Chapter 017. The Whole Story
A heavy tension hung over Mrs. Charlotte’s face as she stood in front of the study.
It was said that the evening banquet had been interrupted by an unexpected incident, causing the guests to leave earlier than planned.
Having heard the details of the unforeseen event that had turned the banquet upside down, Mrs. Charlotte felt deeply reluctant to face the Duke of Cheister, who was inside the study.
But she could not avoid the master’s urgent summons, so Mrs. Charlotte took a deep breath and knocked on the study door.
Knock, knock—
Not long after she knocked, the sound of the doorknob turning came from within.
The one who opened the door was Robin, the grandson of the butler Greig.
Seeing the shadow over the usually cheerful young man’s face, she could gauge the ordeal he had endured at the banquet.
As she stepped through the open door, she saw the Duke of Cheister seated in the brightly lit study.
Mrs. Charlotte swallowed hard once and approached him.
“You called for me, Your Grace.”
As Mrs. Charlotte bowed respectfully, Raymond, who had been sitting motionlessly, slowly shifted his gaze to her.
“Sit.”
He nodded toward the sofa across from him, but Mrs. Charlotte hesitated before speaking.
“No, I’ll stand.”
At her insistence on standing, Raymond didn’t press further.
“You, who hears and sees everything happening in this estate from a thousand miles away, surely wouldn’t be unaware of what happened this evening.”
“…I deeply apologize.”
Mrs. Charlotte bowed deeply, offering no excuses and simply apologizing for her oversight.
“When word spreads tomorrow that the master of the Cheister family invited guests and one of them had food dumped on them, it will be a laughingstock among people—what do you think of that?”
“…….”
Raymond, having posed the question and waited briefly, spoke again after a pause when Mrs. Charlotte remained silent.
“No words? Then let me rephrase the question.”
“…….”
“When that guest, in front of me, repeatedly slapped one of my estate’s maids like a dog, how do you think I felt—can you guess?”
“…….”
“Everyone may be obsessed with parading pretty doll-like maids in front of guests, but there’s a limit—how dare you put such an ill-mannered maid at my table?”
At Raymond’s fierce, biting words, Mrs. Charlotte felt a wave of dismay.
It was undeniably her mistake to have hastily replaced the parlor maids under Cecilia’s relentless insistence.
Her error had tarnished the master’s reputation at the banquet, and an innocent young maid had suffered humiliating treatment she didn’t deserve.
The master of the Cheister family was undoubtedly the Duke, and no matter how much his sister had pressed, as the one overseeing the estate’s female servants, she should not have disregarded protocol in such a manner.
Realizing that no excuse could absolve her clear fault, Mrs. Charlotte finally spoke heavily.
“Today’s incident is entirely my fault. Deborah—the maid who made the mistake at the banquet—hasn’t been here long, and it was my error to push her into such a role… Please, I beg for your leniency.”
“Deborah… that’s the maid’s name?”
Raymond, who had been listening to her with a cold expression, suddenly repeated the maid’s name, causing a flicker of confusion to cross Mrs. Charlotte’s face.
“…Yes. Her name is Deborah Coleman.”
“She hasn’t been here long, you say. How did she come to be at Elfengrin?”
“…She was hired as a housemaid on Mr. Greig’s recommendation.”
“Her background?”
“…Her background, I don’t know……”
At her vague response, unlike her usual concise answers, Raymond’s brow twitched.
“What’s that?”
“What’s that?”
As Raymond asked irritably, Mrs. Charlotte, as if she had no choice, spoke again immediately.
“…I heard she’s an orphan with nowhere to turn due to her circumstances.”
No sooner had Mrs. Charlotte spoken than Raymond’s expression twisted fiercely.
Mrs. Charlotte hadn’t hesitated to mention Deborah’s background out of concern for her privacy.
Cold as it may seem, Mrs. Charlotte was thoroughly loyal to the Cheister family.
The reason she hesitated to speak of Deborah’s background in front of the Duke was due to his intensely negative feelings toward “orphans.”
The previous Duke, his father, Randler von Cheister, had cherished a mistress who was an “orphaned courtesan,” which made Raymond’s feelings toward “female orphans” border on disgust.
The previous Duke, his father, Randler von Cheister, had cherished a mistress who was an “orphaned courtesan,” which made Raymond’s feelings toward “female orphans” border on disgust.
That was why Mrs. Charlotte had been reluctant to answer directly about Deborah’s background despite Raymond’s questioning.
Ha—
A harsh, incredulous laugh burst from Raymond’s lips.
“An orphan… an orphan… so that’s why—”
Muttering incomprehensible words to himself, Raymond left Mrs. Charlotte to simply await his final decision.
After a long pause, deep in thought, Raymond suddenly raised his gaze as if he had made up his mind.
Mrs. Charlotte straightened her posture even more to hear his decision.
Mrs. Charlotte straightened her posture even more to hear his decision.
“A maid who caused great offense to a guest and brought shame to the Cheister name—I cannot keep her in my estate. Fire her.”
-!!!
Though she had expected some form of punishment, dismissal—rather than demotion to housemaid or a pay cut—was far too harsh.
Despite his cold and sharp demeanor, he wasn’t usually such a ruthless master, so whether it was the word “orphan” that had touched a nerve or some other reason she wasn’t aware of, Mrs. Charlotte was taken aback by the unexpectedly severe decision.
Prepared to accept any decision, Mrs. Charlotte couldn’t immediately respond, and seeing this, Raymond clicked his tongue and added firmly.
“You should consider it fortunate that it ends with just one maid’s dismissal.”
At his cold words urging her to leave, Mrs. Charlotte had no choice but to bow and prepare to withdraw.
That is, until an indignant voice suddenly interrupted the two—
That is, until an indignant voice suddenly interrupted the two—
“You’re being too harsh!”
The voice, bursting with frustration, came from Robin, the aide standing a few steps behind.
“What did you just say?”
Raymond’s brow furrowed sharply as he glared at the fuming Robin.
Mrs. Charlotte was equally shocked.
Though Robin was an emotional young man, seeing his face, flushed with all sorts of feelings after dealing with the icy Duke, created a striking contrast that left her with an odd sensation.
“What’s wrong with being an orphan…?”
Though she didn’t know why Robin was defending Deborah, Mrs. Charlotte let out a long sigh.
‘Robin, you’re mistaken. Saying that will only make things worse.’
But her silent warning couldn’t possibly reach the highly agitated Robin.
“How dare you—”
As expected, Raymond’s face turned steely at Robin’s defense of the “orphan.”
Normally, Robin would have backed down by now, but despite looking slightly intimidated, his expression showed he wouldn’t retreat.
“Deborah was brought in as a housemaid, but suddenly, overnight, she was made a parlor maid and worked all day. And as if that wasn’t enough, she was constantly called to do Miss Cecilia’s hair, so how could her body not break down? I heard her wrist got injured. Last night, she was delirious with a high fever all night, and yet she came out today to diligently do her work.”
“…….”
What was this now? Mrs. Charlotte’s eyes widened in surprise at the new information pouring from Robin’s mouth.
“I asked earlier… to be excused for a bit, didn’t I?”
“…….”
Raymond recalled how Robin, who had stepped out briefly during the banquet, returned with a darkened expression.
“The truth is… another maid who shares her room came to me in the afternoon, worried about her. She said Deborah was delirious with a high fever all night… So I went to check on her condition earlier.”
“…….”
As Mrs. Charlotte listened, she suddenly noticed something strange.
Normally, the Duke wouldn’t listen to such trivial details about a mere servant, and one might expect him to silence Robin and dismiss him immediately, but for some reason, he was listening quietly, which felt utterly unfamiliar.
“You probably didn’t notice since you don’t care about servants… but her wrist was wrapped in layers of bandages, tightly secured. And her palm was so badly injured, with blood and pus seeping out, that it was hard to look at… Despite being in that state, she insisted on coming to work because she didn’t want to burden others, saying she’d go to the hospital tomorrow… And now to fire her like this… Isn’t that too harsh?”
“…….”
Robin, who had been venting as if he were the one wronged, turned his head to hide his slightly reddened nose.
The study fell silent for a long while, with only the sound of Robin sniffing breaking the quiet.
How long did that silence last?
Finally, Raymond’s low, subdued voice cut through the air in the study.
“Call for Dr. Hermen to make a house visit and treat that maid… Deborah. And the decision regarding her—put it on hold for now.”
-!!!
Mrs. Charlotte gasped in surprise, holding her breath for a moment.
In all her time serving Raymond, she rarely recalled him reversing a decision, especially so quickly, making this moment all the more astonishing.
Mrs. Charlotte bowed deeply, expressing her gratitude to the Duke.
“Yes, Your Grace. I will carry out your orders. Thank you.”
Mrs. Charlotte bowed again to show her gratitude and, as she left the study, patted Robin on the shoulder.
Though he was still awkwardly looking away, no one would be more delighted by the Duke’s decision than Robin at that moment.
With a lighter step, Mrs. Charlotte quickly walked down the corridor to contact Dr. Hermen.
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By Anna 💓
