TWELWH 28

Chapter 28.

A Capable Master for a Capable Servant

Hemos, who had been absorbed in cooking, turned his head at the sound of a cough coming from behind him.

Yuri Anesis, with beautiful blonde hair and red eyes, stood there with several maids behind her.

“Who are you preparing that food for?”

The corners of Yuri’s eyebrows were raised, and her expression was dark.

I won’t kill you immediately for disappointing my expectations. I’ll give you a special opportunity.

The Grand Duchess’s voice was still firmly embedded in her mind.

“Did you come here to keep watch over me? How unpleasant.”

Hemos dusted off his hands and glared at Yuri.

“The Grand Duchess is very concerned because the Duchess’s cheeks seem to be getting plumper by the day. She was wondering whether you might be helping her from the kitchen.”

Hemos snorted.

“This is food to be sent as a snack for His Grace the Duke, so don’t worry about pointless things.”

Yuri’s sharp gaze swept across the kitchen.

It was not her imagination that Essika was becoming more beautiful.

Even her dry silver hair had begun to regain its luster. The hollowed cheeks that had been growing thinner were filling out, and the rough texture of her skin was improving day by day.

“…Ah, seriously! How long are you going to stand there staring blankly? You’re making it impossible for me to concentrate!”

Hemos suddenly snapped at Yuri and pointed toward the end of a shelf with his finger.

There was a plate with bread that was beginning to rot.

It must have been Essika’s.

“All right, fine… I’ve checked what I needed to check, so… But.”

Yuri raised the corners of her eyebrows sharply and continued.

“Before long, the Duchess will ask you to prepare some refreshments. For tea time.”

“Refreshments?”

Hemos narrowed his eyes and asked again.

“Serve plenty of refreshments, but make sure to include cookies containing peanuts.”

“If you mean peanuts…”

Hemos narrowed his eyes further.

“If someone later reprimands you for serving peanut cookies, just say that the Duchess asked you to prepare them because she wanted to eat them herself. The Grand Duchess will take care of everything that happens afterward, as always.”

Hemos nodded with an uneasy expression.

“Well, that’s not difficult for me.”

Only then did Yuri curl her lips into an evil smile and turn around.

Once all the maids following Yuri had disappeared, Sella poked her head out from the pantry.

Hemos and Sella exchanged glances.

Essika stared without interest at the outsiders who had come into the room carrying a catalog.

They handed Essika a catalog containing the latest dress designs.

“What is this…?”

Butler Hans, who had accompanied them to see Essika, answered.

“His Grace has ordered us to purchase dresses for you, Madam.”

Essika flipped through the catalog without enthusiasm, her expression blank.

Every dress was expensive and beautiful, but she had no interest in such things.

When Hans saw that Essika showed no sign of being pleased, he continued somewhat awkwardly.

“He also instructed us to provide you with whatever dresses you may need in the future.”

Yet Essika’s expression remained cold.

After turning a few more pages, Essika closed the catalog and handed it straight back to Hans.

Hans stared at her in bewilderment.

“There is nothing I like.”

Hans became flustered at her words.

“I know that you only have one dress. The Grand Duchess burned all your other dresses… In any case, His Grace is making an effort for your sake, so perhaps you should choose something.”

Kallian was not a man who would normally concern himself with his wife’s dresses.

But if she purchased some good dresses, wore them, and pleased Kallian’s eyes, then perhaps he would be able to ease the guilt he had recently begun to feel toward her.

But Essika spoke as though she had no interest in any of it.

“If it is His Grace’s intention, then I have even less reason to choose one. Take them away.”

At her firm words, Hans let out a small sigh.

“Madam… If only for the sake of my reputation…”

“The butler still hopes that I will get along with His Grace despite knowing everything that goes on in this household.”

Hans’s hand twitched at Essika’s words.

Butler Hans was one of the few people in House Klaus who had shown even the slightest concern for Essika.

Even if all he had done was hand a dry handkerchief to a crying woman.

“That must be because I’m a Brigitte.”

“…Madam.”

“You’d have trouble if, after a divorce, I demanded that the enormous dowry I brought with me be returned.”

Hans’s face stiffened, but he could not bring himself to deny her words.

Essika’s enormous dowry had allowed Klaus’s precarious finances to barely survive their crisis after she married into the family.

However, under imperial law, if the husband was clearly at fault for the breakdown of the marriage, the wife had the right to demand the return of her dowry.

That was also why Kallian could not openly commit adultery: Hans had repeatedly cautioned him with this in mind.

“And perhaps you’re also hoping for financial support from the Brigitte family through me.”

Because Hans acted in the interests of his family’s finances, he could not completely become the Grand Duchess’s man.

That was separate from the fact that he tolerated her tyranny.

“…I’m sorry.”

Hans bowed his head to Essika.

Then he spoke calmly.

“I know that you’ve changed recently, Madam. Unlike before, you don’t seem to have even the slightest interest in His Grace anymore.”

Hans continued.

“Of course, I have nothing to say in defense of the way His Grace and the Grand Duchess have neglected and mistreated you until now. But as for a divorce…”

Hans’s eyes darkened.

The Grand Duchess seemed to believe that the outcome of the Tchihen investment, whose success was still far from certain, was guaranteed, and therefore thought that the Brigitte family was no longer necessary.

But Hans thought differently.

“…I believe you should consider it carefully.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

But at Essika’s immediate response, Hans’s shoulders twitched.

When he looked up, he saw Essika’s beautiful face wearing a profound smile.

Her blue eyes were as clear as jasper and as cold as a tidal wave.

“You have served House Klaus all your life, and you will continue to do so. No matter who becomes the master of Klaus, you will remain Klaus’s butler forever, Hans.”

Hans’s eyes trembled.

He was quick-witted, and immediately understood the meaning contained in the phrase the master of Klaus.

“It is instinctive for a capable servant to want a capable master. The current master keeps punching holes in the bottom of the jar, so there is no way any gold coins will remain.”

Yet there was a cold flame in her eyes that could hardly be called her own.

The flame of a relaxed and powerful person, one that guided thoughts toward certainty.

“…”

Essika stepped closer to Hans and whispered.

“I intend to build a proper Klaus. What do you think?”

Her intimate, chilling voice flowed into Hans’s ear, making his heart pound.

Knock, knock.

Hans entered Kallian’s office.

Kallian was engrossed in reading and signing documents.

“I visited Madam together with the designers from the shop.”

Kallian immediately stopped his pen and focused on Hans’s words.

Unaware of the impatience building inside Kallian, Hans deliberately paused.

“…But the thing is…”

Kallian put down his pen with a sharp tap.

“I’m sorry. It seems Madam has no interest in the dresses.”

“Are you saying she refused the dresses?”

Kallian’s brow furrowed.

“Yes. I tried to persuade her, but she was so stubborn that there was nothing I could do.”

“From now on, don’t try to persuade her. Just turn around and leave.”

“Pardon?”

Hans looked puzzled by Kallian’s words.

“I offered her a hand, and now she’s trying to climb all the way up to my head.”

The corners of Kallian’s eyebrows rose fiercely.

After enduring her for so long, the poor result that had returned to him finally caused his anger to erupt.

“I may have been mistaken in thinking she was being extravagant, but that doesn’t mean she has the right to reject her husband’s goodwill.”

He had even consulted his close friend Gaven and made an effort for her sake, only for Essika to throw that goodwill back in his face.

She’s nothing more than a daughter of the Brigitte family, who bought their title with money, yet she’s putting on airs as though she’s some noble aristocrat as lofty as the Klaus family.

“Essika Klaus is forbidden from purchasing any new clothes for the time being. I’ll make her pay the price for her choice.”

Essika should have gratefully accepted that dress catalog.

And she should have been moved by the effort Kallian had made for her.

“…Understood, Your Grace.”

Feeling as though his insides were twisting, Kallian could no longer continue working and rose from his seat.

Essika was a woman who could not possibly defeat him.

No matter how badly Kallian and Riona had wronged her, that was simply how the ducal household worked.

And yet these days, she had been refusing to back down even an inch, constantly engaging him in a battle of wills.

“Perhaps you should get some fresh air.”

Hans, watching Kallian’s mood, cautiously offered the suggestion.

Kallian, who had been standing there with an angry expression, immediately began walking.

“That would be a good idea.”

There was no point in continuing his work in his current state anyway.

He went outside to cool his anger.

In the flower garden, a tea party was in full swing, with fragrant tea and sweet desserts laid out.