“Umm, well. You tried to express your dislike several tis, Milady. You even asked His Grace the Duke to keep this area off limits to her.”
“……”
“Lady Aileen is prohibited from coming here in the first place, and you’ve asked her many tis to leave, but none of that worked… And besides that, you also refused to show her your art when she demanded it. You said no already, but Lady Aileen just kept forcing you, didn’t she, Milady?”
“…Yeah. I guess so.”
Perhaps it’s because it’s been a long ti since anyone took her side, but Violet was stunned and couldn’t reply properly.
Mary didn’t see Violet’s baffled expression and began to chatter on.
“I’ve experienced sothing similar. There’s this brutish, ugly boy nad Thompson who keeps forcing to marry him. But I don’t want to! Even though I said no so, so many tis, people around kept pairing up with him. After that, I ended up being the only weird person there just because I refused… Huu, so I tried to find a way for to live my own way, and that’s how I ended up working here at the ducal residence…”
Once the floodgates were opened, Mary let out an outpour of chattering.
She talked at a breathtaking speed, as if she was letting out all the words she had been begrudgingly holding in all this ti.
“O-Oh… I see.”
Astonished as she was, Violet couldn’t think of anything else to say but this.
“Ah, um… I-I apologize! I didn’t even realize I’ve just been talking and…”
“No, it’s fine. Your story’s interesting.”
Mary belatedly noticed that she ran her mouth a bit too excitedly in front of her master just now, and it was only now that she covered her mouth.
In response, Violet only chuckled.
“…Are you not afraid of ?”
“I already answered the question before, Milady…”
“I want to hear a proper answer. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about .”
“…Um, I did think that you were scary at first. Juuuuust a little bit.”
Conscious of Violet’s reaction, Mary hurriedly added another thing.
“But when I finally t you in person, you’ve been nothing but nice! You always give delicious food, too. The Ducal Lady I heard about in all the rumors is like a different person!”
“Nice, you say… But you know, the rumors are true. At least half of them are.”
“Huk— Then, did you really order soone’s tongue to be cut off, Milady?”
“Yes. You’re still not scared?”
“Umm, yes, I’m not scared! It’s just, well, that servant must have said sothing they shouldn’t have first!”
With the cheerfulness of a typical sixteen-year-old girl, Mary let out a peal of laughter.
While realizing that she hadn’t had a proper conversation with soone else in such a long ti, Violet brought a piece of the tart to her lips. It’s too sweet.
“Milady, you’re not the kind of person who’d give an order like that on a re whim. Earlier, too, I saw how hard you tried several tis to endure Lady Aileen’s selfish behavior.”
“Fufu…”
“Uh, perhaps, did I say sothing funny?”
“No, it’s just that I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say that to before. Yes, I didn’t give that order on a re whim.”
In the past, the servant whose tongue Violet ordered to be cut dared to stand in her way and curse right in her face.
“You wicked woman!”
Even if that servant had said it in an effort to stop Violet from slapping Aileen’s cheek, it was still fundantally wrong for a subordinate to interfere with the affairs of their superiors.
It’s only right that a tongue like that—one that did not know the concept of ti and place, or hierarchy—were to be cut off.
It was a barbaric way to deal with things, but considering the era in which Violet existed, and considering how she was a great noble in these parts, it was justified. The action was warranted, but also full of spite.
“Enough about that. Now, you won’t be asking to have your tongue cut off just because my mood has soured, will you?”
“Such grueso words…”
“Hehe, I thought so.”
Having lived in the modern era before, Violet no longer had any intention to conform to the barbaric thods of penance in this era.
But apart from that, couldn’t she at least be allowed to express her anger when she’s angry?
With that fleeting thought, Violet soon shook her head slowly.
“Well I think that there must have been a good reason behind your decision back then, Milady.”
“…That doesn’t erase what I did wrong though.”
“But still! Ummm… Then, would it be alright if I ask why you did that?”
“……”
“Huk— I-If you’d rather not talk about it, then you don’t have to!”
“No, I’m just organizing my thoughts a little. It’s my first ti talking about the incident.”
“Really?”
“No one asked. And even if I did say anything, people already automatically assu that I’m at fault before I utter a single word. They wouldn’t be able to see that I wasn’t at fault.”
“……”
Bewildered, Mary’s eyes fluttered open and close for a mont. Violet was still thinking about how much more she should tell the girl, but she soon beca flustered the mont she saw Mary’s expression distorting to the fullest.
“Seriously, no one heard you out, Milady? They all just automatically thought you’re evil…”
“……”
“Milady, did they all just say you’re bad?”
“They’re right in saying that I am though. It’s nothing new.”
“B-But…”
Full of empathy, the girl ended up crying. Violet patted Mary on the shoulder.
“Then, you must’ve been lonely…”
“Lonely, huh. Yeah, I guess I was.”
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