I nodded absentmindedly, hearing with one ear and letting the words flow out of the other.

Feeling dampness soaked even into my underwear made me uncomfortable, and I wanted to wash quickly.

Lady Emeurn did not let me go easily.

“What’s with that appearance? A member of the Great House of Lorenst being so dirty. What will people say if they see?”

I saw malice filling her eyes. It was a deliberate look to torment me.

Especially after the incident of Aris’s rampage, she had been looking for every opportunity to torment me.

Do I need to endure this?

My day was already unpleasant, and this might make it worse.

“Sigh.”

As I sighed without hiding it, anger appeared on Lady Emeurn’s face.

“How dare you show such a reaction in front of me! Arrogance that pierces the heavens!”

She folded her fan with a snap and called the servants. The clothes of the servants rushing over after putting down the stones were soaked in sweat. There were a total of four.

“Kneel down.”

The exhausted servant, Eden, who rushed forward, discovered that ‘that’ was ‘me’ and hesitated.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

As I sincerely muttered, his expression softened.

Although I raised their wages and guaranteed their employment, they couldn’t avoid being mobilized for Lady Emeurn’s pointless labor.

“Why are you standing there foolishly?”

Lady Emeurn said coldly.

Except for the servants who were with me, others approached me.

“Don’t touch me.”

After saying that to the hesitant ones, I looked at Lady Emeurn.

In the situation facing the servants in the middle, there was a sense of tension.

Whether they were thinking the same thing, Lady Emeurn’s face hardened.

“Both of you are fired.”

The expressions of the servants who couldn’t come up to me twisted. I looked at Lady Emeurn without taking my eyes off.

“Hire them again.”

Huh? I smiled wryly as I looked at her, bewildered.

“I’ll use my salary if it bothers you that much.”

“You…”

Her voice broke with anger. With a restrained expression, Lady Emeurn twisted the corners of her mouth.

“With what audacity are you begging so arrogantly in front of me? Are you now the head of this family?”

“…”

“Follow me to my room.”

Turning swiftly, Lady Emeurn, as if telling me to listen carefully, instructed the maid who bowed deeply to have my belt ready.

I chuckled.

She sometimes used a belt to accentuate the fullness of her chest and the slenderness of her waist. According to Jenny, she seemed to use the belt even when punishing the maids.

Since she considered using violence as shameful, I just heard about it and never saw it. I wondered if it was true.

“Do you want to hit me?”

“It’s better for you to shut up and follow.”

“Why should I?”

When I replied quietly without taking a step, Lady Emeurn finally stopped walking.

There was a spark in her eyes as she turned to look at me.

“I don’t do things that dirty my hands, but to maintain the discipline of the family, there’s no choice.”
“If it’s something the lady needs, there’s no choice. However.”

“…….”

“If it’s such an important matter, wouldn’t it be proper to inform the Count?”

“Ha! Is lecturing you privately such an important matter?”

“I don’t know what you think, but there are quite a few eyes watching me. I’m gaining attention, you know.”

“…….”

“I’ve been promoting the family’s name widely lately. Why are you doing this? Wasn’t it what the lady wanted?”

For the sake of the family’s status, didn’t she push me into the role of a fake princess, sacrificing me?

Lady Emeurn’s complexion turned pale as she read my intentions. It must be frustrating not to be able to vent one’s anger freely.

Without a hint of drowsiness, she spoke.

“Well… Yes. The head of the family is the Count, so it would be appropriate to talk to him.”

Seeing her suddenly bright eyes, it seemed she was enduring for now. I couldn’t rule out the possibility that she was imagining hitting me with a belt adorned with numerous jewels.

As she moved with the maids and headed to Hubert’s back, I spoke up.

“Some time ago, I reported the Count’s monthly expenses. He seemed quite surprised.”

She chuckled.

“Are you really scared that I’m going to the Count? If you think of threatening me, forget it. He has never been involved in my hobbies. How dare you. I am his father’s wife.”

“That’s all.”

It was a brief remark, but it was enough to stop Lady Emeurn in her tracks.

Everyone has a weakness. Lady Emeurn’s weakness was this.

I approached her slowly.

I wondered what kind of words she heard just now as I whispered, savoring Lady Emeurn’s expression as if she were thinking about it.

“It’s true that the Count encourages the lady’s hobbies. But even so, didn’t you realize that the money spent in a month is the annual living expenses of an average family of four?”

“…….”

“Was the spending a bit excessive this month?”

I said gently as her gaze shifted to me.

“Don’t you need to be more moderate?”

“…….”