TDDCS

Chapter 64 - The real monster

Lena was no longer a skinny, unsightly maid. A healthy luster flowed from her moderately plump cheeks, her slender body drew soft curves, and her hair, eyes, skin, and lips that had regained their full color were revealing a fresh beauty.

Elliot’s eyes quickly scanned the things Lena was wearing. Unlike her, who wore a rather plain dress to win sympathy, Lena’s maid suit was luxurious, as they were paid by the Duke’s family.

Her neat white blouse and undecorated gray skirt might look modest at first glance, but when looking at the heavily falling skirt, they can tell that it is made of the highest quality oxford fabric. Moreover, the buttons were all luxury wrapped buttons, and an expensive cameo brooch hung over the gray ribbon draped under the collar of her blouse.

Up to this point, she could still think that the Duke’s family paid for such clothes and decorations. But not with the pearl earrings on Lena’s ears and the pearl hairpins that held her hair. She could tell at a glance that they were expensive items, and even Elliot, who had been Liddell’s maid for half a year, had not yet had such a luxury item. And by Elliot’s standards, such a thing shouldn’t be Lena’s.

Kahel asked Liddell, ignoring Lena and Elliot’s surprise.

“You always have something new to learn. I let her work as a maid without much thought, but if she is a maid of a Duke’s family, it would be better to give her the surname of a nobleman even if it was of a low status. How did you go through the reinstatement process?”

“But I think it will be difficult to find a noble family to adopt her. Probably from…….”

“There is a noble who accepts a sinners’ daughter so well, so there must be noble families who will adopt commoners. Above all else, isn’t she the maid of the Luave family?”

Kahel’s smile was obviously closer to ridicule. Although Liddell wasn’t one to break her expression enough to reveal her feelings, she was heartbroken. But it was no worse than Elliot. She was so humiliated that she couldn’t stand that she herself was being treated like Lena; no, she was being treated lower than Lena was. She wanted to run to Lena at any moment and pluck the earrings and hairpins.

Elliot managed to capture her expression that was about to be distorted and asked again with a sad face.

“Your Excellency. If it’s not too much to ask, can I talk to Lena for a moment? It’s nice to see a face I haven’t seen in a long time.”

At that, the blood on Lena’s face disappeared. She didn’t know what Elliot would do to her when it was just the two of them. Lena clasped her hands in cold sweat with an anxious expression on her face. Kahel noticed Lena’s uneasiness, but he nodded his head softly at Elliot.

Arder took Lena and Elliot up to the hallway adjacent to the greenhouse and stepped back. It broke his heart that he had to pretend not to notice Lena’s trembling eyes, but here Lena would never get hurt. Rather, they had to take off Elliot’s abominable mask so that Lena would never suffer again.

“You look great, Lena.”

Elliot, who made sure there was no one around, shot at Lena with a sarcastic voice. Lena knew that something like this would happen today, too. Although she knew it, she was actually surprised, flustered, and scared to see Elliot’s face. But Lena once again chewed on the words Kahel had said yesterday.

[“You are no longer Baron Fidelia’s maid. You’re under my protection, my person. There’s absolutely no reason for you to be intimidated. If you don’t believe in yourself, believe in me.”]

She was still nervous and her body still trembled, but Lena thought, ‘let’s believe in His Excellency’ and took a deep breath. The more she chewed on his voice, the more courage she felt inside.