🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 52~
At that time.
The Countess Dowager of Celes was quietly sipping coffee in the tea room of the Count’s estate.
This is bothering me.
Her eyes, half-hidden behind the coffee cup, narrowed slightly.
It was because of Milena’s strange attitude during yesterday’s meal with the Duchess of Lucerte.
The way she subtly tried to stop Cecilia from taking harp lessons.
…and also the moment their eyes met while talking to Cecilia.
“I should have controlled my expression better. That was a mistake.”
The Countess Dowager frowned and took another impatient sip of coffee.
There was something else bothering her too.
Cecilia’s arm.
“That girl Milena… how much did she hear?”
Honestly, it didn’t seem like a big problem.
When she tested Milena by bringing up the topic of a tutor, Milena didn’t show any sign of suspicion.
If she had been suspicious, she would have tried to keep her distance.
Still… just in case.
There was also the matter of the ointment she gave Cecilia.
It would be better to be careful.
The Countess Dowager frowned slightly.
Now that I think about it, Milena seems quite fond of that girl, Cecilia.
But in the Countess Dowager’s eyes, Milena had many flaws.
For example, her behavior.
Maybe because she had lived as a maid all her life, she still hadn’t fully learned the proper manners of a high noble.
She should never have been associated with someone so lowly in the first place.
“It would have been better if I had taught her from the beginning.”
Compared to the dull Cecilia, her real daughter Milena would have been far more useful.
For example… extracting money from the Ducal House.
Just as the Countess Dowager clicked her tongue in regret—
Knock knock.
A short knocking sound was heard.
A maid entered the tea room and bowed politely.
“Madam, Miss Sara has arrived.”
“Let her in.”
The Countess Dowager smiled.
A moment later—
A woman wearing a hood entered the tea room with quick, irritated steps.
“Aunt, why did you call me here?”
Her tone was sharp.
“I told you not to keep calling me like this. I’ve already helped you enough—”
Clack!
The Countess Dowager placed her coffee cup down loudly.
Startled by the sharp sound, the woman flinched.
In contrast, the Countess Dowager smiled calmly.
“How ungrateful. Do you know who made it possible for you to work as a researcher in the Magic Tower?”
“……”
“And ‘helped me’? Weren’t we simply working for mutual benefit?”
The woman stiffened.
The Countess Dowager gestured to the seat across from her.
“Sit down first, Sara.”
“…Haah.”
With a deep sigh, Sara sat down.
Sara, a magical engineer from the Magic Tower.
The reason she could even work there was because of the Countess Dowager.
More precisely, the Countess Dowager had connections with the Tower Master.
But the price for that was not small.
Sara looked at her with clear irritation.
The Countess Dowager still looked completely relaxed.
“Just tell me what you want.”
Sara spoke defensively.
The Countess Dowager took a graceful sip of coffee and lowered her voice.
“About that ointment.”
“…!”
Suspicion filled Sara’s eyes.
The Countess Dowager smiled.
“I want to leave a record that I purchased it legally.”
“What?! Do you even hear yourself?!”
Sara raised her voice.
“That item is not allowed to be taken outside! Do you know how hard it was to secretly get it out until now?!”
The magic ointment.
A special product made by the Magic Tower that quickly heals the surface of wounds.
It was originally used by the military to stop bleeding.
But since it wasn’t publicly available, it was secretly sold behind the scenes.
It was rare—and the Countess Dowager had Sara.
Sara needed research funds.
The Countess Dowager held a large debt over her.
So they worked together to secretly distribute the ointment.
“Still, make it happen.”
“But—!”
“Stop being weak. It’s something you can do.”
Even as Sara’s face hardened, the Countess Dowager didn’t even blink.
“No, even if you say that—!”
Sara ran her hand through her hair in frustration.
The Countess Dowager narrowed her eyes.
“I’ve told you many times. That is not proper behavior for a lady.”
“Is that really what matters right now?! What you’re asking is ridiculous!”
Sara raised her voice—but only for a moment.
She soon felt suffocated.
Because the Countess Dowager’s calm expression clearly showed—
She had no intention of listening.
“…Just this once.”
In the end, Sara gave in.
But she glared sharply.
“I helped you because I owed you. But I can’t keep doing this.”
“Alright.”
The Countess Dowager nodded easily.
Sara left the tea room without even saying goodbye.
The moment she left—
The Countess Dowager’s face turned cold.
“Owed me? What nonsense.”
She muttered coldly.
“When we were both benefiting, she kept calling me ‘Aunt’ so sweetly…”
Her voice grew darker.
“And now she wants to walk away cleanly on her own?”
After muttering irritably, she let out a long sigh.
“Why do I have to go through all this trouble because of that girl, Cecilia?”
Cecilia von Lucerte.
A girl she was forced to take in because of the Duchess’s request.
That girl acting like a noble of Lucerte—
It was laughable.
No matter how many feathers a crow gathers—
It can never become a peacock.
It is still just a crow.
Her frown deepened.
“Why did the Ducal House even adopt a commoner like her?”
Nobles and commoners are fundamentally different.
No matter what, a low-born nature cannot be changed.
That’s why she initially refused the Duchess’s request.
But then—
“Please… is there no other way? I truly want you to teach our Cecilia.”
The Duchess of Lucerte had looked at her with desperate eyes.
That feeling—
It was delightful.
A woman of the highest noble status, bowing her head and asking her for help.
And then—
“I know this is a lot to ask. But we will make sure you are well compensated…”
The mistress of the Ducal House promised a generous reward.
At the time, struggling with finances, the Countess Dowager could not refuse.
So she accepted that lowly girl as her student.
But—
“It hurts my pride.”
She tightened her grip on the coffee cup.
Being called “Teacher” by that useless girl was already unpleasant—
And lately, she had even started to disobey her.
“If I must teach that lowly girl, I should at least get more compensation.”
The Ducal House already paid her well—
But it wasn’t enough.
The harp from the Conchern Instrument Shop.
If that foolish girl had properly asked for it,
She could have received a large commission.
But she couldn’t even do something that simple.
“She just hesitates every time… completely useless.”
The Countess Dowager drank the now lukewarm coffee irritably.
“How did my situation end up like this… tch.”
