The next day, at a certain location within the Duke’s Mansion.
“Elise, do you not understand what I’m saying?”
“Are you deaf?”
“Didn’t I tell you to scrub the floor clean?”
The maid being scolded was named Elise, a blonde girl who had been sold to the Duke’s Mansion by her father just a few days ago to settle his debts.
She was not tall, and her frame was very thin and weak.
One look was enough to tell she had suffered from long-term malnutrition.
“Senior Camilla, this… should… be your area of responsibility,” Elise said, gathering her courage as she spoke to the maid who was reprimanding her.
As a newly arrived maid in the Duke’s Mansion, Elise was unfamiliar with her surroundings and the people.
To resist Camilla already required a great deal of courage.
“Are you actually suggesting that I should be the one scrubbing the floor?”
“That… seems to be… your responsibility,” Elise whispered, her voice growing quieter and quieter until it was almost inaudible by the time she finished.
“Huh? Is that how you speak to a senior?”
Camilla, sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, continued her scolding.
“You can’t even scrub a floor properly. You really are useless. It’s no wonder your parents sold you to the Duke’s Mansion.”
“Elise is not a useless person!”
Hearing those words, a flash of loneliness crossed Elise’s eyes as if a sore spot had been struck, and she immediately retorted.
“Heh, if you were useful, how could you have been sold to the Duke’s Mansion?”
“That’s… because Elise wanted to come here herself.”
When Elise said this, her eyes darted away, unable to meet Camilla’s gaze.
She was clearly lying.
Hearing this, Camilla laughed out loud as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Volunteered to come here? Don’t make me laugh. In the entire Farrah Empire, who doesn’t know our Young Master’s notorious reputation? If there were any other choice, who would ever want to come to the Duke’s Mansion? You’re just making excuses for your own uselessness.”
Tears began to well up in Elise’s eyes as she listened to Camilla’s words.
It was true. She had been sold to the Duke’s Mansion by her father, who despised her for being useless.
Elise came from a commoner family.
Her father favored her younger brother and was indifferent to her, and her mother, the only one who cared for her, had passed away when she was very young.
While she was still at home, eating even slightly more than usual would invite her father’s criticism.
To lighten his burden, she ate only a small amount each meal and even went out to work part-time jobs when she should have been in school.
But even then, her father still resented her, complaining that she ate too much and cost too much money.
Finally, she was sold to the Duke’s Mansion.
She had originally hoped life would be better here, but as soon as she entered the mansion, she heard rumors that her master was a sadist, which terrified her.
Furthermore, Camilla, the senior maid responsible for teaching her Maid Etiquette, bullied her in every way imaginable.
Whether it was withholding her meals or forcing her to do work that didn’t belong to her, it resulted in Elise often failing to complete her own tasks, which led to further harsh scoldings.
“If you are this useless, I will tell the Head Maid. I’ll tell her you aren’t fit for the work of a maid at all and have you fired and sent back home.”
Hearing Camilla’s words, Elise panicked completely.
“No! Please don’t let the Head Maid fire Elise! Elise is not useless. Elise will complete the tasks!”
Watching Elise cry and plead before her, a sense of pride naturally surged within Camilla’s heart.
“Then hurry up and clean the floor to prove you are a useful person.”
Elise nodded numbly.
It wasn’t the first time she had been bullied; she supposed she would eventually get used to it.
“Okay, Elise understands. Elise will work hard to become a useful person.”
And so, Elise began to clean the area that should have been Camilla’s responsibility, while Camilla supervised from the side to ensure Elise didn’t slack off.
“What are you doing?”
At that moment, Ian finished his morning training and was wandering around the Duke’s Mansion.
He had been discussing with Annie how to conduct the Talent Test for the mansion’s maids, but he had unintentionally witnessed the entire argument between Camilla and Elise.
As a model student from a modern era, Ian naturally couldn’t stand the sight of Camilla’s bullying.
Startled by his appearance, Camilla jumped and quickly replied respectfully, “Young Master, I am currently training the new maid of the Duke’s Mansion. Isn’t that right, Elise?”
Camilla shot Elise a look, signaling her to cover for her.
“Yes… Senior is teaching me how to clean the mansion properly,” Elise answered numbly.
“Is that really so? I hope you aren’t lying to me. After all, you should know my methods,” Ian said.
Cold sweat broke out on Camilla’s forehead.
She certainly knew of Ian’s reputation, but she suppressed her fear and said, “Of course it’s true. How could I dare to deceive you, Young Master?”
“Still refusing to tell the truth?”
Ian shook his head.
“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.”
“I… I don’t know what the Young Master is trying to say.”
At this point, she could only deny it to the end.
Otherwise, she couldn’t bear the consequences of the crime of deceiving her master.
Seeing Camilla’s stubbornness, Ian glanced at Annie beside him.
Annie understood immediately.
She stepped forward and spoke to Camilla.
“The Young Master and I saw the entire process of you bullying the new maid just now. Giving your assigned area to a newcomer to clean is already a violation of the Maid Code of Conduct. Furthermore, you intended to lie to my face and attempted to get me to fire that child?”
Listening to Annie list her crimes, Camilla finally collapsed.
She knelt on the ground and shouted, “It’s my fault! I was the one who bullied Elise! But I wasn’t being that excessive, was I? I only asked the child to sweep the floor for me!”
Hearing Camilla’s words, Ian knew she still didn’t fully understand how malicious her behavior was.
“Do you realize how much harm your ‘small matter’ can cause others? Moreover, didn’t you just say I was a wicked young master?”
Ian shook his head as he continued.
Camilla’s soul nearly left her body when she heard that.
If she had only bullied Elise, she felt Ian might not do much to her, as it was a trivial matter after all.
But her loose tongue had insulted Ian.
There was a very high possibility she would be tortured to death by him.
Recalling Ian’s past notoriety, Camilla closed her eyes and waited for the arrival of death.
However, the expected words of doom never came.
Ian simply spoke calmly to Annie.
“Have her undergo the newcomer training again, fine her half a month’s income, and then find a different person to train the new maid.”
Hearing Ian’s punishment for Camilla, even Annie was stunned.
She had originally thought that Camilla would be lucky to escape with her skin intact, and she had even planned to persuade Ian to be lenient.
But the punishment Ian gave was practically a slap on the wrist compared to his previous behavior.
When Camilla learned of her punishment, she was ecstatic.
Although she lost half a month’s income, at least her life was saved.
Seeing the shocked expressions of the two women, Ian felt speechless.
This was the most severe punishment he could think of, yet in their eyes, it seemed to be nothing.
‘It seems my image in others’ minds still needs some improvement.’
After sighing, Ian walked up to Elise and gently patted her head.
“Don’t let others bully you like this next time, okay?”
After speaking, Ian led Annie away.
Watching Ian’s retreating back, a light flickered in Elise’s eyes for the first time.
She had always heard about the Young Master’s notorious reputation and how bad of a person he was.
But now it seemed…
Was the Young Master she served actually a good person?