Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 2 Part 7

Ignoring the butler’s call, Caroline stormed toward the attic. She walked so briskly that her dress billowed dramatically. Caroline arrived at the top floor in no time and kicked open the door just as it was about to close.

“Ma-Madam?” Gilbert, who had been handing over documents to Elenor, looked at her in surprise.

Caroline ignored him and marched straight toward Elenor. With her head down, busy organizing letters, Elenor’s face was obscured.

Caroline, glaring down at the crown of her head, suddenly erupted.

“This is all your doing, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?” Unlike Caroline, who was seething with anger, Elenor’s voice remained calm.

Her composed demeanor only served to infuriate Caroline further, and she stomped her foot loudly.

“The Empress Dowager sent a carriage for you! Are you still going to pretend you know nothing?”

“…For me?” Elenor, who hadn’t expected this outcome, responded with a slight question.

She hadn’t anticipated that the forged recommendation letter would have such significant repercussions. However, she didn’t let her surprise show.

Continuing to sort through the letters, she calmly replied, “It seems Her Majesty has taken a liking to me.”

“What?” Caroline felt as if her blood was boiling.

Without even looking at her? Saying she was “liked”?

Filled with both indignation and fury, Caroline couldn’t hold back any longer and grabbed Elenor by the collar. The forceful grip caused Elenor to choke and cough.

“Cough, cough.”

“You wretched girl. How dare you mock me like this?” Caroline shouted, her tone dripping with venom, as if she could snap Elenor’s neck right then and there.

The menacing atmosphere made Gilbert, caught in the middle, completely unsure of what to do. Caroline looked so murderous that it seemed Elenor might actually die.

Despite the pain, Elenor’s blue eyes sparkled like a well-honed blade as she tightly gripped Caroline’s hand.

“You’re welcome to do as you did before.”

“What?”

“I’m saying you can hit me again.”

“Young madam…!” Gilbert called out to her in a near scream.

Elenor’s lips twisted slightly into a mocking smile at Caroline.

“The more visible the marks, the better.”

“……?”

“They’re more noticeable that way.”

With the Empress Dowager having sent a carriage specifically to fetch the Duchess of Mecklen, the weight of the situation was immense.

Even amid her fury, Caroline realized what Elenor was implying. The Empress Dowager’s lady-in-waiting was waiting in the parlor, after all.

Caroline tightened her grip on Elenor’s collar. “When this is over, I won’t let you off.”

Caroline’s face twisted with genuine hatred, her expression resembling a demon from the Bible. It was a look Elenor had never seen before, even in her previous life.

But Elenor did not avert her gaze from Caroline’s hate-filled eyes. “So, are you going to leave me like this?”

Caroline ground her teeth so hard they could be heard. She released Elenor’s collar with a violent shove, causing Elenor to fall to the side, coughing heavily.

But no matter how vicious Caroline’s behavior was, her resentment did not dissipate. Overcome with rage, Caroline began kicking and throwing everything around her.

Letters and ink bottles were scattered everywhere by her sharp heels.

After a while of creating chaos, Caroline finally glared at Gilbert and gave her order. “Take that thing and get that cleaned up immediately.”

***

“It’s taking quite some time,” the lady-in-waiting remarked, having visited the Mecklen household on the Empress Dowager’s orders. Her tone was unremarkable, yet the surrounding servants exchanged uneasy glances. The tea on the table had long since gone cold. Leaving a guest waiting without the host was a breach of noble etiquette.

Just as someone was about to suggest reporting back to the Duchess Dowager, the door clicked open.

“Oh my, there you are,” Caroline exclaimed as she entered the drawing room.

Having calmed down from her earlier agitation, Caroline now appeared every bit the dignified lady of a noble household. When she saw who the lady-in-waiting from the Empress Dowager was, Caroline inwardly clicked her tongue. She and Berenice were practically strangers.

‘It would have been better if it were Countess Lorentz instead,’ she thought, though outwardly, she greeted Berenice with a bright smile and took a seat across from her.

“Did you enjoy the tea?” Caroline asked.

“You must be quite busy, Madam,” Berenice replied, her tone unyielding.

Caroline’s attempt to steer the conversation in another direction fell flat, and her smiling face hardened slightly. She glanced at the untouched cup of tea before Berenice. The fact that it had remained untouched was a silent protest against being kept waiting.

Trying to salvage the situation, Caroline offered a flimsy excuse. “Ho ho, well, it seems Elenor was being rather tardy…”

“I apologize.”

At that moment, Elenor, having just finished preparing, entered the room. All eyes in the drawing room turned toward her as she walked in gracefully, dressed in a sky-blue gown.

Berenice, who had been assessing the princess from Hartmann, couldn’t help but express her surprise. “Your hair, Madam…?”

‘Was it always this short?’

A skilled maid had tidied up Elenor’s uneven hair, making it look presentable. Her newly cropped hair gave her a distinct appearance, bringing out her features in a way that conveyed both delicacy and quiet determination.

Elenor tried her best not to show any discomfort about her awkward hairstyle as she met Berenice’s gaze. Berenice, slightly adjusting her previous assessment of the princess, thought, ‘Neat.’

“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is waiting, so we should take our leave,” Berenice said as she shot Caroline a glance and rose from her seat.

Caroline, displeased with Berenice’s critical gaze, had no choice but to stand as well, masking her irritation with a forced smile.

“Indeed.”

The household staff gathered outside to see the Duchess off as she prepared to depart for the palace. Despite her reluctance, Caroline couldn’t ignore the fact that the Empress Dowager’s lady-in-waiting was watching her intently.

“Elenor.”

Caroline called out to Elenor just as she was about to step into the carriage.

“Have a safe trip. I’m rooting for you.”

Her tone was so gentle that anyone overhearing might think they were quite close. Gilbert, hearing Caroline speak so kindly for the first time, couldn’t help but shiver.

‘Just wait until you return,’ Caroline thought, her smile hiding a blade.

She had no idea how Elenor managed to secure a spot in the selection process, but she was certain Elenor wouldn’t actually become Empress Dowager’s lady-in-waiting. That position was meant for Brianna.

Caroline hadn’t just prepared a recommendation letter. She had pulled strings to ensure that Brianna would be the one selected by the Empress Dowager.

Caroline raised her voice deliberately. “I’ll have your favorite veal dish prepared for dinner.”

The expected response was “Yes,” as always. Elenor never had any other reply.

Caroline narrowed her eyes in anticipation.

“……”

Elenor met Caroline’s gaze directly.

Had Caroline ever bid her such a kind farewell before?

But the motive was all too transparent.

Elenor finally spoke, “Goodbye.”

‘Goodbye?’

Caroline’s eyes filled with confusion, not grasping the meaning of Elenor’s words.

But Elenor, having said her piece, boarded the carriage without looking back.

A cold chill ran down Caroline’s spine, the source of which she couldn’t place.

‘What is this?’

A sense of foreboding gripped her.

Reacting instinctively to the alarm bells ringing in her mind, Caroline reached out to stop the carriage. But by then, Berenice had already prompted the palace carriage to depart from the Mecklen estate.

Caroline stood there, staring blankly as the golden carriage disappeared from view.