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Chapter 28
“My father said to replace your maids, so I came personally to check….”
Aubrey’s brass-colored eyes glinted sharply, like a boss who had just caught a traitor.
“Seeing them up close, they truly lack grace and dignity. They don’t suit a lady of a marquis family like you.”
“M-Ma’am!”
“Shut up!”
Smack!
Instinctively, Lilda grabbed Aubrey’s sleeve, sensing something was terribly wrong—but in return came a sharp slap across the face.
“Oh my, little aunt.”
I said, feigning surprise.
“What terrible thing could Lilda have done to deserve such harsh words…? Did she offend you in some way?”
Aubrey stiffened, her earlier smugness faltering. Reflexively, she glanced behind her.
Of course, I had been watching her from across the room from the start—and I already knew who stood there.
Luc Kelfosher.
Along with other aides, including the chief advisor to Archduke Assis Frezier, they were all present.
Aubrey quickly composed herself.
“No, Tullia. I just got startled when one of the servants suddenly grabbed my sleeve—it felt like a street lunatic, so I raised my voice.”
But despite her words, Aubrey’s eyes burned with rage as she glared at the ‘traitors.’
The maids were desperate to protest, to insist they hadn’t betrayed her. Some even shook their heads frantically, faces full of innocence…
‘Does it matter? I’ve already called out each one by name.’
Aubrey’s certainty in their betrayal only grew.
“Take them all away! I’ll retrain them properly from the beginning!”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
The older senior maids under Aubrey dragged Lilda and the rest of the servants away, their voices still tinged with anger.
“M-Ma’am!”
“Please, Ma’am, have mercy!”
‘They say it’s “training,” but from a traitor’s perspective…’
Even without seeing it up close, I could tell Aubrey’s methods were cruel.
Finally, with those spy-like maids legally banished from my room, I could welcome the night and morning in peace.
“Then, Tullia. Rest now. I…”
“By the way, little aunt.”
I quickly grabbed Aubrey before she could leave, keeping my words polite but probing.
“Since I overslept this morning, I didn’t get the chance to ask—what happened to Tedric?”
Aubrey’s face froze, attempting a strained smile.
“Tedric isn’t usually like this… but perhaps he acted out of some inferiority over his grades…”
“……”
“…Right?”
“Why would my son feel inferior to someone like you!”
Aubrey shouted, then glanced back at Luc Kelfosher, who was standing behind her. Amusingly, she even started taking my reactions into account.
I erased the smile I’d been holding and asked again.
“To someone like me?”
“No, that’s not it… I just misspoke in the heat of the moment—you know how upset I am…”
“Aubrey, little aunt.”
I smiled again, looking almost foolish, devoid of pride.
“I’m really curious about the punishment Grandpa gave Tedric.”
But I didn’t sound stupid while saying it.
“It must have been severe.”
“……!”
“What happened, Luc?”
Aubrey, stubborn as a clam, had intended to remain silent—but she trembled slightly.
As usual, Luc Kelfosher replied with his composed, polite tone, though now there was a hint of a smile.
“Master Tedric has been relocated by order of His Excellency the Archduke.”
“Relocated? To where?”
“To the place where Miss Tullia previously stayed….”
‘Huh?’
“The Randel Warehouse.”
“There? Good heavens.”
I hadn’t expected Archduke Assis Frezier to impose such a strict sentence, so I was genuinely shocked.
“That warehouse isn’t suitable for living—especially in winter, when hands and feet freeze… How long?”
“Master Tedric has been placed under indefinite house arrest.”
“Good heavens.”
I glanced at Aubrey and smiled slightly.
“Poor Tedric. Little aunt.”
Aubrey, trembling as she listened, finally let out a small scream and dashed from my room.
‘No wonder her eyes were bloodshot from the moment she entered.’
I almost wanted to hum a celebratory tune. The boy who used to mock me for living in a shabby castle would now remain there forever. Until marriage, he wouldn’t even dream of his proper estate or luxurious side house.
I shifted my gaze to the few maids lingering at the doorway.
“Why aren’t you following little aunt?”
“We are the new maids assigned to you, Ma’am.”
Even amidst this chaos, Aubrey had managed to plant new spies—but now I found that admirable in another sense.
“No need. You may all leave.”
“What? But little Ma’am—”
“Are you all rebelling?”
I shook the Glory, the necklace of the Frezier lineage, around my neck. The maids looked at each other, unsure what to do.
In the end, they backed away, faces pale.
With all outsiders gone, Luc spoke plainly.
“Miss Tullia. I have some news for you.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“This morning, His Excellency the Archduke…”
“Yes, yes.”
“Little Ma’am… it has been decided to revoke all domestic management rights from Countess Aubrey.”
“Gasp.”
“Oh my.”
Even Adele, usually quiet, looked genuinely surprised. And I was, too.
‘Shouldn’t someone have informed me of such a major decision beforehand?’
Perhaps Archduke Assis Frezier had silently allowed them to tip me off.
Once Luc and the other aides left my quarters, Adele brought a cream cake made with figs. A snack, she said.
“Miss Tullia, it’s going to get colder, so I brought a few new pairs of wool slippers.”
“Thank you, Adele.”
“You’re welcome. Are they comfortable?”
“Yes.”
“They seem to fit your feet well. Let me know if they are uncomfortable.”
“I will, Adele.”
Contrary to her concern, the white wool slippers wrapped my feet completely—they were warm and soft. The combination of cream, figs, and sugar melted like snow on my tongue—it was bliss.
Back at Grimelpan, Tullia had enjoyed similar indulgences, though always tricked by Marquis Lilius.
‘Not anymore.’
Those who ignored or tormented me had mostly been dealt with—and I’d continue to do so.
‘And now… it’s about time to see the main guys.’
First up: the Crown Prince.
The most difficult one in the game. The one you had to meet first and select options carefully to see the ending.
‘No shortcuts here.’
To achieve an A-rank, I needed to maximize the affection of all the male leads. The order didn’t matter for most, but for the Crown Prince, I had to meet him first.
Though I bore the Frezier lineage on my neck, I was still young, inexperienced, and venturing alone to the royal palace was almost reckless.
‘Soon, someone will come to assist me.’
That day’s lunch was a refreshing salad with orange dressing, creamy pumpkin soup, and aromatic chopped steak sautéed with onions and butter. Freshly squeezed fruit juice accompanied the meal.
“You seem to enjoy meat a lot, Miss.”
“Yes. Maybe because I haven’t had much before?”
Especially expensive cuts like beef. Before, I hesitated to touch meat dishes, choosing vegetables instead.
Adele paused at my comment, then smiled softly, mentioning that dinner would feature crayfish salad and filet steak—a promise that made me eager.
By the time we finished the meal and chocolate dessert, there was a knock at the door.
“Who could that be at this hour? I’ll see.”
Adele stepped out and returned, slightly surprised.
“Miss Tullia, the teacher… that is, Schuls Schmidt Pneuma, has come to see you.”
“Teacher, huh? Show him to the parlor.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Of course. I had expected him soon. The very important link who would take me to the Crown Prince.
