076. Rumors Spreading Little by Little
“Well, you know, Joan apparently tried some chocolate.”
“What? Chocolate?!”
During mealtime, that single remark bursting from someone’s mouth instantly turned the table into a hubbub.
It was at the same moment that Deborah, who had just swallowed a spoonful of soup, started coughing harshly.
But no one paid any attention to Deborah in that state.
Everyone was focused, eyes sparkling, on what the maid who had spoken would say next.
“Just one bite—no, not even a bite. She dipped her finger into what had fallen on the tray, so maybe a drop?”
Whatever was so funny about it, the entire table erupted into a sea of laughter.
“So? What did it taste like?”
“Hmm—how to describe it, a bit bitter at first, but then this rich sweetness that lingers in your mouth?”
The maid’s gaze drifted into the air for a moment as she relayed what she’d heard.
At that, everyone gathered wore puzzled expressions, wondering what on earth that meant.
“I wouldn’t know, I just heard her say it.”
I’m not the one who ate it, she added, and only then did the group nod in agreement, yeah, that makes sense.
“Sigh, nobles have it so good. They can eat such rare things every day.”
“Do nobles even eat that every day?”
“Well—probably only someone like our duke could afford to eat it daily?”
Yeah, yeah. The maids mentioning the Duke of Chastier suddenly had their eyes filled with a strange excitement.
“Oh, speaking of which, I heard the duke has been asking for desserts lately, things he never touched before?”
Cough—!
Deborah, who had been diligently focusing on her meal with her ears shut, truly choked this time.
Be careful, the maid next to her patted her back, but the coughing fit continued for quite a while.
The conversation, briefly interrupted by the loud coughing, resumed once more.
“The kitchen said so. Lately, every afternoon around the same time, they prepare desserts on the duke’s orders and send them up.”
“Every day?”
“Yeah. But what’s even more surprising is that all the desserts they prepare are incredibly expensive ones.”
“Not for Lady Cecilia, but the duke himself is eating them?”
Since he was known for never touching desserts, everyone looked dubious.
It’s hard for tastes to change overnight, they murmured.
“Well, the plates come back completely empty, so he must be eating them himself, right?”
Thump-thump, even though it was clearly not a story aimed at her, Deborah’s heart began pounding wildly.
‘It’s okay, calm down… stay calm.’
Showing any suspicious behavior would only invite doubt, so Deborah desperately tried to manage her expression.
But someone’s casually tossed remark made her face stiffen rigidly in an instant.
“Who knows, maybe he’s having secret rendezvous without anyone knowing.”
Giggles spread rapidly across the table, but to Deborah’s frozen ears, nothing registered.
* * *
Thump, thump.
While changing the sheets, Deborah pounded her aching solar plexus once more.
Even though she had gotten up after eating less than half her meal, the indigestion felt like a proper blockage, lingering for over an hour without easing.
She had thought moving around during afternoon duties might help, but it was no use at all.
-A secret rendezvous? So, you’re saying the duke is having affairs right here in the mansion?
-No, I was just saying, hypothetically.
-That’s ridiculous.
-What’s so ridiculous about it?
-No, think about it. Why would someone like our duke bother with a secret affair with a servant in the mansion? With a snap of his fingers, flower-like noble ladies would flock to him like clouds. Right?
-Well… yeah, I guess.
Perhaps because her movements had paused, the thoughts she had been trying hard not to recall crept back into her mind.
“……”
Just like how everyone had nodded in agreement, that was the honest view of the world.
So, this was the right thing.
Every afternoon, the man who presented things Deborah had never eaten in her life—things she could never afford—and simply told her to try them.
She couldn’t fully understand his intentions as he did nothing but watch her eat for the entire hour, but one thing was clear.
As it had been from the start, he had no intention of taking her by force, just as he had said.
And right now, he was showing her an excessive amount of favor.
That’s why there were moments when she wavered.
It would be stranger if her heart didn’t sway when the person she liked went to such lengths.
But this was the right thing.
Even if it was exhausting to sit in front of him with a stiff face the whole time, pretending otherwise… still, this was the way it should be.
Until his interest faded, enduring like this was what would prevent her from getting hurt later, Deborah thought.
She didn’t want to waste away in unrequited love like her mother, ultimately ending her life in loneliness.
Someday, whenever that might be, she wanted to meet a good person, build a family, have a beautiful child… live a simple but happy life.
She didn’t want to create a lonely child like herself, she wanted to raise a happy one, showered with parents” love.
So, even if it was hard, she had to endure.
Even when impulses arose to be swept away by the deep blue desire he sometimes showed, she had to steadfastly ignore it and hold firm, just like now.
Deborah clenched her fist tightly and vowed to herself once more.
* * *
“What?”
Watching Cecilia’s delicate brows crumple sharply, the maid swallowed dryly.
“What on earth do you mean? That my brother has forbidden access to the second-floor outdoor terrace.”
What nonsense are you spouting, her fierce glare demanded, and the maid quickly opened her mouth.
“Th-that’s what I heard. I don’t know the detailed reason…”
Her stammering words made Cecilia’s brows furrow even deeper, but it was truly the case.
She had been on her way back from inquiring about it anyway.
Hadn’t she gone after hearing that Cecilia planned to hold a light tea party on the second-floor outdoor terrace tomorrow afternoon, so prepare for it?
But to hear that the duke had blocked entry to the second-floor outdoor terrace, it was only natural to ask why.
If she returned empty-handed without knowing the reason, it was obvious she’d get a severe scolding from Cecilia.
-I don’t know either; maybe the butler knows… Probably no one does.
She couldn’t get any more information from the maid who shook her head, saying she didn’t know.
“Is there a guest coming today, by any chance?”
After racking her brain for a while, that seemed to be the conclusion she reached.
Cecilia asked with her face still frowning.
“I’m not sure about the details… Oh, but I think there isn’t… I believe there are none.”
Honestly, a mere maid wouldn’t know the duke’s private schedule in detail.
It would be strange if she did recite it all.
But with the sharp gaze piercing her immediately, she had no choice but to say that.
Well, it wasn’t exact, but she had gotten that impression.
-But it’s not just for a day or two that the duke has been like this.
-Not just a day or two? What do you mean?
-He’s been ordering no entry for about an hour every afternoon. Of course, it’s hush-hush, so not everyone knows. Oh, and this is just between us?
The story about the desserts was already circulating subtly among the maids, but the rest was secret, the maid had emphasized, pressing a finger to her lips repeatedly.
Yet she went on chattering about things unasked, and the gist was this.
For some time now, the Duke of Chastier had been forbidding entry to everyone for an hour each afternoon, spending that time alone there.
And strangely, accompanied by expensive desserts he never touched before.
Thanks to that, among the maids, there were even absurd rumors that the duke might be secretly having affairs with a servant in the mansion.
It wasn’t because of that maid who had excitedly spilled it all and then insisted at the end that it was a secret.
Even if not, could she dare mention such ridiculous rumors in front of the Chastier lady?
With her temperament, she’d immediately turn the whole mansion upside down, not just the maid who relayed it.
For those living in someone else’s house, the best was to watch their mouth day and night and live peacefully every day.
Long and thin, as they say.
So now, too, pretending not to have heard was the wisest course.
The maid, lips firmly sealed, was just watching Cecilia’s mood, waiting for words to fall from her mouth.
Something like, that’s enough, you may go now.
But after pondering for a long while, the words that came from her were completely off from such expectations.
“Where is my brother right now?”
Watching Cecilia spring to her feet, the maid thought.
The mansion is about to get noisy again.
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