At night, Gloria was going through the reports from the Caldwell family's knights and the military police.
Since it was just before bed, Gloria sat on the edge of her bed in her nightwear, but the maid who brought her the report, Kate, was neatly dressed in her maid outfit.
"Hmm..."
Following the somewhat disheveled handwriting hastily written, Gloria rested her chin on her hand and nodded.
"It seems that a seamstress named Cindy was brought in by the store owner for harming a noblewoman."
"I can't accept this!" Kate huffed, taking the report. "She harmed our young lady's skin, and you're telling me that firing one seamstress is enough?"
"Don't be so quick to judge. A commoner committing a crime against a noble is a serious offense, but since she turned herself in, I've arranged with the military police to lessen the punishment. Her skills in dressmaking are too valuable to lose."
"Still, it feels like too much mercy... If this were another noble family, they would have been executed on the spot! That's what happens to commoners!" Kate said, still upset as she cast a disapproving look at Cindy's crime.
"In a previous life, didn't you despise the disparity of social status and betray me by siding with the so-called saint of equality?" Gloria reflected inwardly, though she maintained a neutral expression as Kate criticized the seamstress.
"And to top it off, you're even suggesting she be rehired after serving time? That's too lenient."
"But what else is she supposed to do if she doesn't have a job?"
Gloria wasn't particularly concerned about the fate of Cindy as a commoner, but she played the part of one who did.
Kate let out a frustrated sound as she suppressed her irritation, but Gloria knew that Cindy being rehired by her previous shop wouldn't be so simple.
The other seamstresses and the store owner knew very well how hiring an ex-criminal would be viewed by the nobility. The loss of reputation couldn't be easily outweighed by Cindy's needlework skills.
However, the owner and the other seamstresses also carried a certain guilt for having been able to escape punishment by offering Cindy up as a scapegoat.
Loss and guilt.
Which side would the scales tip toward?
Either way, the psychological hurdle of rehiring her would be quite high.
"I've heard that the military police and the Duke's associates have been asked to keep this matter quiet, so that it doesn't reach the ears of the other nobles—or even my father," Kate added.
Gloria nodded, acknowledging that her father was particularly strict with commoners.
"There was no malice in it, and I do admire her skill at dressmaking. I've never met her, but her embroidery is exquisite. If possible, I'd rather not destroy such talent."
If Cindy were to lose her job, Gloria intended to hire her as one of the Duchess's seamstresses, with all the kindness of a saint. Naturally, she would take care of Cindy's son, Alan, as well.
She would not allow them to fall into despair; she planned to keep them under her protection.
"...You are too kind, my lady."
Kate, her eyes welling with tears, received a distant glance from Gloria, who held back a sigh.