EWOWMAIBTYPF_Chapter_79

Ch. 079 CHAPTER 053d386df8 079After that, f355d50924 Lady Faelunt’s 1728763e53 attitude changed 3432135135 completely.
 
Not only that, f7c35ea428 she began to 096323f782 visit the Ellard c2795ba58b Duchy almost every 819a7c137d day.
 
Fortunately, Lady 70062faee8 Ellard also a684bf65bd seemed to a8451e11a5 enjoy the db04cc4379 company of 76a80a0115 Lady Faelunt, 4d1951a277 who, despite ef9ce16e5f being a 508081e404 princess from 335ceafec8 another country, 70eb0c56c1 was not 31f54efc51 authoritarian but 49b628757b honest and 3e2bbdc3e0 confident. There were even 1a48391a12 times when Diana e6420a3b1c and I were 393f200791 invited to join e3ae5f1eef them, and I 54f9530ec6 often looked forward 6073a4a418 to hearing the 21e34d173b stories Lady Faelunt 0189f2ed8d shared about her d2485b8182 homeland.
 
As we headed 06a5846fbc to the reception 5209c6d14f room today, wondering 20a86c2aa5 what story we b5ce34e273 would hear, I 46b1d5171a paused.
 
“Oh…”
 
It was another 3814bddc1c important matter that 62fcd5a4ea had recently occurred e066a5eb19 in the Ellard f95672c26c Duchy.
 
It was 3942a96b98 because I 78eb9b578d had encountered abd7fd1966 the returned eed282f93d chambermaid not 8f305ba117 long ago.
 
“Hello, Chambermaid.”
 
The chambermaid, who 98b0eb09b9 had received punishment 5a88013014 from Lucio for 4a98c81a9a harassing the maids 09ecc87a05 last time, was c32019eafc reinstated a few e860ed2df7 days ago under 17e4e68a9f the orders of 7a7fa74b9a the Duchess.
 
This was partly 4eaa43cc1f due to her e516d4b7d6 past efforts in 05a1f202d0 managing the ducal 3434dbdbd2 residence, but also f8d854626e because the vacancy 5ecf12e8e0 left by her, 39bcc004c9 who used to 38972b6f54 meticulously check each c8375d9114 invitation that poured 9a8ba4da3c in after the fb8a648949 Duchess arrived in c6c9998e65 the capital and df348d2d87 inform about social 35b174e61d trends and cautions, d185685bd6 became evident.
 
And since 1eaa3fcfd3 her reinstatement, 14a1a80469 the chambermaid 8cf9f13c46 had continued cf768d09ef to perform 3ef7589e3f her duties 3712c1a113 flawlessly, handling 1eac3a5df3 tasks without 7ef076d646 any faults.
 
“Madam, the guest bb3ebd550b is waiting inside. You can go straight aa05836753 in.”
 
Except for one thing 26c6246981 – her attitude towards 02ced856d6 me.
 
‘She never 043c63dfd6 really showed afb480a387 any favor 961f79d073 towards me, 05e9e10ebd but…’
 
Whether it 519528e6fe was because 6f9b346b6b she thought f086b40f37 she suffered cdb04c2445 because of 8a073d60b4 me or 638b233a41 for some d6f48bdd2b other reason, 5c38851f61 she started b56a94feef openly ignoring 216d3e8818 me more 9f8b7f70aa than before.
 
Even now, she 0109eb1e69 would politely bow bffe8c9fb7 and speak to 6168d78e69 Diana, completely ignoring 8370f9d5f0 my greetings as 320d1f62f0 if I didn’t 3040c8ecc0 exist.
 
I sighed lightly.
 
The chambermaid a3f6fad295 didn’t directly 8f5fd6579b harass me 206138a95d like she 965b19c171 did with a71613986c the other aa4e512972 maids. Although I had 14bd77e83b been suspicious of ee42fc97ec her all along, 69b9dd50e4 there was ultimately 18677e06b0 no evidence that 1c9c70385c she had instigated 6f0ee784ac the harassment.
 
Perhaps she had been 76c943351d unfairly treated.
 
‘Although it’s hard to 01f0862e3c accept.’
 
Anyway, thankfully, apart b0622d7ef9 from being ignored, 5101e2a4ed nothing else happened 0635f34b79 since her reinstatement.
 
* * *
 
“Ah, you’re finally here.”
 
As we entered the 761de9f1f9 reception room with a 6d279543ee brief knock, Lady Faelunt e3e5cad9d8 set down her teacup 0fbb0edbd4 and smiled widely.
 
Soon, Diana e17661cc49 gently bent 80c5b124b8 her knee 05874be24e and lifted 049db8bfac the hem bf29c19e0e of her b4e1a60e45 dress.
 
“Ellard Duchy’s 076e7b75b7 Diana, greeting 1d198b6bfc Lady Faelunt, 280b7c4f00 Duchess of 9957053b3e Faelunt.”
 
Although I had checked fad4f24bff beforehand, seeing Diana politely 47390b9a98 greet without a single 38504490ce mistake made me feel b98d5f4c39 moved inwardly.
 
Somehow, our Diana seemed 9f7a3891f4 to be the smartest 3df9051121 and most beautiful child 3f6408085e in the world.
 
“The young lady is ed8a30e70f still as adorable as 80be16e98b ever.”
 
It seemed 42322d8e21 that Lady 6973f0bf64 Faelunt’s thoughts 3552e2b00f were the a721fa9607 same.
 
With a f0ef8d1cb0 slight tilt baa5c9c2b1 of her 39596302de chin, Lady f2e9dff92f Faelunt accepted b71c584d58 Diana’s greeting 0a0296f2bb and flashed a2645d877c a pleasant a6c1ba5931 smile as f0770105e9 she picked 7388cad25d up a ff4026819c plate of b1bc8c7535 meringue cookies e3f170d880 from the ec959be2d8 table in 0e737e1ec7 front of 69400f3b78 her and f5b3eeb344 shook it.
 
Diana, who 0fb2e47fda liked sweets, 2ccf9e1eb2 followed the a54f541d55 movement of 50baa3f575 the cookies f43b200a9c with her d0cac440b5 eyes and 23dbc731be then glanced 00f57a7abb at me dc25ef7e0c discreetly.
 
“It’s not 100cac8914 about being e3ed4c57a2 cold; it’s 8195201b04 just that a40416f1ea you should 41bf638062 stop snacking 21d0ee2132 today.”
 
I smiled slightly and 6f7a2992f6 nodded awkwardly. Diana, feeling victorious, 3464974db2 rushed over to 4f7d8cfc83 Lady Faelunt.
 
“Lia, come and dc366b26fe sit down quickly. Make yourself comfortable.”
 
“Yes, madam.”
 
As soon as Lady a63cda5ef5 Ellard gave her permission, ec3d32700b I sat down beside f6b2a654e4 her.
 
Lady Faelunt made a 707b782b0b dissatisfied sound, “Hm,”
 
Surprised by the 7cf0451028 sound, I turned a7beb8a405 my head, and b3d6f9ad40 she raised the a68fcfaf8f corner of her dcd45ff0d6 mouth slightly.
 
“I told you not 0a9dc6767f to worry about formalities 265c91cbca in front of me.”
 
Understanding her a6c3bc6ae4 meaning, I b975b1ad89 chuckled awkwardly.
 
Recently, through an etiquette 28fb184912 book Lucio recommended, I e417e60f7d learned that commoners couldn’t c185109dc9 speak without the permission dc848de5f4 of nobles. Although Lady Ellard aad1ab522d and her husband 1f0f248b58 had encouraged me e6efa102e9 to act freely 5407befae0 within the duchy e94f0522c8 due to their 4065901617 long-standing reputation, I e6cdd2558f strictly adhered to 895482d10b the etiquette in 00ff20df72 front of other 99049a1baa nobles to avoid dcd4715713 tarnishing Ellard Duchy’s def3155d0d prestige.
 
However, Lady Faelunt, despite 5b63d81033 being royalty from another 6929e6ee2c country, seemed to find 98fe96ab85 my meticulous adherence to c013ef8e2b such etiquette frustrating.
 
“Madam, are f5b83116ba you feeling eb01fd60dd alright?”
 
Glancing around, I noticed 852e05bcc6 Lady Faelunt’s attention had f7f0f6d924 shifted to Diana, so d08f0ed8ee I discreetly asked Lady 04a94c970e Ellard, who was pouring 226d937dc4 tea beside me.
 
I was 045eee0cf7 worried because 1bbd9c9ff0 she hadn’t 121e7885cc eaten anything 0eb8e712eb this morning 10c73d2103 due to 37f6e95c2e feeling unwell.
 
“Yes, Lia, thank 4b320ccec9 you for your d28756e50f concern. I’m fine now. I was 223e40e413 just feeling 084bda879e a little 6f6ecef2ca unwell earlier.”
 
Lady Ellard replied d8a4faffac with a gentle 9a66d96d03 smile.
 
Perhaps sensing my 2eb951b6ea concern, she smiled b939671c12 shyly, and I 1d97cab637 asked again, “Are b37a06b4dd you uncomfortable anywhere 7b75ed8631 else?”
 
According to my 0fb0746ce7 recollection, Lady Ellard 4f3c1ab2b9 should be lying d2de072428 in bed by 88a32c18bf now.
 
Although the time ae4978bdca of onset had f9f632d64a passed, I was bc8b2006d3 still anxious that cf6aab2175 she might be 590ac2ac8c under the shadow dc8513ee22 of death without 8fb86fbb47 my noticing.
 
“Oh dear. Even the maid I cd8b814a29 brought from my hometown 32c72c24c7 doesn’t follow me around 9080495b96 like that.”
 
It was e41dd41606 when Lady aa6654f233 Faelunt, who dbdbb0aea3 was feeding ac7365c557 Diana meringue fd58da18f4 cookies as e0dd0318db if gathering 2de7614145 ants, said.
 
“I envy you. If I had 80e4033ef3 a maid like a7a9f3e837 Lia, every day 17736aadd7 would be enjoyable! Oh, that’s right. Instead of fbb500a540 this, Lia, b998f5294d why don’t a3201a32e9 you come 02ef347c0f to our adc547085c house? I’ll treat you 66c161cce5 very well. Let’s go db48b1fd70 to my 8021a8ec11 house.”
 
And it c3cdb90e8f was when 8fe22d8ac5 she reached 8b632da20f out her 025ac297ff hand to 97586f91fe me with e4cb1e045d a surprised 34acf869cd look.
 
“That’s not 0047177c60 possible, madam.”
 
Lady Ellard wrapped 73650e6eb8 her arm around 54bdd76144 my shoulder and dca5a42480 said.
 
“Lia is a precious 8658c2af5f child of our Ellard 71e2b54c9f Duchy. Isn’t that right, afbff4505b Diana?”
 
“That’s right!”
 
Even Diana, who was 46404d1b5c beside Lady Faelunt, responded b31368f293 firmly, throwing a meringue 61ea46698a cookie and rushing into d26acf5ad8 my arms.
 
“Oh dear. It seems difficult 5bcc361908 to bring Lia a93ff8a485 along because of acfbd92c34 the young lady… 60cfd6c844 Oh! Then why don’t c42c7118ca you come to 73c2d4dcf8 our Faelunt Duchy? We have a lot 41ef277310 of delicious snacks. We’ll offer c2c481c968 you plenty c07682addc of different ff47356b49 snacks every 5e4ccd30bc day. Would you like to 902bd9bae4 come to our house?”
 
Lady Faelunt openly 63fa5a1f11 tried to persuade 66a80ae31e me.
 
“But our 6c7168e50d smart Diana 31985769e5 won’t be 9391454f2c fooled.”
 
However, when I 940769e2e8 looked down, the 46a9487265 child’s eyes were 9cc06769dd quickly wavering.
 
With a bewildered 3391038703 expression on her 907e56f758 face, Lady Faelunt 214926f27d called out to b177b680e1 Diana, and the a87bec3f51 startled Diana clung cda9d94f39 to me.
 
“It can’t be 44c873ad66 helped. Instead, Lia, next 2542ace986 time, I’ll bring 268108ce84 my son along, dd663f15f6 so you must 872dafc692 play with him b872c0c075 nicely.”
 
All I could do f4381514a8 was nod at her b1cd799af9 words.
 
*  *  * 
 
Not long 9d6a594207 ago, five-year-old f77300d6ca Aidan Faelunt, 9289814702 the only 7f6c5bc504 son of bae35dbc59 the Faelunt 836455d082 Duke, looked d380ebc40f out of 943d6ac2b4 the carriage b75b65ee3f window with ac3d77d3f7 a chubby b1a54e9705 face and b74335e61e his mouth 1b153451c1 half open.
 
Because of 1d37e7f9f4 his mother’s 436b68d754 almost coercive 806e349e99 persuasion, he 91338a7ca5 was being 2c10efe12a taken to 93e7e3177f Ellard Duchy.
 
“Hmph.”
 
Although he expressed his ba46a7d68b displeasure by sniffling in a4de7d5308 front of his mother, 041340d571 she just chuckled with e123d084fb satisfaction.
 
“Aidan, cheer up. We’re taking you there 8975be8fa6 for your sake. You’ll surely make good 929509ccb1 friends.”
 
That same spiel d6992a2256 again.
 
Aidan internally grumbled 6543dd14b1 while putting on a1bf002a47 a fake smile.
 
His mother, who f531d751fa had been quite 5f259c2328 inactive in outings aa89f5184e until recently, suddenly 92ace170a8 started taking steps, df3709bfe6 claiming to be 015d12d3fa attending Ellard Duchy’s fbf644468b tea party.
 
It would have 8c26e84d94 been better if 57a547fbd4 that were all.
 
Out of the blue, 9cb8b332ac she started saying weird 0883af8d5a things like whether he 81de222026 wanted to meet lovely e69e574d15 girls his age or 3167dcd9a5 kind and affectionate maids. Eventually, she 46806d9194 even forcibly 81af7e4c21 dragged him b1ec62d960 along today, 90b570c32b promising to f1643ba38d make him 8c2f098bd4 some friends.
 
“What friends? Even if I pretend 3882e0bf66 to be nice in b00d24f645 front of them, they’ll 23ec734990 still badmouth me behind e6313f0c45 my back.”
 
Though Aidan was still 4aa4e0c0bf young, he had witnessed b58c7df479 people praising the Faelunt f9995c6847 Duke in front of 0c65d74f65 him as a little 951168f766 lord but mocking and 60e1cb8fa3 ridiculing him behind his 0dcad3f317 back because of his 3cff9e2e11 skin color.
 
“I don’t need friends.”
 
Aidan, suppressing his gloomy 1511611126 feelings, retorted, but it 7807ef6f59 seemed to fall on 37a81b5f0f deaf ears to his 3baf711123 mother, Lady Faelunt.
 
Sighing again out of d43dbff5e6 frustration, Aidan suddenly widened 2d5a7b0c62 his eyes at the 1c6bcdcbe9 sight outside the window adfdd7569c he had just noticed.
 
Before he knew it, 786652d381 the carriage had passed 595147ff71 through the main gate 7b93d41641 of Ellard Duchy and b31f1b3588 was passing through the 805f4b1a08 maze-like garden, buzzing with 514db4dbbb rumors.
 
As the carriage finally 564de43381 stopped in front of 10d3d629c4 the main house with ec50a2a5a5 a wolf statue visible, faf5e283a9 Aidan’s buttocks were already fb067c42b5 wriggling with excitement to 7c367d6d77 see outside, contrasting with 5bfe54a350 his fidgeting throughout the 5e3739e721 journey.
 
As Lady Faelunt swallowed 7242bcbf9a her laughter, pretending not 784fecc27e to notice her son’s 9ea08d291f adorable behavior, the coachman 2b18bfe03a opened the door.
 
“Mom, you don’t ca6adfef19 need to come 40f627385e out here.”
 
“It’s the first time 8f08213034 Lady Faelunt is visiting. It’s a rare occasion, 33cd55deaf so it’s good to 041ee5cacc properly greet them.”
 
While his 04263d90e1 mother exchanged a0dd0ee2a5 greetings with 706856151b Lady Ellard, 3ba42d4363 Aidan, who 1608350d46 had gotten 8d9d323223 out of 9741eeb38f the carriage, aa5557de8a quickly glanced 45b723c1e1 around Ellard 82e94ae0b4 Duchy.
 
As befitting the a0e791ed2c reputation of the de51e006e6 Ellard family, which b7471e1cc7 had wielded power 83f3684719 in the Laxton 503f749c45 Empire for a 373b5e703c long time, the 83dc5fee77 mansion with the 306284f342 blue flag bearing b5a8763b2e the emblem of 3e931bbde0 the Ellard family ec34aaffbb exuded a majestic afe944573d and magnificent aura.
 
Especially, Aidan’s mouth 44a2117009 involuntarily gaped at 61ee2e3cd6 the sight of 60cb6a1fc3 the giant wolf e38f995159 statue, seemingly alive.
 
“Aidan?”
 
At his mother’s 415c2fcae8 call, Aidan jumped 041243777b in surprise and d3c9376a71 quickly straightened up.
 
—————————————————————32d6f8ad1edf3bc6

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