“…Every Friday, the Bedford family has breakfast together. You should join us from now on.”
“Really?”
It was an unexpected invitation.
Yes, the reactions of the maids didn’t matter. What was important was Duke Bedford’s opinion.
Lizzy glanced at Ariella with triumphant eyes.
‘The duke is relying on me, how delightful!’
Ignoring the obvious implications behind her gaze, Ariella silently cut her steak.
Satisfied with that sight, Lizzy turned her eyes back to Duke Bedford and acted cute.
“I’m so touched that you think of me like this… Thank you so much!”
However, in her joy, she moved too much. As a result, her elbow bumped into her fork.
Clang!
The sharp sound echoed as the fork rolled across the floor beneath Lizzy’s left side. It only stopped after hitting Ariella’s chair.
Gasping in surprise, Lizzy instinctively bent down.
And just as she lifted her head again.
Flash!
Something silver glinted in front of her eyes, reflecting the light like frost.
Drip, drip. Only after seeing the reddish-brown blood flowing to the floor did Lizzy realize what it was.
A knife.
Ariella’s knife, which had just neatly sliced through half-cooked meat. The tip of that knife was approaching her eyes as if it would pierce them at any moment.
“Ahhh!”
A high-pitched scream erupted from beneath the table.
“Ugh, what a shock! Wh-what is that?”
David, startled, threw the fork he was holding behind him. As the loud clatter echoed again, Duke Bedford frowned deeply, displeased.
Lizzy had already sunk to the floor. It seemed she had fallen backward while trying to avoid the knife.
Sitting on the dirty floor, she looked just like someone who had been slapped in the face.
“Oh my, what a surprise. What happened?”
Ariella looked down at Lizzy with a calm expression. The right hand that had been aiming at Lizzy moments ago had quickly returned to slice her steak.
“I-I thought you were going to stab me…!”
“Stab you? Me?”
Ariella, her eyes wide in surprise, soon let out a small laugh. Then she kindly explained.
“Lizzy, you can’t kill anyone with a knife like this. It’s only made for slicing steak. It seems you misunderstood something.”
“Puhaha!”
The laughter erupted from across the table. For a moment, David seemed to forget he was on Lizzy’s side and doubled over in laughter.
“David.”
“Ha, I’m sorry, Father. Imagining the two sisters fiercely fighting with this tiny knife is just too funny. Hahaha!”
The loud laughter continued. As the young master of Bedford laughed heartily, several servants also smirked, seemingly joining in to mock Lizzy. Seeing this, Lizzy’s face flushed instantly.
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. I must have misunderstood… I guess I reacted sensitively because of old memories. Oh, it’s definitely not because of Arrie.”
Lizzy quickly got up from the floor and sat back down, responding without backing down.
Ariella held her in high regard for that.
If she had continued to insist that Ariella was trying to provoke her, she would have only received a scolding from the duke, who disliked unnecessary commotion. There was no evidence, and unless the incident was significant, bringing it up again would only embarrass herself.
Instead, it was a good choice to act as if she had suffered a lot at the hands of Ariella by bringing up the past and playing the victim. The timing was not great, just like before.
“Be careful from now on. Making a fuss at the dining table and bending down to pick up a fork yourself are both against noble etiquette. It’s natural that you don’t know… You have a mountain of things to learn ahead of you.”
As Ariella let out a low sigh, seemingly worried, a hint of mockery crept into the gazes of the servants.
“Come to think of it, she still hasn’t shed the maid’s demeanor.”
“She’s pretty, but not elegant.”
“Having lived in poverty all her life, what would she know?”
Just a few days ago, those who praised Lizzy’s character, claiming to understand the hearts of the servants after experiencing various hardships, quickly turned to belittle her. It was because she was sitting right next to Ariella, making every gesture and expression a point of comparison.
“This annoying girl…!”
Understanding the situation, Lizzy shot a fierce glare at Ariella.
She couldn’t let herself be pushed back like this.
Biting her lip, she hurriedly responded.
“As you know, my education is lacking. It’s embarrassing, Arrie.”
“Yes, that feeling of embarrassment is a great help in learning. If you don’t want to bring shame to the name of Bedford, you must work hard.”
“Yes, the duke has decided to assign me good teachers. I didn’t expect that much… I’m truly grateful. I’ll study hard so I can become like Arrie as soon as possible. The debutante ball isn’t far off.”
“Like me? That won’t be easy. Oh, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
It’s just better to set realistic goals. Ariella kindly added.
