The Price of Peace
Adela was discovered by the guards who had rushed in at the sound of the commotion and was carried away on a stretcher.
The knife-wielding rampage that had erupted in broad daylight spread like wildfire, with no time to conceal it. It was only a matter of time before every servant in the duke’s estate learned of the horrific tragedy in the annex, and the news inevitably reached the duke and duchess—including Blair and Hermann.
Odeliana had wondered whether the duke and duchess, shocked by the report, might come running to see her face, but they never once sought her out or held her accountable.
It went beyond heartlessness; it was downright cruel. So much so that she questioned whether she was truly their blood child.
It would have been better if they had been like this from the beginning.
The servants in the annex began treating her with impeccable deference. Their terrified expressions, as if she were some object of dread, were irritating, yet she found it rather satisfying how flawlessly they performed their duties. There was no need to intervene; they were clearly determined not to become the mad princess’s second victim.
“It seems my parents have no intention of seeing me after all. If they plan to disown me, I don’t understand why they keep me in this house. Even if I went around telling everyone I’m the princess of House Gruisevald, no one would believe me. What are they so afraid of?”
The peace she had earned at such a steep cost was sweet.
She supposed the stigma of being a lunatic had its uses. She had reduced a person to that wretched state and suffered no punishment. Nor did she bear any responsibility for this incident. The family had taken care of the cleanup themselves.
Exactly one week passed in that manner. Then, deep in the night as midnight approached, an unexpected visitor arrived.
“My lady, the young master is here to see you.”
“Show him in. It seems we’ll talk for a while, so prepare some refreshments as well.”
Odeliana had anticipated his visit once his confinement ended, so she received Blair with perfect composure. Blair, however, who had clearly rushed over in a panic, was anything but calm.
“Have you come to scold me? That’s quite the frightening look on your face.”
“What in the world happened? How could you do something so horrific…”
“I must have gone mad. Even lunatics have their episodes, after all.”
“You are not a lunatic! Why did you do it? There must have been a reason. There’s no way you would have done such a thing without any cause!”
Blair had completely lost his composure. He seemed unable to believe that his only frail sister had brutally torn a servant’s mouth apart. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to believe it.
“The problem began the moment Adela was assigned here as head maid. What do you suppose she did to me?”
“……”
“They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and they were right. She entrenched herself here, seized complete control, and tormented both Mathias and me with childish pranks no seven-year-old would stoop to.”
“……You should have told me first. If you had sent a letter through Mathias, I would have taken action.”
“What could you have done, brother? The fact that the chief abuser, Adela, was allowed to waltz back in here should answer that question.”
“……”
“I was simply protecting myself. Besides, I had no desire to burden you with this. You were already confined because of me—should I impose on you again? What if this time they lock you away for an entire year?”
Odeliana sipped her tea with a serene expression.
“She was in a position to poison my food or strangle me in my sleep. Every servant in this annex obeyed her orders, not mine. In that situation, merely tearing her mouth was an act of considerable mercy, wouldn’t you say?”
“……”
“What else could I have done? No one helped me. Even our parents sided with Adela. What choice did I have but to pick up the knife myself?”
Not killing her was my mercy.
At those resolute words, Blair’s face twisted in anguish. But that was all. He could not bring himself to say anything more to Odeliana.
“So you came here to interrogate me?”
“That was never my intention. I knew there had to be a proper reason for what you did. I simply wanted to hear it from you directly.”
“I see. Now that you’ve heard my answer, do you understand?”
Rather than reply, Blair quietly surveyed the room.
A shabby, dim space. Though people lived here, it carried an unmistakable chill of gloom. The stark contrast with his younger sister’s room, overflowing with gold and jewels, made Blair smile bitterly and nod.
“Adela’s whereabouts are unknown. I thought you should know.”
“She must find it too humiliating to walk around with a ruined face. Perhaps she threw herself into the lake.”
At Odeliana’s indifferent remark, Blair simply stared at her.
“……You’ve changed so much.”
“Everyone changes.”
“……”
“Does the new me feel like a stranger? Do you dislike it? Do you miss the way I used to be?”
“……No. I’m simply sorry. I keep wondering what I was doing while you changed like this. I regret running away to study abroad as if I were fleeing.”
“You have no need to feel guilty, brother. Everyone changes. There are turning points in life even without any particular trauma.”
She spoke with the detachment of one who had seen through life itself. The sense of alienation Blair felt from her seemed to stem from this extreme attitude. The child who had once desperately clung to familial affection, trembling and bursting into tears, had grown into someone drained of vitality, steeped in dry, muted tones. The thought weighed heavily on his heart.
“A new servant will arrive tomorrow. I’ve left the textbook you requested with her.”
“Is she trustworthy?”
“Her reputation is excellent. She possesses considerable skill and will be a great help in protecting you.”
“……Is it a man?”
“A woman. With that fellow already by your side proving difficult to manage, I’d have to be insane to bring another man into the picture.”
“A woman skilled in martial arts? Then she must be a former mercenary. Female mercenaries are rare; you must have gone through some trouble to recruit her.”
“She will serve as the link between us. So if you have any message for me, send it through her.”
Blair took Odeliana’s hand in both of his.
“Odeliana, if your goal is to make Mathias your knight—”
“……”
“—then you must never stain your own hands with blood again. That duty belongs to him.”
“He is not yet my knight. He is merely a servant who attends me. There is no need for him to dirty his hands so soon.”
“If you intend to make him your knight, he must grow accustomed to staining his hands with blood in your stead.”
“……”
“Therefore, Odeliana, do not let these hands be stained again.”
In the end, he too was a noble. One who took it as a matter of course that those beneath him would dirty their hands—an inescapable truth of aristocracy.
Odeliana glanced past Blair’s shoulder at Mathias, who stood tall and dignified in his place. Even when Blair spoke of staining the boy’s hands with blood, Mathias showed no displeasure. On the contrary, he nodded in quiet agreement.
As though asking what was so significant about blood on one’s hands that it warranted such noble concern.
“I’ll try.”
Only then did Blair rise from his chair, seemingly satisfied. He added that the household’s surveillance was too strict for frequent meetings, so they should exchange messages through the new maid, then left the room.
The next day, the new maid arrived.
“Greetings, my lady. My name is Malena. I will serve you with complete devotion.”
Her wavy, golden-tinged hair was cut so roughly it stuck out at the ends like the work of careless scissors. Unlike the neatly groomed hair of the other servants, it looked deliberately unkempt. Her bronzed skin and amber eyes formed a striking, almost picturesque combination.
Her features were neat and rather lovely, yet her muscular build—entirely at odds with her face—added a powerful aura of vitality. Even beneath the maid uniform, her large frame and well-defined muscles were impossible to hide.
At the sight of this unusually tall, robust maid, Odeliana’s eyes sparkled with interest.
She’s magnificent.
This was the extraordinary maid with the perfect body she had longed for so desperately in her previous life.