“It seems the lady has misunderstood something.”
She frowned at my words and asked me: “I misunderstood you?
What misunderstanding?”
“The mine, you didn’t give it to me.
You entrusted it to me to sell.”
“What?
What do you mean?
I clearly heard it was a gift.”
I continued, stifling a laugh: “As you know, my brother, Your Highness the Crown Prince, enjoys gambling as a hobby.
So, if Her Majesty the Empress had personally extracted the Jade, it would have been moot this time.”
As soon as I mentioned Franz she seemed to accept it reluctantly with an angry expression.
However, since she was dealing with the Empress and the Crown Prince, she could not show her dissatisfaction or anger openly.
“Okay, I understand.”
I smiled at her.
“It appears that Madeleine misunderstood or miscommunicated the message.”
At my words, she narrowed her eyes.
“Are you saying that that girl made a mistake?
Instead of covering up a mistake between the cousins.”
Since she had favored Madeleine from a young age as a potential daughter-in-law, her bias towards Madeleine was very noticeable.
“Well, you can be my daughter-in-law after I’m gone.”
I laughed for a moment.
“Oh, it's going to be hard for a while.”
When she saw my smile, her eyes sharpened.
“Why do you seem to enjoy it when I lecture you?”
“Oh, that's because it's been a long time since I spoke to the lady.”
This was honest.
Despite my extreme anger, I really enjoyed seeing her stutter and complain without knowing where to direct her anger.
She stood up looking upset.
“I'm afraid I accidentally interrupted your meal.
I'll be leaving now.”
After I left, Sardine came back with the dishes.
I said to him, as he tried to sit on the floor again:
“Sit on the couch.
You look pathetic.”
Sardine heeded my advice, sat down on the sofa, placed the plate on the table, and began to eat.
Seeing him eat like a normal person comforted me.
Yeah, I'm not some mean lady who makes him eat on the floor.
I took a bite of the sandwich I was planning to eat earlier.
Now that I have laid the groundwork for selling the mine, it would not be surprising if the owner changed.
And even if she found out that I cheated on her, what would she do?
By then, I will have already sold mine.
The sandwich, with its crunchy vegetables, salty pork, and tangy mustard sauce, was one of my favorite sandwiches during my pregnancy, because it was easy to eat and delicious.
“Oh my god, I never told the lady again.”
I was thinking about when I would reveal the truth about my pregnancy.
While I was thinking, I remembered his presence, which I had forgotten throughout the meal.
'Oh, yeah, Randon.
He dared to confront the lady, and even received a slap.
'Admirable'
It is no exaggeration to say that my mother-in-law's authority in this house is absolute.
In the midst of all this, standing up to the Grand Lady and doing something that might not please her deserved some appreciation.
Well, I still don't trust him.
At that moment, I had an idea to test his sincerity.
'Yes, something like that would be fine.'
I spoke to Sardin, who was getting up with an empty plate.
“If you finish eating, can you call Brandon?”
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After Cornelia called, Randon headed to her room.
If the Duchess calls me, there are two possibilities.
The first possibility is to test his sincerity based on his recent actions with the eldest lady, and the second possibility is to assign him a task, as it seems that the first matter did not bother her.
Please, let him be the first.
Randon swallowed nervously and entered the room.
When he saw Cornelia sitting at the window in a white dress, he felt an incomparable elegance emanating from her.
'The royal family is completely different from the nobility'
When Cornelia looked at him with her violet eyes, he felt enormous pressure and involuntarily stuttered his words.
“Duchess, did you… call me?”
“I think you guessed why I called you?”
“I'm sorry; I'm stupid and couldn't understand your intentions.”
Cornelia laughed at his honest response.
“Okay, it's okay”
“What's wrong?” Randon asked suspiciously.
“Sit down.
This is going to be a long story.”
So, Randon guessed.
'Ah, it's the last one'
Honestly, he had a headache.
He was in a difficult situation with the Grand Lady, and had not received any guarantees from the Duchess, which increased his feeling of helplessness.
'If the Duchess asks for something unreasonable, I'd better go to the Grand Lady and kneel down.'
At that moment, the Duchess smiled warmly.
"Calm down.
Do you really think I'm going to ask you something so unreasonable?"
'Yes, that seems possible.'
Although he thought so, Randon hid his true feelings and simply smiled.
After a moment, Cornelia spoke.
“What I want to ask you is to keep an eye on the people of this house.”
“Yes, so… are you asking me to be your sergeant?”
“I guess you could say that.”
Randon remembered the eldest lady's sudden intervention a moment ago.
'You wouldn't ask me to spy on her, would you?'
If so, he will refuse.
If he was caught, he would undoubtedly be kicked out of this house without any chance to defend himself.
“Are you asking me to spy on one of my employers...?”
He tried to ask indirectly, so I immediately understood and spoke frankly.
"Don't worry; she's definitely not the eldest lady.
The one I want you to keep an eye on is the one who took your place."
Until I mentioned the person who replaced him, it seemed easy.
Duke Brant's knights were generous, and his aides were easy to talk to, with one exception.
But at the mention of the man who had usurped his position, Randon was forced to suppress his desire to flee.
“So, ma’am, do you mean… to spy on Mr.
Zenon?”
“To monitor, not to spy”
“But how could I do that?
Master Zenon may be in charge of foreign affairs, but he is a knight, and I am just a servant...”
“However, you were a servant.
Who else could make sure he did his job as efficiently as you?”
This statement wasn't entirely wrong.
However, since Zenon was the target, Randon hesitated to accept it rashly.
‘If any conflict occurs with Zenon’s path, then…’
As an auxiliary, Zeno wielded great authority that could only be surpassed by the Duke.
Getting into a dispute with someone like this will undoubtedly lead to dire consequences.
At that moment, Cornelia spoke.
“Actually, I was grateful when you stopped my mother-in-law earlier.”
Throughout his service to Duke Brant, Randon never heard a word of thanks from his superiors.
It was natural; For the nobles, servants were nothing but tools and people who performed the tasks assigned to them.
This sudden gratitude from the Duchess surprised Randon.
‘A noble, especially a high-ranking one, expresses his gratitude to me…’
Randon felt an inexplicable pride and a touch of emotion, adjusted his expression, and suppressed his smile.
Then Cornelia continued in an embarrassed tone: “But, while I was thinking of reinstating you, Mr.
Zenon was on your case.”
"What?
Why would Mr.
Zenon do…?"
“It seems the assistant is not inclined to reinstate you.”
“What?”
He didn't understand.
Frankly speaking, he rarely came into conflict with Zeno, which made Cornelia's words even more confusing.
“Honestly, I don't understand what you mean, ma'am.
It's not as if the assistant is specifically criticizing me...”
“I heard he was visiting Ruban recently to discuss household matters.”
At the mention of Ruban, the head maid's son, Randon's eyes narrowed, and he quickly remembered.
Yes, now that I think about it, he visits Robin more often.
Unlike himself, the son of a kitchen maid, Ruban was the son of the head maid, the closest to the grand lady.
He was tongue-tied.
Perhaps the assistant was seriously considering entrusting him with the position of butler.
I came to this position on my own...
Randon clenched his fists in frustration.
Then the Duchess spoke,
“So, are you planning to give up your position like this?”
She pointed to her room and continued, "From these pieces of furniture to everything in this palace, you have been supervising it.
Are you really willing to give up everything at the assistant's discretion?"
Randon, who was in an overly emotional state, felt that his feelings had reached their peak at these words.
But he was patient, concealed his feelings, and asked: “What exactly are you suggesting?”
Cornelia opened her red lips.
“Follow the helper, help him, and show him your hardworking side.
Then, won’t he realize your true worth?”
At first, when she mentioned her surveillance of Zenon, Randon thought it was some kind of surveillance, so he felt a kind of resistance.
But now, after knowing the circumstances, he was truly grateful to the Duchess for her concern for him.
I didn't know you were so nice...
He quickly held back his tears and struggled to speak.
“Thank you, ma’am.
I will do my best.”
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When Randon answered, I smiled brightly.
As I expected, I knew you would fall in love with words like that.