TYNV - Chapter 3

(3) Poor Lady (2)


Born the daughter of an untitled knight and becoming Helena's maid at a young age, Luigi wasn't initially a bully. He was simply jealous of the noble ladies' lives, where they were treated with distinction simply for being born that way.

For Luigi, Ariana was a convenient scapegoat.

Ariana Bronte, born to Rachel, the daughter of the Duke of East and the Duke of West, yet treated worse than a common maid.

Luigi found joy in seeing Ariana, who was of noble blood, tremble and plead before her.

But Ariana had been acting a little strange lately. No, quite a bit.

A few days ago, Ariana had begun acting differently. It was as if someone else's soul had entered her body.

"You want me to eat this?"

A cold voice. A cool gaze. Her hands resting calmly on her thighs, her back straight.

Her mere presence made this shabby room feel as splendid as a palace. Her thin shoulders, once so hunched over at the sight of Luigi, now exuded a majesty that made it difficult to look straight in the eye.

Ariana, who had once wept, saying the darkness was too frightening, now seemed to have nothing to fear. Just a few days ago, whenever Luigi brought Ariana spoiled food, she would frown in disgust and shed tears. Now, even in the face of spoiled food, Ariana showed no emotion. Instead, she quirked a corner of her mouth, as if amused.

Luigi felt a chill at Ariana's cold smile, but quickly shook it off and said,

"Do you think the Duke and Duchess will find you attractive just because you're acting elegant now?"

Ariana raised her eyes and gazed intently at Luigi.

Her deep blue eyes were as clear as a midwinter lake.

Luigi, for some reason, found it difficult to look her in the eye, so she averted her gaze.

"Do I look elegant to you?"

Ariana's changed tone of voice gnawed at Luigi's insides.

Until a few days ago, Ariana had always spoken politely to Luigi, like a maid.

Luigi couldn't understand why she was suddenly acting like this.

"Stop talking nonsense and just eat that! I'm busy too!"

Suddenly, Ariana jumped up, and Luigi took a step back without realizing it.

Embarrassed at having been pushed back by someone like Ariana, she bit her lower lip and glared at her, but Ariana strode over to Luigi and stood beside her.

Ariana was still a hand shorter than Luigi, but for some reason, she felt several times taller than her.

The quiet anger emanating from the small girl felt like it was clutching at his throat.

"Luigi."

Ariana's hand brushed against Luigi's dress.

"The dress is pretty."

“Yeah, right. You'll never get to wear clothes like that in your lifetime.”

"Do you think so?"

Luigi, enraged by Ariana's subservient attitude, shoved her shoulder.

Watching her limp body stumble and collapse into the chair, Luigi chuckled pleasantly.

"Yes, you're just this much. I don't know why I was scared."

She didn't know what change of heart had Ariana acting like a lady, but she was still Ariana.

Ariana Bronte, who no one cared about, even when pushed or pinched by the maids.

"You seem to be wasting time because you don't want to eat, so stop being so uncharacteristic of yourself and eat cleanly!"

Ariana responded to Luigi's harsh words.

"Yes, you can stop wasting time."

"What?"

"I'll stop being so uncharacteristic of myself and just eat."

Surprisingly, Ariana didn't cry, but picked up her fork.

She began to nibble at the spoiled food piled high on her plate.

Luigi almost mistook Ariana's food for a sumptuous feast, for the delicate way she handled the fork.

Following Helena's orders, she gathered only the oldest pieces from the kitchen trash can, but Ariana ate them all without a single wince.

It was the first time she had seen Ariana eat everything so calmly, and Luigi got goosebumps.

'What's wrong with her?'

That's when.

"Ugh!"

Ariana, who had calmly finished eating as if she were eating a delicious meal, suddenly bent over and started vomiting.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

"Hey... Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Gasp... Ugh! Ugh!"

Luigi's face turned pale at the sight of Ariana suddenly standing up, lying face down on the floor, and vomiting.

Even if Ariana wasn't treated as a young lady, her death was a different matter. If Ariana died because of the food Luigi brought, Luigi wouldn't escape severe punishment.

Luigi was so caught up in stamping her feet, debating whether to run away, that she didn't even notice someone opening the door and coming in.

"What the hell is going on?"

A stern voice suddenly brought her back to her senses, and she turned to see the Duchess of Bronte, Rachel, and the old lady's maids standing at the door.

Meanwhile, Ariana clutched her stomach in pain and vomited.

But her mother, Rachel, instead of approaching Ariana and asking what was wrong, simply stood quietly beside the old lady with a subtle smile.

Instead, the old lady covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief and asked in an angry voice,

"What is that smell!"

“That, that... this child... no, Miss Ariana suddenly felt a stomachache and vomited... and the smell...”

“Yes, Mother. It seems that the strong smell is because of what Ariana threw up. I’ll take care of this, so Mother, you go to the garden and rest first.”

Honestly, the old lady didn’t want to get involved in this, so she was going to pretend not to know and follow her daughter-in-law’s wishes.

But Ariana did something unexpected.

“Please... save me... Please save me, Grandma... I think something... is wrong.. because I ate rotten food..”

The little girl, lying face down and begging for help, looked so pitiful that the maids standing behind the old lady sighed softly. Since the old lady's maids were all from noble families, the old lady, who cared about how she appeared to others, could no longer ignore this situation.

No matter how much she tried to keep her mouth shut, words were bound to leak out.

If she turned away from Ariana, ignoring her, rumors would spread that the old lady of the Bronte family was abusing the daughter her daughter-in-law had brought home.

The old lady didn't like Ariana, the child Rachel had borne from her relationship with the Duke of Bronte, but seeing the child beg for her life made her heart swell.

"Get the doctor here."

Before the doctor arrived, Rachel had the maids move Ariana to another room and motioned for Luigi to return.

Luigi quickly grabbed the dishes and turned to leave, but the old lady said,

"You stay. I need to find out what she ate to get like that."

"Mother, she probably just ate too fast and vomited. Ariana is a bit of a glutton and sometimes swallows without chewing properly."

Rachel tried to defend Luigi, but the old lady was stubborn. She was watching closely.

"Didn't you smell it when you entered that room? Don't say anything else."

Soon, the attending doctor arrived and examined Ariana.

When the attending doctor asked what she had eaten, Ariana answered in a feeble voice.

“It was all mixed together... I don’t know what I ate. It just... smelled awful... It had a strange smell, and it was hard to eat.”

“Then you shouldn’t have eaten it, my lady.”

“But... if you don’t finish it, Luigi will get angry...”

As Ariana spoke, cautiously observing the situation, everyone’s expressions in the room changed by the second.

Rachel glared at Ariana with a mixture of irritation and anger, Luigi’s face drained of color, and the old lady, the maids, and the attending doctor were shocked.

“The maid... is angry with you, my lady?”

Ariana didn’t answer the attending doctor's question. She simply cowered in fear.

Only then did the attending doctor realize Ariana looked unbecoming of a noblewoman.

“You shouldn’t be wearing such thin clothing in this cold weather, my lady.”

His discerning eye had described it as thin, but to be precise, it was old clothing, the kind even maids wouldn't wear.

Rachel's face flushed, not having time to think about changing Ariana's clothes.

The attending doctor, who had just finished examining her, looked unhappy.

"It seems she's sick from eating too much spoiled food. She's also showing signs of malnutrition. Unless the Duke's finances are tight, I think it would be best for you to prepare food made with fresh ingredients."

It was rude, but no one rebuked the attending doctor.

"You're misunderstanding. We always provide this child with good food. It seems the kitchen maid made a mistake today, and the food went bad."

Rachel tried to sound nice, but the attending doctor didn't seem to believe her.

The attending doctor prescribed Ariana medicine to treat the food poisoning, gave her a few sleeping pills when she complained of insomnia, and left.

A heavy silence descended on Ariana's room.

Luigi fidgeted, examining Rachel and the old lady's complexions, while Rachel pondered how to cheer the old lady up.

Ariana, lying in a "bed" for the first time since arriving at the mansion, wrapped in a cozy blanket, quietly observed them and planned her next move.

***

Cyrus and Isaac watched the entire sequence of events from outside the window.

"How pitiful. It's finally happening,"

Isaac muttered, causing Cyrus to laugh coldly.

Cyrus looked intently into Ariana's cold blue eyes.

Before she ate the spoiled food, he had witnessed Ariana approach Luigi and do something.

Even as Ariana rolled on the floor, clutching her stomach, the ferocity in her eyes remained undiminished, and even when Rachel defended her maid, those bright blue eyes remained unwavering.

"Pitiful? Well, I think the other one is more pitiful."

***

In the heavy silence, Ariana waited for someone to speak.

Given Ariana's knowledge of the old lady's personality, it was clear she would be the first to ask about Ariana's situation.

If the old lady had come alone, she would have pretended not to know, but she had brought six maids with her.

The old lady wouldn't want to be seen as a cold grandmother to the child brought home by her daughter-in-law.

"Does this child usually stay in a room like that?"

As Ariana had expected, the old lady broke the silence.

The old lady living in the other mansion didn't know Ariana's situation well.

Rachel quickly answered.

"No way, Mother. I wouldn't let my daughter stay in a place like that. She just stole and lied, so I locked her up in that room for a while to reflect on her actions."

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