Lara in a gorgeous yellow dress, looked at karen sitting on the grass, dropping her head with a messy look, her purple dress was stained by many colors and said, "When will you learn, my dear sister karen. I told you, days ago, you should be obedient, so that we can live together in a harmonious way however you don't listen."
Noticing karen silence, lara continued," Even if you proudly shout to everybody that you are a noble daughter, just like a while ago, nobody in high society would be willing to mingle with you again.Your reputation has long been ruined my dear older sister, no matter what tea party or evening ball you attend. You will only be excluded because you are the famous ungrateful daughter, who sold her mother for 20 gold bars."
Karen looked at her straight to the eye and said, "You're just jealous, lara."
Hearing her words, lara burst out laughing and said, "Jealous? What would I be jealous of you? You're noble blood, wake up karen, it's all in the past. You're just a rat in the gutter now, thank goodness for you, your father still cares about you. So I suggest, you should cherish this opportunity, and change your selfish ways."
Without waiting for karen reply, she walked towards the mansion with the maids behind her.
Karen looked at their distant back and clenched the grass with anger and said, "I am my father's daughter, but I lived worse than a lowly maid. I'll make sure, once he arrives at the mansion, you two, will be crying and begging me to death."
She then laughed hysterically like crazy and behind where she is, a maid is hiding quietly in the bushes listening to her.
Noticing the maid has already left, karen smiled.
Inside a luxurious and elegantly decorated room, a gentle looking woman is sitting on a chair listening to a maid, narrating what she saw in the garden. The short haired maid was the same maid who was eavesdropping on karen plans.
"Sigh, I don't know where she got such an assumption that she lived worse than you maids lived. Just because she can't go outside the mansion and buy anything her eyes landed and she assumes that it was me who ordered it not her father. I don't know where her deep hatred and disgust began."
Seeing her master feels so troubled, the maid quickly said, "Don't worry madam, one day the young lady, will understand you."
"I hope your kind words will be a reality." The gentle woman smiled at the maid in front of her.
Downstairs, in the kitchen, three maids and kitchen staff gathered for a quick gossip.
Kitchen staff 1: Hours of baking end up on the ground. It's heartbreaking to see delicious food being wasted.
Maid 1: We can't do about it as it already happened.
Maid 2: The eldest miss went crazy and tried to push the second miss onto the serving table behind her, but she missed and knocked it over instead. Thus, all food ends up on the ground.
Kitchen staff 3: Even the madam's favorite flowers, have been smashed by her.
Maid 3: When?
Kitchen staff 3: Not a while ago, I saw her in front of the madam's favorite flowers. The garden is a mess now and the master favorite and most expensive flower was also not spared.
Maid 3: The master favorite flower was one of a kind, the eldest miss is in trouble, once the master heard about that.
Kitchen Staff 3: I hope, and it's time the master teaches her some real lessons because despite the things that happened to her in the past few days. She did not repent and she was even more arrogant than ever.
Kitchen Staff 1: I have been in this mansion for a decade and the eldest miss is known as the wicked witch because her cruelty to us, workers in this mansion is unmatched. I wouldn't be here, still breathing, if it weren't for the new madam's help. I'm deeply grateful and forever indebted to her.
Maid 3: Does the master know the reign of her terror in this mansion?
Kitchen staff 1: No, since he was always away due to the emperor's orders and the eldest miss biological mother, she travels quite often. Both of them offered the eldest miss a choice, but she rejected them and showed her willingness to stay in the mansion. So without them, she was the queen of this mansion. She has the freedom to do anything she wants only until, that accident happened, it was all revealed.
Maid 2: What accident?
Kitchen staff 2: One year ago, I heard the new madam was pushed down the stairs to the point of a coma by the eldest miss. But the eldest miss did not admit her crimes but point it to the maids around her.
The master did not doubt his obedient daughter because he thought, she would not be so cruel because of hatred and jealousy, would try to kill her stepmother. But because of the cries and pleas of the maids, he wavered and to know what really happened, he ordered a throughout investigation and he found out, all her deeds.
Kitchen staff 3 : The master couldn't believe it and blamed himself for not guiding and disciplining his daughter to the right path. He was very angry at karen willfulness. Nonetheless, the matter was still kept secret to preserve the master reputation. The victims that were involved in that accident were all compensated and were given a chance to choose whether to stay or leave the manor.
Maid 1: Everyone, have you all noticed beside the temperament she didn't inherit from her parents, the eldest miss appearance, she does not have her parents or her elders on both sides, physical features. Both sides of the family have blond hair and blue eyes but she has green hair and eyes. Isn't it strange?
Maid 3: What if the eldest miss, isn't the master child or she was not their child.
Kitchen staff 2: I know it was just an assumption but how can you doubt the eldest miss biological mother. I don't know if you all heard about this, during their wedding, the former madam and the master, were cast under a spell by the famous nameless wizard that within their marriage, no one can commit adultery or a forget me not flower print will appear on their face.
Maid 2: Maybe, she was not really their child.
Maid 1: Maybe, we can't just say such words because the former madam and the master never even doubted her if she was their child despite her peculiar appearance because they thought maybe it changed due to the wizard blessings granted for her when she was still in her mother's womb.
As the maids and kitchen staff were engrossed in their small talk, they never realized that behind the door, was lara, eavesdropping on their conversation, she was so absorbed in listening to their conversation that she forgot to step inside and ask them to make her a strawberry tart.
She can't bear to interrupt their conversation so she quietly walks away towards her mother's quarters.
Inside, she and her mother sat on the sofa, opposite of each other and lara told what she heard downstairs.
Her mother quietly listened as she sip her tea. When lara is finally done talking, she puts the teacup on the table and said, " A bystander sometimes knows more."
"So is the gossip true? Mother." Lara looked at her mother with an inquisitive and skeptical tone.
"Why do you ask me? My Lara." Her Mother replied as she looked at her lovely daughter.
"I thought you knew something, Mother."
Hearing her words, she looked at her daughter, her brown hair and innocent blue eyes, reminded her of her young self. Naive and a heart full of wonder and dreams.
"You're too young, my dear." She then snapped her finger and karen appeared in front of her.
Lara was shocked and said, "Why are you here!"
"No matter what you do, my dear karen, it's pointless." The gentle woman smiled at karen.
"My dear unworthy step mother. Tell me, what do you know or else something you won't like would happen." Karen looked at the gentle woman with a threatening expression on her face.
"Well, I don't want to be in trouble, I tell you, remember that accident, it was me. I just talked to some maids, how badly my experience is under you. It's not a surprise that they all thought it was you who pushed me on the stairs."
"I knew it, it was your plan!" Karen excitedly said but her gentle stepmother next words, broke her triumphant smile, "But nobody would believe it, even your father."
"But not for long." Karen showed off her earrings with a proud look.
"Oh a magic recorder, it seems that you come prepared,my dear karen." Hearing her mother's words, lara was anxious.
"Beg me." karen said to the gentle woman with a proud look.