I doubted my own ears when I picked up the low voice I hadn’t heard in a while.
‘Huh? Did my father just answer me back?’
Putting the shock aside, I clenched my teeth when I processed his words.
‘Mikhail, that bastard! He said he was busy because of a training session but that was all a lie?!’
Any lingering affections I had for him quickly disappeared. He really was unbelievable to the end. I had a sudden urge to curse him out but quickly waved away the thought.
‘Calm down, Juvellian. It’s all in the past now.’
My chance at a second life and numerous part-time experiences were the main driving forces behind my ability to remain calm. As I was recalling the times where I had to control my facial expressions when dealing with rude customers, my father interrupted my thoughts.
“You’ve returned home early today.”
‘Ah, it seems that I have. ‘
Come to think of it, I was always out stalking Mikhail so I usually came home late at night. Today, however, I returned earlier than usual because I came straight after breaking up with him.
‘Should I just tell him the truth?’
As was the case in the original novel, it seemed like my father put a lot of trust in Mikhail as his subordinate. He had often called for Mikhail and seemed to pay him a lot of attention. He was probably nominating him to be his successor since his only daughter was so useless.
I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. In the past, I was always too nervous to talk to him, afraid that he would hate me if I said something wrong.
Now I realized, while searching through the memories of my past life, that there was no use in trying to be loved by this man. Facing my father with the blue eyes I inherited from him, I spoke concisely,
“We are no longer together.”
Though it wasn’t explicitly said, it was clear my father knew who I was referring to, seeing as how his face became distorted.
“Why?”
A short but sharp question.
But I understood. You wouldn’t have had to worry about a successor if you made a competent man like Mikhail your son-in-law. And since that is no longer possible, I would be upset too if I were in his shoes.
But no matter what, my love life is something I will decide myself.
“I do not wish to spend the rest of my life with someone who doesn’t love me.”
My father’s face scrunched so quickly that it was scary.
You ended things with such a competent person simply due to your useless pride?
Was the reprimand that my father’s fierce gaze seemed to imply.
Although my heart sank, it no longer hurt. I was no longer a child who got hurt by words they didn’t want to hear.
“Father, I wish to marry someone who can love me. I want to be happy.”
To tell the truth, I was actually thinking of remaining single for the rest of my life, but it may be better to put up a facade like this for now.
Like in the original novel, if I leave my father’s sight, who knows when he’ll hand me the dagger. I only realized it now that indifference was better than being cruelly abandoned.
‘I’ll stay out of your way and live quietly, so please leave me alone like always’
If it was before, this sad thought would’ve made me cry. But now, even if it felt like I was missing something inside, I didn’t care. I stared at the back of my father, who had turned away without saying another word.
‘Does he not want to talk any further with his pathetic daughter?’
It wasn’t the first or second time he had ignored me so it didn’t do much damage to my self-esteem. I breathed a sigh of relief as I stared at his retreating figure.
‘Ah, I want to hurry up and rest on my bed’
Perhaps because too many things happened today, I quickly wanted to go and rest.
* * *
Marilyn, Juvellian’s personal maid, swallowed in nervousness.
‘The reins that kept a control on the miss are gone…..’
It may be because Juvellian had been in a good mood these past few days and acting unusually friendlier, but Marilyn had been able to relax a little these days whenever she saw her. But to think she broke up with Sir Mikhail….
It was very shocking news.
‘This is a really big problem.’
Lady Juvellian. She was someone who was so beautiful that it was worthwhile being able to dress her, but she was a difficult master to serve due to her violent mood swings.
If she was in a bad mood, she’d scream and sometimes even engage in verbal abuse. The maids who watched her break expensive tea cups and rip high-quality dresses, suffered from extreme anxiety. They must’ve thought that they, too, could be in the position of those tea cups and dresses if they weren’t careful.
Marilyn also took great caution in making sure not to offend Juvellian as much as possible.
“Milady, I will change your clothes for you now.”
Blue eyes that shone like brilliant, blue jewels turned to look at Marilyn with indifference, causing the maid to swallow in nervousness.
‘Did I say something wrong?‘
A soft smile emerged on Juvellian’s face.
It wasn’t the first or second time the maid had seen Juvellian’s face, but the maid’s gaze remained fixed, as if she had been possessed.
‘She is really pretty when she smiles.’
And like that, Marilyn continued to stare blankly at Juvellian.
“Marilyn. You said you were going to change my clothes, why are you staying so still?”
The smile on Juvellian’s face quickly disappeared. Coming to her senses and realizing what she had done, Marilyn quickly turned pale.
‘What do I do? I just did something I shouldn’t have done.’
Breaking out into a cold sweat, Marilyn was unable to raise her head.
Then, a clear voice spoke over her.
“Marilyn, instead of clothes, please prepare the bath.”
It was a tone that made Marilyn’s ears twitch in suspicion. The voice held neither anger nor annoyance, causing Marilyn to stare at her master with eyes full of doubt. When their eyes met, a bright smile overtook Juvellian’s face, like a flower in full bloom.
“Ahh, and please add a scent that’s good for relaxation. I’m quite tired and I’d like to sleep well tonight.”
“Then, I’ll prepare a lavender scent.”
This time, Marilyn responded appropriately without delay, though with a bit of a stutter.
‘Why is she like this all of a sudden? I’m not used to this….’
If one were to ask Marilyn what she thought of her usual master, of course it would not be a good review. Although Juvellian did not physically abuse her servants, the mental abuse had to be taken into account.
“Then I shall be waiting for you to finish the preparations, thank you for your hard work.”
After speaking in the graceful tone of hers, Juvellian walked past Marilyn into the bedroom. Instead of biting remarks, she left while leaving words of encouragement. As Marilyn stared blankly at the closed door, the strength in her legs gave out, causing her to stumble.
“Marilyn! Are you all right?”
The assistant maid, Sella, called out in surprise but Marilyn raised her hand.
“I’m alright. I’ll prepare the bath so if you could prepare the clothes…”
Marilyn held a hand over her heart.
‘I thought she was going to get angry...the miss is acting strange today’
The Juvellian that Marilyn was used to would throw things, screaming and freezing the mood whenever she was having a bad day. The Juvellian today, however, had been constantly acting in a way Marilyn could not comprehend.
‘That’s right, it’s as if she became a completely different person.’
The moment that thought occurred, goosebumps arose across her entire body. Marilyn tried to regain control of her mind.
‘Let’s not think of useless things, I just need to carry out my job well.’
Contrary to her resolution, Marilyn recalled the smiling face of her master she had just seen.
‘Perhaps it’s because she had no energy, but she looked quite pitiful’
Having brief thoughts like that, Marilyn left out a sigh before bringing her hands to the sides to slap her face.
‘What am I thinking about right now? I need to get it together.’
Marilyn made a pledge to herself. She vowed to never let her guard down in front of Juvellian.
* * *
Taking a bath was such an enjoyable thing. When soaking in a warm, fragrant bath, all sorts of thoughts will simply fly away.
However, because I had just finished my plan after 3 days, I was quite tired.
‘Ah, should I skip the bath and just sleep?’
I corrected that thought soon after it came up.
‘No, they’re probably in the middle of preparing the bath so I should at least take one before going to bed.’
Although it was quite pathetic that I only realized it now, I have been quite mean to the maids. I wish I hadn’t been so evil from the start, but it was too late for that. Even if I say I’ll be nice now, it wouldn’t be sincere.
With that, I came to a decision.
‘At the very least, I won’t do horrible things from now on.’
Fixing my thoughts, I kept yawning as I was waiting for the bath to be ready.
‘Ah, I’m about to pass out. What should I do?’
Just as I was thinking about whether to wait for another 5 minutes and cancel if it still wasn’t ready, there was a knock on my door.
“Milady, the bath is ready for you.”
“Alright.”
I got up from my chair to head towards the bath but I kept having to yawn from being so fatigued. Unable to hold it in, I let out a deep yawn that resulted in tears escaping the corner of my eyes.
‘I’m so tired. I don’t think I can take a bath at this rate.’
I was in the middle of raising my hand to wipe away the tears when Marilyn chose that exact moment to enter my room.
“Milady!”
But why was she looking at me with that shocked expression? It was unlike her normal calm and composed self.
‘Don’t tell me she saw that?’
She must have witnessed me yawning, opening my mouth as wide as a hippo.
‘Ah, so embarrassing!’
Trying to somehow cover up my embarrassment, I smiled as gracefully as I could.
“I showed a bad image just now, didn’t I?”
Like a professional, Marilyn didn’t directly say a word about the yawning.
“Are you all right?”she cautiously asked.
‘Well, since she asked like this I might as well confess.’
I must have looked tired in her eyes as well, seeing as how she’s asking me if I’ll be okay to take a bath.
Yawning once again while shedding tiny tears, I confessed,
“Marilyn, I’m too tired so I’ll take a bath tomorrow. Could you help me change into my sleeping clothes?”
Marilyn nodded silently at my words and moved to help me change. But why did her expression look grim?
‘It’s probably because I’ve always been harsh on her’ [1]
Didn’t they say that one’s heart can only be known by oneself? [2]
Perhaps it was due to my part-time experiences, but I felt quite sorry for Marilyn, who had been suffering under my bad temper.
“You see, it’s because I’m really tired.”
Hearing what sounded like an excuse come out of my mouth, Marilyn widened her eyes before quickly bowing her head.
“I understand. Please rest.”
Even if I pretended nothing was wrong, her feelings would’ve still been hurt so I thanked her for her hard work.
“Thank you, Marilyn.”
She seemed to falter in her steps for a moment, but I brushed it off, thinking it was just an illusion from being so tired. I collapsed onto my bed as soon as she left.
‘Ah, are things really over with Mikhail?’
My body was shaking. I was in such a good mood that I couldn’t stop smiling. To think I could feel so relieved!
I’m sorry towards Marilyn, whom I probably hurt with my fickleness, but….
I was able to have a successful and safe breakup, so I’ll definitely be able to sleep well tonight.