Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess Chapter 388: Five Dollars

Elowen turned slightly toward Cora. "Bring five dollars to Beatrice. This will be her personal reward."

The words stunned everyone present. Beatrice stood rooted where she was.

The attendants in the courtyard looked at one another in confusion.

Cora followed the order without hesitation. She returned moments later carrying the money and walked directly to Beatrice.

"Congratulations, Beatrice," she said.

Beatrice instinctively held out both hands to receive it. The weight of the money in her palms felt heavy and unfamiliar. She stared at it in confusion, unease slowly creeping into her thoughts. "Your Grace, I..."

Elowen did not respond. She rose calmly from her chair.

"That will be all. You may return to your duties."

After speaking, she turned and walked back inside. For a moment the courtyard remained quiet.

Then the whispers began.

"Wasn't it agreed that none of us from the palace would receive any reward?"

"Then why does Beatrice get money while the rest of us receive nothing? Five whole dollars too."

"If I had not listened to her yesterday, I would have completed my work properly today."

"That is exactly right. Gerda just scolded me for neglecting my duties earlier. I even argued back, and Her Grace saw everything."

"The Duchess must have been displeased because of that."

"Beatrice," someone demanded sharply, "you need to explain this."

Beatrice herself looked completely lost. "I truly do not know," she insisted anxiously.

Dorothea let out a cold laugh from the side. "Well done, Beatrice. You stirred everyone up together, and then somehow managed to win Her Grace's favor behind the scenes. Five dollars all for yourself. Even the senior housekeepers of this manor only received three. Looks like the rest of us were nothing more than tools to help you gain favor."

"That is not true. I swear it is not."

Beatrice felt almost desperate. The money in her hands seemed to burn.

Throwing it away would look suspicious, yet keeping it made her look guilty. She had clearly heard Elowen say that those who came from the palace would receive no reward.

Everything had been going smoothly. So why had everything suddenly turned against her?

At that moment she felt completely trapped.

From the edge of the courtyard, Rosaline quietly watched the scene unfold.

The crowd surrounded Beatrice, questioning her one after another while Beatrice clutched the money helplessly, unable to defend herself.

Rosaline's gaze shifted toward the closed chamber doors where Elowen had disappeared.

Admiration quietly filled her eyes. The Duchess of Duskmoor had handled the situation brilliantly.

Five dollars had been enough to sow suspicion among the palace attendants and turn them against each other.

Rosaline turned her head, intending to quietly warn Seren to understand the situation clearly and stop following every rumor she heard.

But when she looked beside her, Seren was staring toward the far side of the courtyard.

Rosaline followed her gaze. Near the small kitchen stood Cassian.

He sat in his wheeled chair beside a wooden worktable. Several jars and bowls were arranged in front of him along with baskets of fresh fruit. From the looks of it, he was preparing preserved fruit himself.

Cassian's features were strikingly handsome, and the sharp lines of his profile gave him a distant and formidable presence.

Yet while he worked, his gaze remained lowered in quiet concentration, his movements patient and careful.

For a moment, the powerful Duke appeared unexpectedly gentle.

Seren watched him without blinking, her eyes filled with quiet fascination.

Alarm rose instantly in Rosaline's mind. She seized Seren's wrist and spoke in a low, urgent voice.

"Seren, listen carefully. Do not allow foolish fantasies to take root in your mind."

Startled by the sudden grip, Seren quickly looked away. "What fantasies? I was not thinking anything."

"I saw the way you were looking," Rosaline said firmly. "Anyone with eyes can see how deeply devoted the Duke and Duchess are to one another. There is no place for anyone else between them. If you offend the Duchess, the Duke will never forgive you. And if you dare harbor feelings for the Duke, the Duchess will not spare you either. If you want to live safely in this household, do not take a step toward your own ruin."

Rosaline's grip had tightened without her noticing. Seren winced and pulled her arm back, her face alternating between red and pale.

"I understand, all right? Just let go. You are hurting me."

Inside the chamber, the charcoal brazier filled the room with comfortable warmth.

Elowen, having already arranged everything outside, returned to the cushioned couch beside the window and leaned back comfortably.

She picked up the book she had been reading the previous day and opened it again.

Cora poured her a cup of water and said with sincere admiration, "Your Grace handled that perfectly. You noticed Beatrice listening outside the door yesterday and came up with this plan immediately. Judging from what happened today, the result could not have been better."

A faint smile curved at Elowen's lips. "She happened to give me the opportunity herself. That only saved me some effort."

From the beginning, she had planned to deal with the attendants sent from the palace.

First, she deliberately assigned them harmless and insignificant tasks. People who were used to influence and importance inside the palace would inevitably grow dissatisfied with such trivial duties.

Second, and more importantly, while not every one of them had ulterior motives, most of the attendants sent here had been placed by powerful patrons.

And those patrons had not sent them without a purpose.

Sooner or later, they would create trouble, whether openly or quietly, and attempt to place obstacles in her path.