Chapter 14
The Duke Family’s Burden
“Madam, Baroness Shionel has arrived.”
It was one of the maids serving Blair in the ducal household.
Blair tilted her head slightly. The maids of the ducal house disliked her almost as much as they admired their master, Herdin, so it was usually Lina who delivered messages to her.
Hastily wrapping up her tea time with Agnes, Blair left the greenhouse and returned to the mansion.
Baroness Shionel, who had been waiting in her bedroom, greeted her in her characteristically high-pitched voice.
“Oh my! You’ve become even more beautiful after your marriage, Your Highness. Oh, no—now I should call you Duchess.”
“I wanted to thank you for the wedding dress, but things were hectic afterward, so I couldn’t contact you.”
“The most beautiful woman in the empire wore it, so I should be the one thanking you. And I’m also grateful for the honor of making your first dress after marriage.”
While listening to Baroness Shionel’s flattery, Blair glanced around the room. Lina was nowhere to be seen here either.
“As the Duke mentioned before, I carefully selected light fabrics that are good for keeping warm. It seems he was worried you might catch a cold.”
The baroness’s chatter barely registered in Blair’s mind.
What mattered to her was that Lina was not in this room.
Even as Blair examined the dresses brought by Baroness Shionel and discussed designs for new ones, Lina never appeared.
After the baroness left, Blair asked a nearby maid about what had been bothering her the whole time.
“Where is Lina?”
The maid hesitated, avoiding Blair’s gaze as she replied,
“I—I’m not sure… Shall I go look for her?”
“No. Leave it.”
Blair stood up and put on the fur robe she had taken off earlier.
“Are you going for a walk?”
“Yes.”
The maid prepared to follow her, but Blair stopped her.
“I’ll go alone.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
Leaving the maid behind, Blair stepped out of the room. The maids waiting outside bowed to her.
She passed them, went down to the first floor, then quietly came back up. From a slightly open door, she heard the maids whispering.
“Where did that Lina girl go? She didn’t just run off crying because she got splashed with dirty water, did she?”
“Crying? Not a chance. She didn’t even blink and just went to wash up. So boring.”
“She’s tough, just like her master. Still, getting that smell out won’t be easy.”
“But… she’s not going to report this to Madam, right?”
“If she were going to, something would’ve already happened. She knows it too. No matter how noble her mistress is as an imperial princess, she’s just a burden in this ducal household.”
Hearing their conversation, Blair clenched the hem of her dress. Her crimson lips trembled.
As expected, her suspicion was correct.
No matter how much they disliked her, she was still the emperor’s only sister—someone they couldn’t touch. So instead, they tormented her maid, Lina.
But one thing puzzled her.
Knowing Lina’s personality, she would never have endured this. So why had she stayed silent?
Only then did Blair realize.
Lina had endured it to avoid worsening Blair’s already poor reputation in the ducal house.
“She must have done the same in my previous life. I was just too absorbed in my own situation to notice…”
Realizing this, Blair bit her lower lip hard.
“Madam?”
Startled by the voice behind her, Blair turned around. It was Lina. She wore a clean new maid uniform, but her still-damp hair showed she had just washed.
Without saying anything, Blair grabbed Lina’s hand and entered the room.
The maids who had been gossiping were startled by Blair’s unexpected return and quickly bowed their heads.
Walking toward them, Blair spoke.
“Apologize.”
There was a chilling coldness in her eyes. The maids flinched when they met her gaze.
To them, Blair was someone to be cautious around, but not particularly frightening. She had never once raised her voice, always maintaining a calm, doll-like presence.
But now, faced with the cold anger in her eyes, they were too flustered to speak.
Blair repeated softly,
“I told you to apologize to Lina.”
“W-we don’t understand what you mean, Madam. What did we possibly do wrong—”
Slap!
Before anyone could stop her, Blair struck the maid across the face. Not only the maid who was hit, but the others—and Lina—were all shocked.
Blair looked down at the maid who had fallen. Her own palm throbbed as if she had been struck instead.
She felt like she had become Katrina. It was an unpleasant and frightening feeling. Her heart pounded, and her stomach churned as if she might vomit at any moment.
But to protect Lina, she couldn’t back down.
Blair clenched her trembling hand tightly.
“You know better than anyone what I mean.”
“Y-Your Highness, I’m really fine. Truly.”
Lina, regaining her senses, grabbed Blair. It wouldn’t help to escalate things, especially when the people of the ducal house already disliked Blair.
And if Herdin saw this…
“…I’m not fine.”
Blair spoke, her face on the verge of tears but her eyes filled with anger.
“I’m not fine with you being treated like this because of me.”
“What is going on here?”
Herdin appeared at the open doorway. Judging by his outfit and the leather gloves in his hand, he had been on his way out when he heard the commotion.
“Y-Your Grace.”
The maids and Lina turned pale and bowed.
Herdin quickly surveyed the room as he put on his gloves.
The maid holding her reddened cheek, and Blair with her slightly trembling hand.
It didn’t take long for him to grasp the situation.
In the silence, the maid who had been slapped stepped forward.
“She failed to properly carry out a task I assigned and acted arrogantly, so I disciplined her. But Madam seems to have misunderstood—”
“I don’t recall asking you.”
His tone was calm, but firm. The maid shut her mouth immediately.
Herdin turned his gaze to Blair, waiting for her to speak. The maids also looked at her.
They intended to shift the blame onto Lina and end things there.
No matter how much Herdin disliked Blair, she was still the Duchess and an imperial princess—they wanted to avoid directly opposing her.
And they assumed Blair wouldn’t want to make things bigger either, so she would go along with their story.
But Blair completely defied their expectations.
“These maids were isolating and bullying the girl I brought, so I punished them.”
The maids were surprised but not overly worried. There was no way Herdin would side with Blair, the daughter of his enemy.
Blair herself didn’t expect him to believe her either. Even so, she refused to let everything be blamed on Lina.
But then—
“This is my failure for not properly educating my subordinates. I will take care of them immediately.”
Without further questioning, he believed Blair.
The maids’ faces turned pale. Blair also looked at him in shock.
Lina hurriedly spoke up,
“Y-Your Grace, I’m fine. They were just joking a bit… it’s part of getting closer.”
Of course, she didn’t think kindly of them. But being in a similar position, she knew better than anyone the hardship they would face if they were dismissed.
Understanding Lina’s feelings, Blair agreed.
“Herdin… that seems too harsh. A sincere apology and a deduction of half their wages this month should be enough.”
The anxious maids dropped to their knees.
“We’re sorry, Your Grace! We were foolish and committed such an offense. Please forgive us this once.”
“You should apologize not to me, but to the Duchess and this maid.”
After replying coldly, Herdin gave an order to Mason, who had just arrived.
“Mason, deduct two months of their wages.”
“Herdin.”
“I believe this is an appropriate punishment.”
Blair tried to object, but Herdin cut her off as if he already knew what she would say.
“Your Grace.”
Ruth called him while checking his watch. It was time.
“I’ll be back.”
Herdin gently pulled Blair closer and kissed her forehead.
Startled by his unusual action, Blair soon realized his intention when she noticed the maids beside them.
It was a warning.
This woman is my wife.
Don’t let something like this happen again.
Blair stared blankly at his departing figure.
He had believed her.
But instead of gratitude, she felt emptiness.
The problem that had lasted three years before her regression had been resolved with just a few words from him.
That night, Lina headed to Blair’s bedroom carrying a silver tray with cold water and a towel.
“If we leave it like this, Her Highness’s delicate hands will definitely bruise.”
Hitting someone required a certain toughness.
Those soft, delicate hands that had never done hard labor—let alone struck someone—wouldn’t withstand today’s shock.
“I’m sorry, Lina. I realized too late… I’m really sorry…”
Even after saving her, her kind-hearted princess still felt sorry.
Thinking of the maid’s hard cheek that had struck those delicate hands made Lina feel indignant.
“Madam, it’s me. I’ll come in for a moment.”
Using her elbow to push the door open while holding the tray, Lina stepped into the room—
—and dropped the tray.
“Y-Your Highness?!”