“I should not act on impulse. Put them in the prettiest vase and set them by the window.”

“Understood.”

“After that, I would like to go for a walk together.”

Mary went straight outside and came back with a suitable vase. Of course, it was neither pretty nor fine, as though to illustrate exactly how I was treated in this place.

The chipped vase was so dull in color that it looked as though it had not been properly washed. Mary scrubbed it with a handkerchief until it squeaked, but there was no making it clean.

I stopped her and put the flowers into the shabby vase myself.

This was the extent of Evian’s standing in the marquisate.

“I think that will do.”

“But….”

“It is enough. Let us go for a walk. All that commotion this morning has left me feeling stifled.”

“Understood.”

Mary filled the vase with water in a hurry and followed behind me.

Walking down the corridor I had always walked alone with someone else beside me felt truly strange. The servants of the marquisate looked at me with much the same expression as always, but Mary fixed each of them with a sharp glare.

“Mary. You do not need to be so wary of them.”

“…But, my lady.”

“To their eyes, Mary should appear to be on Mother’s side rather than mine. So it would be better to glare at me along with them.”

“…You seem like someone who invites dislike upon yourself willingly.”

“Because I know that trying to be liked will get me nowhere. I have simply given up.”

With those words, I looked back at Mary, who followed one step behind. She still wore the expression of someone who did not understand, then let out a long sigh and nodded. From that point on, her gaze turned sharp as well.

I thought peace might settle in after that. But another group on the way to the garden grated on our nerves. The moment they spotted me, the handmaids gathered among themselves and began whispering, as though they had been waiting for the chance.

“Look at her, walking around bold as you please after getting the lady of the house confined.”

“Truly, nothing has gone right since that woman came into this household.”

“She calls herself the young mistress, but from what I hear, she was practically begging on the streets.”

“Really? I only heard she was the daughter of a ruined family.”

“Either way, her background is not exactly clear.”

Even without Mother present, her handmaids were busy running their mouths at me for all to see. Mary, walking alongside me, made no effort to hide her discomfort at the sight of them.

“Are you going to let this pass, my lady?”

“I am not sure.”

I looked at them quietly and fell into thought. What would be the best way to handle this? I had intended to stir up trouble through these loose-lipped ones anyway.

‘Today, then….’

The timing was not bad. Now, while Dertosse was seething with anger at his mother, while he held the pregnant me in high regard, and while he still carried a measure of guilt over his infidelity.

Having made my decision, I stepped forward and stood squarely before them as they continued whispering among themselves.

“It seems you all have quite a lot to say to me?”

The handmaids, who had been whispering loudly enough that calling it whispering was generous, all turned their eyes to me at once. They were the same women who had always trailed behind Mother.

“…No, my lady. What would we have to say to you?”

“Is that so? How strange. I wonder whether I am the strange one or you are. I heard it clearly. You were openly speaking ill of me.”

“Surely not. You must have misheard. We were talking about this evening’s dinner.”

“Ah, I see. So now, on top of insulting me openly, you add a lie to it.”

In the past, I would have shrunk at their words and hurried past, but not anymore.

“A lie, you say. Is this how you intend to treat us too, driving us around like dogs?”

“Pardon?”

“And then pin false charges on us the way you did the lady of the house, and have us confined?”

“Confined? Anyone listening would think I am trying to get my hands on every person in this household and bend them to my will.”

It was impossible to tell who was the Marchioness and who was the handmaid. But whether my expression hardened or not seemed to be of no concern to her, and the handmaid pressed on with what she had to say.

“I think that is exactly what you are doing.”

“Is that so? Hmm. Hearing it put that way, it does seem I have gained that kind of power. Then I suppose I ought to make use of it.”

I smiled pleasantly and walked toward them at a measured pace.

They had expected me to flinch at their words, so when I moved forward with confidence, they looked quite flustered.

“Wh, what are you doing?”

“I was going to offer my thanks to the ones who made me aware of the power I have. Why are you so startled?”

“What power do you have! All of that belongs to the lady of the house!”

“I thought so too. But you were kind enough to be the ones to set me straight.”

Noble households typically hired maids to handle their work. But these women were handmaids. Most handmaids came from noble families and often served as companions to high-ranking noblewomen. As such, they tended to seek positions at ducal households or the imperial palace rather than a marquisate, but Rose Chenples had not done things that way.

She had kept handmaids by her side. Saying that she, the Chenples Marchioness, would soon become the flower of high society. Thanks to that, the marquisate had an unusually high number of handmaids for its standing. Haughty women who did not easily bend their pride.

‘And at that time, those handmaids had been at the forefront of tormenting me.’

From their perspective, a woman with no family name and nothing to speak of had become the Marchioness, so it was no wonder they found it galling. And with my mother-in-law openly tormenting me, their behavior was understandable in its own way.

Of course, understanding it did not mean I could forgive them.

“How convenient. Now that I know I have power, I intend to use it freely.”

“Do you think the lady of the house will simply stand by?”

“Does it matter?”

I smiled and walked slowly around the handmaid who had been the most brazen of them all.

“By the time she finds out what I have done, it will already be too late to undo.”

“Wh, what are you saying!”

“What do you mean by that?”

Those with even a little sense quickly shut their mouths, but the woman who had been stirring the others up only stared at me.

“First, what is your name?”

“Ha.”

“You will not answer.”

“Rona Estin. The eldest daughter of Baron Estin.”

I patted her on the shoulder as though she had done well.

“Good. I want to commend your boldness. Thanks to you, I realized what I am capable of.”

“…….”

“Effective today, Rona Estin and the rest of the handmaids here are dismissed. In the name of the Marchioness.”

“Wh, what! Wh, what do you mean! That is…!”

“This is absurd!”

“You have no right to do that!”

I smiled more brightly than I ever had as I watched them each cry out.

“No right, you say. It seems you have not heard yet. Mother will soon be leaving for the villa on the outskirts of the capital. That means the only one remaining here will be me, the Marchioness. If handmaids serve no purpose to me, is it not perfectly reasonable to dismiss them? I have no use for handmaids who do not serve me.”

I looked over the handmaids with a bright smile.

“Now get out.”

“…Right now, right now…!”

“Right now what. Or do you want to be dragged out by the servants and knights in a manner unbecoming of noble daughters? If that is what you want, I can arrange it immediately. That would be quite entertaining.”

At those words, the handmaid Rona’s fists trembled with rage.

“You have no idea what will happen if you drive us out like this.”

“Of course I do. You will probably run to my mother-in-law and make a scene, insisting you will not leave. And if that gets you nowhere, you will return to your own families for the time being and lodge a formal complaint with the marquisate.”

“…….”

“Am I wrong?”

With each word I spoke, their faces went pale and rigid.

“…….”

“Do whatever you like. But there is one thing you should know. From now on, this marquisate revolves around me, not Mother.”

“……You will regret this.”

“The most harmless words in the world are the desperate cries of those without power.”

“Ha…!”

“Unfortunately, those kinds of cries do not land a single blow on me.”

In the past, I would have trembled. Those had been days when I feared earning someone’s hatred, feared that someone might dislike me.

Even when the handmaids followed Mother’s orders and used a whip on me, I had not said a word. Even when they openly poured scalding water on me, I endured it in silence.

But not anymore.

In any case, I would be leaving this place in a month, and I had memorized every one of their faces to repay them in kind.

“Please do not drive us out like this!”

In an instant, the handmaids split into two groups.

Those who stormed off in fury toward my mother-in-law, and those who grabbed hold of me.

“I am sorry, but the decision is already made. You should have known when to stop. If you had, I might have left you alone. But what is done is done. It cannot be undone. So all of you, get out.”

They might not have tormented me the way they had in my past life.

But they had already done quite enough. They had tormented me well beyond what Mother had ordered. It had been consistent ever since Dertosse revealed that my background was false.

They had tripped me as I walked and laughed, or shoved me hard enough that I nearly suffered serious injury on more than one occasion. And that would have been bad enough on its own. When Mother said she could not stand the sight of my face, they brought water brewed with poisonous herbs and told me to wash my face with it.

‘And now, after all that.’

“I will not take back my words. If you refuse to leave, then right now….”

Just then, servants came from behind.