The Lady Awaits a Broken Engagement

Chapter 5

Melissa, who had been watching from the back of the room, covered her mouth in shock. Instead of apologizing to Madam Clarissa like she usually did or asking Melissa to clean up the mess, Savina simply glared at her teacher with her head held high. This was the first time that she had ever objected to the unfair treatment from Madam Clarissa.

After a short moment of silence, Madam Clarissa’s face became flushed with anger. Even though she had been caught off guard by the unexpected situation, she had always been more than willing to crush Savina’s rebellious streak.

“What do you think you’re doing, Lady Savina?!” she growled.

Savina loudly placed the saucer back down on the table. “I just fired an employee who had the audacity to injure her employer. Do you see a problem here?”

Even though she was keeping herself composed outwardly, the burns on her legs were throbbing. The only reason that she was not reacting to the pain was because she had too many things on her mind at the moment.

No employee would be able to remain at this estate after a mistake of this magnitude, Savina told herself. It doesn’t matter if Simon likes her or not. If this incident is made public, she will have to be held responsible for it.

It seemed clear that Madam Clarissa had told herself the same thing, for her response to the situation was fairly delayed. After a moment, she said in a calmer tone, “I was merely trying my best to educate you, Miss Savina. Accidents can always happen. Please do not misinterpret my intent.”

“That’s Lady Savina to you,” Savina responded curtly. She had decided to take advantage of her status instead of entertaining Madam Clarissa’s absurd excuse. It seemed like her response had been effective, for Madam Clarissa’s face crumpled in anger.

Just in case she was having trouble grasping the reality of the situation, Savina added, “Didn’t you hear me when I said you are fired? That means you can no longer treat me as your student.”

Gritting her teeth, Madam Clarissa tried her best to regain her composure. “I think there might be a misunderstanding here, Miss Savina. His grace, the previous Duke Charlot, personally hired me to be your teacher. That means you cannot fire me just because I accidentally upset you.”

Ha!

Savina decided that formalities were no longer necessary. “Thank you for giving me yet another reason to fire you. I mean… do you truly believe that this is a sensible situation, Clarissa?”

At this point, I just want to get this horrible woman out of the estate.

With a kind but mocking tone, she added, “If that’s the case, I think you might be a bit too dense to be a teacher.”

“H-how dare you?!” Madam Clarissa glowered at Savina as if she was itching to give her a good slap on the face. Based on previous experience, Savina knew that Madam Clarissa was completely willing and capable of doing such a thing.

Turning her head, Savina glanced at Melissa, who was trembling in the corner. She was hanging her head, but the terror on her face was still visible. Savina called out to her sharply.

“Melissa!”

Melissa flinched visibly. “Y-yes, my lady?”

“What are you waiting for? Please show Clarissa her way out.”

Gaping, Madam Clarissa glared at Melissa in shock and rage, as if warning her that she would regret it if she dared to lay a single finger on her. Unfortunately, there was a crucial aspect of this situation that Madam Clarissa had disregarded. Even though she had borrowed some of Simon’s authority, she was still a mere teacher, and Savina was a rightful member of House Charlot, even if she was the daughter of a shunned child.

Essentially, this incident would most likely cost Madam Clarissa her job. However, Savina would never be exiled, even if the situation had been favorable to Madam Clarissa. On top of this, Melissa was Savina’s personal maid, which meant that Savina was the one she was more afraid of since she could make Melissa’s life a living hell if things went south. It was an obvious choice.

“I-I’ll show you the way out, Madam Clarissa,” Melissa said with a pale face.

However, Madam Clarissa did not even budge. She simply stood there and glared at Savina. Melissa began fidgeting, unable to actually reach out and grab Madam Clarissa. Taking this opportunity, Madam Clarissa reached out and shoved Melissa away. To be more specific, she summoned a stream of water and aimed it right at Melissa’s stomach.

“Ah!” Melissa shrieked.

The magical water sent her flying all the way to the wall, where she crumpled onto the floor.

Did she really use magic on an ordinary maid? Savina snorted to herself in disbelief. It appeared that Madam Clarissa was so aggravated that she had completely lost control of herself.

As for Melissa, it seemed like she had realized that she would never be able to forcibly remove Madam Clarissa as she was willing to use magic to protect herself. Dripping wet and sprawled on the floor, she cast a miserable look around the room, which slowly morphed into a look of terror. Finally, she scrambled up and raced out of the room.

Madam Clarissa had the audacity to scoff at her retreating figure. Then, an enraged grin twisted her face into something nearly monstrous. “Lady Savina? You’ve got to be kidding me!” she muttered, then swept up her messy hair with a snort. “You’re just like your mother! She didn’t know her proper place, either. How insolent and disgraceful…”

Savina didn’t respond to the bait.

Madam Clarissa shook her head in disgust. “I worked so hard to make you into a proper lady, but I suppose it didn’t work. Wouldn’t you agree?” She glared down at Savina as if she was looking at a cockroach crawling under her feet. In her mind, she had the upper hand. For one, Savina’s maid had already made a run for it, leaving them all alone.

Even aside from that fact, Madam Clarissa knew that she could scare the little girl into submission, although she was choosing to act up for some reason or another. After all, she had spent three years teaching the girl that she ranked above her in every single way. She also knew from experience that Savina would never go to an adult about anything that happened during one of their lessons. Even if she did, Simon had no reason to side with his dirty-blooded granddaughter.

It’s not even a question. His grace hated that maid even more than I did! Madam Clarissa snorted to herself. With all of this considered, Madam Clarissa decided that she would be the bigger person and wait for Savina to admit to being in the wrong, as well as being born from a lowly maid.

However, Savina merely gave her a childish smile and said, “You had a crush on my dad, didn’t you?”

Madam Clarissa froze, her face crumpling in shock.

So I guess I was right, Savina snorted to herself. Just look at her face! She had made the assumption based on several things.

First, it was the observation that Madam Clarissa usually insulted her mother when taking a jab at her parents. She loved to mock Renata for falling in love with an aristocrat as a lowly commoner, but she would not have brought it up so often if that aristocrat had not been Liam Charlot.

Second, Madam Clarissa had married into another family after Liam’s departure instead of simply marrying his brother Benjamin. Why? Because she had wanted Liam Roel de Charlot, not the heir of House Charlot. After all, she could have picked another Charlot if she had simply wanted to become Duchess Charlot.

With all of this considered, it seemed reasonable to assume that Madam Clarissa had genuinely fallen in love with Liam, which would mean that Liam’s departure probably led to heartbreak for her. In order to cope with this grief, she must have intentionally pursued another man who had nothing to do with Liam.

Savina couldn’t keep the smile off of her face. “My father wouldn’t have married you, even if it hadn’t been for my mother. You know why?”

Madam Clarissa was seething. “Shut your mouth!”

“Father told me that he fell for my mother’s kind heart. But look at you! You’re the most vile woman I’ve ever met! You never stood a chance,” Savina said with a mocking little shrug. Her icy tone momentarily struck Madam Clarissa speechless.

Since when has this child been so cunning? However, the wave of rage that Savina had elicited within her swallowed up any little tendrils of suspicion. After all, she had brutally uncovered a secret that Madam Clarissa hadn’t wanted anybody to know.

Madam Clarissa’s face turned bright red. “Y-you don’t know anything about me! Your mother was a lowly maid, you wench! How dare you speak down to me?”

Finally succumbing to her rage, Madam Clarissa raised her hand above her head. During their past lessons, she had occasionally beaten Savina under the guise of mentoring her. However, this was different. She looked like she had completely lost control of herself.

Savina stared at her former teacher’s hand, raised like a cobra that was ready to strike at any second.

Should I dodge or let her get a good slap in? The situation would have been different if there had been anybody else in the room. However, now that they were alone, perhaps the best course of action was to run away. After all, the burn on her legs was more than enough evidence.

Reaching this conclusion, she instinctively raised her arms to shield her face. At that moment, the doors made a sudden noise. Madam Clarissa whipped her head around in shock, then slowly lowered her hand that had been ready to strike Savina in the face.

Confused about the absence of pain, she glanced up to get a better grasp on the situation. However, Madam Clarissa’s body was blocking her view, making it impossible to see who had just entered the room. All that she could see was Madam Clarissa’s face, which was turning as pale as a sheet.

After a moment, Madam Clarissa managed to stammer, “Y-Your Grace…”

Finally, Savina realized who had stepped through the doors. It was Duke Benjamin Charlot.