Chapter 010
Chapter 10: The Master and the Apprentice (4)
“It’s so quiet and nice without her.”
After about two days, Leonard was very satisfied with his peaceful daily life.
But after three days, and then four more days, everything suddenly started to annoy him.
“Close the curtains. It’s irritating.”
“Yes? You told me to open the curtains because the room was dark…”
“Can’t you hear me? I told you to close the curtains!”
“…Yes, my lord.”
Leonard acted like an angry old man, often reversing orders on others.
Thanks to this, the servants were falling apart.
“Four days is really too much.”
“Yes?”
“How long are we going to wait?”
They grumbled among themselves.
He thought he’d feel relieved because the person who annoyed him every day was gone, but in reality, he was irritated.
Leonard kicked the blanket hard, recalling Cordelia’s face as she forced herself to smile.
“Hey, you. Come here and help me. I’m going to get some air in the garden.”
“Yes, my lord.”
With the help of an attendant, Leonard went out to clear his head.
Compared to the garden at the Atily estate, the Abrams garden was just ordinary, but it was still worth seeing.
The sun was somewhat warm, so I was walking slowly when I saw a maid standing at a distance, her face stiff.
When I reached her, the maid blocked my path with a deeply troubled expression.
“What? Move.”
“I’m sorry, my lord. The lady and Countess Dahlia are having tea over there.”
Normally, I would’ve avoided them and passed by, but I felt a bit cold.
“So? Are you crazy? How dare you stand in my way?”
At his words, the maid stepped aside.
As I walked a bit further, I saw a stunning scene in the courtyard. The moment I saw it, I understood well why the maid had tried to stop me.
“What are you doing now?”
“Oh, Craig. Is it okay for you to be walking around like this?”
“I don’t think you’ve answered my question yet.”
He said, looking at Cordelia, who was standing there covered in wine.
Cordelia was startled when she saw Leonard approach and avoided his gaze.
“What am I doing? I’m teaching her manners.”
Helena answered with surprising calm.
“Manners? Does this family educate people by pouring wine on their heads?”
“Craig. It’s fine. She’s cheaper than that. You should’ve seen how rude she was to your mother. Anyway, I couldn’t control my anger.”
“Hah.”
“Alright, let’s go hunting together later. Then I’ll forgive you, brother.”
Lily, who must not have seen Leonard’s cold expression, crossed her arms and smiled at him sweetly.
“Oh, Lily, what hunting at this time? What if you catch a cold?”
“I’m fine. I can just wear the new fur coat I bought.”
The mother and daughter spoke affectionately and laughed. Cordelia wasn’t even a topic in their conversation.
The maids standing nearby didn’t seem surprised, as if they were used to this situation.
‘I knew Cordelia was ignored in this family, but I didn’t know it had gotten this bad.’
My head cooled in an instant. Leonard said, twisting Lily’s arm, which was clinging to him roughly.
“I guess you can’t even hide your low origins.”
“What? Who are you talking to now?”
“Who am I talking to? Is there anyone of low blood here besides you?”
He glared at Helena and Lily alternately with eyes full of disdain. Helena’s face turned red instantly.
“I’ll never forgive your insolence. Stop, get out of here, Craig.”
“What? You dare give orders? It seems the one with no origins is trying to climb, isn’t she?”
As the situation escalated, Cordelia, who was standing to the side, quickly intervened.
‘There are already rumors that he’s a fool, so making things worse by offending Helena here won’t do him any good.’
Cordelia grabbed Leonard’s sleeve and shook it firmly.
“Craig. Please stop.”
“Why are you like this? Ha, is that all? I’ll let you talk to me later.”
“My lady, Craig just got out of bed and isn’t well. Please forgive him.”
“That woman is the one who should ask for forgiveness, not me.”
“That woman? Craig! I’m your mother and the lady of the Abrams family. Where did you learn such bad words?”
However, Leonard didn’t care about Cordelia’s intervention. Instead, he pushed Cordelia behind him and stepped forward.
“Lady? You dare say you’re the lady of the Abrams family?”
“What do you mean?”
“Count Jonday, as soon as he died, you embezzled the castle’s funds.”
“W-What?”
“Moreover, is it a lady’s duty to shamelessly invite young servants to her bed? Oh, is that the role of a lady in this castle?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Helena’s face turned as white as milk. Cordelia, shocked, looked between Helena and Leonard.
Lily muttered in great surprise.
“What are you saying, Craig! What does this mean? It’s impossible for Mother to do that.”
“You still don’t understand what I said? This woman embezzled Abrams’ funds and committed filthy acts with the servants.”
Leonard pointed at Helena with his finger and openly sneered.
The servants around them whispered uneasily. Helena, noticing this, quickly changed her expression and gave an order to a nearby maid.
“Where did such ridiculous rumors come from? He must have gone mad after dying and coming back to life. James, take Craig to his room now. Hurry!”
A young servant named James hesitantly approached Craig.
“My lord, I’ll take you to your room.”
“Ken, Reynald, Charles, Edward.”
“…”
“Those are the men who entered your bed… Can you do without them?”
Helena’s lips trembled. On the other hand, Leonard was completely at ease.
She took a deep breath and spoke through gritted teeth.
“You don’t seem to be in your right mind. I see you’re spouting such ridiculous lies.”
“Well, why would I tell a lie that would be found out immediately? I’ve already found all the servants who were involved with you and put them in the dungeon. I’ll bring them here if you want. When you see their faces again, will you remember anything from that time?”
“That’s nonsense! They’ve already left this country…”
Helena refuted hurriedly, then stopped. She seemed to realize too late what she had said. The area around her grew very cold.
“No. No! That’s not what I meant. This is all a plot by Craig! He’s doing this to drive me out with his ridiculous lies!”
“You’ll be confined to a secluded room. If you insult me again, I’ll send you to a barren place.”
“You, how, how…”
“James.”
Leonard spoke sternly to the servant who had come to grab him.
“It seems my mother is ill, so take her to her room. Hurry.”
“…As you command, my lord.”
His voice was full of obedience.
The servant didn’t even dare to disobey Leonard’s order.
The attendants stepped forward and approached Helena. Without hesitation, they grabbed her.
“Let me go! How dare you! Can’t you hear what I’m saying? Let me go now!”
“Sorry, my lady.”
The servants were highly sensitive to shifts in power. They instinctively knew who would take control in this family.
“I’m the lady of this house! You filthy, prodigal son! How do you think this family grew?”
Helena resisted fiercely, but she couldn’t withstand the strength of the men.
Lily stared at Helena’s back as she was dragged away, then quickly ran after her.
Everything passed like a storm.
Even the maids left, and now only Leonard and Cordelia remained. Cordelia said, looking in the direction where Helena had disappeared.
“Is it really okay to do this? The lady won’t stay quiet…”
“Why are you covered in wine?”
“It’s not a big deal. She’s just venting her anger on me, as she always does.”
“What?”
“I think Lily told her that day after she was kicked out of your room. That I’m the reason for it.”
She said nonchalantly. That was Cordelia’s way of protecting herself.
It was all nothing. So there was no need to hurt herself.
“I’m fine.”
Cordelia smiled at him to reassure him.
He was the one who protected her in his own way. I don’t know what he meant, but I was very grateful that Leonard listened to me.
However, the moment their eyes met, Cordelia’s shoulders trembled instinctively.
Anyone could see how angry Leonard looked.
“Why are you angry…?”
“Are you stupid? Don’t you have any pride?”
“What?”
Cordelia was taken aback by his cold sarcasm that followed. Leonard said, looking at her wet hair.
“Do you think they’ll give you more money when you leave this house because you grovel like this to please them?”
“…”
“Cordelia Vasquez. No matter how hard you try, nothing will change.”
Crack.
His words were like a dagger. She felt that all the moments she endured with a forced smile in this house were foolish.
‘It’s okay, you’re fine. You’re fine.’
Still, as usual, I tried my best to smile and endure the uncomfortable situation.
“That’s… a bit harsh.”
“You’re a Vasquez. It’s one of the eight sacred families. Is there any need to bow your head like this?”
“…”
“Don’t bow your head like a fool…”
“What do you know about me to say this?”
In that moment, the patience Cordelia had endured over and over again snapped.
She could bear it when Helena hurled insults at her, but somehow, every word Leonard said pierced her heart like a sharp sword.
“What? Of course it looks like that. Why do you live in such abject humiliation? Don’t you have any pride?”
“What do you know about my life and what I’ve been through to say such things?”
Cordelia opened her eyes wide and glared at Leonard. She was so angry that her head felt cold.
Leonard couldn’t respond and remained silent.
“My father sold me to this hell for a few cents! He told me not to come back even if I became a corpse. But what am I supposed to do? Do you know how I’ve lived because I was born a woman in a failed family? Don’t you really understand?”
She scolded him and shouted at him for the first time. All sorts of mixed emotions inside her came pouring out at him.
“No, you’ll never understand. Because you were born covered in gold from the start. You’ve never lacked anything.”
“…”
“Do you know why I bow my head in all this humiliation and smile while covered in wine?”
Her voice trembled unintentionally. She tried not to cry, but she couldn’t fully control her emotions.
In the end, a few tears rolled down her cheek.
