Chapter 38: The plug in the barrel
Butler Edison was puzzled when, in the absence of his mistress, he found an unexpected guest on the doorstep of their estate. A little girl, looking like a doll, arrived at the Weinstein estate accompanied by a woman who had recently started working as her personal maid.
"I’ve come to see Lady Weinstein. May I come in?"
When the pretty girl with golden hair asked him this question, the old man hesitated.
"Um... Eh, Lady Bastier, I’m sorry, but the lady is not at the estate right now."
Grace Weinstein had left just an hour ago for an audience with the emperor at the imperial palace. Who would have thought that this girl would decide to show up here at this very moment?
Angela, who not so long ago was an ordinary commoner living with her forester father in a remote village, now had a low but still noble status.
Thanks to the help and patronage of Lady Weinstein, the girl now lived in a fairly large estate and enjoyed conditions she could not have dreamed of before. In addition, she now even had her own personal maid, with whom Angela still felt a little awkward.
However, despite the fact that her life had recently changed dramatically thanks to a lucky coincidence, Angela also felt a little sad. She had to part with the friends she had made while living in the village, and now she felt lonely.
In addition, her father was also very busy with his new job and couldn’t spend enough time with her. Thus, in this new world she had suddenly found herself in, Angela still felt uncomfortable.
The only person Angela knew in the capital was Lady Weinstein. With this in mind, the girl decided to visit her on her own. After all, they hadn’t seen each other since Angela and her father moved to their new estate.
However, the butler’s words at that moment upset her considerably.
"Really? Does that mean I won’t be able to see Lady Weinstein?" the main character asked in a gloomy voice.
"I’m sorry, Lady Bastier, you can come another time."
The corners of the girl’s lips dropped involuntarily. Nevertheless, she nodded her head.
"All right... I think I’ll do that."
Although Angela was quite saddened by this fact, she decided to return and try again another day, as there was nothing she could do about it. However, before she had time to leave the main entrance of the estate, she suddenly heard another voice from the other side.
"Young lady, this is..."
"I just heard that. Angela came to visit us, right?"
It was a conversation between the butler and Lady Weinstein’s niece.
"Yes, that’s right. But I already told the lady that the hostess is not here right now, so she can come another time."
"Really? How can we be so unwelcoming?"
The butler paused before speaking again:
"It’s..."
"Auntie may not be here right now, but I am, right?" Ruby objected. "In Auntie’s absence, I’m also the head of this estate, aren’t I?"
Since it was indeed difficult to argue with the girl’s words, Edison had no choice but to give in to her.
"All right, if you say so..." he said slowly, "Then we can invite her in."
At that moment, Angela Bastier involuntarily became nervous, and even her breathing quickened. And all this happened at the moment when, on the threshold of the estate, she once again met the amethyst eyes that had been haunting her since that very day. The girl felt uncomfortable, as if in the blink of an eye she had found herself a defenseless rabbit in front of a prepared trap.
"Angela, it’s been a long time," Ruby smiled sweetly at her, "So you came to visit us with your aunt?"
Angela clutched the folds of her new expensive dress and replied in a thin voice:
"Y-yes, but since Lady Weinstein isn’t here, I was about to leave..."
"There’s no need for that. I’m here and I can receive you."
Angela swallowed the lump in her throat caused by nervousness.
"N-no, there’s no need..." she stammered.
Nevertheless, Rubiella continued to insist.
"Don’t say that. My aunt taught me that as a future duchess, I must be polite and attentive to people."
"I..." Angela faltered.
"Or perhaps you find my company unpleasant?"
As soon as this suggestion was voiced aloud, Angela shuddered again.
"No, that’s not it at all...!"
"In that case, there’s no need to stand on the doorstep. Come inside."
"......."
Although Angela didn’t want to do it at all, fearing that her behavior might be misinterpreted and considered rude, she finally made up her mind and stepped inside.
Although she had originally wanted to see Grace, and meeting her niece, especially alone, was not part of her plans at all, the girl was forced to accept it. She just hoped that it would all be over quickly and she could leave as soon as possible.
"Set the table and make some tea."
Rubiella gave the order to the only maid in the house without even looking at her.
Nura hesitated, but immediately replied:
"Yes, right away..."
Although Nura had been working on the estate for some time, she still behaved carelessly from time to time, as this was related to her habits from her past life.
Therefore, the girl often behaved frivolously with the mistress of the estate and sometimes awkwardly performed her duties. However, none of this applied to the young lady of the house.
After receiving instructions from Ruby, Nura, for some reason, did not even think of treating this task carelessly and immediately hurried to the kitchen.
Thus, the small tea table in the living room was soon set. Rubiella asked everyone else to leave, and they were left alone.
"So you really came to visit my aunt?"
Rubi raised the cup of tea to her lips.
"Y-yes."
"And why is that?"
Angela lowered her gaze and involuntarily focused on examining the patterns on her dress. The cup of tea in front of her remained untouched.
"I... I am very grateful to Lady Weinstein for everything she has done for my father and me," she hesitated, "so I just wanted to visit her to express my gratitude in person."
"Is that so?" Ruby remarked calmly. "Well, I can understand that. You really should be grateful for my aunt’s excessive kindness."
"........"
"And yet I advise you to refrain from coming here next time."
Angela flinched and looked up.
"But why?" she asked.
The heiress to the ducal family replied calmly:
"My aunt is usually very busy and doesn’t have time for someone like you."
"And yet... Can’t I come at least sometimes?"
It was difficult for Angela to accept the fact that she might never see her benefactor again.
After her timid question, Rubiella smiled slyly.
"Nevertheless, it would be better if you didn’t. The thing is, the stairs in our estate are quite slippery. One careless step is enough to cause an accident. You understand that, don’t you?"
Despite the friendly tone with which this remark was made, Angela felt that these words were like a knife to her throat. Of course, she understood very well what these words really meant. Her hands, holding a cup of cold tea, trembled.
"Why... Why do you hate me so much?" the heroine asked in a trembling voice. "I haven’t even done anything to you!"
Nevertheless, Ruby replied calmly as she took another sip of tea.
"Oh, you’ve done a lot."
Angela felt herself becoming more and more confused. She really couldn’t understand what Lady Weinstein’s niece meant.
"I don’t understand..." she muttered, "I don’t understand what you’re talking about."
"You don’t need to understand. Is it really so difficult to stop being a nuisance for once and not get in my way?"
After her words, which this time sounded more harsh than before, Angela pursed her lips. She clearly felt that there was a great injustice in everything that was happening.
She could clearly see from the outside how this same girl behaved when Grace Weinstein was around. At the same time, when Grace disappeared from view, Rubella Weinstein seemed to turn into a completely different person.
Angela thought that the heiress to the ducal family was actually deceiving her aunt and was not at all who she claimed to be. For a moment, Angela even thought about telling Lady Weinstein everything and seeking justice. However...
As if reading her thoughts at that moment, Rubella just smiled.
"What?" she asked mockingly. "Do you really want to complain about me to my aunt?"
Angela Bastier trembled, and a chill ran down her spine.
"I... I didn’t say that."
Nevertheless, despite the fact that Angela was genuinely frightened at that moment, Grace’s niece, surprisingly, continued to behave relatively calmly.
"If you really want to do that, then go ahead. I won’t stop you."
Angela’s eyes widened, as if she thought she had misheard.
"What?"
Rubiella continued to stare at her and smiled quietly.
"You can try anything you want. But it’s all pointless," she whispered. "Because in the end, everything will be the way I want it to be."