The Dukeās servants were busy cleaning and spiffing up the mansion since early morning to prepare for the Dukeās triumphant return.
Normally, the Duchess should be supervising them but this generationās Duchess was unusual. The butler, therefore, took charge in preparations, basing the return ceremony on his memories of a previous occasion.
As time went by, it was already morning. During that time, the Duchess still failed to make an appearance, and the servants of the mansion were all clicking their tongues, āTch,ā under their breaths. The Duchessā lazy attitude was well-known to all of them so they didnāt bother to complain at her routine negligence.
Under the butlerās guidance, the mansion was polished to perfection such that the doorknobs all shone brightly. It was then that the Duchess went downstairs, shocking the servants who all stared at her as though they had seen a ghost.
āDu, Duchess?ā
āIsnāt this the day the Duke will arrive? Can you prepare some tea? I must celebrate his return.ā
The Duchess didnāt look as splendid as she usually did. She seemed a little wan even with her beautiful dark red hair and bronze-colored eyes that change color depending on the light. Her face was pale and her eyes were slightly swollen.
There might be a story in there somewhere, the servants gossiped as they quickly prepared the tea.
āā¦tea? Has the Duchess ever volunteered to prepare anything for the Duke herself?ā
After the Duchess left, some of the servants went to the kitchen to make the tea. They looked at each other and gossiped before they finished selecting quality tea leaves, boiling the water and warming the teacups.
āMaybe sheās sorry about the fact that her lovers have been in and out of the mansion all this time?ā
āNo way. Donāt you know the Duchess? Even if everyone in the empire is talking about it, she wouldnāt even blink.ā
āAh, thatās too much. The Duke has been risking his life to fight the barbarians for a year, all to bring glory and wealth to the dukedom.ā
āThat means nothing to the Duchess who didnāt want to marry the Duke of Hilchen. There was a lot of gossip about it when I was hired. Havenāt you heard of it? Itās a famous story. When she found out that the Duke was an illegitimate child, the great Duchess slapped his faceā¦ā
One of them, who was also quietly sniggering, glanced at a clock and said, āOh, the Duchess is waiting. Go and bring it to her quickly.ā
Afraid that the Duchess would be angry enough to stab her with a sword if she was late, the maid took the tea set to the drawing-room.