Chapter 6 - 'That must have hurt'

Malia did the same routine for the entire week; she would have meals with her family (or teatime with her mom), read more books in the library, write down the things she felt were important, tour the house, and would gather details regarding the investigation with Arlene.

She discovered a lot of things after touring the house; mostly historical inaccuracies.

She discovered that this world does have television and radios, but both are used for news and new or revised laws released by the Royals. Sometimes, they are used to promote new products by wealthy merchants or wealthy nobles. Radios are relatively cheaper compared to television; hence, they are commonly used and available in every home, regardless of status - which means commoners and nobility alike have one or two radios at home. Radio stations are also used to playing classical songs (mostly piano pieces with no lyrics) or folk songs; she's not familiar with any of them. She was expecting Mozart, Beethoven, etc. but there were NONE!

This world doesn't have telephones as well, so all forms of long-distance communication will be through writing letters. There are no cars for easy travel, but they do have cemented roads that are still convenient when using horse carriages.

Electricity, plumbing, and waterways are similar to the modern world setup. Medicine is not that advanced, but common illnesses already have readily available medicines. They are also strict regarding cleanliness. The punishment for littering is greater than robbing someone in the kingdom. 'There's no pollution; food and air are clean; this place is like a paradise!'

"Well, except for the treatment of different social statuses, commoners are not treated badly, but the nobility has better privileges", she muttered while writing down her new world discoveries.

And what she likes the most about her discoveries in this new world is that her family is one of the richest families in the Erias Kingdom! They're only second to the Carter Ducal house.

Her father was very good at business. Some were inherited but the most recent investments were in alcohol and gold mines.

For the past week, she had gathered enough information about what this maid Arlene was up to. As someone who doesn't like to live in uncertainties, she quickly devised a plan.

Come another Friday and everything she needs is ready at hand. It was dinner time soon, so she showered and decided to look glamorous for this rare occasion.

She wore a red gown that fitted the bodice to the waist and flowed out to the ground in an A-line. It perfectly showed a sexy minimalist silhouette. 'Tonight, I'm the baddy in red', and then she giggled due to the excitement.

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Her parents are still not on speaking terms with each other, but the mood has become lighter and there's only sadness evident in their eyes.

Dinner was over and Malia started her show.

"Mom, Dad, Matthew... before anyone leaves the table. There's something I wanted to show you.", Malia looked very serious, then she faced the main door.

"Lily, bring her over here."

Right away, everyone saw Lily, dragging a disheveled woman. The woman's hair was messy, and her hands were tied with a rope. She was sweating and was trying to shake off Lily's hands on her shoulder.

"Stop touching me, you lowlife!"

She looked up and saw the family at the dinner table staring at her.

"What is this, Malia?! What are you trying to do?", Marquis was distressed about the "show" in front of him.

"Sweety, did Arlene do something to you? Would you explain it to us?", her mother said with great concern for her personal servant, who was currently tied up and looking like a mess.

Malia smiled and looked at Arlene. Her smile was vicious and powerful.

"Why don't we let Arlene tell us what she did to entertain us tonight? What do you think, Arlene?"

Arlene's face turned pale. She was sweating more nervously than ever. She then ran to the Marquis' and Marchioness' side.

"Master! Madam! Help me! I was suddenly accused and could not fight back! I was wrongly accused! Help me, please!", Arlene said while crying helplessly. She no longer cared what she looked like.

"What an actress!", Malia said, clapping.

Arlene was still crying but was glaring intensely at Malia when her masters both looked at their daughter.

"Are you trying to kill me with your stares? Oooh, I'm sooo scared." She said mockingly to annoy Arlene.

"Madam! There's something wrong with the lady! She might be possessed by an evil spirit!" Arlene tried to make an excuse to get out of this mess.

The Marchioness pushed Arlene's hand that was holding hers. "You don't have the right to label my daughter like that!"

The Marquis was also mad at Arlene's remarks but stayed silent after his wife stated his thoughts.

"Alright, we don't have all day. Lily, can you give me the letters?", Malia looked at Lily and extended her hands.

Arlene was in a panic and started shouting, "No! Don't! It's not real. I didn't do it!"

She tried stopping Lily but couldn't do so due to her hands tied to her back.

"Sir Laurence, can you cover her mouth, please? It's too noisy in here", Malia called the knight that was guarding outside the dining room.

Laurence, one of their head knights, ran quickly and carried out the order given. Arlene struggled to get free, but she really couldn't overpower a knight's strength after all.

Lily then handed the letters to the Marchioness.

"What is this?", the Marchioness asked.

The Marquis's eyes widened "Are these the letters in my drawer? Malia?".

"Yes, father".

Her father's eyes were a mixture of sadness and anger which confused the Marchioness. He faced the Marchioness and said, "You should know more than anyone else what these letters are for!"

Before the Marchioness could reply, Malia spoke in a serious voice, "Mother, it's better if you read the contents of the letter. It would be much better if you read it out loud for everyone to hear. Right, brother?"

Matthew only nodded in agreement.

Their mother started opening one letter and after another read what was written in it.

All letters started with "Dear Benedict" and ended with "Your Sweetheart, Cordelia". The Marchioness was even more confused.

"What is this? Is this supposed to be a letter written by me?"

The Marquis looked at her with a resentful look and stood up, "Stop lying and feigning innocence! I'm very familiar with your writing, you cannot deny this hard evidence! I already know the reason why you stopped talking to me, ignoring me… I know you wanted a divorce… I know that you wanted to leave me, and you regretted choosing me over Benedict", the Marquis said, wearing an emotional misty eye.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! I ignored you because you're having an affair! I was handed one of your vests with lipstick marks. I did not just receive one! Every month I was getting more and more evidence of your unfaithfulness.", the Marchioness was already crying, then continued,

"And these! I didn't write these letters… I- I cannot prove that to you, but I no longer have any contact with Ben, nor do I have any feelings for him. I have devoted my entire life to you. I- I loved you the moment we met… How could you accuse me of this? Are you using these letters as an excuse to have an affair?!"

"What affair?! "What vest and evidence are you talking about?!" He was also baffled by his wife's accusation.

Before anyone could continue, Malia started to share her pieces of information.

"Mom... Dad, listen to what I'm about to say and kindly answer my questions truthfully.", both her parents looked at her and nodded.

"Mom, who is Benedict?"

"He's my childhood friend and… an old suitor.", the Marchioness' eyes are still damp with tears while answering Malia's questions.

"Dad, how often do you receive these letters?"

The Marquis tried to remember, "Once a week, every Friday"

"Dad, if Mom's letters are in your hands, how come they can still continue exchanging letters?"

"Whenever I receive a letter from your mom, I would rewrite it myself and send the copy to Benedict. Once Benedict responds, I would read it first, then order Arlene to send it to your mom."

"Alright, now, Dad, where do you think Benedict lives?"

"He lives in Sorav."

"Dad, I used Sir Laurence here to check Sir Benedict's whereabouts from his sister who is currently residing here in the Erias. Sir Benedict isn't in Sorav. He is married and currently living in Alitia.", Malia looked at the knight and he confirmed the lady's words.

"And what are you trying to say? It doesn't change the fact that they are exchanging letters."

"Dad, how many days would it take to reach Alitia?"

"5-6 days by carriage." the Marquis cannot put the puzzle together.

"you said you would receive letters, once a week, every Friday, right? If Sir Benedict indeed lived in Sorav then the letter would only need to travel 2 days to Sorav and another 2 days back. However, since Sir Benedict lives in Alitia then receiving a letter once a week would be impossible. Right?"

The Marquis was speechless, Malia's words truly made sense.

"So, dad, other than you, who else could be handling your letters and yet so close to mother to copy her writings well enough to deceive you? Now, before we continue with that, I'd like to ask mom as well. Mom, how did you get this evidence of dad's affair?"

"Arlene.", both said in unison. They quickly stared at each other, trying to read their emotions.

"But I also received some evidence from Joana!", Marchioness suddenly added.

"Lily, could you please bring Joana here?"

To everyone's surprise, Joana was also just outside the door tied and unconscious. Lily poured some water to wake her up, then dragged her near Arlene who was kneeling but still trying her best to get free from the knight's grip.

"Ahhh! What? What happened? Why am I tied up?", Joana was hysterical.

"Shhhh!", Malia shushed her down.

"Joana, as you can see, we're doing minor investigations to bring peace to this household. Would you be a darling and tell us how you got that "evidence of the affair"?" Malia said, smiling sarcastically.

Shock crossed Joana's face and she started pleading and crying, "Lady! Master! Madam! I was forced by Arlene! She said that if she could replace you as the Marchioness, she'd give me gold and appoint me as the head maid! I was blinded by greed! Please spare me! Please!"

Malia ignored her, "Alright, that's all I got. Soooo... Why don't we hear it from the mastermind herself?" Malia looked at Laurance and signaled to remove the cover from Arlene's mouth.

"Master! Master! Look at me, it doesn't matter if you know these things, right?! You will still love me despite this, right?! I know you have feelings for me! Say it! Say it in front of these stupid peop—"

SLAAAP!

Arlene cannot finish her words. The Marquis used a lot of force to slap her and she coughed blood.

'Oof, dang that must have hurt' Malia thought.

"You're DELUSIONAL! Laurence cut off all her fingers and made sure she could no longer walk nor talk afterward."

Arlene trembled in fear and cried, "NO MASTER! I WAS WRONG! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! MAS---" Laurence covered her mouth once again and dragged her away.

He also called another knight and ordered him to sell the other servant to a brothel. Before Joana could react, the other knight had already knocked her off.

'Number 1 rule: Don't mess with Alfred Augustus'

After the chaos and commotion, there was an uncomfortable silence between the family that was still in the dining room.

Malia then smiled at everyone and said, "Brother, why don't we leave Mom and Dad to talk?"

"… Alright. Mom, Dad, good night." Matthew bowed and started walking away.

Malia quickly followed her brother, "Good night mom! Good night dad!", she yelled before closing the door to the dining room.

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--- end of chapter 6 ---