Brilliant Move
The next day at the Restis Ducal Residence's main house.
The mornings in the grand estate were always bustling with energy. Dozens of servants and maids hurried about, dusting away the night's grime and preparing for the day ahead. But today, an unusual topic of gossip was in full swing by the well in the backyard of the main house.
"Hey, did you guys see? The young master who showed up at the main gate yesterday."
"Oh my, I heard! They say he's come back amazingly handsome. Even the knights are buzzing that he's not the same skeletal invalid from before."
A young maid clasped her hands together, chiming in with flushed excitement.
"Kyaa! I caught a glimpse from afar! His jet-black hair was so glossy. I've never seen such cold, captivating black hair in my life!"
"Right, right. His eyes are completely different too. Like they pierce right through you, but somehow lazily seductive... The kind of devilish charm that once you're hooked, you can't escape...?"
At the maids' feverish chatter, Ella, who happened to pass by carrying a laundry basket, made a dumbfounded face.
Ha...? Devilish charm?
Ella barely suppressed a scoff.
Just a few years ago, before she left for the annex, among the main house servants, Young Master Cael was nothing but "that jinxed invalid" or "the pitiful kid from the previous wife who's gonna drop dead any day." Even when she was assigned to the annex, everyone had clicked their tongues in pity.
And now, overnight, they were fawning over how cool the young master was? Ella felt a strange mix of emotions. It was great that the young master she served was finally getting recognition, but she couldn't shake a petty twinge—like a treasure she'd known all to herself was being snatched away.
Gossiping about the master's looks or badmouthing them was commonplace among noble house maids, so it wasn't anything new.
Whatever. No need to stir up trouble. If it's good, it's good.
As Ella quietly tried to slip away, one of the maids spotted her and grabbed her arm with a squeal.
"Hey, hey, Ella! Perfect timing. Spill it quick—what happened to the young master in the mountains? Why's he suddenly so hot? Huh? Ugh, I should've applied to be an annex maid!!"
Ella's shoulders shrugged at the maid's blatant envy.
"What do you mean 'suddenly'? Our young master was always top-notch underneath. You seniors just couldn't see his true value."
"Tch, fine, you're the smart one. But don't hog it—tell us! A sickly, handsome young master alone with a young maid in a rundown mountain annex... Gah!! Doesn't the setup alone make your heart race? It's like a romance novel!"
As the maids squealed and dove into fantasies, Ella snorted in disbelief.
"Pfft, what are you on about? That's disrespectful to the heir of the family! And it wasn't just us two. There was a guard, and a dog too."
"Disrespectful? We're just fangirling from afar—is that not allowed? In our tough maid life, this is our one joy. Hehe."
"Nothing happened. If anything, it was too quiet—that was the problem."
Ella's words were true. The miracle unfolding now had happened like magic just in the last month.
"No way, liar! Tell us! What went down in that annex?!"
Unlike Weger, who had brawled with the guard captain right upon arrival and ended up wrapped in bandages, Ella was adapting smoothly to main house life amid the maids' lighthearted banter.
But their cheerful chatter didn't last long.
"Do you lot have time to gab here right now?"
The maids' shoulders stiffened at the chilling voice.
The ducal maids were divided into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades, each managed by a supervisor, with a head maid overseeing all. The one who had appeared behind these 3rd-grade maids was the notoriously strict 3rd-grade supervisor.
The 3rd-graders grabbed brooms and laundry, slinking away awkwardly.
"I-I still have the 2nd-floor hallway to clean, so..."
"I'll go help in the kitchen!"
In an instant, the maids ebbed away like the tide. As Ella bowed and moved to leave,
"Ella, you stay."
Her steps halted at the supervisor's dry summons.
"Yes, Supervisor. What is it?"
"It's about the young master's meals. You've served him exclusively in the annex for years, so you know his tastes and constitution best, right?"
"Ah, yes. Of course. I have all his favorite foods and ingredients to avoid memorized."
"Then follow me to the kitchen. You need to hand over his diet to the head chef."
The supervisor strode ahead, and Ella followed, tilting her head curiously. It was standard for the main kitchen to handle the young master's meals now, but an inexplicable unease prickled her spine.
At the same time, in the acting family head's office.
In the room heavy with silence, Silina fidgeted irritably with her teacup.
"So, the guard captain lost to one of the young master's ragtag guards and broke his arm?"
The white-haired steward standing beside her bowed his head in reply.
"Yes, Acting Duchess. The report says this Weger used some bizarre swordsmanship to subdue the captain in one go. The young master then officially appointed him as his personal escort on that pretext."
Grind— Silina's teeth ground as if they might shatter.
She had thrown a pawn to sever the young master's limbs, and he had crushed it blatantly. She had planned to bribe Weger after reassigning him to the guards, but now the bastard was glued to Cael's side as his official guard.
Damn it. Lost a move right from the start.
In noble assassinations, the most common and effective method was buying off a trusted aide with money or power to poison or stab in the back.
Hmph, you think that's my only card?
But for Silina, who always prepared multiple plays, losing even one made her uneasy.
Watching her brow furrow deeply in thought, the steward stepped forward cautiously.
"Acting Duchess, you seem troubled."
"Can't you see? My head's about to explode—shut up and don't make it worse."
Even at her snappish rebuke, the steward kept his unflappable smile.
"Please quell your anger. This old servant has a small but useful way to ease your burdens."
"What? A way? To turn this around? Speak."
The cunning, sly steward—an iconic figure among servants, rising from the bottom ranks to head steward. He stuck close to Silina thanks to their shared scheming mindset.
He glanced around, then leaned in close, whispering low.
"You're too fixated on one issue, Acting Duchess."
"One issue?"
"Yes. You're solely obsessed with 'killing' Young Master Cael."
"You really asking why, pretending not to know?"
As Silina shot him a sharp glare, the steward politely shook his head.
"No. I know your will all too well, which is why I dare offer this advice."
At his calm demeanor, Silina crossed her arms, gesturing for him to continue.
"Your ultimate goal isn't taking Young Master Cael's life itself, but seating your blood son, Young Master Esler, as the firm heir to House Restis, correct?"
Silina snorted derisively, as if it were obvious.
"Obviously. Sure, there's the hassle of the succession contest, but by support or skill, Esler could claim the seat with ease."
"That's why I say this."
The steward's dull eyes gleamed.
"Instead of the risk of assassinating the young master, why not tarnish his reputation inside and out, forcing him to withdraw from the succession race?"
Silina's expression shifted instantly.
"Hoh... Go on."
"The duchy is vast, with endless big and small issues. You burn the midnight oil here handling them all, don't you?"
"So?"
"There's one massive headache you know well."
"!!!"
At the steward's hint, a flash of insight struck Silina's mind. Her vision had narrowed in panic. Her usual fox-like cunning had frozen momentarily due to Cael's unexpected healthy return.
A venomous smile slowly crept across Silina's lips.
"Hoh... As expected of my long-time steward. Your insight surpasses mine."
"My apologies, Acting Duchess."
"Yes... In a month, the Duke will return from his long monster subjugation. If we officially assign that thorny territory issue to Cael now..."
The steward continued.
"As the Duke's son, handling the duchy crisis is a natural duty. If the young master fails, His Grace will be deeply disappointed and enraged upon return. He'll feel the limits of his bedridden eldest son's return to the bone."
"And if he dies on the mission? I remove the thorn without bloodying my hands—a true boon."
"Exactly, Acting Duchess. Nothing but gains for us."
"Kuh... Kuhuhuhuhu."
Silina's low, sinister laugh echoed through the office. A brilliant move after so long.
"Perfect. Go immediately to the Knight Commander with my emergency standby order. Duration: one month. Pretext: bolstering castle defenses and security before the Duke's return from subjugation. I'll stamp it with my acting seal—make sure he gets it firm."
Silina aimed to block any chance of Cael pulling knights using his status. An acting duchess's formal order held the Duke's authority in the duchy. Even the young master couldn't drag knights into peril willy-nilly.
The task she planned to dump on him was one where failure loomed over 90% without masses of trained elite knights.
"Excellent, perfect. Now, the remaining issue is smoothly foisting this mission on Cael..."
As Silina pondered, chin in hand, the steward bowed with a meaningful smile.
"Worry not. I've already pulled strings discreetly. Just give the order, and the situation will force the young master to accept."
"Hoh? That confident, eh?"
"Twenty years serving you, Acting Duchess. This old servant's setup will surely please."
"Hahaha! Fine, let's see your script play out."
Silina's carefree laughter spilled beyond the firmly shut office door, echoing down the hall.