/
She scoffed. “How can disciplining servants be none of my concern? Even if I’m being treated as an outsider, you ought to remember that I am still the lady of this manor.”
“I dare not treat the madam as one.” answered the bewildered butler.
Deatrice uttered sarcastically. “Come now, Lucius might’ve ordered you to fake obedience, but there’s no need to pretend any longer. Nevertheless, I shall display my authority as a master of this house despite being given little to no power.
“Madam, you must have misunderstood the lord’s intentions.” the butler hurriedly interjected.
“He did not grant you more authority because he was worried about your well-being. Recently, your health hasn’t been very good and—” He glanced at the sandwich she hadn’t even touched, as if to look back on Deatrice starving herself for the past few days. “—the master said he didn’t want you to carry heavy burdens until your health gets better.”
Deatrice’s brows creased together, and she muttered in confusion.
“So…”
As if to allay her worries, the butler smiled. “Yes, madam. What I’m saying is the truth.”
He had a delighted expression on his face after having resolved a misunderstanding.
But it only served to make Deatrice feel even more absurd. Only a stupid person would believe in such a flimsy excuse. She didn’t think she could understand how some people could be so harsh.
He managed to make her appear as a sickly woman who couldn’t lift a finger. In doing this, he was inwardly conspiring and ostracizing Deatrice by excluding her.
A long time had passed since the butler had left, but Deatrice could still feel a strong sense of deceit lingering in the air.
“What a coward.” she muttered.
But at that very moment, Deatrice had a thought. She couldn’t even see a single strand of Lucius’ hair, let alone talk to him. But if he was truly so worried about her, even if it was only for appearances’ sake…
Wouldn’t he show up all on his own once she lied about being severely ill?
***
The season was gradually shifting. Sunlight and summer winds intensified the temperatures, and it made a person incredibly drowsy.
The hills had pieces of cloth spread around them and were already full of sleeping people who had gone out for a picnic. There were even some that had leisurely leaned against walls or rested under the cool shade of trees whilst fanning themselves.
If the ordinary people were already like that, how would the knights wearing full armor fare any better? However, they had already been seasoned by war and had experienced gruesome training under the scorching sun. So, this bit of extra sweat didn’t terrify them.
Right now, they actually feel more relaxed and even joked with each other, excited about their commander’s marital status.
“Is she really that pretty? Rumor has it that in the capital, there hadn’t been a young lady like her for several years.”
“I know, right? Someone told me that she had been an Odduiante for quite a long time.”
“What’s an Odduiante?”
“Oh, is that the woman who received the highest number of gifts during a hunting contest?”
“Hm. Wouldn’t surprise me that much. She’s the daughter of a duke after all. People must have given her that honor to curry favor with her father. But of course, it might be because she’s beautiful as well…”
“Still, the commander wouldn’t have married just by simply looking at her face. Rumors have it that they have some kind of past between them…”
“That’s why I asked if she was pretty! She managed to make the commander fall in love with her a second time despite having that kind of past.”
Lucius smirked.
Right now, his love story was a hot topic among his subordinates, and even though he had a lot of money, he definitely wouldn’t be paying these brawny men for their ‘useful contributions’ to the rumors he had spread.
Under the heat of the sun, the knights were animatedly talking to each other, most of which were just gibberish nonsense.
“You guys must be planning on doing this for the next few hours…” he muttered to himself.
And he was right.
Two hours later, these knights still weren’t able to shut up about the issue, even while on a battlefield.
Slash!
“…oi! Did the commander make a mistake? His wedding was held at the duke’s house. Why weren’t we invited?”
Shiiiing.
Blood splattered on the ground.
“M’lord, are you embarrassed of us?”
Watching them coolly, Lucius breathed out. “Why should I show you my wife’s face? Stop spouting nonsense.”
“Eh? Why so reluctant?”
“No matter how blinded you are by love, you shouldn’t forget your old comrades! How many years have we been together?!”
Lucius’ face curled up in contempt. “Take a good look at yourselves. Are you even worthy?”
They paused, then after some time, they looked at each other’s faces and sniffed downwards imperceptibly. They nodded to themselves. “Right, right!”
“She’s the duke’s daughter. She might disdain seeing small people like us…”
Those last words were uttered by a large, brawny man. The others chimed in with annoyance lacing their voices. Afterwards, they cleaned up their weapons and began marching towards a certain direction.
Along the way, they speculated and gossiped about Deatrice once more.
Unsuccessful in his attempts to shut them up, Lucius got tired of hearing about ‘Deatrice this’ and ‘Deatrice that’.
In the end, he simply kicked their asses.
“Shut. Up.” He said to them, one by one. Carefully enunciating each word.
They quickly scrambled into attention after being kicked once, only to be hit on their rear right after they got back up.
Another full ten minutes had passed, and he had almost finished kicking all of their sorry behinds. It was then that he saw someone riding a horse from the direction of the manor.
“Master!”
Lucius recognized him to be one of the servants working for him.
Seeing the man gasping for air and saying ‘Madam, Madam’ breathlessly, it was clear that something had happened to Deatrice.
“What is it?” he asked.
The knights, who had been face-planted on the ground, suddenly heard the commotion and went back on their feet.
“What happened to the miss?”
“She’s not the miss anymore, but the lady. Or madam.”
“Ah, because she’s married?”
Ignoring the clamor behind him, Lucius asked again, “Alright, so tell me what happened?”
He knew Deatrice’s patience at this time might already be wearing thin. Maybe she had even lost her temper and finally exploded. His predictions were that Deatrice would make some kind of a fuss. However, the servant’s next words weren’t in line with his expectations.
“It seems that she is sick. Today, even the day before, she hadn’t eaten anything. She had locked herself up in her room, refusing to come out and wouldn’t let anyone inside either.”
The servant hesitated. “Master, I… I heard a thud, like a person falling to the floor…”
Lucius frowned, “Are you saying she passed out?”
“No! It’s not that! I… I’m not sure. She wouldn’t let me in.”
“Did you at least call for a doctor?”
“I did, m’lord, but she refused to meet him. She even said to not inform you… of her… situation…” The servant’s voice grew smaller and smaller because the lord’s face was getting colder and colder.
Irritated, Lucius asked with a brooding expression.
“And you decided to just… let her be?”
The servant panicked, “Y-yes. But because I couldn’t—”
“You fool!”