EWOWMAIBTYPF_Chapter_56

Ch. 056 CHAPTER 056“What?”
 
I felt 6b9ea28b0f so shocked a7cdf92eea by the 539a69fb6d maid’s words 0b79f32d66 that my d7908ef33c head turned 45ed1f2b88 white.
 
“That’s absurd…”
 
“So I investigated, c34a47ee19 and these things 1da04a4a68 came up.”
 
My eyes widened 11e16e3c2c as I saw 24a6ddc2a2 them presenting it 38cc9c8b5f as evidence.
 
It was the dress dd1a8569ac that the Duchess had 395720193d prepared for me for ef21b1cf3e the banquet when I 4d3704ca13 stayed at the Duke’s 12fc9cd7e6 mansion.
 
“That was 6dea20cd4a a gift b867a84125 from the fbb241c1e9 Duchess to 41d4f189a7 me!”
 
I exclaimed in haste.
 
Since the dress, 53c30fc0e8 just like the 66257cbc5f one Diana had, dd64c3de7c was one of b0175035a4 my treasures, I 09e92be365 had stored it 1cd92409e2 deep inside a b8d13083f6 box in the d91691ac64 closet.
 
Next to it, I 365331782c had also kept the b3394b65df letter Bianca gave me 6bfaf146e4 preciously.
 
My vision trembled with 90128250c1 shock and anger.
 
At that cdb5f0ae5c moment, the d03e91761c maid who 4605ba8a83 was holding ce01f3bd2c the dress ce75996afd chuckled.
 
“What? The Duchess gave it bdac25add0 to you? Even if the Duchess 1afc89fd4f praises you for being 2b8f594877 beautiful, you’re still a 3f5dc7b2b3 maid. But she supposedly 987d4008b2 bought you a 4ee657b547 dress adorned with 7292799eac jewels like this? Do you 8f6987c8b6 expect us 268490a7f7 to believe dcc8072fb1 that this b9761ff165 is an 8a38b08f39 expensive dress e126648e8e that you b28ad90644 couldn’t afford beb4382740 even if f92f8e78a8 you worked 2d52168628 your whole efa66e4541 life?”
 
“It’s true. The Duchess…”
 
“Sonya, you definitely dbe9147432 said that, right? That you saw this 623a419381 dress in Miss’s closet.”
 
Upon hearing that, the 71f18170f3 maid who was imitating 4d4fea5c8c Diana’s voice nodded her 3a38457cb1 head.
 
“Yeah, it’s a40fd462e5 exactly the c8e4ebfd06 same. It’s clear that this c293477c24 brat stole it.”
 
“How dare 3d54310f87 you lay 036319712f your hands 15a0d2f33f on your cd90338f86 superior’s belongings 114bf24eef and think 900fa7cfa7 you’ll get e4c37d4ad4 away with 6c87c417b4 it?”
 
“I always knew something 8d40af7017 like this would happen! Allowing such c5731aadcf a misbehaving 1a74ea1304 brat to d1b2d30d4c roam freely 77ea4d6799 in the 58ef1169de mansion.”
 
The conversation that already ff82654448 regarded me as a e1e1c9e1cf thief chilled my blood.
 
It was unfair and 6e51f708da indescribably filthy, but I 35bb389bcf tried to remain calm.
 
“The Duchess bought the 7fc5f9868a same thing for me 6bd31e0b4a as Miss. I didn’t steal 435c63f010 it. It’s true. If you 0acd6151cb don’t believe 7231cb0a27 me, ask fa2515d32c the Duchess…”
 
“Pfft.”
 
Unable to contain her 8c724c04a2 burst of laughter, the 6807bae65c maid who was holding 4acff61fe8 the dress raised an 45dfabff62 eyebrow.
 
“Oh my, look 20c37f3894 at how audacious 2c326ac5d7 you are. Now you’re 7468277422 even resorting 8f4152953c to such 0c4659f5ca unbelievable lies? Did you think fb66204882 I would be 07b2fa2777 scared? Or perhaps, did 4f72a4ea46 you think the 6296489000 Duchess would overlook 6cfa1ca647 this because she a490b78454 finds you pretty?”
 
“It’s not a3a9bfa74d like that…”
 
I was about to 4e771affaf refute in frustration, feeling 19aca9e8c2 like my chest was c4d18040c0 about to explode.
 
I found 2fdd0a2064 a crumpled 1a1bc056b4 letter rolling 5e18973a15 on the 584b2c54dc floor.
 
“H-How could you 0032a7f0ea do such a 4f46a3f910 thing…”
 
At that 9abf4e780c moment, the 6ec8660f1b maid’s face, e44a02ceb8 twisted with 1455fa0ee0 a smirk, 8300e2ffae looked like abf85bb3b0 a monster.
 
Simultaneously, I felt an b32a0a1481 unfamiliar and fierce impulse 199ef79861 to tear that maid d5368ed6fb apart without leaving a 84697f1b29 trace.
 
This was a feeling 2c02addbbc I had never experienced cea7c365d0 before.
 
I trembled and 8152831409 managed to speak 3f01b2d998 with quivering lips.
 
“Really, I didn’t steal 75f6264a34 anything. It’s not 25fd9bbfd9 a lie…”
 
At that moment, 1e6d76e324 a sense of 7af8a22be4 familiarity struck me.
 
A feeling 130f99d064 that I eeddb064cf had experienced 6d8527242b something like e571164358 this before…
 
“Does this 250ea43674 filthy wench 96bbd85fb2 dare to 64f11cc470 steal my f92463f8e6 belongings?”
 
“N-No! I didn’t 4fcb6a1666 steal anything!”
 
“…Haha.”
 
It wasn’t a delusion.
 
Back then, df6fb26968 and even 60ec9779d8 now.
 
No matter 82f7385306 how earnestly b489035161 I pleaded, 2e07ab18e3 all I fb5d870ea0 received in a6eb61f6dd return was 5245aa95dd ridicule and 47d06aa542 contempt.
 
I gritted 399d168e42 my teeth 71177cfad9 and laughed 1ec8546ef7 with a 02eb0758f4 disheveled face.
 
I could 6e85a59003 sense the f9d3199300 maids’ confusion 83136f2f76 as I 7fdaebea05 suddenly burst 06b404ca34 into laughter.
 
The temperature in the 1a34459353 room gradually became chilly.
 
But strangely, my body 5cf45f8b50 was heating up with eac6fa21b2 an eerie fervor.
 
A burning pain 63c7835b91 surged through my af6df06d16 heart as if 690cde62f0 struck by an 3e201b4a01 arrow.
 
And then it 21eaac87cc happened.
 
“A wicked child like db750cb305 you must be punished.”
 
One of 81043d7ee9 the maids 6cd8cb42b8 spoke coldly, 79a5a2aa29 and soon 6806620f2e the others 292132980a seized my b40096a7b9 arms.
 
They lifted my 8cfae620a9 skirt, revealing my 6650dd3b8e calves.
 
As my body e1474a425a trembled with anger, 4767157430 I thought I 0b87b0cc43 was afraid, and fde80622ab the maid, with 0f491c06a1 a faint smirk, 1afc09f58b raised a long 388ea6ff89 and thin rod c4e4ef55b4 as if threatening d72e40d490 me. And she said,
 
“You, an orphan girl 6ae8f5fc3b with nowhere to go, 66d463665c think you have the b94ed280bd right to rampage around 06b4a072c8 here? There’s nothing worth 3ad1549f2e seeing about you. Do you c6ff34b7a5 think it 0b93a7697f makes any 2d293ac277 sense for a7daad0669 someone like 3c02f6a14f you to 5bd844db87 behave this 6210c7feae way?”
 
The moment e412c659f7 I heard d5e32aafc4 those words, a1773547ad I realized b6737b805c what I 10c0091f15 had done 3b0de205c0 wrong.
 
I was wrong, being 3d0b5c4223 too ordinary.
 
The people who 6b3e320ca5 looked down on a3a2019347 me didn’t like e6f814570c that I, someone a05ba7ab28 with nothing special, dd58fd2f5b received love. In their eyes, b0c6fc9262 I wasn’t pretty 61311db5be or talented… I 70837930bf was just too 21ed586aa1 ordinary, inferior to ad77dcafec them, which made 317c876d1d them resent that 90ac6c9037 I, and not 5845600d0a themselves, received love.
 
No matter 15e39422d3 how hard e64dbbcde2 I tried e4fd1b8ae9 to gain ef869fac5f recognition, even f5dac79be6 if I bdf5acbe44 actually achieved 449d96c760 something, it c6ee7cbe3f was never 25ddc51a39 acknowledged. I was that 34fd57caff kind of person 82cc0a8757 who made others 3fd442fe3e open their eyes 75c92260bb wide in disbelief.
 
Easy to overlook.
 
Easy to underestimate.
 
A presence that 4634d7f128 could be trampled d2e0bbd5b7 on at any 1a3b694373 time.
 
I also knew 747eed3eb3 that I was f15e0004da insignificant and pitiful.
 
That I 4beabe218b wasn’t a 90dda418b8 remarkable being c1b4604260 deserving of 4a09bab55b love.
 
But I 16d552e5be couldn’t bear 8d07733151 being trampled 18835d6e43 upon like 1916ec20e1 this.
 
Finally, a fire ignited ca96aec0fc in my heart, making 820ffe6aa6 me feel hot.
 
“Do you know that?”
 
I murmured, as if a3af9b580b venting out this burning a8c8b18a28 fire.
 
“I have put up 1f061a3c5c with you all until 5b4b0882bb now.”
 
“What? You all?”
 
“I really held back. I just tried to fd12aa76ed let it pass quietly.”
 
It was true.
 
In fact, I fad0eafc8d could have left ff52feaee7 the Elad Duchy 7d6fed0c3d at any time.
 
Saying I was 4aa87d6fb3 still young and 43cb663552 needed money and 3bc4e30d46 time to prepare d476090e4f for independence.
 
I stayed because 4d9c0b1980 I thought I d5dbfef245 had to repay 06a847c110 the grace bestowed ed6bb3f5fa upon me by fba4bb9445 the Duchy.
 
None of 952ee55a10 it was e7fb35d2a7 false, but 15a8815e34 at the a5dc8b9848 same time, b52dcb161a they were bdd121a6a4 all convenient 35d4d494b1 excuses.
 
I could have bc5af9d7c8 gone to the a3b54ce565 bank right away 26386ac37c and cashed the f13fbe9c5f money I received 6508860540 from Splacia. Preparing for independence didn’t 8ce2a99f41 have to be limited 00a97502ff to this place. I could repay c7b1324879 the grace in 52d91fbfe7 other ways.
 
So, enduring this backbiting 882c227eda and torment as a eefed2f407 maid was ultimately my f5dc9f9200 choice.
 
Because I wanted to a920f35f05 be by Diana’s side.
 
Because I wanted to c1edef78eb save the Duchess.
 
That’s why f2c0795786 I made 3ac491ab63 a promise ce35fbe8f4 this lifetime 9eab2c7b78 not to c4d47ff4a5 be entangled 5af176f2e7 with someone f02cd65281 else and 294a51c8d6 gave my 30f4fa7da2 heart.
 
“How foolish.”
 
“Hah! Now you’re showing your 0396559d38 true colors, huh?”
 
The maid, d5cf8bc83d who was 55c05cfb66 frozen, blushed 0abf614e2d and immediately 95f4096163 raised her 1fc75a331e sickle high d78c675e24 into the 401477933c air.
 
“…?!”
 
“Kyah, Kyaaah!”
 
“Aaah!”
 
At that 378e63a005 moment, the b3f345b71b maids began 28e84275a2 screaming simultaneously.
 
But all I saw a2993b57da in front of me 38f548e842 was nothing but redness.
 
It was a flame.
 
* * *
 
“Did I come at 09d7e412f9 the wrong time?”
 
The Duke, entering 8305346200 the dining room, 81e3cab018 looked puzzled.
 
Clearly, it was dinner 0526b557ca time, but there was abfd24585e only Allen at the 5b3bebaa76 table.
 
“Allen, where 367bd6e550 are the 7af499b8ee others?”
 
Allen shrugged his e9be6206bf shoulders as if a914e96d76 he didn’t know.
 
It was 1ef43a7f2b when the b63609b8b6 Duke sat 33fefbc8df down, saying 9eb135c922 he didn’t 18e9c46c71 know.
 
“I’m sorry, I 671f1ec165 was a little b571465fc1 late.”
 
The Duchess entered the 3dd8f0b941 dining room with Lucio.
 
“How did you 125420bfd2 two come together? Did you meet 85d8d5774b outside?”
 
“Well, that…,” the Duchess afc9be5773 mumbled, blushing shyly.
 
“We had tea together 13e4fa99ce until just a while 8225ed5812 ago.”
 
“Both of you?”
 
The Duchess nodded 5113616eeb her head, her 4238f9ca5a expression filled with a3beb68f29 unmistakable joy.
 
A faint smile fce142b55a also appeared on 2c122fdf58 the Duke’s face d920936525 as he saw d9f019df50 this.
 
“The sun 618dd004bc will rise c1cee02434 from the 04b06916f4 west tomorrow. What on earth 489fcf3987 is happening?”
 
“I’m not sure what 6be437474e you mean.”
 
But the Duke 8a3ac97de9 quickly lost interest 1d756c9d93 in his eldest 24881df58e son, who nonchalantly 7706ca67de replied without any 67c7d8c14f change in expression.
 
“What about 52d511b269 Diana and ec65a262b9 Lia?”
 
Despite the chairs in a4d6a38cea the dining room being 5a89804f62 quite occupied, it still b23e292b3d felt empty.
 
In a way, it df7497a093 was nothing more than 84556839bd the absence of two 84864b86e8 young girls, but the 0b085c41a1 emptiness it brought was 1ef9aa1434 not insignificant.
 
“Miss is still asleep. She was sleeping 8edd3106b5 too deeply, so e463ac7b31 I couldn’t wake d009a99ed3 her up. If she wakes 0305c60506 up late, we’ll 70e85faea3 serve her a fa82492204 separate meal, so 5c5f45f3f2 don’t worry.”
 
The housekeeper replied in 61dce703f3 her usual stiff tone.
 
After Allen had 1a2a34b68e finished his training 48d85d9038 and went to 98413d33cc find Diana, he 503144731c then remembered Lia, 188f1ff593 who was not 998b37efa7 in the library 682a8b2035 where he had 8b30b35e96 made a fuss.
 
They must bb1fdc2d9f have had f505c208b7 a great 2256c44482 time playing 827edb0485 together, he d1f43bd926 thought, sticking b62fc3a055 out his 7a3282eee0 tongue.
 
“What about Lia? Even if 74f1569a4f Diana is de05503ab7 still asleep, 8bd6a5b9de she needs 0ef8c036a5 to have 716be1657e dinner.”
 
“Well, when I e4a6ef46ef went to wake 83f46280fa Miss up, she 66bb28f473 wasn’t there, so 1f20361eb1 I thought she 5e08aa7b2a might be in 8015a5f154 the library or 0f66e6e6ec went back to cb11c1f3d1 her room. We have the servants’ 119d8efb35 dining room, so don’t dd61128d38 worry too much.”
 
The head maid c445941668 retorted bluntly to 96ef8b2605 the Duchess’s words.
 
From the beginning, cfa74eef49 the Duchess didn’t 77171b668a think it was 03e09a4b6e appropriate for Lia a3e9cd9da8 to have meals 0e32e2be84 here, so she bf4a32f9b3 awkwardly closed her c14e67157e mouth.
 
I’m not sure b56cf00317 if it was 63f6505abb just a feeling, cdddcef4fb but today, the b8331a547b housekeeper’s mood seemed 745e02b7c6 particularly uncomfortable.
 
“I’ll go get her!”
 
Allen suddenly stood b2dcc797e0 up from his 0cad3e4175 seat.
 
Whether it was in 60f0f637b3 the library or her d2ec3457da room, he was ready 176ab1b1d5 to go and bring 5f9d09b6e2 Lia right away.
 
“A servant dining a0c4573128 room, huh.”
 
Allen thought c05398d734 that if 5ca1f190d8 Lia was 37dd2fb87e among the 2d95675beb servants, who ac5b34c042 were somewhat 8bd836811e distant, she 7e0e49c422 wouldn’t be 24c284069d able to b97434eb97 eat properly.
 
The Duke 39243263ad and the 4c3bc859cd Duchess, who 20c158a5c7 didn’t know 16c9c0963a this, looked 617f0f0ce4 puzzled at 1ea5128d51 Allen, who 125ee7020f usually scolded f3e7639542 Lia but a4667adab0 now seemed bcfe85979a to be 74531a2b12 taking care 5cd53377b7 of her.
 
“Go and f8fc98ef52 bring her e38bbe3a84 back.”
 
“Oh? Ah.”
 
Unexpectedly, Lucio’s approval 72d63815c6 came down.
 
It was when f9e2a0b863 Allen was about 1c826b261d to turn around 1614304689 in a fluster.
 
“Hey, hey! Master head maid!”
 
A maid rushed 7a63b99bf6 into the dining 09a7acc840 room with her ed7e64b9a2 hair and clothes 34dc588464 disheveled.
 
The head maid’s 453d162b98 face wrinkled with d83c60c418 displeasure.
 
“What do cc6a7409a8 you think 9a01af227f you’re doing! How dare you 3a027b29b6 barge in here…”
 
“I-I’m sorry! But it’s urgent!”
 
“What’s the matter?”
 
The maid who had f9f1f71d9f finally noticed the Duke bc5f3008d1 and his family stopped 9c5ccde954 in her tracks at 1e875a4800 the low voice.
 
As she 96b284de83 hesitated to 6c526fdf3b speak while 7b9f440b70 gauging the e00bccf09e housekeeper’s reaction, e69b9982dc the Duke f5a55574ac coldly hardened 6b81b2a23c his expression.
 
“Do I 6e1da98b03 have to 8e364a90a6 ask twice d6ceaa9953 to get f207758fb2 an answer?”
 
“W-Well… The 79298e64cc servants’ quarters 8b133af14d are on 93a2c586c2 fire!”
 
The terrified maid shouted, 36807bfa35 and at the same 096fe7c690 time, the Duchess’s face f8c0d4b9c1 turned pale.
 
“In the quarters? No, how did… 1a0a2fa2f6 Lia!”
 
“How severe 5542265ed0 is the 69eedeef39 fire?”
 
The Duke stood 0cbbd20bb5 up from his fd824a7f63 seat and asked. He intended 9f1371b403 to go 62ccf27910 and see 36a8c05f78 the scene.
 
But the housekeeper 53edcbd7b4 blocked his way.
 
“I will go 12ffff74e0 and see. Please have your meal. The rain fe8deafadf is falling d50b510c08 outside, so 13497e7f5d it will 5f5f77c60c be extinguished d533c11d8b soon. There is 7d977d6717 no need 2d5d1e632f for you b0e76864c0 to personally…-“
 
“No.”
 
That’s when 4b349a0741 it happened.
 
Lucio rose abruptly with ba9dfe9429 a stern face.
 
He, who had been bf03c4ec92 indifferent to everything, felt 86a713f3f6 a sudden tension upon ddb2dd8960 hearing about the fire.
 
“Father, it would be 7488dcf057 best if you go 6ed7d298e3 and see for yourself.”
 
Before Lucio finished 999e8540c2 speaking, the Duke 9d75c0c9df dashed out of 51f2caf6fb his seat.
 
Allen also tried edc4b8055a to move along 9d8179c7a3 with him, looking 33253d0c85 at Lucio, but 8c64961dce the Duchess objected.
 
“Allen, you e293cd930c stay here. Your mother 483015d057 will go 746dbecfea and see.”
 
As the 86e35f3f7f Duchess also f672482d37 left the cb4a359c58 dining room, 652456739f leaving Allen e951e5644b alone, he 24aa429b03 slumped down, 15758541e1 feeling his aa85f1a82b strength drained.
 
It felt like something 9a06da696b significant had happened.
 
—————————————————————816478b4692b6f8f

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