If I Disobey the Duke

Early Night (3.1)

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The vase fell between Lily’s bare white feet.
It shattered on impact, the shards scratching her foot.

She flinched and shut her eyes.

Before the echo of the crash even subsided, the maid burst out from behind the cart loaded with blankets.
She was quite petite, about half the height of Lily.

“Madam! Let me clean it up!”

Lily’s eyes flashed open at the panicked voice.
 She came to her senses in an instant and stopped her maid.
“No! Don’t come near!”

The maid stood tall at her urgent but resolute voice.
 It was only then that Lily could see her properly.

Red curls and freckles were visible under the maid cap.
She was a little over Lily’s pelvis, and had round eyes and a cute face, but she wasn’t a child.

Somehow, it felt like when Lily first met the chief of staff.

The maid in front of Lily was one of those people who were much shorter than others even as adults.
She was completely hidden behind the cart, which was why it looked like the cart was unmanned, moving by itself.

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Once she had figured out the situation, Lily was surprisingly quick to regain her composure, calmly holding the maid’s gaze.
“Bring me some thick slippers.
I won’t move first, so use a broom to remove the fragments first, then lay a blanket over the floor.
I can just wear slippers and walk over it.
It’s simple, so there’s no need to panic.”

Lily was the older sister of three younger brothers.
She was used to sorting things out when they made trouble.

The maid nodded frantically, then took out a fresh sheet and went around the bedroom.
 As expected, she knew the structure of the room well.

After the floor had been roughly cleared, Lily put on fluffy, fur-lined slippers and slowly walked over to the bed.
As she sat down, a stinging pain radiated from the scratch on her foot.
She flushed, feeling light-headed.

Lily was about to take off the slippers and check her feet when the maid ran to her and knelt.

“I’m sorry, Madam.
Something like me hurt your body.
I’ll bring a doctor to you.
Please forgive me, Madam.”

She was momentarily taken aback by the gesture, but soon realized that it wasn’t that odd, considering that she was a duchess now.
Technically, even other nobility of lower ranks could be her maids.

That fact made her even more uncomfortable.
Lily herself wasn’t worthy of such a position.

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“No.
Would a doctor even… I can do this myself.”

The maid trembled all over as if she feared she would be punished severely.
One might even think that she intentionally threw the vase and injured her master.

“How dare someone like me, hated by God, come to Madam’s room…! Most of the maids were away, so I dared to bring Madam’s bedding and clothes, and this happened.
If you don’t like the clothes, I’ll wash everything again, no, I’ll burn them.”

Lily swallowed a breath.
 Only now did she fully understand the maid’s behavior.

Considering how society worked, that attitude of excessive self-blame was actually quite normal.

Those hated by God were people born differently from others.

When such a child was born, the act of a midwife or mother killing the newborn was not even considered murder.

Lily’s throat felt tight

How much had this maid gone through to go so far as to blame her existence for such a small incident?

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She must have lived a life that was incomparable to Lily’s, but seeing her lying flat on the floor gave her a sense of déjà vu.
Lily looked at her, wiping the back of her neck, damp from cold sweat.

“…What’s your name?”

“…Yes?”  The maid looked up, confused, and then lowered her head again when Lily nodded.
“It’s Bu-Buttercup, Madam.”

“Buttercup, get up.
You don’t have to kneel.”

Buttercup looked up at Lily, getting up slowly.

Lily closed her eyes before speaking.
“…During my second marriage…” she began hoarsely…

Her heart ached at the sudden memory.
 Although it had been a while, it still felt so vivid

“On the first day, I couldn’t get out of bed all day.
When I woke up, my husband wasn’t around either… No one brought me my clothes, so I wrapped myself in a blanket and waited alone.”

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There was no maid who wanted to serve a commoner as their boss.
Even to them, Lily was a vulgar woman who dared to remarry into an aristocratic family.

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Lily opened her eyes again and looked at Buttercup.
Her sight was a little blurry.
“So I thank you.
Buttercup.
Someone is taking care of me this time…”

She was simply grateful for being treated nicely as she was a woman who had been widowed twice.

The maid’s eyes widened.

Lily smiled faintly.
Her cheeks held a pinkish glow unlike her previous pallor

Buttercup beamed.
She had likely thought that the duke might have married someone that didn’t act like a human being.
It was possible for such a thing to happen, specifically because of the duke’s nature.