It wasn’t as if Ariel wanted to do a kind deed, but she did have lots of time to spare. It was fun seeing the flowers by herself, but seeing them with a small child might not be so bad either. That was what she thought.
However...
“I was being naive...!” Ariel cried out listlessly.
Jack was next to her, sobbing loudly. “GYAAAH!!!” The reason behind all these tears? A butterfly he’d tried touching had flown away.
“You’re only two years old. There’s no way you’d catch a butterfly...”
“GYAAAH!!!”
“You’re not listening at all...”
Jack had sprawled himself on the ground, where he continued wailing. Moreover...
“Ugh... BLEH!!!” He’d cried so much that he threw up.
“Ahhh?!” Ariel rushed over to turn him onto his stomach so he wouldn’t choke, and then picked him up. Vomit smeared over her clothes, but she didn’t have the time to care about such things. She rushed over to the laundry room and ran into a shocked Tabitha.
“Your Ladyship? Who is this child?!”
“Please help me! What are you supposed to do when a child throws up?!”
Thankfully, Tabitha had experience with child rearing, so she taught Ariel everything step-by-step: what to do if a child throws up, how to feed him, how to put him down for a nap, and even how to change his diaper.
“Perhaps you should return that boy to the gardener, Your Ladyship?” Tabitha suggested. “Or we could look after him in your stead. You are the marchioness, after all! You shouldn’t have to do such things...”
“It’s fine,” Ariel replied. “I don’t want to disrupt your work, and I have the time to spare. I’ll just think of it as a game, and then it’s quite literally child’s play! Come on, Jack.”
And so, while the shocked servants looked on, the nervous Ariel nevertheless continued looking after the boy. When he was hungry, she went with him to the kitchen to pick something up for him, and when he was sleepy, she brought him to her attic room and let him nap there. They’d play together all day, and in the evening, she returned him to his father.
In less than a week, Jack had become totally attached to Ariel. Ariel, too, took the boy along with her almost everywhere she went.
One day, the two of them were basking in the sunlight in House Balladur’s gardens, when Ariel noticed someone was stomping over toward them. He had a slender yet toned build, lustrous black hair, and eyes as cool as ice. Indeed, it was her husband, Marquis Balladur.
Those blue eyes of his were blazing with fury right now. He stopped right in front of Ariel to block her path, and glared down at her coldly. “You’ve really gone and done the unthinkable, haven’t you?”
“Wh-What?!” Ariel squeaked fearfully, holding Jack in her arms. Sensing the threatening atmosphere, the boy clung to her tightly.
“I told you not to get impregnated by some man, but never did I think you already had a secret child! Just how shameless of a woman are you?!”
“Excuse me?” Ariel replied in a deadpan before she could stop herself. A secret child? Is he talking about Jack? Her jaw almost fell off at this absurd accusation.
Yet Marquis Balladur paid no heed to her shocked expression and continued. “And you’re taking advantage of the fact I’ve given you freedom by taking this child around everywhere as if you own the place! If you think I’m willing to overlook such a breach of order, then you’ve made a huge mistake, you wicked woman!”
Crack.
Something snapped inside of Ariel at that moment.
“Well, aren’t you a complete and utter idiot!”
The marquis froze at the dreadfully menacing look Ariel shot his way. “What?”
Ariel held Jack close to her to shield him, then went on calmly. “Allow me to inform you that this isn’t my child. He’s the gardener’s son. Did you hear that? The gar-de-ner! Obviously, I’m not the mother. You should know that, since you’re the one who granted this boy permission to be here!”
“Huh...? The gardener...?” That word struck a chord with the marquis, and he seemed to be trying very hard to recall something.
But Ariel gave him no leeway. “You can’t even remember the gardener you allowed to bring his son here, and you accused me of having an illegitimate child out of nowhere. Just how much of a dimwit are you?!”
“Dimwit?!”
“And I’ll take this opportunity to add that just allowing the boy to stay here wasn’t enough at all! Children get hungry, cry, and poop!”
“P-P—?!” The man’s eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing Ariel utter such a word.
“Obviously the gardener can’t do his work while looking after such a small child! You could’ve at least assigned a maid to care for the boy! Or was such a simple idea beyond you?”
The marquis couldn’t respond to Ariel’s bitter words.
“And this whole ‘wicked woman’ business... Yes, I did do bad things in the past. But whether it was as collateral for a debt or not, I’m still your wife. Yet you’ve forced me to live in the attic and have everyone treat me coldly. How are you any different from this supposed ‘wicked woman’ that I am?”
“Attic...? Wait, what are you talking about?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? Then it’s the fault of your own mismanagement,” Ariel declared, before letting out a short breath. Then, she realized Jack was staring at her, and she gasped. “That must’ve been scary for you. I’m sorry you had to see that, Jack. Come on, let’s go. We don’t have the time to spare on this dimwitted marquis.” Holding Jack in her arms, Ariel turned to walk away.
“Wait,” the marquis called out, holding one hand to his forehead.
“Do you need something else?” Ariel asked, throwing him a glare.
He groaned. “What you just said... Was it all true? That this boy is the gardener’s son...and that you live in the attic?”
“Yes, it is. If you don’t believe me, summon the servants and ask them yourself.”
“Fine.” The marquis nodded, and turned to a nearby servant. “Gather everyone!” he ordered loudly.
All the servants of the Balladur manor were gathered in one place. Among them were Tabitha, Beth, and a few other maids who were supposed to be Ariel’s ladies-in-waiting. Some of them she’d never seen before.
“Those should be all the attendants assigned to you,” the marquis said.
Ariel scrutinized the women’s faces (all of whom were looking away awkwardly). Based on the atmosphere between them, they must’ve forced all the work related to Ariel on to Beth.
“Gardener, is it true that this is your son?”
“Y-Yes, that’s right. Her Ladyship looks after him for me... I owe her a great debt, and she’s not to blame for anything!” the gardener assured him, standing up for Ariel.
The marquis frowned, then turned to the maids. “You, who were assigned to be her attendants. Is it true that you conspired together to force the marchioness to live in the attic? I don’t recall asking you to do that.”
“W-We...”
“It was Beth’s doing! We would’ve never done such a cruel thing ourselves.”
“What?!” Beth exclaimed, in disbelief that the others were forcing all the blame onto her.
They’re awful. Not only did they force Beth to care for me alone, but now they’re trying to blame her for everything, Ariel thought.
“Is that right, Beth?” the marquis demanded. “Did you make that decision yourself?”
“I...” Beth grew pale. Then, she bit her lip and hung her head, seemingly giving up. “I did—”
“Life in the attic is very comfortable!” Ariel cut in, stepping forward before the maid could finish.
Her husband cast her a glare. “What are you talking about?”
“I meant what I said: that it’s comfortable. Besides, all these women that you’ve introduced as my ladies-in-waiting... I don’t remember a single one of them caring for me other than Beth. This is the first time I’ve ever seen them.”
A buzz went through the gathered servants. The marquis was no exception. “Is that true?”
“It is. Isn’t that right, Beth? You’ve cared for me all by yourself, no?” Ariel prompted. The confused maid hesitantly nodded.
Marquis Balladur pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed deeply. “I see, so that’s what’s been going on. It seems that you were right to say that the fault lies in my management.”
“There’s one more thing, Your Lordship,” Ariel added.
“What is it?” he asked, looking exasperated.
“It’s true that the lady’s attendants were treating me coldly, but please don’t punish them. After all, everything that happened is your fault.”
The marquis looked blatantly offended at her provocative words. “My fault? Why?”
“You’re the one who declared me a wicked woman. When I first arrived, you verbally abused me in front of everyone, openly showed your hatred of me, and called me your possession. Isn’t it obvious that after witnessing such things, the servants would mimic their master’s behavior?” Ariel said, delivering a logical conclusion.
“Ugh...!” The marquis was at a loss for words.
“That’s why you shouldn’t punish them. You made the biggest mistake yourself,” she told him. It’s not like I’m interested in revenge either. “If you understand, then let’s end this discussion here. Everyone’s got their work to do, after all!” she said, turning away with a huff.
“R-Right...” Marquis Balladur seemed flustered after that sequence of events.
I was pretty harsh with him. I wonder if everyone will harass me more as a result? Well, I don’t care. If they do, I’ll just get angry again! Ariel decided. Ever since the incidents with Jeanette, Ariel had been reflecting on her own actions and had become more modest as a result. However, originally she was a feisty girl who once happily bullied her stepsister. Ironically enough, it was the marquis himself who had shaken that part of her out of its slumber.
Ever since that day, in contrast to Ariel’s worries, as opposed to harassing her more, everyone gradually began treating her better. To start, she was moved out of the attic and into the marchioness’s room, and perhaps by way of apology, she received several new dresses. Her meals became more extravagant, and she was allowed to wash in bathtubs filled with hot water.
“Your Ladyship, how about I give you a massage during your bath?” suggested Beth, who’d once been so unfriendly. It was almost as if she were a different person, which confused Ariel.
“Th-Thank you...”
The maid must’ve come to like Ariel ever since she stood up for her. I don’t really get it, but... I suppose it’s fine, isn’t it? As Beth gave her a careful massage, Ariel let out a blissful sigh.