"This isn't a mistake! It was all done on purpose! How can mere servants act this way towards the mistress?!"
"But who am I supposed to tell this to?"
Mona let out an aggravated breath at Adelina's reply.
Adelina was angry as well, but there was no one she could complain to in a place like this.
In the end, this was something she had to cope with. Although she knew this, she still found enduring the hostility to be very difficult.
"In the end, this is something I must endure."
"What if we tell Elly-nim?!"
"Don't do it."
Because he had married her according to her wishes, Ethan's responsibilities ended there. Her life after their wedding was all up to her and her alone.
"Mistress! I have brought your supper."
The door opened and the servant placed the table in front of Adelina. The servant quickly exited the room as if she were running away after she was done. Seeing this, Adelina picked up her spoon.
A few moments later, Adelina brought the rice to her mouth. After chewing it, she frowned.
Seeing Adelina's reaction, Mona took her chopsticks and ate some of Adelina's rice. The first thing she tasted was sand and spoiled rice. Fire raged within Mona's eyes.
"I'm going to get these brats!"
"I think it would be best to send the supper back."
"Mistress!"
"I was the one who refused her favor, so I must accept the consequences."
Hearing this, Mona shut her mouth. For a moment, she wondered if this was truly Consort Min's doing. Consort Min, the one who had often sent gifts to all the servants. Seeing such a drastic change in Adelina's situation, Mona couldn't help but feel helpless.
Currently, of the three servants who were assigned to attend to Adelina, two of them were nowhere to be seen. Adelina told Mona that it was fine, but she could no longer stand by and watch Adelina endure this all on her own.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll prepare your supper myself and bring it over."
"I don't feel like eating anyway. Don't go."
"But you barely ate your breakfast and lunch today. At this rate, you'll get sick."
"I'm going out for a bit."
"Mistress!"
"I'm only going to take a walk around here. Don't follow me and stay here."
Adelina smiled and got up from her seat. Sitting here would only feel suffocating anyway.
After leaving the room, she slowly walked along the path as the sky began to darken.
After waking up, she'd wash and get dressed with Mona's assistance.
Whenever she received her freshly washed clothes, one or two would always come back torn. Unlike Mona's angry reaction, Adelina remained calm. Instead of throwing away the ruined clothes, she gathered them in one place.
Other than the occasional rocks in her rice or the ruined pieces of clothing, her life now was a lot more comfortable than the life she had lived before her marriage.
"Are you going to visit the library?"
"Yeah."
"Give them to me. I'll take them back."
When Mona moved to take the armful of books from her, Adelina shook her head. One of the only things that she could appreciate after having gotten married was that she could read as many books as she wanted in the library.
Despite his cold, terrifying appearance, she heard that he had personally put a lot of effort into expanding the library. It was as large and as well cared-for as the imperial library in the Palace.
"This is the only way I can get some sun anyway."
"Then let me go with you. It doesn't sit well with me that you're going around the residence all by yourself."
Last time they had gone out of their residence for a stroll, they overheard a group of female servants bathmouthing Adelina. Adelina barely managed to hold back Mona, who was getting ready to fight them. Adelina quietly dragged her back to their residence. Ever since then, Mona was itching to get back out there.
"What do you think is going to happen to me here? I'll go by myself."
"But…"
"Can you clean up the room while I'm gone? There are mountains of things that need to be straightened up."
Adelina was very simple and tidy, so there wasn't anything to clean. However, knowing that Adelina was only using it as an excuse to keep her here, Mona couldn't utter another word of protest.
Whenever they left their residence, they would hear ugly rumors drifting around, and Mona didn't feel good knowing that Adelina would be hearing them again.
"I'll be back soon."
After glancing at teary-eyed Mona, Adelina left her residence.
As her long skirts stretched out behind her, Adelina grasped them and let out a frustrated sigh. She still felt uncomfortable, and it didn't look like she was going to grow accustomed to this anytime soon.
It felt like a thorn was lodged in her throat and wasn't going away.
If it weren't for the duties she had to fulfill, she would have just tossed everything out the window and walked out the door.
"You saw a man enter the residence?"
"That's what I said. She acts all quiet and docile, but the things she does are so disgusting. The sounds were so vulgar that I ended up running out of there."
"I heard a rumor that she was forced to marry the Master by Imperial decree. It looks like that was true after all. Who knows? She could have seduced other men and lured them into her room."