I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 53
CHAPTER 53
‘Nice to meet you.’
Milia gritted her teeth.
‘How dare you deceive me with such filthy lies?’
During the celebration, hadn’t she shamelessly flaunted herself with a pearl necklace?
‘Thanks to you, I had to be confined to the mansion for a month!’
Her infuriated father imposed an unprecedented punishment of one month of house arrest.
As a result, they couldn’t even go on the spring picnic they had planned for months!
But what’s even more infuriating is…
“Lady, there is no pearl necklace among the gifts sent by Baron Dean.”
“What? Is that true?”
“Please see this. There are emerald and ruby necklaces, but… the only pearl accessories are earrings and this bracelet.”
There was no pearl necklace among the gifts sent by Baron Dean.
There were so many gifts received, and there were many pearl accessories, so she must have been confused.
‘You deceived me.’
How dare she deceive her with her sneaky little tongue?
Milia bit her lip while looking at the nonchalant Lottie on the sofa, blinking her eyes.
‘What should I do?’
How should she meticulously crush this scoundrel?
It was also irritating that Lottie was here in this shop right now.
While she was about to be kicked out, she was sitting there leisurely.
If she continued like this, she would come to the first ball wearing the dress made by Seamstress Miller.
‘Can she wear what I can’t?’
Absolutely not, she won’t allow it.
‘Just a moment.’
A good idea came to her.
Milia smirked.
‘As an apology, I can get a reservation, right?’
Yeah, that should work.
But it shouldn’t be just about the pearl necklace incident.
No one had seen it, and she was also bothered by it.
‘So let’s target that maid.’
There is a saying that to catch a thief, you should shoot first.
It’s not because she’s afraid of being deceived by that scoundrel again.
Absolutely not.
Really.
“Ahem.”
Milia waved her fan gently and looked at Lottie.
“Princess Lottie, do you have anything to say to me?”
At that, Lottie hesitated for a moment.
“Goodbye?”
She waved her hand.
No, not that!
“You gave me wrong information, didn’t you?”
“Did I?”
It was a shameless face as if to say, ‘When did that happen?’
“What information, Lady?”
She innocently widened her eyes, staring at her.
“I don’t remember at all?”
A face that truly didn’t remember.
It was a face that made people want to grab the back of their necks.
“Well, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor……!!”
Oh no, she almost got caught!
She gritted her teeth.
“Uh, uh. That’s it.”
Milia waved her fan again and poked Lady Mensia’s waist with her elbow.
“The one who hits doesn’t remember, but the one who gets hit does? Is that it?”
It was a signal to agree. Lady Mensia quickly nodded her head.
“Y-yes! That’s exactly the situation. You’re too much, Your Highness.”
“Uh-huh.”
At their words, Lottie’s eyes twinkled with laughter.
“Right, it was like that.”
While saying so, she casually stroked her shoulder.
The spot where Milia often pinched her nails when she was upset.
“She never admits she’s wrong, does she?”
That!
Does she think getting pinched a few times is the same as being put under house arrest for a month?
‘How shameless.’
Milia shivered.
Milia was the youngest daughter of Marquis Floyd, born as his only daughter.
That meant she had never experienced such misfortune before.
Everyone had lived a life of adoration and obedience to her.
Only Milia is recognized for her manners, by her parents and legitimate nobility.
Of course, that scoundrel was an exception.
‘In such filthy blood.’
Even bloodlines that were uncertain whether they were truly of the Emperor’s lineage.
Where did they get the nerve to speak to her, a noble recognized for her nobility and legitimacy?
“Ladies, please don’t argue here.”
“Noisy!”
Milia pushed aside the seamstress trying to intervene.
“…!!”
With a thud, the seamstress fell to the ground.
“Ugh…”
She fell, shaking her body as if she had bumped her shoulder badly.
However, whether she did or not, Milia couldn’t swallow her anger.
“Daring to interrupt a noble conversation with commoner nonsense?”
“L-Lady Floyd. That’s not what I-.”
“Daring to confront me now?”
“…That’s not it.”
The seamstress, clutching her shoulders, shook her head.
“Then you better watch your mouth, shouldn’t you?”
Tap, tap.
Now she was poking her head with her fingers.
It was a malicious action meant to hurt.
“Lady Floyd.”
Liena stepped forward.
“Lady Floyd, you should watch your words.”
“Hah, are you advising me now?”
“Yes. It’s improper to speak recklessly due to one’s low status, Lady.”
Smirking, Milia lifted the corner of her mouth.
“You’re mistaken, Lady Saila.”
Waving her fan again, Milia glanced at the seamstress who was now silent.
“These people live comfortably under our protection, don’t they? So this is natural. Are we nobles for nothing?”
“Lady Floyd, you seem to be mistaken about something.”
“What?”
Before Liena could speak, Milia cut her off.
“Oh, Lady Floyd, please endure.”
As if restraining Milia, who had come with her, her companion intervened, whispering in her ear.
Although it was too loud for a whisper, everyone heard it.
“Isn’t the situation of Countess Saila, well, quite similar?”
“Indeed.”
Milia chuckled, waving her fan.
“Selling the mansion and moving to an inn, by that point, you can’t help but feel a kinship with commoners.”
Liena’s face stiffened with a different meaning from before. Her hands were trembling slightly.
“What did you hear over there?”
Milia glanced at Liena and chuckled.
“Said that even Countess Saila’s face turned sour due to missed treatment? Oh, the irony.”
“If you look unhappy, what can we do? It’s just a maid who lost her husband stepping up—”
“Hey.”
The voices of Milia and her companion stopped.
Hey? Hey? Did they just call them ‘hey’?
“Yeah, hey.”
As if written on her face, Lottie smirked, pursing her lips.
“What kind of noble is this?”
* * *
“….”
The silence engulfed the shop in an instant.
On that side, as well as Liena and the seamstress, blinked as if stunned.
“W-what did you just say…?”
Milia was the first to speak.
“Maybe you didn’t hear.”
Bothered.
“Hey.”
“Hey? Hey?!”
Milia, seemingly incredulous, laughed mockingly, then tightened the corners of her eyes.
“Have you decided to toss aside etiquette now?”
“Etiquette is for those who have enough value to uphold it.”
I smiled, summarizing my words.
“You don’t have that value.”
No, maybe she didn’t understand.
“You’re going too far, Your Highness!”
Now Milia raised her voice as if she finally understood.
“Going too far?”
In contrast, my voice was calmly lowered.
Honestly, I was a bit angry.
“You’ve both gone too far in words and actions.”
Her view of the world was already narrow and twisted at such a young age.
I got up from the sofa and approached Milia.
“What did you just say? Ah, I remember.”
I moved closer.
Milia stood as if nailed to the spot, trembling slightly.
“You said that it’s acceptable because they live comfortably under our protection.”
She had said that trampling on commoners was natural for nobles, right?
From right in front of Milia, I looked into her eyes, smiling, and slowly, very slowly, extended my hand.
Milia swallowed her fear as if wondering where that hand would go, whether it would choke her.
The face was already filled with fear.
Fear me.
“So that means I can do the same to you, right?”
“Eek!”
But before my hand reached her, Milia fell backward on her own.
“Why did you fall when I didn’t do anything?”
“…!!”
Realizing that she had overreacted to me, Milia jumped up.
She tried to compose herself, but her face was already red to the tips of her ears.
“It seems like you’ve forgotten something, but I am a noble! I don’t deserve this treatment!”
“I am royalty.”
As I nodded, Milia quickly spoke up.
“I only mentioned the seamstress and Lady Saila!”
“Is that so.”
She didn’t mention my name, which was noticeable.
Perhaps because of what happened last time.
“But.”
I would have preferred if she had provoked me instead.
“Lady Saila is my maid.”
So, I might have thought it was cute when she pouted, but also found it annoying, so I just let it go.
“Countess Saila is my protege.”
Why do I poke at people around me?
“More precisely, I haven’t made my debut yet, so I’m the protege of the Emperor.”
To make people angry.
“And.”
Keeping my gaze fixed on Milia, I whispered, revealing my intentions.
“Again, in my eyes, you’re just the same.”
Herbs that could be easily cultivated once I left, remedies that were difficult to grow but I quickly found convenient cultivation methods for.
I was the one who developed medical treatments and therapies.
So whether it’s a seamstress making clothes or a noblewoman loved by society, they all look the same to me.
“…”
“So, please don’t be so arrogant, Lady Floyd.”
I tried to keep my voice down, but since it was so quiet around, maybe everyone heard.
Like earlier.
“…”
With each repetition of my words, Milia’s face alternated between flushing red and turning pale.
She probably didn’t even realize that I was the Emperor’s protege.
Her grip on the dress skirt tightened, then loosened repeatedly.
“…I apologize.”
With a stiff turn, Milia, who made sure everyone could hear her, quickly turned around.
“Where are you going?”
I grinned and grabbed Milia’s hand.
“You should apologize before you leave.”
Where are you trying to run off to?