A/N: These 'C' chapters are always gonna be shorter than the others... But hopefully this means the next chapter will be out quicker! 😊

Arc II, Chapter 21

Melissa

Melissa prided herself on being one of the most level-headed of the Duchess's maids. She wasn't as prone to tears as Kaori, or as romance-obsessed as Coralina – but she did her job quickly and efficiently, and only devolved into the occasional bout of gossip with the Duchess if the mood hit. She may not be as competent as Miss Hilde, but she had her own strengths and other servants tended to turn to her if they needed help mending the Duchess's clothes or getting the bloodstains out.

"Say," Coralina murmured beside her. "Doesn't Miss Hilde look like she's going to kill someone?"

As far as Melissa was concerned, Miss Hilde always kind of looked like she was going to kill someone. Melissa initially thought that was just the natural reaction to being in the position of the Duchess's personal attendant, an occupation no one had envied a year ago. It took extremely thick skin to bear the Duchess's vitriol for as long as Miss Hilde had, and even in the few hours Melissa had spent each day in the presence of the Duchess, she had barely been able to stand it.

That time felt like ages ago now though. Melissa thought of just a few hours ago, where she'd been helping the Duchess get ready and then seeing him smuggle pouches of snacks into his hidden pockets. The Duchess she'd known last winter would never have been caught dead at the Duke's welcome party, let alone be sneaking in a snack break as he waited outside.

At least the Duke hadn't really changed; he was as handsome and intimidating as ever, returning to the residence with his men in tow. The flowers had been a surprise – it was rare for the Duke to give the Duchess a gift so directly, since before he'd left, it was likely the Duchess would have refused it. For the most part, if the Duke was away from the residence, he would return with any reasonable number of gifts for the Duchess, which were quietly added to his personal chambers until the Duchess noticed and had them thrown out.

A reasonable number, Melissa reflected, keeping herself busy with arranging the new rolls of multicolored silks.

"Miss Hilde, where should we put—"

Miss Hilde turned a frigid look on the poor servant who'd approached her, leading a small group of four carrying an exquisitely decorated screen. It was a beautiful piece of art: gilded peacock feathers had been embroidered across nearly every inch of it, set in various swirling patterns that looked both luxurious and decadent. It stood taller than even Commander Barton, set in eight heavy panels and meant to stand alone as the centerpiece to a room.

It was also the seventh similarly extravagant screen received today.

"Did the Duke buy out the entire barbarian territory?" Miss Hilde scowled. "Or did he exchange all of our armaments for luxury goods?"

The servant shrunk and whimpered in the face of her simmering ire. An understandable response, but Melissa couldn't quite dredge up any sympathy because right after she was done rearranging the Duchess's new fineries, she had to start putting away all of the expensive quilts that were starting to tower on the distribution table.

The sheer number of gifts the Duke had brought home for his husband this time around was sure to be some sort of record. Rolls of violet and light blue silks; jewelry so lavish that they gleamed any time light glimpsed them; screens designed with the highest degree of artistic taste, each one not quite in the same style; various pendants and brooches, matched with cloaks and traveling capes of the highest quality; vases of various sizes, made from the most coveted and delicate materials. The opulence was obvious with each one shown, and not only befit the title of Duchess, but also would have suited the extreme tastes of the Duchess a year ago.

Kaori gasped, holding up a tiger-striped piece of fabric that looked similar to the one the Duchess had sold off last spring.

"His Grace the Duke… Nooo…" Kaori murmured, tears in her eyes.

Coralina laid a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "Just… Just hide it in the back of the closet…"

Fortunately, not all of the gifts were like that. Several seemed to have more personal value, rather than just as expensive presents meant to satisfy expensive tastes. First among these was the elegant figure of a large bird of indistinct features, sculpted from immaculate jade, golden talons grasping at five different-colored jewels: white diamond, black onyx, emerald, sapphire, and ruby. Miss Hilde had that placed in the Duchess's bedchambers, the best place for the more fragile gifts given that the Duchess had begun experimenting in his personal study.

The Duchess had also been gifted a brass inkstand fashioned as flowering vines, a lacquered letterbox filled with excellent writing paper, a knitting box embellished with white clovers, and several manuscripts bound with leather covers. They could tell that these gifts had more personal meanings, as the Duke had taken the time to cover them in an embroidered gold-wrapped thread that depicted an intricate pattern of plum blossoms on the indigo-dyed satin silk.

Melissa was relieved by these more personalized gifts, as she was sure they were all things the Duchess would actually enjoy. Not to mention that the Duke would be inordinately pleased that for the first time, his gifts would be appreciated instead of abhorred.

"Where is His Grace the Duchess?" Melissa asked. Last she'd seen him was at the welcome party, where he was being whisked away by the Duke and his advisors, along with Lady Meilan.

Miss Hilde didn't look away from her staredown with the poor guards carrying in another extravagant screen. "He's with Mr. Howard down in the kitchens, organizing things for the dinner feast."

"He's making sure they made all of the Duke's favorites," Coralina piped in.

Miss Hilde's eyes looked utterly dead. "I'm sure the Duke will be touched by such consideration," she said, words punctuated with killing intent as someone carried in another roll of silk.

"At least this is better than last year," Melissa tried. The last time the Duke had been away on a short expedition, he'd come back and discovered the Duchess had thrown away all of the jewelry and paintings the Duke had given him as part of the courtship leading up to their marriage, and then barred the estate cook from making any of the recipes that the Duke favored.

Miss Hilde sighed, expression relaxing. "Yes, it is," she agreed.

Even Miss Hilde had changed, if Melissa really thought about it; while she was never cold or cruel, she'd been mostly aloof with the other staff and even the guards, always by the Duchess's side even when his words could flay the hardest of hearts. All of the servants knew she was more than just a maid to the Duchess, closer to the likes of the Duchess Guard in occupation, but the well-known animosity between her and the Duchess had made them a strange pair to see.

Now, though, Miss Hilde got along much better with the Duchess – so much so that the Duchess actually listened to her. Melissa didn't know if this drastic change in their relationship had gotten to Miss Hilde's head, but the incident at the Peacemillion Church had sent a shockwave through all of the estate staff.

Melissa was born and bred in the Yuy province; just like her fellow countrymen, she was a devoted follower of Peacemillion. When she'd first learned that their Duke had married a Maxwell, a family known for the heretical worship of the Harvester, she'd been as disquieted as the next person; when she'd first met him – beautiful and cold and terrifying – she thought that maybe the rumors about the Maxwell's were right.

That Miss Hilde could stand behind the Duchess, quiet and unobtrusive, had been a shock. She was a Peacemillion follower as well, even if she didn't hail from the Yuy province – but maybe Capital girls were just built differently.

Everyone had heard about the confrontation in the Duchess's study, the fallout of which had left the Duchess moving through the corridors of the estate alone. Melissa had a healthy dose of residue fear of the Duchess, remembering the times he'd force her to remake his tea for the smallest of grievances – but now she also remembered the time when he gave her his scarf when it got too cold one winter morning too.

The apology the Duchess had given everyone was very much appreciated but Melissa couldn't help but agree with Chef Morris – it wasn't necessary. Just as the Duchess had said, apologies are more than just words, they are actions.

And the Duchess was the one who had Doctor Po give her the medicine to bring down her mother's high fever; the Duchess was the one who sent her on vacation to Taketoyo with enough money for both herself and her mother to spend freely; the Duchess was the one who moved her mother into an empty servant's room so that Melissa no longer had to leave her alone for long hours of the day.

That's why Melissa didn't need an apology.

That's why Melissa trusted and believed in the Duchess.

That's why Melissa didn't like what Miss Hilde and Mr. Howard had done.

That's why…

That's why Melissa didn't tell anyone about the raven in the courtyard.

A/N: Btw, Melissa is named in honor of the MC of 'Beware of the Villainess!' although not even close to as OP as her... But who can be? 😂😍

Flower meanings:

-White clover – think of me

-Plum blossom – perseverance, hope; also beauty, purity, and the transience of life

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