To understand the atmosphere among the maids in the manor, polished words were far less useful than raw, honest ones.
Having understood Eleanor's intentions, Lisa brought Anna to her.
The young maid stepped carefully into Eleanor's room, looking even more nervous than she had during their first meeting. Her youthful face had gone stiff with tension.
"Hello, Anna."
Eleanor smiled warmly.
"What's that bracelet on your wrist? It's adorable."
She deliberately started with light conversation to ease the girl's nerves.
At the mention of the bracelet—a simple piece woven with tiny beads—Anna's cheeks turned pink.
"I... I made it myself, Miss."
"Really? Then could you make one for me too?"
"You... you shouldn't be wearing something as ordinary as this..."
Anna hesitated before quickly correcting herself.
"But if you'd like one, I'll make as many as you want."
Her eyes drifted toward Eleanor's feet.
The beige shoes her father had made in his little shoe shop rested elegantly on Eleanor's feet.
Back at the market stall, they had looked completely ordinary.
Now that Eleanor wore them, they looked like something from an expensive luxury boutique.
Satisfied that Anna seemed a little more relaxed after intentionally showing off the shoes she'd bought from her father, Eleanor decided it was time to move on to the real reason she'd called her.
Too relaxed, and people stopped thinking before they spoke.
A little tension was much more useful.
"Anna."
Eleanor's voice became gentler.
"I called you because there's something I'd like to ask."
"Yes, Miss. Please ask me anything."
Anna unconsciously straightened her back.
The overly serious expression on her youthful face was almost adorable, and Eleanor had to suppress a smile.
This wasn't the time to laugh.
"The atmosphere among the maids has been... strange lately, hasn't it?"
"Ah..."
"It's alright."
Eleanor spoke softly.
"No matter what you tell me, I won't punish anyone. I'm simply wondering if I've done something wrong. Everyone didn't use to act like this toward me."
They had never been particularly close.
But they had shared a proper, respectful relationship between master and servant.
That distance had always been natural.
To them, Eleanor was merely their master's niece.
To Eleanor, they were simply her aunt's servants.
She had never expected the servants of Oklama Castle to treat her the way the servants at Stykov did.
They only saw each other once a year.
Just because she was staying longer this time didn't mean they would suddenly begin serving her as their future mistress.
Perhaps if she had already been formally declared the heir.
But at present...
She was nothing more than a baron's niece recovering from illness in the countryside.
Which made their sudden change in attitude all the stranger.
Even if her suspicions were correct...
Was this really enough to justify such treatment?
Not wanting Anna to feel as though she were betraying her friends, Eleanor kept her tone as gentle as possible.
"I just want to know what everyone's thinking."
She smiled reassuringly.
"Could you help me?"
"...I already mentioned this to Miss Lisa, but..."
Anna swallowed nervously.
"People have been saying for some time... that you might become Lord Pomfry's heir."
Eleanor wasn't surprised.
Servants were always the first to notice and react to matters of succession.
Their lives could change entirely depending on who inherited the estate.
Besides, she'd been touring the territory almost every day with Anna.
There had been more than enough clues for people to speculate.
Still...
That wasn't what Eleanor had expected.
If she truly were becoming the next baroness, the servants should have become even more respectful.
Instead...
Their disrespect suddenly made even less sense.
"But... before that..."
Anna hesitated again.
Words refused to come.
Eleanor studied the fidgeting maid before speaking quietly.
"Does this have something to do with Vanessa?"
Ever since the strange atmosphere had begun, Eleanor had felt an inexplicable certainty that Vanessa was somehow involved.
She didn't know how.
Only that she was.
"...Yes."
Anna finally admitted it, her face turning pale.
"Because it looks like Vanessa and I don't get along?"
Even as she asked, Eleanor found the situation absurd.
This wasn't some overprotective parent barging into a children's quarrel.
They were all adults.
Yet somehow the entire castle seemed to have taken sides over a bit of mutual hostility.
It was ridiculous.
"Th-that's part of it..."
Anna lowered her head.
"But actually..."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
She was terrified of saying something like this to the woman who was practically confirmed to become the next baron.
Still...
She didn't want to lie.
"The truth is... everyone had already been treating it as certain that Miss Vanessa would inherit the barony."
...
What?
Eleanor froze.
For a moment...
Her mind simply stopped.
What... did she just say?
"But after you arrived..."
Anna continued cautiously.
"Rumors started spreading that Lord Pomfry had changed his mind and that the inheritance would go to you instead."
"..."
"And... the servants became divided."
"Divided?"
"Into those supporting you... and those supporting Miss Vanessa."
A short, disbelieving laugh escaped Eleanor.
She had never even become involved in a succession struggle back in Beyrn.
Yet somehow...
One had appeared here in Oklama.
"Ha..."
A thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Is that why Vanessa hates me?
She had believed the barony belonged to her...
Then Eleanor arrived and supposedly stole it away.
Emotionally...
Eleanor could understand why she'd resent her.
Logically...
It was utterly absurd.
If Vanessa had at least been formally adopted by Baron Pomfry, this would make some sense.
An adopted daughter—even if born a commoner or orphan—would possess legal inheritance rights.
But Vanessa wasn't his adopted daughter.
She was merely an orphan under his protection.
Nothing more.
Legally...
She was a stranger.
There wasn't even paperwork connecting them.
Then how had everyone become so convinced she would inherit?
A dull ache formed at Eleanor's temples.
She rubbed them slowly.
"So..."
She summarized carefully.
"The servants believed Vanessa would become the next baron."
Anna nodded.
"Then I arrived, people started saying I'd inherited that position instead..."
Another nod.
"And now the servants supporting Vanessa resent me because of it."
Saying the ridiculous situation aloud somehow made it feel even more unbelievable.
"...Yes."
Anna nodded timidly.
"But... that's not all..."
Using what Ivy had overheard as her starting point, Bianca had embroidered the story beyond recognition.
Anna hurriedly explained every rumor Bianca had spread about Eleanor.
Once she finished...
Everything clicked together.
Like the final pieces of a puzzle falling into place.
A helpless laugh escaped Eleanor.
Rumors really are terrifying.
Bianca's story wasn't entirely fabricated.
It contained fragments of truth.
The problem was that those fragments had been twisted and exaggerated until they barely resembled reality.
Seeing Eleanor continue pressing her aching temples, Lisa quietly stepped behind her and began gently massaging her head.
"The servants..."
Eleanor asked after a long silence.
"They really support Vanessa that much?"
Anna glanced around before answering carefully.
"Miss Vanessa is a commoner, so everyone feels close to her."
"They've watched her work hard ever since she came to the castle."
"And Lord Pomfry has never looked down on people because of their birth."
"So..."
She lowered her eyes.
"Everyone hoped... that maybe... just maybe... a commoner could inherit the title."
"..."
"Miss Vanessa was always kind to us."
"So people thought... if she became Baroness... things would be even better..."
Her voice gradually faded.
In other words...
The servants had cherished the dream that someone just like them might rise to become a noble.
Now that dream had been shattered.
And Eleanor had become the person who destroyed it.
Did Vanessa encourage this herself?
The question rose naturally.
But Eleanor stopped herself from asking.
If Anna truly was one of the few maids still on her side, she probably wouldn't know.
For now...
Eleanor needed time to think.
"Thank you for telling me."
She smiled gently.
"Please don't mention today's conversation to anyone. Just keep acting as you always have."
"Yes, Miss."
"Good."
Eleanor nodded.
"Go and get some rest."
Anna bowed and turned toward the door.
Then she hesitated.
Slowly...
She walked back.
"...I hope you become the next Baroness."
Her face flushed all the way to her ears.
"Then... you'll stay here for a long time."
She lowered her head.
"I like you, Miss."
Before Eleanor could respond, Anna hurried out of the room.
A small smile tugged at Eleanor's lips.
At least...
Someone supported her.
Though it did little to improve the situation.
The servants themselves wouldn't become an insurmountable obstacle.
If necessary, they could always be replaced.
But the fact that such an atmosphere had formed at all...
That was what troubled Eleanor.
It made her feel as though she had become a cruel noble who had trampled on the dreams of ordinary people.
Even she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.
Vanessa...
Eleanor rose and walked to the window.
Beyond the rows of evergreen trees in the garden, she spotted Vanessa speaking with one of the gardeners.
The girl looked thinner than she had only a few days ago.
Eleanor narrowed her eyes.
What am I supposed to do with you, Vanessa?
If Vanessa truly coveted the barony...
Then Eleanor would have no choice but to confront her directly and claim the position herself.
But...
Vanessa was someone her aunt cherished.
This wasn't something she could handle carelessly.
She let out a long sigh.
"Lisa."
"Yes, Miss."
Now that she understood the cause...
It was time to decide whether to use the carrot...
Or the stick.
"Find out which maids used to be friendly toward me."
She smiled faintly.
"For now..."
"We'll start with the carrot."
If Eleanor had learned one thing during her time in Beyrn...
It was that not even Lydia could make everyone her ally.
So Eleanor never once considered winning over every servant in Oklama Castle.
Instead...
She would separate them into two groups.
Friends...
And enemies.
Those on her side.
And those who weren't.
Lisa reported that roughly a quarter of the castle staff had always viewed Eleanor favorably.
Another quarter remained neutral.
The remaining half supported Vanessa.
About twice as many...
No.
In truth...
The gap was even larger.
Most of the so-called neutral servants secretly sympathized with Vanessa.
Still...
They could potentially be won over.
The real problem was the servants openly supporting Vanessa.
Eleanor lacked the authority to dismiss all of them at once.
Of course...
If she asked her aunt, it would be possible.
But solving everything through someone else's power would only make things convenient.
It wouldn't restore her reputation among the castle staff.
Worse...
Her aunt might conclude Eleanor couldn't even handle a problem of this scale herself.
So Eleanor decided to dismantle the opposing faction with her own hands.
She would remove several of its leaders first.
Destroy the group's center.
Before that, however...
She needed to bring the neutral servants over to her side and balance the scales.
To accomplish that...
She wrote a letter to her mother in the capital.
She requested several pairs of gloves from her favorite dressmaker in Beyrn—
delicate pale-pink ladies' gloves embroidered with flowers,
and elegant white men's gloves decorated with refined patterns.
While waiting for them to arrive...
She couldn't simply sit idle.
As she'd promised Anna...
She proudly wore the bracelet the girl had made for her.
Anna had made matching bracelets for several other maids as well.
Eleanor decided to win over the maids first.
After all...
They spent far more time around her than the male servants did.
At first, few noticed the bracelet.
But gradually...
Everyone's eyes were drawn to the little ornament adorning Eleanor's slender wrist.
Her skin was so fair that she usually wore only jeweled bracelets.
Now, woven red and blue threads wrapped around her wrist, holding a tiny wooden five-pointed star.
It stood out immediately.
Once she was certain everyone had noticed...
She made her next move.
"You got a bracelet from Anna too?"
She deliberately approached a maid wearing a similar bracelet.
"Ah... yes, Miss."
The maid looked bewildered as she bowed.
"They're so pretty, aren't they?"
Eleanor smiled brightly.
"I saw all of you wearing them and begged Anna to make one for me too."
She intentionally sounded cheerful.
Then gently took the maid's arm.
"It almost feels like we're all wearing matching friendship bracelets."
The gesture wasn't accidental.
She wanted everyone to see that she wasn't cold or distant toward the servants.
She wanted them to see warmth.
Approachability.
Kindness.
The maid blushed shyly.
Before the rumors, she'd admired Eleanor from afar.
Now...
The young lady she admired was speaking kindly to her and treating her like someone familiar.
Rumors no longer mattered.
It simply made her happy.
Naturally...
The maids loyal to Vanessa wasted no time gossiping behind Eleanor's back.
"It's all fake."
"She's only acting like that because everyone dislikes her now."
"Exactly. Don't be fooled."
"A noble lady like her would never actually care about commoners like us."
"She's just using people."
They continued spreading whispers throughout the castle.
Their methods were so clumsy...
That Eleanor identified every one of them.
And waited.
The gloves...
Hadn't arrived yet.***
When Lydia heard that a letter had arrived from her sister, she was thrilled.
Only to become disappointed the moment she opened it.
She had expected pages filled with Eleanor's daily life, warm greetings, and questions about how she herself had been doing.
Instead...
There was only a brief inquiry after everyone's health.
And a request.
Please order several pairs of gloves from her favorite dressmaker.
Though saddened, Lydia accompanied her mother—the Countess—to the boutique and placed the order exactly as Eleanor had requested.
After returning to the count's estate...
She spent the afternoon chatting idly with her usual four companions.
"I wonder why Sister wants so many gloves."
"No idea."
Sinclair answered absentmindedly.
"Maybe she wants to crush somebody."
The moment he'd heard about the gloves, he'd roughly guessed their purpose.
He didn't know the details.
But it sounded like Eleanor wanted to create a symbol that would unite one group...
And quietly exclude everyone outside it.
Still...
Lydia found it difficult to imagine Eleanor doing such a thing.
Big Sister always endures everything.
Whether she was sad.
Or angry.
She always smiled.
"...Who made her angry?"
"Probably someone did."
"So shouldn't she come back soon?"
Lydia brightened.
"I'll write and tell her to come home."
She excitedly reached for a sheet of stationery.
Before she could pick up her pen—
"Don't."
A calm, deep voice interrupted her.
It was Leopold.
He sat beside the window, reading a small book.
His lowered eyelashes cast delicate shadows across the sharp bridge of his nose, while brilliant summer sunlight painted strong contrasts across his handsome face.
"It's better to wait."
He closed the book.
Since Eleanor had departed for Oklama, Leopold had visited the count's estate every day, lingering near that very window.
Lydia pouted.
"Why, Leo? Waiting never gets you anything."
"Patience is a virtue."
His tone remained even.
"And the more you pressure Eleanor..."
"...the less she'll want to come back."
"Why?"
Leopold lifted his gaze.
Lydia sat in the middle of the sofa.
Vincent lounged to her right.
Sinclair and Ernst occupied the left.
"You can't tell someone to return..."
"...when they left because they didn't want to stay here anymore."
A faintly cynical smile touched his lips.
"I actually agree with His Highness this time."
Ernst spoke gently.
"Your sister left because she was exhausted."
"If we tell her to come back now..."
"...she may simply refuse."
"Hah."
Vincent scoffed.
"Eleanor Stykov?"
He crossed his arms.
"She's obsessed with being Lydia's perfect older sister."
"If Lydia tells her to come back, she'll come."
Leopold shot Vincent an icy glance.
Then quietly turned back toward the window.
"Even so..."
He spoke without looking away.
"Leave her alone."
His voice dropped.
"She's there to recover."
"Eventually she'll come back."
"For now..."
"It wouldn't hurt to let her rest."
Eleanor would return to Beyrn.
It was an unquestionable certainty.
Even though Leopold himself had been the one who urged her to leave for Oklama...
He never doubted it.
Because this is where she belongs.
It was an incredibly arrogant belief.
One the others shared as well.
"Lydia is here."
Ernst smiled.
"There's no way your sister would stay away forever."
"Exactly!"
Vincent laughed.
"You think she'd actually live there?"
"Of course she'll come back!"
Sinclair smiled most coldly of all.
"Besides..."
"What other future does Eleanor have?"
"She'll return for the countship if nothing else."
"What else could she possibly choose?"
"Don't say it like that."
Lydia lightly scolded him.
Then quietly put away the unfinished letter.
He was right.
Eleanor hadn't been gone for very long.
She would simply think of it as a summer holiday.
A brief vacation.
Sooner or later...
Everyone returned to work after a holiday.
Thinking that way made Lydia smile again.
Her smile bloomed brighter than the flowers of midsummer.
Leopold, however, couldn't see it.
His back remained turned toward her.
Instead, he stared outside at the blazing summer sun.
What was she thinking then?
Just before Eleanor left for Oklama...
Their eyes had met.
She had been standing at her bedroom window, silently watching them depart.
This drawing room lay directly beneath Eleanor's bedroom.
Only the floor was different.
The view...
Was almost identical.
Looking down from roughly the same place now...
Leopold felt nothing.
Then why...
Why had she watched us leave?
Ah.
His lips parted slightly.
That day...
Because of Edward Hans...
All of them had raised their voices at her.
Leopold slowly turned.
His eyes swept across the other four before falling to the book in his hands.
A sudden question surfaced in his mind.
Will Eleanor really come back?
He didn't know why the thought appeared.
It simply did.
She'll return.
...
She has to.
After all...
Everything she had ever known was here.
