"Hey, I think you should change the ribbon.
Penelope gestured to the maid who was changing her clothes.
"Let's do this."
What she handed to the maid was a black silk ribbon.
A blue satin dress with a black silk ribbon. It didn't look very harmonious.
The maid checked the white ribbon in her hand against the dress.
"The costume shop sent this ribbon in the same box as this dress. Are you sure you're going to wear that black ribbon?"
Anyone who looked at it could tell that the white ribbon matched the dress.
But Penelope was adamant.
"Make it black."
The maid tied a black satin ribbon around Penelope's waist since it was her own wish and there was no need to stop her.
Although she pretended not to know, the maid noticed that Penelope had been wearing a black ribbon on her body every single day these days.
Yesterday it was a hairpin, the day before that it was a brooch, and today it's a belt.
'I hope something bad happens to you.'
The maid's eyes were cold as she stood behind Penelope, who was checking her outfit in the mirror.
There was a custom for men to wear black hats or black ties, and for women to wear black ribbons at funerals as a sign of remembrance.
Of course, it can be used as a decoration without any special meaning, but wearing a black ribbon on the body every day like this had a strong intention of remembrance.
What could Penelope possibly be mourning, having not heard of any deaths recently?
Bridget, who had suddenly disappeared and had not been heard from for several days, was either assumed to be dead or hoped to be dead.
'I wonder if this woman did something to Madam?'
The maid's suspicious gaze followed Penelope earnestly.
The other employees at Winston Manor all had similar thoughts.
'What on earth happened the night the madam disappeared? Every night... the master and this woman would act like animals, not caring about where they were, so no one would come downstairs at night...'
For several weeks now, employees have been unable to move from the attic, which serves as their dormitory, at night.
It was because the butler controlled the employees due to Isaac and Penelope's brazen behavior.
It was the same night Bridget disappeared.
No one saw Bridget leave the mansion: whether she packed her bags, what she was wearing, whether she took a carriage, or anything else.
If she had run away, she would have taken at least some gold, but Anna said that none of Bridget's belongings were missing. Not even one of her common trinkets.
So, Bridget's running away was extremely suspicious.
Penelope keeps wearing black ribbons on her body in such situations.
Isaac even ordered Penelope to serve as the mistress of the Winston household from now on, saying that he was preparing to divorce Bridget.
So now Penelope was occupying the room that Bridget had been using.
Even all of Bridget's things!
'Poor Madam. What have you been through with these inhuman people? Please be safe...'
The maid shivered as if she was horrified.
Penelope, who neither knew nor cared about the maid's intentions, finished dressing up and left the room, humming a tune.
Penelope, who was humming, walked carelessly and accidentally knocked over a vase at the corner of the hallway.
It was an empty vase because it was not yet in bloom, but Bridget liked it so much that she didn't put it away.
Clang!
"Oh!"
Penelope frowned in surprise.
"Why did you put this here?"
Anna, who was passing by, saw the sight and came over in surprise.
"This is the porcelain that my lady liked!"
Penelope glared at Anna as if she was amazed.
"Can't you see that I almost got hurt?"
Anna reluctantly asked after Penelope's well-being.
"Are you okay?"
"I've been thinking about this for a while, but you really are rude."
Penelope, who had been in conflict with Anna the last time, thought to herself that it was a good thing and continued to criticize Anna's actions.
"The basics are not being followed. When you see someone almost getting hurt, isn't it polite to first ask if they're okay? I don't know who recommends and uses someone like you."
"Sorry."
Anna was seething with anger at the thought of Penelope acting like a fox in the absence of a tiger without Bridget, but she had no choice but to hold it in.
'You are like a cunning fox who ate a tiger. What can I do? Alas, Madam! Where on earth are you?'
Anna lowered her posture, hiding her feelings.
"Should I collect these porcelain shards and send them for repair?"
If you go to the craftsman's street, craftsmen are repairing broken pottery.
The nobility often repaired their prized ceramics when they broke and turned them into new works of art, so their employees were taught not to throw away shards of ceramics carelessly.
But Penelope, who considered Anna a thorn in her side, found fault with her for no reason.
"Are you telling me to reuse the broken item? Since it was something Bridget liked, you want me to fix it without complaining?"
"I, I didn't mean it like that, I just thought it looked like a precious piece of porcelain, so I asked..."
"How can you order me around like that, when you don't know whether this porcelain is valuable or not?"
"What orders did I give..."
Then the butler Cedric heard the commotion and came over.
"What's going on?"
"Butler, cut off this naughty woman right now!"
"Why are you doing that?"
Penelope glared at the butler.
"Why? I can't just cut off a maid?"
Penelope felt that this was an opportunity to establish her authority as the new mistress of the place. She needs to get rid of Bridget's shadow quickly so that the employees will behave obediently.
She believed that he would do as she said since he had had secret dealings with her before.
"I am soon to be Viscountess Winston and as mistress of the house! I have the authority to make appointments."
"Calm down. Anna is a loyal employee. If there is any misunderstanding, I will listen to it and adjust it..."
"Butler!"
Penelope was upset when the butler, who she had expected to take her side, did not do so and screamed.
But Cedric didn't even blink an eye.
When Bridget suddenly disappeared and he was suddenly left with Penelope as his landlady, all he wanted to do was quit his job.
He had wanted to do that for a long time, but he had been holding on to that position because he saw Bridget. Now there was no reason to do so.
Cedric was deeply ashamed of working for such an embarrassing employer.
Pride and self-esteem were not only held by people of high status.
"Don't yell at me. If you fire Anna without reason, I will quit as well. It is the butler's job to mediate between employer and employee, and since you are ignoring my role, there is no reason for me to stay in this mansion."
"What? Butler, are you doing this just to protect this one maid? Don't be foolish."
"I can judge whether something is foolish or not."
The curious employees began to gather around because of the commotion, and Isaac, who was in his room, also came out when he heard the commotion outside.
"What the hell is going on? Why is it so noisy?"
Penelope ran towards Isaac.
"Isaac! These people are joining forces to make things difficult for me!"
"Why are you doing that?"
"The maid was misbehaving with me, so I told the butler to cut her off, but he said he would quit too."
Isaac frowned.
"Butler, is this really something to be done? If the mistress doesn't like it, she can just fire one of the maids. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? I already have a headache because I have so much to think about."
He pressed his forehead and threatened Cedric nonchalantly.
"If you act this irresponsibly, do you think other places won't know about your bad behavior? There's a chance you'll never be able to work anywhere in the future."
The butler was the person in charge of managing the overall affairs of the mansion.
Since he was responsible for managing the household finances together with the mistress, his credibility was extremely important, and once a bad rumor spread, he was never able to work as a butler again.
It was a huge blow to lose a job that was so well-paid and high-paying that it was considered semi-aristocratic.
Still, Cedric couldn't stand it.
"It doesn't matter. I...!"
He was just about to say that he was going to quit his job starting today,
"Everyone, stop now."
A welcoming voice came over them from somewhere.
Everyone gathered there opened their eyes wide and looked in the direction where the voice had come from.
"The person with the authority to appoint this mansion is still here."
Bridget emerged from the crowd.
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