Chapter 179 Prejudice
Just as Karina was about to go down and arrange for someone to gather information, a maid nearby spoke up softly, "Lady Selyma, I know a bit of the latest news."
Selyma raised her chin slightly, signaling the maid to continue.
The maid quickly told her about how the old lady had made a scene at the marquis's mansion gate a few days ago. After finishing, she added, "This incident caused quite a stir. Now almost everyone in the Soth Empire knows about it. I heard it from my friend who was accompanying the lady she serves to a tea party and saw the whole thing with her own eyes."
The maid's original intention was to say that Anne wasn't so bad after all. After all, Anne had become the leader of a knight order as a woman, which gave many women confidence.
As long as you work hard and do your best, people will notice.
Whether choosing not to marry or getting divorced, women could have more options. They weren't just forced to stay at home or commit suicide, nor were they limited to becoming nuns in a convent.
Even though the world was unfair and disrespectful to women, without trying, who could know what the future held?
The maid and her friend both admired Anne greatly, thinking that Anne had become a duke at such a young age, could endure the pain of losing family members, shoulder the heavy responsibility of a family, and finally dared to go to the battlefield to earn military merit - all things others couldn't do. She deserved everyone's praise.
However, Selyma just frowned and asked in confusion, "Does Dr. Pascal mean she hasn't even slept with Holden yet?"
The maid was stunned by Lady Selyma's focus but nodded anyway. "It seems so. After all, I heard that Duke Virlet's wedding with her ex-husband wasn't even over before he went off to war, and when he came back, he brought another woman with him."
Selyma's expression immediately turned unpleasant.
"So she's forcing the Titan family to die over such a small matter? I heard Dr. Pascal has quite a good reputation. Why would he listen to a young woman like her?"
The maid lowered her head, "This doesn't seem to be Duke Virlet's request. Dr. Pascal said it himself - he felt the Titan family wasn't good enough and didn't deserve his treatment."
Selyma sneered, "Just because others flatter him, he really thinks he's something special? He's just a doctor. The Soth Empire has as many as you want. Would we really miss him? Being easily convinced by a woman like Anne and having prejudice against a family - who knows if he'll secretly follow orders when treating other families in the future, letting one die here, failing to save a couple there, and finally saying they don't deserve his treatment."
"Spread the word - say that our Atarat Manor doesn't welcome that old man Pascal and doesn't need his help with treatment!"
Karina knew the doctor's abilities. How could she dare to actually spread such words? It was one thing for Dr. Pascal to hear it, but if other nobles in the royal city found out, who knows how they would laugh at them!
She said quietly, "Madam, these things aren't the doctor's fault. Besides, I seem to have heard someone say that a family was so poor they couldn't pay, so they simply didn't give Dr. Pascal his treatment fee and wanted him to stay at their manor for free consultations forever. They finally made him so angry he left. Thinking about it now, maybe that was the Titan family."
Selyma pursed her lips, "How much money can a doctor ask for treating patients? I think that old man and that bitch Anne are just narrow-minded, deliberately forcing the Titan family to beg her so everyone can see how capable she is. Hmph, I will never allow such an arrogant woman to become Friedel's wife."
The maid stared at Selyma in shock, then quickly lowered her head, realizing her mistake. Her heart kept racing.
Doctors charged quite a lot for treating illnesses. There were plenty of common people who could only wait to die because they had no money to see a doctor. How could Lady Selyma say such things!?
Karina's reaction was much better than the maid's. She knew Selyma had been raised in luxury since childhood. The money these top nobles casually spent on jewelry was more than common people might earn in a lifetime, so Selyma could be considered someone who didn't understand the real world and had little concept of money.
Moreover, Lady Selyma was so biased against Anne that she assumed everything Anne did was wrong, which meant the Titan family must be innocent.Thinking this way, Lady Selyma hated Anne even more. She thought resentfully that Friedel's unwillingness to buy her the beloved gemstone necklace might also be because that woman Anne knew she wanted to wear the necklace to host a ball for Friedel to choose a wife, and deliberately said bad things to Friedel, which was why he refused to agree.
The more Selyma thought about it, the angrier she got. Finally, she slapped the sofa and shrieked, "I will never let that woman have an easy time!"
"Send a letter to the Virlet family and tell that woman Anne to get in front of me immediately. I want to see what kind of magic she used to make Friedel insist on marrying her."
Karina went to carry out the order, but for the next two weeks, they received no reply from the Virlet family, let alone a visit from Anne.
Selyma was absolutely furious. She angrily paced back and forth in the room, loudly cursing Anne for being ungrateful.
Karina suspected something was wrong and sent someone to investigate, only to find out that Selyma's letter had been intercepted by His Majesty the King's people, and Anne never received it at all.
After Selyma found out, she cursed Rolf thoroughly again, "That damned guy, has he figured out that I'm his mother's own sister? We're family, and he dares to intercept my letters. Damn it, I'm going to have my sister punish him!"
Karina was so scared she looked around left and right, making sure there were no outsiders nearby before nervously approaching, "Madam, don't say such things. If someone reports this to His Majesty the King, we'll all be finished!"
Selyma gritted her teeth. She knew the current king was Rolf, and that guy, like Friedel, didn't like to pay attention to her - both were rude bad boys. "Fine, I'll go to the Virlet family myself. I don't believe that with me going in person, he can still stop me from leaving?"
She ordered Karina to prepare the carriage. She would personally go to the Virlet family's territory to show Anne and her family who was boss.