“I’ll put the laundry away first, and then I’ll go look for her.”
Grete, with a pitiful expression, patted Mayana’s shoulder a few times before leaving her place.
When she opened the door leading to the laundry room, a heavy and humid smell wafted out. Mayana carefully descended the stairs, making sure not to tip over the basket. The air became more and more humid, and the smell from the laundry steam grew stronger.
Just as she was turning the last corner of the stairs, Mayana almost fell backward with a scream. Ariante had suddenly appeared out of nowhere from the shadows beneath the railing.
“Princess!”
Unconsciously clenching the handle of the basket, Mayana examined Ariante reflexively. Other than her hair drooping from the moisture in the stairwell, she seemed fine.
“What on earth were you doing here? It’s time for your homework. Teacher Bimen has been looking for you.”
Ariante looked up at Mayana with her bright blue eyes and said,
“Shouldn’t you be bringing me my snack? What are you doing here with that?”
Mayana looked down at the laundry basket in her hand. Ariante wasn’t entirely wrong. It was definitely snack time.
Mayana said,
“That’s if the princess is doing Teacher Bimen’s homework. What’s the use of putting cake on an empty desk?”
Ariante’s lips quivered, speechless. Whether she was very angry, Ariante stood up suddenly with her fists clenched, glaring at Mayana.
Mayana sighed and put down the basket.
“Princess, it’s dark here, and there are many stairs, so it’s dangerous. Please go back to your room and do your homework, and I will bring your snack soon. Shall I call the servants to escort you?”
“Do you think I’m a fool who can’t find my own room?”
Even though she said that, Ariante didn’t immediately climb the stairs. Then suddenly, she grabbed something from the laundry basket and pulled it out.
“Princess, what are you doing!”
What Ariante had pulled out was her corset. Though tailored to fit a child’s body, the countless buttons and ribbons made no difference from what adults wore.
Ariante glared at the corset as if it were something disgusting and then suddenly threw it to the ground. Then she started stomping on it violently with her smallshod foot.
“Princess! What are you doing! You mustn’t do that!”
Startled, Mayana stopped Arianthe and swiftly took the corset away from her. The soft ribbon was frayed, and several delicate buttons were damaged.
Mayana briefly looked at the ravaged corset, sighed deeply, and then flung it into the laundry basket, turning her gaze to Arianthe.
“Princess, do you hate the corset? Or do you hate me?”
“I hate both.”
“I like the Princess.”
Arianthe let out a sharp, unchildlike laugh.
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m telling the truth.”
Mayana hid the ruined corset among the laundry and then picked up the basket. Arianthe’s gaze persistently followed Mayana, but the sharp antagonism remained.
Mayana said,
“If you go up, I’ll bring you a snack.”
“I won’t eat it if it’s not chocolate cake with seeds.”
Mayana rolled her eyes in a somewhat mischievous way and moved her lips.
“Understood. I’ll climb a tree once to see if the plump chocolate seed cake has ripened or not.”
“Don’t talk nonsense! You fool?”
“Oh, nonsense, you say? Princess, did you not know? Chocolate seed cake grows on trees.”
Arianthe’s cheeks puffed up. She seemed to want to retort, but the child was still just a child. Mayana’s outrageous statement left her at a loss.
Mayana spoke with a triumphant smile,
“Go now, be careful on the stairs.”
Arianthe stomped up the stairs, making loud footfalls. If Cosha or Joslyn had seen, they would have scolded her again, saying that it was not the proper posture for a princess….
Mayana pushed the door to the laundry room with her shoulder and suddenly looked at the basket. The little corset that Arianthe had trampled and discarded, with its torn ribbon and ruined appearance, briefly flashed in her mind.
“What are you daydreaming about?”
The large maid in charge of the laundry, wielding a long wooden stick for stirring the lye, yelled. Mayana set down the basket and hurriedly escaped the laundry room before she could scold her.
‘Come to think of it, I never considered it before, but is it necessary to dress a child like Arianthe in something like a corset?’
From behind the closing door, the angry grumble of the laundry maid could be heard. Mayana feigned ignorance and trotted up the stairs.
(This is a time delimiter.)
“Sedilroy!”
Valterminster Duke, who was quickly crossing the bustling corridor, turned his head.
“Clopf.”
Sedilroy, or Valterminster Duke, had a faint smile on his lips.
Dressed in a sophisticated dark brown uniform with a deep green cravat, Viscount Clopf held a bundle of papers by his side and playfully slapped Sedilroy’s shoulder. The two were very intimate and old friends.
Clopf said,
“I thought I hadn’t seen your face lately, and here I bump into you. When did you arrive?”
“Last night. His Majesty wanted to review the trade agreement with Osrafen early in the morning.”
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
