Chapter 10
At the same time mairy was thinking of going to see riona in her class to see how she is doing, but as she got closer to the study room she heard yelling "That imbecile! How dare she mock me!" "Please sir ,calm your mind " "Show me to the Marquis this instant, I can't live with this discarse " "What is the problem" mairy appears and see a man yelling at a maid outside of the study "Hmp Now a woman has come and demands answers" he says but the maid bows very slightly and with a cold look says "My lady" , the man looks at mairy from head to toe "You? You are the Marquess? I expected more" "What is happening can you tell me" "Why should I speak to a useless woman, show me the way to your husband, we have a serious conversation between men " Feelings rejected mairy knows she can't do anything and just sits to the side while the maid lead the man to the Marquis, while passing her she hears him say "Tsk made me teach that rat and now..." And without thinking she grabs his arm stopping him "What? What is this rudeness!" Mairy give a sweet but fake smile "You are the amazing teacher that my husband prepared for rio- that commoner aren't you?" The man got a smirk ok his face and says "Yeah that's me" "Oh my the honor of meeting you. Can you please tell me what happened to make such a great man angry? " "That commoner your husband hire me to teach decided that my class isn't worth it and didn't show up"
"How dare she... and you decided to be the better man and go find her? I'm impressed."
"No, I—" The teacher tried to respond but was interrupted by Mairy.
"The truth is, if you see her up close and realize how worthless she is, you could humiliate her."
The man was left speechless.
"Ehem, that's true, but I can't keep looking for her. I have more important things to do."
Mairy smiled and signaled to a maid.
"Go find Riona immediately and bring her to the study on the second floor."
The maid nodded and went off to find Riona.
Minutes passed while Mairy worked to calm the teacher, and then Riona knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Riona entered and bowed to the teacher.
"I-I'm so sorry. I have no excuse for not showing up. Please forgive me."
The teacher scoffed and looked away, not even bothering to respond.
Riona looked at Mairy for help, unsure of what to do.
"This girl... no one would think twice if you're not ready to teach her. Not everyone can handle it."
"What? Of course, I can! I was just wondering why everyone is still here. We have a class to start. EVERYONE OUT!"
Mairy stood up, and with the maids, she exited the room. As she passed Riona, she smiled and lightly touched her shoulder, whispering, "Good luck."
Once everyone had left, the teacher yelled, "What are you doing standing? Sit down!"
Hours later, Riona wandered outside the east study. She heard yelling and decided to peek inside. To her surprise, the butler had pinned down two maids who had been making trouble for her. They were kneeling, crying, and begging.
"Please, it won't happen again. We beg of you," one of the maids pleaded.
"It wasn't even our fault! She started it!" the other cried, still speaking defiantly.
"If you continue like this, losing your tongues wont be the only thing you will lose" the butler warned.
The maids continued crying, begging in desperation.
Riona stepped in. The maids, still crying, glared at her.
"Gramps... please stop. I'm sure what they did wasn't intentional, and I don't want anyone to lose something so important over this."
The maids fell silent.
"But... we... we tried to make her fail," they muttered, realizing the seriousness of their actions.
The butler shook his head.
"I know you don't understand all the rules yet, my lady, but what they did is punishable by law."
"I know, but still… they had their reasons," Riona tried to explain.
The butler shook his head once again. "By that logic, if a person killed someone, it would be alright as long as they had a reason? Then what about the person who died? Didn't he have a reason to live?"
Riona's eyes dropped to the ground. "You're right, but… doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?"
The butler scoffed. "By cutting their tongues, don't you take away their chance to change?" He paused, considering his own words. "But this wasn't their first offense."
Hearing that, the maids, who had been frozen in shock, suddenly sprang to life, begging once again.
"Please, we've learned our lesson! It won't happen again!"
Riona looked at them, her expression firm. "I never said they should go unpunished—just that it shouldn't be something permanent. What they did didn't linger in my mind for more than a day," she said, her voice crystal clear. Then, in the depths of her mind, she whispered, At the same time, they even helped me remember my mission.
The butler sighed in defeat. "Alright. If that's what you want, then fine. They shall not receive their wages for the next six months," he declared, before turning to the maids. "And their pay will be permanently reduced by 20%."
The maids gasped but didn't protest, only crying in relief. They knew they could have lost something far worse.
As the butler turned to leave, he placed a hand on Riona's shoulder. "I hope you'll learn how this world works before it's too late, my lady." With that, he exited quietly.
Riona remained standing in front of the kneeling maids, silent. The maids, unsure of what to do, slowly rose to their feet and made their way to the door.
Just as they were about to open it, Riona spoke.
And just like that she broke
"Why..."
"I helped you and you didn't even thank me..." she starts to tremble
The maids look at her but don't say anything
"I don't even ask for much...just leave me alone please "
"They need to find me , but they can't so the only way is for me to find them , I have too , they are my family, I can't find them if I live in the streets"
They still dont speak but you can see something changed in their eyes
"Please! I have too , when I find them I promise I will leave" she looks at them but yet again they don't give her a answer, her head drops she cries but can't say anything so she leaves the room crying.