Chapter 43: Consequences
Adele sat up straight and honestly explained her reasoning, “She mixes personal feelings with her work, abusing her authority to punish those she dislikes.” She then described the unfair treatment Jasmine had received.
When mentioning Jasmine’s name, Adele paused. She had her own selfish reasons. She didn’t want Jasmine to leave a bad impression on her mother because of this incident. She didn’t want her mother to think, “This human is too sensitive.”
But she was a fair person. If she couldn’t be fair herself, how could she demand “impartiality” from the head maid? Therefore, she chose not to hide anything and revealed Jasmine’s name.
Interest flickered in the lady’s eyes, “If I remember correctly, Jasmine is the maid you’re quite fond of, isn’t she?”
Hearing the phrase “quite fond of,” Adele couldn’t help but blush. She instinctively retorted, “I’m not that fond of her.” But her voice lacked conviction, causing the lady to chuckle teasingly.
After laughing, the lady turned serious again, “Adele, are you saying that the head maid is unsuitable because your favorite maid has been treated unfairly?”
This was a sharp question. Adele immediately refuted, “No, whether it’s Jasmine or not, I wouldn’t stand by and watch if I saw such injustice. This is a problem with the head maid’s work ethic, and it has nothing to do with my personal feelings.”
The lady scrutinized Adele, trying to determine if she was lying. After a moment, she smiled again, “You did well, Adele. That’s right, an heir should be fair and just. Otherwise, how will you manage the Blake family in the future? If there are internal disputes, you’ll have to handle them the same way.”
The Blake patriarch and his wife had completely different views. The patriarch believed that Adele, who only drank artificial blood, was too weak to lead the family. But the lady valued character more. Adele was upright and just, which were essential qualities for a leader. In contrast, their younger daughter was too willful and not suitable to be the head of the family.
Moreover, Adele had demonstrated her potential at school. As long as they continued to nurture her, she would definitely be a capable leader. And she was already eighteen, so it was about time to start discussing marriage prospects.
The reason the lady had returned to the Golden family this time, besides her sister’s invitation, was to gather some information and see which families had suitable sons for Adele to marry. Her elder sister had the same concern. Her heir was Adele’s classmate, the Golden family’s young lady, who was also the same age as Adele. So, the two of them had a lot to talk about regarding this matter.
Seeing that Adele had taken her words to heart, the lady nodded, indicating that she understood, “I will see to it that the head maid is sent to where she belongs, and I will also promote a new head maid. You don’t have to worry about these matters. Focus on your studies at school for now.”
The three of them chatted for a while longer, and then the lady said she was tired and asked Adele and the second miss to leave. After they left, she summoned the head maid through her personal maid.
Facing the lady’s summons, the head maid already knew what had happened. The moment she saw the lady, she knelt down and begged for forgiveness. The lady remained unmoved, “You’ve been working for the Blake family for a long time. I didn’t expect you to make such a low-level mistake. Considering your years of service, I won’t send you to the farm or the bank. I will find a peaceful village for you to live in.”
Hearing this, the head maid couldn’t be happy. The so-called peaceful village was still under vampire rule. Although the villagers there weren’t treated like livestock, confined and forced to work and donate blood like those on the farms and banks, they still had to donate blood regularly in exchange for compensation.
Moreover, since the villagers had no means of production, they had to buy necessities and sometimes even sell their blood on the black market.
Even though their lives were considered good among humans, compared to being the head maid at the Blake family, it was still a world of difference. The head maid gritted her teeth, deciding to grasp at the last straw, “Please give me another chance! I… I can make a contribution! As long as you don’t send me away!”
The lady was intrigued, “Oh? Make a contribution? What kind of contribution can you make?”
“It’s Jasmine!” The head maid looked up, a flash of resentment in her eyes, which didn’t escape the lady’s notice. As a pure-blooded young lady of the thirteen clans who had lived for so long, her eyesight was incredibly sharp. The head maid continued, “You, the master, and the young ladies have all been deceived! Jasmine… Jasmine is not human! She’s an otherworldly being hiding in the castle! She’s planning to harm you all!”
—So desperate to stay that she’s resorting to slander?
The lady found it rather pathetic. In her eyes, this was the kind of despicable thing a lowly human would do. Perhaps sensing the lady’s disbelief, the head maid frantically described what she had experienced, swearing that she wasn’t lying. She was so sincere that the lady started to have doubts.
It’s better to be safe than sorry. The lady thought for a moment and asked the head maid to hide behind a screen while she sent her maid to fetch Jasmine. However, before the maid and Jasmine even reached the door, the lady smelled her elder daughter’s scent. When the door opened, as expected, both Adele and Jasmine were there.
The lady felt a headache coming on. She looked at her maid, who looked innocent and could only blink. Then she looked at her elder daughter. Adele explained with a serious expression, “Mother, I was present when your maid summoned Jasmine. I was curious to know what it was about, so I came along.”
The lady sighed. Although she knew that her daughter doted on this human maid, she didn’t expect her to follow her everywhere. And she wasn’t some kind of monster who would eat Jasmine. Adele was being overly protective. But the lady knew that Adele was simply worried and wouldn’t truly disobey her.
She explained why she had summoned Jasmine and told Adele, “I don’t actually believe the head maid’s words, but since she reported it to me, I have to investigate just in case.” Her tone was gentle, as if she really didn’t intend to make things difficult for Jasmine. But the moment she finished speaking, the maid beside her attacked Jasmine.
Adele saw the maid’s intention to attack Jasmine and instinctively wanted to intervene. But she knew that this was her mother testing Jasmine, so she could only stand still. If Adele had noticed it, Jasmine naturally had as well. If she were a skilled fighter, she would have counterattacked immediately. It was a warrior’s instinct.
But Jasmine was a master. Not only did she realize that the maid’s attack was a test, but she also suppressed her instinctive reaction to counterattack. She stood there as if she knew nothing, letting the maid pin her to the ground. She even let out a well-timed gasp of surprise. As she was being pinned down, to avoid injuring her pretty face, she deliberately shifted her position so that her face wouldn’t hit the ground. However, if she didn’t get hurt at all, it wouldn’t be easy to get rid of the head maid. So, she intentionally scraped her elbow against the ground, even tearing her clothes slightly.
Jasmine thought to herself smugly: You want to test me with this? You’re a hundred years too early!
After Jasmine was pinned down, the maid who had subdued her got up awkwardly. Adele immediately helped Jasmine up. She was sharp-eyed and noticed the scrape on Jasmine’s elbow. Although it wasn’t bleeding, it was already turning blue and would probably become red and purple later.
All this showed everyone present that she, Jasmine, was just an ordinary, somewhat fragile human.
Adele looked at her mother, “Mother, you saw it yourself. Jasmine is not an otherworldly being at all.” To support her claim, she even mentioned the fact that she had drunk Jasmine’s blood before, “I’ve tasted Jasmine’s blood. I’m certain it was human blood.”
The lady unfolded her feather fan, partially covering her face, but her eyes sparkled with delight. Adele was emphasizing that Jasmine was human, but the only thing the lady heard was “I’ve tasted Jasmine’s blood.” At this moment, her only thought was: My daughter has finally grown up and started drinking human blood.
It felt a bit like: My daughter has finally learned to eat her vegetables.
Although the lady didn’t see anything wrong with Adele constantly drinking artificial blood, if others found out, they would think Adele was strange. But now that Adele had admitted to drinking blood, it was undoubtedly good news for the lady. As a result, her impression of Jasmine also improved significantly.
So, her daughter wasn’t refusing to drink blood because she was crazy, but because she was picky… But then again, what did Jasmine’s blood taste like that even her picky daughter could stomach it? The lady was a bit curious, but she wouldn’t touch Jasmine. Not only would she not touch her herself, she wouldn’t let any other vampire touch her either.
Because she knew very well that her daughter was a germaphobe. What if someone else touched Jasmine, and Adele refused to drink her blood again?
The lady looked at Jasmine with a newfound fondness. However, the head maid, hiding behind the screen, couldn’t take it anymore and rushed out, “Madam! Don’t be fooled by her! She’s just pretending!” She even tried to attack Jasmine but was stopped by the lady’s maid.
Jasmine cowered behind Adele, who shielded her protectively.
—I’m acting like a real green tea bitch right now, but it feels good.
Jasmine mentally mocked herself, then she heard the lady’s voice, “Enough. Not only are you mixing personal feelings with your work, but you’re also slandering others. I can no longer tolerate you. Since you don’t want to go to the village, then go to the farm and live there.” The lady snapped her feather fan shut, sealing the head maid’s fate.
Hearing that she couldn’t even stay in the village and had to go to the farm, the head maid’s face turned pale with fear, “No… Madam… I was wrong! I want to go to the village! Let me go to the village!”
The lady’s maid, to prevent her from continuing to make a scene, pulled her up and dragged her back to her room. The head maid’s voice was loud, “Jasmine, don’t get too cocky! You’ll be abandoned just like me one day!”
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