Chapter 17

“Please, go ahead, Mother.”

I was even more cautious, now that I’d seen the true face of Madame Eteil, wondering what her real intentions were.

She rested her pale, pretty hand on her chin and let out a deep sigh.

It was such a theatrical gesture, but I pretended not to notice.

‘What on earth is she going to say?’

I fidgeted with my fingers.

“First, why don’t you take a look at the garden outside the window?”

At her words, I turned to look out at the garden of the Winderton estate.

It was just as beautiful now as it had been when I first arrived.

“It’s really beautiful.”

“It is, isn’t it? But lately, I haven’t been able to take care of it since my health isn’t what it used to be.”

“That’s unfortunate. Shall I call for a gardener?”

I tilted my head and smiled brightly, playing the fool.

“That won’t do. The care of the garden is supposed to be the lady of the house’s domain.”

She shook her head firmly at my suggestion.

“Then what should we do?”

“From now on, you are the mistress of Winderton, so it would be best if you managed the garden yourself.”

I nearly laughed at her demand.

She refused to recognize me as the mistress except for times like this.

“But, Mother…”

“You can do it, can’t you? Edward has already agreed. The garden is his favorite place in Winderton. Please, take good care of it.”

It seemed my voice didn’t reach Madame Etiel at all.

She just spat out what she wanted to say, quickly.

“Huh…”

I was dumbfounded.

“You can finish it all in one day, can’t you? The garden isn’t that big.”

Madame Etiel finished what she wanted to say and then sent me out of the room.

She surely knew that my foot was injured.

‘That’s why she called me in, just to force me into this humiliating work.’

As soon as I left Madame Etiel’s room, Betty spoke up with her frustration.

“My lady, it’s hard for you to even walk. The wound will just get worse.”

I felt the same way.

I glanced at my foot, which hadn’t even healed yet, and let out a sigh.

“If I don’t do this, not only Madame Etiel, but His Grace as well—everyone will get angry with me.”

“But there’s a celebration soon… You need to be healed by then.”

Betty was right, too.

But if I ignored Madame Etiel’s order, I knew exactly what would happen.

Word would spread everywhere that I had defied Madame Etiel.

‘What am I supposed to do…’

My head throbbed.

No matter what I chose, I was bound to be the one hurt.

“It’s better to just finish it quickly.”

“My lady…”

I let out a deep sigh.

“No matter what anyone says, the mistress of the house doesn’t usually do the gardening herself.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t know that.

It was just that I had no one on my side in Winderton Castle, so I had no choice but to accept it.

“Betty, I’m sorry, but can you help me?”

My eyes stung with frustration and resentment, but I forced a smile.

“Yes, my lady. I’ll work hard so we can finish quickly!”

Knowing that I wouldn’t change my mind, Betty could only nod.

I changed into clothes that were easier to move in and went out to the garden with Betty.

Even on the way, my injured foot hurt.

“What on earth…”

“My lady…”

The moment I stepped outside, what I saw was a garden in utter ruins.

All the flowers had been uprooted and the earth was dug up.

‘There really are so many ways to torment someone.’

It was obvious Madame Etiel had done it on purpose.

After all, if the garden had been well maintained, she would have had no reason to ask me for this.

‘If only I were a little stronger.’

I knew everything, and yet I had no choice but to suffer through it.

That was what made it feel so miserable.

Snapping myself out of it, I started working to restore the garden.

Before long, my face was covered in sweat.

When I looked over, I saw Betty was the same.

“Rest if you need to, Betty.”

“How could I rest when you’re out here working with your injured foot, my lady?”

Betty answered with a smile, despite my concern.

My foot hurt more and more, but I felt like I could handle it.

Because Betty was with me.

That made it bearable.

If I’d been alone, I never could have finished.

With barely a moment’s rest, time slipped by, and soon the sun was setting.

Edward, who had gone to the imperial palace, would be back soon.

‘The garden’s still a mess!’

I needed to restore it at least before Edward came back. I started to panic.

“Oh my! Lirie! What are you doing?”

Madame Etiel’s voice rang out.

‘No way…’

When I turned around, I saw Madame Etiel with Edward escorting her.

I didn’t know much about swearing, but at that moment, I felt like I wanted to curse, even if I didn’t know the words.

Edward looked between the ruined garden and me.

It seemed like he thought I was the one who destroyed it.

‘Well, to Edward, I’m nothing more than a shameless Scarlett.’

I bit my lip, then opened my mouth to speak to him.

“Your Grace…”

I just couldn’t let go.

I called out to Edward desperately, wishing that just this once, he would believe me.

“Lirie! This is Edward’s favorite garden. How could you make it like this…”

The moment I called out to Edward, Madame Etiel urgently cornered me.

Edward simply listened to both our words in silence.

“Haha…”

How much more disappointed do I need to be before I finally give up on Edward? I looked at Edward, who still didn’t trust me, and let out a hollow laugh.

The sense of injustice that always used to come looking for me didn’t even bother showing up anymore.

“I think it’s best we go inside, Mother.”

“…?”

Edward’s belated words were unbelievable.

He didn’t scold me. He didn’t call me a shameless Scarlett.

He just took a deep breath and calmly spoke to Madame Etiel.

‘Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’

I could only stare at him, eyes wide, completely taken aback.

“Edward? What… What are you saying?”

Madame Etiel’s reaction was just like mine.

She clearly thought he would scold me too, but she was wrong.

“Edward, are you sure? That was your favorite garden.”

“The dignity of Winderton comes before the garden.”

Edward spoke concisely and firmly.

He was more concerned that berating me over the garden would damage Winderton’s already-declining dignity even further.

So he still doesn’t trust me.

Am I supposed to be grateful for that?

“The garden can just be restored by calling a gardener. I’m tired, so let’s go inside.”

“…Yes, that’s probably best.”

At Edward’s decisiveness, Madame Etiel accepted.

Once the two of them went inside the castle, Betty and I were finally able to stop our exhausting labor.

“Ow…”

I hadn’t even noticed before, but as soon as I started walking, the pain was excruciating.

It was hard to even walk.

“My lady, lean on me.”

“Thank you, Betty.”

With Betty’s support, I made it back to my room and took off my shoes, revealing my foot, now a mess of blood and pus.

It was a terrible sight.

No one would ever believe I was a pampered noblewoman, looking at this.

“They’re all just too cruel…”

Betty poured out her frustration, but she quietly treated my wounds.

She wasn’t the only one getting used to the cruelty of Winderton Castle.

‘Betty must be suffering too.’

It felt like everything was my fault.

“The ball is coming up soon… It’s impossible for you to attend with your foot like this.”

“But… Even so, I want to go.”

I wanted to attend the ball as the mistress of the house, even if my foot hurt.

It was a celebration of Edward’s business success, after all.

“There are still a few days left before the ball, so if I rest well, I should be able to make it.”

“No matter what I say, you’ll go anyway, won’t you, my lady?”

Betty let out a long sigh and nodded.

***

“It’s Edward.”

I was resting on the bed when I heard Edward’s voice from outside the door.

It was unexpected for him to come to my room.

“Yes, come in.”

Edward, having changed into comfortable clothes, opened the door and entered.

As soon as he sat down in the chair, his black eyes went straight to my foot.

“Is your foot all right?”

“You knew I was hurt?”

“Yes, well…”

“It’s fine. Thank you for your concern, Your Grace.”

I wasn’t sure how he found out, but I liked that he cared.

Did he always worry when I was hurt?

“I wasn’t especially worried.”

Of course, with those blunt words, I was brought right back to reality from my sweet little dream.