The next morning, Sela entered with a knock.
On the tray Sela carried were the freshest vegetables, bread, and drinks.
Unlike before, Sela bowed her head respectfully to Esika and said,
“I apologize, madam, for my lack of skill in preparing only this much.”
She knew there had been orders from the grand duchess to only give her stale bread for meals.
So this was probably food Sela had managed to steal discreetly.
As Esika nodded slightly, Sela placed it on the table.
And as she was about to turn away, Esika threw something towards Sela.
Startled, Sela caught it and opened her hand.
There was a small, sparkling pearl.
It was probably worth about three months’ wages for maids like her.
“It’s bait for the chef.”
Sela’s eyes flickered at those words.
If she gave this pearl to the chef, he would gladly provide good food.
“Bring me the paper on the table. It’s a kind of recipe, tell him to cook it exactly as written.”
Of course, customized dishes according to the duchess’s tastes would also be possible.
Sela bowed politely.
“Understood, madam.”
Previously, she might have secretly sold the pearl instead of giving it to the chef, but now she knew she couldn’t do that.
The duchess, who could see through even the internal affairs including herself, and who could tell if food was poisoned just by looking at it, would surely notice her clumsy deception.
‘Why didn’t I realize what kind of person she was before?’
She felt like her eyes had been newly opened since last night.
The treatment of maids depended on the position of the person they served, and Sela, as the maid of Duchess Esika, was in a position of being ignored even among the maids.
But now, the duchess might even confront the grand duchess later… and if so, Sela’s position could also…
‘…No, that’s probably not possible.’
As soon as the idle thought occurred, Sela erased it.
After Sela left the room, Esika twisted the corner of her lips.
There was a reason for taking in Sela.
It was natural for a duchess to have eyes and ears inside the household, but because she had entrusted all such tasks to Yuri, there was no one else she could trust with the work.
Although Sela was greedy, she had a personality that knew her place and submitted once shown a display of power.
She also had wide connections and could find out various things or handle many tasks.
So she could be used effectively during her stay at the duke’s residence.
‘Fortunate that I had some pearls left.’
Once a month, when her brothers sent jewels from her family home, Esika received them through Yuri.
She had complained, not knowing that Yuri had already taken the best jewels.
And when Yuri consoled her saying, ‘I’ll sell the remaining jewels and get you some things,’ she gave away even the leftovers.
Of course, what Yuri brought back were only old blankets, quilts, and very poor meals…
Yuri said she had given the jewels as bribes to the grand duchess’s maids, but their gazes were always cold.
Naturally, they probably hadn’t received anything.
Fortunately, she had hidden away the pouch of pearls received from her father the day before the wedding, without telling even Yuri about it.
‘First… the question is whether the chef can produce the spirit medicine.’
To increase the speed of internal energy growth, martial artists often consumed spirit medicine.
The same was true for spirit beings, and since she knew the composition of easy-to-make spirit medicine, it wasn’t difficult to think of similar ingredients from this era to include.
What she asked the chef to produce was ‘Ilyeongyak’, which looked like juice at first glance but contained a formula for increasing internal energy.
If it’s successfully produced and consumed once a day, the speed of internal energy growth will increase.
**
In the afternoon, while steadily building up her energy through meditation, Esika put on her dress in response to Callian’s sudden summons.
The red dress she had worn since her family home, despite its age, made her beautiful figure stand out like an enchanting rose.
“You’re truly beautiful… Somehow, you seem to be getting prettier,” Sela had exclaimed while arranging the lace.
That was because as the energy circulated through her body, toxins accumulated in the skin were expelled, inevitably making her skin clearer.
“You called for me, Your Grace?”
Esika moved her lips as she stood behind Callian, who was waiting for her at the table prepared for tea time.
Rather than having tea with someone she didn’t like, meditation would be better… but in unprepared situations, it’s best to act without standing out.
‘Anyway, I’m planning to fry them like grasshoppers on a hot plate, so there’s no need to rush.’
“…”
Callian slowly turned his head towards Esika.
And he stared at her for quite a while, frozen.
It was Esika Klaus alright, but somehow her gaze and demeanor felt subtly different.
Her silver hair fluttered in the warm breeze, her skin had a healthy color, and under her thick eyelashes, her blue eyes shone like jewels in the sunlight.
“…Sit down.”
At Callian’s words, Esika sat opposite him.
And without picking up the teacup, she looked at Callian.
In the deep silence, Callian felt a strange sense of dissonance as he looked at Esika.
“You only have tea with your friends, it’s too much. I always want to be by Callian’s side.”
The slightly exaggerated round eyes that would widen whenever she came near him, and the whiny nasal voice.
Even the small mistakes that didn’t fit proper etiquette…
Tea time with Esika was always tiring, and listening to her chatter about things he wasn’t interested in was torture.
“…”
But now Esika was looking at him without even a greeting, creating an awkward atmosphere.
With an indifferent gaze as if asking, ‘What’s your business?’
Thinking that couldn’t be right, Callian spoke up.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’ve gotten quite better, but I think I’ll need more rest than before.”
Esika emphasized the word ‘rest’.
Implying ‘I need enough rest, so please don’t call me again’.
Taking her words at face value, Callian moved his lips.
“The reason I wanted to have tea with you today is because I wanted to give you a warning.”
Callian actually didn’t want to exchange words with Esika at all.
But after seeing Yuri cry last night, saying she was distressed by Esika’s persecution, he felt uneasy.
There was no guarantee that the vicious Esika wouldn’t slap Yuri again.
“A warning?”
At Esika’s question, Callian continued, suppressing his rising irritation.
“I hope you will refrain from words and actions that tarnish the honor of the Klaus family.”
“Your Highness, please refrain from jealousy.”
“…”
Esika looked at Callian with a cold gaze, but Callian wasn’t looking at Esika’s eyes.
He spoke curtly.
“Doubt only torments oneself.”
“My relationships with them are only for political purposes.”
Callian then downed the cooled tea in his cup.
“You just need to fulfill your duties as the duchess.”
Esika was just staring at Callian with an expression that seemed no different from before.
He had expected her to beg for his love as always, or to badmouth Yuri, but it was neither.
Instead…
“Pfft.”
The corners of Esika’s lips curled up and a chuckle escaped.
Then she snickered a few times as if she had heard a really funny story.
Watching this, the corner of Callian’s eyebrow twitched.
“You’re not taking my words to heart.”
Callian frowned, thinking he had wasted his time.
This chuckle, too, was just to get his attention.
Soon she would change her attitude and throw a tantrum, demanding he confess about his relationship with Yuri.
With her face flushing red and blue, eyes brimming with tears.
She was truly a woman in stark contrast to his friend.
However, Esika still didn’t hide her amusement.
“…”
For so long that Callian felt strange about that smile.
After laughing to her heart’s content and quite some time had passed, Esika opened her mouth again.
“You are quite consistent, Your Grace.”
In Esika’s judgment, Callian had a stubbornness that would break rather than bend.
Because of the pride stemming from that nature, he despised Esika even more for securing her position as his wife with money.
Yuri wore Callian’s allet ring and provoked Esika, but that must have all been calculated behavior.
Knowing how Callian would look at Esika as she rushed to confirm the truth.
A man’s heart truly burns in earnest when faced with obstacles.
“As you say, I’ll focus only on my duties as the duchess.”
And at Esika’s following words, Callian’s eyebrow twitched.
“If the business is concluded, may I take my leave now?”
“…!”
An unexpected response and question flowed out. Business concluded, she said.
Callian felt inexplicably frustrated as he looked at her.
In Esika’s cool gaze, her blue eyes held a relaxed light he had never seen before.
“I think even this conversation is a waste of time for both of us, given our current relationship.”
Esika’s lips moved coldly.
Callian felt even more frustrated.
Today, Esika felt unfamiliar, as if she wasn’t Esika, as if she held a different heart inside.
Esika looked at Callian, who was staring at her, and picked up her teacup with a lofty smile.
Then she leisurely sipped her tea.
Callian couldn’t understand this attitude.
“…Still, I’ve enjoyed the tea aroma enough.”
The sound of Esika putting down her teacup was heard.
“I’ll take my leave now. I still need rest due to the injury from that time.”
Esika Klaus, that woman, had never risen first in front of him before.
She had always begged for love, followed him around pitifully, and stayed in that spot for a long time even after he left.
But in the eyes of Esika as she rose, the unpleasant clinginess of the past could not be found.
Not the eyes that always wanted to possess jewels, but indifferent eyes as if looking at a common, worthless stone, covered by thick eyelashes glittering in the sunlight.
Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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