Chapter 166: A Problem and a Solution
"What has Agnes said now?"
Irene caught Felix walking down the hallway towards the dining hall, but she pulled him into the sitting room before he could go forward.
The situation hadn’t improved.
The Duke remained sick and out of everyone’s reach. However, the apprentices and a couple of the maids continued in their observation of the new maids since they were the only ones allowed to enter the Duke’s bedroom.
Where they came from was a mystery. How the Duchess found them when she had been bound to the Duke’s Tower for the entire winter never became clearer.
All they could do was go on as if nothing was the matter, but it didn’t suit the apprentices who were always antsy to get to the bottom of everything.
Felix was caught off guard for a moment, not expecting anyone to interrupt his path forward. He had not only been asking Agnes for information, but doing other things the two of them tended to get up to when they were together behind a closed door.
The eldest apprentice cleared his throat and straightened out his light green tunic.
"The only maid who seems willing to talk is quite young," Felix explained in a low voice. "Rosalind is her name. She’s from the village that was pillaged by monsters at the beginning of winter. Most of them had settled nearby. Efforts to rebuild the village are beginning soon, but they don’t have high hopes due to the state of the Duke."
Irene wanted to be upset with the maids who were so secretive, but it was clear they were under the Duchess’s orders and couldn’t go against the person who was feeding them. It seemed a bit cruel to take advantage of people so vulnerable.
"So the others won’t say anything?" Irene asked. "Have you told Sir Gunnar?"