Anger

Before I knew it, half a year had passed since the Vladimir invasion.

The Duchess’s life was now on a countdown, and she could no longer even speak.

The doctor said it was a miracle she had held on this long, but in contrast, no such miracle occurred for the Duke.

A somber atmosphere enveloped the entire ducal estate.

Yet even in such an atmosphere, the Young Miss persisted with her studies and practice every day.

…Perhaps it was because the rumors spread by that wicked maid duo had taken root; I had heard other maids call her cold-blooded on more than one occasion.

But I understood better than anyone that she possessed a heart that was both fervent and fragile.

In recent nights, whenever she saw me, she would embrace me tightly without a word, and I could clearly feel her shoulders trembling.

I knew she desperately wanted to wail, but she held it back so as not to worry her parents, leaving only quiet, tearless sobs.

I had told her that it was best to cry her heart out in front of me, to release all her emotions, but she stubbornly refused… so I could only let her have her way.

Though she was putting up a strong front, she was truly trying her best.

A child who works so hard deserves a reward.

As it happened, the Young Miss’s birthday was in a few days…

But the ducal estate was in utter chaos, and His Grace the Duke no longer had the energy to host a birthday banquet for her.

However, I had already picked out a gift—a white Border Collie plushie that I had fallen in love with at first sight while out shopping… I remembered how the Young Miss couldn’t part with that lion plushie, so I figured she must be quite fond of such fluffy toys.

I planned to give it to her on the night of her birthday, along with a special, delicious dinner, hoping it might ease the anxiety in her heart, even if just a little.

It’s just that recently, I’ve felt something holding me as I sleep at night, so I haven’t been sleeping well, leaving my body constantly fatigued.

But for the Young Miss’s sake, I could endure it, no matter how tired I was!

…But I never expected that I would not be able to give her the gift with my own hands.

“This is terrible!”

“The Duchess… the Duchess, she!”

…An inevitable end, just as expected.

The Duchess, lying in her bed, had already passed.
Compared to the woman tormented by illness, her expression now seemed more serene, though a trace of reluctance remained.

Perhaps it was the regret of not being able to see her daughter grow another year older.

The day of the funeral, most unfortunately, coincided with the Young Miss’s birthday.

Consumed with arranging the funeral, His Grace the Duke had even forgotten his own daughter’s birthday.

But seeing his red and swollen, panda-like eyes, who could bear to blame him?

Young Master Claude had also taken leave to come home and was kneeling before his mother’s coffin, endlessly wiping away his tears.

In contrast, the Young Miss was much calmer.

Perhaps because she had cried in my arms for nearly two hours the night before, she had finally come to terms with it.

…Or perhaps her tears had simply run dry, leaving her unable to cry anymore.

But… it was this very composure that led others to misinterpret the Young Miss, to view her with malice.

“Not shedding a single tear… How cold-blooded…”

“I knew she was a cold-blooded person, but I never thought she’d be cold-blooded to this extent.”

“That’s her own flesh and blood, after all!”

These were the whispers from the maids on standby.

There were other dignitaries and nobles present, so why did they dare to gossip so brazenly?
To even speak ill of their own master!

“They’ve probably been overworked recently and have built up some resentment.”

Senior Aina, standing beside me, noticed my subtle expression and offered an explanation.

“But to say such awful things on an occasion like this is truly too much… I’ll report it to Celine later.”

The head maid was busy receiving the arriving guests, so she had no way to supervise these maids on standby.

Perhaps because no one stopped them, their remarks grew increasingly insolent.

Among them, the most vicious were the two gossipy seniors, Linda and Marei.

“Hasn’t she always been like this?
Willful, shrewish, lacking in humanity… But I never thought she could be so cold even to her own flesh and blood, ha~”

“Truly a disgrace to humanity~ I wonder what goes on in the minds of those who serve someone like that every day?
Are they cold-blooded animals too?”

“Hey… shut your mouths.
Do you want to bring shame upon the ducal family?”

Given the solemnity of the occasion, I couldn’t resort to physical action and could only issue a verbal warning.

This, however, only made them more audacious.

“Who’s the one really shaming the ducal family?
To not even shed a single tear on an occasion like this… even a crocodile could squeeze out a tear by now!”

“The Young Miss is very sad too!
She cried for a long time last night!”

“Sad where?
Can you see even a shred of sadness on that face of hers?”

“Even if you say that, the other guests don’t know what happened last night, do they?
What do you think they’ll think?”

“…”

I never imagined there would come a day when I would be argued into silence by the wicked maid duo.

“Besides, if you ask me, you’re just a dog raised by a cold-blooded animal.
Who would believe a word you say?”

“It’s probably just a lie made up on the spot to protect her master~”

“Truly worthy of being a dog raised by a cold-blooded animal~ Doesn’t even blink when telling a lie, does she?”

“Oh, don’t say that.
What if she was just forced by that cold-blooded animal and had no choice but to lie?
Pfft~”

“Just like a villainess from a novel~ Committing all sorts of evil, cruel and heartless~ (laughs)”

“Exactly~ She’s a Young Miss, yet she abandons her own mother to practice that meaningless swordsmanship every day… Have you ever seen a noble lady learn swordsmanship?”

“Haha, it must be preparation for killing people in the future, right?
As expected of a cold-blooded villainess~”

“Why don’t people like her just die? (laughs)”

“What do you know about the Young Miss?”

My expression turned cold, and I lowered my voice.
The ambient temperature seemed to… no, it did drop by several degrees.

It was the first time I had ever been so angry that I lost control of my magic, causing it to leak out.

Perhaps due to the magical aura I was emanating, many of the nearby guests glanced toward our group of maids… but I could no longer care about such things.

I walked up to the pair, intending to force them to shut their mouths.

But perhaps emboldened by the atmosphere, not only did the two of them not fall silent, they continued:

“In the end, she’s just a monster who can’t even feel sadness at the passing of her own mother!”

“Smack!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I gave Linda a slap, sending her stumbling to the ground.

Linda seemed not to have processed what had happened, merely clutching her face with a dazed expression.

I then continued to advance on Marei.

“…What are you doing… I’m warning you, this is a church!
To do something like this at a sacred funeral, you’ll be smote by divine punishment!”

“Smack!”

Another slap was all it took to knock Marei to her knees.

“What do you possibly know about the Young Miss!”

My words were not directed solely at the wicked maid duo, but at every maid present, and even at every guest in attendance.

“She only created a strong facade to keep her parents from worrying, to pursue her own ideals!

Do you know that she has been crying every single night recently?
Do you know how long she cried last night!

She is just a child who turned ten years old today!
At her most vulnerable moment, not only do you show her no concern, but you instead attack her with vicious words, even spreading rumors to tarnish her reputation?
Which of you is the cold-blooded animal, which of you is the one who isn’t human!?”

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

It seems I’ve really made a mess of things.

…In the end, I couldn’t hold it in.

But I have no regrets.
Having said all that, my heart feels much lighter.

I’ll be dismissed by His Grace the Duke after this, won’t I… No, considering the gravity of the occasion, I might even face execution.

…To be honest, it’s all the same to me.

I only survived in the first place thanks to His Grace the Duke’s charity.
After being dismissed from the ducal estate, I doubt anyone would dare to hire me… It’s death one way or another.

My only regret is that the Young Miss will probably hate me for this.

I cast my gaze toward the Young Miss, and just as I’d expected, she wore an expression of utter disbelief, a look of profound complexity.

…This might be the final regret of my second life.