Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Bella / The Maid Mends Socks...
On the other side, Victor rushed to report to his employer. Thinking of Emily's blurt-out "Mr. Snail", he rolled his eyes helplessly.
This isn't the first time something stupid like this has happened.
As the Duke's all-round assistant, Victor received an elite education since childhood. He never imagined that one day he would be reduced to keeping an eye on a little maid so that he could help her solve her problems at any time, and he had to conceal the mastermind behind the scenes.
From small things like collecting gossip and compiling it into a book, to big things like spending huge amounts of money to customize a strange sapphire crown... Victor now starts to get a headache whenever he sees the little maid running around asking questions.
Considering the generous salary, Victor composed himself and knocked on his employer's door. "Mr. Duke, I have done what you asked."
Heinrich was wearing a mask and fencing with his coach. He stopped when he heard the words, casually pushed his hair back, and shook the sweat off his face.
"You didn't say it was my order?"
"No, but based on my judgment of my future wife, I don't think this can be hidden from her."
Heinrich waved the coach away, tilted his head back and took a sip of water. "Are you saying she's already guessed it?"
Victor: "I think so."
Heinrich's expression changed slightly, and he snorted coldly, "We're partners after all. I'm only helping her out with a minor problem because she's still somewhat capable. If I were to replace her, she might not be as smart as she is."
Victor brought a dry towel and said nothing.
Heinrich wiped his sweat with a towel and looked at him: "Why don't you say anything?"
Victor's face was expressionless: "You don't need to explain your inner thoughts to me." "I didn't explain!" Heinrich choked and sneered, "I just didn't want her to have any other ideas about me!"
After a pause, he added, "Of course, I don't have any other ideas!"
Victor was silent for a moment: "...Oh."
Heinrich frowned. "What's that expression? Don't let your imagination run wild!"
Victor put away the towel and handed over warm water, calming down: "Sir, I'm not imagining anything."
Heinrich picked up the glass of water.
"But have you ever thought about why, if Madam suspected you were helping her, she deliberately sent her maid to spread the message for help? Generally speaking, there's only one reason why a lady plays hard to get..."
Heinrich gulped down his water and looked at Victor, who replied in a serious tone, as if answering a professional contract: "She adores you."
"puff!!"
Victor quickly closed his eyes, but it was too late and he was sprayed all over his head and face.
“…”
Heinrich coughed so hard that his ivory skin turned red.
"What did you say?"
Victor took off his glasses indifferently, wiped them carefully, and put them back on: "I said, the lady likes you."
Heinrich had recovered and said coldly with a stern face, "Don't talk nonsense, Victor. Chalvez needs a mistress, but that doesn't mean I need unnecessary emotional entanglement."
Victor said nothing. Although his hair was still dripping with water, he looked loyal and reliable.
"Although I can't rule out the possibility you mentioned, but..." Heinrich unconsciously touched the empty water cup, tilted his head back to pour it out, and found that there was no water. He casually put it back and put on a serious face again, "I will persuade her not to have such an idea!"
Victor looked at the suspicious blush on his employer's face and suspected that there was someone else who had such intentions.
Suddenly, Heinrich thought of something and waved his hand with a cold smile: "Forget it, if she likes it, then so be it. Women are prone to romantic fantasies. As long as I don't respond, she will calm down."
Victor didn't argue with his employer. "Yes, sir."
Objectively speaking, putting aside his status, Mr. Spencer has an outstanding appearance and has been very popular with women since his student days.
As a childhood friend, Victor witnessed how Heinrich dealt with advances from the opposite sex before he became a wife-killer.
He often wondered why girls could overlook their employer's bad temper for the sake of a face.
Cold, hard, stubborn... and sometimes awkward, like a Tibetan mastiff that bares its teeth fiercely without saying a word.
Victor labels relentlessly.
Before Ms. Norman arrived, Victor found it hard to imagine that any opposite sex could coexist peacefully with Heinrich.
In the past, although those poor girls would be attracted by his face at first, no one dared to actually walk up to him.
Imagine a Tibetan Mastiff staring at you fiercely and coldly. Even if you are attracted by its fur at first, it will be difficult to overcome your fear and walk up to it to touch its head.
In this respect, Victor admired Ms. Norman.
He complained inwardly for a while, but appeared very professional on the surface. "Then, sir, do you still need me to perform the task of secretly helping you?"
Heinrich frowned, "No thanks."
Victor breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could fully relax, he heard his employer say, "Just help me openly!"
Victor rolled his eyes, but when Heinrich turned around, he nodded seriously: "Yes, sir."
The blush on Heinrich's face hadn't faded yet. He grabbed a book and leaned against the bookshelf to read. "Alright, if you're fine, leave now!"
Victor looked at it twice and hesitated to speak.
Heinrich's mind was still echoing with the words "She likes you," and the letters in his eyes seemed like a mystery, making it impossible to read. Noticing someone's gaze still on him, his face turned cold and he said impatiently, "Why don't you leave?"
Victor said expressionlessly, "...Sir, you're holding the book upside down."
“…”
Heinrich took a deep breath and quickly turned the book upside down. He read two lines and then looked up at Victor, who remained motionless. "Anything else?"
Victor looked at him strangely, but still shook his head.
"If you have something to say, just say it!"
Victor adjusted his glasses and pondered for a moment before saying, "Sir, why not give it a try?"
The incoherent sentence plunged the room into silence.
The cool breeze outside the window made the pages of the book turn, but Heinrich's gaze stopped.
Victor also looked at his employer quietly, his eyes calm.
Even though he would complain about it eight hundred times a day behind her back, the friendship they had since childhood made him unable to help but ask this question.
Only he knew that the Tibetan Mastiff with bared teeth was not always cold and ferocious.
One moment, she would ruthlessly reject a woman's advances, but behind her back, she would order him to return the token of love she had given her, and do it quietly. Whenever he asked why, the Tibetan Mastiff would start barking again, blaming him for all the demands, as if he was afraid of being labeled a "nice guy."
Later, many young ladies, unaware of the truth, fell in love with other men, and Victor spent his popular student days there. However, he was aware of the class gap. The noble ladies' love for him was also filtered through a layer of filter, which did not mean they really wanted to spend their lives together.
If he really accepted the advances of a certain lady, he would lose his job.
In Victor's life principles, giving up money for love is absolutely unacceptable.
It is also because of this clarity that he has been Heinrich's most trusted assistant for many years.
Victor understood that, just like in the principle of choosing an assistant, strictly speaking, the employer was not a passionate man.
He is very rational, but at the same time he possesses a strange sincerity that is rare in this class.
Just as he would clearly reject those girls, but would also retain their self-respect. However, all this was not to show his gentlemanly manners, on the contrary, he preferred to appear rougher and it would be best if no one came close to him.
As a calm observer of Tibetan Mastiffs, Victor recalled a painting he had seen - a tiger from the mountains sniffing roses.
It seems very suitable to describe such a contradictory situation.
Mr. Tibetan Mastiff loves to sit on a big tree by the lake and read books, always alone.
It's hard to believe that he has such a quiet hobby.
Victor sometimes thought that the Tibetan Mastiff might also have a rose in its heart, but it just didn't want to tell others about it.
He asked this question out of the conscience of an assistant and partner.
——If someone is willing to approach you, why not try to accept her?
No one knew better than Victor that Chalvey's Tibetan Mastiff had always licked his wounds alone since he was little. He was certainly strong and fierce, and accustomed to loneliness, but Victor didn't think anyone would like to live like this for the rest of their life.
The wind blew in from the window. Heinrich was silent for a long time, then turned the page again, his voice calm.
"I don't want to try."
Victor was silent for a moment: "Are you afraid of hurting her?"
Heinrich did not answer, but his frown expressed his displeasure at the moment.
"Okay, sir, I'm sorry for being nosy." Victor sighed and said before leaving, "Remember to take your medicine. There are four left in the second drawer of your desk. I'll get new ones tomorrow."
Heinrich said nothing as he opened his drawer and took his medicine. His surging emotions were suppressed once again, and he finally felt a little relieved.
A cool breeze blew on his face and birds chirped outside the window. It was a perfect day for reading, but Heinrich still couldn't concentrate.
He was stunned for a moment, then looked up and saw that Victor hadn't left yet. His pent-up emotions finally found an outlet: "Anything else? Victor, you've been talking a lot of nonsense today."
Victor nodded expressionlessly: "It's okay, sir."
He left the room swiftly.
After Heinrich had regained his composure, he stared at the book and felt something was wrong. He turned to the cover and saw the words "Ten Tips for a Maid to Mend Socks".
Silence, a long silence.
With a "snap", the book slammed shut!
-
On the other side, Emily was mumbling to Isabel that last time, with a try-it-out attitude, she had a ulterior motive and asked for a copy of "Ten Tips for a Maid to Mend Socks" when she wished for the sapphire crown. However, Mr. Snail didn't drop anything.
"If it's torn, just buy a new one. No need to mend it."
Isabel answered casually but didn't move.
She was dressed formally and sat upright on a brass-cushioned sofa, opposite which the court painter was painting her portrait.
The painter, Tilov, was a prominent figure, known for his portraits of many prominent figures. Mr. Tianluo was generous enough to not only document the wedding day but also paint his daily life.
"Madam, please move to the left. Your left face looks divine in the sunlight. To be honest, it reminds me of the day when I painted the portrait of the Pope. The light was also so beautiful."
Tilov was a typical St. Petersburg believer. He was one of the painters who recorded the Pope's coronation ceremony. He had repeated this story eighteen times since he entered the door. It was conceivable that when he was buried in the cemetery in a few years, the epitaph would mark this great achievement in bold black font, and then take it to heaven as a beautiful story.
Isabel smiled and moved to the left, when she suddenly heard a "ripping" sound.
Emily exclaimed, "Oh! God!"
I saw that the purple satin dress was accidentally pressed by the sofa leg, and a long hole was torn in the hem.
Tilov laughed and joked: "A typical Saint should say 'Oh! My Holy Eternal Lord.'"
"Uh... sorry, we don't speak standard English." Emily quickly crossed herself and nodded, muttering softly, "I was just saying I wanted to learn sewing, and now I need it!"
Isabel smiled. "It's okay. Mr. Tirov is almost done painting. We can just change it later."
Tilov put the finishing touches on the painting and nodded with a smile, "Yes, it's done. Please take a look."
In the portrait, a girl in a purple dress with a wide skirt is leaning on the sofa with a smile on her face. The setting sun shines on her face, her golden hair and blue eyes are shining. She is indeed very beautiful and divine.
Isabel praised: "It's a very good painting."
"Just paint the lady as she really is... Hachu! Hachu!" Tirov said, then suddenly sneezed a few times and shrugged with a smile. "Oh, sorry, the incense on your dress is a bit pungent, but the purple suits you very well and complements the sunset today."
Isabel's eyes flickered slightly as she glanced at her dress. "Thank you, Mr. Tilov, for your compliment, Emily."
Emily immediately took out the fee she had prepared. As usual, Tilov declined several times, but finally accepted it. Before leaving, he nodded to Isabel and said, "Goodbye, Madam. I look forward to your grand wedding. I heard that the Pope will be attending as officiant. That would be a supreme honor. May the Holy Lord bless you."
He winked at Emily again and made the sign of the cross. "Goodbye, non-standard saint lady. I hope to say something to the Lord next time..."
Emily readily agreed and spread her hands. "Oh, my Holy Eternal Lord! Mr. Tilov, I don't think I will ever forget these words."
Tilov left laughing.
Emily closed the door and was about to complain to Isabel when she saw her staring at the painting, wondering what she was thinking.
"Miss, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the painting?"
Isabel's eyes shifted from the purple dress in the painting to her own body. "Do you smell the fragrance?"
Emily sniffed and said, "Yes, it's a little pungent at first, but you get used to it."
Isabel's gaze paused for a few seconds, and she immediately said, "Help me change my clothes, quickly!"
Although Emily didn't know what was going on, she didn't dare stop what she was doing when she saw Isabel's expression.
Isabel quickly changed out of her dress and, before Emily could ask, said, "Give all the newly delivered dresses to Victor and have him have a doctor check them. Remember, don't ask anyone else and don't alert anyone else. Do you understand?"
Emily was stunned for a few seconds, then quickly nodded and quickly hid the new dress in the dirty clothes basket in the closet and took it out.
At the windowsill, Isabel watched Emily run away downstairs.
From sunset to nightfall, Emily finally came back.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw Emily's face pale: "Miss...there is something wrong with your clothes."
really.
Isabel's heart sank, but she wasn't shocked at all.
"The clothes contain a poison called 'Wisteria Fragrance.' Prolonged contact can cause symptoms of typhoid fever in the body. The symptoms become more severe in the later stages, and there's a risk of sudden death." Emily's voice trembled. "Luckily, you only wore it for a short while, otherwise..."
She didn't dare to think further.
Isabel looked calm. Now that the result was out, it would be easy to deal with.
Ever since she discovered that there was a rift between Louisa and Edmund, she felt something was wrong.
It seems that her popularity in Mellenvik has provoked her enemies in the dark.
Put yourself in Edmund's shoes. If you were Edmund who wanted to seize power, the best time to act would be now.
Once the wedding is over, Isabel will become the official Duchess and the housekeeper power will be in her hands. It will be difficult to poison her like today.
Fortunately, she noticed that there was something wrong with the spices. It was like this last time and it was like this this time. It seems that this trick is very common in Western house fights.
But... I never expected that she possessed a soul from the mysterious East.
I'm the best at perfume making.
After figuring out the key information, Isabel called Emily and instructed, "Ask Victor to help you tomorrow and check the medical records of your four previous fiancées."
Emily hesitated: "Can we still find out about something that happened so long ago?"
Isabel shook her head. "I'm not sure. I can only let him try it. Also, go ask Edith, who handled these dresses before they were delivered?"
Emily nodded seriously: "Okay."
After arranging what she could do at the moment, Isabel went to bed, but she couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
It's not that I'm scared, but rather I feel a vague sense of excitement and can't wait to fight the enemy.
-----------------------
Author's words: Heinrich: Seriously read "Ten Tips for Maids to Mend Socks" jpg
Isabel: Thank you for the invitation. I'm at the manor, and my fiancé seems to be a fool. What should I do?
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