Chapter 56
Ailesia gently patted the child’s shoulder and walked over to the table. Iolene, who had risen from her seat, greeted her with a warm smile.
“Welcome, Teacher. It feels like it’s been such a long time since we last met.”
“It does feel that way. You’ve been well, Dowager Duchess?”
“Of course. Have you eaten?”
“Oh, well…”
If she had intended to brush it off, she wouldn’t have come all this way. Ailesia shrugged casually.
“It was getting late, so I thought I’d at least grab some bread—but apparently, that wasn’t allowed?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Hmm, I get it. When Sophia accused me of being rude earlier, I probably had the same expression.
I said I’d let it pass quietly—I didn’t say I’d pretend it never happened.
That was why she was explaining it calmly to the Dowager Duchess now. It seemed the formal dinner had ended and dessert time had begun, because the attending maids had temporarily left the room.
“Hilda said she hadn’t eaten either, so I went to the kitchen and asked if there was any leftover bread and milk. And then—what was it they said? Something like, ‘What were you doing while everyone else was eating?’”
“…Excuse me?”
“They said they were out of ingredients, and that they were people too and needed to rest. Well, what could I do? I’m just a guest staying here—I couldn’t exactly force the issue. So I thought I’d at least come say hello before leaving.”
Iolene’s face went pale, then began to tremble. Hilda wasn’t faring any better.
“If the Lettis household doesn’t even have a spare piece of bread, there’s nothing to be done. Missing one meal won’t kill us, right?”
“T-Teacher…”
Hilda tugged urgently at Ailesia’s sleeve, but Ailesia only asked calmly,
“Why? You heard it clearly too, didn’t you?”
After all, Hilda really had heard those words. A good witch doesn’t lie!
Of course, she conveniently omitted who had asked and who had answered—but details like that hardly mattered.
“Is what the teacher said true, Hilda?”
“Well…”
Ailesia turned toward Hilda and gave her a mischievous wink.
Thanks to Eleonora sitting in her arms, Iolene didn’t notice the gesture.
“…Yes. Those were their exact words, not a single syllable different.”
Hilda swallowed hard and bowed her head deeply. By now, she had a clear grasp of Ailesia’s intentions.
She’s trying to overturn the grand ducal estate without touching Sophia directly…!
It was true that Sophia had been rude to Ailesia. But strictly speaking, Ailesia had been the one to act first.
Of course, Ailesia was someone who deserved proper respect—but that didn’t mean she was the master of the grand ducal household.
In fact, Ailesia had emphasized that she could only ask Hilda for things, never order her.
But what had happened in the kitchen was entirely different.
The other party had shown unilateral disrespect to Ailesia first, violating the order to treat her as an honored guest. That constituted insubordination.
And Hilda had been there as well. To hurl abuse at the personal maid of the Grand Duchess was no different from committing disrespect against the Grand Duchess herself.
“Teacher, you didn’t eat? And neither did Sister Hilda?”
“Well… that’s how it turned out.”
“Then what are you going to do if you’re hungry?! E-Ellie didn’t even know and ate all this yummy food…!”
As if the situation weren’t chaotic enough already, her granddaughter began to sniffle sadly upon hearing that her teacher and maid had skipped a meal.
Watching the scene, Iolene felt something inside her snap.
“…You two, there.”
“Yes, Dowager Duchess.”
The maids, who had just returned, bowed respectfully. Iolene gave her order in a rigid voice.
“Send word to the chief butler and the head maid. Tell them to come here immediately.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After the maids hurried away, Iolene let out a deep sigh. She then lowered her head with an apologetic expression.
“Please allow me to apologize on behalf of my subordinates’ rudeness, Teacher. I have no excuse for how something like this could happen.”
“Oh, no, not at all. Why would you apologize? The ones at fault are elsewhere.”
Startled, Ailesia gently set Eleonora down and bowed hastily. But hidden behind her hair, the corners of her lips curled upward.
Let’s do a thorough cleaning while we’re at it.
Even now, the true authority of the Lettis household clearly lay with Iolene. Neither Thermion nor Iolene herself could deny that.
She held overwhelming power—enough to summon every retainer and even the council of elders of House Lettis.
Unlike Thermion, who only had the support of some retainers and the Tigel Knights, Iolene stepping forward carried a completely different level of impact.
“I was planning to just give you a gift and leave, but I’m sorry things ended up getting so big.”
“That’s quite all right. But a gift, you say…?”
“When you travel far, you usually bring back souvenirs, don’t you?”
And souvenirs were best bought impulsively, not carefully prepared in advance.
Ailesia held out a palm-sized box with a small horn attached.
“This is…?”
“You know phonographs, right? There should be a rather interesting sound recorded on it.”
“…Thank you. I’ll accept it gratefully.”
Iolene looked puzzled, but Hilda, standing beside them, instinctively covered her mouth.
There was no need to check what was recorded in that magical device.
As if nothing were amiss, Ailesia continued in a calm voice.
“I was thinking of taking Hilda out into the city for a bit. Would that be all right?”
“At this hour?”
“The taverns commoners use stay open late. I thought I’d at least buy her something to eat.”
“Teacher, what about Ellie?! Aren’t you taking Ellie too?”
“If Grandma allows it?”
When Eleonora turned her head eagerly, Iolene forced a smile and gently patted her granddaughter’s hair.
“Then you must listen to the teacher and never leave her side.”
“Yes! I promise!”
“Teacher, please allow the escort knights to accompany you. And try not to return too late.”
“Of course. Ellie needs to sleep too, so we’ll be back before nine.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m heading out, Grandma!”
“All right. Have fun.”
Unbothered by the adults’ serious mood, Eleonora bounced excitedly while clutching Ailesia’s sleeve.
“Wow! A night outing with Teacher!”
“My pretty girl, where did you learn words like that?”
“I read it in a book!”
“You’re smart today too, aren’t you?”
“Sister Hilda is smart too! She answers everything Ellie asks!”
Watching her granddaughter leave the banquet hall, Iolene’s expression hardened once more.
The warm smile she’d worn earlier vanished without a trace, replaced by an icy glare.
The master of the house has become a joke—forcing a guest to prepare her own meal.
Just how lightly had House Lettis been taken for something like this to happen? If the servants were like that, the retainers needed no explanation.
As she quietly suppressed her anger, her eyes fell upon the phonograph sitting alone on the table.
“…This is.”
* * *
“Teacher, when are you leaving?”
“Hmm… before sunrise tomorrow morning?”
“Then when Ellie wakes up, you’ll be gone? We won’t eat together?”
Eleonora looked visibly disappointed, but Ailesia soothed her gently.
“I want that too, but then your uncle would have to eat alone.”
“Oh, right—Uncle! I miss Uncle!”
“He misses you too, Ellie. I’ll make sure you get to talk to him soon.”
“Really? I can talk to Uncle?”
“So listen well to Sister Hilda, and always wear your necklace. Okay?”
“Yes! Hehe!”
“Sweet dreams.”
“You too, Teacher!”
After exchanging affectionate kisses on each other’s foreheads and cheeks, Eleonora quickly drifted off to sleep. She usually didn’t fuss at bedtime, and seeing Ailesia must have put her at ease even more.
“You work hard, Hilda.”
“Oh, not at all. Just being beside the Grand Duchess makes me so happy.”
Hilda cupped her cheeks with her hands, looking exactly like a girl in love. Hearts practically seemed ready to pop out of her eyes as she gazed at Eleonora’s sleeping face.
“It’s an honor to finally serve you tea again.”
“That’s a bit much.”
After moving to Ailesia’s room, Hilda brewed the tea herself. As they chatted while enjoying the aroma, there was a knock at the door.
Knock, knock.
“Apologies for disturbing you so late, Lady Milenov. Are you inside?”
