“If you do it too many times, the effect wears off.”

Adele, who had delivered a short, sharp knife-hand strike to the back of the duke’s head in the middle of the garden, shook her head.

She had never dreamed she would run into the master of the house like this. Just like before, why was this man not going off to work?

She had never imagined that the position of duke would be this leisurely.

Adele’s first memory was of the war Vincent had started, and the entire kingdom had been in turmoil. At that time, Duke Usder Rogato had been killed by his own son and was no longer among the living, so there was no way to know what a duke looked like in times of peace.

“Could it be that he was let go, like me?”

Adele still remembered with perfect clarity the humiliation she had felt when she was dismissed from the construction site. What kind of person hires someone saying they need them and then dismisses them so carelessly?

What kind of kingdom was this, that it did not even guarantee basic human rights? She had nearly starved and been on the verge of turning to robbery.

A woman who dreamed of conquering the world, resorting to robbery. That was not a good look.

That man from the construction site, even if she was not going to put her fist through his stomach, she should have at least made him taste something close to that level of pain…… Adele opened and closed her fist, privately lamenting the missed opportunity.

If her guess was right, this Duke Usder Rogato, who had just collapsed pale-faced before her, was probably also feeling humiliated by the king and lamenting his lot in life. If so, was this man not a pitiable figure?

Adele stared at Duke Rogato’s face.

Perhaps he was having a nightmare, for the mustache that looked rather greedy was quivering faintly. His brows were deeply furrowed as well, making his already irritable-looking face appear even more severe.

“No. They say you don’t worry about rich people. Even if he was let go, he’ll be eating well.”

Adele immediately looked away.

Now that the nuisance was gone, she just needed to raid the estate kitchen. She grinned at her own perfect plan. Training Vincent had already been pushed to the back of her mind.

She did not know the layout of the estate, but Adele pressed forward without hesitation, sniffing the air as a delicious smell drifted toward her nose.

She soon identified the source and her eyes went wide.

“This is…… the smell of freshly baked bread and ham? If fresh vegetables were added alongside, it would make for a perfect sandwich beyond compare.”

Split a golden-brown baked loaf in half, add an appropriate amount of lettuce and onion, and since one slice of ham would not be enough, two slices. A drizzle of sauce would be nice, but a few cracks of pepper would do just as well. And if cheese could be layered inside, how wonderful that would be.

Having imagined it that far, Adele wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and turned her feet in the direction the smell was coming from. It was the look of a beast that had been starving for about a week setting out on a hunt.

She hid in the low shrubbery whenever servants passed by, and erased her presence when she could not avoid them. Jumping high from the spot and hanging from a tree branch was a bonus.

In this moment, there was no one anywhere who could stop her yearning for a sandwich.

At last, she safely arrived at the kitchen, the source of the smell.

Adele waited for the right moment and slipped in through a slightly open gap in the door. She was grateful there was a back door connected to the garden. On top of that, the head cook seemed to have stepped away briefly, as there was no sign of anyone inside.

She sniffed repeatedly and located the bread. Just as she rose on her tiptoes and reached out toward her target.

“It’s the first time the young master has asked for something he wanted to eat, isn’t it?”

“Is that so?”

A cheerful voice and a cold voice were heard.

“Tsk.”

Adele clicked her tongue and ducked down. If she had moved her hand any faster, it would already be in her stomach by now.

She crept carefully, avoiding the servants, to wait for another opportunity. Her eyes remained fixed on the bread on the table.

“But isn’t the amount a bit much? It seems like too much for one person to eat alone.”

“That’s their business.”

“Maybe a friend is coming over? It probably wouldn’t be good to eat too much before the tea party.”

“Pfft! That young master, have a friend? Even a passing dog would laugh at that. And…… heh, haven’t they forgotten there’s even a tea party?”

“Oh come on. Surely not.”

At the sound of laughter mixed in with the talk about Vincent, Adele tore her gaze away from the bread and turned her head.

The woman’s face, with one corner of her mouth twisted upward, held undisguised contempt at a single glance. She was a woman with hair similar to Duke Rogato’s but slightly dull and light brown, wrapped in a white head covering.

Her face looked tired, but she was rather pretty.

‘Even so, she is nowhere near Queen Layla.’

Before she knew it, the drool at the corner of Adele’s mouth had quietly retreated. Her eyes remained fixed on the brown-haired servant.

“Becky, why do you dislike the young master so much?”

The brown-haired servant called Becky shrugged her shoulders at the question and seemed to think about her answer.

Unlike Becky, who was complaining about Vincent, the other servant was moving her hands busily. She looked accustomed to Becky being like this, as though it were nothing new.

Watching the other servant’s hands closely, Adele saw that the recipe being followed was exactly the one she had pictured in her head. When she saw cheese being laid on top as well, she felt her salivary glands explode once more.

“It’s not like he’s necessarily the real young master anyway, so there’s no particular reason to like him. Isn’t there some way to test whether he’s truly a legitimate child?”

“Oh, you! I keep telling you not to say things like that in this estate! You’re going to get yourself into serious trouble!”

“So what? There’s no one here but you. You’re being overly dramatic.”

‘There is someone here.’

Words spoken in the day are heard by birds, words spoken at night are heard by mice, and words spoken in the kitchen are heard by Adele.

How outrageous.

How dare she look down on her own subordinate like that. Was that not the same as looking down on her?

Adele’s eyes blazed as she stared at Becky. Perhaps because of that effect.

“Ugh, doesn’t it feel kind of cold in here?”

Becky suddenly rubbed her arms with her hands and shivered. But her colleague only tilted her head.

“Not really. It’s warm from the stove. Becky, are you coming down with a cold?”

“I don’t know. It’s really cold though. Let’s get out of here.”

The two of them hurried out of the kitchen, carrying the beautifully made sandwiches.

Adele, robbed of her sandwich, stared endlessly at the door through which the servants had left.

She was in quite a foul mood. Whether it was the anger of having the bread snatched away right before her eyes, or some other emotion she could not identify, she felt frustrated.

Adele thought to herself.

That she would have her revenge on those servants who had taken her food.

Especially on that brown-haired woman, Baki or Becky or whatever her name was.

– – –

“Young master, here is the sandwich you said you wanted.”

‘Still not her.’

Vincent let out a deep sigh at the servant’s visit. Adele, who had clearly said she was coming to eat today, was nowhere to be seen.

Surely she had not forgotten their promise? Vincent kept anxiously glancing out the window. Outside the window was as quiet as ever.

Having jumped out of bed before sunrise and kept waiting, the time had already reached noon before he knew it. He had long since forgotten his hunger from waiting for Adele alone.

The servant tilted their head at the young master’s forlorn appearance, but there was nothing to be understood from it.

Was this some new game? More importantly, he would need to get ready soon, they thought, but looking again, the young master’s clothes were perfect.

It seemed he had fortunately remembered the tea party scheduled for today.

‘If pushed any further, our irritable young master would grumble and throw a fit. Since preparations seemed to be finished anyway, it was best to say nothing.’

The servant thought so, set two servings of sandwiches on the table, and opened the door again to leave.

In front of the door stood a girl the servant had never seen before. Dry eyes contrasting with blazing hair color…… they had confirmed that much, and then?

‘Huh, where did she go?’