“What’s going on here? Why is the water so cold?”

Laura shouted angrily at the maid who came in to assist with her bath.

The startled maid hurriedly dipped her hand in the water. Then she tilted her head, as if unsure what the problem was.

“…It’s warm though?”

“The water is completely cold, what nonsense are you talking about?”

Only then did the maid’s expression change to one of realization.

“Ah. I see. In the North, everyone bathes in water of this temperature. I momentarily forgot that you’re guests from the capital. I apologize. It will take quite some time to heat the water more… Will that be alright?”

“You’re like an idiot, can’t do anything properly. Forget it. How long am I supposed to wait? I need to wash quickly and get out.”

“Yes. Then I’ll help you bathe.”

“From tomorrow, prepare warmer water! This is really irritating.”

“Ah. Yes.”

As she watched Laura shivering in the lukewarm water, a wicked smile flashed across the maid’s face and disappeared.

Meanwhile, at the same time.

“Ah, it’s cold!”

Rta Sha was also experiencing a similar situation.

The minor tribulations of the two women didn’t end there.

The autumn in the North was similar to early winter weather in the capital.

The temperature must have dropped further overnight, as when they woke up in the morning, there was dew-like mucus formed under their noses.

Breakfast was dry and tasteless.

Lunch was too salty.

Dinner was too sweet.

For snacks, they were served strange herbal cookies, which were just awful…

The bathwater wasn’t lukewarm like yesterday, but it was so hot it felt like it would peel off their skin.

“They’re messing with us right now. Aren’t they?”

In response to Laura’s fuming words, Rta Sha quietly bit her lip.

That insolent girl.

Is this how she tries to get revenge?

It was clear that these small incidents were Serpina’s schemes.

Not significant enough to make an issue of, but creating small and minor inconveniences to make them leave on their own accord.

However, they had no intention of backing down like this.

They came here with a purpose, and they couldn’t return without achieving what they wanted.

‘We should finish this before the Duke returns, if possible.’

If Serpina would become as docile as before, they could finish quickly and return.

So, the Countess decided to use slightly more aggressive methods to quickly return Serpina to her previous mouse-like state.

Like a lowly slave who would tremble and collapse at the mere sight of her.

To ensure she never again thought of trying to humiliate her like this.

She was confident.

After all, memories carved by violence tend to linger for a long time.

Serpina’s slightly trembling hands, despite her pretense of being unaffected, were proof of that.

Rta Sha immediately plotted her counterattack.

The next day.

It started with her picking on Serpina, saying she would teach her how to pour tea properly.

There shouldn’t be a problem with a mother figure educating her child on etiquette, so even if she was a bit rough, it wouldn’t be easy to take issue with it.

Moreover, with the servants watching, the lady of the house couldn’t act recklessly either.

In other words, she decided to give Serpina a taste of her own medicine.

But Rta Sha didn’t know.

“…Ah. You want me to start over from brewing the tea?”

How extraordinary the changed Serpina had become.

With an indifferent face, Serpina stood up abruptly and carelessly dumped tea leaves into the teacup.

“You, what are you doing now…”

Completely ignoring the shocked Rta Sha and Laura, she poured cold water into the teacup filled with tea leaves.

And then.

“Hup.”

She took out a handkerchief, covered the teacup with it, and started swirling it around.

The watching maids covered their mouths in admiration at the dazzling skill.

‘I don’t know what it is, but it looks cool!’

After vigorously swirling the teacup, Serpina threw away the damp handkerchief.

The handkerchief flew between Laura and Rta Sha and stuck to the wall with a splat.

Splat.

Splat.

In the silence, two wet sounds echoed.

The first sound was the handkerchief sticking to the wall, and the second was the handkerchief falling from the wall to the floor.

To Laura and Rta Sha, who were too surprised to close their mouths, Serpina grinned and held out the teacup.

“Here. I’ve brewed it in the golden ratio for you.”

…How did she change this much?

Laura and Rta Sha had to doubt their eyes, wondering if this lunatic before them was really the Serpina they knew.

Back in her room, Rta Sha began to plan again.

She was at her wit’s end, unable to tolerate it anymore.

She wanted to crush that girl’s pride somehow.

Laura, who had been quietly watching her mother, left the room with a sigh.

It seemed that her mother intended to speak about what she wanted only after subduing Serpina…

“How long am I supposed to wait?”

At this rate, they might not even be able to open their mouths after several more days.

It would be better to state their business upfront!

Laura immediately went to find Serpina again.

“What now? Why are you here again? Are you here to ask about the golden ratio? No way. It’s a trade secret, I can’t tell you. Go away.”

“Are you really crazy?”

“I was crazy when I was living under Count Adeline, now I’ve returned to normal.”

Oh. I just made an amazing rhyme.

Awesome.

“Anyway. Are you alone right now?”

Laura asked, hurriedly rolling her eyes to scan the surroundings.

“Where’s that old butler?”

“Our Barhan isn’t old at all, he’s in perfect health. Anyway, Barhan is busy handling the Duke’s duties right now. Why?”

“Oh, really?”

Laura answered cheerfully, showing obvious signs of relief.

It seems Barhan, who had been constantly taking notes beside them, had been quite bothersome to her.

“So, why did you come here?”

“I have a favor to ask you.”

What nonsense is she going to say so boldly this time?

“Introduce me to the Prince.”

“Oh, my goodness. This is even more nonsensical than I imagined.”

“What? What did you just say?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing. More importantly, you want me to introduce you to the Prince?”

When asked again, Laura nodded as if to show off.

“Yes! The First Prince is good, and the Second Prince is fine too. Last time I saw, you seemed to be on good terms with both of them.”

So this was the reason she had come all the way here after sending countless letters.

Now it made some sense.

However, I couldn’t understand which part had led her to conclude that I was on good terms with the princes.

The Second Prince, maybe, but why the First Prince?

The only conversation I remember having with him was a competition to see who could spit better while smiling.

“Which part exactly made you think we were on good terms?”

“Well, you had a long, laughing conversation with the First Prince at the ball, and you had a friendly chat with the Second Prince on the day of the hunting festival. Even though the First Princess interrupted in the middle.”

When did she observe all that so closely?

“So that’s why you came? To ask me to introduce you to the princes?”

“Well, that’s part of it. I also thought I might try to get some investment from the Duke while I’m at it.”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

What, what did she say?

“Investment?”

“Yes, investment. These days, Father is thinking of starting a business. I was wondering if there might be a source of money somewhere, and you seem to be surprisingly close to the Duke.”

“…So?”

“So what? Isn’t it a husband’s duty to invest in his beloved wife’s family? Since we fed you, raised you, and gave you a place to sleep, shouldn’t you show some gratitude?”

Faced with this endless evolution of nonsense, I was simply at a loss for words.

“The money you received from His Majesty as a wedding gift must have been quite substantial. Have you already spent it all?”

Though she called it a wedding gift, it was essentially the price they received for selling me off to Duke Richter.

I don’t know exactly how much they received, but I know it was a considerable amount…

“Money is meant to circulate, you know. Spend and refill. Someone like you from the streets probably wouldn’t understand.”

Well, the Countess and Laura do have quite expensive tastes.

The Count also loves to show off and enjoys entertainment, so it wouldn’t be strange if they had already spent all the money received from the royal family.

After all, it’s easy to spend a large sum that comes suddenly.

…That’s actually a bit fortunate.

If their investment had succeeded and they had become wealthy enough to live lavishly, it might have been a bit painful for me.

Thinking this, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“I’m laughing because it’s funny. Did you think I’d laugh because I’m sad? And Laura, I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

I crossed my arms firmly and lifted my head slightly.

It was the posture the Countess and Laura always used when looking down on me.

“The one in the position of asking a favor right now isn’t me, it’s you. With this attitude of yours, why would I grant your request?”

“…Ha. So what do you want me to do? Are you telling me to kneel down or something?”

Telling her to kneel?

Well, that wasn’t exactly what I meant…

“Why don’t you try it?”