Episode 6: Dismissal
It was only after seeing the duke’s back as he returned to the bedroom that the servants could exhale deeply and loosen the tension in their stiff shoulders.
When the duke entered the bedroom with Ella, the head maid handed a handkerchief to Celly, who was crying with a nosebleed, and said:
“Celly, I warned you… not to approach the duke recklessly. Now that this has happened, you’ll have to leave. It’s late, so sleep tonight and pack your things first thing in the morning.”
Despite the sudden dismissal, Celly said nothing and nodded obediently. She also wanted to escape from a place with such a terrifying duke as soon as possible. Moreover, having embarrassed herself in front of the other servants, she couldn’t bear to stay any longer.
As Celly returned to her quarters with a face smeared with tears and mucus, the head maid turned to Rulla.
“Rulla, I’ll post a job opening right away and hire a new maid. I know it’s inconvenient, but please bear with it for a little while.”
Rulla’s face paled and she waved her hands at the offer.
“No, it’s fine. If someone like Celly came again, the same thing would happen. Even if it’s busy, I prefer a quiet household. We don’t need a new servant.”
The butler wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and agreed with Rulla.
“Yes, I too had tried to put it out of my mind, but seeing the duke so angry makes me feel like my life has been shortened by ten years. Let’s postpone hiring a new servant, even if it leaves us a bit short-handed. I can’t handle the stress.”
Since both the butler and Rulla agreed, the head maid nodded and decided to postpone hiring a new servant for the time being.
“But… Ella went to the laundry to fetch towels for the duke’s bath, so why was Celly in his bathroom?”
Once the commotion had settled, Rulla noticed something odd and asked the head maid and the butler.
“That’s right. There’s no way Ella would ask Celly to serve the duke…”
“But didn’t Ella’s clothes look a bit dirty earlier?”
The butler remembered that Ella, usually neat and tidy, had been covered in dust, and he asked Rulla and the head maid.
“In fact, Celly had been grumbling since she was assigned to the laundry, saying she wanted to serve the duke. Could it be that something happened between them?”
“We need to ask Celly what happened.”
Hearing Rulla’s suggestion, the head maid felt this was no ordinary situation and hurried to Celly’s room. But Celly had already packed and left the mansion; the room was a mess, and she was nowhere to be found.
Rulla followed the head maid into Celly’s room.
“Oh… Celly has already left?”
“Yes, it seems so. Hah… I hired her without hesitation because of the recommendation from the head maid of the Robenza family, but I never imagined she’d be like this. I’ll be complaining to her immediately!”
The head maid, who normally didn’t get angry, now spoke with a flushed face.
As the servants who had gathered in the hallway dispersed, silence settled over the corridor.
Ella opened the windows wide to ventilate the bathroom and remove the strong smell of bath oils, discarded the cold water, and refilled the tub with warm water.
After informing the duke, as usual, that the bath was ready, Ella took a sword from a corner of the room and began carefully cleaning it. Tiny scratches that hadn’t been noticeable from afar became apparent.
She took a brush from a wooden box, gently removed the dust from the sword and scabbard, applied oil meticulously, and polished it with deer leather until it gleamed sharply.
Ella couldn’t believe that the little skills she had learned from her father, who had served in the town guard, would come in handy. Smiling faintly with a complicated expression at the thought of him, she hung the sword back on the wall.
She had spent more time than expected on cleaning, and as she prepared to leave before the duke finished his bath, they met in the bedroom.
“Ah… I’ll be going now.”
Just as Ella was about to leave, the duke, wrapped only in a large towel around his waist, spoke in a low, rough voice.
“Do you find me disgusting too?”
Since he had just bathed, the scars that Celly had called “disgusting” were fully exposed in front of Ella. The duke, unable to help himself, asked what she thought, even though he likely already knew the answer.
Ella looked at the densely scarred body—scars that made the phrase “mutilated” seem appropriate—and silently lifted her skirt.
“What…!”
The duke froze in surprise at her sudden action, noticing the burn scars on her thigh. Her white, slender thigh bore a large burn mark, completely mismatched with her neat and clean face.
Seeing the duke’s astonished expression, Ella gave a bitter smile and spoke.
“My younger sibling was hungry, and while I was at work, he set fire to the kitchen. The house caught fire, and in trying to save him, I received severe burns from my thigh to below my chest. Father thought I was going to die.”
Ella lowered her skirt and continued.
“Everyone carries some kind of scar, physical or emotional. They just hide them carefully.”
Her words seemed to comfort the duke’s own wounds. Standing in place, he absorbed her words until she left the bedroom with a faint smile.
The next morning, the head maid visited Ella, who was preparing the duke’s breakfast.
“Ella, did anything happen with Celly yesterday?”
Ella shook her head.
“Then do you know why Celly entered the duke’s bathroom yesterday?”
“No, I don’t. Actually, yesterday I tripped on the stairs while carrying towels and a robe from the laundry to the bathroom for the bath. By the time I regained my senses and got to the bathroom, Celly was being scolded by the duke.”
The head maid gasped in shock.
“What?! Are you okay?”
Ella smiled and nodded, reassuring her.
“You’re usually so careful, it’s unlike you to fall. How did it happen?”
Ella seemed to feel someone had pushed her, but without evidence, she remained silent. The head maid noticed there was more to the story but sighed deeply when Ella didn’t speak further.
“But has Celly already left the mansion?”
Ella asked about Celly’s whereabouts. The head maid’s face hardened.
“Hmph. I went to ask her what happened, and she had already left without a word. The room was a mess. How could such a person have brought a recommendation letter? I’ll be writing to the head maid of the Robenza family today to complain.”
After telling Ella to report immediately if she felt unwell, the head maid hurried to her room to write the letter.
A few days later, when the reply from the Robenza family arrived, a stir shook the quiet mansion.
“Ella! Ella! Did you hear the news?”
Anna grabbed Ella in the backyard and excitedly delivered the news that had stirred the duke’s household.
“Huh? What news?”
“The head maid wrote a letter to complain to the Robenza family because of Celly, saying how could they recommend someone like her? But the Robenza family says they never wrote a recommendation. And Celly was kicked out for having an affair with another maid’s husband!”
“Forgery is punishable under imperial law…”
“Exactly! That’s why the head maid reported her to the capital guard. She’s finished!”
A few days later, Celly was arrested by the guard, her personal property confiscated, and imprisoned. That was the last anyone heard of her.
After the small commotion passed, the duke’s residence returned to a peaceful atmosphere. Though everyone had to work hard due to the shortage of staff, the quiet routine was satisfying. No one asked the head maid to hire a new servant.
Time passed, and the day of the royal hunting tournament arrived. The duke, prepared for the event, left the mansion. Despite his high rank, he traveled light: only his coachman Roy, servant Bill, two knights, and Ella accompanied him.
Ella wore a men’s hunting outfit provided by the butler, packed supplies, and climbed into the carriage. Roy helped lift her large backpack and set off, following the duke on horseback.
After half a day of continuous travel, they approached the hunting grounds, where nobles’ lavish carriages and tents were visible. Roy stopped the carriage in a clearing and asked the duke:
“Shall we set up the tents here?”
The duke nodded, and Bill and Roy, who had come every year, began unpacking and setting up the tents with practiced skill.
Ella took the ingredients and utensils to the riverside and started preparing the meal. Nobles’ maids and servants who had arrived earlier had already staked out spots and begun preparing their meals.
“Hello, I’m a maid from the Loiten family. And you?”
A maid peeling potatoes next to Ella smiled and asked.
“Oh, I’m Ella, a maid serving the Duke of Glois.”
At once, all the bustling servants paused and stared at Ella.
