The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 5

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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In Search of the Duke’s Husband – Episode 5

A chilling silence descended upon the picturesque Garden.
Lirika and the surrounding maids gasped in shock, but Artia herself showed no surprise whatsoever.
Everything had unfolded exactly as I anticipated.
‘The cockroach has fallen into the trap.’
Elation at the plan’s success mingled with a bitter aftertaste.
‘Yet no one dares approach to examine her, even though someone was struck right before their eyes…’
It was in that moment of thought that a maid came rushing over from the other direction.
“Are you unharmed, my lady?”
She was the tall maid with a scar across her cheek—the one I had seen days ago on the path to meet Elma.
She examined my face with an expressionless gaze, then extended her hand.
“Allow me to support you to your chamber. I shall summon the physician at once.”
Artia stared at her for a moment before speaking.
“Wait. There is something I must do first.”
Artia turned her head toward Lirika.
“I have endeavored to be understanding because Lloyd holds her dear, but I can no longer tolerate her behavior.”
She pointed with her finger at Lirika, whose eyes had widened like a startled cat’s at the realization of what she had done.
“Seize that insolent creature who dared lay hands upon me and confine her at once.”
“…!”
The maids’ faces filled with bewilderment at the sudden command.
Yet that hesitation was brief—the maids did not move.
They had decided to side with the favored concubine who basked in Lloyd’s affection rather than the powerless Duchess.
“Heh.”
The moment Lirika’s laughter burst forth, the scarred maid standing beside Artia strode forward and seized Lirika’s arm.
Lirika cried out in shock.
“You—what do you think you’re doing, laying hands on me!”
“….”
As the scarred maid dragged her away without a word, Lirika shrieked toward the other servants.
“What are you standing there gawking for! Stop this madwoman at once!”
The other maids finally snapped to attention and rushed at the scarred maid.
“Release Lady Lirika!”
One against five.
Though vastly outnumbered, the scarred maid remained immovable as a colossal boulder.
Lirika, caught in the sudden scuffle and grimacing in pain, suddenly brightened as though she had found a savior.
“Head Maid!”
Elma had appeared.
“What on earth is the meaning of this?”
Lirika cried out to Elma like a child complaining to her mother, her voice trembling.
“My sister has gone mad! She fed me poisonous herbs and ordered the Maid to kill me!”
I too refused to back down, gently touching my swollen crimson cheek as I spoke.
“Lirika struck my cheek.”
“…!”
“Surely this isn’t something we can overlook, even if she is Lloyd’s beloved concubine?”
A commoner striking a noblewoman’s cheek was an undeniable crime. Yet Elma hesitated to take my side.
Toward the wavering Elma, I moved my lips silently.
‘Treason.’
“…!”
That magical word instantly strangled Elma’s throat.
No matter how terrifying Lloyd’s retribution might be, wasn’t facing the executioner’s blade in court worse, Elma?
Elma closed her trembling eyes, then opened them and spoke.
“Take Lirika to her chamber.”
“…!”
Lirika’s face, which had been flushed with arrogance at Elma’s arrival, crumbled in an instant.
“Y-you’ve gone mad too? How could you do this to Lirika?”
Instead of answering, Elma turned her gaze toward the maids.
“At once.”
The powerless Duchess’s orders could be ignored, but the head maid’s commands—she who held the mansion in an iron grip—were difficult to defy.
The maids exchanged glances hesitantly before seizing Lirika’s arms and dragging her away.
“Please come with us, Lirika.”
Lirika thrashed and screamed.
“When the Duke arrives, I’ll tell him everything! I’ll have you all beaten so badly you won’t be able to walk on your own feet!”
The name of the Edenberg Duke drained the color from the maids’ faces, but it did not change the situation.
After Lirika disappeared, Elma turned toward me with an uncharacteristic smile.
“You see? This Elma stands with you, my lady.”
Her expression was one that seemed to deserve a pat on the head for a job well done.
However, instead of responding to Elma, I turned my attention to the scarred maid still standing there.
“What is your name?”
The maid, startled by the sudden question, looked at me before answering in a calm voice.
“It is Bibi.”
“Bibi, Bibi, I see….”
I murmured the name and smiled softly.
“Bibi, from today on, you shall attend to me.”
“…!”
Bibi’s previously expressionless eyes widened noticeably.
Elma’s eyes grew twice as wide.
Elma spoke with a flustered expression.
“I cannot decide so hastily on a maid to serve the Duchess. We must judge carefully whether she is suited for such a position.”
“She’s my maid. If I’m pleased with her, that’s all that matters.”
“But….”
Elma seemed to have much more to say, but I brushed past her objections and moved forward.
“Come, Bibi.”
I extended my hand toward Bibi.
Bibi glanced at Elma’s expression, offered a respectful bow, and then approached me to lend her support.
Bibi’s sturdy frame felt reassuringly solid and comforting.

* * *

Once inside my chamber, I settled into a chair.
Bibi stood before me and gently applied medicine to my swollen, reddened cheek.
Bibi’s hands were large and bore countless small scars, yet despite their rough appearance, her movements were infinitely careful.
‘It feels like being tended to by a mother bear with those massive, fearsome paws.’
Bibi, watching me waver, finally spoke.
“My lady, I dare say—please reconsider making me your maid. I lack far too much to serve you properly.”
Bibi clearly found my command burdensome, but I could not let her go.
There was a reason for it.
“I’ve known you for a long time.”
“…!”

A few months ago.
When Lloyd sent word that he wished to dine together after so long, Artia dressed herself with meticulous care from head to toe and left her chamber.
Her heart raced at the thought that Lloyd had sought her out after all this time.
Yet the moment she arrived at the Hall, her soaring heart plummeted.
Lirika sat upon Lloyd’s lap at the head of the lavishly appointed table.
Lirika, adorned in a dress bedecked with ribbons, beamed radiantly.
“Sister, today marks one hundred days since Lirika and the Duke met. Please celebrate with us.”
Lloyd drew Lirika into his embrace.
“I wanted to commemorate this day with just you.”
“Oh, but special occasions are always better with more people, aren’t they?”
“Sigh, my little songbird truly is too kind….”
Artia’s face turned ashen and rigid.
Lloyd fixed her with a savage glare.
“What are you doing? Sit down at once.”
Artia had never been able to defy Lloyd’s commands.
But now, she found herself utterly unable to take that seat.
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
Barely managing to speak, Artia spun around in panic, only to catch her skirts beneath her feet and tumble to the ground.
Crash!
Behind the fallen Artia came Lloyd’s booming laughter.
“Puhaha! Now she can’t even flee properly—how much more foolish will she become?”
Lirika stifled her laughter as she asked.
“Hehe. Are you alright, sister?”
Artia’s mind went blank beneath a humiliation so profound it defied measure.
She could not bring herself to rise, trembling violently where she lay.
Yet not a single Maid standing nearby offered her aid.
In that moment of deepest despair, as a single tear fell, a large, weathered hand touched her body.
That hand gently helped Artia to her feet.
“I shall escort you to your chamber, my lady.”
I could not fathom how I arrived there.
Before I knew it, I lay upon my bed in my own chamber.
The Maid draped a blanket over me as I lay there, tears streaming endlessly down my vacant face.
“Rest now.”
Her tone was blunt.
Yet her voice carried a tender compassion.

‘Do you know how much solace Artia found that day?’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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