Chapter 9 - 3. I’ve Read Up (3)
It was normal for a noble like her to have several maids, but Fanora was given only one commoner maid. Of course, she didn’t express any dissatisfaction with this.
“Then I will get going. Cecil, you should take good care of the Lady in the future.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The head maid opened the door again and left. Fanora glanced at the figure of the woman who was left with her in this room.
She doesn’t look clumsy, and she doesn’t look that old either.
Could it be the head maid who personally chose this new maid? Or maybe this maid join hands with my mother?
Fanora pondered the fleeting moment in her head.
Before killing Haures, Seir got married and quit her job, so the newly assigned maid quietly did her job. Then…
Although Fanora was in her 15 years old body right now, wasn’t her memory already 21 years old? So, as she concluded from what she had experienced, it seemed that Seir’s bullying her wasn’t because of orders, but because of her own will.
Of course, I can’t say that there is no intervention from the Countess.
However, Fanora even made a complaint once before. The fact that Seir’s sins were covered also meant that if someone secretly harassed her again, they could tolerate it again.
Fanora, wary of that, gave her first words to her new maid. “I already had breakfast, so bring me some tea.”
“…”
Where did her appearance of pretending to be shivering in front of Seir go so far? She immediately used a tone suitable for the role of master.
If this maid is looking down on me like Seir, there will be a reaction. Let’s see.
Fanora maintained a calm expression. But she kept thinking about it.
I just do something like Seir always do. Why do I have to suffer even in a house where everyone considers it to be a resting place? I can’t forgive them. I will let those people die in an unfortunate accident. I would never forgive them…
This was a kind of neurosis. Fanora couldn’t even stand the slightest harm anymore. She wanted to blow everything away as the anger she had suppressed for a long time was boiling over. At the slightest trigger, she would put them in her new target of revenge.
“Which tea should I bring, Lady?”
“Black tea.”
“I understand.”
Whether she knew or not that Fanora was inevitably grinding her teeth inside, the newly assigned maid started her work smoothly. With a gesture that wasn’t perfect but not lacking, she brought the black tea to her master.
“…”
When Fanora drank the tea given to her, the fragrant and warm scent refreshed her tongue. It wasn’t sticky like the tea someone brought out, with plenty of sugar, nor was it boiled for a short time.
“Please ring this bell when you need anything in the future.”
Even after that, Fanora tried to get her new maid to do this and that. It wasn’t that she was overworking her maid. Bringing her meals, cleaning her room, organizing her hair before she went to sleep, etc…
“That’s enough. I won’t need anything else for today, so go back early.”
“Yes, Lady.”
The new maid didn’t show any special skills, and although she was clumsy, Fanora didn’t scold her. By the time the new maid said goodbye and left her room, she only looked in the direction where her maid had disappeared for a long time.
Today’s meal was delicious. There were no sharp objects in the dress I wore in the afternoon. Even after brushing my hair, my scalp didn’t bleed…
That’s right. This was what she had always wanted. The ordinary, businesslike attitude. Originally, Fanora could give many affections to someone, so if someone had only performed their duty, she would have loved them even if they showed a cold face.
“To die because you can’t do this easy thing…”
She rolled her eyes in the air, thinking that Seir had dug her own grave. Looking at the empty ceiling, her expression looked scary at that time.
* * *
A few days later, at 7:00 a.m.
“Lady, did you call me for me?”
“Bring something simple to eat from the kitchen. And in the afternoon, I have to go to the wedding party with my mother, so dress me up in advance.”
“I understand.”
Nothing happened at midnight today.
Because it’s not the first day of the week.
Perhaps she misunderstood the requirement for the text to appear. These days she has been waking up at 12 o’clock every day, but there was no result.
However, Fanora couldn’t keep an eye on the midnight novel forever.
“It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t show up.”
There was still not enough confirmation that only the truth was written in the novel. Even if the novel didn’t pop up from the beginning, there was a lot of work to be done.
“Lady, I’m going in.”
Fanora stopped her thoughts and focused on her meal when her maid returned with a silver tray. Today’s menu consisted of bread and fruits, presumably leftovers from yesterday’s meal.
“Lady Fanora, shall I prepare a bath so that you can go right after finishing eating?”
“Just prepare the water. I will do it alone.”
“Pardon? But…”
“In the meantime, you should eat breakfast too.”
When Fanora realized that her new maid had done nothing to her meal, she gave her a generous order. And when she thought about it, it was also for her future plans.
Seir… it’s not time for me to be happy just because I got rid of one person like you. There are still a lot of people in this mansion that need to pay…
“I understand. Then I will prepare the water, Lady Fanora.”
I’ve already figured out a way to kill one person, so should I take care of the rest?
Fanora was already in a state of madness even before she opened her eyes. Even though she was eating such a delicious meal, she wanted to shout at every moment. Breaking down all the decorations in her room wasn’t enough to vent her anger. But that urge became quiet when she planned for new revenge. The more she fell into deep thought, the calmer her expression became.
It’s good to kill my enemies, but I have to put out something urgent first.
The conclusion she reached after long consideration wasn’t an act unrelated to revenge. In other words, there was something she need to prioritized over murdering someone.
I have to break my marriage talk with Naverius.
Fanora put down the fruit she was eating. Just thinking about his name made her feel nauseous.
I can’t be sold to a guy like that twice in my life.
In her mind, she wanted to break off their engagement by breaking his head. That method wasn’t bad either. But it was necessary to take a few steps back now for the future.
“I can’t believe I have to go to someone else’s wedding when I’m sick like this.”
Two hours later, Fanora, who finished dressing up completely, took advantage of the time of her maid’s absence to examine her reflection in the mirror.
“I was really young at this age. Ah, of course it’s natural.”
The reflection she saw in the mirror wasn’t broken yet, so she could see her skin and the black hair with pale skin stand out. Her dark lower lashes, the most striking feature of her face, fluttered every time she blinked.
“…”
People around her have ridiculed her appearance because of the gloomy color. Some even laughed at her, saying that she looked like a banshee.
If I get rejected again because I’m not good enough…
Fanora thought as she ran her hand through her long, curly hair. There were a lot of false rumors spread about her in previous life. She often made mistakes due to her lack of manners, so there were many things she wanted to fix.
Many things would change in this life, but she couldn’t help but worry.
It’s embarrassing to hear the insult that I’m only half-noble again. What if the number of things I need to kill increases because of my anger?
When she first stood in front of the mirror, she had the appearance of a lady who was anxious about her social activities.
Fanora raised her eyes, unable to stop the terrifying thought.
I didn’t like the world itself that left me to be like this. At this point, if all the nobles gathered at the King’s birthday party…
For a moment, she thought about something else. It was also quick for her to get back to her senses.
What am I thinking right now? On a subject that I still haven’t figured out how to deal with the holy relic yet.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. “Lady Fanora, this is Cecil. Madam has asked me to bring Lady Fanora.”
“All right.”
She had to start what she had to do for today.
* * *
A few hours later, they arrived at the grand wedding venue. With so much money spent on it, this expensive garden was full of pink roses and white rugs.
“Countess Celsius, I would like to express my gratitude for attending today on behalf of the Count. I will take you inside.”
This was none other than the wedding ceremony of a wealthy baron with a prestigious noble lady. It was probably a political marriage, just like a transaction that happened because the wealthy could get a prestigious family with their money, and the prestigious could live a nobler life with their money.
Anyway, both the bride and groom greatly influenced the Kingdom, that even the King accepted the invitation to celebrate their marriage. All the nobles near the capital gathered to celebrate their marriage, either to suck up the newly married couple or to avoid being hated.
All the guests have gathered. It will start soon.
If there was only one problem with this beautiful wedding, it was probably there was a guest who ended up attending this wedding twice.
Fanora sat in the corner of the family table dully. Soon after, the ceremony hall was filled with nobles from the central region. Then the wedding’s speech was heard.
“I can’t believe the wedding is so fancy!”
“Do you like it?”
“Did Mom get married in such a wonderful place like this?”
“Fufu, that’s right.”
The two wheat-haired sittings next to Fanora had a harmonious atmosphere. But after a while, the boy chatting with her mother turned his head and spoke to dark-haired woman sitting next to him.
“Fanora, how have you been?”
“…”
“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I saw your face.”
Fanora lowered her head and looked at him. Then, she saw an esteemed son who looked much younger than she remembered. Unlike her, he was a boy with wheat-colored hair. The moment his head was soaked in the sun, his hair shone more precious than any gold.
“Why did you come to the event today?”
With his slightly raised eyes resembling his mother, the boy acted kind to Fanora. However, when the surrounding sound became noisy, he quietly approached her ear and whispered, “Do you have no shame?”
At that, Fanora thought.
If my life was being expressed in a text, the reader would have noticed at this point, right? About my family atmosphere.
The person sitting in her mother’s seat in this family was Hanar Celsius, Bael Celsius’s lover, his second wife, who took the place of Countess Celsius when Fanora’s mother died. The boy who had been looking at her from before was Hanar’s son.
Even if I made the excuse that I was sick, they would still drag me here while saying that it was rude not to attend.
She always suffered from the cold glare of her half-brother and stepmother. But it wasn’t like she was going to get hurt this time. Fanora soon turned off her nerves and spent her time in a daze.