Chapter 23
Reina looked up at Mrs. Mary with cold eyes.
Facing those calm, light blue pupils made her feel overwhelmed.
Clearly, she was the one looking down, but it felt as if Reina were looking down on her instead.
Unlike her earlier bravado, Mrs. Mary closed her mouth.
It was because she sensed that the situation was turning unusual.
Reina glanced at Mrs. Mary, whose attitude had noticeably changed, and then spoke to Lily.
“Lily, bring that over.”
“Yes, madam.”
Lily brought a tray as if she had been waiting for the command.
Reina had hoped not to use it if possible, but it seemed discipline was necessary after all.
Mrs. Mary was shocked upon seeing the object on the tray.
It was a switch. Reina, noticing the earthquake in Mrs. Mary’s pupils, said,
“This is a gift from me to you. It means I hope you’ll take good care of Dalia from now on.”
For a moment, Mrs. Mary almost blurted out, ‘Isn’t this a warning rather than a gift?’ but she bit her lower lip hard instead.
When a noble gave a switch as a gift to a subordinate, it was a warning.
A warning that if the same mistake was made again, they would be whipped with that very switch.
Mrs. Mary trembled with humiliation but couldn’t utter a single word of rebuttal.
Honestly, when Reina had first addressed her respectfully, Mrs. Mary had judged her to be an easy mark.
Subtly calling her ‘Your Highness’ instead of ‘madam’ had all been part of the power play.
She had thought Reina was a sheltered greenhouse flower who knew nothing, and tried to assert dominance.
But instead, she had ended up having her weakness exposed by Reina.
As Mrs. Mary just glared at the switch, Reina said,
“Go on, take it.”
“……Thank you.”
At Reina’s urging, Mrs. Mary reluctantly accepted the box containing the switch.
“I truly hope I never have to use this.”
“……Then, may I leave now?”
Reina smiled faintly and shook her head at the noticeably more polite question.
It was unfortunate for Mrs. Mary, who wanted to storm out of the place right then, but there was still more business to attend to.
Reina glanced at the chair and said,
“No. You don’t have to go far. Because the teacher in charge of Dalia’s etiquette education is none other than me.”
“……”
“It seems like it’ll be a long conversation, so shall we sit? If you want to stand like before, that’s fine too.”
“……I’ll sit.”
Mrs. Mary sat down heavily with a deathly expression on her face.
Reina relaxed her expression at the noticeably more compliant attitude.
Following that, Lily’s eyes sparkled as she watched the entire process.
* * *
After finishing her meeting with Reina, Mrs. Mary went straight to Kaiden and poured out her grievances.
“She really seems determined to come in strong. If things continue like this, Miss Dalia’s position could be in jeopardy, so you should be careful too, young duke.”
Kaiden, who had been listening quietly to the whole story, asked in a low voice,
“Did she really do that to you without any reason, Mrs. Mary?”
His attitude, as if he found it hard to believe, made Mrs. Mary speak even more forcefully.
She even shook the switch while venting her anger.
“I’m telling you, yes? Can’t you believe it even after seeing this?”
In truth, Mrs. Mary had only spoken in a way that favored herself.
She had omitted why Reina had summoned her and only mentioned the gift of the switch.
Kaiden stroked his chin with a serious face.
‘She didn’t seem like someone who would treat subordinates harshly……’
He was perplexed, wondering if she had an unexpectedly overbearing personality.
In any case, these were words from Mrs. Mary, who had cared for Dalia for a long time.
He couldn’t just dismiss them lightly, so he soothed her.
“First, calm your anger, madam. I’ll talk to Her Highness properly about it.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. We need to separate her from Miss Dalia right now.”
“But it’s a situation where I’ve just requested etiquette education. It would put me in an awkward position to change my words now.”
Kaiden lightly refused, and Mrs. Mary glared at him.
She hadn’t really thought she could separate Reina from Dalia right away either.
However, she couldn’t just stand by and watch Reina exert influence over Dalia like this.
After all, it was a position she had built up with such effort.
Just when she was finally able to wield it to her own taste, this unexpected interloper had appeared.
Mrs. Mary asked with a face that had regained its composure through sheer will.
“Then, if there’s just a pretext, you’ll step in?”
“If necessary, I suppose I must.”
As Kaiden gave an ambiguous reply, Mrs. Mary boldly declared,
“Just wait and see. I’ll prove that Her Highness shouldn’t be in charge of Miss Dalia’s etiquette education.”
* * *
Dalia waited in silence, clutching her beloved doll, Tosuni, tightly to her chest.
The reason her heart was pounding without cause must be because today was her first lesson with Reina.
Dalia had learned only a few days ago that Reina was her great-aunt.
To think that such a kind presence as Reina had become a new family member!
It felt like a gift her mother had sent her, and she wanted to get close to her.
But her nanny’s thoughts were different from hers.
“You must never show any weakness in front of the duchess. It’s obvious she’ll use that kind face to pick at Miss Dalia’s flaws.”
“But Reina said she’d be friends with Dalia…….”
“Friends are for when interests align. Always remember that to the duchess, Miss Dalia is just an obstacle. You must use formal titles properly.”
Dalia couldn’t fully understand her nanny’s words.
She could only guess that adult circumstances were mixed in again.
Her nanny, Mrs. Mary, had been with Dalia since she was born.
Especially after her mother started getting sick, there was hardly a moment they weren’t together.
Because it was that person saying it, Dalia was trying hard to suppress her growing affection for Reina.
Honestly, ever since she heard that Reina would be her etiquette teacher, she’d been anxious.
Having always been under her strict nanny, just the word “lesson” made her tense.
When the thought ‘What if Reina dislikes Dalia, just like the nanny said?’ crossed her mind, her eyes inexplicably reddened at the corners.
She was fiddling with Tosuni when Reina entered the room.
“Hello, Dalia?”
Reina approached Dalia with a gentle smile and waved her hand.
Dalia stood up from her chair with a rigidly tense face and bowed at the waist.
“Hello, Duchess?”
“Hm?”
Reina wore a puzzled expression at Dalia’s sudden use of formal language.
After all, just a few days ago, they had agreed to call each other by name.
“That’s disappointing.”
“Huh?”
“Weren’t we going to call each other by name?”
Reina bent down to meet her eyes.
Dalia pursed her lips as she looked into those clear pupils.
“My nanny said not to call you by name…….”
Seeing her mumbling while avoiding eye contact, Reina said with a faint smile,
“Is that so? But I’d like it if Dalia called me by name.”
“Still…….”
“Then how about this? ‘Duchess’ feels too distant, so maybe ‘Teacher Reina’ would be good. What do you think, Dalia?”
“That sounds good!”
Dalia exclaimed brightly, as if she’d never been downcast.
Reina looked at her fondly and stroked her hair.
“Since it’s our first lesson, shall we learn about afternoon tea etiquette?”
No sooner had Reina finished speaking than Lily, who had been waiting nearby, wheeled in a trolley prepared with cookies and tea.
Dalia’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the layered desserts, but she stayed still.
Mrs. Mary rarely gave her desserts, saying they’d make her gain weight.
So, as she just stared at the desserts, Reina personally handed her a fork and said,
“It’s usually best to start tasting from the layer with the less sweet scones. If you go for the high-sugar desserts first, you’ll end up drinking tea multiple times and might have to go to the bathroom often.”
She assumed Dalia was hesitating because she didn’t know what to eat first.
But Dalia showed an unexpected reaction.
Even after holding the fork, she couldn’t readily choose a dessert and subtly asked,
“……Is it really okay for me to eat this?”
