Even though she tried to hide it, seeing Hwairi’s discomfort show on her face naturally reminded Yuliana of the first time she met Giselle.
Giselle was truly out of her mind back then. She was, quite literally, the very definition of madness. At that thought, a satisfied smile crept across Yuliana’s lips.
“I have to drive out impurities like that, for my daughter-in-law.”
“Pardon?”
“But I plan to leave her be. With Giselle’s nasty temper, she’ll definitely want to punish her herself. I’m honestly looking forward to seeing what she’ll do.”
It was impossible to tell whether that was praise or criticism, but the maid nodded vigorously all the same.
Still, it was true that the sight of Hwairi leaving in tears left a lingering discomfort in one corner of her heart. The maid couldn’t help but glance back over her shoulder.
* * *
At that very moment, I was enjoying tea time with Garno and the vassals who were openly hostile toward me. Of course, I seemed to be the only one having any fun. The others looked at me with curiosity but didn’t dare to ask any questions.
Ignoring them, I sipped my tea at my own pace and thought about Hwairi. According to Coocoo, I should keep an eye on Hwairi to see if she’s up to anything suspicious. As long as she didn’t mess with me, I didn’t really care. But it looked like she was about to.
And right on cue, someone flung open the parlor doors without care. “Everyone! Hwairi baked a whole bunch of ginger pies!”
The moment the door opened, a gentle scent of ginger wafted through the air.
“Ugh!” I clamped a hand over my mouth, fighting the urge to retch.
Hwairi’s beaming gaze was fixed squarely on me. “Everyone, you know tea time isn’t complete without pie, right?”
“Haha, of course.”
“Hwairi made these pies herself!” With a deliberately cheerful expression, the pink-haired girl walked in, balancing a plate in her hands.
The closer she and those pies got, the paler my face became. It was a sensation lodged deep in my body, almost instinctual.
Hwairi glanced at me, then gave the vassals an awkward look. “D-Don’t you like the pies I made?”
“Oh, not at all!”
“They’re delicious.”
The vassals, who had grown fond of Hwairi after hearing that Garno had been saved, glanced at me and smiled.
“It’s my first time trying something like this, but the flavor’s wonderful.”
“Still, Hwairi feels a little sad.” The pink-haired beauty pouted, her eyebrows drooping in a show of exaggerated cuteness.
The vassals, looking sympathetic, raised their voices. “Huh? Why’s that?”
“Well, it seems Madam Giselle isn’t eating any…”
All eyes turned to me. While I sat there, my face frozen, I realized that Hwairi had divided up the pies and placed one in front of me. Unlike the vassals, who devoured their pies in the blink of an eye, my plate sat untouched with a lone ginger pie.
But ginger pie was nothing short of a nightmare for me. The filthy smell hit my nose, and I didn’t even have time to compose my expression. She definitely knows I hate this. I glared at Hwairi.
Hwairi fluttered her lashes as if she were sad, speaking in a pitiful tone. “Hwairi really wanted to be friends with Madam Giselle! But you’re glaring at Hwairi like that…”
“…”
“Aah, Hwairi feels so sad!”
Huge, fake-looking tears, like chicken droppings, fell from Hwairi’s eyes. It was so perfectly timed, it was as if she’d practiced. But I didn’t even have the strength to mock or insult her. I shot to my feet.
“Are you really leaving already?”
“…Move.”
I felt nauseous before I even had a chance to read the room.
* * *
“Ugh, urgh!”
The moment I made it back to the powder room in my bedroom, I doubled over and retched. My whole body shook as if I’d come down with chills. It was all in the past, but the voices that came to mind were so vivid.
“You like ginger pie, don’t you? Have another, Lady Giselle.”
Yeah. At first, I thought they were giving me delicious food out of kindness. Foolishly. But…
“You should eat at least ten.”
“I-I can’t eat any more…”
…The truth was, it was all just torment. It was the painful bullying led by regretful male lead #2, Duke Reshaniel.
“Giselle, isn’t this a token of my sincerity for you? This ‘ginger pie’ is a humble dish that Saintess Martia herself ate during her days of asceticism, a blessing from the Lord…”
“As expected of a lowborn girl, you can’t even eat pie properly.”
They forced pie into my mouth as I shook my head, stuffing it in until I gagged, and then laughed at me when I finally threw up. Because of those nightmarish memories, it only occurred to me much later that something was strange. The only people who knew I couldn’t eat pie were me, Duke Reshaniel, and the servants from the ‘Holy Noble House’ who used to torment me.
How did Hwairi find out? How did she know I especially hate ginger pie? Ginger pie wasn’t exactly an easy dessert to come by.
“Oh, that’s hilarious. Did you see her throw up?”
Inside Duke Reshaniel’s mansion, I remembered the people who had stuffed dozens of pieces of pie into my mouth and watched my reaction. I could still picture the devils who’d cackled every time I vomited.
All I’d done was recall a memory I’d tried to bury, but it made my whole body ache as if I were having an allergic reaction.
I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over myself. Damn it, it hurts so much it feels like my skin’s on fire. My vision flickered in and out. Lying there, I closed my eyes, letting my mind go blank.
* * *
After Giselle ran out, the servants looked at each other in confusion.
“What do you think happened?”
“Maybe the young lady doesn’t like ginger pie.”
“But it tastes fine. We could give the rest to the other servants and maids.”
Hwairi mumbled with a tearful expression. “Hwairi is really worried!” But inside, she was laughing with delight.
After that, she cheerfully handed out ginger pies to everyone in the mansion. “Oh, everyone’s enjoying them so much. Hwairi is just ve~ry happy!”
“That’s a relief.”
“The person I most wanted to bake a pie for, Madam Giselle, didn’t eat hers though… Maybe she didn’t have an appetite.”
“What? Madam Giselle?”
“Yes. Um, well. So, it’s a secret, okay? The pie was… thrown away…” When Hwairi saw the servants exchanging glances, she forced a bright smile. “I’m not upset at all!” Her eyes darted around as she smiled awkwardly. “Really! Um, it just hurts a little because I think Madam Giselle misunderstood my feelings.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Hwairi just wanted to be friends with Madam Giselle, that’s all. Maybe someday she’ll understand. Mmm…” Hwairi turned her head and rubbed her eyes as if she were about to cry. But the corners of her mouth, hidden behind her hand, curled up in a sly grin.
* * *
Duke Kalinos sensed something was off in the mansion that afternoon. It was just as he returned from a high-ranking noble council at the imperial palace.
“Where’s Giselle?”
“Ah, that… She’s in her bedroom.”
The stammering aide made him suspicious. He only glanced at the aide, but the man quickly summarized what had happened earlier.
“Um, Lady Hwairi brought some food to Madam. But Madam Giselle just stared at the food and pretended to throw up.”
“That woman must have tried to poison her with the food.”
“Ah, actually, I tasted it myself…” The aide’s eyes darted nervously as he muttered, “…It was just a delicious ginger pie. I think Madam was just upset…”
“You must have a resistance to poison, then.”
Where on earth did the duke get that unshakable conviction? All the aide could do was stare blankly at Vientin’s retreating back as his steps quickened.
When Vientin opened the bedroom door, he saw a lump under the covers on the bed. It looked like Giselle was hiding under the blanket. Is she crying? He strode over to Giselle and called her name. “Giselle.”
“Ah…” Giselle started to lower the blanket, then stopped.
Instead of urging her, he spoke. “I’ll throw away all the ginger pies in the mansion.”
“…”
“And from now on, I won’t allow any more ginger or pies to be brought in.”
From under the blanket, Giselle muttered in a choked voice, “How are we supposed to cook without ginger? Lord Neslan likes pies, you know.”
“There’s nothing to be done about it.”
Giselle lowered the blanket just below her eyes and let out a low laugh. “You really are the boss of all bosses… I’m fine, really.”
Vientin slowly approached Giselle. When their eyes met, he could see the redness around hers. She’s been crying.
From the top of his head to the tips of his fingers, a chill swept through him. He knew the name of this unfamiliar feeling. It was cold fury.
Comments (0)