THSDR 15

Chapter 15

She let out a dry laugh. Cheres didn’t seem like someone who would make exceptions for anyone.

“I’ve known Cheres for a very long time. Unlike Roana.”

So now she was casually using my name too. Were we really that close? I didn’t think so.

For some reason, she gave off a faintly unsettling, almost psycho-like vibe.

“When we were young, it was really nice. I used to call Cheres ‘Ses.’ He was such a cute child.”

Her face looked almost dreamy. She was just saying whatever came to mind without stopping. It felt like her words weren’t filtered at all, like she didn’t think deeply before speaking.

Like she lived entirely inside her own world.

What on earth was Cheres thinking, sending someone like this to me?

Was it revenge against Hezest? Or maybe a warning to always stay alert?

As I was thinking seriously about it, Chloe kept talking nonstop.

“And Cheres used to call me ‘El.’ His voice was so gentle. We really were good friends. Of course, we still are. And we always will be. That’s exactly why I’m special.”

El?

Did she just say El?

At that moment, my mind went completely blank, as if I’d been struck.

In the original story, there were all kinds of villains. Among them was a woman named El.

She was a woman who constantly claimed she had a special relationship with Cheres, and who relentlessly criticized Hayden.

She even sent letters and came in person.

I suddenly remembered it clearly:

“It’s because of you that Cheres died. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have lost Cheres! Ahh, my dear husband. I feel like I’m going to die from grief. I can still hear my friend Cheres calling me…”

She even dragged in her own husband and acted completely insane. She also played the role of a “mother-in-law” figure to the female protagonist. That deranged woman—the “Lady El”—was Chloe?

What—what?!

Why didn’t anyone tell me sooner!

If I had known, I would’ve avoided her at all costs. This was a top-tier landmine.

Even in the original, I thought she was a seriously unhinged character, and now I had ended up stuck with that very same lunatic. Cheres, do you have something against me?

The problem was that this “Lady El” genuinely loved the Bereiden family and Cheres. In her own way.

She wasn’t some random villain. There were even stories that she helped Cheres when Hezest was interfering and the imperial family turned their backs on him during the war.

Which made her even more difficult to deal with—a minor villain who was impossible to remove. Almost as troublesome as a major one.

“So Roana should also listen to what I say. I want you to focus on taking care of Hayden. And you shouldn’t nap so lazily either. Eating too much isn’t good for appearances. I saw you enjoying sweets at the ladies’ gathering before. If you gain weight, it’ll only tarnish Bereiden’s reputation.”

She was doing exactly the same thing to me that she had done to the female protagonist.

Unbelievable. So she’d been like this since she was young? Who on earth raised her?

I suddenly became very curious.

Chloe had married into the Oyster family, so I hadn’t even recognized her at first.

“Oh, and you shouldn’t just wear such precious heirlooms anywhere. It’s wasteful. You should only use them in more appropriate settings. And try to refine your personality a bit. How can you criticize Countess Yotley so uncivilly? Diane may have been wrong, but she’s still a young lady.”

She’s probably older than me.

“People in high positions should be able to tolerate those beneath them. Do you understand?”

Just shut up already.

I decided not to listen to Chloe anymore. If I kept hearing that nonsense, I felt like I might lose my mind.

I was going to ask Cheres that very evening. What on earth was his intention in assigning this insane woman to me?

What grudge did he have against me?

That evening.

I decided I wouldn’t hold back.

Someone like Chloe should never be kept close. My life was already exhausting enough.

“Cheres, about Lady Chloe…”

“Ah.”

Cheres immediately frowned. He could make that expression too?

He looked visibly displeased.

So even Cheres wasn’t exactly fond of Chloe.

“…Can I speak honestly?”

Cheres nodded.

“…Is there anything about her that makes her especially qualified to be the Duchess’s maid? In terms of ability, I mean.”

I already knew she was exceptionally “special” in a mentally unstable way.

Cheres spoke with a tired voice.

“What do you think, from your experience? Be honest.”

“…She doesn’t seem particularly capable. I suspect she was assigned for some other reason.”

Cheres looked at me calmly. His gaze felt like permission, so I continued.

“Is she here to monitor me?”

Cheres didn’t answer. That probably meant I wasn’t wrong.

“…Then could you assign someone else to watch me instead?”

At my words, Cheres let out a faint laugh. He seemed to understand her personality well. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Cheres?”

“Borgus seems to think of Chloe as a kind of trial gate.”

A trial gate?

“He believes that if someone can endure Chloe, then their character is beyond suspicion.”

I stared blankly at Cheres.

“To be more honest, he thinks you’ll reveal your true nature in front of Chloe.”

So his aide still disliked me because I was from Hezest, and they had assigned Chloe to test me.

And Cheres seemed to agree to some extent.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have placed her beside me in the first place.

Why are you doing this to me?

“…I see.”

I already knew there was no helping it. If you easily trust someone from Hezest, you’re not a loyal subject of Bereiden.

Then I would have to break through this in my own way.

“Can you tell me about the Malate family? About Countess Malate—what kind of person she is, what she values, and how she treats her daughter?”

Cheres ran a hand across his mouth. Amusement flickered in his eyes. I was the one suffering, but he seemed to find it interesting.

Ha.

Five days after Chloe became my maid.

Chloe’s presence was steadily growing.

She had begun acting on her own desires.

That morning, she was already lounging on the reception room sofa, eating my tea snacks, when she suddenly spoke.

“Duchess, isn’t the interior of this mansion too gloomy? It feels like a battlefield. I want Cheres to relax in a more comfortable space. Shouldn’t it be more lovely?”

What’s wrong with the interior? I didn’t see anything unusual. Lady Ureine had been managing it well. She said Cheres found the warm wood tones particularly comforting.

Chloe seemed to take my silence as agreement.

“I’ll change it. Don’t worry, I have excellent aesthetic sense. Oh, do you think I’m doing too much? It’s fine—I consider it part of my job. I am the Duchess’s maid, after all.”

I wondered if anyone else would agree with that.

I almost stopped her but held back.

I decided I needed to observe Chloe properly first—Borgus and Cheres included.

That would give legitimacy to my future decisions.

I smirked and drank my tea.

With Hayden asleep, this time of day was truly peaceful.

If Chloe’s so-called aesthetic sense extended to her fashion as well, I could already imagine how this mansion would end up.

I was curious just how far she would go.

Cheres’s faintly annoying smiling face flashed in my mind.

Yes, we’ll see what happens.

I said lightly,

“Chloe, you cannot spend the family budget without Cheres’s approval.”

I pushed the decision onto Cheres. Honestly, I didn’t care about the interior at all.

“Really? Then I’ll go ask Cheres! Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. Roana should focus on Hayden.”

After finishing all the snacks, Chloe stood up. Her personality was as impatient as ever. Once she decided something, she acted immediately.

Her footsteps faded down the hallway.

Sip.

I drank my tea as I listened, nodding in satisfaction with a faint smile.