Chapter 095. A New Dress
“It’s not that I particularly harbor any ill will toward you. It’s just that what I’m worried about—”
Lady Charlotte paused for a moment as she looked at Deborah’s completely stiffened face, but soon continued speaking as if she had made up her mind.
“Is all too clearly visible—who will end up being deeply hurt in the end.”
“…….”
The words that fell softly from her lips were truly spoken from the heart.
For her, who had served the ducal family for decades, the very first and second priority had always been Cheister, yet she was not cold-hearted enough to knowingly ignore an obvious tragedy.
In her eyes, which had witnessed countless situations, Deborah’s appearance looked exactly like a moth rushing into a flame.
That was why she had warned her so clearly before—
Tsk, tsk.
Lady Charlotte clicked her tongue lowly, then soon let out a long sigh.
Well, how easy could it be for young men and women in their prime to suppress their boiling emotions?
Her own prediction—that at the very least, Raymond von Cheister would never do such a thing—had been spectacularly proven wrong.
She wasn’t unable to understand that an innocent young lady would find it even harder to shake off that fatal temptation.
But…….
It was her opinion that this precarious relationship would not last very long.
She had no idea what on earth the young master was thinking, but no matter how she thought about it, it didn’t seem like he had started this affair with the maid in front of him while considering a far-off future.
If her memory served her right, she knew of not a single case within the Kingdom of Ruvake where a noble and a commoner had married.
Because the Ruvake royal family, bound tightly by deep-rooted bloodline-ism and aristocratism, never tolerated marriages between commoners and nobles.
Therefore, no matter how well this relationship went, it meant Deborah could never become more than the official mistress of Duke Cheister.
Well, having a separate mistress was an extremely common thing among Lubeik nobles and nothing special, so from Deborah’s position, it might not be such a bad thing after all.
Rather, for a maid who was a poor orphan, there might be no greater honor than that.
The problem was whether the young duke would actually do so.
Because of his long-held feelings toward his late father, the previous Duke Randller von Cheister, he was a person with a very negative view of keeping a separate mistress after marriage.
Considering that, Charlotte’s judgment was that the answer was not very bright.
That was why this situation was truly frustrating.
Just imagining what would happen after the grand lady Eleonora von Cheister or his younger sister Cecilia found out about this made Charlotte’s head throb.
Moreover, when she recalled the shock she felt upon hearing about the incident that had happened in the entrance hall yesterday—whether he even intended to hide it at all—her heart was still pounding even now.
For the time being, she had strictly ordered the servants to keep their mouths shut, but everyone who had been in the entrance hall, including Mr. Greig, had already noticed the relationship between the two.
—No, I…… I never thought something like that would…… what on earth is this…….
Remembering Mr. Greig’s flustered face, unable to continue his words, only made her heart more and more troubled.
Of course it would be so.
The very person who had asked her to hire Deborah as a lower maid was none other than him, so perhaps he was the one most bewildered by how things had turned out.
In any case, at this rate, it was only a matter of time before everyone in the mansion knew about the two’s relationship.
Yet instead of being cautious……
“…….”
Charlotte looked down at the bright outing dress placed on the table with an extremely troubled expression.
Then, after a moment, she raised her head and looked at Deborah.
At that face that was still hanging low, unable to say anything.
“Yes, what use is there in me saying anything now.”
“…….”
“However, there is one thing I want to make sure you keep in mind— from now on, you must be even more careful and pay special attention to every single action.”
“…….”
“You might think it’s just an old woman’s needless nagging, but considering your position, it would be best to engrave it in your heart.”
It was exactly at that moment that the atmosphere of Lady Charlotte, who had been speaking calmly, changed.
“The moment this relationship between the two of you goes beyond the walls of this mansion—”
“…….”
“From that point on, there might be nothing at all that you can do according to your own will.”
At that chilling warning that made her heart sink, Deborah unknowingly clenched the fists resting on her knees tightly.
* * *
Having received Lady Charlotte’s permission, Deborah headed to the attic first to put away the clothing box.
After worrying for a long time about where on earth to put this conspicuous thing, Deborah eventually decided to place the clothing box deep under the bed.
Because in this cramped space where each other’s range of movement was completely visible, hiding anything was honestly close to impossible.
She decided to leave it here for now and think slowly about what to say to Hanna in the evening, and was just about to step away when—
For some reason, her feet wouldn’t move.
After standing still like that for a long while, Deborah finally let out a long sigh, then plopped down on the spot, bending her knees.
She hadn’t shown it at all in front of Lady Charlotte, but in truth, she had been curious ever since she first saw it.
Something that had stolen her gaze with just a brief look.
She knew full well that she was being pathetic for doing this even now, but there was nothing she could do about being curious.
So she really intended to look just very briefly, just a little.
“…….”
When she slowly opened the lid of the leather box, the beautiful color she had seen earlier peeked out shyly.
Deborah carefully lifted the dress, afraid it might wrinkle.
Swish—
The soft sound of the fabric flowing down rang faintly in her ears, and finally the silhouette that had been layered and hidden revealed its full appearance.
Deborah could not easily tear her eyes away from the sight before her.
A soft pale yellow reminiscent of spring, overlaid with white lace, and atop that, delicately embroidered beads and pearl decorations.
It was very different from the gorgeous and ostentatious dresses worn by ladies, yet it was an extremely beautiful dress that exuded a modest yet deeply feminine feeling.
The kind that was neat and practical enough to wear out on a holiday afternoon without any shortcomings.
—I’d completely forgotten for a while.
—That he has a strange talent for making people feel terrible.
“…….”
Belated regret about that day came rushing in.
She could have easily spoken more gently, so why on earth had she reacted so sharply?
She had been so busy spitting out twisted words that even she thought it was only natural for him to lose all affection.
And on top of that, hadn’t something like that happened again yesterday?
Of course it wasn’t entirely her fault, but thinking about how they had exchanged sharp words once more because of it, her heart couldn’t help but feel heavy the whole time.
……It felt like everything would really end like this.
No matter how much she tried to pretend otherwise, her recent loss of appetite and sleepless nights all stemmed from that anxiety.
—Samanda, they say to finish cleaning the second-floor study quickly this morning? In the afternoon His Grace the Duke is reviewing important documents and said not to let anyone disturb him.
—Ah, really? Then I should hurry and clean the study first.
It was something she had overheard this morning, just as she was about to leave the servants’ hall.
It wasn’t something she had strained to hear, it had simply reached her ears on its own.
The reason why that sentence she had tried not to think about came to mind at this very moment was all too clear.
But…….
—Get out.
The moment she recalled his cold demeanor without even meeting her eyes, the courage she had barely mustered felt like it vanished into foam in an instant.
At first it was anger, and afterward it was fear of possible rejection—the courage she hadn’t been able to voice.
As that time piled up and up, all the moments she had spent with the man now felt so distant it was as if they had all been a dream.
Deborah looked at the dress in her hands and pondered for a moment.
Would she just let this suffocating time pass by with folded hands, doing nothing?
Or would she at least confront him, even if it meant her heart might break at the man’s cold attitude?
What mattered was that she still didn’t want to let go of the warmth the man gave her, and that if not now, she might never be able to muster this kind of courage again.
With that thought, a clear answer emerged that there was no longer any reason to hesitate.
As if having made up her mind, Deborah carefully folded the dress she was holding again and placed it back into the box.
The moment she opened the attic door and stepped into the corridor, every single instant felt extremely tense and nervous, yet somewhere in her heart, an inexplicable thrill made her heart flutter.
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