Chapter 10
The clothes I had tried on at the shop must have been among the simpler ones to wear, even within the category of these complicated garments. As I held up the clothes I’d been given and picked one to put on, I realized it wouldn’t be an easy task. Thinking about it, it made sense; these were clothes meant for nobles. Nobles always had the help of servants, like maids, to dress them, so it was only natural they’d be difficult to put on alone. Even so, I had no desire to accept help from the maids who’d been gossiping about me.
‘Even if I need help eventually, I absolutely don’t want it right now.’
In the end, I found what looked like the easiest outfit to wear, struggled into it, and left my room. There was nothing to do if I stayed inside anyway, and now that I’d finally become human, it felt like a waste to remain cooped up in my room. But leaving might have been a mistake. Near my room, at least, the servants of this mansion had been somewhat careful with their words. As I wandered through various parts of the mansion after changing, the gossip about me reached my ears in excruciating detail.
“That must be the woman. I heard the dark lord brought a woman to the mansion yesterday.”
“She really is as beautiful as a doll, but to just bring someone of unknown origin into the mansion like this…”
“Perhaps she’s a noble lady from a distant land…?”
“Her appearance doesn’t look common, like us peasants, but she’s a woman brought by that lord. I heard he didn’t properly explain who she is or where she’s from, just said she was an acquaintance.”
“Honestly, if she were from a respectable family, would he have done that? Clearly, there’s something questionable about her, just like that lord.”
Moreover, I could feel all the servants looking at me as if I were a monkey in a zoo. In a way, it was understandable. Keris, who already had a poor reputation within the territory, had brought an unidentified woman to the mansion without any warning. And not just for a short stay, but for her to live here. It would have been fortunate if the rumors about me had only spread among the servants. I suspected they had already spread beyond the mansion to the residents of the territory.
I had nowhere else to go and had to continue living here, yet a bad impression was already being cemented among the people of the territory. I felt a bit daunted about the future.
‘Keris must have felt this way every day, huh?’
Once again, I understood why Keris acted the way he did in the story. Given the environment he grew up in, and the fact that he must have felt this way even more intensely than I did, and every day at that.
There was nothing more to see, and I didn’t want to become a topic of conversation for no reason, so I decided to return to my room. As I turned to go back, I suddenly saw a familiar silhouette approaching from the opposite direction. For a moment, I wondered why it seemed familiar, even though I was sure I’d never met the person. After a moment’s thought, I realized I hadn’t seen him for the first time either; it was the steward of this mansion, the one who had shown me to my room.
‘No wonder the face wasn’t completely unfamiliar.’
Perhaps it was because I’d seen so many people talking about me behind my back. The moment I saw the steward, I wondered what he thought of me. Of course, since he was also part of the mansion’s staff, he probably had a poor opinion of me as well. If that was the case, I hoped he at least wouldn’t gossip openly. Thinking that, I tried to pass by him, pretending not to notice.
But contrary to my wishes, as the steward passed me, he suddenly spoke from behind.
“Blood will tell, I suppose. To bring in a strange woman of unknown origin like that…”
I should have let it go. No matter what, I should have let it go. I needed to live in this mansion from now on, and it would be better to get along with the steward, who was essentially the highest-ranking manager here after Keris. But the steward had spoken even though there was no one around to converse with, as if he meant for me to hear. In the end, unable to suppress my anger, I turned around and looked at him.
“What did you just say?”
Even though I confronted him directly, the steward showed no sign of fear or alarm as he replied.
“It seems my muttering to myself has bothered you.”
He wore an utterly brazen expression. There didn’t seem to be the slightest intention to deny that he had been rude to me. Even though I was, by position, a guest of his master, Keris.
‘Well, he doesn’t even hide his hostility towards Keris, the lord of this territory. There’s no reason he’d treat me well just because I’m Keris’s guest.’
Keris was deeply sensitive about not being the previous lord’s biological son. Because of that, he always let it slide whenever the servants or territory residents were disrespectful. This, in turn, probably made them even more brazen. But even if Keris wasn’t the previous lord’s flesh and blood, the previous lord had still passed the title to him. This man was in a position paid by Keris’s money. And above all, speaking to someone like that was simply rude, person to person. At least in that moment, I couldn’t just let it go.
I stepped closer to the steward, looked him straight in the eye, and said.
“Unless I misheard, you said something extremely rude to me. I find it very regrettable that you maintain such a brazen attitude even after saying such a thing.”
“While I do not know precisely where you hail from, Miss, I believe if you were truly from a legitimate household, there would be no reason for you to react this way to my words.”
He was speaking indirectly, but his attitude was clearly mocking. Angrier than before, my tone sharpened as I retorted.
“No matter where I’m from, I am a guest of Lord Keris, the master of this mansion and territory. I am telling you that I am not someone a steward can treat with such disrespect. You should apologize.”
“If the master makes a poor choice, it is also the steward’s duty to advise him. Having been at this mansion for a long time, I am merely concerned that his lordship might follow in the footsteps of the previous lord.”
This steward clearly had a knack for infuriating people. And even considering Keris isn’t the previous lord’s biological son, such hostility… It seemed his loyalty to the previous lord was considerable.
My feelings thoroughly hurt, I no longer wanted to continue the conversation. It would be easier talking to a wall.
“I see the caliber of the previous lord now. Just looking at how his steward treats a guest without any cause is enough. I’ve heard enough. I’ll be going now.”
You’re not the only one who can piss people off.
I turned my head sharply and headed back to my room. For a brief moment, I saw the steward’s face turn red and purple. Seeing that, I felt a small sense of satisfaction.
* * *
‘Why did I do that?’
Not long after that incident, as I was alone in my room collecting myself, it was only after I had calmed down somewhat that I regretted what had happened. Of course, the steward had been rude to me. But it wasn’t as if only one or two people in this mansion were saying such things. Losing my temper at the steward wasn’t going to change his attitude. No, it probably made it worse. If I truly wanted to live here peacefully, I should have tried to handle him more gently and get on his good side. I’d really messed up.
Furthermore, I had thoroughly provoked the temper of the steward, who held the highest rank among the servants. It was obvious how the other servants would treat me now.
As if to prove my thoughts correct, the next day, the faces of the servants who passed me by were filled with intense scorn. They didn’t even bother to hide it subtly anymore; they were now openly looking at me with eyes full of contempt.
‘Maybe it really would be better for my well-being to just leave this mansion.’
No, this wasn’t the time for such weak thoughts. Who was I? I was someone who had possessed a doll and endured a situation where I could do nothing for so long. Of course, what did that have to do with anything? But having gone through that, a crisis like this… I had to find a way to smooth over the current situation. To do that, it seemed I needed to win over the steward first…
‘But is there any pretext for that?’
