Chapter 37

“It’ll be okay, Boni.”

“Huh, Mom?”

“My lady is the only young lady of this ducal house. Everyone will be on her side, so it’ll be fine.”

At least there was one small relief. Count Elbron never inflicted physical harm.

Until the very end, until he gradually realized his indoctrination wasn’t working and that everyone in the estate was turning against him, Count Elbron never laid a hand on Estelle.

‘And the moment he tries to hit Lady Estelle, His Grace appears and stops him.’

That incident becomes the turning point where, at Estelle’s request, all the retainer families are investigated.

It’s an unavoidable step to clean out the corruption.

When they reached the room, Reina first washed Bonita’s hands and helped her change clothes.

Then, for the first time in a while, she spent time alone with Bonita.

“Mom, is it okay not to stay with my lady today?”

“…The count will be there for a while, so I don’t need to speak up.”

As Bonita quietly listened to Reina reading a fairy tale about a squirrel going on a journey to find a giant acorn, she asked the question.

Reina, once again worried about Estelle, fiddled with the edge of the book.

‘She’ll be okay soon.’

Reina kept repeating the same thought, unable to move forward.

Then Bonita hugged her.

“…I won’t talk about the grandpa teacher.”

“Huh?”

“After I talked about him, Mom’s face got weird.”

“…”

‘Was I that obvious?’

With one hand, Reina gently soothed Bonita, and with the other, she touched her own cheek.

Bonita was quick to sense other people’s emotions.

Reina carefully patted Bonita’s back.

“Boni, it might be better not to go out too often for a while.”

“Why?”

“Because we have a guest staying here.”

“So Mom can’t go out either?”

“Yeah. If we used to go to the work area every day, maybe now once every three days?”

“That’s fine. What about Mom?”

“I’ll help out with other things.”

In truth, Reina no longer needed to do work other than taking care of Estelle, but doing nothing didn’t suit her. She’d never really rested before.

“So I just wait?”

“Yeah. That’s all you need to do. I’ll bring the food.”

“Okay!”

Looking out the window, the sun was already sinking toward evening.

‘Then how does my lady eat her meals?’

That part never came up in the novel.

Still, they wouldn’t starve a child. Reina decided she’d pick up food from the kitchen and take a peek at the dining room.

* * *

“You’re going to eat in your room today?”

“For a while, yes. I’ll come get the meals myself.”

“You could eat in the kitchen like usual. I miss seeing Boni.”

The head chef looked genuinely disappointed as he spoke to Reina.

“Make sure Boni eats the vegetables in the stew. I cut them into flower, star, and bunny shapes.”

As he said that, the chef scooped up a ladleful of white stew and showed her the vegetables.

“They’re cute.”

“Right? Even kids who hate vegetables eat them when they’re like this. I know from experience with my grandkids.”

“If you grew up eating the head chef’s cooking, you probably wouldn’t be picky.”

“Botn, you really know how to make people feel good!”

In truth, Bonita wasn’t picky at all. Reina didn’t want to dampen the chef’s mood, so she didn’t add anything.

“Has my lady started her meal?”

“Yes. I hear she’s dining with the count who arrived today. In the small dining room, not the main one.”

“I see.”

The chef’s tone carried a clear message to avoid the small dining room.

Getting involved with nobles rarely led to anything good.

‘The small dining room is a shortcut back to the room.’

But Reina fully intended to take a look.

If there were knights standing near the door, she could just say she was taking the shortcut.

“Understood.”

Reina carried a tray with a basket of bread and two bowls of cream stew, steam rising with a rich, delicious aroma.

As she carefully walked down the hallway to avoid spilling anything, she scanned the area for people.

There were a few knights here and there toward the outside of the estate, but near the dining room door, there was hardly any presence.

‘The door’s slightly open.’

Bright light leaked through the gap. Reina narrowed her eyes slightly and peered inside.

Thankfully, the angle was just right, and she could see Estelle sitting there.

Estelle was eating a different meal from what Reina had received today.

In front of a much more lavish dinner, Estelle’s expression looked complicated.

‘What’s wrong?’

Then she heard the old man’s voice.

“Your table manners are terrible.”

“…”

“As expected, no matter how noble you are, half of your blood is still barbaric.”

“S-Sorry…”

“The young lady must be perfect. Otherwise, you’ll be a burden to His Grace. You’ll be a disgrace to this family, nothing but dead weight.”

At Count Elbron’s words, Reina’s eyes shook violently.

Every word he spoke was meant to tear Estelle down, to hurt her as deeply as possible.

‘W-What do I do?’

Reina opened and closed her dry mouth.

Her first thought was worry for Estelle, but hesitation came before action.

‘What can I even do by stepping in…’

She was just a common maid standing behind the duke’s authority.

Even if she rushed into the dining room with good intentions, it wouldn’t help at all.

But the count’s verbal abuse toward Estelle kept getting worse.

‘…I can’t let this continue.’

Reina tightened her grip on the tray.

Helpful or not, it would be better to break the situation somehow.

She couldn’t let a small child keep hearing words that would wound even an adult.

‘Even if my lady resolves it later.’

Those words would still leave scars somewhere in her heart.

As Reina moved toward the door, someone called her name softly from behind and grabbed her arm.

“Reina!”

The sudden pull made the plate of cream stew wobble slightly.

“S-Sofia?”

“Reina, don’t. If you interrupt nobles during their meal, it won’t end with just a warning.”

“…”

“Go. Hurry.”

Sofia pushed Reina away from the small dining room.

“Do you want to get thrown out together with Boni? It’s the middle of winter. You might manage, but your daughter won’t.”

“…”

“Don’t worry too much. Emma and I will probably be in charge of my lady for a while. I get why you’re worried.”

Sofia tried to calm Reina, who stood there stiffly.

“…Sofia.”

Reina looked down at the tray with a conflicted expression.

“I’ll protect my lady for you. So hurry up and eat with Boni. Okay?”

“…Yes.”

In the end, under Sofia’s gaze, Reina had no choice but to return to the room.

* * *

‘Is it really okay to leave things like this?’

‘One of the maids takes the initiative to harass Estelle.’

In some versions of the story, a maid who judged that Count Elbron would truly become Estelle’s guardian and seize power ends up secretly helping with the indoctrination.

That maid’s name never appeared in the book.

Reina didn’t mention this part to Sofia.

Sharing uncertain information would only make people anxious and suspicious of one another.

In the story Reina remembered, a maid helped with Estelle’s indoctrination after deciding Count Elbron would take control as her guardian. But not even her hair color or eye color was mentioned.

Like Reina, she existed to highlight Estelle as a character, but her ending was still better than Reina’s.

‘She isn’t killed, but she’s permanently expelled from the territory without a letter of recommendation.’

It was practically a death sentence by starvation, but at least she was allowed to leave alive.

Damian left for the Holy State, and Peter went with him.

All of Reina’s authority came from Damian.

That meant she now had no power and a very limited range of action.

‘I never wanted status before.’

As she gained more power, it felt like she was being forced onto a stage she never asked for, so she had no interest in authority.

But by making a different choice from the original story, Reina had already stepped onto that stage. Unlike the original plot, she hadn’t exited.

Her existence was starting to matter.

Even so, she didn’t want greater power.

Significance and power meant responsibility, and just being responsible for Bonita and herself already felt overwhelming.

On top of that, people who gained power too quickly often grew greedy, lost their original intentions, and met bad ends.

That was why Reina was afraid of gaining more power or receiving better things.

She felt like it would change her, and that change might hurt her.

‘But now, I need it.’

On her own, she couldn’t even restrain Count Elbron.

‘Not having power really means there’s nothing you can do.’

Not even protect someone weaker than yourself.