Meeting with the Marquis 1

The atmosphere didn't look good between me and Nasya and the looks of her maids didn't make it easier for me to think what would have happened this time that had upset her so much.

Giselle was one of those who couldn't stand my behavior and always creates false rumors about me by sharing them with other maids in the kitchen.

At first, Annie always told me some of those so that, according to her, I wouldn't feel bad if I heard them myself when I went out. Sometimes I could see that there were black marks on her arms which were clearly not an accident considering the places where they were made, so I thought she was being mistreated because of me or it was a plan to look like I mistreated them.

One day Nasya heard some of them and she asked me while we were eating breakfast if I had to do with this, and I told her that I had not heard the rumors and I didn't know anything about the abuse because I did not have a connection with my maids.

Since Nasya had a liking for me and I never left the room, and if marks or signs of abuse appeared on my maid's body, she would investigate the matter and the accusations would not fall on me but to those who had spoken ill of me. So the rumors stopped and no one talked about me anymore.

After what happened Giselle's eyes when they looked at me always contained an inner rage as if she was going to eat me alive or torn me apart, and every time she did that I returned it with a sadistic smile to make her even more envious that her young lady chose me over her and so her rage would eat her inside.

In a way, this behavior of theirs didn't impress me that much because I was almost used to it, but now that Nasya had the same behavior as them, caught me unprepared so along the way I tried not to show how upset I was and focus on something else.

After we made our way to the center where the big hall where the banquets and dance parties were held, we passed to the north side of the residence, where as far as I remember should be the place where the Marquis's studio is located.

The corridors looked the same so at first glare I didn't know where we were heading to, but the further we walked the more I could see the portraits of the Marquis and his predecessors. These kinds of portraits could only be seen by him and his heirs.

Every step I took felt heavy, my heart was pounding faster than usual as we approached a door at the end of the corridor. The marquis is there and the change of the lunch place must have been just an excuse to make my meeting with him possible.

'Will he judge me now?'

If Spencer has done what we discussed together I will be fine, but if he has betrayed me then I have to think of something else. But no matter how confident I look, it still seems that my heart will come out of my chest, I am very nervous about what will happen.

'My heart please calm down, you should not betray me now that I need you more than ever, I can't win this battle without being confident and calm, nervousness will definitely make me look like I am guilty. I will make sure to prove them wrong!'

After we reached the door we stopped and Giselle and another made came out in front of us to open the door of the room. I was amazed at the fact that in front of the marquis room or studio there was not even a guard to protect him or make sure we had arrived.

Maybe he told them to leave because we were coming?! If they were here they would probably create some kind of a mess when they meet me, so that's better in my opinion.

"Miss Corttes we will enter now."

"All right then let's go!" - said Nasya with a face as if she were going to war.

I who was next to her could see, that was a suspicious act considering Nasyan who is always angelic and hilarious, but for others especially Giselle it seemed as if she would do something that they would really enjoy. After that, they knocked on the door and announced our arrival.

"Young lady Corttes and her pet Rapha have arrived!"

Pet?! Giselle if I were to kill you now I would feel really happy even though it would take me to the guillotine, but it would be worth it. How dare you call me a pet?

Giselle smirked and turned her head to see my reaction, the other maids laugh quietly at her joke but me and Nasya did nothing so she stopped joking and took a stoic look and we all stood and waited for a few minutes.

It was quite, we didn't get an immediate response as to whether we could enter or not. While waiting, someone's voice was heard.

"Let them in!" - Spencer's voice announcing that we could enter was quiet but also audible for a call.

How strange traditions, the person behind the door has to wait in silence until the other person announces that he may or may not enter. What if he was not there, would we have waited until someone came here and told us or wait until the Marquis came by himself and opened the door?

However, it seems that Spencer will also be present.

As we heard the word we went inside. By the window was Spencer, and beside him was also sitting in a chair a man in his forties but who looked seventy or more, with gray hair and a wild look that aroused fear. His eyes were so small that they could not be seen at all, and the wrinkles made him even older.

From what I remember from the novel he was distinguished for having an older face than age and a wild expression that frightened anyone who approached him and often he got misunderstood because of his face, but he had a good and big heart and liked to help people in need.

A wise and hardworking man who every day aims to increase his wealth to make his daughter's life more luxurious. "Money has the power to give you all the happiness in the world if you put it to good use", he says.

So this is the famous Marquis Vinter Corttes also known as the "The north Man" who keeps a Rapha in his house as if he were a house dog? He didn't look scared and on the contrary, he was very calm, a calmness to be admired and to make you suffocate. It's annoying!

His eyes were fixed on me and also I was looking at him in the same way. In a way, it gave me a kind of feeling as if he was trying to challenge me in a race, and in the end we would see who would win first. In short, it was not the kind of fear I felt at first as we walked down the corridor, my heart had stopped beating that fast and my body was no longer shaking as I was sitting in front of him with a clear mind, now I was ready to wait for what would come next.

At one point the marquis raised one hand and motioned to Spencer, who, seeing him, bowed and went to the corner of the room. There he took the teapot filling three cups of tea, placed them on a silver tray and came towards us.

When I saw the cup of tea I didn't know what to do, at that moment I turned to Spencer and was insulting him with my eyes, I really wanted him to understand what I wanted to say, but when he saw me, he left and gave the Marquis his teacup.

'Tsk seriously, when I'm going to have dinner, I'm hungry here. How much longer do I have to wait? In front of me is an old man who doesn't speak, on the other hand, a little girl who also doesn't speak, and here is Spencer who seems to serve us, but goes and brings us tea, when the purpose of all this was that we would have dinner in a different place than usual.'

Sigh, I should have told Annie or Amiras to give me something to eat so I wouldn't starve now that we're waiting for someone to say a word.

I don't want to drink tea on an empty stomach, because I know that I will have a terrible pain after a few minutes after drinking it and I will not know what to do if they punish me. I will not be able to take measures to relieve my pain alone without medicine.

I was staring at the cup while the others were drinking it quietly, the sound of cups clicking was heard every minute and the sound of clock hands were in sync with my heartbeat, making the wait even more unbearable.

The peaceful state was suffocating, the eyes of the Marquis and Spencer made me feel weird as if they were seeing my every move, and even though I was sitting next to Nasya I still felt as if we were apart.

Meanwhile, The calm was broken by the noise of one of the cups that was thrown and destroyed what might be called ' a harmony'.

"Oh god, father what did you do, young Rapha are you okay?"

"…"

"Spencer, what are you doing there take a towel don't you see all this blood? Move!"

"Y..yes my lady!"

"Young Rapha please don't be afraid and close your eyes until I clean the blood off your face."

"It doesn't matter, is nothing!"

"Huh, what are you saying little Rapha, look at your face?!"

How dare you, you old man to make my blood flow in my hands! I swear here that your head will roll on the floor. I swear on my blood that you will die by my hands!