The next morning, Sela was called to Callian’s office, feeling tense.
Duke Callian Klaus was in the midst of signing documents with a statue-like expressionless face.
It was only after a while that he lifted his gaze to look at Sela.
His stiff lips parted.
“The reason I called you here today is to investigate the Duchess’s misdeeds.”
“……”
Sela also knew why she was here.
The fact that Callian was investigating directly, rather than the butler, meant that he had no intention of easily covering up this matter.
Esika had said.
They would try to completely subdue her once she started to become an eyesore.
Callian continued.
“Rumors are rampant that the Duchess is tormenting the maids. I hear that skilled children wrote resignation letters, which Mother barely managed to placate.”
Callian’s brow was furrowed.
It seemed she hadn’t punished the other maids as cruelly as Yuri, but the resignation letters were clear evidence of Esika’s wrongdoings.
Of course, the Duchess is the mistress, and they are mere maids with no right to question.
Still, Callian or the Grand Duchess could question her for the crime of causing a disturbance in the household and committing tyranny.
She would brazenly pretend not to know, but with the scar on Yuri’s leg, any excuses would be just that – excuses.
“I heard you attend to the Duchess all day long.”
“……Yes, that is correct.”
Sela moved her lips slightly with her head slightly bowed.
Her seemingly nervous appearance gave Callian more certainty.
This child, too, is surely being abused by Esika.
“Tell me about her treatment of you.”
Although it wasn’t extravagance, abusing maids also falls under the category of misconduct for a noble lady.
Callian picked up his quill pen.
“……”
But Sela did not open her mouth.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds, even after a minute passed, only a heavy silence lingered.
Callian, with his eyebrows set, asked Sela again.
“Whatever you say, there will be no disadvantages. Just answer honestly. I’ll move your work location elsewhere.”
“Your Grace.”
Sela opened her mouth with a hardened face.
The threat she had received from Yuri earlier flashed through Sela’s mind.
“Tell him you’re being beaten like a dog by Esika. If you say anything reckless… know that your family won’t be safe.”
Sela’s tightly clenched fist trembled faintly.
“……Before I speak, would you promise me one thing?”
Callian lent his ear to Sela.
**
In the imperial garden, a white butterfly fluttered about amidst the fully bloomed flowers.
Resban, sitting on a long bench, was in the process of cleaning his sword.
Each time he wiped the sword with a finely woven cloth, the blade of the long sword glistened, reflecting the world.
The white butterfly that had flown over landed on Resban’s hand.
Suddenly, it seemed as if a young girl’s voice could be heard.
A bitter smile flickered across Resban’s lips before disappearing.
Did the white butterfly know on whose hand it had landed?
After perching precariously for a moment, it gracefully left his hand.
Resban did not try to catch the butterfly.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince. You called for me.”
Shortly after, his attendant came before the Crown Prince and bowed.
It was the attendant who had been serving Resban since he was a boy.
Resban, holding up the well-polished sword, spoke.
“Do you remember when I sent you to Frihartz ten years ago?”
Startled by those words, the attendant answered with his gaze lowered.
“Yes…… That is correct.”
“If you had investigated properly, you wouldn’t have made such a careless report.”
The attendant felt a chill run down his spine at Resban’s low voice.
Resban was looking at the well-polished sword.
The moment he became distracted, his own blood would be mercilessly spattered on that sword.
“I deeply apologize, Your Highness.”
“So you did know.”
“……Your Highness……”
“Despite knowing, reporting that she had died wasn’t just the intention of a mere attendant, was it?”
The attendant’s hands were trembling violently.
Yes. It was someone’s decision that they couldn’t accept a humble noble from Frihartz, and one of common birth at that, by the side of the noble Crown Prince.
The attendant squeezed his eyes shut, feeling as if Resban’s sword might come down on him at any moment.
“I am truly sorry, Your Highness……”
Sometimes, silence can be more chilling than a scolding.
And today’s situation was just like that.
Resban simply stared at the well-polished sword without giving any reply.
That silhouette growing in his dreams as time passed.
After a while, Resban’s lips moved.
“I do not keep those who go against my will by my side.”
The attendant immediately fell to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground.
“Your Highness, please forgive me……”
Two knights who had been standing at a distance approached.
The attendant struggled, trembling, but had no choice but to stand up, forcibly overpowered by the strength of the two men.
“Your Highness! Please have mercy!……”
Soon, the knights began to drag the attendant away, holding both his arms.
Only meaningless sounds of struggle could be heard as he tried not to be dragged away.
Shortly after, the attendant disappeared, taken away by the knights.
He would probably never be seen in the imperial palace again.
Resban slowly lowered the sword and sheathed it.
The familiar sound of the blade scraping against the sturdy scabbard was heard.
The wind was blowing. The scent of flowers was thick, but the white butterfly did not return.
Thinking of ways to catch the escaped white butterfly, Resban closed his eyes.
**
Upon receiving Callian’s message from a servant, Esika headed towards his office.
At the time when the sunset was approaching, long rays of the setting sun would be pouring through the windows of the spacious office.
Usually, Callian did not work until this hour.
But calling her probably meant he had some business that he had prepared diligently.
When Esika arrived in front of the office, butler Hans, who had been lingering by the door, made eye contact and greeted her before reporting in a low voice.
“Your Grace. The Duchess… has arrived.”
“Open the door.”
Soon after, with a creaking sound, the door opened, and Esika entered his office.
It was a scene she had seen several times before.
And at the office desk, Callian was seated with his back slightly hunched.
He was not alone there.
Yuri and Sela were standing side by side near the wall.
Yuri had lowered the ends of her eyebrows to appear pitiful, but couldn’t hide the smile at the corners of her mouth.
And Sela… was standing still with her head deeply bowed.
“What is the matter?”
Esika stood before Callian with a composed face.
Callian’s gaze turned to her, and he stared at Esika silently for a while.
With an expression as if he had seen through Esika’s true intentions.
After a moment, Callian stood up, lifting his buttocks from the desk.
The eye level, which hadn’t differed much when Callian was sitting, suddenly increased.
“I called you to give you a warning.”
When Callian parted his lips, a cold voice was heard.
Esika stood still without moving an eyebrow.
“I had no intention of intervening in women’s affairs, but if all the maids quit, it could lead to rumors that would splatter dirty water on the Klaus name.”
“……”
Yuri bowed her head even deeper.
Probably because she could no longer hide her smile.
“I’ve heard stories that you have severely abused the maids of the ducal family, including your friend Yuri Anesis.”
“……Ah, me?”
Esika asked back with a smirk.
At her brazen attitude, Callian squinted one eye.
Esika Klaus, was she pretending to be innocent?
However, Callian had no intention of participating in Esika’s transparent act any longer.
“Especially Yuri’s leg…… it left me speechless.”
Esika inwardly agreed with those words.
Riona had been so harsh with the cane that it left several lines of scars.
Esika had even poured salt water on it, ensuring that the scars would remain.
“So?”
“Esika.”
At Esika’s still unserious response, Callian called her name with a distorted brow.
And in a low voice, as if threatening, he said.
“Moderate yourself. Your misdeeds have gone too far.”
Esika stared at him silently for a moment.
Then she shifted her gaze to the window where red light was pouring in.
When was it? There were days when she would secretly open the office door and gaze at Callian for a long time.
His profile, enveloped in the sunset, was dreamily handsome.
At that time, she certainly thought so.
After a brief reminiscence, Esika looked back at Callian.
“If rumors spread that the maids of the ducal family are being severely abused and writing resignation letters, it would certainly have a negative impact on the Klaus ducal family.”
Her lips continued to move.
Esika’s eyes, looking at Callian, were shining so intensely it was eerie.
“But, is there any evidence that I am the perpetrator of these misdeeds?”
At her words, Callian hesitated for a moment.
But soon, a scornful laugh began to escape.
Who else but Esika would abuse the commoner maids in the Klaus ducal family?
“I expected you to deny it to the end… but you disappoint me once again today.”
Even at Callian’s cold words, Esika didn’t flinch an eyebrow.
Callian called Sela in a rough voice.
“Sela. Did you bring it?”
At Callian’s words, Sela, who flinched, slowly raised her head.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Her expression looked terrified.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
