Soon after, the countess reassembled herself into a figure of solemn, classical elegance.
Straightening her back, the countess passed through the door into the drawing room. The moment she crossed the threshold, dozens of anxious gazes poured over her. With her eyes curved into the gentlest of smiles, she spread her arms wide in a benevolent gesture.
"Oh, Flora."
As Flora approached, drawn by her warm welcome, the countess affectionately wrapped her arms around Flora’s shoulders.
"Heavens, your face looks terribly haggard."
The countess stroked Flora’s hair and personally guided her to sit at her side. Then, looking around at the noblewomen, she spoke.
"My ladies, last night was exceedingly difficult for me. I was gripped by the fear that I might lose an old friend of mine—one warm-hearted, fair-minded, and incorruptible..."
Her eyes turned red in an instant.
"You and I both know how hard we have worked for Richmond during the past decade or so while His Grace Duke Leuwen and the Duchess were absent."
The countess fell silent, seemingly lost in thought, and only after a long while did she speak.
"They were not people who deserved to be cast out."
She gazed at Flora.
"Adopting Flora was no easy task, even for us. But the Lincos never treat long-standing ties carelessly."
"...Countess."
"Oh, Flora. 'Countess,' you say? Have I not always cherished you as my own daughter? Now that you are truly family, you must simply call me Mother."
"May I, ...Mother?"
The countess held Flora tightly, and murmurs of admiration rippled among the noblewomen.
"How truly benevolent."
"The Leuwens must have been able to depart with peaceful hearts."
The countess, her eyes curved in a smile, sharply studied the ladies’ expressions. Then she locked eyes with each of them in turn and whispered.
"Difficult times may lie ahead. But do not worry. The Lincos still stand."
As she concluded her words with confidence, the noblewomen smiled as if relieved.
However, something grated on the countess’s nerves.
"I ordered the maids to prepare tea time. Are they not ready yet?"
Since it was the day of Leuwen’s fall, she had ordered refreshments with a more solemn rather than extravagant air. By adorning the tea time with the Eastern black porcelain and fermented tea procured at great expense a few months prior, she could express her sorrow for Leuwen while also showing that the Lincos still stood strong.
"I shall go myself."
The lady’s maid, sensing the countess’s displeasure, quickly headed for the dining hall.
Although it was broad daylight, it was dim and gloomy; servants went about carrying torches, lighting the long candles fixed to the wall sconces. The long flames swayed to and fro, casting restless shadows.
"A foul day."
The lady’s maid clutched her shawl more tightly and descended the stairs quickly. Even so, numerous servants and maids passed her by. Displeasure settled into the lady’s maid’s expression with every passing moment.
Then, the moment a crowd of maids brushed past her in a rush on the stair landing, the lady’s maid stopped dead in her tracks. And she shouted at the maids climbing the stairs in a line.
"You! Am I invisible?!"
At her shout, the maids halted all at once and cautiously turned to look back.
"What are you standing there gawking at?!"
When the lady’s maid exploded in anger, they hesitated for a moment with ambiguous expressions, then eventually turned and bent their knees.
"You are untrained in more ways than one!"
She glared with deliberately widened eyes, feigning anger, but her heart pounded fiercely.
She had served as the countess’s lady’s maid for over ten years. Within the inner residence of House Richmond, her power was second only to the countess’s. Power was as sweet as honey, and as sensitive as a down feather.
Something akin to a shift in the atmosphere, difficult to pin down, had taken place.
The lady’s maid nearly ran down the stairs and crossed the corridor. And when she finally flung open the dining hall door, she found maids who should by all rights have been preparing the countess’s tea time instead making food.
The maids looked neither hurried nor anxious. They appeared comfortable, as if simply attending to their proper duties. Among them was a woman of particularly striking bearing.
"Grind the meat finer than this. It is for one who has risen from illness."
Madam Isaac, dressed in a fitted gray gown, looked over the food the maids were preparing and gave instructions on minor details. The large pearls at her ears and neck shone elegantly.
The countess’s lady’s maid slowly composed her breathing, then walked toward the senior maid who had received the order to set up the tea time. The maid, who had been seasoning soup, stood to face the lady’s maid with a stiff expression, and the lady’s maid snapped in an authoritative voice.
"Have you finished your tasks?!"
When the bowed maid fidgeted and glanced sideways, the countess’s lady’s maid grew even angrier.
"I asked if you have finished your tasks, did I not?!"
"The girl is doing what she ought to do; why are you angry?"
As Madam Isaac approached, the lady’s maid glared at her fiercely. Regardless, Madam Isaac spoke to the hesitating maid.
"Pay no mind and attend to your work."
"Yes, ma’am."
"You as well. Do not look over here; attend to your work."
The maids bowed their heads respectfully to Madam Isaac.
For the past ten years, the maids had had no choice but to obey the countess’s orders. But now, the Duke had returned and the Duchess had risen. Would the excuse that they had had no choice but to obey the countess all this time still hold? Might they lose their good positions in an instant?
Even the lowliest servants were deep in worry.
Madam Isaac quietly gazed at the countess’s lady’s maid. The anxiety and impatience flickering in the maid’s eyes were palpable.
‘I’m sorry, but we cannot spare more firewood.’
‘You cannot spare any?! Whose castle is this, how dare—!’
‘Countess Linco is trying to save on this castle’s finances, is she not?’
Recalling the past, Madam Isaac pulled her lips into a smile and spoke softly.
"From now on, you may no longer command the servants of Richmond Ducal Castle carelessly. Know this."
"What?"
"Her Grace the Duchess has commanded it; obey without question."
In the Dekan Empire, a lady’s maid is a position that mediates between those in power and the servants, commanding the lower-ranking staff. Therefore, Madam Isaac’s words that she could no longer command the servants meant that she had been stripped of her authority as a lady’s maid.
"Did you not tell me to prepare tea time?"
"..."
"I have personally taken out the teacups and tea leaves, so take them with you."
Madam Isaac gestured to one side with her chin. The lady’s maid, numb with shock, mechanically turned her head. There sat a very simple set of basic teacups and tea leaves, starkly arranged.
"Teacups, tea leaves, and even a single drop of warm water are the precious finances of Richmond; use them gratefully."
"..."
"You are disrupting the work, so leave at once."
Madam Isaac issued a cold dismissal and turned away gracefully.
The countess’s lady’s maid shuddered with a sensation as if her blood were draining and fled the dining hall as if escaping. She had no idea how she had made it back to the countess’s chambers in such a state.
"Countess!"
But even had she brought proper teacups, the countess was in no state of mind to enjoy tea time. In the place where the noblewomen had been sat the count, his face flushed crimson.
"Damn it all!!!"
The count struck the sofa armrest violently in anger, and the countess, who had been holding her head on the opposite side, turned to look at the lady’s maid.
"What is it?"
Then, realizing the maid was empty-handed, the countess’s face hardened.
"Why do you come back empty-handed?"
The lady’s maid approached the countess and reported the truth with a somber expression.
"My rights as a lady’s maid have been stripped away."
"...What?"
The autumn rain, which had briefly subsided, was now pounding down fiercely once more, and the world had grown clamorous. But none of those in the room realized that the sound of rain was loud.
For the sound of rain was not the problem.
"Arwen Isaac told me to no longer issue commands to the servants of Richmond Ducal Castle. The maids no longer heed my orders, either."
"..."
"What shall I do?"
Count and Countess Linco held their breath against the creeping chill.
The past was replaying itself exactly. The Duke had stripped Count Linco of his authority as regent, and Eliza Richmond had cut off Countess Linco’s arms and legs.
The count, his eyes rolling frantically, urgently asked his wife.
"The documents—did you secure them?!"
"Pardon?"
"The unofficially drafted documents!!"
The countess stammered, her face flustered.
"Do not worry so. The important documents are all in the underground archive, and Edward has the key."
"..."
But seized by the same fear, the countess immediately turned to the lady’s maid and ordered.
"Go to the underground archive and check if the documents are there."
"Understood."
The countess’s lady’s maid roamed the ducal castle busily in search of Edward.