#08. Such Delicate Malice

“By the way, didn’t they just mention Madam Penelope?”

The surrounding whispers reached them.

“I think they said something about breakfast.”

“But why is there such a disgusting smell…?”

The maids froze.

They had failed in their mission to make the lady an object of ridicule in front of people. And if it became known that they had also caused their mistress’s name to be gossiped about…

‘No!’

The faces of the maids who knew Penelope’s methods turned pale at once.

Without time to argue further, they hurriedly exited the lady’s bedroom.

“What, they’re just leaving everything like that?”

“Who’s supposed to clean this up……”

Those who were about to flee seemed to become conscious of the surrounding gazes and shouted at a lower-ranking maid who had fallen when pushed by their hasty movements.

“You! Clean that up, right now!”

And they left before even hearing a response.

The servants frowned at their behavior but didn’t add any further comments.

The person those maids served was Penelope, the aunt of Taran, the second prince of Dragonia.

‘And perhaps someone who might become the lady of Dragonia in the future.’

Penelope’s people were already referring to their mistress as “Madam.”

Not wanting to catch any stray fire by pretending to be nice, the servants passed by, pretending not to see.

“Eren, are you okay?”

“Yes……”

The maid Eren, who had fallen, got up with the support of her colleague. She endured the pain in her ankle and went to the front of the youngest lady’s bedroom.

“I-I’ll clean it up.”

Eren said in a frightened voice.

No matter how much the newly arrived youngest lady of Dragonia was in a position to be ignored even by servants, that was only from the perspective of the high-ranking maids who attended to Penelope.

For lower-ranking maids like Eren, who were responsible for menial tasks rather than serving masters directly, the lady of Dragonia was an enormously high and difficult existence.

One they rarely had the chance to face.

‘Why did they make us do this!’

The nervous maids only entered after hearing the permission: “Come in.”

Having entered the Blue Brick Castle early on, they kept their eyes lowered to the floor as they had been taught, to avoid making eye contact with their master. They quickly cleaned up the food waste and trolley that had fallen onto the worn carpet.

“Ouch……”

In the midst of this, Eren, feeling pain in her ankle, sat down.

“Eren!”

Eren’s colleague Rita panicked. As Eren fell, she dropped the carpet stained with food waste, making the barely contained smell even worse and dirtying the floor further.

‘This is bad……!’

The great Dragonia of the Northwest. Those blessed by the Ice Dragon were known for their inhuman temperament as much as for being born with powerful abilities.

The current Grand Duke of Dragonia and his sons had only added to that reputation.

So although they didn’t know much, the youngest lady might also…

“Are you hurt?”

“M-my lady……?!”

Both Eren and Rita were startled by the small figure that suddenly appeared.

The owner of this space, the lady of Dragonia, was now before them.

The girl examined Eren’s ankle, commanding, “Stay still.”

“You’ve sprained it.”

The lady’s voice wasn’t very loud.

Despite her delicate and clear voice, her tone was indifferent yet calm, with a quality that reassured people.

“I-It’s fine……”

“Don’t move.”

Her commands were so natural that they found themselves obeying without realizing it.

Eren, flustered by the fact that the lady was touching her ankle, remained completely still.

“You there, can you get bandages and ice… no, snow is fine too. It’s for a cold compress. And something like a splint?”

“What?”

“Yes, bring them.”

The lady, who was personally removing Eren’s shoe, said.

“I’ll treat you.”

* * *

Ugh, I sighed inwardly as I tightly wrapped the bandage with pressure.

‘Is this an occupational disease? Working even in my dreams.’

At first, I had only checked on the maid Eren who had sprained her ankle while cleaning my room.

But Rita, who I thought had only brought bandages and splints, brought another patient as well.

Specifically, it seemed to be someone who was supposed to clean up this mess in place of the injured Eren, but upon closer inspection, this person was also hiding an injury.

So the number of people to treat increased one by one…

“Th-thank you!”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore!”

“How can I ever repay this kindness……”

…When did they become so many?

I blinked slowly.

Several lower-ranking maids in somewhat worn clothing but with bright, alert eyes were looking at me with admiration.

As Yeon, the team leader of recovery mages, such gazes were familiar, but as the half-baked lady of Dragonia, they were unfamiliar.

‘…Is it because this is a dream?’

I unconsciously fingered the ring on my finger. Perhaps they were lower-ranking maids who easily took a liking to me.

Generally, those who persecuted and mocked me were mainly the high-ranking maids who attended to Penelope, so these lower-ranking maids probably didn’t know much about me.

‘To those who probably hadn’t even heard words like “illegitimate child” or “outcast,” I must appear as a distant and high existence called a lady.’

So they would sincerely thank me like that.

‘Well, it’s goodwill that won’t last long anyway.’

Having no expectations from the servants of the Blue Brick Castle, I lightly said, “Then, could you bring me some food? I’d be grateful if you could prepare water for washing.”

I was hungry, having dealt with Penelope’s minions since morning.

Plus, even if this was a dream, my current unhygienic state was extremely bothersome.

“What? That’s easy enough……”

“Please wait just a moment!”

The maids, though surprised, quickly fulfilled my request.

The meal served in clean but modest dishes had few side dishes, and the washing water wasn’t cold but lukewarm.

“Thank you.”

But I was genuinely grateful. I knew it wasn’t easy to prepare even this much in their position as lower-ranking maids.

The maids waved their hands saying, “Oh, it’s nothing,” but they seemed shy, pleased that their efforts were appreciated.

“Sh-should we assist you……”

“It’s fine. Go now and do your work.”

After dismissing the people, I filled my stomach and washed myself.

The bathroom attached to the poor bedroom was equally shabby, with nothing in the way of bath items except a small piece of soap and an old towel.

‘I don’t think they’d give this little even to lower-ranking maids.’

It was a truly delicate malice.

Maintaining cleanliness in such an environment isn’t easy. From the start, it’s difficult to even get proper washing water. Naturally, I ended up with a dirty, shabby appearance that anyone would despise and avoid.

‘That’s how they gradually created a half-baked lady worthy of ridicule.’

I washed as best I could. At least my tangled hair could now be combed with my fingers, so I’d done well enough.

Before discarding the dirty water, I paused upon discovering a blurry reflection on the surface.

Through the wet bluish-purple hair, a clear white face was visible.

Perhaps from just washing, my cheeks, nose, and lips were flushed, and my large, clear eyes looked moist.

“……So this is what I looked like at this time.”

It was unfamiliar.

Since I only started receiving proper care and grooming after my awakening, I didn’t know how miserable I looked before that.

‘And I was ridiculed.’

For looking worse than a maid. Who would see that as a lady of Dragonia…

Splash— I overturned the water with cold eyes.

In my previous life, I would have been embarrassed and flustered at such words, but now I just found them loathsome and hateful. Now I don’t care about your evaluations.

More urgently, I need to escape from this incomprehensible nightmare.

What should I do… As I pondered, a suspicion suddenly struck me.

‘What if this isn’t a nightmare but reality?’

What if I’ve truly returned as Partanie, the lady called the shame of Dragonia?

‘Then what should I do?’

I shuddered at the thought I didn’t want to accept. Apart from the objection that it was impossible, I wondered.

If it were possible, how and who would have wanted to bring me back?

* * *

“Prince Lukaris!”

The golden hair characteristic of the Griffones imperial family ruling the Hakan Empire.

The blue-tinged silver-gray eyes said to have been passed down through generations in the Fenrir Grand Duchy of the northeast.

Prince Lukaris, a young man with his hood pulled down deeply to hide all these features, swung his sword.

“Krahk!”

The assassin at the end of the sword’s trajectory was cut lengthwise from abdomen to nape.

Prince Lukaris strode toward the fallen assassin who was spitting blood and grabbed the dying opponent’s chin.

“Confess. Who sent you?”

“Kh, phew……”

The assassin pretended to cough up blood and shot a poison needle.

“Pah, die!”

However, as if anticipating this, Prince Lukaris lightly dodged and stuffed a rock into the assassin’s mouth.

Forcibly opening the mouth to prevent the opponent from biting the poison hidden in their teeth to commit suicide.

“Ugh, ugh—!”

Panic flashed in the assassin’s eyes as even their last resort was blocked.

Holding the assassin’s chin, Prince Lukaris asked dryly.

“Is it Dragonia? Or Phoenix’s……”

But before Prince Lukaris could finish speaking, the assassin suddenly died. With eyes rolled back, black smoke flowed between the blocked mouth and nose.

And in an instant, without leaving even a corpse, it oxidized into black dust and sand.

“What is this now?”

However, neither Prince Lukaris nor any of his subordinates were surprised. This wasn’t the first assassin to appear and disappear like this.

“Who could be behind this……”

“Probably whoever leaked information to us.”

Prince Lukaris said, dusting off his hands covered with the assassin’s remains.

The Divine Beast’s egg possessed by the House of Dragonia.

Although it was said that the Divine Beast hadn’t awakened for a long time, the very existence of the egg was marvelous compared to other houses whose mystical powers had been cut off.

Upon receiving information that he could obtain this, Prince Lukaris secretly entered the territory of the Northwest.

‘And assassination attempts followed as if they had been waiting.’

Under the shadow of his hood, Prince Lukaris’s silver-gray eyes gleamed coldly.

Noticing that his master’s mood had soured, a subordinate quickly spoke up.

“By the way, there seems to be a lot of commotion at Dragonia’s main castle too. According to the most recent news, because of the lady of Dragonia……”

The subordinate continued his report on the conflict between Taran and Penelope.

At that moment, something flashed through Prince Lukaris’s mind.

A night with a blizzard raging.

A frail girl with long flowing hair.

She had a pale complexion and had collapsed after coughing up dark red blood.

‘No.’

Prince Lukaris reflexively reached out as if to grab her, but at that moment, everything disappeared as if it had been an illusion.

Before he could recognize who it was.

“Your Highness?”

“……No, it’s nothing.”

That strange vision again.

Lukaris pressed his throbbing temple.

Recently, he had experienced this several times, and coincidentally, all of it was related to the lady of Dragonia.