As they stood by the table, the servant who had been there gave a strange look to Mayana and gestured to the others. Even as they quietly and swiftly cleared the dishes, Mayana had no idea what mistake she had made.

The servant who was about to leave the table with two glasses stopped and turned to look at Mayana.

“Don’t be so condescending to the servants.”

Mayana turned her head with a puzzled expression. It was the moment she was about to get up, bowing her head as if she had been rude.

“I am also a servant at the Duke’s residence.”

The servant holding the glasses twitched, then turned his head sharply to gaze at Mayana. When her lips briefly twitched and shone, Mayana spoke.

“But regardless of that, you would have been condescending.”

“If you were the Duchess, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Mayana chuckled unknowingly.

“Well, that’s something I don’t know. But even if I were the Duchess, being condescending to the servants wouldn’t make my head roll. They’re also human beings. Just because they’re wearing different clothes.”

“That’s a strange thought. If you say such things carelessly, you might get whipped.”

“I’ve been whipped before. I also worked in a noble household before coming to the Duke’s residence. I swept between the legs of the master’s chair. And I was beaten to a pulp. It’s a story without a chance to speak… But even then, I never thought of changing my attitude.”

The servant, as if he shouldn’t deal with her anymore, shook his head and quickly left.

Alone, Mayana leaned on the clean table for a moment, quietly sighing. Always, someday, the words she wanted to say to someone were not as refreshing as she thought.

‘Well, it was the same anywhere.’

Was it different in her previous life? No, it wasn’t…

Looking back, it was like that. Even there, she saw countless humans like Lady Forbeck and Jocelyn. There were plenty of them to the point of being stepped on, but at that time, it wasn’t her business. It didn’t touch her skin.

Now, she had to live here until she died. After admitting that there was no possibility of returning to the past life, Mayana found stability but gained new sadness.

It was a resigned sadness that came from the fact that she had to force herself into a strange and incompatible place to survive.

But it will soon be forgotten. She thought. Because…

Arianthe is there.

If she can watch the child grow old, it might not be all bad.

“Did His Majesty say such things?”

Harmon nodded heavily at Cediloy’s words. They were sitting together in Harmon’s reception room, and memories of playing here often when they were young were still vivid.
“Do you think I’ve changed while raising Arianthe?”

“That’s right.”

Cediloy, who had been lost in thought for a moment, nodded.

“That’s also true, isn’t it?”

At that, Harmon chuckled.

“Arianthe wasn’t the first thing that changed you. Isn’t that right?”

The tip of Cediloy’s hand, reaching for the teacup, hesitated slightly. He looked at Harmon’s face, who was smiling playfully.

“Did you hear anything from Ash?”

“Ash? Why is Ash Lauren suddenly here? Oh, I see, there’s a prick. Ash must have noticed a long time ago, right?”

Harmon, adjusting his posture, dropped one more sugar cube into his teacup and stirred it gently. It seemed like he was accumulating words he wanted to spit out in a sneaky way.

Harmon said, “Mayana Dotsen, the servant from your house… Even by just talking to her briefly, I could tell. And I heard that she even dressed up in a dress? The rumors have spread like wildfire, you know? It’s said that you secretly had a government in the Duke’s residence, and there’s a child born between you and that government, and it’s not Arianthe.”

“I don’t think anyone would believe such baseless rumors.”

“It seems like you’ve forgotten how foolish the nobles are in the capital.”

Cediloy smirked without saying anything.

“Mayana is not part of my government.”

“Sure, she’s just a servant. Actually, the rumors about Arianthe are just the nonsense that fools are shouting about. The problem is that Miss Dotsen.”

Harmon’s voice lowered a bit.

“Tell me honestly, Cediloy. Do you have any intention of marrying that woman?”

Cediloy, sipping his tea quietly, moved his lips slightly and glanced at Harmon.

“I might.”

“Might? ‘Might’ you say? It’s the position of the Duchess of Baltermance. She’s your daughter, or more precisely, your niece now. Either way, she’s your daughter. It’s clear as day that you’ve taken good care of that child. It was so obvious that even if you had a blind eye, you wouldn’t be unaware of it. But being a good parent doesn’t mean being a good Duchess. It’s leading the social circle. Isn’t it? If Arianthe makes her debutante, you’ll also come up to the capital and take your place. Isn’t that right?”

Listening to Harmon, who was unusually passionate, Cediloy cautiously put down his cup.

“I won’t live in El Rautica, Harmon.”