Frederick V was naturally dissatisfied with the way the two parvenu commoners had whisked their daughters away and vanished. The Crown Prince and Second Prince had never been evaded to their faces by women before, so for a time, they too harbored resentment toward the daughters of those upstarts who had shut themselves away from the second and third days of the ball, claiming to be gravely ill.
The reason Frederick V did not punish Hedelin House or the Clement House—and even stopped the Crown Prince and Second Prince, who had lost face, from sending people to harass those two families—was that Hedelin House had put out the word starting from the second day of the ball that they were selling off their assets.
The clothing shops on Queen Road went without saying; Hedelin House sold everything from the land and storefronts down to jewelry, fine garments, paintings, sculptures, and other artworks. Ye Tang even accepted barters, which showed she truly needed money—and a great deal of it.
Frederick V interpreted Ye Tang’s all-or-nothing gamble of staking her all as preparation for seating her daughter on the throne as an imperial consort. He read her act of taking her three daughters and leaving the ball early as that of a somewhat clever upstart avoiding direct outrage from the nobles. She had caught the undertone from the princes and knew that only money was the ticket to becoming an imperial consort. So she had hurried home to prepare that ticket.
After hearing their father’s words, the Crown Prince and Second Prince felt much calmer, though the knot in their hearts remained. In private, the two brothers did not hold back in mocking those toads dreaming of eating swan meat—they could never hand down their noble bloodlines to a commoner woman.
The nobles had witnessed with their own eyes the Crown Prince and Second Prince attempting to invite the upstarts’ daughters to dance, and the subordinates they had sent to watch Hedelin House and the Clement House reported back that both princes had dispatched people to invite the ladies of those houses to the second and third days of the ball. The nobles, sensing the princes meant more than just words, grew as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Especially after Ye Tang began selling off her real estate, their anxiety peaked.
Frederick V happily watched his ministers willingly empty their coffers one after another, claiming it was “to do their part for the kingdom.”
Ye Tang even sold off Hedelin House’s residence in the Soho District. The buyer was exceedingly generous, paying without haggling and even allowing the Hedelin family to stay until the end of the month.
“Madam, is that true?”
Emma, May, and the others were on the verge of tears. Among all the masters they had served, the Hedelin family was the kindest and most considerate. The maids knew full well that once they left Hedelin House, they would never find another employer who treated maids with such respect.
“It’s true, Emma.”
Ye Tang handed an envelope to each servant. Each envelope contained a check.
The reason she did not give the servants present cash was that she had already used all the cash to purchase supplies.
“This residence has been sold to the Duke of the North. The duke couple had long wanted to acquire property in Vitlil but their territory was too far from Vitlil, leaving them unfamiliar with the situation there. If they rashly bought land in the noble district, it might make the other nobles wary.”
“But as you know, Osnabrock’s best academies… no, the best academies in all the surrounding nations are concentrated within Vitlil’s borders. The duke couple wanted their younger generation to receive superior education without trouble over housing, so they bought this residence. If you are willing to stay, the duke couple will pay you the same wages. …The duke couple are not harsh people. I believe if you stay here, your lives afterward won’t differ much from before.”
Before Ye Tang finished speaking, May’s tears had already fallen. “How could it not be different! Madam, you… you and the young ladies won’t be here!”
May covered her face and sobbed.
Emma and the others were also heartbroken. Only Ian seemed unable to accept reality. “Madam… why must you sell this residence? Even if you’re going somewhere else, it’s not like you won’t return to Vitlil…”
Ian trailed off here.
He knew Ye Tang was leaving Vitlil because she had stockpiled so many supplies. He had once thought she planned to personally sell them far away for a huge profit, but now he realized—she had no intention of returning to Vitlil.
“Madam, could it be that you—”
In that instant, Ian felt he could no longer breathe or feel his heartbeat.
There was no point in hiding it from Ian and the servants before her. The royals could suppress the intelligence for at most five days.
Five days later, the armies of the nation bordering Osnabrock would reach the nearest city belonging to Osnabrock.
“Tartafu has declared war on Osnabrock. The surrounding nations have become Tartafu’s allies. War is about to begin. This will inevitably be a war with no victor.”
Ye Tang’s tone was calm, but that calm stirred up massive waves in the hearts of the servants.
“I cannot stop the war, nor do I plan to hole up in Vitlil with the doors barred. I will lead the medical students willing to come with me to the front lines to prevent the plague outbreak.”
“Pla… plague?”
Ian’s hand at his side trembled.
“Isn’t the plague only breaking out in the slums…?”
Emma and the other maids knew little about H1N1. To this day, they still thought the “germs” and “viruses” that Gloria and Cinderella chatted about were fantastical creatures like tooth fairies or goblins.
Having never been infected with the Spanish Flu themselves, nor having anyone around them die from it, the maids did not find the Spanish Flu all that terrifying.
Ye Tang nodded faintly. “After Tartafu’s Crown Prince died from the Spanish Flu, it began spreading rapidly with Tartafu at the center. Osnabrock had few deaths from the Spanish Flu because we prepared in advance.”
“But now… those preparations are no longer enough to deal with the Spanish Flu coming with the armies. The plague will erupt. The Spanish Flu will reap more lives than the enemy armies sent.”
Seeing her words had scared the maids into stopping their sobs, Ye Tang smiled. “Rest assured, Vitlil is still relatively safe. As long as you stay here under the duke couple’s protection, you should be fine.”
“No!”
May, who had not used her rural accent in a long time, suddenly cried out. Tears streaming, she said, “Madam, please let me go to the front lines with you.”
Ye Tang was somewhat surprised. “May?”
Roughly wiping her tears with the back of her hand, May said, “Madam, you need a driver, right? I want to keep being your driver! I don’t know much about medicine… but as long as I can help you, I’m willing to learn!”
In the past, May’s world had been very narrow. She was just a feeder for horses and livestock. No one placed hopes on her; no one treated her as they did her brothers and father. She had been beaten for saying she wanted to go to school like her brothers; aside from feeding the animals each day, all she could do was wait to be married off.
Coming to the capital Vitlil to find work had been the boldest decision of her life. She had abandoned her home, her parents and brothers, and the old beast who was supposed to marry her. Her madam never looked down on her for her accent; her young ladies had taught her to read. She had even recently started learning to drive, and when she said she wanted to learn typing, the madam had gifted her a typewriter for Thanksgiving.
Was the front lines terrifying? Yes.
Was the plague terrifying? Yes.
But was there anything in the world more terrifying than leaving madam and the young ladies?
“…You might even die, you know?”
Ye Tang furrowed her brows.
But May smiled. “I’m not afraid!”
She was lying. What she truly wanted to say was: I wish to die at the side of madam and the young ladies.
“Then… please take me too, madam.”
“Emma?”
Emma wiped away her tears.
To her parents, she was an outsider who would eventually marry away. To her husband, she was just a machine for bearing sons. To her son, she was just a money-earning machine. Only upon coming to Hedelin House did her life truly begin. People appreciated the food she made; people said to her “thank you,” “you’ve worked hard,” “this is what you deserve.”
She had lived her whole life for others. And people were destined to die. So rather than dying meaninglessly of old age at home, she chose to use her remaining life for something more meaningful to her.
Humans were not born great, nor did they come into the world with noble sentiments and integrity. It was only in a certain instant, when humans realized there were things in the world more important than their own lives, that they would unhesitatingly throw themselves into safeguarding those precious things.
“Madam, please take us with you.”
A pair of hands grasped Ye Tang’s hand, followed by a second pair, a third, a fourth—
In the end, not a single one of Hedelin House’s eight maids chose to stay and serve the duke couple, nor did any take their checks and leave.
The only one who cashed his check was Ian.
“I thought that little child would stay too.”
Hope on the rooftop unhappily crossed his arms. Below, Ian had just stepped out of the bank. After cashing the check, he began buying canned goods, cloaks, small knives, and other items useful for camping.
“Hahaha, doesn’t one less rival sound good to you? Hope.”
Hope glared viciously at Fian behind him. “What kind of rival is that kid? Anna Rochel doesn’t even like him!”
Fian shrugged, too lazy to tease Hope with jokes anymore.
Indeed, he had also thought Ian wouldn’t leave Anna Rochel’s side. Though Ian never said it outright and tried not to show it in his actions, he actually admired Anna Rochel greatly… to the point of, well, a bit of an Oedipus complex? …Was “Oedipus complex” used right?
In any case, Ian’s departure was no blow to Anna Rochel. They had no intention of punishing him either—selfishness was human nature, after all.
……
“Mrs. Hedelin, are you really not coming with us?”
The scholar funded by Ye Tang earnestly tried to persuade her to take her daughters and leave Osnabrock with his family.
“Mr. Hooker, you know I won’t leave Osnabrock at a time like this.”
Ye Tang smiled at the scholar as she saw them off onto the merchant ship.
“Then I—”
The scholar did not want to flee either. He too wanted to prove he had hot blood and the resolve to heal and save lives.