened, likely offended that his cooking had been insulted.
But the moment he tasted the food, his face quickly twisted in anger.
“My apologies. These are indeed the dishes I prepared, but it seems something happened to them afterward.”
The chef’s sharp gaze turned toward Eva, whose face instantly turned pale.
“I-It wasn’t me— no, I mean, I did do it, but… the head maid ordered me to. I only added a little salt…”
“Not added. You poured it in.”
Compared to my criticism, Eva seemed far more terrified of the chef’s glare.
“She told me to make it so salty that you’d never be able to handle meal duties again…”
I barely managed to suppress my smile at the answer I’d wanted so perfectly.
From now on, the relationship between the kitchen staff and the household servants would never be the same.
“I cannot understand how someone could play such disgusting tricks with food people are meant to eat. Just because it isn’t your domain, you thought you could interfere carelessly? Those who fail to respect another person’s skill deserve punishment.”
“We’ll remove these dishes and prepare new ones immediately.”
“It would be a waste to throw away food the chefs worked so hard to prepare.”
As expected, Marsha shamelessly denied everything and claimed Eva was framing her, so the entire punishment fell onto Eva alone.
I had the overly salted meal laid out in front of the mansion entrance and forced Eva to eat every bite.
Under the cold, judgmental stares of the others, Eva tearfully choked down the unbearably salty food before being locked in the punishment chamber.
That night, I quietly visited Eva.
“Eva, tonight may very well be the last night of your life.”
“W-What do you mean, my lady?”
Terrified, Eva had already changed the way she spoke to me.
“How could I possibly let a servant who tampered with her master’s food and tried to shift the blame onto someone else go unpunished? Just imagining you poisoning someone next time is horrifying.”
“N-No! The head maid really ordered me to do it! My lady, I only obeyed orders! How could a mere maid dare think of such a thing herself?”
Eva burst into tears, desperately pleading with me.
It was the first time I had ever seen her act so humble.
Servants who tampered with their master’s food often disappeared without a trace, so her fear was understandable.
“You saw Marsha deny everything herself. Are you lying again? The duchess is extremely angry.”
“It’s really unfair! I swear I’m innocent! My lady, please spare me. If I die, my entire family will starve. If you save me, I’ll never forget your kindness. Please, my lady!”
Finally.
She said exactly what I wanted to hear.
No matter what, I needed people on my side too.
Of course, I didn’t trust Eva completely, but I needed someone inside their circle to act as my spy.
This was a role no outsider I brought in could ever fulfill.
Eva was perfect for it.
So I smiled in satisfaction and extended a hand of salvation toward her.
With desperate gratitude, Eva clasped my hand tightly.
The next day, after waking up late, I headed to the dining room and sought out the head chef.
Since my physical condition was terrible, I wrote out a menu combining the diet plans I used during inactive periods in my previous life with the meal plans I used during active promotions.
“Prepare my meals like this from now on.”
The chef studied the meal plan and recipes for a long while before speaking with a defeated expression.
“I’m ashamed to admit this, but these are dishes I’ve never made before.”
“There’s no need to be embarrassed. That’s only natural. I invented them.”
“…Pardon? How does a young lady know how to cook…?”
“As you know, I haven’t exactly lived my life as a proper noble lady. My body is weak, so I need balanced meals with proper nutrition. Please prepare them accordingly.”
“Understood.”
After hesitating beside me for some time, the chef cautiously spoke again.
“My lady… forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is a ‘cheat day’?”
“That’s the day I get to eat as much delicious food made by the chef as I want, so please prepare your absolute best dishes.”
When dieting long-term, your basal metabolic rate drops, so having cheat days once or twice a week was essential.
The chef took tremendous pride in his cooking, so I was genuinely looking forward to what he would make.
After finishing my delicious meal, I took Eva with me and headed to the shopping district.
From that day onward, under the excuse of “training” her, I kept Eva as my personal maid.
Having narrowly escaped death, Eva now devoted herself to me wholeheartedly.
The first place we visited was a small dress shop tucked away in a corner of the market.
“My lady, this place is unpopular. It only opened recently.”
Instead of answering, I simply smiled and stepped inside.
As always, trends needed to be created.
You could never succeed by merely following them.
What I needed was someone skilled enough to create the dresses I envisioned.
And the owner of this boutique, Aurora, possessed both talent and exceptional sense.
Within a year, she would conquer the empire’s fashion industry.
