Chapter 10

“Still… when someone is ill, it’s only natural for them to become sensitive. No matter how kind Lady Bianca is, it can’t be helped.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Varkan’s expression darkened.

‘But becoming Bianca’s maid…’

Bianca seemed to have hit a very late rebellious phase recently.

She hadn’t been replying to her family’s letters, and she frequently got into conflicts with her friends.

At this point, there were hardly any young ladies left in the North who could still be considered her friends.

On top of that, the family’s maids kept quitting because of her.

Varkan firmly shook his head.

“If that’s the situation, then I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Just as he was about to object, Diena shot her hand into the air.

“I want to do it!”

Varkan shook his head again.

“It won’t be as easy as you think.”

“I still want to do it.”

“It’ll be very difficult.”

“How difficult?”

“Well, I haven’t seen her much lately, so I don’t really know.”

A bitter smile appeared on Varkan’s lips.

He couldn’t go near Bianca while she was suffering from Darkness Corruption.

His presence might only make her condition worse.

The fact that he couldn’t even see for himself how his own sister was doing felt ridiculous.

“I still want to do it!”

Faced with Diena’s stubborn response, Varkan hesitated.

Even before she became ill, Bianca had never been easy to deal with.

And recently, he’d heard she’d become even more aggressive…

Still, if Diena’s determination was this strong, maybe she’d get along with his sister.

Besides, she was bold enough to talk about taking revenge on Duke Rothwell.

He wanted to believe in that possibility.

In the end, he could only nod.

“Fine. If you want it that badly, do as you wish. But if things get difficult, tell the Head Maid immediately.”

Varkan turned to leave.

He still had to carry out His Majesty the Emperor’s order and escort Malakar to the Imperial Capital.

But Diena’s next words made him stop.

“You have to come back quickly, Lord Varkan.”

“…Come back quickly?”

“You must. Don’t be late. Promise me.”

Varkan looked at her with a puzzled expression.

No matter how much she tried to act tough, she was still young.

She was probably scared of being left alone.

There wasn’t a single person here that she knew.

“Well, alright.”

Diena was around the same age as his younger sister.

Part of him wanted to stay and see whether she adjusted well.

But he couldn’t remain here any longer.

‘I’m leaving soon anyway.’

Even as he thought that, he couldn’t stop worrying about her.

“We’re leaving immediately. Prepare everything.”

Malakar also looked at Diena with concern.

“I’ll come visit again soon. Take care of yourself until then.”

After Varkan and Malakar departed, the butler turned toward the Head Maid.

“Matilda, you heard Lord Varkan’s instructions.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach her well and take good care of her.”

The butler gave Matilda a trusting smile.

“Good. You’ve served Lady Bianca well all these years. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

After saying that, the butler left.

The moment he disappeared, Matilda’s attitude completely changed.

The respectful and disciplined demeanor she had shown moments ago vanished.

Her face turned cold.

“Follow me.”

They arrived at a somewhat shabby maid’s room.

“What? Disappointed? Were you expecting a better room, only to end up in a maid’s quarters?”

Crossing her arms, Matilda looked down at Diena from the doorway.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’ve served this family for a very long time. I’ve met countless people like you.”

Diena silently looked at her.

Contempt filled Matilda’s face.

“People trying to get something out of the Young Master and the Young Lady. Every single one of them plays the same game. Let me give you some advice. Watch your behavior. Otherwise, you won’t last long in this house.”

“Wow…”

“What?”

“No, it’s just surprising.”

Listening to her, Diena was genuinely impressed.

‘That’s quite the self-introduction.’

Knowing who Matilda really was, Diena found the speech utterly ridiculous.

Caught off guard by her reaction, Matilda cleared her throat.

Then she smirked.

She assumed the child simply didn’t understand the situation.

With a rough motion, she tossed a black dress onto Diena’s bed.

“Stop talking nonsense and put this on. It’s the uniform the maids wear in this estate.”

Diena carefully picked up the dress.

Even so, it was in much better condition than the clothes she’d worn in House Rothwell.

Watching her, Matilda clicked her tongue and left the room.

‘How stingy. She didn’t even give me anything to eat.’

Diena clutched her empty stomach.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m hungry for the first time in a while, but I can barely stand it.’

During the journey to House Kardian, she’d been able to eat plenty of delicious food.

Varkan had constantly been feeding her.

“Why are you so skinny? If you want to survive in our family, you’d better eat a lot more.”

Who would’ve thought that after only a few days of eating properly, she’d become less able to endure hunger than before?

Fortunately, there was water on the table.

Closing her eyes, Diena slowly drank it.

Truthfully, if she hadn’t volunteered to become a maid, Varkan would’ve treated her as a guest.

But if that happened, she wouldn’t be able to accomplish what she wanted.

The reason she’d specifically asked for maid work was because she already knew what Matilda was likely to do beside Bianca.

‘Because Matilda was sent by House Rothwell.’

In her previous life, after Bianca died, Diena had accidentally read a report Matilda had sent to House Rothwell.

That was how she learned what Matilda had done here.

‘Even now, she’s probably subtly brainwashing Lady Bianca.’

The report had contained detailed records.

Bianca’s preferences.

Her likes and dislikes.

The things Matilda had done to her.

And exactly how she had shaped Bianca into what she became.

There had been times when Diena imagined telling Varkan everything she knew.

‘Lord Varkan, I know what’s happening to your sister right now. So trust me and throw out that Head Maid immediately. Also, I’m not sure whether I can cure Darkness Corruption, but I think I might be able to. So let me stay by Lady Bianca’s side and find out.’

If she had said something like that, she would’ve been thrown out long before the Head Maid.

Bianca trusted Matilda.

And she didn’t even realize what was being done to her.

There was no point expecting any testimony from her.

So…

‘I’ll get rid of that Head Maid myself, and quickly.’

While performing purification work in House Rothwell, Diena had encountered villains far worse than Matilda.

A mere Head Maid wasn’t difficult to deal with.

And after that, she planned to become Bianca’s favorite maid and cure her Darkness Corruption.