TMLWA 18

Chapter 18

“……”

Several silent seconds passed as Victoria and Anne stared at each other.

Anne recalled the days when she lived as the Duchess, especially her confrontations with the former Duchess.

How hard she had tried to imitate and learn every word, gesture, walk, and posture of that refined and elegant woman who had always looked down on her.

Despite all her efforts, she had never been more than a maid in Elizabeth Benton’s eyes — the noblewoman by birth who had only scoffed at her.

But if that experience could help her now, she would use it to the fullest.

She stood tall, arms naturally at her sides.

Not weak, not stiff — composed.

Her expression soft yet firm, wearing a calm smile.

“…Fine.”

Thunk. The club dropped from Victoria’s hand.

From the very next day, Anne’s duties changed.

By Victoria’s order, Anne became her personal maid and no longer did other work.

Matilda, on the other hand, was finally allowed to rest peacefully in her own room without being harassed by Victoria.

“I don’t know how you managed to charm the young lady! But if you think I’ll just let this go, think again! When the lord returns, you’re finished! He’ll throw you out to the city along with that woman the Count brought!”

Now that she could no longer order Anne around, May began openly spewing venom.

The other servants tried to calm her, but since they hadn’t yet heard that she was about to lose her position as head maid, they couldn’t understand her outrage.

“I’m sorry things didn’t go as Head Maid May planned.”

There was a limit to how much Anne could put up with.

She calmly sat down, popped the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth, and washed it down with juice.

If she wanted to survive, she had to be bolder.

“You wicked little wench!!!”

May shouted from behind her, but Anne couldn’t care less.

* * *

“A clever young lady’s arrived.”

Butler Patrick was satisfied. He had every reason to be — the household staff hadn’t enjoyed such peaceful days in a long time.

“Seriously, how did she convince Miss Victoria?”

“Thanks to her, Lady Matilda’s much healthier now.”

“Maybe she’ll have a safe delivery this time, since no one’s tormenting her.”

From a freckled teenage boy to a butler well past sixty, the staff gathered in the drawing room for a rare tea break.

“I heard Miss Victoria is learning something from Anne?”

“Etiquette.”

“She can teach that too? Wow, Anne’s amazing.”

“Why? You got a crush?”

“Wha—am I the only one?”

One of the attendants, around Anne’s age, blushed.

Cheers erupted, and two or three more attendants nodded in agreement.

“Well, Anne is different.”

“Looks-wise? Honestly, Tricia or Dalia are prettier.”

“Anne’s prettier.”

“Wow, you’re not even trying to hide it now.”

“Anne’s just… doesn’t feel like a maid.”

One of them admitted honestly.

“She seems more like a noblewoman. The way she talks, her poise, her manners—it’s all so refined.”

“You’ve seen real noble ladies?”

“Plenty. Who do you think was serving champagne at all those parties? Haven’t seen one since we came to Claide Castle, though.”

“True. Still, Anne’s different from those noble girls too.”

“Because she’s not actually a noble?”

“No, it’s more than that. She feels like a lady.”

“A lady? Yeah, she gives off a calm, graceful vibe. Should I confess to her?”

“I said I liked her first! I called dibs!”

Two young attendants bickered playfully over Anne.

Still, compared to the days when Victoria tormented Matilda and the house was filled with screams and crying, this peace was blissful.

To the butler, Anne now seemed worthy of being promoted to head maid.

“Hm. This tea is delightful.”

It was the day they received word that the lord would return tomorrow. The butler hoped this peace would continue.

The lord didn’t care about the maids, so surely nothing would go wrong.

And so, Butler Patrick made a grave misjudgment.

* * *

While Claide Estate had regained its peace thanks to Anne, Hannibal Claide was far to the south, leading an army outside of Tegenes.

Compared to the dry and cool northwest, the southwest was sweltering and humid, with wide desert regions despite being near the coast.

Most monsters dwelled hidden in those deserts. In winter, however, they often crossed into the grasslands.

Though monster attacks weren’t limited to seasons, they tended to stay put during the hot summer and only began moving once the weather cooled.

They’d start by hunting local animals, eventually invading civilian homes.

As such, large-scale purges had to be conducted every year from early winter to early spring.

This was Hannibal’s eighth year taking his father’s place on the battlefield.

Each year, these exhausting campaigns lasted from one or two months to as long as four.

Now, it had been almost three months of sleepless nights and bloody skirmishes.

“Not a single one for a week. I’m telling you, we wiped them all out.”

“No. There are still more. They’ll show up soon.”

Years of experience told Hannibal the monsters weren’t completely gone.

His old friend and lieutenant, Oliver, didn’t argue further.

“There—there it comes.”

Sure enough, dust kicked up and weeds shot into the air as a monster charged.

“The last one! Let’s go—!”

At the lead, Hannibal drove his horse forward, long spear in hand.

“SCREEEEECH—!”

The monster’s scream was long, but the fight ended quickly.

As it turned to face him, Hannibal thrust the spear straight into its open jaws, piercing through its skull. The beast writhed for a moment before collapsing with a ground-shaking thud.

The tension in the air eased, and the wind suddenly felt cool.

Hannibal sensed the monsters’ strange stench and the ominous atmosphere dissipate into the desert breeze.

It would be safe for a while.

“Let’s go home!”

At his comrade’s shout, the soldiers cheered and burst into laughter. Hannibal nodded in agreement.

Knights rushed to load the monster corpses onto wagons.

Bloodstained hands, sweat-soaked clothes, the stench of decay and death—

Barren land where dry grass barely clung to life between cracked earth.

Hannibal Claide took a deep breath of that air and grabbed the reins.

“Let’s go back.”

As their armor lightened, the wagons grew heavier.

Monster corpses could be sold for money, so they had to haul back as many as possible.

Just thinking about the looming walls of Tegenes Castle made Hannibal’s head throb.

There, with no father or mother, his half-sister waited alone.

Oliver, noting his friend’s grim face, murmured,

“Think she’s still alive?”

“She’s probably dead.”

They might not even find her body.

At Claide Castle remained Victoria—the Count’s illegitimate daughter and the source of the family’s disgrace.

Now in her twenties, she needed to be married off, but with the Count absent and Hannibal unmarried himself, there was no one to arrange her match.

Worse, Victoria was the root of the Claide family’s notorious reputation.

Count Arthur Claide would send away his mistresses to Tegenes when he grew tired of them, and Victoria would torment those women until they either fled or died.

Especially if they were pregnant—then she showed no mercy.

Matilda was the perfect target: similar in age, low status like Victoria’s mother, and newly pregnant upon arrival.

“If more rumors spread, who’d marry her?”

Oliver, who had grown up with Hannibal and knew the family’s situation well, clicked his tongue.

Even with her beauty, Victoria’s cruelty was written all over her face. Just thinking of her made his legs go weak.

“It’d be trouble if she did get married.”

Hannibal sighed, and Oliver nodded in agreement.

With that temper, what if she killed her husband? That could bring disaster upon the Claide name.

“What if we just send her to the Kingdom of Luto?”

“As revenge against the enemy nation?”

“Exactly! Just teach her how to fake manners for a few months. She wants to marry, doesn’t she?”

“She’s in no condition for that right now.”