Chapter 13
Whenever Diena came, she always carried something warm in her hands—a steaming bowl of soup, a hearty meat salad, or fresh sandwiches.
No one knew how she managed to sneak the food out of the kitchen, but with every visit, color gradually returned to Bianca’s pale face.
What irritated Matilda even more was the fact that Bianca and Diena seemed to be slowly becoming friends.
Bianca was strangely fond of the girl.
“Miss, I think I was mistaken. Diena is having a bad influence on you.”
“A bad influence?”
“You’ve noticed you’ve gained a little weight lately, haven’t you? If this keeps up, more nobles will start looking down on you.”
Normally, Bianca would have accepted her words without question.
But this time, she shook her head.
“What are you talking about? She’s not that bad.”
Matilda stared at her in complete shock.
Not that bad.
For Bianca, that was the highest praise she could possibly give someone.
It was something she didn’t even say to Matilda herself more than once a day.
Pouting unhappily, Bianca crossed her arms.
“I know I’ve put on a little weight. But Diena said I look much cuter now. Matilda, I don’t care if it’s you—even you shouldn’t speak badly about her in front of me. She’s not a bad person.”
She had said not bad twice.
Watching Bianca refuse to obey her so easily left Matilda completely flustered. She forced herself to suppress her emotions before speaking.
“Lady Bianca… unfortunately, I believe Diena will be assigned to different duties from now on.”
“Different duties? Why?”
Ordinarily, Bianca wouldn’t have even bothered asking.
“Maids are frequently transferred from one position to another.”
Bianca narrowed her eyes.
“If that’s not what Diena wants, then no. Leave her with me. She’ll be coming to my next tea party too, right?”
At last, Matilda’s patience snapped.
She stormed back to her quarters and retrieved a heavy iron padlock.
It was something she kept for occasions like this—whenever an insolent maid needed to be “disciplined.”
“You insolent little brat…!”
Grabbing Diena roughly by the arm, she dragged her down the hallway and threw her into a cramped storage cell.
Bang!
The door slammed shut, echoing through the corridor.
Matilda immediately locked it with the padlock.
“Stay in there and reflect on your actions. You’ll pay for daring to defy me. Understood?”
Normally, anyone locked away like this would already be trembling in fear, begging for forgiveness.
But—
“I don’t understand.”
Another calm answer.
It was more than enough to fan Matilda’s fury.
“You don’t understand? Of course you don’t. A commoner like you wouldn’t know the duties and privileges of the nobility.”
While Matilda shouted in anger, Diena quietly asked,
“Does Lord Barkan know about this?”
“No. And he never will.”
“And if I tell him?”
Matilda curled her lips into a mocking smile.
“So you’re relying on the fact that Lord Barkan personally brought you here?”
“Unfortunately for you, you won’t get the chance to tell him. It’ll be quite some time before he returns.”
She leaned closer.
“And by then, you won’t even be alive. You’ll have starved to death.”
“If people discover you locked me in here and starved me to death, what will you do then?”
Matilda laughed coldly.
“You truly know nothing, do you? Nobles aren’t punished for killing commoners.”
There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in her voice.
But Diena’s next words froze her expression.
“…Then what if they discover you tried to kill Lady Bianca?”
“What?”
“Aren’t you trying to starve her to death too… just like me?”
Matilda’s heart skipped a beat.
She knows.
She knew exactly what Matilda had been planning.
How…?
But in the end…
What difference did it make?
“So what if you know?” Matilda sneered. “You’ll die in here, and no one will ever learn the truth.”
She had never once seen a noble punished for killing a servant.
Many maids had met the same fate in her own family, and no one had cared.
Diena’s death would simply disappear…
…as quietly as a dead mouse.
But the moment Matilda turned around—
Her face drained of every last drop of color.
“What… exactly is going on here?”
Standing behind her was Barkan.
His face was so terrifyingly cold that it seemed carved from stone.
On the journey back after escorting Malakar to the Imperial Palace, Barkan found his thoughts wandering elsewhere.
He couldn’t stop thinking about that little girl.
Is it because she’s around Bianca’s age?
For some reason…
He just couldn’t stop worrying about her.
The north is freezing…
Did the head maid at least give her proper winter clothes?
The thought kept nagging at him.
“…Maybe I should have some clothes made for her.”
Hasen, riding beside him, looked over in surprise.
“Clothes?”
“Yeah. Clothes. She’s our guest, after all. The least we can do is prepare a warm coat.”
Hasen tilted his head.
“Since when have you cared about things like that?”
“I may not care about myself, but she looks like she’d freeze to death.”
“…Well, that’s true.”
Hasen stared at him as though he’d grown another head.
The fact that Barkan was showing consideration for someone was almost unbelievable.
“Even if she’ll only be staying briefly, she deserves to be treated properly while she’s under our roof.”
“And yet you don’t have any kindness to spare for your own subordinate?”
“You’ve already grown into a giant.”
Hasen burst into laughter despite the merciless reply.
“Well, that’s a relief. Lord Malakar’s farewell ended much earlier than expected, so we’ll have plenty of time to visit a tailor.”
“True. If we hadn’t happened to meet those people from the Magic Tower, we’d probably have been delayed for weeks.”
Barkan gazed absentmindedly out the carriage window.
Then his brows slowly knitted together.
Diena’s words suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
“Please come back quickly, Lord Barkan.”
“…Come back quickly?”
“Please. You absolutely can’t be late. Promise me.”
She had seemed mentally stronger than most adults…
But she was still only a little girl.
If she’d said something like that…
Perhaps she was trembling all alone right now.
Has someone as frail as her even managed to adjust to the estate?
Surely Bianca isn’t bullying her…?
“…Well, getting home early isn’t exactly difficult.”
He turned toward Hasen.
“Hasen, you can handle going to the tailor by yourself, right?”
“Huh? What about you, my lord?”
“I want to head back first.”
“…Pardon?”
Hasen blinked several times.
“I heard that correctly…?”
“To be more precise…”
Barkan frowned slightly.
“I’ve got this feeling that I need to hurry.”
Hasen’s expression immediately turned serious.
“…You’re not saying that because you’re feeling lazy, are you?”
“No.”
Hasen nodded without another question.
People with supernatural abilities naturally possessed keen instincts.
And Barkan’s intuition was especially sharp.
If he said something felt wrong…
Then something probably was wrong.
Hasen climbed out of the carriage and headed toward the tailor’s shop.
Barkan watched him leave for a moment before silently turning away.
…I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.
Before long, the carriage rolled to a stop in front of the Cardian estate.
As the great gates slowly opened…
Someone unexpected was waiting there.
“…Bianca?”
Barkan frowned faintly.
He quickly stepped out of the carriage.
Instinctively, he almost approached her…
Then stopped himself and kept a careful distance.
“Bianca? Why are you outside?”
The moment she saw him, the anxiety on Bianca’s face melted away.
“I heard you’d arrived, so I came.”
“I told you not to come looking for me carelessly.”
The firmness in his voice instantly brought tears to her eyes.
“I know you hate me!”
“What? What are you talking about…?”
Caught completely off guard, Barkan instinctively took a step toward her.
“Even so…” Bianca continued, taking one step back herself.
“I came because I have a favor to ask.”
“You know my maid, Diena?”
“They said she’s been assigned somewhere else.”
Her voice trembled.
“When tea time came… another maid showed up instead.”
“Matilda won’t listen to me…”
“So please bring Diena back.”
“If you do just that…”
“I won’t bother you anymore.”
