In the Nest of the Fallen Serpent - Chapter 26
Chapter 26
The knights proceeded to the dining area. As Moritz was about to follow, Greta subtly blocked his path.
“Madam Greta?”
“You must tell me precisely now.”
“What do you mean…?” Moritz tried to feign ignorance, but he couldn’t escape the discerning eyes of the seasoned housekeeper.
“Lord Lemon.”
Hearing his name spoken in her characteristically calm voice sent shivers down Moritz’s spine. She was the head housekeeper now, but she had once served the Duke’s mother, and in her younger days, she had been the mistress of a viscount’s household. He was no match for her, neither in experience nor in years.
“Even I, ignorant as I am of outside affairs, know that one doesn’t bring an ordinary slave back in a carriage.”
Moritz swallowed, feeling a bead of sweat trickle down his temple. Facing Greta’s sharp questions was more daunting than charging into the heart of enemy territory.
“Especially a woman from a fallen kingdom… His Grace must have had a compelling reason to bring her back.” She folded her arms, pressing him further. “So, what is it?”
***
Following Benedict, Hilde stopped dead in her tracks at the mansion’s wide-open entrance. The interior was magnificent and awe-inspiring.
Its elegance dwarfed the opulence she had witnessed when she entered the Count’s house as a maid.
‘Should I even be going in?’
It felt as though a lowly slave shouldn’t set foot inside. She worried about leaving dirty marks on the spotless floor. She hesitated.
“What are you waiting for?” Benedict, who was far ahead, turned back, frowning. Hilde hurriedly started moving towards him.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”
“You wouldn’t have to apologize if you hadn’t caused the delay in the first place.” His sharp tone made Hilde shrink back involuntarily.
“I’m sorry. …I’ll be careful next time.” She tensed under Benedict’s scrutinizing gaze. After a moment, he gestured towards her chest with his chin.
“Why did you bring that?”
“Oh…” She looked down at his cloak, which she was holding, and replied.
“It seemed… precious.” At Benedict’s gesture, a nearby maid took the cloak from Hilde. The sudden absence of its soft, warm touch left her feeling strangely empty, but she suppressed the feeling.
As he looked away and resumed walking, she hastened her steps to keep up.
‘Thank goodness. He didn’t say anything else.’
However, Hilde was mistaken in thinking she had gotten away unscathed. The real trouble began when Benedict, upon reaching the dining hall, gave a curt order to the waiting servants.
“All of you, leave.”
Alois, who had just entered to oversee his master’s meal, spoke with a bewildered expression. “But Your Grave, then there will be no one to attend to you…”
“There is.” Benedict’s gaze fell upon the small woman standing alone. Hilde flinched as a dozen pairs of eyes suddenly focused on her. “Who else would attend to their master but a slave?”
But a common-born slave from a foreign land could hardly be expected to know the customs of the Empire, let alone the dining etiquette of the nobility, without proper training.
So, Alois, uncharacteristically, tried again to explain the difficulty of the situation. “Your Grave—”
“Don’t make me say it twice.”
He was cut off before he could even begin. He had no choice but to lead the servants out of the dining hall. Meanwhile, Hilde initially thought she had misheard.
However, as she was left alone with Benedict, she couldn’t deny it any longer.
“What are you doing? Attend to me.”
She felt her mouth go dry, and she barely managed to part her lips. “Master, I…”
“I said I didn’t need a useless slave, didn’t I?”
