Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 23 Part 2

Caught off guard, Eleanor had no time to dodge.

She stared blankly at her dress, now stained with a dark wet spot.

“I-I’m so, so sorry!”

The maid who had spilled the water stood trembling on the spot. It was May.

May looked close to tears, unsure of what to do.

Eleanor gazed at the sniffling May for a moment.

“I’m so sorry, truly sorry! I was rushing and didn’t watch where I was going.”

May kept bowing deeply in apology, still holding the bowl that had spilled. It wasn’t unusual for a maid to be careless like this, especially one as new to the palace as May.

There was nothing particularly strange about the incident.

Eleanor looked at May, who was shifting her weight anxiously from foot to foot, then spoke slowly, “Are you hurt?”

“N-no, not at all! I’m okay, but… your dress, Madam…”

May’s freckled face was full of fear.

She was expecting punishment for having dirtied a noble’s dress. But Eleanor didn’t get angry. Instead, she asked a few questions.

“It looks like you were cleaning. Were you on your way to dispose of the water?”

“Yes… yes… I was,” May stammered in response, clearly taken aback by Eleanor’s unexpected reaction.

Eleanor glanced around. The corridor was empty except for the two of them.

“It must be difficult for you, managing your duties under Her Majesty while also taking on cleaning. I imagine you need more than one pair of hands.”

“……!”

Eleanor maintained her smile as she knelt down.

With Eleanor now at a lower height, May ended up looking down at her. This made May step back nervously.

“U-uh…”

“I’ll overlook this mistake.”

“…Pardon?”

“We all make mistakes much worse than this at times. You just need more time to get used to things, and I believe you’ll do better in the future.”

“Th-thank you.”

May struggled to move her lips, which felt glued together in shock. She had braced herself for a severe scolding, and her body remained stiff.

But Eleanor’s kind words didn’t end there.

“However, if water stays on the floor like this, someone could slip. Do you know where we could find a cloth to wipe it up?”

“Uh…”

May looked lost, as if she were dreaming. This kind of kindness was something she had never experienced from anyone else—not even her own family.

May, touched by Eleanor’s gentle approach, hesitated before speaking, “I’m… not sure.”

“Not sure?”

“Well… This isn’t my assigned area. I’m actually responsible for cleaning Her Majesty’s chambers.”

Each maid had a designated area of responsibility. May was assigned to clean the Empress Dowager’s chambers, so this area was unfamiliar to her.

May bowed her head in earnest. “I’ll make sure to inform the head maid so we can get this cleaned.”

“I see.”

Eleanor sighed softly, unsurprised by the expected answer. It was a typical situation.

Eleanor, who had lived in the West Palace before, was familiar with the maids’ cleaning schedule.

The Empress Dowager’s chambers were usually cleaned around lunchtime. The current time was before then.

“It seems someone is in a real hurry.”

“…Pardon?”

“If they’re having you handle such a task, it must be urgent.”

Eleanor rose from her kneeling position, lightly brushing her now wet dress.

“Go tell Countess Lorentz something for me.”

“……!”

“Tell her I won’t tolerate this kind of prank anymore.”

May’s face turned deathly pale, as if she had been struck by lightning. It was as if the thief had been caught by their own nervousness.

Seeing the young girl trembling in shock and fear, Eleanor felt a pang of sympathy.

‘How naive she is.’

Perhaps that was why she couldn’t escape Lorentz’s grasp. As the Empress Dowager had said, she was a pitiful child.

No doubt Lorentz had tried to make it look like May’s clumsiness was the cause, hoping to end it there without revealing the full truth.

“Oh, and pass on one more message.”

Eleanor added, “If she needs a piece of fabric, I can cut it off myself.”

It likely wasn’t something Caroline had orchestrated. If it had been her, it would have been much more subtle. With her experience running underground operations for so long, she wouldn’t have tipped her hand for something as minor as dirtying a dress.

Because of that, it was easy to deduce who was behind this.

“The last scandal involved Childe, so this time, I’ll choose myself. Maybe the second son of Duke Nestor.”

“……?”

Her tone wasn’t angry.

She maintained a gentle smile. Yet May felt as though Eleanor could see through all of her thoughts.

“Will you be able to relay the message?”

“Y-yes, I will…”

May nodded repeatedly, unsure of what else to do. Even without understanding the full story, she instinctively felt that something had gone wrong.

Eleanor smiled lightly at May before continuing on her way as if nothing significant had happened.

May closed her eyes tightly as Eleanor walked away, expecting some form of retribution, but none came.

May stared blankly at Eleanor’s retreating figure as she left without so much as a reprimand.

***

“Welcome… Oh? What happened to your dress?” The Empress Dowager greeted Eleanor warmly, her eyes widening in surprise.

Berenice, who was usually beside her, was nowhere in sight. Countess Lorentz, who was guarding the Empress Dowager alone, exaggerated her reaction upon seeing Eleanor.

“Oh my, Lady Eleanor, what on earth happened to you?”

“There was an incident.”

“Did you roll on the ground? It smells quite awful.”

It was as if she were deliberately trying to provoke her.

The Empress Dowager glared at Countess Lorentz, but the countess was too focused on Eleanor’s soiled dress to notice.

Before the Empress Dowager could say anything, Eleanor preempted her. “It’s nothing of importance. I can simply change clothes, so please don’t worry, Your Majesty.”

“Still, it doesn’t sit well with me.”

Clicking her tongue, the Empress Dowager ordered Countess Lorentz to leave, saying they had something to discuss in private.

Countess Lorentz, who had been delighted up until that point, scowled in displeasure. But with the Empress Dowager present, she couldn’t voice her complaints.

After Countess Lorentz left in a huff, Eleanor sat across from the Empress Dowager.

“Was that her doing?”

No name was needed; Eleanor knew exactly who she was referring to. Eleanor nodded with a smile.

“She made the first move.”

“Tsk, how pathetic.” The Empress Dowager sighed in genuine lament. “She used to be a woman who knew better. How did she become so vile?”

Once, she had been a lady-in-waiting who had faithfully served the Empress Dowager for many years. Perhaps if she hadn’t gotten involved with Caroline, there might have been a chance for her to redeem herself.

Eleanor spoke to the bitter Empress Dowager, “Thanks to that, things have gotten easier for me. Since I didn’t avoid her provocation and faced it head-on, she’ll soon contact Caroline.”

“Really?”

“Yes. This isn’t something Countess Lorentz can handle on her own.”

Eleanor had intentionally let her words slip without scolding May for that reason. She needed to draw Caroline out, and Lorentz had conveniently lit the fuse.

May now had enough clues, and Countess Lorentz, feeling anxious, would pass along her words to Caroline. Once they captured Russell, things would become even more interesting.

The Empress Dowager’s eyes sparkled as she listened to Eleanor’s story.

“But why did you call for me, Your Majesty?”

“Ah, I almost forgot.”

The Empress Dowager nodded, snapping back to her senses. She had been so concerned with Eleanor’s dirty dress that she had momentarily forgotten.

“Did you meet Pedro by any chance?”

“The eldest son of Duke Nestor?”

“Yes. I heard you had a meal with Pedro and Evan yesterday.”

News had already reached the Empress Dowager’s ears.

When Eleanor confirmed it, the Empress Dowager asked bluntly, “What do you think of Pedro?”

“I’m sorry, but it’s too soon to form an opinion.”

It had been too brief an encounter to fully understand Pedro. Even though she knew him in a past life, it wasn’t enough.

Though she hesitated slightly, Eleanor continued speaking calmly, “He seems like a cheerful person. He also struck me as pure-hearted. And… he appears to have many interests.”

“Yes, all of that is true.”

The Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction at Eleanor’s response.

“I quite like that boy.”

“……”

“I prefer people who are proactive. You, Norah, and even Brianna—at least when it comes to work, she’s proactive.”

As the Empress Dowager mentioned each of their names, Eleanor noticed what they all had in common. They were all honest, proactive, and passionate about their work. Those qualities were the Empress Dowager’s criteria for choosing people to surround herself with.

Suddenly, Eleanor thought of Evan, who was cunning like a fox.

‘Evan must not be to the Empress Dowager’s liking.’

When he first approached her, he acted as if he knew something she didn’t. It made him seem suspicious and untrustworthy. He claimed to be a peer of Ernst, yet didn’t seem to get along with him—as if he had ulterior motives.

The Empress Dowager’s next words broke Eleanor’s thoughts.

“Evan is just like his father.”

“……?”

“I mean Duke Nestor. He may be my brother, but he’s one of the most deceitful men I know.”

“Is that so?”

“To be honest, I haven’t been on good terms with my brother since childhood. After I got married, we grew even more distant. He only cared about money and tried to interfere with everything I did. How could we possibly get along?”

After marrying the late emperor, the Empress Dowager hadn’t shied away from confronting Duke Nestor. She needed to protect her beloved son, even if it meant opposing her own brother.

Furthermore, her sense of duty in safeguarding the nation was inextricably tied to her fate. So she had fought fiercely, even making an enemy out of her own kin.

After Lennoch ascended to the throne and stabilized the nation, they had somewhat reconciled. Still, their political views remained different, and the Empress Dowager didn’t fully trust Duke Nestor.

Yet for her to say she liked Pedro, Duke Nestor’s son, showed just how much she valued him.

“Pedro is an incredibly honest and pure-hearted boy. I find it unsettling that Duke Nestor keeps trying to send him overseas. I worry that he might be mistreating him.”

“……”

He seemed too large and imposing to be mistreated.

Eleanor kept her thoughts to herself as she remembered Pedro from their lunch with the emperor. To the Empress Dowager, it seemed Pedro was still just a child.

“So, whenever he visits the palace, I’d like you to keep an eye on him.”

Looking around, it was clear everyone had their own issues. Berenice was busy dealing with the recent incident involving May, and Norah had a personality that could easily be swayed by Pedro.

Feeling a bit guilty, the Empress Dowager made her request to Eleanor.

“I know you’re busy with work, but the situation around us is far from ideal, and I have no one else to ask.”