If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 93
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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Lindsay, one of the maids serving the Marchioness, quietly spoke up.
On any other day, Liana would have ignored such comments to avoid unnecessary gossip, but today, she found it hard to keep her disappointment to herself.
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“It would be nice if Madam spoke up about it.”
“She’s not that type of person.”
“True, but it’s so frustrating.”
I feel the same way. Liana kept the last thought to herself as she tried to leave, but a harsh voice stopped her in her tracks.
“What are you all doing here? Don’t you have any work to do? As maids, why are you wasting time idly?”
The voice belonged to Teschen.
Since Liana’s recent promotion to Agatha’s personal maid, Teschen had taken every opportunity to belittle her, claiming she wasn’t fit for the position.
In fact, Teschen seemed to take issue with all of the Marchioness’s personal attendants. However, as the head maid, Teschen’s authority wasn’t something they could challenge.
Liana quickly clasped her hands and bowed her head.
“Gossiping about your master?”
“We’re sorry.”
Regardless of the circumstances, it was indeed wrong to speak ill of the master of the house. Even if Teschen decided to punish them on the spot, there would be no excuse.
“If you have so much free time, go to the still room and clean every single dish.”
“Right now?”
“I said immediately. You’ll reflect on your careless words about the Marquis as you clean each dish.”
“But today, the Marchioness is going out. As her personal maid, I need to help her prepare…”
“Who said you could talk back?”
Teschen’s icy glare made it clear she had no intention of being reasonable. No matter what Liana said, Teschen’s mind was made up.
Only the Marchioness herself could intervene, but as just a maid, Liana had no standing to defy the head maid.
She had given the Marchioness’s two closest maids a punishment that would take at least half a day. As head maid, Teschen certainly knew what day it was, yet she issued this harsh decree as if she had been waiting for the opportunity, then promptly left.
Even if Liana rushed to help Agatha prepare for her outing, time would be tight. Liana and Lindsay exchanged anxious glances.
When Liana, who had gone to fetch hot water, did not return for a long while, Agatha grew concerned. Normally, she would have waited patiently, but today was different. Agatha rang the bell to summon the other attendants standing outside. They informed her that Liana had been punished by the head maid.
Agatha let out a small, bitter laugh.
Teschen was fully aware of the significance of today and why she needs to prepare quickly. Yet she chose to impose a harsh punishment on Agatha’s personal maid, as if to assert that she could disrupt the Marchioness’s schedule with a single word.
It was a display of arrogance, a clear message that a Marchioness who hadn’t won her husband’s favor was nothing.
Though Agatha wanted to reprimand Teschen, she didn’t want to cause a scene on the day dedicated to honoring her late father.
She decided to attend the memorial service first and then deal with Teschen afterward.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
The sky was overcast with clouds, adding to the somber mood. The attendants accompanying Agatha on her journey consoled her, saying that even the sky shared her sorrow.
Liana, who had not finished her punishment by the time the procession was ready to depart, was finally able to put down the dishes and join them after Agatha’s order.
It had been 14 years since the passing of the former Duke. A belated memorial indeed.
In the decade since the Duke’s death, Countess Calvino, who claimed to oversee the duchy, had never once held a memorial for her brother. Everything she did with the Ducal seal was solely for her own and her family’s benefit.
The Duke’s hidden treasures, once securely stored in the manor’s vault, had been transferred to the Countess’s possession. Along with mining rights, through documents bearing the duchy’s seal.
Though Cain later sued to recover most of the assets, the wealth she had managed to hide and the vast quantities of minerals she had extracted over ten years were beyond retrieval.
The memorial for the former Duke Kristin, once part of the Empire’s illustrious four great families, was exceedingly modest. This was partly due to Agatha’s firm desire not to make a fuss now by invoking her father’s memory.
Moreover, she still hadn’t fully come to terms with and accepted her father’s death.
“It’s been a long time, Kristin.”
“…Yes, it has.”
The one who had addressed her so familiarly was Count Fitzgerald, the sixth cousin of the late Duke Kristin. He spoke in a friendly way.
