MDCHC 20

chapter 20

“I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

Lorinus de Winchester was truly difficult to understand. At our first meeting, he had pressed a knife to someone’s neck like he was going to kill them, yet he let them go surprisingly easily. He had accepted a marriage proposal from a woman he had only met once without hesitation, yet treated his own wife as if she were a stranger. On the wedding night, he had quietly gone to sleep, claiming he would remain faithful.

Even now!

“Could he actually be impotent?”

I allowed myself a very reasonable suspicion. I mean, how could nothing happen when a man and a woman sleep in the same room together for days? Normally, there should have been some physical reaction.

“No, that’s not it. There’s Daniel as proof—there’s no way Sir Winchester is impotent.”

The flames of my suspicion were instantly extinguished when I remembered such undeniable evidence. Indeed, it was absurd to think a man with that physique could be impotent. Considering those muscles, that grueling training schedule, and the fact he had reached the level of a sword master, one might even suspect that his testosterone was overactive.

“So then the problem must be…”

My shoulders sank automatically. If Sir Winchester wasn’t the problem, then it had to be me.

“My ex-girlfriend is stunningly beautiful; it’s no wonder a plain woman like me doesn’t catch his eye.”

Ugh! I just inflicted a mortal blow on myself with that thought.

“No! This is the wrong comparison! She’s the mother of the heroine! Of course she’s beautiful! I’m just an extra, so it’s natural that I’m plain! And didn’t my mother say I have a pretty face if I dress up? That means I’m relatively pretty among the extras! That’s good enough!”

I tried to cheer myself up, but it didn’t really help.

“Agh! Why is Mrs. Perede so late? Because she’s taking forever, I’m stuck having these pointless thoughts!”

And finally, I started blaming someone else.

“Ma’am. May I come in?”

Perhaps getting angry was necessary to make progress. Just as if she had been waiting for me to lose my temper, I heard Mrs. Perede’s voice from outside.

Alright. Forget Sir Winchester for now; I have work to do!

“Gather all the servants.”

I spoke before Mrs. Perede even fully entered the room.

“All… of them?”

As usual when I spoke, Mrs. Perede furrowed her brow slightly and objected. It was nothing new.

“Yes. All of them. Not a single one left out.”

I repeated my order exactly as before, emphasizing that no one should be excluded.

“They’re not all here.”

Even though the message had been sent that all the servants were gathered, when we went to the hall, five were missing.

“They must be the ones off today.”

Mrs. Perede said the people present were all the staff there. But she hadn’t counted each servant individually without knowing how many there should be.

“According to the roster, five were supposed to have the day off. And there are ten absent now.”

“Well, sometimes people get sick and have to rest.”

“Really? Then who are the ones off today?”

“Demi and Lin, Otto and Patty. And Kieran worked late yesterday, so I told him it was okay to arrive late today.”

Without hesitation, Mrs. Perede answered, speaking as if she had a complete grasp of the staff’s situation.

“Four people on sick leave? Is there an epidemic in the capital or something?”

“There’s a flu going around recently.”

Even though the weather was so warm, the flu was suddenly spreading?

“Fine. Then we’ll deal with them later.”

I decided to postpone the absent ones and focused on the servants in front of me. The Camellia Mansion was a bit old, but large enough that it had many servants. Honestly, it was too many.

“From now on, Mei will be Daniel’s dedicated maid. Since she’ll be dedicated, her salary will increase.”

I said this while looking at the maid I had previously marked. Daniel was already six, and now that he would be busy with studies, a single dedicated maid would be enough.

“T-Thank you.”

Mei seemed surprised by the sudden promotion but bowed her head politely.

“…”

I quietly looked at the line of servants. Some had tense expressions, some were curious, and some looked indifferent or defiant.

“You.”

My finger pointed at one of them.

“You, you, you. And you, you.”

I continued pointing without pause. It was an arrogant, condescending finger-pointing that could easily annoy the recipients.

“And you two as well.”

Only after pointing to two more did I lower my hand. Then, I looked at each of the people I had singled out.

“All of you I just pointed at are fired.”

The diverse expressions of the servants unified into a single one: shock.

“M-Ma’am?”
“What… what are you saying?”
“Mrs. Perede, do you agree with this?”

The servants who had just received the sudden dismissal were naturally more shocked. Some tried to speak, some stepped forward. Some snorted in disbelief, and some appealed to Mrs. Perede as if I were unreasonable.

I didn’t move an inch.

“Ma’am, this is difficult.”

Mrs. Perede approached, speaking on behalf of the servants she had gathered.

“How can you suddenly fire people who have worked for this mansion? Not just one or two, but so many at once. If they’re suddenly gone, the household won’t run smoothly. I urge you to reconsider.”

Like a strict teacher scolding a student, Mrs. Perede spoke to me.

“No.”

I replied like a defiant troublemaker. I wanted to flick my ears in mockery, but I refrained—it would lower the dignity of a countess too much.

“Ma’am.”

Even so, Mrs. Perede seemed irritated. In a firmer tone than before, she spoke.

“You cannot fire innocent servants like this.”

“Why are they innocent?”

I asked her, full of a nuance implying that the real problem was that a head housekeeper considered them blameless.

“The servants who should serve the Winchester family in the Camellia Mansion ignored Daniel, the master of the house. That is a clear failure to perform their duties, and naturally grounds for dismissal.”

I turned my gaze to the servants I had fired.

“They chased the countess out of her room under the pretext of cleaning.”

One maid, catching my eyes, bit her lower lip and glared. She had been arrogant even after realizing I was a noblewoman.

“They skipped meals the countess should have had.”

Another maid bit her lip, finally lowering her head. At least she seemed to understand her mistake.

“They refused to let her change clothes, claiming there was laundry to do.”

The maid hung her head low, probably even crying. Losing her job overnight could explain that.

“Why should I keep people in this mansion who can’t do their jobs properly?”

I looked directly at Mrs. Perede as I spoke, implying all responsibility lay with her.

“I understand what you are saying, Ma’am. This will serve as a lesson for them. I will make sure they behave better toward Miss Daniel in the future. Let’s leave it at that.”

Mrs. Perede tried to end the matter.

“No.”

But I remained defiant, showing no intention of stopping my “dance of the blade.”

“They haven’t just erred once or twice; these are habits built over years. I don’t think a single warning will change them overnight. Thinking about the past few years, I certainly have no desire to forgive them.”

I made it clear that I had no intention to forgive or heed Mrs. Perede’s advice.

“Ma’am!”

Her voice rose as her opinion was completely ignored. The fox who had ruled the Camellia Mansion in the master’s absence seemed humiliated at being dismissed in front of her “subjects.”

She shut her mouth tight, giving a silent glare. I received her gaze with indifference.

“I… resign.”

Finally, Mrs. Perede spoke the words.