Chapter 11

“What’s going on?”

I wanted to ask Van, but a butler’s duty wasn’t serving meals, so he wasn’t in the dining room. However, it seemed unlikely that Nine would arrange this entire thing just to bother me. He wasn’t the type to go about tormenting someone in such a roundabout way.

‘Could it be? Are the customs of the northern aristocracy different from the central nobles?’

This was the most plausible explanation. The continent was vast, and the central, northern, southern, western, and eastern regions all had different cultures and histories, so it was possible their etiquette varied. It was only natural that I wouldn’t know, having never left the central region my entire life.

“……”

But I quickly realized that thought was wrong, too. The dish that came after the appetizer wasn’t soup but an amuse-bouche, a finger food. That meant this was a full-course meal with 12 or more courses, prepared for a banquet.

‘Right, it’s not like aristocratic etiquette would be so different in the north.’

My mind grew cold and clear. In other words, this situation…

‘I have to assume the entire family boycotted the banquet.’

A sigh escaped me. Sitting alone in the large dining hall at a big table, I already felt lonely and exhausted. The fatigue was rushing in just as quickly as the tension had built up.

I put down my fork, wiped my mouth, and sighed softly.

‘At the Blueberry family, the whole family used to eat dinner together so warmly…’

As I was longing for my harmonious home, I suddenly felt the gazes of the servants on me. Of course, observing a noble’s meal was part of a servant’s job. But these gazes were different. They were clearly trying to figure out what kind of person the duchess was—who had appeared so suddenly and without a word—and what her standing was within this castle.

And how would they view a duchess who, having received no prior notice, showed up alone to a banquet that not even her husband attended? There was no need to guess.

‘They’ll see me as a pushover.’

Feeling dejected, I was thinking about getting up and returning to my room when a voice spoke.

“Lady Chacha.”

Van, the butler who had guided me to the dining room and hadn’t been seen since, approached me with a deeply apologetic expression and bowed his head.

“Van, what’s wrong?”

“My deepest apologies, Lady Chacha.”

I tried to quickly help him up, but he insisted on keeping his head down, apologizing to me.

“I believed that since the master had returned after a long time and you, Lady Chacha, had also arrived, you would naturally have a banquet with the other family members. It was my oversight for not confirming this in advance.”

“……”

Hearing his words, I had to admit Van was somewhat at fault. If he had checked the family’s schedules and their willingness to attend beforehand, I wouldn’t have come all this way for nothing. However, a noble with any common sense wouldn’t have canceled a banquet on a day like this, so I understood the butler’s flustered state of mind.

I withdrew the hand I was using to help Van up and tapped the armrest of my chair.

‘At least the butler didn’t have the intention of ostracizing me.’

That fact soothed me a little, but I was curious as to why no one had been able to attend. However, Van’s next words left me speechless.

“The master had a lot of work that piled up, so he had a simple dinner in his office first. And the former duchess, Lady Kate, said she had no appetite and refused dinner altogether.”

The reasons Nine and Kate gave for their absence were, compared to the next two, reasonable and understandable.

“And… ahem. The master’s older sister, Lady Roana, was absent due to feeling unwell from excessive drinking.”

What?

“As for his younger brother, Sir Adel, he’s a very active person and doesn’t stay in his room much… so we couldn’t find him.”

What did you say?

“Ahem.”

Even Van couldn’t hide his bewilderment and cleared his throat.

‘Did I understand that correctly?’

So… Nine’s sister was a no-show because she was hungover, and his brother was nowhere to be found? The absurdity of it all made my head pound.

‘My life in this household won’t be easy. Ha…’

Honestly, their reasons for not attending were hard to see as fitting with noble etiquette. No matter how I thought about it, it felt like they were just making excuses because they didn’t want to have dinner with me.

Was I the only one who thought so? No, the other servants watching me would have thought the same.

‘I need to get a grip.’

Already, quite a few servants had seen me eating alone in the banquet hall. And now, with Van’s report, they would know about my lacking position in this castle.

‘Annie is my only ally in this castle. I have to stay sharp.’

Once I reached that realization, I knew this wasn’t the time to be upset with my in-laws. That wasn’t what was important. What was important was the fact that the servants who directly influenced my daily life could immediately start to look down on me.

“It’s alright, you can get up now.”

I smiled gently and told Van it was okay, helping him stand.

“If no one else is coming, I’ll return to my room.”

I stood up and started to walk. Annie and Laura, who were on standby, opened the dining room door for me. My appetite had vanished, and I wasn’t particularly hungry anyway. It seemed like a bad choice to stay here alone, forcing myself to eat.

“I will guide you.”

As I was about to head back to my room, Van insisted on taking charge of guiding me. I was puzzled but figured he must have something else to say or wanted to apologize for his mistake, so I simply nodded.

“Lady Chacha. I apologize.”

When we left the dining room and entered a quiet, empty hallway, Van spoke.

“It seems future dinners will also be held separately.”

“I see.”

Many families had separate dinners, not just banquets. I nodded quietly. I was simply grateful to Van for speaking away from the other servants, considering my situation.

“Of course, it’s not because of you, Lady Chacha. They haven’t had dinner together since the former duke, Lord Milo, passed away.”

Sorrow was evident on Van’s face as he said that. He was so loyal to the Eclipse family and cared so much for its members—would he dislike me, a newcomer? I felt a sudden urge to ask but didn’t.

‘Don’t poke the bear.’

For now, it was more helpful to accept his goodwill until it became an issue.

***

Based on the aristocratic society I had experienced by Helena’s side, there was a high possibility that the servants’ attitudes would change after the banquet incident. I kept that in mind. Even if it didn’t happen right away, I couldn’t show the typical image of a doting newlywed couple, so I had already anticipated that the servants’ attitudes would change sooner or later.

“This is the head maid, and next to her is the head chef, Lady Chacha.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

The head chef, with his simple expression, didn’t seem to be thinking much. However, the head maid, who raised her head after the greeting, had a sharp look in her eyes and only smiled with her lips. Her quick glance, as if she were evaluating me, made me uncomfortable. But of course, I didn’t show it.

‘Just as I thought.’

My fears had been realized; the servants’ attitudes had become subtly unfriendly overnight. The impact of the banquet was showing up faster than I had expected, which made me give a bitter laugh. The servants of Eclipse Castle were surprisingly quick to judge and be wary of a new person.

‘Still, this is a bearable level.’

Even if they gave me unpleasant looks or were subtly unfriendly, it wasn’t causing me any significant harm. After all, they worked for a ducal family with pride, so they were people who would reliably perform their duties. They didn’t know it, but I was just a passing presence. So, I intended to behave quietly as long as some of the servants’ attitudes didn’t cross the line. Above all, I didn’t want to cause trouble and make myself more disliked by Nine, who already seemed to dislike me.

I didn’t know then. That my willingness to overlook their slightly unfriendly attitudes—as long as they performed their duties properly—would become the very reason they would start to look down on me even more.

“Annie.”

“La-Lady Chacha…”

“Why is my personal lady-in-waiting cleaning the dressing room?”

Only one week had passed since I had entered the castle. And in just that one week, some servants had begun to cross the line.