The Duchess Is Looking for Her Husband

Chapter 5

A cold silence filled the beautiful garden.

Lirika and the maids nearby all let out small gasps.

But Artia was not surprised at all.

Everything had gone exactly as she expected.

‘The cockroach has fallen into the trap.’

She felt happy because her plan had worked, but at the same time, she felt a little bitter.

‘Even though someone was hit right in front of them, none of them came over to check if she was okay…’

Just as she thought that, one maid came running toward her.

“Are you all right, Madam?!”

It was the tall maid with the scar on her cheek whom Artia had seen on her way to meet Elma a few days ago.

The maid looked at Artia’s face with an expressionless face and held out her hand.

“I’ll help you back to your room. I’ll call the doctor immediately.”

Artia stared at her and said,

“Wait. There’s something I need to do first.”

Artia turned toward Lirika.

“I tried to understand her because she is someone Royd cares about, but I can no longer overlook her behavior.”

Artia pointed at Lirika, who was staring at her with wide, cat-like eyes after realizing what she had done.

“Take that disrespectful woman who dared to lay a hand on me and lock her up immediately.”

“……!”

The maids looked confused by the sudden order.

But only for a moment.

They did not move.

They had decided it was safer to take the side of Royd’s beloved mistress, who received all his affection, rather than the powerless Duchess.

“Pfft.”

Lirika laughed when she realized this.

But at that moment, the scarred maid standing beside Artia stepped forward and grabbed Lirika’s arm.

Lirika was shocked.

“You! Who do you think you are, touching me?!”

“……”

The scarred maid said nothing. She simply tried to pull Lirika away.

Lirika shouted at the other maids.

“What are you all standing there for?! Stop this crazy woman right now!”

The maids finally came to their senses and rushed toward the scarred maid.

“Let go of Lady Lirika!”

It was five against one.

There were far more of them, but the scarred maid did not move even a little.

She stood firm like a huge rock.

Lirika was caught in the middle of the struggle and looked miserable.

Then her eyes suddenly lit up as if she had found her savior.

“The head maid!”

Elma had appeared.

“What exactly is going on here?”

Lirika cried like a child complaining to her mother.

“Sister has gone crazy! She made me drink poisonous herbs and is trying to have her maid kill me!”

Artia did not back down.

She touched her red and swollen cheek and said,

“Lirika slapped me.”

“……!”

“Even if she is Royd’s beloved mistress, isn’t this something we cannot simply ignore?”

A commoner hitting a noblewoman was clearly a serious crime.

Even so, Elma could not immediately take Artia’s side.

Artia silently moved her lips toward the hesitant Elma.

‘Dukedom.’

“……!”

That single word immediately put pressure on Elma.

No matter how frightening Royd was, surely being taken to court and losing her head was worse, right, Elma?

Elma closed her trembling eyes and opened them again.

Then she spoke.

“Take Lady Lirika to her room.”

“……!”

Lirika’s confident expression immediately collapsed.

“Y-you’re crazy too! How can you do this to Liri?!”

Instead of answering, Elma looked at the maids.

“Quickly.”

The maids had ignored the powerless Duchess’s order.

But it was difficult to disobey the head maid, who controlled the entire household.

The maids hesitated and looked at one another.

Then they grabbed Lirika’s arms and pulled her away.

“Please come with us, Lady Lirika.”

Lirika struggled and shouted,

“When the Duke comes back, I’m going to tell him everything! I’ll have all of you beaten so badly that you won’t even be able to walk!”

The name of the Duke of Edenberg made the maids’ faces go pale.

But the situation did not change.

After Lirika disappeared, Elma gave Artia an unusually sweet smile.

“You saw that, didn’t you? Elma is on Madam’s side.”

She looked as if Artia should pat her on the head and praise her.

But Artia ignored Elma and spoke to the scarred maid who was still standing there.

“What is your name?”

The maid looked surprised by the sudden question.

Then she answered calmly.

“Bibi.”

“Bibi… So your name is Bibi.”

Artia repeated the name and smiled.

“Bibi, from today onward, you will serve me personally.”

“……!”

Bibi’s expressionless eyes grew noticeably wider.

Elma’s eyes became twice as wide.

Elma said in surprise,

“Madam, you cannot decide on your personal maid so suddenly. We need to carefully judge whether she is suitable for the position.”

“She will be my maid. If I like her, that’s all that matters.”

“But…”

Elma looked like she had many things to say.

Artia simply ignored her and started walking.

“Come, Bibi.”

Artia held out her hand toward Bibi.

Bibi looked at Elma for permission, then bowed politely before approaching Artia and supporting her.

Bibi’s strong body felt incredibly reliable and comfortable to Artia.

After returning to her room, Artia sat in a chair.

Bibi stood in front of her and gently applied medicine to Artia’s red and swollen cheek.

Bibi’s hands were large and covered with many small scars.

But despite their rough appearance, her movements were extremely gentle.

‘It feels like being taken care of by a huge mother bear with enormous, fierce paws.’

Artia smiled happily.

Bibi looked at her and finally spoke.

“Madam, please forgive me for saying this, but I ask you to reconsider making me your maid. There are too many things I lack to serve you properly.”

Bibi seemed uncomfortable with Artia’s decision.

But Artia could not give her up.

There was a good reason.

“I’ve known you for a long time.”

“……!”

Several months earlier…

Royd had sent word that he wanted to have a meal with Artia after a long time.

Artia carefully dressed herself from head to toe before leaving her room.

Her heart beat faster because Royd had finally asked to see her again.

But the moment she arrived in the dining hall, her excited heart dropped.

Lirika was sitting on Royd’s lap at the head of a table filled with delicious food.

Lirika was wearing a dress covered in ribbons and smiling brightly.

“Sister, today is the 100th day since the Duke and I met. Please celebrate with us.”

Royd wrapped his arms around Lirika.

“I wanted to celebrate today with just you and me.”

“Come on. But special days are better when there are lots of people around.”

“Haa… My little baby bird is just too kind…”

Artia’s face became pale.

Royd looked at her angrily.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you sitting down?”

Artia had never been able to disobey Royd.

But this time, she simply could not sit at that table.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Artia barely managed to speak.

Then she quickly turned around.

But her foot caught on the hem of her dress.

Crash!

Artia fell to the floor.

Behind her, she heard Royd’s loud laughter.

“Ha-ha-ha! You’re so stupid that you can’t even run away properly anymore. Just how much more stupid are you going to become?”

Lirika tried to hold back her laughter.

“Pfft. Are you okay, sister?”

Artia’s mind went completely blank from the overwhelming humiliation.

She could not even think about getting up.

Her whole body trembled.

But none of the maids standing nearby came to help her.

Then, just as a single tear rolled down her cheek in deep despair…

A large, rough hand touched Artia.

The hand carefully helped her stand.

“I’ll take you to your room, Madam.”

Artia did not even know how she got there.

Before she knew it, she was lying on her bed in her room.

Artia stared blankly into space as tears continued to fall.

The maid covered her with a blanket and said,

“Please rest.”

Her voice was blunt.

Even so, there was genuine pity in it.

‘Do you know how much comfort you gave Artia that day?’