《My Lady, Please Become My Heroine!》 Chapter 0 Raw provider: Tsalispark Translator: Rhyme Editor: Emme Inside the gently shaking subway train, a person, desolate and withdrawn to herself, was seated. Her face showed every trace of tiredness. The first train at dawn was almost empty most of the time. Even if there were people, they were only drunkards who messed around in confusion. *Start of a monologue* Amongst these people I sat, without anyone¡¯s company. My hair was disheveled and I wore a loose hoodie. Anyone could tell that I was just exhausted, not drunk. Today wasn¡¯t any different. My colleague, also a part-timer like me, bunked off all of a sudden. As a result, I was made to substitute that person too. Consequently, I had to work hard till the sunrise to complete both of our jobs. It doesn¡¯t matter, though¡­ I have lived like this ever since I graduated from college. I was made to work overtime every single day, but today was an especially exhausting one. We had a strange customer and I had a difficult time trying to shoo him off. I had to use every ounce of my strength to keep myself awake. ¡°Let me see¡­.¡± I was totally fatigued and would have given anything for a moment of sleep. But then, I might have missed my stop and be late for the part-time job later in the morning. That¡¯s when I noticed that a spin-off of the romance fantasy novel I used to read had been released. I thought that I could keep myself awake by reading the novel. The massive shadow tilted. A man with a hideous appearance laughed mockingly at the Crown Prince, Arthur, who was stuck between the rebels. ¡°Hmm¡­ Claire used to be a good villainess¡­ She also had a strong personality¡­¡± After the novel¡¯s main antagonist, Claire, was punished for her crimes by being jailed, the author had to introduce a new character to replace her. The character, with a stable background, appeared only in a few chapters and there was already an overflow of comments. ¡®At least, this new change will make the readers happy.¡¯ Subplot or whatever, it never was a concern to me. The only reason I had indulged in a romance fantasy novel was to see the female protagonist lead a happy and contend life. Anyway, the world in the novel was fantastic. The isekai novels that were released recently had likeable background, settings and characters. The person getting reincarnated as the villainess was loved by all and in the end, the original protagonist turned out to be the actual villain. E/n: How accurate. I envied them. Their situation was so contrasting compared to my pathetic life. I had studied to death for 4 years to graduate from college, but what remained were student loans, unemployment and the reality of chronic fatigue¡­ ¡­And this was my very last memory. I died a futile death due to over-exhaustion in the first train of dawn. * * * The bedcover fluttered in the breeze. ¡®We have a favorable weather today, just the perfect kind to hang the laundry.¡¯ I watched as the bedcover fluttered in the softly whistling wind with my light green eyes. There were a number of maids besides me, walking along carrying big baskets of laundry. Each of them was clad in a black one piece with a white apron and their hair was tied together and covered with a white cloth. These were the newly hired maids of Earl Gordon¡¯s estate. ¡°Beth!¡± As I was gazing at the fluttering bed sheets, a maid with a face splashed with freckles, called out to me. This woman seemed to be one of the new recruits. ¡°Julia.¡± *End of monologue* Beth replied to Julia with an indifferent expression and tone. Julia was accustomed to this sort of reply, so she dismissed it with a laugh. One could see that she was hiding something in her pocket. ¡°Ta-da Guess what I have -¡± ¡°Bread?¡± ¡°Aiya, what a bland response!¡± To be precise, it was not simple bread. It was the White Bread only nobles had the luxury to eat. In case you were caught stealing them, it would not just end with being fired¡­ Beth¡¯s eyes twitched as she pondered over this fact. Julia laughed yet again, as if she had read Beth¡¯s thoughts. ¡°The owner said that it was okay to share it among ourselves. Actually, you are wrong about one thing.¡± ¡°I know, not only nobles, even commoners can have this bread.¡± Of course. Commoners could have as many as they want only if they had the cash to obtain them, Beth thought. Although, from what she had learnt, the best businesses in the streets took place in the bakeries where they forged the White Bread and sold it for cheaper rates. The only person who held grudges was the Old Master of the estate who was annoyed to see the people who worked for him enjoying the same comforts as he did. Beth deliberately didn¡¯t utter these words as she calmly watched the joyful Julia. Julia wasn¡¯t aware of Beth¡¯s thoughts. She carefully scrutinized the surroundings and hurriedly put the bread into Beth¡¯s pocket. ¡°If the other maids come to know that I am only taking care of you, they¡¯ll be very upset, so¡­ let¡¯s keep this secret between us.¡± Julia winked at her and Beth nodded in reply. ¡®Why was she winking, though?¡¯ Beth couldn¡¯t comprehend the reason as to why Julia was being nice to her. Perhaps it was because she was her roommate. Yet there were two other maids who shared the same room, apart from her. Plus, they were even more friendly and approachable. But for some reason, Julia seemed to favor Beth the most. Julia talked so much that Beth was exasperated. ¡°What are you planning to do once you finish the duties?¡± Beth watched Julia with her dull eyes and answered as usual. ¡°I want to take a nap, alone.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± What was the point in asking all these? The same conversation and questions repeated day after day. The washed cloths in the basket were being hung on the empty space one by one. ¡°Beth is really deft in handling these jobs,¡± Julia said admiringly. Beth always wore a tedious expression on her face but was even more diligent compared to the other maids. She had said that she only had a brief experience working in an inn when she first joined the maids. Nevertheless, all of her colleagues who had joined a month before her were rather surprised to see Beth working like a pro. It had not been a week since she was hired to the mansion. Beth was not aware of it, but even the Head Maid was keeping an eye on her. The sunlight reflected on her green eyes and hazel hair, giving a golden tinge to it. She had a peerless appearance and was a meticulous worker. Beth was a person who was envied by all. Be it dish washing, laundry or even altering dresses, she had expertise in all the fields. Above all, she strictly abided by the rules and regulations. Beth rechecked the tongs clipped on the clothes, straightened the wrinkles and folds and only then did she nod her head in satisfaction. This job had to be done very carefully. After completing her duties in a satisfactory manner, Beth¡¯s temperament changed. It seemed to be her nature. She looked relaxed and refreshed, only while doing the chores. ¡°Beth is definitely a promising maid!¡± ¡°Give me a break¡­¡± She walked into her room carrying the empty basket and threw it aside, her expression dreary. Her actions were swift and continuous, as if she had done this many times. Julia was used to seeing this hence she did not stop Beth. The fact was, these baskets were arranged in order to form a small mount. When Beth first threw the basket so nonchalantly, Julia was shocked but after watching it neatly landing in the pile every single day, Julia got used to it. Moreover, nobody in the estate seemed to have any qualms about Beth¡¯s strange actions. As for Beth, she was confident that she could accomplish it from the very beginning. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a siesta.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ You have to come back before supper, okay? Today, the whole family would have dinner together in the Earl¡¯s mansion. ¡®No, not the whole family¡­,¡¯ Beth thought. She leaned back her head and answered: ¡°I will make it in time.¡± Once Beth felt that Julia was out of topics to converse about, she left the place stealthily and walked towards a secluded area. She sauntered into a rarely used path which led to the backyard of a building. This place was difficult to find and Beth had to make her way through densely growing bushes. All of a sudden, she reached a clearing. Walking past the noisy drill area and the large mossy rock, one would reach the tower. Its door was left unguarded. Perhaps, they thought that it wasn¡¯t worth it. Beth warily opened the door. Creak¡­ The door was never once polished, so it made a loud noise even while opening. Even though Beth had often used this door, she wasn¡¯t used to the ruckus it created. The tower had been a warehouse once. Floor upon floor, there was nothing to see but piles of debris. Beth passed the numerous storerooms and finally arrived at the top floor. Knock Knock Beth was aware that she wouldn¡¯t be answered but merely knocked out of courtesy. ¡°I am coming in.¡± This door was no different than the other doors in the tower ¨C it made a strange, creaking sound every time she opened it. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t covered with layers and layers of dust. The room was not very filthy either. Yet, it seemed worn out with age and in it, a small girl was present. Although very young, she was a ravishing beauty and somehow looked saintly to Beth. Unlike Beth¡¯s golden brown, which shined more brightly under the sun, this child¡¯s hair was a brilliant blond which could even light up darkness. She had opal eyes, which changed color according to the direction of the light. The girl watched curiously as the woman cleared the perimeter and entered through the door. T/N: For the girl, she can¡¯t go beyond the room, so when she sees Beth coming in, it¡¯s akin to Beth passing through a border. ¡°Beth¡­!¡± ¡°Yes, its Beth, Young Miss.¡± As Beth was announcing her arrival, the girl who was called ¡®Young Miss¡¯ rushed to her side and hugged her warmly. Beth¡¯s eyebrows knitted, feeling the girl¡¯s thin limbs. Once Beth was released, the Young Miss surveyed her with the usual tranquil expression. But, unlike the previous times, the corners of her lips were slightly raised into a small smile. ¡°I have brought a piece of bread with me. Miss, if you are feeling hungry, please have it.¡± ¡°Hmm!¡± Beth took out the white bread from her pocket, the one which Julia had offered her. ¡°Soft bread!¡± ¡°Yes, this is called White Bread, Miss.¡± Beth sat down beside the little girl on the floor. The girl looked at her, as if pondering over something. She then proceeded to divide the bread into two and handed over a piece to Beth. ¡°.¡­¡­?¡± ¡°It was originally Beth¡¯s, so Beth ought to have a share too.¡± Such a kind, considerate and¡­ pitiful Young Miss. Beth looked at the girl, her eyes filled with concern. The Young Miss was the only daughter of the Earl mansion. She also happened it be the one to hamper the family¡¯s daily flow of routines. ¡°Thank You.¡± The child stroked Beth¡¯s head affectionately. This was actually an improper conduct but there was none to stop her and also¡­ she liked the feeling of the warm touch. Claire Gordon. This very girl had grown to become the villainess in the novel Beth had read in her previous life. Hence, Beth took a firm decision. She would change the destiny of this lovely Young Miss, no matter what. Chapter 1 Translator: Rhyme Editor: SilverAndGold On the 16th day of the winter season, she regained her memory. Beth left her home because she was pressured to marry an old merchant, which was the equivalent of selling herself. Just before she almost froze to death after she left to become a maid, she remembered her previous life. I was alone and was not supported by my family, so I held a part-time job to support myself through college. After graduation, I was without a proper job and had to work 3 part-times everyday to repay the student loan. I used to forsake sleep to be able to read the romance, fantasy novel during my brief rest breaks. Even when I drew my last breath, I was reading that book. If she had the option of rebirth, she wanted to be reborn as a noble ¨C just like the protagonist of the novel. And till she had regained her memories, she didn¡¯t even know that this place was the novel world she once read. She couldn¡¯t piece together the clues in the first place since she was born as an ordinary commoner. Secondly, in the novel there was no character named Beth ¨C it was similar to being reborn as an insignificant extra. The one thing that was special about her was that she had memories of her previous life and knew that she had to leave this family. ¡°From this house there is nothing to expect¡­¡± The current home was not much different from her previous life ¨C only difference there was that there was no one who would pressure their child to marry an old man in her previous life. The house of her current life was likable or any good. Beth sighed as she weighed the differences between her lives. ¡°Whether previous one or current one, there is no exception,¡± she lamented about the trick of fate as both her lives are filled with hardship and with neither hope nor expectations. Beth¡¯s fingertips used to smell bitter. In her current life, Beth was born and raised in the isolated countryside, so there were significantly less opportunities to earn money. All she could do daily was to dig up and sell herbs. The herbs felt warm to eat in the winter and she liked that warmth. Since one of them only brought in 10 copper, it was a routine to dig them from dawn to dusk. And the person who used to buy it was the same old man who was to marry Beth. It felt revolting to even think of that disgusting old man. So Beth swiftly left that place as soon as possible. In order to leave the village quickly, she grabbed onto the first person she met and begged for help and got a cart as a ride. The atmosphere felt more comfortable and she closed her eyes. Suddenly she heard a rumbling sound. ¡°Miss, tomorrow¡­¡­ eeh?¡± Beth ran towards an inn even without a word of thanks to the person who gave her a ride. Just as she arrived, she beseeched for a job, as she was okay with work that didn¡¯t have wages, and only needed some food and a place to sleep. It just so happened that at that time the inn was short on hands and the owner hired her with a wage of one silver per day, included with food and accommodation. The days wore on. It was difficult to make a living at the inn, so there was no time to ponder about the name of the inn, nor was Beth curious to know it. She only remembered hearing that this place was the institution of the country. ¡°What was the name?¡± She couldn¡¯t remember the explanations of the elderly inn owner, who had suffered from the long journey of his life. But still Beth adapted to the routine of inn better than anyone else who worked there previously. Spring came as the snow started to melt. Beth could hear the voices of women who chattered opposite the inn. It seemed like they were looking at an advertisement pasted on the wall. Because she hadn¡¯t learnt to write this world¡¯s language, she couldn¡¯t understand what was written on the paper stuck on the wall. She looked towards the poster that was blocked by the crowd. ¡°What is going on?¡± Beth asked the inn owner. ¡°It seems like the Earl mansion is hiring new maids,¡± the owner replied. ¡°Hmm¨C¡° Beth, who had finished washing dishes within a breath of time, expressionlessly wiped at the front of her apron. The inn owner conspicuously looked at Beth and said, ¡°You should think about it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Honestly speaking, you helped out a great deal in the inn¡­ yes *sigh* it¡¯s because I feel sorry to exploit you with just 1 silver.¡± ¡°But you also provide me with food and accommodation.¡± ¡°Even if its included¡­¡± ¡°Could you possibly increase the wag-¡° ¡°Just take the interview.¡± This matter was promptly decided by the inn owner. The owner didn¡¯t give any thought about an increase to Beth¡¯s pay. She was already at a limit with 1 silver. ¡°How¡¯s the job? I mean, being a maid?¡± ¡°8 hours of work, provided with accommodation.¡± This work seemed more reliable than the inn. ¡°I will go.¡± Even though she thought like that, it was just imaginary, as the new job had better benefits compared to her current one. She was ready to take the interview. For Beth, who was interviewed for many part times in her previous life, the interview was akin to having cold soup. And she was especially noted by the head maid. ¡°If provided with food and accommodation, I can assure you that I will work to my fullest potential. I am confident in keeping my lips sealed and cope with the situations.¡± These words seemed to provide a great deal of power in the eyes of the head maid. Including Beth, there were 8 people who passed the interview. The head maid said while she looked toward the newly appointed maids, ¡°Being commoners, you guys may lack knowledge. There is no need for complex knowledge for doing physical labor, but it¡¯s important to inform you about the basic rules.¡± ¡°Looking down upon commoners while she herself had a commoner background¡±, Beth scoffed at the head maid in her mind. Commoner this, Commoner that ¨C it felt degrading to them. It¡¯s the common people who are fundamental to a country. A nation¡¯s foundation was built by commoners, not the nobles. And this truth, nobles didn¡¯t want to acknowledge. Beth knew that the head maid was hired through recommendation. As Beth heard the way the head maid spoke and the way that she chose the newly hired maids from commoners who didn¡¯t have any backing, this didn¡¯t seem to be a good place to work at. ¡°It seems whenever there is a problem, these people shifted blame by forsaking those who even don¡¯t know anything,¡± Beth chewed and swallowed this thought without the others hearing. In between doing this, the head maid opened her mouth again. ¡°In the Gordon Earl mansion-¡° ¡°Hmm? Gordon? Where have I heard this name¡­¡­?¡± Up till this moment, Beth never held any curiosity, nor did she question the workings of the outside world, as she was busy making a living. So for the first time, she decided to ask. ¡°By any chance, is the name of the country we are living in called Inomore?¡± ¡°¡­.. Of course, why are you asking something so obvious? The countrymen not knowing the name of the country tsk¡­¡­ If His Majesty knew about it, he would be heartbroken.¡± Even though she felt like she should be sorry, she truly wasn¡¯t. There was no need to concern herself about the name of a country whose countrymen didn¡¯t even have money to buy their bread. ¡°The name of our current king is Thomas Basil Inomore.¡± Strangely the name felt very delicious. Beth thought about pasta. ¡°And the name of the current crown prince is- ¡°Arthur Brick Inomore,¡± Beth finished in her head. ¡± -Arthur Brick Inomore¡± And then to Beth, the situation became clear. This world was the same as the novel world. The Villainess Changes Her Destiny It was the novel Beth had read before right before she met an untimely end. The protagonist possessed the body of the antagonist, Cecil, in the novel. It was premature to think that the Earl is weaker than the Duke. The nobility are more intertwined than one could possibly think of. ¡°Earl Gordon had a lot of mines¡­.¡± Cecil was the only daughter of Duke Ferrite. According to the original setting, she attempted to kill the female protagonist and failed. As a result, she, along with her entire family, would be punished with death penalty. Claire was the original female protagonist of the story. The protagonist was a reader of the original work and after she got reincarnated as Cecil, she seduced the male protagonist and broke Claire¡¯s heart in the process. The story had such a vivid plot. ¡°This means I am right now at the Villainess¡¯ estate. I was hired as the maid for Claire, who was characterized as the antagonist in the story.¡± The Claire currently residing at the estate was the younger version of the villain Claire. Claire was the polar opposite of Cecil. Claire was not loved by her family, fell in love with the Crown Prince, and hated those who ill-treated her in her hard life. When her past was mentioned, it was sympathetic, though it doesn¡¯t justify all her evil deeds. Of course, Beth also thought like that. More importantly, after securing her seat in the novel, Claire started her evil deeds with her family¡¯s money. It was important to confirm the time period. If Claire and Cecil were 16 at the moment, Beth needed to leave after working here for a year. It had been a week since Beth started to work in the Earl mansion, but there was nothing that gave away her presence in the Estate. While she washed clothes or at meal time, or when she cleaned the bedrooms or arranged other rooms in the estate, there was no clue about the presence of the girl, Claire. Beth paused during her work as she had a sudden thought. ¡°If Claire was killed, then the Earl would be sentenced to death too. Does this mean that the child hasn¡¯t even been born yet?¡± She started to work again as she chewed on this idea. A maid who worked at the Estate longer than Beth asked for her to stop. In her arms there was a small, old basket. ¡°There, you.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Newcomer?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She threw the basket in her hands towards Beth. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I am busy right now so you help me deliver these to the top floor of the old tower over there.¡± ¡°What is in it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something for the Young Miss.¡± ¡°The Young Miss?¡± Beth suddenly looked up. Why was the Young Miss in such a place? ¡°Didn¡¯t you listen to what was explained on your first day?¡± Beth was miffed. At that time her mind was preoccupied after realizing the truth that she was currently in the novel world that she read in her previous life. ¡°Claire Gordon, the only daughter of the Earl mansion. But Master and Madam don¡¯t even mention her name¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She already knew this from reading the novel, so she wasn¡¯t curious about why this was so. Claire was not the real daughter of the current Earl. Originally, the Earl at that time,the brother of current Earl, suddenly left the house, and left behind a newborn child and a letter. He never returned. The child was left in the care of the current Earl. Since the original Earl was not married, the current Earl Gordon knew that the child was born from a commoner, so he treated Claire akin to trash. ¡°This was not the only reason,¡± thought Beth. Because Claire was the heir apparent of the previous Earl, the title ought to be succeeded by her. But the only ones who knew the truth were the current Earl and his wife. The others only thought of Claire as an illegitimate child. Even though Claire was not his real daughter, she still had noble blood, even though it was half. She was allowed to live with the thought that one day, perhaps, she might be of some use. Yes, ¡®just to let her live¡¯. As she recalled these details, she reached the top floor of the tower. Since she remembered the novel to an extent, she was confident that she wouldn¡¯t be surprised. ¡°Miss, I am coming in ¨C ,¡± Beth said as she opened the door. The creaking sound made by the door sent shivers up Beth¡¯s spine. She was about to say ¡°with food¡±, but she quickly trailed off. Beth was not able to utter these words. Just as she opened the door, dust flew all over the place. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust ¨C so much so, that footprints were clearly visible on the floor. The place was filled to the brim with debris and in the middle of it all, there was a small girl. Her beautiful, blond hair, which was so dirty that one couldn¡¯t say how long it had been since it was last washed, looked faded. She was extremely skinny. Who would have thought a noble spirit would be seen in such a state? Beth had thought that she would be fine since she had already read the novel. She was confident that she wouldn¡¯t be shaken with surprise, but after she saw the child, she understood. This place was not just a novel world ¨C rather, a reality. In front of her wasn¡¯t the future villainess. Just a child who was thoroughly neglected by her family. ¡°¡­Miss, Hello,¡± Beth barely got these words out between her closed lips. The girl watched her with guarded eyes. ¡°I¡­.¡± Beth was born poor, but, she said with confidence, ¡°¡­I will be on your side, Miss.¡± ¡°1 is better than 0,¡± Beth mused. Chapter 2 Raw provider: Tsalispark Translator: Rhyme Editor: SilverAndGold Since then it was the beginning of a series of hardships. Beth made a mental note of the times when people entered and exited the tower. Under the guise of delivering food in lieu of her seniors, she met with Claire. In the beginning, Claire looked at Beth warily. But when the door to her prison opened more frequently, Claire gradually opened up her heart. Later, she even allowed Beth to trim her hair. Even though her heart was heavily guarded, Claire was a completely neglected child. She opened up more easily than expected. ¡°It must have been hard on you¡­.,¡± Beth carefully patted the child who fell asleep beside her. ¡°Others just left the basket in front of the door, and scurried out without even checking if you ate the food.¡± She wondered about being caught one day, as she brought warm water and a towel to wipe the child. But whether to consider this a blessing in disguise or just luck, there was not a soul who cared about Claire¡¯s situation. There was no one that cared enough to realize that Beth carefully tended to Claire often. Fine. I¡¯ll raise her myself. Claire¡¯s body didn¡¯t even look like a normal 8 year old¡¯s. She was very small and underfed. Though Beth knew this, she had trouble finding a way to give more food to Claire. On the next holiday, I must buy food items for Claire. The food provided for Claire to eat was even worse than the maids¡¯. If anyone were brought up in such conditions, it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if a saint turned into a sinner. Even an angel would turn into a demon. It was not Beth¡¯s concern whether the original work was twisted or not. Even though Beth didn¡¯t have norms like ¡°Since I am an extra, I shouldn¡¯t get involved¡±, she didn¡¯t want to destroy the big picture because only then, would her life be smooth. Even though Beth wanted to pursue a smooth-sailing life, she couldn¡¯t ignore the brutal reality of Claire¡¯s life. If Claire was a little more happy, would there be a big change in the outcome of the novel? Beth thought. The stakes in this world occupied by humans were much greater than she had anticipated. If Claire¡¯s destiny was to become a villainess, then even if I disappeared after helping her, she would still develop as a villainess. If not a villainess, what would she become? ¡°Beth¡­¡± As she thought about the possibilities of the future, Beth unconsciously stopped patting Claire. As if Claire sensed the change, she silently woke up and looked at Beth. ¡°Oh, I am sorry¡­ You woke up?¡± ¡°Mmm, no¡­.. Soon Beth will leave. I have to say goodbye,¡± the little miss rubbed her eyes and yawned. Looking at her with love akin to a mother, Beth asked, ¡°Is there something you want to do?¡± ¡°Something I want to do?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s within my capabilities, I will fulfill it.¡± Beth wasn¡¯t sure what Claire would ask for. A picnic, Beth could arrange but dinner with Claire¡¯s father ¨C that would be a whole different matter. Beth gave her a clear smile, while Claire silently thought about it. ¡°Then, if it is so¡­¡± Claire wriggled her hands with a shy expression. ¡°If it is so?¡± ¡°Then¡­ I want to learn to write.¡± For Claire¡¯s small request, Beth took a half day leave that afternoon. When Beth asked the head maid for leave, she silently looked at the girl. Beth used to work very seriously, but all of a sudden, she asked for leave without rhyme or reason. Even though the head maid attempted to dissuade her, by stating that Beth will be allowed a full day of leave next week, Beth was adamant in her decision. She declined the head maid¡¯s proposal. ¡°Then it will be too late.¡± Too late for what? The head maid wanted to ask but stopped herself. Beth¡¯s eyes slowly reddened. Throughout the entire week she had been at the Estate, Beth was a resolute person in the face of all sorts of situations thrown at her. For her to show such an expression, what in the world happened? Beth¡¯s eyes travelled to a sentence in the newspaper that the head maid just put down. A woman was found to suicide after her fianc¨¦ left her . The identity of that fianc¨¦ is¡­ As the head maid thought about it, there were many who decided to work as a maid for nobility in order to gather money for their marriage. Everyone thought that Beth never indulged in a romantic relationship, but were surprised at the current situation. Did her lover leave for some faraway place? The head maid was no stranger to the situation at hand. She never knew where Beth spent her salary. The head maid had seen Beth spend money only when she wandered on the street for snack bars. If that was the case, then was the rest of her salary given to Beth¡¯s fianc¨¦? ¡°You really fell into an evil trap.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± The head maid pitied her and looked at Beth with sympathetic eyes. She had really liked Beth who was very smart and good at her job. She observed that Beth was efficient when completing her work, so she had assumed that Beth would also be smart when she chose her relationships. This was certainly not the case at hand. Like a late child born after hard labor, the head maid looked at Beth as a sore finger1. I am certain her lover will leave saying that it¡¯s a short work trip and will never return. If she said that to Beth, Beth would never believe her. The head maid resolved in her mind that she would comfort her after Beth collected herself. With this, the head maid approved Beth¡¯s leave. ¡°It¡¯s okay to rest till tomorrow afternoon.It must be hard on you.¡± ¡°¡­aah, yes. Thank you.¡± Beth didn¡¯t know that the head maid had weaved such a romantic story in her mind. She was just grateful to get leave till tomorrow. Beth slightly nodded her head and changed from the uniform to casual wear. The dress was without any style or fashion concepts. Though the dress was very neat and tidy, it was not popular and was made using cheap cloth. Sooner or later, it would be time to purchase summer clothes. Claire didn¡¯t even know the basic alphabet. Beth understood that, for Claire, it was impossible to learn in such an environment. But since this was a novel, there must be some sort of buff2 The novel never said anything about how much Claire had learnt in her younger years while she was locked in the tower. Nobody was curious enough about her childhood days, so little was mentioned about it in the novel. Because nobody was curious about the childhood days of a villainess. One side ¨C just one side was dedicated to describe the hardships of the girl in her early days. The author preferred to elucidate the growth of the protagonist compared to the antagonist. Even on that one side, it was not completely about Claire. Not even a few pages long. Beth felt bitter thinking about how Claire¡¯s long sufferings were simply composed into a short description. A person¡¯s tragic past was briefly abbreviated into half a page. Even though Beth wanted to teach Claire right away after hearing the little miss¡¯s request, she was a girl who grew up in a remote village where the people didn¡¯t even know the name of the land they belonged to. The only means to earn money was to dig and sell herbs. Now that she reflected, the most promising and rich person was the old man who ran a small convenient store. It was a tough life in the village. Beth wanted to praise her past self yet she didn¡¯t have any past memories. How did she not think to run away from home after she lived in such an environment? In this world too existed books and one could obtain with hard means. But the problem was those places were not accessible to commoners. In short, it was the parents who usually taught the language to their children. One could usually get away without knowing it. So the people who lived a hard life didn¡¯t have much incentive to learn the language. I am also on the same boat. It would be nice to have a lot of money. It was Beth¡¯s dream to have a lot of money and then laze around without working. But maybe because Beth worked too hard in her previous life, she thought that it was good to live a life doing this job. The physical labour of a maid does not require one to learn how to read and write. Of course, there were numerous things that could be easily done if one knew to write. It doesn¡¯t mean that they will raise the wages. Since there was no pay raise, why should she learn? In the previous life, she died due to exhaustion. In this life, when she passed, she wished the reason would not be over exhaustion. Her sole aim was to enjoy a laborer¡¯s life¡­ Ding!~ A ¡°Welcome!¡± greeted her when she opened the door. She went to a bookstore in order to learn the language. There were many books in the Earl mansion. But if one was found reading, it would be hard to predict what will happen to that person. So, she decided to buy herself a book. Beth wasn¡¯t even sure she would find the book in the store, and her intuition was more inclined to the the fact there wouldn¡¯t be any. Her intuition turned out to be correct. If I got fired, who would take care of Claire? Beth strongly believed that small kids should be kept happy. ¡°Do you have a particular book that you are looking for?¡± ¡°Ooh, yes¡­¡± She wanted to say that she could find the book herself, but since she didn¡¯t know how to read, she couldn¡¯t say it. ¡°I would like to buy an alphabet book.¡± ¡°Oh, if that is so, then take that right and go for the second building. There will be the book you are looking for.¡± Beth ran towards the address after she gave a simple thank you. If it were her former life, when she saw an interesting title, she would have wanted to take a look, but now she couldn¡¯t even understand those titles. As if in my previous life, living was not that hard¡­.. Should I also read a book? In her former life, her hobby was to read romance novels. In her current life, would she also have drowned in books if she knew to read? Beth went to the place advised by the clerk and breathed in the smell of the books and started to fidget with them. A person who did not know how to read would not be able to tell if it was the book they need, just by turning the pages. ¡°You must be a teacher?¡± She heard the voice of a man. And it was not the hollow voice of the clerk. It was an unfamiliar and confident voice. The owner of the voice seemed to be handsome. Yes, that grand and magnificent voice should belong to a handsome guy. Beth turned her head to look at the person who struck up a conversation with her. His dark hair was very prominent and when one looked closely, as the sun rays passed through it, it felt as though one was looking at the night sky. Sharply raised cat eyes, slightly curved lips and a strong body. Everyone who saw this man would agree that he was charming and attractive. Beth felt her nerves were stimulated after she saw his eyes. The eye colour was similar to Claire¡¯s. This man had cyan colored pupils. Even though it wasn¡¯t as wonderful as Claire¡¯s, it was without doubt, very charming. Even though she liked his eyes, she had no plans to get to know him better. Beth turned her head back and acted as though she wasn¡¯t asked a question. Even though her attention was clearly on the book, the guy stubbornly stayed beside her. What the hell, was this a new type of swindler? She immediately thought of the frauds that frequented the inn, back when she worked there. Beth had never imagined that one day she would meet a swindler that was as handsome as the man in front of her. ¡°I don¡¯t have any money with me,¡± she said resolutely, as she moved her eyes away from the book. After he had heard what she said, the man tilted as he understood something and laughed loudly. ¡°Hahhahha, I am not here to ask for money.¡± ¡°Just to be clear, I don¡¯t have money.¡± ¡°Then what about time? Do you have time to spare?¡± Such a stubborn man, hmm? He looked down at her as he tilted his arms together and blocked Beth between them. If it were any other woman, they would not hesitate to make time but she had no such intention to do so. ¡°Those who don¡¯t have money, also lack time.¡± Beth had important work at hand. Her mission, which was her number one priority, was to change the destiny of Claire who was ignored by her family. The man who asked for her time did not do so because he liked her ¨C rather it was just another trick these habitual frauds usually used to lure people in. Unlike her cheap clothes, he was adorned in custom-made clothing which were made only in expensive stores. He was obviously a person with means so why the hell would he try to seduce her? Even though Beth could be counted as a beauty in a village, but here in the county of the Earl, she was nothing but ordinary. Beth was sure that the guy was trying to get her only because he was sure that Beth was a country bumpkin and an easy catch. ¡°Then what about the name? We may meet again.¡± ¡°My name¡­,¡± Beth paused and closed the book she was looking into. This book seemed good enough and could be bought,¡±¡­I forgot my name this morning.¡± Saying this, she ducked beneath his arms and left behind the swindler. 1It literally means sore finger/painful finger. This is an expression to say that ¡®it pains the parent when their child is in pain, because every child is dear to their parent. 2A positive quality. Beth thinks that way since Claire is the antagonist and should be powerful enough to go against heaven¡¯s favorite protagonist. Chapter 3 Raw provider: Tsalispark Translator: Rhyme Editor: SilverAndGold Beth didn¡¯t seem to know how charming she was ¨C but the people around her did. Even though she was not someone with overwhelming beauty, her bright aura drew the attention of others. Beth had ivory skin, which didn¡¯t fall in line with her occupation ¨C a maid, who does physical labour. Her hair was tied together neatly and peeked out from behind her slender neck. There were some small hair strands that fell out from the knot ¨C this added to her charm. She was neither exceedingly courteous, nor was she concerned about the view of others, but this didn¡¯t mean that she would derail from her morality. She did what needed to be done and had a grip over her emotions. Julia felt Beth was on a different level than her. ¡°Beth! If you are free this weekend, we can go to the theat- ¡° ¡± ¨C I don¡¯t have money to buy the tickets for the theatre,¡± Beth quickly interrupted. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I also have ¨C ¡° ¡± ¨C I also don¡¯t have time to spare.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°And also, why are you speaking to me informally? We are not acquaintances.¡± Today as she returned, a gardener ran towards her as he abandoned his work and acted very coy and pitiful towards Beth, but he was quickly shut down by Beth. Beth brought the items in her arms closer to her chest. Usually, most of it was food which had a long shelf life, but this time, besides those, she bought other things. Julia ran to Beth the moment she saw her. She took the small bundle Beth held. Julia said as she opened the bundle, ¡°Ah¡­What a waste. Tom was really popular.¡± ¡°Tom¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s that guy!,¡±Julia said as she pointed towards the gardener who had just approached Beth. All of the servants pitied Tom. He got dumped recently and had been whimpering to everyone about it. Almost all maids had been consoling him. Julia consoled him secretly. ¡°Aaahh¡­. I see.¡± Though she just found out his name, it was obvious that Beth would forget it in less than 10 minutes, based on her expression. In Julia¡¯s eyes, Beth was such a person. ¡°Beth, do you have any plans to date in the near future?¡± ¡°No.¡± The answer was quick. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Just¡­.¡± Beth paused to think of an answer, but it looked like she was making up excuses . She finally opened her mouth. ¡°It costs money and it costs time¡­.uh ¨C dating also needs patience? To split working hours just to meet someone, a waste of time¡­..¡± Don¡¯t know why I am even talking to her about this. Julia said inwardly as she laughed on the outside. Julia didn¡¯t even vomit1 because of Beth¡¯s words ¨C she had gotten used to her personality. She laughed again and helped her carry the bundle to their dorm. Beth tucked some items to a far corner of her bed and started to sort the rest of the items. Beth started to talk as she thought of something. ¡°I met a swindler today.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Whaaatttt???¡± ¡°How dare he, towards our2 Beth!?!¡± ¡°Why am I your Beth?¡± She had only said this to Julia but heard the voices of the other dorm mates ¨C Beth was under the impression that it was only the two of them there. Catherine and Anne. One woke up all puffed up from bed from one bed and the other rolled up the bed curtains and jumped out of the other one. ¡°You were not swindled!¡± ¡°With Beth¡¯s character, it is impossible to swindle her. ¡° With the topic of the swindler, everyone gathered around Beth¡¯s bed. Anne took out a tin can full of cookies, from her bed corner. Catherine looked at it and blinked slowly. ¡°The cookies look really expensive!¡± ¡°Yes! I haven¡¯t even seen this type of cookie being sold in the markets!¡± ¡°Ah¡­this is the advantage of being the maid in charge of the kitchens. Today, the master had dinner along with the whole family. ¡° ¡°Yes. Today was family dinner day.¡± ¡°This wasn¡¯t why I asked you to return early!¡± These people, the Earl¡¯s family, huddled together, were not pleasant3 to watch. Even though her throat was filled to the brim with spiteful words about their cruelty and to her, they were akin to cockroaches ¨C yet, they were still her employers. They were nobles and she was only a commoner. With this, she stuffed a cookie into her mouth. ¡°Beth might not have known this since she took leave for half a day.¡± Dry fruits were embedded into the cookies and were really tasty. Beth and her maid-mates ate them with relish and loud crunching noises. Beth suddenly thought Claire would have enjoyed these cookies. According to Claire¡¯s personality, she loved sweets, but didn¡¯t have an opportunity to enjoy them because she lived fully neglected. There was even an episode where Cecil used it for her gain against Claire ¨C that was the start of numerous cider episodes. ¡°So, how did that fraud look?¡± ¡°¡­.haa?¡± All of a sudden, the conversation went back to the swindler. ¡°There are many swindlers who try to lure women from the countryside. Was the guy Beth met one of them?¡± ¡°I guessed as much. But it¡¯s only been a short while since I came to this place ¨C how could he have possibly known where I was from?¡± ¡°These swindlers have all sorts of tricks to fish out information about people.¡± ¡°Tricks?¡± Everyone laughed loudly at this except for Beth ¨C she calmly looked at them. ¡°Well, was the swindler good looking?¡± ¡°Handsome.¡± The maids who had just laughed turned completely silent with that one word from Beth. Hand¡­ Handsome? Beth had seen many men in this one week and whenever she was asked if the guy was handsome, she never had any response. ¡°Handsome?!?¡± they exclaimed out loud. Beth ¨C a person who couldn¡¯t even remember the name of the gentle and likeable Tom ¨C thought this swindler was handsome. They were stunned to hear that the first impression Beth had of that fraud was handsome. This guy must possess beauty blessed by the heavens. ¡°Then?¡± ¡°His aura was very alluring. I would have never guessed that these days, swindlers paid attention to maintaining their face.¡± There really was such a thing. ¡°Sometimes, the head maid reads the newspaper out loud and there was always news about men like them,¡± said Catherine. ¡°A noble wife lost about half of her assets because she was swindled by a handsome guy.¡± But I don¡¯t have any wealth. (E/N: Maybe he really likes you Beth keke~) Though she was not wealthy, Beth had an amazing figure ¨C at least, that was what people had said. But Beth thought it was better to have money than looks. The maids begged her to say more, but Beth stayed completely silent. This was because she had nothing more to say and was a little annoyed. If she added more, then a tale about the encounter would be woven with details that never happened. Just like that, the conversation came to a close and everyone got ready for bed. They were all very tired from working, and soon, snoring sounds could be heard in the room. When Beth confirmed that everyone was fast asleep, she lit a candle. With the curtain closed, a large shadow could be seen. Let¡¯s see. . . It has been years since she last studied. And above all, she never imagined that one day she would willingly want to learn how to read and write at the age of 17. It was virtually impossible for Beth to hire a home tutor for Claire. So, the responsibility to take over Claire¡¯s studies fell onto Beth¡¯s head. Though Claire only wanted to learn to write, Beth planned to teach her beyond the ability to just read and write. Cecil was possessed by the transmigrated heroine after she was 8 years old. In two years, drastic events would take place which would change Claire¡¯s life forever. This meant that Beth had to change everything within this time frame. Maybe she was blessed after being reborn or her original brain was well developed ¨C she learned the alphabet quickly. Within a day, she was able to read simple paragraphs. It is difficult to form sentences by myself. Even though Beth studied for the whole night, she wasn¡¯t tired. In her previous life, she could count the days where she had a night of blissful sleep on one hand ¨C there was rarely a day when she did not do an all-nighter. When the sun peeked through the sky, her maid-mates who got ready to leave for work, gathered for breakfast. Instead of joining them, Beth packed up some of the items she brought and walked towards the tower. She heard the sound of the soldiers as they trained in the Earl Mansion. They really worked hard from dawn to dusk. How many enemies did Earl Gordon even have to raise such a troop? The number of servants in the mansion totaled less than these troops, but the troops¡¯ pay was much higher. Tsk~ she thought as she entered Claire¡¯s room. Beth felt that her pay was not enough. As a worker for an aristocratic family, eight silver was next to nothing. These employers4 exploited the employees as they made them work overtime for little extra pay. In short, those who wanted more money were the ones who did more work. She set down the items and gave some food to Claire, who greeted her with a small smile. In Beth¡¯s dictionary, for those who resort to young people for labor, like the Earl family, even if they paid 20 silver a day, they should consider themselves as assholes. No, they are assholes. ¡°Hmph¡­¡­ bastards.¡± ¡°wh¡­.. what?,¡± ¡°Nothing at all, Miss. Chew it properly and eat slowly.¡± She seemed to have cursed out loud as she unconsciously thought about those bastards that she hadn¡¯t even met in person. Beth schooled her expression into a smile and showed a small face. Claire must have also felt the mood relax as she had smiled alongside her. ¡°Beth¡­. you have many facial expressions.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Beth didn¡¯t realize that she had reserved most of her facial expressions that revealed her inner thoughts, only for Claire. ¡°Mmm. . .hm. . .¡± Claire, who didn¡¯t understand what Beth meant by that, happily wiggled the bread in her hand. It would have been nice, if Beth was my family¡­ If there was no Beth, then for the next couple of years, the only feeling Claire would have known would be anger and loneliness. Earl and Countess always carried an angry expression around Claire and the young master treated Claire as if she did not exist. The maids looked at Claire with cold eyes ¨C the only exceptions were the maids who shared a room with Beth. Claire could only love Beth, who appeared in front of her like an angel just a week ago. Claire smiled softly towards Beth, who currently wrote alphabet letters on an empty piece of paper with a coal pencil. Beth did not gain anything by being nice to her ¨C Claire did not understand why this maid was nice to her. It would have been nice if Beth were her mother. Claire was a noble, but if she could live with Beth ¨C she had no need for such status. ¡°Miss, you will be happy.¡± ¡°When will that happen?¡± Beth had been born poor but it was different in Claire¡¯s case. So she should be as happy as she can possibly be. 1 Vomit here is similar to the expression ¡°Vomit Blood¡± because of anger. 2 In Korean, it¡¯s very common to use the term ?? ¡®uri¡¯ , which means our we ourselves etc. When the term is used before the name of a person or thing, it emphasizes the intimacy of the speaker towards the person or thing. 3The expression is ?? ???? ¡®mwoga-yeppeudago¡¯. This phrase is taunting the object matter. They mean similar to ¡®what good they have¡¯ kinda phrase. 4 Here the Employer refers to the middlemen, like supervisors or managers. Chapter 4 Raw provider: Tsalispark Translator: Rhyme Editor: SilverAndGold ¡°Miss, do you remember the words I had said before I left yesterday?¡± ¡°¡®One should not believe in the sweet words of men!¡¯¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! My miss is really smart.¡± Beth showed a gratifying smile as she washed Claire¡¯s hair with lukewarm water. It was a Herculean job to carry water to the top of the tower, but after she saw the dirt and grime wash away to reveal beautiful, blonde hair, Beth felt all the stuffiness from the hard work wash away. Beth struggled very hard to completely unroot the death flag from her young miss, Claire. According to Beth, the male protagonist of the novel The Villainess Changes her Destiny, Arthur Brick Inomore was even more of a scumbag than Earl Gordon. If she ever had the chance to meet him in the future, Beth really wanted to hit his head with a stone. He is a dark hearted bastard, who seduced young Claire and made her crazy in love with him. But when he saw Cecil, he flirted with her in front of Claire and left Claire without any hesitation. If Beth were to say aloud what was in her head at the moment, then without a doubt, she would be beheaded for blasphemy against the royal family. But fortunately, she was someone who was very adept at hiding her thoughts. In front of others, she always had an expressionless face. According to the original plot of the story, after 2 years, Claire would sneak out of Earl Mansion to take part in ¡®Dior¡¯s Festival¡¯ which took place in the Fall of every year. There she would meet Arthur and fall in love with him. This was not the problem. The problem came after she fell in love. Arthur fell for her at first sight and promised to make her his bride. For Claire who grew up being ignored, Arthur was a godsend and would anything to be beside him. At that time, Claire realized that if she were to return to Earl Mansion, then it would be impossible for her to be with him and would not do justice to the relationship. She abandoned all sorts of lingering feelings towards her ¡®Home¡¯ and set it ablaze. Seeing her home raging in fire, she felt joy inside. Seeing those from the mansion howling of agony because of what she had done, Claire felt the addictiveness of power for the first time. Earl Gordon escaped from that fire within an inch of his life and after he saw the fake tears that Claire had shed, he realized that Claire was his only remaining kin. He promised her that he would try to at least act as a good father to her from then on. Damn that Father. He is not even my real dad. In the novel after that fire incident, she became a protagonist with a good father-daughter relationship with the Earl. In the meantime, Cecil collected more information about Claire in order to counterattack her which gave the novel a disastrous twist. In truth, it would be cheap to kill them. The death of those bastards was not enough. The employees who got caught up in the fire should be pitied, because they became pawns in a game that Claire started ¨C even if they didn¡¯t want to be in one. In the novel, Claire was meant to be a demon who would smile at the screams she heard from people in the mansion. But weren¡¯t the people of the mansion who made this small child turn into a demon? Each and every one of them ignored Claire and treated her as scum. Beth delightedly looked at the shiny blonde hair that she had trimmed. That fire incident should not happen through Claire¡¯s hands. In truth, if things were not related to Claire, Beth was not concerned about it. Whatever happens¡­.. Beth gently bit her lips as she dried Claire¡¯s hair with a dry but rough towel. ¡°Even if the guy is a charming prince that you are attracted to at first sight, you should meet him at least three times before you solidify his personality.¡± ¡°Mm, I got it.¡± Claire said absentmindedly. ¡°If your heart beats faster, you have to confirm whether it¡¯s because of attraction or fear. ¡° ¡°Mm!¡± Claire answered Beth with more strength than usual. Beth thought it must be because Claire was given more food and no longer felt weak. What should be the next step? Right now she would have to make sure that the people in the Earl mansion wouldn¡¯t be abusive towards Claire as this was an important factor in order to uproot the death flag from Claire. Beth never cared about the survival of Earl mansion, but if Claire started to do evil deeds, it would be a one-way ticket towards the death flag. It was a fact that no one would listen to the words of a maid. Fortunately, Beth was a reader who transmigrated with only the extras left to read, thus she was aware of how things would happen in the future. Beth suddenly thought of the newspaper that the head maid was reading when Beth went to ask for a half day. Beth¡¯s eyes glistened with a flash. ¡°Beth?¡± ¡°Miss, do you like sweet treats?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Claire had never tasted sweet food so she wasn¡¯t sure if she would like them or not. As if she had expected her answer, Beth took out a small bottle that was hidden at the bottom of the basket. She handed it to Claire. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Candies, Miss.¡± It was not the expensive candy that was favored by aristocrats. Even though the sour, fruit flavored candy was not expensive, the sugar used to make was of good quality. Not expensive didn¡¯t mean that the candies were cheap for Beth ¨C she had to pay a hefty price for them. Sugar was still very expensive. This was also the reason why she couldn¡¯t buy many sweets for Claire. She had to set aside money little by little, to buy this candy. Beth was unable to be with Claire all day long, so she wanted to buy a doll for Claire. But a doll would be easily found by others. She bought candies because it was easier to preserve than other sugary foods which go bad in a short time. Beth said to Claire with a soft smile. ¡°I may not come to you for a long time because I would be busy from work. Whenever you miss me, eat a piece of candy. Understand?¡± ¡°Mm¡­..¡± Beth hugged Claire who looked at her with anxious eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll return for sure.¡± * * * In order to stay out at night one had to submit an application for it, but still they were not allowed out till sunrise. It was a little inconvenient, but Beth was accustomed to sleepless nights. Whenever she thought about leaving behind this fucked up Earl mansion, she unknowingly became excited. Although they were her employers, she was devoid of even 1% of good will towards them. It was more true to say that she was loyal to her earnings. There was no streetlight on the street. Other than lit up bars and inns, the street was covered in silence. Holding the mechanical light she borrowed from the head maid, she walked through the streets. Why did the Head Maid¡¯s eyes become moist when she gave me the light? She never really understood the inner thoughts of the head maid. Beth shook her head. The small light lit up the path for Beth. Beth didn¡¯t want the people of Earl mansion to know her whereabouts, so she only lit the light when she was further away from the Mansion. There was no light around her. She liked the silence of the shadows of the night. She silently arrived at the post box. Beth gave a soft smile when she dropped a letter into the box. ¡°What a coincidence!¡± Her smile instantly faded. Beth had not forgotten that handsome and attractive voice she was familiar with. Beth turned around and saw a familiar man as he stood behind Beth and watched her with a gentle smile. ¡°How long have you been standing here?¡± Beth asked. ¡°How long do you wish that I was standing here?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t joke around.¡± ¡°Not been long. Just¡­ I might be fascinated by a woman who stands alone in a dark place without any light, even though she was holding a mechanical light.¡± ¡°The light was put out by the wind.¡± It was a nonsensical lie but she still had a very confident expression when she said it. This was a mechanical lamp which wouldn¡¯t be affected by the wind. The man ignored the blatant lie and peered at the letter but couldn¡¯t find to whom she was sending the letter to. ¡°Letter?¡± ¡°Yes, my friend asked me to send a secret, love letter in lieu of her.¡± ¡°Hmmm~¡± It didn¡¯t seem as if he believed her words. But this was none of her concern. She only wished to get rid of the flamboyant swindler that stood in front of her. ¡°Miss do you have anyone you adore?¡± ¡°I hate people.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Miss also a person?¡± ¡°I hate myself too.¡± As he heard this, he threw back his head and laughed loudly. Beth paid no attention to him and headed towards the inn. When he saw her walk away, he quickly followed her with hurried steps. ¡°Miss¡­ Miss¡­ This time at night is quite dangerous ¨C why did you come out? Do you intend to meet someone?¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t matter to you who I meet and when I meet them. And also, why are you calling me Miss? It sounds awful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you didn¡¯t disclose your name when we had first met. I have no other way to address you than Miss.¡± ¡°Hmph¡­Since you don¡¯t know my name, don¡¯t bother to call me.¡± Since Beth showed no signs of stopping, he walked ahead of her a few steps and blocked her path. Beth looked up towards the man who was in her way and smirked. ¡°Isn¡¯t it reasonable to disclose your own name before asking another their name?¡± ¡°Is that so? Then I will give you my name. My name is¡­. Kedrick.¡± ¡°You hesitated there.¡± ¡°I forgot my name in the morning and I have only managed to remember it now~.¡± It was obvious that he was lying. He brilliantly repeated the words Beth said when they met earlier and satirized her. It¡¯s highly probable that the name he gave is fake. ¡°What is Miss called?¡± ¡°Julia.¡± Beth said her friend¡¯s name without hesitation. ¡°Julia, it¡¯s destiny to meet again like this. Do you mind having a glass with me? I¡¯ll buy.¡± ¡°I wish to end this coincidental meeting and head my own way.¡± She drew an invisible barrier between them with an innocent face and walked around the swindler towards her destination. Beth was quite rude with her words. She understood it herself but it still was none of her business. He was a swindler. A very obnoxious and persistent one at that. He was a swindler who deceived men and women alike with his handsome face and fake, charming personality. Other than to swindle her, there was no other reason for him to approach her. After she confirmed that he had not followed her, she walked towards the noisy inn. Beth never noticed a man, enveloped in the darkness of the night, who stared at her without blinking. In next week¡¯s edition of Pisca Weekly Magazine, appeared an article which broke down the seemingly calm Earl Mansion and set it on fire. Chapter 5 The Beautiful Child Hidden by Earl Gordon and Her Secret Birth Last week, Pisca Weekly Magazine obtained an anonymous tip with information. According to the informer, in the Gordon family, there is a beautiful little girl but her existence is unknown to the world. The reason behind the secrecy is ¨C Earl Gordon¡¯s hands trembled as he held on to the Pisca Weekly edition. He wanted to know who would do such a terrible thing. He called out to the head maid who had gone to buy the weekly at the bookstore. ¡°Do any of the maids who are assigned to that thing know to write?¡± ¡°To my information there are none, Elder Master.¡± ¡°Also, among the maids, there are none who took long term leave.¡± she added. Pisca Weekly Magazine had many branches in several regions but none were in the vicinity of Earl Gordon. The nearest branch was in the Fief of Baron Hyde. So if one wanted to report a tip in person, they would need at least 3 days of leave. Claire lived secretly in the mansion for years and something like this had never happened. No one even talked about her existence. Which desirous thing did this¡­. When one saw Claire, they would assume that she was the illegitimate daughter of Earl Gordon. He felt relieved with the fact that the truth of her birth was not revealed completely. Then, his face paled again as he thought about the Emperor¡¯s reaction when he would hear this news. Earl Gordon raised his head with clenched teeth and said to the head maid. ¡°Bring all the maids who were recently recruited.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± The soldiers escorted a total of 12 maids into the office. Four maids were recruited for three months and eight of them were recruited for one month. Unlike the anxious faces of eleven people, Beth had a calm expression on her face, since she had already expected that the Earl would call upon the maids. ¡°The reason why I called, you all should know.¡± The Earl stared at the twelve maids with cold eyes. Even if they didn¡¯t know how to read or write, they still knew the reason behind their summons. It was because some maid who was close to the head maid spread the rumor. Earl suspected that one of the maids that stood in front of him was the culprit who informed the news to Pisca Weekly. Though he was spot on with his suspicion, he would never have expected that the real culprit would stand straight shamelessly with an innocent look. ¡°If you are to confess now, then I will at least spare your life.¡± Such a white lie. Beth scoffed in mind and raised her hand. Julia, Anne and Catherine who stood beside her looked at her with bulging eyes. The head maid who stood far away looked at her with surprise. Even Tom who was behind her was stunned. The Earl¡¯s face was flushed red as he glared at the culprit with anger. But before he could even open his mouth, Beth beat him as she spoke first. ¡°Before any accusations are made, am I allowed to inquire about something?¡± When the earl didn¡¯t object, she continued. ¡°First of all, I am not the one who published the abusive article on Pisca Weekly.¡± Beth didn¡¯t include that Claire was the said child in the abusive article. ¡°I swear upon God that this is the truth.¡± Beth was an atheist. Earl stared at Beth as he barely covered the anger in his eyes. He made a hand gesture towards her as he gave her the permission to ask. But inside he thought, what can a low-born bitch like her ask for? Even after receiving his permission, she looked at her co-workers and stood there without saying a word. ¡°Is it something you can¡¯t say before others?¡± ¡°Yes, what if this also becomes another rumor? As a lowly person myself, how will I dare to speak up before such a big audience? It is possible that it could reach the person who dared to backstab the respectful Earl.¡± These were the shameless words from the same person who wanted to insert a knife on his back. ¡°Respectable Earl, Beth is the most reliable person among the newly hired. It may not be bad to give your ears to her words.¡± The Head Maid, who had a good impression of Beth, also put in a word to Beth¡¯s aid. The head maid was someone the Earl trusted the most amongst his employees and thus listened to her words. After he heard her words, he dismissed the other maids. The Earl, who sat on the sofa, gestured towards Beth for her to sit across from him. ¡°Sit there.¡± In usual circumstances, this was not a place where a maid could sit. Beth saluted him and sat down. ¡°So, what is it that you want to talk about?¡± ¡°First and foremost, I am of no help in the matter of the harsh news published on Pisca Weekly.¡± It was something that only the real culprit was aware of and Beth was not stupid enough to confess it herself and get caught. ¡°But I can help you take care of this issue.¡± ¡°Huh¡­Is that so?¡± Yes, the reason why the respectable Earl was discontent about the gossip which spread far and wide was because of His Majesty, The King¡­ Thomas Basil Inomore. The current King hated the concept of the Concubine. In the reign of the previous King, other than the Empress, there were at least 10 concubines in the palace. The Harem Palace was splendid in looks compared to the palace of Empress. The Empress was only favored by a small number of people, so Thomas had a lot of threats before he became the King. After he ascended the throne, he left the concubines and their children alone. But later he came to know that one of those illegitimate children had prepared a rebellion. After that Thomas¡¯s goal was, in simple words, to kill all those women and the illegitimate children with the blood of the previous king. ¡°It is like this¡­ Sir, you may suspect how a new maid like me is aware of such information, correct? ¡°I used to work at an inn. There, I heard something like this from the gathered customers.¡± This was a fib. She just repeated word for word what was written in the original novel. ¡°The inn is a place where rumors and gossip are abundant.¡± The rumors really did fly at the inn, but Beth never had even a little bit of interest in them. Strictly speaking, she was mostly unaware of what happened around her. For the aristocratic government officials, it was a common occurance to have illegitimate children. This was something that the current King very much hated and thus only had one woman by his side ¨C the Empress. Even though he hated this practice ¨C there was still no particular law against having illegitimate children. This achievement was the work of Arthur and Cecil. Earl Gordon had always wanted to attain the King¡¯s attention, so he didn¡¯t want the King to hear such rumors. But unfortunately for him, the current King was someone who was very concerned about his courtiers so he must have already been privy to the news. Beth looked at the restless person before her. ¡°Since the Pisca Weekly published news regarding Miss, by now the other newspapers and weeklies must also be considering publishing the news. So in a time like this, what is most appropriate for my master to do is start with admitting the fact of having a hidden child.¡± ¡°You want me to admit having an illegitimate child?¡± She is not an illegitimate child though. Beth became tongue-tied because of stupidity and shamelessness of the person in front of her. He truly was stupid. How? How could this a stupid person maintain a proper family? ¡°Not at all. Master can state that she is your child but couldn¡¯t show her face to the public because of her weak health. Just grant the top floor of the tower to Miss.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°If you were to buy new products, the record would be left behind and it would be easy to follow the lead. You can select usable and quality goods among the discarded goods in the store house. They can be sent to the top floor. Even if the things are expensive, would a child like her be able to use them?¡± Beth smiled slightly. ¡°If Master can give that young child a little consideration now, she will feel grateful and follow your words as you wish.¡± She felt her words disgusting as she had become more attached to Claire as she took care of her for a month. She hated this mansion which harassed and abused Claire. Even if she criticized and lied to the Earl for the sake of the Claire, she felt disgusted. ¡°Please do consider this. The items that you give should be good ones ¨C especially ones that were not used by others or gifts from other nobles.¡± He was about to question her rude implications, but closed his mouth due to her deceptive words and cold gaze. Her light green eyes which didn¡¯t show any expression, persuaded him. Yes. Those eyes ¨C I¡¯ve seen them before. Long time ago, he had a chance to meet the Emperor in person. The Emperor was a man who patiently listened to the words of others and made wise decisions. Her eyes were just like his. Eyes which can make others believe easily. Beth¡¯s eyes revealed her thoughts, ¡®now what should I say to convince him? ¡® For the Emperor, he won¡¯t have such sympathy towards others ¨C especially those who had illegitimate children. ¡°I also have another proposal to present.¡± Beth looked at Earl with her back straight. From then onwards, for a time, Earl Mansion became noisy each daybreak. A small number of selected servants cleaned the dimly lit top floor of the tower and moved expensive goods to this floor. Though Beth was unable to look after Claire since she was assigned to supervise the work, still she was relieved. She could tell with one glance at the food that was now served to Claire that it had increased in quantity and quality. It took three whole days to finish the cleaning and move the items to the top floor. A large blanket made of golden thread was spread on the huge bed. Dolls, dresses, and fancy ornaments were on full display. In addition, there were a lot of expensive art pieces hung on the walls. Even Beth, who didn¡¯t even know a single thing about art, felt quite elated. This is good. Right now, Claire must have been attended to when she took a bath in the tower. Beth secretly transported some dresses which looked very beautiful. ¡°Oh¡­?¡± She heard a very familiar voice. As she pulled down the draped curtain, Beth slowly turned around. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss.¡± Seeing the maids behind her, Beth acted like she had met Claire for the first time. Claire looked at Beth with a panicked expression. Rather than the smiling face that Claire was accustomed to, Beth looked at Claire with a calm face. ¡°I am Beth, who from now on, I will be serving Miss.¡± * * * News spread very rapidly about the return of Claire to the Earl¡¯s Mansion. Though the Earl was unhappy about what had transpired, he thought about the greater good and gave a bright smile. ¡°Beth, right ¨C that girl has ambition.¡± He thought about Beth, who had opened her mouth for another proposal. It was nothing much ¨C she just recommended herself as the personal servant of Claire. He recalled what she had said. I am the one who shared this option with Master. Though Master has a bright mind, I can be of use to Master. How can you be so confident? Because I want to become rich ¨C more than anyone. The underlying meaning of her words was that he was a worthy master that she would be willing to serve wholeheartedly. This might have been because she was well aware that she wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve a higher position without the backing of a nobel ¨C like Earl Gordon. He found that he didn¡¯t have much repulsion towards that ambitious commoner who dared to make a deal with an aristocrat. ¡°She seems like a useful horse.¡± The Earl smiled brightly as he thought that he had struck a good bargain. But he was unaware of the actual situation ¨C he was being used by the girl he thought of as a bargain. Chapter 6 THE THREE INEVITABLE COINCIDENCES (3) Raw Provider: Tsalispark Translator: Rhyme Editor: SilverAndGold Beth promised Claire that she would come back for sure yet Claire felt anxious. She had lived alone for many years ¨C alone without any laughter or happiness. But after she spent only a month with Beth, she began to feel lonely again. Once she tasted the sweetness of Beth¡¯s company, she felt terribly lonely. She reminisced about their days together. ¡°Beth¡­.¡± Without any prior notice, the food that she was served completely changed from the usual. Before, she was provided with black bread or watery porridge with some veggie pieces. But now her diet changed to white bread or meat cut into bite size pieces ¨C even fresh salad was served. At first, when she was served with such extravagant food, she thought it was a mistake and acted as if she didn¡¯t see it, but the brusque maids informed her that the food was really meant for Claire. As if these anomalies were not enough, out of the blue one day, someone from the main house came to notify her that the Earl wish to see her. Instantly she was dragged into a bathtub which was then filled with such a high amount of perfume oil that her head started to hurt because of the smell. Unlike the gentle wipes provided by Beth, she was thoroughly washed ¨C albeit a bit roughly. She wore a beautiful, expensive dress for the first time. She had never, in her short life, worn something that was so fluffy. Unlike the narrow space she lived in before, she was welcomed into the mansion-like place where there was no corner that wasn¡¯t filled with expensive articles. Claire¡¯s eyes were wide open. The maids announced to her that the whole top floor was fully reserved for her and the room hidden by that large door would be her bedroom. She carefully opened that door ¨C ¡°Oh¡­..?¡± The Beth she hadn¡¯t seen for days was standing at the windowsill. Even with a back view, Claire was sure about the identity of the person in front of her. She felt as if they hadn¡¯t met for years. As she clenched onto her wobbly heart, Claire watched Beth with a piercing gaze. Beth turned around. ¡°Glad to make your acquaintance, Miss.¡± The words that came out of her mouth were something Claire had never expected. As if she had met a stranger, Beth¡¯s eyes were devoid of any emotion. She debated whether Beth forgot about her or the person before her was not Beth. Beth introduced herself to Claire. ¡°My name is Beth, who from now on will be serving Miss.¡± After her introduction, she looked towards the maids behind Claire. ¡°I will introduce the remaining to Miss. You guys can go back. ¡° After they heard Beth¡¯s words, the maids politely saluted towards Claire and left the room. As the sound of footsteps completely disappeared, Beth¡¯s blank expression disappeared into a beautiful smile towards Claire. ¡°Miss, have you been doing well?¡± ¡°Beth?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me!.¡± With an affectionate smile she knelt down and spread out her hands. Step by step Claire ran into those outstretched arms. ¡°Now the whole top floor is yours. I have prepared it for you. ¡° ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, I talked with the Elder Master. From now on, you will be able to walk down a flowery path without obstacles. ¡° Flowery Path ¨C Claire felt good when she heard it. But she had always wished for Beth to be by her side when that happened. Because without Beth, even the most beautiful flowery paths would only be lonely roads for her. ¡°You will be there to accompany me?¡± Claire turned her head with a concerned face towards Beth. ¡°That¡¯s for sure, Miss.¡± With a reassuring smile, she gently patted Claire¡¯s head. ¡°Miss, whatever happens, you must trust me.¡± Beth was confident that she could save Claire from any dangerous situation since there were no big changes to the story line. Almost all of the villain characters of the novel were foolish and compared to them, Beth was much more intelligent. ¡°If I am alive, then I promise I will always come to save you.¡± Though she was neither a magician nor a swordsman, she was someone who knew all the scenes of the novel. So all will be good. Beth placed Claire onto the bed and settled her into it. Though Claire was the owner of that fancy room, she darted her nervous eyes around, like a stranger. Beth gently petted such a small miss. ¡°Ah, did my father really say that I can take this room?¡± ¡°Yes, he did.¡± It was difficult to disclose the truth, that the Earl couple would always hate her and will be disgusted with her. And if Beth never came into her life, Claire¡¯s life was destined to be made difficult by the Earl couple and the maids. Claire, you are now being used by your own dear uncle. He stole all your rights. ¡°The Elder Master is very regretful about his actions towards you till now. He will even act the same as when you met him now. It¡¯s just that due to this long time, he is awkward.¡± It was hard to lie with open eyes. Whether Claire noticed or not, Beth¡¯s cheeks flushed with shame. ¡°Father¡­.¡± Beth felt her conscience hurt for the first time. Would lying to her be a good choice ¨C what would happen when Claire finds out the truth? Then she will kill the one who disclosed the truth. When she thought all these in the future, she could only see bleakness. Claire just watched Beth whose cheeks were dyed red. ¡°Be¡­.Beth what shell we do?¡± ¡°Do you have any worries?¡± Like she was about to say something big, Claire curled up her toes and said to Beth. ¡°I¡­ I wanted to give you something. But I left it where I used to live¡­. When the maids told me to follow, I couldn¡¯t take it with me¡­.¡± Claire always knew that Beth helped her without the knowledge of others. So she understood that, if any of the things brought by Beth were found by other maids, then Beth would be in great trouble. ¡°Then, shall I go to search for it?¡± ¡°Can, can you?¡± ¡°Where did you hide it?¡± ¡°Mm, below the first shelf on the right.¡± Beth saluted and left Claire after saying that she would return soon. Beth could find the route to the tower even with her eyes closed. As she thought that now she wouldn¡¯t need to go there anymore, Beth felt a little lost. Those moments could be considered a part of my memories in this journey. Now she knew that Claire wouldn¡¯t be living in this place, her heart didn¡¯t beat fast as she climbed the steps. She did not need to worry if Claire was cold on chilly days. She also didn¡¯t need to worry about her getting soaked from the rain or catching a fever ¨C even about her sleep. Will she be scared of the dark nights, bored in the long days? Beth now didn¡¯t need to worry about any of these factors. Crrrreeek. A rough sound was heard as she opened the door. ¡°Under the shelf¡­¡­. Under the shelf¡­..¡± What was it that Claire wanted to give to me? Would it be a letter written by the paper and pencils she bought for her before, was Miss so brilliant that she could even write a letter? With this train of thoughts, she inserted her hands under the shelf and searched for the gift. The thing she felt with her hands was not any paper rather a small and cold thing. ¡°.¡­.?¡± It was the candy tin that Beth gave to Claire. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Only one piece of candy remained in it. Claire said that she wanted to give something to Beth and Beth understood what this meant. The short period of time when Beth had left Claire, the child must have been frightened from the quietness. Claire only felt affection towards Beth. And because of it, she felt nervous about being abandoned by Beth. The last piece of candy was left for Beth. She missed Beth so much that she left that one candy to give it to Beth when she returned. She placed the one remaining piece into her mouth. The sweet and sour taste of candy made her dizzy. In truth, Beth didn¡¯t like sweets. Though she ate pie and cookies, the blatant sweetness of candies always made her frown. But at the moment, she slowly rolled and melted the candy in her mouth. She didn¡¯t even have a bad expression as she felt the affection of Claire from the candy. She slowly opened her eyes. If she had money or status, it would have been easier for her to help Claire. But for now, all she could do was to give Claire her little gifts and cheer up her mood. One of the only things that she could do in the light was just to buy those cheap candies for her. If truth be told, the reason why she decided to help Claire was because she felt shocked when she saw the little child being abused. Beth didn¡¯t care whether Claire became a Villainess or someone else. She wanted to make Claire¡¯s childhood days more meaningful and help her regain her rights. Beth let out a small gasp. Her mouth filled with sweetness. Beth felt that the road to happiness for Claire was too long for someone who didn¡¯t even know the reason why Beth decided to stay with her. She thought of leaving this place after some years. She would make her point clear to Claire that she would leave once and for all when Claire could wield the power in Earl mansion. Beth¡¯s reasoning was that, at that time there would be no need for Beth to be beside Claire. And how the rest of the story played out ¨C it would be none of her business. But now she felt all such thoughts disappear, like an eye of heaven. ¡°Beth! Did you find it?¡± Beth who returned with a heavy heart was welcomed with an expression that was full of expectations and worry on Claire. Beth raised her head with her usual expression. ¡°Yes. The candy miss left for me. It was very tasty.¡± ¡°Haha, since it was tasty, I thought you might also like to have a taste.¡± Claire who came close and snuggled in her arms ¨C Beth felt a heavy feeling in her heart again. If I didn¡¯t decide to change the story flow, I would¡¯ve known about what will happen in the near future. At least she knew when certain plot points would happen. In order to make Claire live a happy life, it would not be a problem for Beth, a character who never appeared in the story to stay beside Claire. Beth petted Claire¡¯s hair with care. ¡°It really was very tasty.¡± Beth began to wish for Claire to be the heroine. Chapter 7 THE THREE INEVITABLE COINCIDENCES (4) Raw Provider: Tsalispark Translator: Rhyme_Bean Editor: SilverAndGold A cozy outing of Earl Gordon and his daughter, an exclusive capture! An article was published in Pisca Weekly magazine. There was not a single person who was not stimulated by this article about the illegitimate child and the article had quite a big momentum. Mainly because of the manly Earl Gordon and the beautiful little Claire. Maybe because of the blood she inherited, she is quite pretty¡­. As the dirt from the discarded and locked up niece was washed away, she looked pretty. Sometimes, when he went to her in a drunken state, he only felt her as thin as a toothpick and not even worth a look. But now reevaluating those things, he felt a bit, a little bit, sorry. If she were his real daughter, then she would have been a pearl on the palm of his hands¡­ it should have been that way. It had been two weeks since Claire returned to the Earl mansion. Her cheeks became more chubby and her hair more strong. Though she was subjected to the displeasure of the countess, there was no expression of it. He smiled slightly, happily seeing Claire play with Beth outside the window. When he saw her beauty, he felt that it was no loss to raise her and marry her into nobility. He thought, if he was to raise her locked up, then her value might not have been high. His eyes travelled towards Beth. A maid with good brains. Beth went to him, the day before to request for two things. To provide Beth with beautiful dresses and her own personal guards. Right now the news about the Earl family must have already reached His Majesty¡¯s ears. He might even dispatch someone to the mansion. To profit from this, it¡®ll be good to arrange a party. Party¡­. Yes, through this, the news of Miss¡¯ improved health can be spread. This can directly dissuade the ludicrous statements that have been spread. When inviting a party designer, it will be better to look for a light lipped person. A light lipped person can be assigned the arrangements of party dresses whereas a tight lipped person can be assigned to make casual wears. After a while, a famous Designer from April Workshop and an obscure designer would arrive. When the light lipped designer was chosen, Beth was the one to put forward a recommendation for the tight lipped obscure designer- a woman. It will not be much to hire this person. With all due respect, for a pseudo Miss, an expensive dress is not needed. He quite liked those words. Because it showed what sort of person Beth was. To specify it, he thought that he comprehended her with those words. Beth already knew that the Elder Master stared at her. She also knew about his satisfied look whenever he saw Claire and his conceited looks towards her as if he completely figured out Beth. ¡° Beth, Beth look there! The flower is beautiful.¡± ¡°Yes~ I can see it.¡± Claire snapped a bunch of them for Beth. In Beth¡¯s eyes, Claire was more beautiful than any of those beautiful flowers. She was very happy and thought about Claire being able to enjoy the outside world even before the time depicted in the original work. ¡°Miss Claire, the guest will arrive in a moment.¡± The Butler called out towards Claire who had been enjoying her walk with Beth. Claire stretched out her hands and held onto Beth tightly and looked up at her. The meaning was clear, that she wanted to go in with Beth. With a slight smile she directly hugged her. Very light. She ate a lot more in these two weeks but she still needed to eat more. ¡°Will you lead us towards the guest room? I will move the Miss.¡± The guest room was arranged with a long sofa and a short sofa. Refreshments for the guests were also in place. But as the guests were someone who came to prepare dresses for them, they wouldn¡¯t dare to eat any of those refreshments. Beth settled the Miss on the long sofa and stood beside her. ¡°Beth won¡¯t sit?¡± Claire looked back at her. ¡°I am a maid, I have to stand as I am in my working hours.¡± Beth said lightheartedly. When she heard this, Claire turned back with a lost expression. With an announcement about the arrival of guests, the door opened. ¡°Hello~!This is Second-in Designer of April Workshop, Cheryl~.¡± She was a lady with a friendly and bright personality. She wore a very brilliant dress. Beth looked towards that lady with a blank expression. Actually, she didn¡¯t care whether she was a second-in or a top designer. What really mattered was whether her mouth was tight or loose. ¡°Phew, was I late? I had a delivery in an aristocratic family which was reserved for some time~ that person is one of our regular customers~ this time her hip was increased by two inches~ but she was adamant saying that her size was always the same~ how can a person increase one¡¯s hip size all of a sudden? Mrs. Pity¡­ she always acts like this.¡± Her mouth seemed to be as light as a feather. Looking at the woman disclosing all her customers¡¯ secrets to the Miss and her maid, Beth felt that her credibility was really an eye opener. She really is light lipped. Cheryl looked towards Claire who was going to be her customer. ¡°OH MY OH MY! Isn¡¯t it this the famous Miss who appeared in Pisca weekly magazine~?¡± ¡°Pisca weekly magazine?¡± ¡°It seems that the rumors praising Miss¡¯s beauty were true.¡± When she realized that Cheryl had deliberately avoided the term ¡®Illegitimate Child¡¯, Beth showed a soft smile. ¡°The press is just like that. Our Miss is so pretty and that¡¯s why such a rumor is spreading around. Her beauty is really a rare one which can make everyone on the street glance at her,¡± Beth said to Cheryl as if Claire had never been an illegitimate child. ¡°That¡¯s right~ In my case too? I am so wronged. People say that I am light lipped~ These types of talks behind one¡¯s back become rumors? It seems like the destiny of talented people is to become lonely.¡± No, It¡¯s not a rumor, rather a fact¡­ Beth just looked at Cheryl with her usual dull expression. ¡°Actually it¡¯s a secret, Miss Cheryl.¡± ¡°Just call me Cheryl~.¡± ¡°Yes, Cheryl¡­¡± Beth deliberately made a sorrowful expression and moved closer to Cheryl. In a low voice she whispered. ¡°In truth, our miss is pale because her body is not good¡­ For many years she couldn¡¯t appear in front of others. Since birth, she has been very weak, some people even said our Miss woudn¡¯t live long. You know how the aristocrats with weak bodies are treated.¡± ¡°I know, I know.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why our Miss and Elder Master got into the whirlpool of scandal, if not for it, she should have lived a carefully hidden life. Who on earth, such a damned person could accuse Miss as an illegitimate child?¡­. Really, I was so shocked. Our Elder Master is a person with a clear integrity and clean conscience. He is also very good to our gold like Madam¡­¡± Beth didn¡¯t even bat an eye when she talked about the ¡®damned person¡¯. ¡°When the news about the illegitimate child was released, all the maids working at the Gordon Mansion were thoroughly checked. No one knows how much our Elder master sacrificed and suffered for our Miss. Even a week wouldn¡¯t be enough time to describe how much the Earl Master dotes on our Miss¡­ He is even throwing a party to celebrate since Miss¡¯s body is getting better! Hearing such ludicrous news, our miss even became sick again. Phew¡­ At that time the elder Master was so angry, even thinking about it¡­..¡± Beth realized that she was really good at lying and brilliant in making up stories ¨C more than she had expected. ¡°So please don¡¯t even say ¡®ill¡¯ of an illegitimate child in front of our Miss¡­ such a bad world where nothing can stay hidden from a young person. Yes¡­?¡± Beth wiped the non-existent tears that she had squeezed out with her handkerchief. To her regret, the handkerchief wasn¡¯t even damp. But still, with her crocodile tears and acting, Cheryl had already wiped her eyes. Rich in sensitivity. Beth¡¯s emotions were dried up except for Claire. So she silently watched Cheryl who became very emotional ¨C more than she had previously thought. Claire was unaware about the conversation of the two adults in front of her. She keenly watched their actions as she twirled her fingers in both hands. Cheryl looked towards Claire as she suppressed her cries. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Young Miss. I will glam up Miss to become the most beautiful person before all!¡± ¡°Th¡­.Thank you¡­.¡± ¡°Whoever sees you, their eyes will for sure follow you!¡± Before she heard Beth¡¯s explanation, Claire was just an honorable, but blindingly beautiful conversational subject. But after she heard such a heart-wrenching story, which couldn¡¯t be listened to without tearing up, Cheryl¡¯s brain started to create beautiful and rich designs. ¡°This second-in designer Cheryl, promises to pull out the most beautiful design for you!¡± ¡°What about the samples you brought?¡± Beth said as she looked towards the dresses which were shoved towards the gasping assistants behind Cheryl. She didn¡¯t know their identities but their blackened eyes clearly showed how much they suffered. ¡°These dresses are already out! We need to make a new dress! Something that no one has worn before¡­! That kind of lovely dress!¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Do you have any sort of questions?¡± ¡°No, nothing.¡± When Cheryl said that all the samples were out, the uncertainty of the assistants standing behind her faded. That is the life of someone having a boss. If their boss was a noisy person, then they wouldn¡¯t have peace of mind throughout the journey. Beth expressed her condolences towards their silent lives. ¡°Young Miss¡¯s eyes! Eyes like opal are said to be inspirational to the artists all over! Ah ha~ I need to ignite my artistic soul, I will be leaving then~¡± Cheryl, who talked in a high tone and friendly manner and made gestures like a theatrical actress, left the room just like that. The assistants with their trembling bodies collected the dresses that they just took out and their facial muscles shook as if they were suppressing their anger. ¡°Just a moment, Cheryl.¡± Beth couldn¡¯t do anything for them, so she went out to follow Cheryl. ¡°What is the matter?¡± Beth acted like she hesitated while looking back and opened her mouth. ¡°The thing I told you earlier¡­.. please keep it as a secret. If the outside world came to know about our Miss¡¯s weak constitution, it might even affect her marriage¡­.¡± ¡°That is for sure! Just trust me!¡± Beth trusted Cheryl with all her strength that she was capable of spreading this specific rumor towards every corner. ¡°Oh~hohoho~ I will come to find you soon~¡± The assistants with trembling legs, followed Cheryl, who walked out of the corridor with elegant steps. Be strong¡­ my dear people¡­. Beth saw them off with a small gesture. ¡°Beth.¡± ¡°Miss.¡± Claire who appeared beside Beth at some time, held on the hem of her skirt and slightly tilted her head upwards. ¡°Everything ended so quickly?¡± ¡°Um~¡± How was she to explain all of this? Beth also tilted her head just like the way Claire did and said, ¡°The next meeting will take a long time.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°It is so.¡± The designer they were going to meet next was much silent compared to the designer they had just met. When the flamboyant and extravagant carriage left the Earl mansion, a simple black colored carriage entered. When they saw that carriage enter the mansion, some employees who were lazing around became flustered ¨C only the Butler who took care of Earl for a long time, tarried beside the door as he waited for the one inside to come out. A pale face contrasted her black hair and black eyes. Maybe because of lack of sleep for days she was pale as paper and very skinny. She exited holding a big bag, making the audience question how someone like her could carry such a huge bag. ¡°Name?¡± There were a total of two designers appointed to visit that day. Thinking that she might be the other person, the butler inquired for her name. ¡°Dana¡­ Dana Brian.¡± She was the obscure designer. She worked in a very small workshop but made dresses that were new in style. Beth was in need of such a person. Though Dana Brian was a designer without great fame at the moment, after eight years, she would be a person who would make the most beautiful dresses in the world and would go on to make a dress for Cecil too. I can¡¯t let that happen. Beth raised her lips revealing a slight smile. She had to be much more than just a dress designer. Dana must be completely molded for Claire. Chapter 8 - THE THREE INEVITABLE COINCIDENCES (5) THE THREE INEVITABLE COINCIDENCES (5) Raw provider: Tsalispark Translator: Rhyme Editor: SilverAndGold ¡°Hello.¡± In comparison to the boisterous woman- Cheryl, the woman in front of them was very silent. The woman¡¯s long black hair hid her face. Beth wiggled her hands and looked straight into her eyes. Claire gazed at the woman with equal attention, and both of them just dawdled without speaking. Beth just glanced at the woman with both of her hands collected behind her back. If this situation was not changed by an outside force, then the sun will set twice with no progress. ¡°Hello, Miss Brian. I am Beth who is assigned to take care of Miss. I beg your pardon, since Miss is young, can I talk to you as her deputy?¡± ¡°Ah, Y-Yes It¡¯s alright.¡± It was common practice for mothers or aunts to help the young children when they purchase or order clothes. But as the Countess clearly refused to act as Claire¡¯s guardian and no other aunt existed. So that role smoothly landed in Beth¡¯s hands. Dana put her big bag onto the broad table and opened it with a Click. The inside of the bag was organized in a meticulous manner as if to show her sincerity. Each and every sample was ironed stiff and crisp.There were some old markings that could be seen in the Catalogue. With a wavering expression she hesitantly handed the catalogue towards Beth. There are not many dresses for younger children. As Beth turned page by page, she felt a little disappointed because of the lesser number of varieties. Nothing could be done ¨C Dana Brian¡¯s workshop had only been opened for a year. The problem was not because of her lack of faith in herself, rather because of money. It was a stark contrast to Cheryl who came along with a number of assistants and mannequin to show the samples, though Beth didn¡¯t care that Dana was just a poor and no-name designer. If there was no one who lifted up Dana, she would accept her friend¡¯s help and set up a small workshop in the capital and meet Cecil there. She couldn¡¯t let that happen. Beth closed the catalogue in her hand and directly looked at Dana. ¡°I want to order all the available dresses for young children here.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Claire¡¯s eyes bulged out and looked at Beth after she heard her words. Dana didn¡¯t even have anything to say. She just stared at Beth with her eyes saying What did that maid just say? With a What did I say for you to look at me like that? attitude, Beth watched them both and added. ¡°Ah, I said the wrong thing, my apologies.¡± ¡°It¡­it was like that?¡± Hiccup. Claire was just an audience for the happenings in front of her, similar to a sheep that watched a typhoon, just that her eyes clearly showed her anxiousness. Because of the sudden turn of events, Dana hiccuped again. Rarely were noble ladies asked to make dresses with inadequate budget, but still she never was forced to give any noble face. ¡°Miss. Brian, I would like to invite you to work as an exclusive designer for our Miss. I wish to make a Dress Salon with our Miss¡¯ name.¡± ¡°Be¡­Beth¡­..¡± Claire looked at Beth with round eyes. Her eyes said ¡®I don¡¯t know what to do about it.¡¯ Claire felt anxious when she thought about how Beth would get in trouble by Earl Gordon so she became more nervous as she unconsciously twisted her fingers. ¡°It was ordered by the Elder Master. He wants to make up for the days Miss did not wear enough dresses. As the situation is so, it will be better to open a Salon.¡± Of course there was no such order, but everything was originally Claire¡¯s in the first place. So Beth planned to suck out little by little his assets and hand them over to Claire. To invest in Dana was also for a better future. ¡°Next time I will find you with the contract, Miss Brian.¡± Hereby, Beth changed one of the aspects of the future. Dana was a permanent resident of Earl Gordon¡¯s Fief. In the original work, Dana made dresses for Cecil. But when Claire came to know of it she became angry as Dana made a dress for another noble family when Dana herself was a part of Earl Gordon¡¯s Fief. Infuriated, Claire punished Dana who died from a lingering illness which accelerated Claire¡¯s death flag. Satisfied by the fact that she had decreased the death probability of Claire, Beth looked at Dana. Due to the offer which exceeded her expectation, Dana felt her leg going weak. She walked with difficulty out of Earl mansion on her shaky legs. After Dana¡¯s horse carriage went out of her sight, Beth went towards the office as she held the bill. ¡°WHAT IS THIS!?!¡± After he saw the bill, Earl Gordon shouted with bulged eyes. Beth wanted to block her ears. But if she did that, then her fingers would be cut off. So she decided not to. Though she could leave without a finger, it will be difficult to do any work. ¡°It¡¯s the bill sire.¡± ¡°Did it seem that I asked because I didn¡¯t know that?!? I asked you to buy some clothes and accessories, not to go and open a Salon!¡± ¡°Elder Master, please calm down.¡± Beth looked at the huffs and puffs of the piggy¡­ no, Earl Gordon. She calmed him down and shamelessly opened her mouth with a very innocent demeanour. ¡°Don¡¯t know how Miss heard about the worldly affairs from that narrow tower but she said it was her dream to open a Salon.¡± ¡°You should have stopped it!¡± ¡°With what strength can I stop it?¡­ However Elder Master regards me greatly, I will still be just a working commoner girl.¡± It was a lie. At that time, Beth disregarded Claire¡¯s wary eyes and scouted Dana. ¡°Who knows, maybe because of that foolish Miss, the path of the Elder master can become more easy.¡± ¡°Mm?¡± With a sweet voice, she talked to Earl Gordon softly and saw that his eyelids twitched. She didn¡¯t want to face those flashing eyes, so she brought out the words he wanted to listen with raised brows and blurry eyes. ¡°Won¡¯t the people be doubtful if all those casual wears were brought to Earl mansion at once? The rumors which were suppressed with a lot of efforts can reemerge.¡± ¡°That can ¡­.¡± ¡°But if we were to bring dresses from the Salon, it would only seem like sire is making dresses for Miss who had been sick for a long time.¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡± ¡°Please think about it, Elder Master. It¡¯s just a no name designer. Compared to any other designer, using this one is a big bargain. Just need to provide a piece of land and a small building. Since the Elder master leads the family with great wisdom, won¡¯t it be like just buying a piece of cloth for sire?¡± Truthfully, she didn¡¯t know whether he was operating with wisdom or stupidity and she had no interest in that knowledge. ¡°Also make Miss Claire its custodian rather than a Countess. How can an 8 year old girl and a no-name designer succeed in a Salon? Even though it has the backing of Earl Gordon, still it is a difficult task to accomplish.¡± ¡°Then isn¡¯t it akin to making Earl Gordon to make a laughing stock?¡± ¡°If the management completely fails. Then after that, if Miss claims for the secession rights, wouldn¡¯t this be an excellent excuse to decline?¡± With this one sentence of Beth, Earl¡¯s heart became completely tilted. If she was to fail in a big way and leave with a large deficit, even if she was the daughter of the previous earl, or obtained definite evidence to prove it, it wouldn¡¯t help her to be appointed to lead the family. She speculated that Earl Gordon made calculations with a single look. With a professional mentality, Beth skillfully hid her indignation and just looked at him. As she stared at him with a piercing gaze, she felt like she could even see the pores on his skin. It felt bitter. ¡°Mm hmm, that¡¯s right. Beth.¡± ¡°Thank you for remembering this humble ones¡¯ name.¡± It seemed like he was in a good mood, as he approached Beth with a satisfied expression and lightly patted her shoulders. She felt a chill all over. This old damn grandpa, who is he touching? He did not know what Beth was thinking and showed her a soft smile as he said. ¡°I am very generous to my employers.¡± I am not your person. ¡°As I said before. However great I am regarded , I will still be a commoner.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I will grant you strength.¡± He pulled out some sheets of papers from the bookshelf in the office and gave it to her after he signed them. ¡°This¡­¡± What Beth got, was an official letter from Earl declaring Beth as Claire¡¯s custodian with his own handwriting and signature. Though it didn¡¯t give as strength as Earl, still it was enough to have an effect. ¡°I am giving this to you because I regard you to have enough smarts even though you are from a commoner origin.¡± Acting in accordance with Beth¡¯s ideas, the press was silenced. This time too, there was nothing wrong with her words. If she wanted to climb up higher, then at that time, he could just trample her down. Anyways, she was just a commoner. Beth¡¯s hands, as if shocked with all this, shook as she held the paper. As she held onto the hem of her skirt tightly, she bent her body forward into a bow. ¡°To give such a reward, I offer you my thanks and utmost gratitude.¡± You are done for... ¡°I have already found some guards for that Salon or whatnot so you can take care of it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As she was finished with the conversation, Beth exited the office. After she confirmed that no one was around, a sly, evil smile broke out on her face as she walked forward. A few days later, in the center of the main street of the busiest place in the Earl¡¯s province, a new Salon was set up. Chapter 9 THE THREE INEVITABLE COINCIDENCES (6) Raw provider: Tsalispark Translator: Rhyme_bean Editor: SilverAndGold Instant Weekly ¨C Exclusive News! Earl Gordon sets up a salon because of the words, ¡®Tired of the dresses I wear daily¡¯! Beth read the magazine with a pleased smile. After she had read what she wanted to read, she closed it and threw it into the fireplace. The magazines were really great ¨C they could spend money on such absurd news. This was also the reason why there were many press agencies. They wrote rubbish things line by line as they sacrificed trees and collected money at a nice pace. A dress salon was exclusively built for a child who was only barely eight and was named ¡®Petite Garden.¡¯ The one and only one designer of the Salon, Dana trembled all over and stood erect next to the wall. Claire also trembled but she still stood stuck to Beth. The only person that was relaxed there was Beth, who was a person from the last rung of the social ladder. She brought out the Black Tea especially reserved to entertain the guests and enjoyed it without any concern. The scene was quite ironic. ¡°T-t-t-to me, thi-this biiiig shop¡­¡­¡± For the biggest building of the busiest main street of Earl Gordon¡¯s fief, the rent must be a tremendous amount. Dana always thought that, even if she was to work all her life, it would still be impossible to acquire such a building. But a miracle suddenly happened and for a moment she felt dizzy. ¡°Th-the rrrent¡­ here, ¡­h-how will it b-be t-taken care of?¡± ¡°Will you faint, if I tell?¡± Those words were enough to cause her heart to break and make her head dizzy. After she struggled for a while, Dana moved towards Beth and slowly sat on the same sofa as Beth. ¡°I thank you¡­ for giving me¡­ such a heavenly opportunity¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, because it will be Miss Brian¡¯s skill which can really decide whether this salon lives or dies.¡± Of course, her skills were already guaranteed so it was time to stop the current conversation and proceed to the most important point. Beth glanced at Claire who was nestled against her chest. ¡°Um?¡± Claire, as if she felt an eye on her, looked up at Beth with her round eyes ¨C there was no end to her loveliness. Beth felt a little sad as she petted her lovely little head. ¡°Young Miss, I got something really important to talk with Miss Briar, would you like to look around at the dresses?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear the conversation?¡± Maybe because of the anxiousness, she thought about the empty hallways in the towering mansion, which made Claire tightly clench onto Beth¡¯s dress as she clearly showcased her anxious mood. ¡°Don¡¯t be worried. I will always be by your side to protect you, my lady.¡± ¡°Uh um¡­¡± Only then did Claire reluctantly loosen her tightly clenched hands from Beth¡¯s clothes. With hesitant steps, she walked towards the dresses on display. Dana watched Claire, but felt a sense of deja-vu she turned her head towards Beth. ¡°The young miss¡¯ dress¡­¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think it looks similar to the one you saw before?¡± The dress was the same as the one she wore when they met face to face previously. The newspapers circulated on the Earl¡¯s fief always held articles that described how pampered and loved Claire was as she grew up. When it came to Dana, she felt as if she was brainwashed by such news. Beth put her hands together and straightened her back as she looked straight at the woman who sat in front of her. ¡°What I am going to say is only because of my trust in Miss.¡± Dana wouldn¡¯t spill a word she heard here to the outside world. This assurance was not because of Beth¡¯s trust in her character, rather because of how she was described in the original work. ¡°Y-y-yes.¡± Beth sat straight, but Dana sat rather stiffly as her posture clearly showed her uneasiness. ¡°Young lady Claire was being mistreated all along. The articles released by the press are all pure lies.¡± ¡°.¡­¡­.¡± Dana couldn¡¯t bring herself to say a word. Meanwhile Beth¡¯s eyes travelled towards her Miss, who at some moment had gotten distracted by the dresses on display. There was also a similar person among the people Dana was familiar with. That person was also unable to receive love from parents and almost died at the hands of their parents. After Beth disclosed Claire¡¯s real situation to Dana, she seemed to see ¡®that person¡¯ in Claire. For this reason alone, Beth was sure that , Dana wouldn¡¯t harm Claire. Beth already knew the character setting of Dana from the novel, so she had already expected such a reaction from her. ¡°Then¡­¡­¡± Dana failed to open her mouth. There were many things she wanted to ask. But she couldn¡¯t because if she had 10 questions, 9 of them were questions that could not be put forward. With a bitter laugh, Beth looked at Dana. ¡°Miss Brian, you won¡¯t talk about your own personal matters to others, right?¡± ¡°.¡­¡­..¡± Dana had once met a man who was tormented by strange rumors, who almost lost his life because of them. She was the only person who didn¡¯t believe in those rumors. It was also because of that I was able to become friends with him. It was not that Beth needed a silk designer, rather she finally realized implicitly that there was something Beth needed to get through her. ¡°W¡­what do you want me to do?¡± ¡°The things Miss Brian can do¡­¡­.¡± As if in a deep thought, Beth¡¯s words trailed off. In truth, everything went as planned and there were only two things that Dana could do. ¡°Primarily, help Miss to stand at the zenith of the society after she becomes an adult.¡± Dana¡¯s dresses hadn¡¯t become popular yet, but with the passage of time, the real value of her designs would begin to show. With her efforts, it was very possible for Claire to become a trendsetter in fashion. They would also get that much financial means to support that flow. ¡°As for the second thing, there is someone I want your help to be introduced to.¡± ¡°A person you want to be introduced to?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Who¡­?¡± Who might be that person? Was there a person among Dana¡¯s circle who was needed by Beth? Creak. Before they could advance with the interrogation, they heard the sound of the Salon¡¯s door opening. All that were present in the salon turned their gaze towards the door. ¡°This¡­ it¡¯s a little uncomfortable to be looked at by all of you.¡± Even though he said ¡®all¡¯, there were only three inside. With his azure blue hair and a friendly smile, a guy walked into the salon. ¡°Hello. I am a friend of Dana Brian. I came to congratulate her for becoming a designer at the Salon under Earl Gordon. Am I disturbing you?¡± The guy held a bouquet of white peonies in his arms and had a gentle smile on his lips. He seemed like a person who could easily win others¡¯ favour. His droopy eyes seemed to shine brightly in the sunlight. Beth shook her head. ¡°You are not, it¡¯s fine.¡± He was that person. The person Beth wanted Dana to introduce to her. He was one of the largest stakeholders on why Beth wanted to make Dana Claire¡¯s person. Maybe Dana¡¯s personal connection which made it possible to acquaint herself with this person was more important than the dresses she could make. No¡­. In some ways it was not. There were only a total of three people that could make an introduction to him and converse with him. So this chance was more precious than a dress which was studded with hundreds of diamonds. James. The guy who showed a lovely and likable smile in front of others was the same person who almost died at the hands of his parents. And when he finally escaped from their clutches, he got caught in a web of strange rumors. Only now had he barely come out of those rumors and started to live as a bright youth. When Dana had a hard time with her workshop, he appeared before her and offered his help. Outwardly, it was like that. Since he was really such a guy, Beth didn¡¯t have to take such long steps to approach James. It really was a matter of celebration to escape from such family affairs. His advice, as a person who escaped from his family¡¯s abuse, to Claire who also experienced a similar situation, was valuable. Claire really needed a strength that could accompany her in the face of abuse and mistreatment. James felt the conspicuous gaze of Beth, so he turned his head towards her and with a nod and greeted her. ¡°Are you the miss who founded this salon?¡± ¡°I am not, I am just a maid who is in charge of serving the young lady.¡± Beth stood up from her seat and said with a slight bow. ¡°It seems that there was a crow crying in the morning.¡± When she woke up that morning, she was only accompanied by the chirps and twitters of small birds. There was never a crow ¨C the words were said for effect. ¡°.¡­..¡± But it didn¡¯t mean that the words themselves were worthless. They hinted about the information guild, The Desk Of Raven. In that place, in order to exchange information, they needed to say this phrase. ¡°Where have you heard this piece of information?¡± The likable smile on his face disappeared without a trace. With large strides, he walked in front of Beth and stood face to face with her. Though he asked whether Beth was the young miss, from the bells that hung from her, he had already recognized her as a maid. Her dress was neat and clean but the quality of the material was cheap. Her appearance was charming but it was not taken care of properly. Her hands were not like that of a noble lady and finally, her voice was not much soft. Who gave the secret code to this woman? With a twitch of his eyebrows, he watched Beth with a keen eye. Though the guy was much bigger than her, she gazed back at him without a tremor in her eyes, straight and sturdy. The appearance of the head of The Desk Of Raven was never let out to the world. It was hidden as a top secret, which was only known to the top executives. But a maid he met for the first time knew about it. James was not a light-hearted man. He was the head of a guild which could get all sorts of information in the whole Empire if they wished to. ¡°Please sit.¡± Beth put on a show with a leisurely smile, as if she didn¡¯t know what was in the man¡¯s mind, as she pointed at the empty sofa. As if displeased with the proposal, he stared at Beth and finally sat down on the seat. ¡°How did you know it?¡± ¡°Know what?¡± ¡°About our guild¡¯s secret code and my identity.¡± Beth just looked at him without any change in her expression when she heard his question and finally answered. ¡°You are asking for free information when you yourself run a business in trading information. It really is strange.¡± ¡°Your life is spared and that is your reward.¡± ¡°If you kill me, then the contract with Miss Brian will also disappear.¡± ¡°This¡­. doesn¡¯t this young and cute miss know that, with my information and money, it¡¯s not hard for me to set up a big workshop for Dana.¡± ¡°If you could really do that, you might have done it long before. The reason Dana was using the small workshop is not because you didn¡¯t, rather, you couldn¡¯t, isn¡¯t it?¡± Beth, who sat straight and with a small smile, leaned back against the sofa. With a slight raise to her chin, she seemed to contemplate on something. ¡°Also, I am not young and cute ¨C I am Beth.¡± She was the first woman to look straight into his eyes without any expression of fear. Even his friend, Dana, was unable to look straight at him. ¡°Interesting.¡± (wow so original -_-) ¡°It was not something I said to amuse you.¡± ¡°I am just complimenting you, just accept it.¡± ¡°If the one who hears it is not pleased with it, then it is not a compliment. A compliment is made to make the one who is being complimented happy, yes?¡± James was tired of the people who flattered and fawned over him as they said that he was always correct. So Beth¡¯s attitude, who nitpicked each and every word of his, rather pleased him. With interest filled in eyes, he looked towards Beth and asked. ¡°So what information do you wish to buy from me?¡± ¡°I want the location of a boy.¡± ¡°Who is it? When do you need it?¡± ¡°If you promise to find that person, I will disclose his identity. You can take your time. I only need it before the Deir¡¯s festival two years from now.¡± ¡°If so, what can you offer me? Money? It seems to me that there is nothing worth with you that can be exchanged for information.¡± Beth watched him speak with a sarcastic tone as her dry lips went up. ¡°I can provide you information that will be of the same worth as your work. It will be a piece of information that no one else can give to you.¡± ¡°So it is like that?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Beth gazed straight at James. ¡°I know when you will die, James.¡± He felt Beth¡¯s expression, who looked straight at him, as if to mock him, and laughed at him explicitly. We¡¯ll post a free bonus chapter once we have 150 members on discord! Click here to join our discord community. Also, we are looking for editors. Please take the test, if interested. Editing is a voluntary work. Chapter 10 - THE THREE INEVITABLE COINCIDENCES (7) THE THREE INEVITABLE COINCIDENCES (7) Raw provider: Tsalispark Translator: Rhyme_bean Editor: SilverAndGold ¡°¡­Is this some kind of joke?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a talent for jokes.¡± Though Beth didn¡¯t have a talent, she shook her head since she was really good at lying. ¡°If you are mocking me, then I can assure you that you won¡¯t be able to see tomorrow¡¯s sunrise.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth. With my safety on the line, how can I mock you James?¡± Beth confidently hit him back as she thought that he wouldn¡¯t kill her easily since she had some estrangements with Dana. ¡°Then provide me with evidence to prove it.¡± James¡¯ eyes flashed with a chaotic light. ¡°Be-Beth-.¡± At that time a small voice was heard. ¡°I am here, Young Miss.¡± Claire looked at Beth with her round eyes from afar. As soon as Beth was called by her little lady, without a moment of thought, she stood up from her seat. ¡°Where are you going?¡± James felt dumbfounded as Beth completely ignored his presence. Beth moved towards the sofa James sat on and whispered to him in a small voice. ¡°This year the Crown Prince will fall from the horse while hunting and the Great Emperor will announce that the Crown Prince won¡¯t be allowed to go out until the ones behind the assassination attempt are caught. All will suspect the horseman to be under others¡¯ orders, but the real one who received the orders is his man-servant.¡± James looked at Beth with eyes full of disbelief but Beth who saw it in a glance took her attention off of him. Beth moved towards the place where Claire stood. ¡°Whether to believe it or not, is all up to you.¡± When the time comes, he will have to believe it, but Beth hid those words. * * * Claire was very sleepy the moment she entered the horse carriage. She was not used to physical exercises, so she felt very tired even though she did not exert herself much. Beth watched Claire happily, as she fell asleep in the middle of the boxes which were filled with dresses. A small fraction of things that should be enjoyed by her had finally returned to her. This is only the beginning. Claire can¡¯t be satisfied only with this little bit of affection. It¡¯s only deserving of Claire to get the position of Earl Gordon. The people who snatch the happiness of others to become happy themselves are not qualified to obtain happiness. The current Earl couple must be crushed. It would have been better if I connected with James later. She had something to give him so that she could prove to him that she was able to provide him with information that no one could give him ¨C only then would he be interested. James should understand that with this single exchange, besides the information she provided to him, there were many other things she knew. Since she had already bound Dana with an amicable contract, it became impossible for James to kidnap her and extort information through torture. ¡°We have arrived.¡± Beth carefully held the fast asleep young miss in her arms, who unconsciously held on to her neck as she muttered some unknown words. A soft smile bloomed on Beth¡¯s lips as she thought that Claire had gained some weight. She felt her own spirits rise at the thought. But when she thought about how she won¡¯t be able to hold Claire like this after a little more time, Beth felt a little lost. Beth asked the maids to carry the boxes with dresses to the top floor of the mansion after she carefully came down the carriage. The Earl mansion was quite noisy. Beth realized that the root of the noise was an outsider.Claire seemed to be at the verge of awakening. She moved towards a maid who carried a big box and asked in a low voice. ¡°Who visited today?¡± ¡°Ah, today, many Knights have come to apply to become the Young Miss¡¯ sentinel.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­.. Did many come to apply?¡± A knight that was close to them and heard their conversation came up to them and said, ¡°It¡¯s because being an exclusive knight for the dignified young miss of the Earl mansion is a very respectable profession¡­¡± The knight who said that hesitated for a moment and added. ¡°I..I want to be a guard for Beth more than the young miss¡­.¡± Beth said, ¡°I am someone without any status, money or family so I am not important enough to protect. I shall kindly refuse.¡± Beth walked faster as she left the disappointed person behind. If this were true, Beth needed to go where the guards were being selected. Even if they didn¡¯t stand up to Claire in the future, it was okay if the person was not a bum who would tell their every move to Earl Gordon. Will there be a guy who wouldn¡¯t bother with the work and just come with his eyes on the high salary? Beth was unable to take the young miss to her room. As Beth thought of what was the best thing that could be done, she stood at the mansion¡¯s door and looked at the noisy place where the knights were busy reporting their information. Catherine turned around and saw Beth and with an excited face, she ran towards Beth. ¡°Beth!!¡± ¡°Ssshh!¡± Beth had a rarely seen frown on her face as she rebuked Catherine who yelled with a loud voice. ¡°Good news! Julia might get married and move out.¡± ¡°What?¡± What the hell did she just say? Julia had a fiance? Julia was someone who shared almost all of secrets with Beth and she had never mentioned any guy to her. ¡°A really handsome knight wearing good clothing asked for Julia! I even forgot to breathe when I saw his face.¡± ¡°So it is like that.¡± Without any expression, Beth nodded her head at Catharine. ¡°Catherine, do you have any work now?¡± ¡°Oh? Ah¡­. I am taking a break.¡± ¡°If so, would you mind escorting Young Miss to her room?¡± Beth handed over Claire, who had peacefully slept on her chest, towards Catherine. As if she hated to part with Beth, Claire whined in her sleep. Beth softly patted Claire¡¯s bangs and quietly whispered a consolation to her. ¡°Why? Ah~ Do you also want to see that handsome knight?¡± ¡°Not because of that ¨C rather, because I am the maid in charge of the Young Miss. I am going to quench my curiosity in the selection of the knight who will be assisting me in taking care of miss.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°I am entrusting the Young Miss to you.¡± Beth left behind Catherine who didn¡¯t try to hide her disappointed look as she went towards the Military Hall where the knights were gathered. When one chose a knight for the Young Miss, the person should not be too short and should have excellent abilities. Such a person isn¡¯t common. If she were to choose between the two ¨C a person with a good figure or good abilities ¨C she would choose the better-looking one. If the person is held tightly to a sense of duty, it would be possible for him to tell the Earl if he felt anything was out of place. It was the same Military Hall she was familiar with when she used to sneak into the Tower. The hall was crowded with knights who had swords at their waists and spirited expressions. All of their eyes are shining¡­. Beth looked at the crowded knights with unfocused eyes. She was soon discovered by the Earl who welcomed her with open arms. ¡°If it isn¡¯t Beth! You came back already?¡± ¡°How are you doing Elder Master? I wish you a good afternoon.¡± It would be good if others didn¡¯t think that they are on close terms. If possible, she wanted to be in awkward terms with the Earl and to be as far away from him as possible. Beth only wished to be the 101th audience when Earl Gordon was to be publicly executed. For Beth, it was more disgusting to see a smiling Earl Gordon than a trilobite. Even if that person turned into a fossil, he wouldn¡¯t have any value. But in order to stay alive, she must not let out what was in her mind. With her usual expressionless face, she walked towards him and observed the crowd. ¡°Has everyone gathered, sir?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± As if he remembered something unpleasant because of her question, the Earl¡¯s eyes glazed. ¡°Earlier a brazen guy broke away from the test. That lazy lad, what does he take my Earl Mansion for¡­..?¡± ¡°!¡± To get away from the test with ease, that guy seemed to be the type that does no work. Even if he was asked to write a report, there would only be what he ate in the report. But when Beth saw how displeased the Earl was, she wanted to give him some extra points. Beth didn¡¯t know how he looked, but this was not important. They talked in low voices inaudible to the crowded men. ¡°How about selecting that person, Elder Master?¡± ¡°To select a person who looks down upon my Earl Mansion, are you out of your mind?!?¡± ¡°How would he dare neglect the high status of the Earl Gordon¡¯s Mansion? Rather, he is the only person who really respects the Earl Mansion. Young Miss Claire is only a sham. All under the sky know that she is not special.¡± ¡°Hm Hm¡­ That¡¯s right. She is just a half-bake, not even fully grown.¡± ¡°A person who understands that he has no need to be loyal to Young Miss Claire ¨C he will also be more easy to control by the Elder Master.¡± Beth¡¯s words were very persuasive. Her remarks, though it had some compulsion, after one collected the thoughts, all would start to make sense. In her previous life, Beth held a part-time job at a mart where she rotted in a tasting corner for half a year. But within those 6 months, all the products she sold increased its sales. When she had to quit after those 6 months due to personal reasons, the management were reluctant to let her go. Thus, it was not difficult for Beth to persuade someone, though they might feel strange when they looked back and reflected on her words. Since it was already a bygone work, Beth thought that the Earl was not thorough or smart enough to deeply contemplate on past events. He completely fell for her words and slowly nodded his head. ¡°Then just continue with the test as a formality.¡± ¡°It is an excellent decision.¡± The Earl, from the very start, didn¡¯t have any sincerity in choosing an Escort Knight for Claire. He thought of choosing someone at random, but later he thought it over, he realized it would be good to choose a person who was a bit impressive to him. Though I am not sure if I like that lad. ¡°There he comes.¡± Earl frowned at the man who walked slowly from behind Beth. ¡°You can take care of the rest of the matter.¡± As if he didn¡¯t wish to see that person anymore, after he waved his hands, he went back through the door at the rear end. Beth stood at a distance and listened to him attentively. Step. Step. The sound of steady steps resounded. From his steps alone, one could feel the owner¡¯s leisured mentality. In order to confirm what sort of person he was, Beth turned her head. ¡°.¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Ah~.¡± The man walked towards her with the sun on his back and as soon as he saw Beth , his face bloomed into a bright smile. His smile was so sweet and warm that she felt it could even melt ice in the middle of winter. ¡°You said your name was Julia.¡± In both of their previous meetings, she didn¡¯t have any change in her expression, but today, her small eyes trembled. He looked like a brilliant workmanship added with gold. ¡°I said my real name, but it seems as though I was the only sincere one.¡± Before long, he had already arrived before her and bent his body slightly to her eye-level. Kedrick ¨C his face always had a smile. ¡°It is said that if people meet by coincidence three times, they are fated to be ¨C now can you give me your real name?¡± If he and she were really destined, it must be an ill fated relationship. Though she didn¡¯t know many things about him, one thing was for sure. His eyes now glistened with more brightness when compared to their previous meetings ¨C just like Claire¡¯s. Chapter 11 - THE TALE OF CLAIRE GORDON THE TALE OF CLAIRE GORDON A small, cold place where light never entered. The sound of water could be heard as it dripped ¨C drop by drop. She felt an uncontrollable pain in her body and didn¡¯t even have the strength to squeeze out her tears. As if she knew her current situation was miserable, she laughed bitterly to herself. What big sin did she commit? When she looked back at her life, it was doomed from the beginning. Maybe she shouldn¡¯t have been born. All of their eyes gleamed with disgust when they looked at her. This image was burned into her brain. She wanted to be in a warm room and wanted to eat hot, tasty meals. In her current room. most of the time she was served putrid food scraps as her meals. She could only eat flavorful dishes in her imagination and force her mind to create an illusion that she was warm. She couldn¡¯t even gather her strength to snap her fingers. Squeaks of rats were heard from time to time as they stole the bread she sometimes left in the room. Her vision went blurry. In that narrow space, at a ceaseless temperature, her tears started to roll down without her notice. I don¡¯t want to die like this. She felt like she was trapped underneath black water and slowly closed her eyes to ease the ache. She wished for someone to come and save her. ¡°Huuhh!!¡± A big soft and fluffy bed. In the middle, as if buried in a mire, a girl slept but the girl soon sat up with hard breaths. She now lived in a room many times better than that narrow space, but her mental state was not better. The child woke up with a pale face and body that was covered in cold sweat. With her small hands, she tightly gripped on to the soft blanket that covered her and slowly sat up. Her hair was damp with sweat. Her mind was hazy as she couldn¡¯t tell apart her dream and reality. Her unfocused eyes wandered. It was neither the small room that she used to live nor the place she saw in her dream. She was not cold or hungry anymore. As proof that what happened till now was just a dream, the nightdress she wore was made from the best quality silk. The ceiling was engraved with intricate patterns and her canopy-bed was attached to bed curtains. The big windows at the side of the walls were covered with thick, soft curtains. Claire carefully got up from the bed. What her feet met was not a hard and cold floor, rather warmth that was emitted from the soft carpets. The softness from the carpet calmed her mind as she took comfort from that warmth. The air outside her blanket was ice cold. Was it late night or early morning? She could see the dim lights, which meant that it could also be dawn. Claire felt a slight chill ¨C still she dragged her small body towards the window and opened the curtains. She silently looked outside those windows. ¡°Ah¡­.¡± It was currently dawn while the morning sun peeked at the horizon. She looked at the scenery with an awe-struck face. This was the first morning after she moved to her new room. The memories about her first meeting with Beth popped into Claire¡¯s mind. A few days before she met Beth, the Earl came to her to vent his anger on her. Her whole body throbbed with pain, but as always, there was nobody to care about her. She felt thankful that her wounds didn¡¯t fester. Claire lived her life where she was deprived of others¡¯ affection, but still had to be thankful for those small interactions. Someone knocked her door and Claire thought it was the usual maid until she came in. The girl with a light brown hair stood there and looked at her with a shocked face. An unfamiliar remark was brought up by her. My Side. Beth promised Claire that she would stand beside her side, always. That word was very unfamiliar to her. What does it mean to be on my side? she thought. Because she didn¡¯t understand what the word meant, Claire just looked at the maid whom she met for the first time with guarded eyes. Beth always came to Claire whenever she had the time but never really did anything big for her. She just told her about today¡¯s weather, current news, and sometimes she also shared her portion of food with Claire. That was all. There were also times when she brought warm water and with great difficulty and wiped her body with a towel. She also washed and trimmed Claire¡¯s hair. Beth also had a very strange expression which according to Claire, was very unique to Beth. Only after a week did she understand that it was called a ¡®smile¡¯. When Beth came to the tower, she felt uncomfortable. She felt uncomfortable because of the fast throbbing in a corner of her chest. She also found Beth¡¯s soft tone of voice very strange. The way Beth always raised her had to pat her and not beat her like the others. She couldn¡¯t understand at all. One day she had bought white bread for her. It was soft and tasty and she finished it quickly. Later, she found that Beth had always brought her share of food to give to her. Once she was pretty badly hurt when the Earl vented his anger on her once again and as usual, she huddled up into a ball, waited for the pain to numb her senses. At that time, Beth came in. Beth¡¯s expression at that moment was more shocked than the first time she met Beth. After that, Beth ran out of the room. At that time she didn¡¯t know and thought Beth would never come back to her ever again. Because all along, there was none who stayed behind for her. But she felt more scared than when she faced an angry Earl and felt like her heart was about to stop. Beth, whom she thought would never return, returned in a hurry hugging a variety of medicines. She felt tingles and pain when the medicine was applied, but strangely the pain subsided away. Claire stared at Beth vacantly, who applied medicine with a concentrated gaze. Thick and luminous brown eyelashes, under that, warm, green eyes. At that moment, Claire realized that she very much liked those green eyes. It was like those tree shades that she enjoyed from the small windows of her small living space. She realized at that moment. Ah, so this is what it means to take one¡¯s side. So this uncomfortable feeling was what others call Happiness. I was happy on the days Beth came. These feelings had always been an unknown thirst in her. Affection, Love, Happiness. Claire felt Beth was a miracle that came to her. After her arrival, Claire¡¯s environment improved a lot. She became the precious daughter of the Earl Mansion, according to Beth. Beth said it like that and she just believed her words. She put her palm on the glass slides of the windows and felt as if a cold breeze brushed against her palm. She watched as many people moved to the rear of the Garden. They were the employees who woke up before the sun rose and started their day. She moved close to the window and checked for Beth among them. A long time ago, Beth had told something like this to Claire. The hair color of Milady is really very beautiful. Isn¡¯t Beth¡¯s hair color also beautiful? Um, my hair colour is very common out there. When the sun rose, its rays brought warmth everywhere they shone. These same rays poked into her eyes and made her tear up. When the suns¡¯ rays shone upon Beth¡¯s hair, it looked like fine gold ¨C more brilliant than anything else. Even if Beth was in a crowd, she could find Beth with a glance. She then saw her walk sturdily with a straight back and gaze. Why won¡¯t she look back? She tapped at the windowsill with her fingers to her disappointment. Still Beth didn¡¯t turn back. She then had a conversation with the maids that were around her. ¡°Um?¡± There was a man that she had never met before, who stood at Beth¡¯s right side. It was natural for her not to know since there were not many people Claire interacted with. But for some reason, Claire felt very bothered about that guy. She stared at him with a piercing gaze for a long time. She then realized that she felt uncomfortable since it seemed like the man and Beth were on intimate terms. Even if their conversation was not intimate, Claire had no way of knowing this as she stared at them with an open gaze. But before long, they both disappeared from her field of vision and only then did she take a breath. She put down the rolled up curtain and went back completely under her blanket. It¡¯s silent. She felt a chilling cold as if the sun had gone down. Claire felt her dream would be broken once she pulled back the blanket, so she stayed under those covers and closed her eyes. Since she already saw Beth, she won¡¯t have nightmares anymore. No, even if she had nightmares, Claire had assurance that Beth would come to save her. For her, the existence of the person named Beth was the biggest miracle that happened to her. The cold feeling disappeared without a trace and warm air hovered around her. That¡¯s right ¨C it was not wrong to call this a miracle. Chapter 12 - FOR A PERFECT YOUNG MISS (1) FOR A PERFECT YOUNG MISS (1) The employees who were assigned to breakfast duty in the Mansion started their day at 5:30 in the morning. Anne, one of Beth¡¯s roommates, was one of those people. Every day she would wake up at 5:30 am and leave the room without causing disturbance to others. But I always woke up to her hustling and bustling. After Beth took over the charge of Claire, her bed was moved next to Claire¡¯s bedroom. Since it was many times bigger than her previous room and though she was using it alone, it probably must have previously been a storeroom. She guessed this when she saw the simple wallpaper and narrow living space. As they were on the very top floor of the mansion, in order to get their food, they needed to walk farther than others. Thinking that it was also quite good, Beth changed into her Maid uniform. Morning 6:30 am. After the kitchenette staff finished their breakfast, it was the time for the rest of the employees to eat their breakfast. The employees¡¯ cafeteria was an annex near the place where the dormitory was located, so Beth, who resided in the main house, didn¡¯t have any other option but to come out and go towards the annex. ¡°Beth!¡± As her body was covered with the chilly atmosphere, a cheerful voice was heard. ¡°Julia.¡± As soon as Beth called out her name, the freckled nose of Julia winked. It was one of her characteristics whenever she laughed. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I came to meet you~¡± It was very common for one to feel hurt by Beth¡¯s unfriendly tone, but Julia didn¡¯t get angry and just linked her arm in Beth¡¯s and stood beside her. In addition to Julia, there were some more maids nearby. Julia came for me, then what about the others? Beth was not an affectionate or tender person, so there was no reason for them to come find her. So that means they came for a purpose. They just glanced at Beth without saying a word. ¡°What is it?¡± Finally, Beth, who started to feel that the atmosphere was uncomfortable, opened her mouth. Her question was straight forward which made the group startled. Still, they just moved their lips, without any words. At that time, Julia who had a gentle and sweet temper asked her with an affectionate expression. ¡°You know what, Beth¡­?.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Aai-cham, don¡¯t be like that, hear me out first. The guy who came yesterday, that guy, who was he?¡± It seemed like they had talked about Kedrick. As soon as Julia said that guy, all the maids nearby raised their ears and fixed their sight on Beth ¨C it looked like they only came because of their curiosity. ¡°Did you come here because you were curious about this?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± It seemed there was no new entertainment for the employees ¨C the maids were smitten by curiosity about a matter of no importance. With a small sigh Beth walked towards the annex. The maids followed her movement. ¡°He is the person who is going to guard the young lady from now on.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°Yup, that¡¯s all.¡± Their connection was superficial at best. Beth thought that it was none of her business to know what that man thought about her. But, it seemed that the remaining people didn¡¯t think so. ¡°But¡­. that man, what about him looking for you?¡± Julia tilted her head with a round eyes. Ha. Beth sighed in her mind. Now when she thought back, such a thing really happened. There was an uproar yesterday about some handsome guy who came to look for Julia. That all happened because she said her name was Julia to that guy. Kedrick must have felt flustered as the Julia that came out was not the one he thought. ¡°Remember, once I told you about meeting a handsome swindler.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same guy.¡± ¡°What swindler, you are too much!¡± Between Julia and Beth¡¯s conversation, suddenly a male voice was inserted. With his arrival, several gasps were heard around her. Even without looking back, she knew who it was. ¡°Kedrick.¡± ¡°Good morning, Beth. Also, I am not a swindler.¡± With a soft chuckle, Julia said to Kedrick who stood opposite them with a twisted face. ¡°A swindler won¡¯t introduce himself as a swindler when he introduces himself to others.¡± ¡°There might be such a swindler, who knows.¡± ¡°If I ever come to see such a swindler, I will give you two silvers.¡± Though Beth was not interested in the bet, she just said that because she wanted to end the conversation. With a grin on his face, he nodded towards Beth and looked towards Julia who stood beside her. ¡°Good Morning. ¡®Real¡¯ Miss Julia. By any chance, are you also a fake Julia?¡± He said sarcastically as a remark towards Beth¡¯s explicit lie. Julia answered, with a good-natured smile, as she shook her head, ¡°I am really Julia. Other than me, there is no other Julia in this mansion.¡± Kedrick looked at her and Beth alternatively. ¡°Were you not embarrassed yesterday? Anyway, you should have felt embarrassed because of Beth¡¯s lies.¡± His words were right at the point. When Julia was called out by a handsome man whom she had never met before, she soon realized the person he looked for was not her. To outsiders, it looked like a hurtful incident. Beth just sprouted out a name that came to her and never thought of the possibility of him coming to the Mansion. Beth looked at Julia who looked calm as she linked her arm with her¡¯s. ¡°Were you embarrassed¡­.?¡± Julia turned her head. ¡°I got embarrassed? No, for sure!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Mm!¡± ¡°If you say you are fine now, then I won¡¯t be apologizing to you, Julia.¡± ¡°There is no way I will lie to Beth.¡± In truth, Beth didn¡¯t think so. It hadn¡¯t been a year since they met ¨C not even half a year. It was strange enough that Julia came about liking her. Kedrick felt that Julia particularly liked Beth. With a giggle he said, ¡°You two have a really good relationship.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Yes, we have!¡± Two gave different answers at the same time. For Kedrick, that too was interesting. They had similar hair color, but the light that gleamed from it was completely different. Character, expression, appearance ¨C everything was different. In short, they were complete opposites. Kedrick moved his body towards them and asked, ¡°Can I also get along with Miss Julia?¡± ¡°Of course, you can!¡± Kedrick already knew that Julia would give him a positive answer. Among the people he knew in his life, there was only one person who didn¡¯t hold any good feelings towards him. ¡°Mr Kedrick, you are very much similar Beth. I¡¯m sure we will get along well.¡± What? How the hell was she similar to that guy? Beth looked at Julia with a dumbfounded look. If one was to compare Beth with Kedrick, from head to toe, there wouldn¡¯t be a single nook or corner where they were similar. ¡°Lets not talk .¡­¡± Beth now understood what the ¡®resign oneself to¡¯ meant. She resigned her will to continue the conversation and went towards the annex. Today¡¯s breakfast was oatmeal and half an apple. The oatmeal was a bit rough and the apple was sour, but Beth was satisfied. Compared to her previous life or her life at the village, her current life was a lot better. In her previous life , in order to save money, she never had complete ramyeon. To save a 100 won, she bought only cheap ingredients and to appease the growl of her stomach, she even drank hard water. In her current life, there was no much difference. No, in her present life it was worse ¨C even if good food was served sometimes, they would not get any. ¡°Um, this is the worst apple I ever had in my life.¡± The man who sat opposite to Beth couldn¡¯t go on. Julia too, as if acquiesce to his words, nodded her head. She felt a headache coming. All the employees turned towards Kedrick ¨C some looked at him because of his handsome face, but there was another big reason why they turned around. ¡°Kedrick, can I ask you something?¡± ¡°If the question can be answered, then ask me as much as you want.¡± ¡°Why are you eating breakfast right now?¡± The current time was allotted for the employees to have their breakfast. The private corps hired by the Earl mansion had their breakfast after some morning exercise and washing up. In other words, Kedrick shouldn¡¯t be enjoying his breakfast with Beth at the moment. Towards Beth¡¯s question he smiled very naturally and answered. ¡°I don¡¯t want to sit in the morning itself.¡± He put down the apple he barely ate and held his chin with his hands. Beth looked at the oatmeal in front of her. The oats which looked raw in a look were soaked in milk. If she waited for a moment, the oats would get soaked with the milk and become easier to chew ¨C so she picked up the spoon and stirred it well. ¡°Also, I wanted to eat with Beth.¡± She heard a giggle from somewhere. She thought it might have been her imagination and decided to ignore it. In contrast to her, the one who giggled looked at Beth with a blunt expression. Though the person was not someone she liked, Beth still felt relieved because of his handsomeness ¨C at least she wouldn¡¯t lose her appetite whenever she saw him. Though she thought oats were well soaked in the milk, it was still very rough. Its taste was not bad, but she couldn¡¯t compromise with the texture. Unknowingly, her eyebrows frowned. ¡°Is Beth here?¡± Anne came to the eatery to look for Beth. Beth looked towards her with a mouthful of oatmeal. Anne came near her and said, ¡°Phew, you are here. The head maid is looking for you.¡± For what? She wanted to ask, but because her mouth was filled with food, she couldn¡¯t ¨C she just nodded her head. She accepted Anne¡¯s consideration to clean up her food tray for her and looked at her barely eaten food with a regretful expression and handed over her tray. ¡°For what reason might the head maid be calling you?¡± She never thought Kedrick would follow her. But because of the food in her mouth, she couldn¡¯t reply. ¡°It is just that to be called in the morning should not be for anything good. Right, Beth?¡± Gulp- Beth swallowed her food and only then did she reply, ¡°Kedrick, why are you following me?¡± As if it was a natural thing to do, Kedrick answered, ¡°Because we share the same destiny.¡± Share the same destiny. She never thought she would hear something like that in her present life. She looked at Kedrick with a dumbfounded expression and forgot to close her mouth. Kedrick chuckled and he lifted up her chin with his finger. ¡°We are on our way to meet the head maid. An open mouth leaves a bad impression on others.¡± Kedrick said as he took the lead. She felt the wind blowing. She looked at his appearance from behind and followed his lead. ¡®Mm?¡± Looking at his handsome appearance from the back, suddenly a thought rose up in her mind. How did he know which way led to the Head Maid? Kedrick only came to mansion yesterday, yet he led the way in a confident manner. How? She looked at him with doubtful eyes and tilted her head. Chapter 13 Before long, Beth had arrived at the residence of the Head Maid. When the Head Maid saw Beth enter, she wriggled her eyebrows. It was because of the flamboyant guy who stood alongside Beth. I didn¡¯t call that guy, Beth wanted to say to the Head Maid. ¡°The guy¡± was the topic of conversation from yesterday ¨C even the Lady¡¯s Maid who served the Countess wanted information about that guy ¨C whether he was any newly hired servant, an attendant or a butler. It felt that even the Countess also had interest in him. Her Lady¡¯s Maid and other maidservants made a ruckus saying it was their first time meeting such a handsome guy. But fortunately, everything calmed down faster than she had thought. The head maid also put the matter behind her mind soon, but the moment she saw him, she was sure that Kedrick was the main character of yesterday¡¯s intense round of conversation. When she finally saw him up close, the head maid also agreed with what they all said yesterday. He really was very handsome and was a person who made her reminisce about her late husband. The head maid watched his face absentmindedly for a while and after she heard Beth¡¯s calls, the Head Maid cleared her throat awkwardly and said, ¡°Yes Beth, sorry to call you out during your breakfast time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°The reason I called for you is for the party organized for Claire.¡± Already? She thought. Time does fly by. Was it not? If not, was it because of those who prepared the event faster? Whether it was the former or latter, both were faster than she thought. ¡°As you know¡­. Because of the young miss¡¯s weak body, there were not many chances for her to learn liberal arts or etiquette.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Though what she said was not true, she couldn¡¯t deny it. She could just bow her head and answer with acquiescence. Maybe if Kedrick was not there, it would have been possible for her to say something else. ¡°So it was decided that a teacher, from now on, would temporarily teach the young miss.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It was informed that the person would arrive by 10 am. Get the young miss ready by then.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡°You should do well.¡± The head maid finished what she ought to say and gave her permission to retire. Beth bowed to her and went out as she should get started to ready Claire¡¯s breakfast. She headed towards the main house rather than the annex. The kitchen was busily preparing breakfast for the Earl Couple who would be getting up soon and she snooped around the kitchen and called out for the Chef. ¡°I came to get the breakfast of the young miss.¡± ¡°Ah, that basket over there, you can take it.¡± Basket, ahh, no one is going for a picnic. When she put away the cloth that covered the basket, a potato and black bread, a can of water were inside. She felt the piercing gaze of Kedrick who looked into it. With a dry cough Beth turned towards the Chef and asked, ¡°Chef, I came to get food for the young miss, Claire.¡± The people who resided in the Mansion had known for a long time a black room resident who was referred to as ¡®young miss¡¯. Though she entered the main house recently, the majority of the employees of the mansion still considered her even underneath them ¨C even the Chef. ¡°Don¡¯t you see that I am busy? I am busy preparing food for the Master. To even prepare that food costs me time. If you are not satisfied, do it on your own!¡± ¡°Yes, Since I am dissatisfied, I will do it on my own.¡± Beth looked at the basket with a deep gaze and directly shoved it into the trash can and left the kitchen. A loud wailing sound was heard as the chef cried loudly and he held the back side of his neck, but with a snap, everything was silent. Kedrick followed Beth a little late, went side by side with Beth to the same direction. ¡°What are you planning to do, Beth?¡± ¡°I need to prepare breakfast for the young miss.¡± ¡°But there is no kitchen here.¡± ¡°Yes, I know that.¡± She went along the route and went out of the Earl Mansion through the back door. Kedrick with a surprised expression accompanied Beth. They reached a restaurant which was not far away from the mansion. The staff were preparing the ingredients, as it was near their opening hour. ¡°Please excuse my rudeness. Is the Head Chef here?.¡± ¡°.¡­ you are?¡± The man, who looked like a kitchen assistant, looked Beth from top to bottom with doubtful eyes. She seemed like a maid who worked at a good place. Beth took out a piece of paper from the pocket of her apron and showed it to the man. The paper was the same letter of guardianship document that the Earl attested personally. ¡°I know that you are busy, but I still ask for your cooperation. I need a breakfast set.¡± Because of Beth¡¯s words, as they needed to make breakfast for the Earl mansion, a red light was lit in the restaurant. Because if they could enter the Earl¡¯s eyes with this opportunity, then not only money, they would also gain a high reputation. Beth sat in that large restaurant and accepted their good reception and herbal tea. Kedrick looked at her with an awe filled eyes. ¡°Can we do this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something that can¡¯t be done.¡± In truth, she came out on whim. Beth stared at Kedrick conspicuously as she was not sure if she could trust him. She had to conciliate him, by any means. ¡°Kedrick, didn¡¯t you say that today¡¯s breakfast was not tasty?¡± ¡°I did.¡± A beautiful arc bloomed on her lips and she said to Kedrick, ¡°If you can agree with two of my requests , I will let you have a good breakfast.¡± * * * After some time, both met at the back door of the mansion. Beth held two baskets in her hand and Kedrick stood there in a tilted position with both hands on his pockets and a light expression on his face. ¡°I did everything that you requested me to do.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Beth handed one of the 2 baskets she held towards Kedric. ¡°Can you bring this up to the top floor of the main mansion without catching others¡¯ eyes?¡± ¡°Without catching others¡¯ eyes? Do you think it¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°You are the escort knight of the young miss of the Earl Mansion, you should be able to do at least that much.¡± Beth selected him without even screening his abilities yet she said that. Kedrick didn¡¯t look to be in an embarrassing state either. Soon that time will arrive. It was nearing the time when the countess will have breakfast. Beth nodded towards Kedrick and went to the back door of the main house. She could hear the voices of employees entering through lightly. In order not to be seen by others she moved her body and snuggled onto herself. ¡°Good¡­¡­.mo¡­..ng¡± With that sound, the Earl couple arrived at the dine. How much time had passed? It must not be that long. Sound of glass breaking and a loud shout came from inside. Hearing the rampant without any shock or surprise, Beth nodded her head. Slowly she stood up and wrinkled the already crumpled dress and disheveled her bangs intentionally. As she passed the gate, the sound became more loud. She opened the door to the dining room and went in. Panic stricken maids and the chef were dazed because of the Earl¡¯s enormous rage. Beth looked at them with a calm gaze. She bowed her head and said, ¡°I apologize in advance to barge in when the sire was having his breakfast.¡± Saying that she opened the basket which was held in her hands and showed it to him. ¡°With all due respect, can I put down breakfast?¡± The Earl, who was gasping after shouting, looked at Beth with a red face. Her disheveled hair and the crumbled dress out all pointed out that she went somewhere in a hurry. The Earl asked, ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°I went to get breakfast for Sire and Madame.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Beth stayed silent and only glanced at the chef. The Earl, who realized Beth¡¯s gaze, asked everyone to get out, including the Chef. At last, the Earl, countess and Beth remained in the room, ¡°Now you are the only one left, give me an answer.¡± ¡°Earlier, I went to the Kitchen to fetch breakfast for Young Miss Claire.¡± She raised her bowed head and continued,¡°The food assigned for young miss Claire was similar to what she used to eat before. Just a black bread, a potato and a can of water ¨C that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°I never thought anything about it, but after seeing Chef¡¯s action I felt a sense of deja-vu. So I acted like I was looking into the basket to observe the Chef¡¯s actions attentively.¡± Beth looked at the salad bowl fallen on the floor. ¡°And I found an apple.¡± The apple was a commonly seen fruit, nothing special. In the future, it would be like that for Beth. But the apple prepared for breakfast that day was a bit different. Beth¡¯s request for Kedrick was quite simple. Just take some apples assigned for the employees from the annex and put it in the place of apples prepared to make breakfast for the main house. Apples change their colour when they are exposed to the air for some time. So they are to be cut into pieces and plated before they change their colour. Because she accurately remembered Anne saying about the hand speed of the maid who was assigned to cut apples for the main house. From the outer appearance, they don¡¯t have much of a difference and couldn¡¯t be observed for long until they are peeled, cut and plated. This time, the apples were really, very much disgusting in taste. Beth and the other maids ate them because it was their only food and endured the taste. They were used to eating that sour fruit and were always given apples without an ounce of sweetness. ¡°At first I thought that, since it was for the elder master to eat, obviously it would be of the best quality, but I saw some deformations on them. I wanted to believe that I was just mistaken since I was looking at them from a distance, but what if I was not mistaken? Leaving the probability, I went out in a hurry to buy breakfast for sir and madam.¡± Saying so she took out the food items from the basket. Soft white bread and freshly baked sausages were mouth watering ¨C there was also fresh salad. She divided and placed the food in front of Earl and his wife respectively. After that, she once again bowed her head and said. ¡°With all due respect, I want to add one more thing.¡±The Earl, who liked this smart maid, nodded his head to show his permission. ¡°Please allow Young Miss to have the same food as Sire and Madame.¡± As he heard her words, his face bloomed with a confused expression. He didn¡¯t understand at all why she would put forward such a proposal. ¡°Even if I found something strange with the apples, I couldn¡¯t confront it with the Chef. It was because I lack the required authority or justification to counter him.¡± After taking an intentional deep breath, in order to attract their concentration to her words, she continued, ¡°From today¡¯s apple incident I realized¡­.. that among the ingredients used to prepare food for Sir and Madam, there is a possibility that the quality of some ingredients will be bad.¡± They couldn¡¯t believe the words of an ordinary maid. But seeing the apple pieces on the ground, he felt her words were correct. If people get a seed of doubt in them, then the things that are perfectly fine become suspicious in their eyes. There really was no problem.. just the taste was bad¡­. but he looked at everything with a new lens. The steak he ate, now that he thought about it, felt a little tough, and the vegetables also seemed a little withered. Earlier the expression on the Chef was also not right. Though the Chef stood with his head bowed, his eyes were unsettled. The Earl thought about whether the Chef was squandering the ingredients of the Earl mansion. Beth, as if she didn¡¯t see the doubtful face of Earl, continued, ¡°So if the young miss is to eat the same food as the elder master, I can do some checking with the reason of fetching the food. Please consider that I am thinking this for the sake of the masters and this mansion.¡± In truth, these people¡¯s health was never of any concern to her. Rather she thought the Earl really needed to taste starvation. ¡°Do it like that. I will talk about it with the new Chef.¡± Beth held the empty basket, greeted them with a bow and left the dining room. From tomorrow onwards, the new chef will be in the Kitchen and she will be able to bring good and tasty food to her young miss. She wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to give Claire those hard bread. Beth went up to the top floor as she swung the empty basket. As she neared the top, from somewhere, a crunching sound was heard. ¡°Kedrick.¡± The said man ate an apple with a happy expression. ¡°This apple is really tasty. There is some more, want to eat?¡± She was curious how he got the apple from the kitchen of the main house and now she understood that it was because he took it with him. Different from when he ate at the annex, now seeing Kedric eating with relish, Beth shook her head and said,¡°I have to set up food for the young miss.¡± Beth held out her hand with a meaning to give her the basket held in Kedrick¡¯s hands. Kedrick tilted his head and held out the apple in his hand. ¡°Not that, the basket.¡± ¡°Ah, you wanted this?¡± He got rid of his teasing expression, which clearly showed that he was acting and gave the basket to Beth. Beth handed over the empty basket gesturing for him to hold on to it for a while. ¡°What did you bring?¡± ¡°The food which is worthy of the young miss of this family.¡± Kedrick recalled that the food held in the other basket. Though the bread was common rye bread, the contents were quite good. ¡°At the same time, it also has food for you. I promised to let you eat a tasty breakfast.¡± Beth, after she ordered food from the restaurant, went to a food stall on the busy main street. Since it was mainly aimed for the workers it was cheap and the taste was not that bad. From there she bought two shares of bread, sausage and cheese. After that, she switched it with the food from the kitchen. In other words, the three shares of food ordered from the restaurant went to the top floor and the Earl was served with the commoner¡¯s food that he hated to death. It just tastes good. Beth put the two shares of food into the empty basket held in Kedrick¡¯s hand, ¡°Think of it as a memento for your first day of work. We usually won¡¯t get to eat this kind of food.¡± With an expression of don¡¯t be so obvious in front of Claire, Beth knocked at the door. ¡°Young Miss, it¡¯s Beth. I brought you breakfast.¡± It was the time to start another busy day.