“Since you insist you’re not that young, I suppose we don’t need to let it slide. Brother Darius? Miss Temery, mind your manners first. What exactly is the relationship between Miss Temery and His Highness the Grand Duke?”
“You!”
I snatched Rose Temery’s fan and unfolded it.
Oh, it’s a feathered fan. As expected, it’s the real deal.
Tilting my head lazily and covering my face with the fan, I now embodied the image of a perfect villainess.
“More disrespect. I am Her Highness the Grand Duchess, am I not? Don’t underestimate me just because I’m new here today. If you continue with such rude remarks, I will ban you from entering the Grand Duke’s estate.”
“Who do you think you are!”
“Sigh… For the crime of using offensive language, I ban Miss Temery from entering the estate for one week. Go home and reflect on your actions. Next time we meet, I hope you’ll have adopted the speech befitting a young lady of good breeding.”
I was about to pull the bell rope to summon a maid. That’s when it happened.
“Lady Anette, please forgive Rose’s rudeness.”
With a bang, the door opened and a woman entered the room with a virtuous expression.
“Lady Egritte!”
“I apologize for greeting you like this. My name is Egritte. I manage this estate, assisting His Highness the Grand Duke who is busy as a single man. Please feel free to call me Mrs. Egritte, Lady Anette.”
‘Oh, look at that timing?’
At her appearance, which seemed as if she had been waiting for the right moment to intervene, Rose, who had been on the verge of tears, perked up as if she had found an ally.
“Yes, I’ve heard about you, madam.”
Egritte appeared to be in her thirties or forties. She had such a refined face that it was difficult to gauge her age at a glance.
When Darius became Grand Duke, Inkhart’s relatives assigned him a guardian, arguing he was too young. Egritte was the woman chosen by that family council. She was in charge of managing the estate’s internal affairs on behalf of the busy Darius.
In stories, when a lonely northern duke brings a sunny female protagonist to his estate, characters like this typically offer encouragement and support, saying things like, ‘I always believed there was a warm side to our master’s heart. You’ll discover it, my lady. Please bring spring to this cold estate!’ But…
‘She clearly doesn’t have that kind of face.’
Look how she suddenly appeared when Rose was on the defensive.
She has the look of someone who would have encouraged Rose Temery to come to my room, while watching from behind.
‘Actually, regardless of her looks, in the original work, this woman…’
Ah, that would be a spoiler.
“Miss Temery has long been a beloved young lady in this estate that has no daughter. She’s still at an age of immaturity. I will teach her well, so please show her some leniency, my lady.”
“Even if Rose is young, you’re older than me, Mrs. Egritte, yet you insist on making me say unpleasant things to an elder.”
Did she think that if she said something, the newlywed bride would meekly respond, ‘Yes, I’ll do as you say’?
Mrs. Egritte’s face hardened.
“The servants are watching. This is an important time when we need to show what kind of person the new lady of the house is, and above all, demonstrate her authority. Rose has openly undermined my authority. My first order since coming here was for Rose to reflect on her actions, and now you, Mrs. Egritte, are asking me to withdraw that order.”
I lowered my eyes as if disappointed.
“His Highness the Grand Duke told me that Mrs. Egritte would assist me, but it seems that’s not the case at all.”
“Lady Anette, that’s not true at all.”
“What do you mean by ‘not true at all’? You didn’t even consider my fallen authority and immediately asked for forgiveness for Rose, didn’t you?”
“I first apologize for causing you concern, my lady. And I request punishment for both Rose and myself.”
“L-Lady Egritte?”
Indeed, she was a more intelligent villain than Rose. I was a bit impressed. Yes, an apology in words alone is not a true apology.
“As I work in the estate, being banned from entering like Rose wouldn’t be a punishment for me. It seems I’ve forgotten my manners, so as a form of reflection, I will copy an etiquette book and submit it to you, my lady.”
Then Mrs. Egritte turned to Rose with a benevolent expression and said,
“Rose, I’m not forcing you, but if you follow my example and copy the etiquette book, it will help cultivate your mind and body.”
“But, but…!”
Rose, at an age where she’d hate to sit at a desk, looked distressed at the situation that had gone from bad to worse.
Was this a strategy to burden me by voluntarily taking on a more severe punishment than the one I had given?
“You’re making me out to be an extremely strict lady on my first day as a bride. If rumors spread that I made Mrs. Egritte, who has been in charge of internal affairs until now, copy an etiquette book, what will people say about me?”
“Not at all. Regardless of one’s position, one should reflect on one’s mistakes when necessary.”
“Is that so?”
If you insist that much, I have no choice… I really wasn’t going to give a punishment, but…
“For the sake of my reputation, I can’t ignore your sincerity. Although I might face some criticism, I will gladly accept your etiquette book.”
I tapped Rose’s villainous fan with my hand as I spoke.
“For the sake of your mental and physical cultivation, I’ll choose the thickest etiquette book I can find. Sigh, I’ll have to bury myself in books right after getting married.”
You thought I wouldn’t punish you? Well, you’re wrong.
“Rose?”
Rose Temery, who was about to tiptoe out, stiffly turned her neck at my call. Her face said, ‘If Mrs. Egritte gets a thick etiquette book, what about me? I can’t even enter the estate, and now I have to copy at home too!’
Well, well, did you think you could get away with it by running away?
She was like a child who didn’t know that the teacher’s lecture flying home was scarier.
“Rose, at first I was angry with you. But Mrs. Egritte here asked me to forgive you, and in my view, you’re still young and have a chance to reflect, so I could remove the punishment.”
Rose’s eyes lit up with hope, as if asking if it was true.
“But you should apologize, right?”
The next moment, her hope turned to despair.
“Thank you very much, Lady Anette. Rose, what are you doing? You should quickly apologize and express gratitude for Lady Anette’s mercy.”
“A lady shouldn’t use unpleasant words. Apologize for your disrespectful speech, for speaking to me, the wife of the Grand Duke, in such a manner. If you sincerely reflect, I can forget about both the ban on entry and copying the etiquette book.”
“I’m…”
Rose Temery bowed her head deeply and squeezed out words with a red face. Even just seeing her voice and the back of her head, her thoughts were transparent.
I really dislike that woman, but I also hate being banned from the estate and the copying punishment!
I don’t want to be banned from entering the estate and not being able to see Brother Darius.
But I also don’t want to apologize to that woman.
If I’m not around, that woman might completely win over Brother Darius.
But apologizing means acknowledging her!
“I’m… I’m so…”
“Oh dear, Rose. I can’t quite hear what you’re saying?”
“…ry.”
Gritting her teeth, Rose Temery shouted.
“Sorry or not, I really hate you!”
Mrs. Egritte’s face stiffened, and I smiled brightly. Yes, lying is bad.
“My, how honest you are.”
The punishment for honest little Rose was decided: copying a total of seven etiquette books, one each day for a week.
* * *
“M-M-My Lady! It’s truly an honor to meet you! I-I mean, it’s an honor for our family! I will serve you with all my heart, My Lady!”
Freckles. Low nose. Hair tied up. The maid in front of me looked like she could win first place in a romance novel maid selection contest.
In other words, her endearing and faint appearance was perfect for the role of a maid.
“No need to be so nervous. Are you alone? Where are the others?”
“The older sisters are busy preparing the bridal chamber for you and His Grace, so I came alone.”
“How long have you been working here?”
“Not long at all. I was lucky to get the position when one of the maids working at the estate suddenly quit!”
‘Not long, huh.’
Given the hostile environment of the North towards me, I thought that if there were any servants coming to help me, they’d be spies.
‘But it seems they sent a new recruit because they dislike me.’
Even for a poor grand ducal family, is it reasonable that there’s only one maid to serve the Grand Duchess?
The seniors avoided it and sent her, and she doesn’t even realize it. Look at how happy she is on her own. The child lacks awareness. But she seems kind.
“So, what’s your name?”
“My Lady asked for my name…! Oh, I mean, it’s Apple Green, My Lady.”
“Apple? Like the fruit?”
“Yes! I think it’s easy to remember.”
Her voice trembled a bit, but she was a spirited girl.
By the way, wouldn’t it be rude to comment on someone else’s parents’ naming sense during a first meeting?
“…Anyway, Apple, I don’t have any maids I brought from the South.”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“It’s not just ‘that’s right,’ think about it. Who’s going to help me wash and dry my hair right now? My morning preparations? Entertaining guests?”
“My sisters and I will do our best to ensure you don’t feel any lack, My Lady!”
“Yes, yes, you can help with most things one way or another, but I’m worried about finding someone I can trust with my most intimate affairs. For example, a maid to manage my jewelry box? I can’t just entrust that to anyone.”
Announcement to all the maids in the estate: The position of head maid to the Grand Duchess is currently vacant. Many other maid positions are also available.
We look forward to prompt applications from estate employees who know how to get ahead.
Once recruitment is complete, this notice will be closed.
“Make sure to tell your sisters about this, okay?”
I smiled gently as I patted Apple’s shoulder.
As befits a romance novel heroine, or rather a Grand Duchess, I should have at least one loyal head maid who moves like my hands and feet.
But judging by her appearance alone, there’s no need to recruit separately – Apple seems to fit the image of a heroine’s assistant perfectly.
__________
“Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
