The Duke and Duchess left the estate the following afternoon.

Having returned at dawn the previous day and rested for most of the day, they attended to their separate duties before meeting again to go out for dinner.

As soon as the couple announced their plans to dine out and disappeared, the servants began whispering amongst themselves.

“Do you think the master and madam finally made up?”

“Probably? Things have been going well between them lately.”

“Ugh, speaking of that, my heart nearly dropped last time. I’ve never heard the madam raise her voice like that.”

“She was even talking about divorce just a while ago. Thank goodness things calmed down.”

“Divorce? She brought up divorce?”

Wherever they gathered — in the dining hall, while carrying out their duties, or in the servants’ quarters — the conversations were all the same.

Servants in a noble household had little to talk about besides their own affairs or the lives of their masters.

As such matters could never be discussed outside the estate, the servants felt free to speak openly with one another.

Derrick understood the servants’ mindset well. As long as their gossip didn’t cross the line or spread beyond the estate, he usually let it be. But today, for some reason, he couldn’t dismiss it so easily.

Perhaps it was because both the master and madam had gone out.

Normally, at least one of them would be somewhere on the estate.

Since they had married, it had been rare for the two of them to be away together.

So Derrick found himself paying close attention to every floating whisper.

“Then the madam must be feeling better now. That’s a relief.”

“Huh? Why? Was she unwell?”

“Not sick—just worn down. She was really distressed because of His Grace. Didn’t you know she was getting regular checkups from Doctor Brown?”

At that voice—overly worried, almost too careful—Derrick felt his suspicions solidify.

“Who doesn’t know the madam was getting frequent checkups early in the marriage? Everyone except the new hires who came after the injury knows that.”

“Really? But I heard she visited him again recently. So I assumed she must be having a hard time.”

“What? But usually the doctor comes to her.”

“Exactly. So maybe she didn’t go for a checkup?”

What on earth did that mean?

Derrick wondered where the conversation was heading. Why was the madam visiting the family doctor’s office so often, if not for medical examinations?

That alone wasn’t forbidden.

The problem was the maid’s tone: hesitant and suggestive.

“Ah… maybe she didn’t want anyone to know. I shouldn’t have said anything. Forget it, okay?”

“What do you mean she didn’t want anyone to know?”

“Yeah, that sounded weird. You’re not saying the madam and Doctor Brown are… you know…?”

“Huh? No, no! No way. Even if she’s been struggling, the madam would never do that. Right?”

‘No way. Surely not.’
‘It’s suspicious enough to wonder… but I refuse to believe it.’

So go ahead and think whatever you want and chatter however you like.

Outwardly, they sounded gentle, even concerned, but to Derrick’s ears, their words came across exactly like that.

“Did you actually see the madam doing anything in the doctor’s office? What’s wrong with you?”

When one of the slightly more sensible maids spoke up like that—

“Well, I mean… she did stay there for quite a while. But I just thought the examination was taking longer than usual, that’s all.”

The same maid brushed it off with vague, evasive phrasing. It was as if she were carefully shaping it into something that wouldn’t sound strange if rumors started spreading.

“So it wasn’t a checkup, is that what you’re implying?”

“Goodness. They say things like that happen often these days. You don’t think the madam would really…?”

A few of them agreed with her suggestion.

If they left the room now, they would undoubtedly rush straight to the other maids and footmen to spread the rumor as quickly as possible.

They were so eager to gossip that they were practically squirming with excitement.

Derrick watched them in silence, his fingers curling into tight fists.

How dare they?

To allow such rumors to take root on the estate for which he was responsible? And of all things, a scandal involving Brown, his close friend.

Derrick knew better than anyone that such a thing was impossible, and he was momentarily speechless at the sheer absurdity of it.

He fixed a sharp stare on the maid, who was now holding her cheeks as if regretting what she had said, and continued to listen.

If he burst into the room now, they would only brush it off and wriggle out of responsibility. He needed something more concrete before he stepped in.

“Hey! Don’t you know what kind of person the madam is? How can you listen to something like that so seriously when nothing’s even been confirmed?”

At least one of them — and only one — was genuinely angry that the whole story made no sense.

Regardless of the punishments the others received, Derrick decided that the maid would not be reprimanded.

She deserved a reward, not discipline.

He was quietly pleased as he listened, until it happened.

“All I said was what I saw. Why are you getting so worked up?”

“Yeah. The only thing we talked about was how unusually long she stayed in his room. Long enough to make people wonder.”

Would she really have stayed that long if nothing had happened? Alone with a man in that room?

“What do you mean, alone? Jay is always with the madam.”

“Not that day. She didn’t bring Jay with her.”

“What?”

It was like pouring oil on a fire.

Watching the maid subtly sprinkle out suspicious details under the guise of caution, Derrick decided he would absolutely have to interrogate her separately.

“She went there alone, and stayed far too long… Hey. Doesn’t that sound like something is going on?”

“What do you mean ‘something’? Don’t get yourself worked up over nonsense.”

“I’m just saying we should check, that’s all. Just check.”

Out of the four gathered, two were already swayed by her honeyed words.

Check what, exactly?

Derrick narrowed his eyes and swore to have those two dismissed as soon as possible.

“Wow, but if that’s true, isn’t the madam impressive in her own way? And after all that, she still went out for dinner with His Grace like nothing happened?”

“What’s so impressive about a married couple going out to eat? That’s normal.”

“It is impressive. If what she said turns out to be true.”

“Hey! Get your head on straight, will you?”

They were weaving a story that she was having an affair with the old physician, all the while spending steady, loving time with her husband.

When one of them muttered this, the only loyal one among them snapped, shouting at the top of her lungs.

She fiercely defended the madam, speaking about what kind of person she was and how she had always helped them whenever they were in need. But the others only stared at her as though she were the odd one out.

“Hey. It’s not even true, so why are you getting so serious?”

“You’re acting like your behavior isn’t suspicious at all. What kind of ridiculous misunderstandings are you spreading? Don’t you have actual work to do?”

As she raised her voice, fully worked up, the two who had been agreeing a moment ago quietly backed away.

“What’s wrong with her? Anyone would think she’s the madam’s sister the way she’s reacting.”

“Seriously. Come on, let’s go. Arguing with someone like that won’t get us anything.”

“Yeah. Let’s get back to work. Ugh, let’s go. No point staying here.”

“Mm, I’ll calm her down a little before we leave. She looks really upset.”

When the first two asked the one who had stirred the rumor in the first place, she put on a virtuous act, turning her head as if embarrassed, glancing sideways at the maid still fuming.

“Honestly, she’s too good for her own good. Hey—just make it quick and come back, alright?”

“Okay. Thanks.”

The two maids finally walked off, leaving behind the instigator and the supposedly loyal one. Just as Derrick took a step forward—

“Ugh, your acting needs work.”

The one he thought loyal nudged the other maid in the ribs, giggling.

At that, Derrick—who had been about to reveal himself—froze on the spot.

“You’re the one who needs practice more than me.”

The two of them laughed together, looking positively delighted. They began talking about how today’s performance was decent, or maybe not, and how they should tweak the act next time.

‘So this is why everyone warns you to be careful about people.’

Listening to them, Derrick felt goosebumps crawl up his entire body.

Just moments ago, he had been proud of her.

And now?

All that remained was this unbelievable scene.

Even worse, who wouldn’t be taken in by it? Anyone else would have been completely taken in by the act. Who would go to such lengths to spread false rumors?

Not long ago, the madam had nearly been harmed because of a suspicious parcel, and now this kind of rumor?

It was dangerous in every sense.

And it was far too deliberate.

“By the way… is this really how we’re supposed to do it? wouldn’t rumors spread faster if we targeted the young Derayan heir instead of old Doctor Brown?”

“Later. For now, start close to home. First Brown, then the Derayan heir, then someone else. One by one, we pile them up. The rumors will spread in no time.”

‘Do you think the naïve ones in this estate are just one or two?’

A small giggle followed that line.

At that point, Derrick knew he could not tolerate hearing any more.

Not only were they deliberately creating malicious gossip, they were also speaking as if the madam’s reputation were already ruined.

He stepped out from where he had been lurking.

The two maids, who had been laughing moments earlier, flinched as if struck by lightning when he appeared.

Terror, shock and fear flashed in their eyes.

Derrick approached them slowly, his voice calm but cold.

“The ones in charge of cleaning the madam’s room—Lucy. And you, Tori, from the laundry. Am I correct?”

“Y–yes… Housemaster…”

“I was under the impression that the two of you were very satisfied with your work in this estate.”

With each step Derrick took towards them, the color steadily drained from their faces. Of course they were frightened. They had every reason to be, given what they had just done.

When he stopped only a hand’s breadth away, the two maids froze.

The silence of his footsteps made their anxiety flare all the more.

He looked them over slowly, then finally opened his mouth.

“Well… it doesn’t matter. Whatever the two of you have been thinking or planning.”

Because starting now, the two of you will be treated as if you never existed in this estate.

“You’ll need to explain everything—who’s behind this, why you did it, and every detail in between.”

The iron-blooded housemaster—Derrick, the man who had kept this estate unshaken while its master fought at the front lines—smiled at them, cold and chilling.