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Chapter 19
There was a type of person like Chloe among the people I met while working at a company.
She was one year above me, and people called her a “perfect being.” No matter how much you tried to argue with her, it only drained your mental energy, so the best option was not to take her seriously at all.
There’s a saying that you don’t avoid trash because it’s scary—you avoid it because it’s dirty. Because of her, there were more than a few colleagues who ended up changing jobs.
But right now, I couldn’t quit.
And I couldn’t just ignore the assignment that had been thrown at me as some kind of test either. But enduring it…?
“I absolutely can’t endure this.”
Hadn’t I already experienced firsthand how people like that could drive someone insane?
So I decided on a different kind of direct approach. If I couldn’t leave, then I’d make Chloe leave.
Chloe would later assist Cheres during the war. Her overall fate couldn’t be completely derailed.
After racking my memory, I recalled that Lady El had married the second son of House Oyster and had once managed a trading company branch in the Kingdom of Evelik.
I figured out what to do with Chloe.
Of course, even if Chloe would later behave like a villain, I couldn’t completely rewrite her role.
If that caused us to lose the war?
I shuddered. That was absolutely not acceptable.
“Kyah! Nya!”
“Oh.”
I had been lost in thought for a moment and hadn’t been paying attention to Hayden. Fresh from his bath, Hayden was practicing walking with great enthusiasm.
He was walking while holding onto the sofa. He was strong too. The definition in his calf muscles was no joke. If this were Korea, he’d have been sent straight to a football league—a national treasure-level pair of legs. Anyway, after making a short round trip, he just looked back at me.
What is he doing?
What does he want me to do?
“Nya! Nyaa!”
“Hm? Do you want help? Is it hard?”
Hayden tapped the sofa he was holding onto.
I tilted my head, then clapped my hands.
“Hayden is amazing! So cool! Great job!”
Is this it?
Only then did Hayden look satisfied and burst into laughter, then started walking again in the opposite direction—heave-ho, heave-ho. When he reached the end, he turned back to look at me.
“You’re the best! So cool!”
I clapped enthusiastically.
“Nya, nya!”
It reminded me of that story—how a dog that successfully went outside to relieve itself was so praised with dancing and excitement that afterwards, it would wait for its owner to dance every time it went to the bathroom.
It seemed my praise had trained Hayden. I had basically turned him into an attention-seeker.
When he finally finished his walking practice, rolling around happily in excitement, I was completely exhausted.
Can someone make him stop clapping…?
My palms feel like they’re on fire.
After that, I stopped paying attention to whatever Chloe did in the mansion.
Chloe began to assume that this meant I regarded her as special. She seemed to think I had acknowledged her as someone “above me.” In reality, I was just ignoring her because she was insane.
Still, once I decided to kick Chloe out, I could finally ignore her nonsense more easily.
Countess Malate loved her daughter.
And she was a generous noblewoman who extended that affection even to Cheres. She had taken Cheres in when he lost his parents and was struggling.
The reason Cheres had been watching all of Chloe’s misdeeds until now was because of that—feelings of gratitude and obligation.
Now I understood why, in the original story, Hayden couldn’t easily deal with Chloe either.
Because of Countess Malate.
And also because of Cheres.
But Countess Malate was someone who cared deeply about House Beireiden.
When her daughter became overly fixated on Cheres, she had even sent her away to her maternal family.
“She said she would bring her back once she came to her senses. That promise was never kept, but the Countess understands. Chloe is not someone who can be controlled.”
I recalled Cheres’s words.
In the end, I could understand Countess Malate’s feelings about not being able to control her daughter. Just because you give birth to someone doesn’t mean you understand everything about them.
Right now, Chloe was humming happily while lying on the sofa, reading a gossip magazine. She looked completely unaware that this was my bedroom.
I sat across from Chloe while Hayden was asleep.
“Chloe.”
“Yes?”
“I have something to discuss.”
“Anything. I’ll listen to everything.”
Are you my boss or something?
But I just needed to endure a little longer. If my plan worked, everything would fall into place.
“…I’m thinking of holding a banquet soon. Nothing grand, just a small gathering.”
“A banquet?”
Chloe’s eyes lit up with interest.
“I actually have quite a talent for that kind of thing. Don’t worry, Roana. I’ll handle everything. I’ll finally have work to do as a lady-in-waiting. Roana should focus on Hayden. While I prepare the banquet, you must not neglect him at all. Understood?”
I just nodded vaguely.
“Yes, of course. Don’t worry, Chloe.”
Start packing soon, Chloe.
While Chloe enthusiastically devoted herself to banquet preparations, I prepared to go out with Hayden.
I was also worried about Hayden, and since I was going out anyway, I planned to stop by the city and do some shopping. I needed to buy clothes that would suit him.
Hayden had been growing rapidly lately—his old clothes were already too small.
In this era, strollers existed, so taking a baby outside wasn’t too difficult. And I would also have knights accompanying us.
But before that, I visited Countess Malate’s estate. I wanted to take care of some business while Hayden was napping. It wasn’t far away.
Countess Malate welcomed me and Hayden.
“Have you been well, Lady Fiona?”
I nodded calmly. As I had felt before, she was definitely a different kind of beauty from Chloe. If Chloe was a fragile, almost broken beauty, Countess Malate was more of a warm and resolute maternal figure. Still, she and Chloe looked strikingly alike.
Countess Malate looked at Hayden and said,
“I’ll call a maid to take care of the child.”
“No, thank you for your consideration.”
I didn’t feel comfortable letting the child out of my sight. Too many disturbing things had been happening lately. I still hadn’t recovered from the shock of the porridge incident. Besides, Hayden was sleeping soundly.
I pulled the stroller closer, carefully covering Hayden’s neck with the blanket.
“Once he falls asleep, he doesn’t wake easily. Did you know that Lady Chloe is trying her best to do her work, regardless of the outcome?”
I deliberately changed the subject. After all, her own child mattered more than a sleeping baby that wasn’t hers.
“Ah…”
Countess Malate’s expression dimmed. She looked like someone who understood her daughter better than anyone else. She pressed a hand to her forehead.
Well, of course she would know—she had even taken her away herself.
“I’m truly sorry, Duchess. I never intended to send Chloe to serve as a lady-in-waiting. I was persuaded by Sir Borgus. He said that if she held a more important position, Chloe might come to her senses.”
So that’s how it happened. Borgus, let’s have a talk. You’re really too competent at your job.
“So she caused trouble again, didn’t she…? I told her not to be disrespectful to the Duchess. She only said she was special, so it was fine.”
She looked thoroughly exhausted from Chloe.
“It’s alright, my lady. Nothing serious has happened so far. But as you said, I also thought Chloe was not an ordinary young lady.”
“….”
“However, she does seem sincere in her affection for children. She didn’t hide her concern for Hayden from me either.”
I only spoke the truth.
“Chloe did?”
“Yes, my lady. That’s why I’d like to make a suggestion. If Lady Chloe were to marry and have a child of her own, perhaps she might change.”
According to the original story, she wouldn’t change even then. But still, this might be Countess Malate’s last remaining hope.
And honestly, for the Countess’s mental health, it would be better to send her far away rather than keep her right in front of her eyes, causing constant stress.
