I Don’t Know The Original Work

Vienna placed a tray of food on the table. A foul stench wafted from the meager meal.

“Ugh, what is this…!”

The meager portion, a slice of bread, a single potato, and a glass of juice was completely rotten.

Cornelia’s face twisted in disgust.

“At least until yesterday, they brought stale bread crumbs…”

She had been passively enduring the situation, but the torment was only getting worse.

Vienna, noticing Cornelia’s reaction, smiled.

“I went through a lot of trouble to get this for you, miss. Since you’re being punished, I thought showing some penance would make you reflect.”

“What? Penance? Reflection? This is just telling me to eat rotten food and die!”

Cornelia glared at Vienna. Startled by the unfamiliar intensity in Cornelia’s gaze, Vienna flinched but soon regained her composure, her expression turning arrogant.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back. But if the kitchen staff reports this to the master, it’ll be quite troublesome for you.”

Cornelia’s tone implied, “Go ahead, try me.”

The reason Vienna, a mere maid, could act so brazenly was that she was Adrian’s lover.

To be precise, one of his lovers.

Vienna likely believed she was his only lover.

‘She probably even dreams of marrying Adrian and becoming the lady of the house.’

Though fallen from grace, she was still of noble blood, and such delusions were not entirely impossible.

For Vienna, who harbored such ambitions, serving as a maid to a noble lady, especially one who was mistreated within her own household, was a source of resentment. Thus, she often took out her frustrations on Cornelia.

“But not anymore.”

Cornelia picked up a fork and stabbed the blackened, rotten piece of bread. Then, with a look of anticipation, she shoved it into Vienna’s mouth.

“Let’s eat together.”

“Ugh!”

As the rotten bread touched her lips, Vienna turned pale and shuddered, as if she might catch a disease just from the contact. Seizing the moment, Cornelia pushed the plate.

Clang!—

The plate of rotten food tipped over onto Vienna’s skirt.

“Ah, miss!”

“You made such a fuss that the plate fell.”

Cornelia clicked her tongue, feigning disappointment. Vienna’s face contorted in anger.

“You did that on purpose! I was only thinking of you…!”

“If I wanted to do it on purpose, it would look like this.”

Cornelia poured the rotten juice from the glass onto Vienna’s face.

The sour smell stabbed at Vienna’s nose like a knife, and the foul liquid seeped into her mouth.

“Ugh!”

Vienna doubled over, retching. Cornelia crouched beside her.

“You expect me to eat something that makes you vomit just from touching your lips?”

Through the strands of her red hair, Vienna’s eyes burned with rage. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and glared at Cornelia.

“Are you out of your mind?!”

Now she’s showing her true colors. Just as I hoped.

“Isn’t that something you should answer, since you brought this ‘food’?”

“I told you, you’re being punished—!”

“I’m being punished by my father, not by you.”

“That’s…!”

Vienna bit her lip. Her face clearly showed her confusion. In the end, she had only one option.

“If you insist, I’ll tell Adrian everything.”

“Adrian? You mean the young master. Are you his lover or something?”

That remark hit a nerve. Vienna’s face twisted, and she glared down at Cornelia.

“Miss Cornelia, what are you trying to do? If I were really your sister-in-law—”

“Huh, what’s this?”

Cornelia ignored Vienna’s words and stood up abruptly. She roughly grabbed Vienna’s neck.

“Ah!”

Vienna screamed in fear, but soon realized Cornelia wasn’t holding her neck she was holding a necklace.

Cornelia stared at the necklace, her mouth agape. Vienna’s lips curled into a smug smile as she saw the glint of the necklace in Cornelia’s pale, slender hands.

“Are you jealous?”

Cornelia didn’t respond. Vienna burst into laughter.

“How is it? Pretty, isn’t it? It’s an expensive jewel you’ve never received from a lover.”

Cornelia bit her lip. Vienna smirked maliciously. It was time to deliver the final blow.

“If you pick up the food from the floor, I’ll give it to you—”

“Cornelia!”

At that moment, as if on cue, Adrian appeared, holding a tray with a delicious-looking soup.

‘They must have planned this together. Vienna plays the whip, and Adrian the carrot.’

They probably thought Cornelia would soften and submit to Adrian. But their plan was disrupted when Cornelia dumped the rotten food and juice on Vienna.

“Adrian!”

Vienna quickly pushed Cornelia away and began to sob. Adrian was startled to see Vienna covered in rotten food.

‘He must be worried about me!’

Vienna thought. But the emotion that flickered in Adrian’s eyes was annoyance. He smiled insincerely.

“Hello, Vienna.”

“Adrian, the miss—”

“Vienna, I need to talk to my sister. Could you step out for a moment?”

Vienna, who had been forcing tears, froze.

‘He saw me in this state, and he’s not even asking what happened? Not even comforting me?’

Just then, Cornelia whispered.

“Brother doesn’t seem to care much about you. You should leave now.”

Vienna bristled. Normally, she would have backed down, but this time she spoke up.

“Adrian, Miss Cornelia suddenly threw food and juice at me.”

Adrian’s brow furrowed. Vienna inwardly cheered, thinking he was angry on her behalf. To Cornelia, it just looked like he was annoyed.

“Is that true, Cornelia?”

“Vienna brought rotten food. I couldn’t eat it, so I pushed it away, and it accidentally spilled.”

“That’s a lie! She deliberately threw it at me!”

“Vienna.”

Adrian called her name in an irritated tone. Vienna, feeling both embarrassed and wronged, bit her lip.

She couldn’t back down now. She needed to show this insolent girl who was truly in charge.

“Moreover, the miss tried to take my necklace!”

Adrian flinched. It was a gift he had given her. Vienna, clutching the necklace, glared at Cornelia.

Cornelia tilted her head.

“That cheap necklace with fake jewels? I felt sorry for you when I saw it.”

Both Adrian and Vienna’s faces stiffened. Cornelia spoke with pity.

“That’s a mock-up they send to check the design before crafting the real jewel. Even a dog wouldn’t wear something like that. It’s just asking to be laughed at.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“If you bought it yourself, the seller must have thought you were a fool. If it was a gift, the giver must have thought the same.”

“T-that’s nonsense!”

Vienna’s trembling hands clutched the necklace.

‘It can’t be. Adrian wouldn’t give me a fake! He said it was a symbol of our love!’

But it was too light to be real!

The truth she had been avoiding surfaced in Vienna’s mind. But her pride couldn’t accept that it was fake.

“You’re just trying to mock me, aren’t you? But what can you do? This is real, given to me by Adrian!”

“Brother gave it to you? Really?”

Cornelia pretended to be surprised and looked at Adrian. He was flustered by Vienna’s sudden behavior.

“Father won’t let this slide if he finds out.”