Chapter 17

It wasn’t until an hour later that Annie returned to the room.

“Annie! What happened?”

The physician I sent her to get was gone, and she was alone. In that short time, Annie’s face was streaked with tears.

But despite her haggard appearance, her eyes burned with fury.

‘It’s so clear.’

What had happened was obvious.

Surprised by Annie’s state, Laura approached her and asked for the full story.

“Well…”

Annie seemed to choke up as the memory came back to her, and after taking a moment to compose herself, she began to speak.

As soon as she went out, Annie said she grabbed a trainee butler, told him I was sick, and asked him to call the head butler, Van, and Tully.

But then May and some other servants approached the trainee butler and not only spoke coldly but also sneered at her.

‘If you get sick from this little bit of cold, you’re not going to last long in the north.’

‘L-Lady Chacha is very ill. Please, could you call the head butler and Lord Tully…’

‘The head butler and the chief physician are too busy to be called for a mere minor illness.’

Just hearing the conversation was enough to make me feel like I could hear their giggling in my ear.

“Whose fault is it that Lady Chacha is sick!”

“…”

Annie’s clothes, unlike when she left, were full of wrinkles as she gritted her teeth in anger.

Full of rage, Annie must have begged them for my sake, but they probably didn’t even listen to her.

‘The time has come.’

I felt dizzy and staggered slightly, and a startled Laura rushed to support me.

Perhaps my state only fueled her anger further, as Laura looked at me with a determined expression and said, “I’ll go.”

“Wait, Laura…”

Just holding back a resolute Laura was taxing, and my head was spinning.

I looked at Laura, whose face was filled with worry, and said piteously,

“Could you please call Van and Tully? Van is at least kind to me… and I don’t think I can trust any physician besides Tully.”

I also made sure to tell Laura something to prevent any problems with my future plans. I wasn’t holding her back for no reason.

“Don’t report this to the Duke, either. He’s a busy man.”

As I made the request, I deliberately coughed violently, and Laura nodded with a solemn face and left.

Unlike Annie, who took an hour, Laura brought Van and Tully back in just a few minutes.

“Lady Chacha!”

Both of them must have run here in such a hurry, as their usually neat appearance was quite disheveled.

Tully urgently examined me, set up several magic tools, and prepared and administered a dose of medicine.

The medicine took effect surprisingly quickly.

As soon as I felt the dizziness in my head clear, I said, as if I couldn’t bear to wait any longer, “Van. Bring me the people I name, starting now.”

***

With my body feeling much better, I leaned back against the headboard, supported by Annie.

Just then, the area outside the room grew noisy.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Van opened the door, and behind him, knights from the Silver Wolf Knights’ Order followed.

I had only told him to bring them, but the quick-witted Van seemed to have grasped the situation and sought the help of the Silver Wolf Knights’ Order.

I looked over the faces of those being dragged in by the knights.

May and three of her followers: the sous chef, the trainee butler, and the head maid.

May must have resisted quite a bit, as her formerly beautiful black hair was a tangled mess. Her face, as she glared at me, showed no sign of remorse.

‘I don’t need to feel any guilt.’

I accepted this with pleasure and looked down at them as they were forcibly made to kneel.

Their gazes and attitudes were not just defiant, but arrogant. As if to say, ‘How dare you, of all people.’

“Cough.”

I deliberately mixed in some dry coughs, and with a pathetic appearance, I began to recite their crimes one by one.

“First, the sous chef. You, who hold the duty of being the sous chef responsible for the nutrition within the duke’s castle, have not provided me with proper meals. In addition to neglecting your duties, you even served me spoiled food, which can also be seen as assault.”

I saw Van’s face turn ashen at the mention of spoiled food. The knights, too, put more pressure on the kneeling sous chef.

“Next, the head maid. Despite your duty to be a role model for the maids and manage them, you have shown a poor attitude. You intentionally did not assign a personal maid to me besides my close attendants, and furthermore, you instructed your subordinates not to replace the heating magic tool.”

It was a servant named Gon who was supposed to replace the heating tool, but it wasn’t his decision alone.

Even if it was, the head maid was fully aware of it and should have corrected it.

Next, I addressed the trainee butler.

“You ignored Annie’s request to call Van and Tully. It’s not as if you didn’t know that request was my order. Disobeying an order, a poor attitude, and multiple instances of omitting messages to be delivered to Van. These are all instances of work neglect. And…”

I looked down at May, the maid who was the center of all this commotion.

Her eyes, visible through her tangled and disheveled hair, were not just sharp but feral.

I met her gaze directly.

“Poor attitude. Disobedience of orders and neglect of duty. Spreading rumors to incite these people, and most of all, pushing a colleague down the stairs.”

May had pushed Annie down the stairs. But…

“Before she pushed her, I saw her hand first reach for me, so attempted assault as well.”

I saw it. The hand that was reaching for me changed direction and pushed Annie instead.

Her eyes looked straight at me as she pushed Annie, as if she still wanted to push me.

So I added another line to her list of crimes. To make the charge heavier.

After reciting all the crimes, I scanned the people gathered around.

I looked past the servants who had come to watch from outside the door and the knights who came with Van, and at May and her followers.

Then I turned my head and looked at Van, Tully, Annie, and Laura, who were beside me.

I could tell from their expressions alone who were my people and who were not.

‘The symbol of the Eclipse Duchy was the wolf, wasn’t it?’

Wolves are creatures that travel in packs, and they reject and attack wolves that are not part of their pack.

To them, I must have looked like a herbivore, not even a wolf.

‘I’ll show you that I’m not a herbivore to be hunted.’

In a more indifferent tone than before, when I had clearly recited their crimes, I continued, “I believe I have shown you all enough goodwill. The opportunity to repent for your wrongdoings and correct your actions. I gave you more than enough time for that. This result is quite disappointing.”

I had no intention of arguing with them about their crimes.

I didn’t want them to think of this as an opportunity, and there was no need to give them time to object.

Scanning them all, I looked at May in particular and said calmly,

“As the Duchess of the Eclipse Duchy and a noble, you have maliciously and primarily instigated servants to undermine me, so I will make an example of you by giving you the harshest punishment.”

I heard a gasp of surprise from beside me.

Perhaps they didn’t expect me to act like this, as the eyes of the servants standing outside the room changed.

But May, ignoring the atmosphere around her, let out a sneer.

“Me? Before that, you have no authority to punish us, madam.”

At her defiant attitude, the other kneeling servants exchanged glances with each other.

The fear that had been there because of May’s words seemed to disappear.

“Isn’t that right? You’re an empty shell who hasn’t received any authority since you came to the North.”

Is that what a duchess is? The unsaid words behind her sneer were clear.

Van, unable to stand her disrespectful attitude any longer, stepped forward. His voice was filled with rage.

“This person is the recognized consort of Duke Nine Eclipse and the mistress of this castle!”

Just because Nine didn’t give me internal administrative authority, does that mean I have no authority at all?

That’s not the case.

The marriage had been approved by the Emperor and the imperial family, and thus, under imperial law, I could exercise my rights as the duchess.

Even without Nine having given me the duchess’s seal, which symbolizes internal administrative authority.

“Furthermore, before that, this person is a noble. You dared to harm a noble, so you have no right to object to any punishment!”

Van’s reprimand was not only directed at May, the instigator. He was warning the other servants on my behalf.

Only then did a sense of fear appear on the faces of May and the other servants.

Good.

It was a good thing I called Van. His words further solidified my authority and were effective in pressuring them.

Satisfied with the fearful expressions on their faces, I put on a benevolent smile, as if I were granting them a special favor.

“I’ll give you a chance.”

This world, unlike my previous life, was an unequal society where the class system was prevalent.

Most of the servants, including May, were commoners.

And under imperial law, if a commoner dares to harm a noble, the right to punish that commoner is completely delegated to the noble who was harmed.

“You can choose the punishment you want, either from the law of the Eclipse Duchy or imperial law, and I will abide by your choice.”

I heard gasps of surprise from the people around me.

‘They must have realized the situation now.’

When the laws of the duchy and the empire were mentioned, May’s face showed she realized what she had done.

She looked directly at me with wide eyes, as if she wanted to deny reality, but the hand clutching her skirt was trembling.

I didn’t feel sorry for her, but a slightly bitter feeling rose within me.

It wasn’t that I wanted to go this far.

Especially with memories of a previous life without a class system, I felt a sense of rejection when it came to using my status to solve problems.

But here I was, in a foreign land where nothing was familiar, standing alone with no one on my side.

‘There’s no other way.’

I had to protect Annie and myself here.

So I had no choice but to wield the weapon I possessed.

‘You may not have known, but the symbol of the Blueberry family is the marten.’

Despite their cute appearance, martens are carnivorous animals with sharp teeth.

‘I’ll show you that I’m not a herbivore to be hunted, but a carnivore, just like the wolves you look up to, who can tear you apart at any time.’

I had only been holding back to avoid drawing the attention of Nine, but before being a duchess in name only, I was the daughter of a count and the successor to the Blueberry County.