Seeing Vina in such a state ignited anger and a surge of killing intent in Sera's heart. Her eyes became cold and sharp, her mind going blank as she momentarily lost her reasoning.

“Oh my god! My son. Hey Sera, what kind of monster are you raising? See how she beat my son,” Isabella's cries brought Sera out of her daze. 

As she came to her senses, she saw Isabella holding onto her son as she cried.

Julian’s face was swollen, with similar scratches as Vina, but he wasn’t as beaten up as Isabella was claiming. Comparing them both, Vina received more beatings and was bleeding, but her eyes were sharp and fierce without any fear. Meanwhile, Julian received fewer beatings, but his eyes were filled with fear as he couldn’t stop trembling.

“Hey Sera, are you listening? What are you staring at my son for? Can’t you see how your daughter has beaten him?” Isabella shouted.

“To me, it looks like your son inflicted more wounds on my daughter,” Sera retorted calmly. 

“My son is more delicate and noble than yours. His wounds inflicted more pain on him. Why aren’t you apologizing to us yet?” Isabella continued to assert.

‘Noble? What does she mean?’ Sera was confused.

“Vina, why did you fight him?” Sera turned to Vina.

“He was trying to beat Tia. So, I fought him,” Vina pointed at Julian.

Anger rose once again in Sera’s heart. ‘How dare he…’ She quickly looked at Tia to find him safe without any scratch. ‘Should I skin him alive? No, he is just a child. I can’t be so harsh on him. Maybe I should just cut off his limbs.’

She soon took a deep breath and reined in her anger as she approached Vina and Tia.

“Tia, are you alright?”

“Yes,” Tia nodded.

“And why did he try to hit Tia?” Sera looked at Vina.

“I don’t know. He tried to beat Tia, so I beat him,” Vina harrumphed in anger.

Emma and Alaric were astounded. ‘You don’t know why and who is in the wrong, but you still beat him.’

‘Good job. Next time, you should scratch his eye out,’ Sera praised Vina internally.

“Why did he try to hit you?” Sera asked Tia.

“He was bullying Lily. I tried to stop him,” Tia pointed at Lily.

Sera looked at Lily, who was about the same age as Tia, hugging her frightened mother. Sera approached Lily, squatted down, and asked gently, “What happened?”

“I-I was playing when I accidentally bumped into him,” Lily explained, trying to hold back her tears.

“Why didn’t any of you try to stop it?” Sera looked at the crowd, who turned their heads or lowered them, not daring to make eye contact.

Unable to gain any answer, she turned to Julian and asked, “Why were you bullying her?”

“She bumped into me, so I was teaching her a lesson,” Julian said.

“She is younger than you. She only bumped into you. You are all from the same village. You should be good friends with each other. You didn’t need to bully her,” Sera tried to reprimand Julian, but she was interrupted by Isabella.

“What do you mean by my son is bullying her? Don’t twist your words, Sera. You will hurt his reputation. It is the girl who is in the wrong. How dare she bump into my son? How can you ask my son to be friends with a low life?” Isabella defended her son haughtily.

Sera looked at the fat woman who was defending her son arrogantly.

‘Who was she again?’ Sera tried to remember, but she failed.

“Your son tried to beat someone for unintentionally bumping into him. How is he not in the wrong?” Sera questioned.

“Low-class people should not walk in front of us high-class people. If they are in the way, they have to give way to us, that is the rule,” Isabella replied confidently.

“???”

“You were a commoner. So, you might not know the ways of us nobles. Just because you became a noble due to your luck doesn’t mean you are one. You have to act like us. Look at your children playing in dirt. There is not even an ounce of elegance in them.”

“???”

“Haaa, there she goes again with her bragging,” people around started to murmur. Some of the villagers were offended, but except for clenching their fists, they did not say anything.

“Hey, Isabella, watch your words.”

“What are you saying?”

“How could you say something like that?” Some disagreed with her.

“What? Who is that? Come in front of me. Did I say anything wrong?” Isabella declared.

Sera, confused for some time, pinched her glabella. “Could you explain properly? I am unable to follow you.”

Before Isabella could say anything, someone rushed through the crowd. “Isabella, stop.”

He had a well-groomed beard and a fat belly, with brown eyes and brown hair. He seemed to be in his early thirties, dressed in merchant attire and wearing rich fabrics.

“Stop it. What nonsense are you spouting? I am sorry, Sera, she doesn’t know how to speak properly,” he said as he started to pull Isabella away.

“What do you mean, nonsense?” Isabella started to squabble with Reynard.

Meanwhile, the villagers surrounding them started to murmur in mental exhaustion, while some looked like they wanted to beat her up.

Copyright © [2024] [The Rainy Imp]. All rights reserved. 

“Sera, let me explain,” Emma approached Sera, seeing that she was confused.

“Do you know who that fat dumpling is?” Sera asked Emma.

“That fat dumpling, cough-cough,” Emma corrected herself.

“That woman is named Isabella. The one she is squabbling with is her husband, Reynard. He is one of the well-off merchants in the village, primarily dealing with clothing and luxury products. According to Isabella, they are descendants of nobles.”

“How so?” Sera inquired.

“Apparently, Isabella’s father was a lord of a village, while Reynard’s grandfather is said to be a bastard child of a viscount. She claims their ancestors might have been of even higher status.”

“That’s absurd. A lord of a village is the lowest nobility, and a grandfather who is a bastard child. Who would care about such an ambiguous link? For all anyone could know, that might even be a lie. Not to mention, bastard children aren’t even allowed to take the family name in general,” Alaric remarked, baffled.

“Yes, that's why there is no support from his supposedly noble family. But Reynard, with the help of his wife’s father, started trading in clothing and luxury goods in the village and other villages. He has a good talent in business, so he soon became rich. Even during the period of the previous baron’s tyranny, his family lived very comfortably. Reynard even loaned some money to the Ravencrests for the management of the castle, thus receiving good treatment from them. But during the reformation caused by you and Countess Ravenna, his father-in-law and great-grandfather’s family were dethroned from their noble status due to corruption.”

“I'm sure he's also not entirely clean either,” Alaric harrumphed.

“But he escaped, as he wasn’t too deeply involved,” Emma continued.

“Still, it has caused him to lose his backing, and he had to deal with some losses. But he soon recovered as he was already well-established.

“His wife, Isabella, is very arrogant and egoistic about their noble lineage. She always brags about her supposed nobility, which is of no use to an almost embarrassing degree.”

“Then why are some of the villagers averting their gaze previously?” Sera asked.

“Most of the villagers try to suck up to them because they would need some money from time to time, and he lends them. Not to mention, they are relatively rich, so they don’t want to offend their family. That might also be the reason why they ignored Lily being bullied.

“Because she thinks of herself as someone of noble blood, she always brags to others about how her family is of noble descent. She wants everyone to praise her and regard her highly. She always tries to suck up to people who earn well in the village with a good family background, while she disdains anyone she deems to be of lower status.

“Her obsession with her family's supposed noble blood led her to mistreat her servants, especially Lily’s mother, Elena, whom she employs for laundry and house cleaning. Elena is a widow and has only one daughter. She is younger than Isabella and not very adept at this kind of bootlicking.

“Reynard tries to stop his wife from her embarrassing behavior, as it might cause trouble, but she doesn’t listen to him. Due to his mild nature, he is unable to control his wife.

“If he is acquainted with the previous baron, do we have any relation with Reynard? And why didn’t I hear anything about her until now?” Sera asked.

“When you first took charge, he tried to contact you to lend you money for castle maintenance. But you are living such a simple life that it was not required. So, I shooed him away.

“You are always busy with management work in the mornings, and to take care of your children, you never come outside the castle past afternoon. You don’t even join the village women in their gossip. Why would anyone waste your time telling you about this annoying woman?”

“I see, she is Isabella that the maids gossip about, who always curses mother. Now I understand,? Tia, who is beside Sera, finally realized who she is.

“She curses me?” Sera asked, puzzled listening to Tia.

“Well, apparently she hates you. I don't know the reason.” Emma said.

After hearing Emma’s explanation, Sera chuckled. “Now I get the full picture. Julian seems to be influenced by his mother and bullied Lily, whose mother is being bullied by Isabella. Even the clothes he is wearing must be mimicking the noble styles his mother prefers.”

“That seems to be the case,” Emma concurred.

“Although Reynard doesn’t like that side of his wife, he also seems to hold some superior feelings towards his supposed bloodline due to his wife’s influence.

“And his loss due to the downfall of Ravencrest and his backing should have caused him to hold some negative feelings towards me, but it doesn’t seem to affect his judgment,” Sera analyzed the squabbling couple. “Now then, how do I deal with them?”

Sera grinned as an idea struck her.

Sera looked at her children as she thought, ‘Tia is 5 this year, and Vina is 8. Let’s go with Vina.’

“Isabella,” Sera spoke, interrupting the squabbling couple. 

“In this incident, your son is in the wrong for abusing others. He is mimicking you by bullying others. You also need to learn from this and start treating others properly, with respect. You should try to set a good example for your children. If you behave badly, your children will also start to imitate your bad behavior. It is not good for their future or for society.

“No one in this village wants to be ruled by another tyrannical noble or merchant. Even you would not like to be on the receiving end of such tyranny, right? You should make your son apologize to Lily, and you should also ask Elena for forgiveness to set an example for him.”

“How dare you?” Sera’s words enraged Isabella, causing her to clench her fists and take deep breaths.

“Do you agree with what I say, Reynard?” Sera asked gently.

“About that, why don’t we leave it at this. This is only a children’s quarrel. They will forget it by tomorrow,” Reynard suggested, starting to sweat as he noticed his furious wife.

Reynard tried to dodge the subject as he doesn’t want to be humiliated by apologizing to a servant.

“What do you mean leave it? Why should we? We aren’t in the wrong,” Isabella retorted.

“Sera, are you saying that I have bad character? You are just jealous of me. Is this how you treat someone of noble lineage?” Isabella’s face turned red with anger, steam seeming to rise from her.

“I understand. It seems like you don’t get it when people are speaking nicely,” Sera shook her head.

“What did you say?” Isabella grew angrier by the second.

“It is indeed wrong of this village to treat you, who are of such noble descent, like this.”

Sera’s sudden change of tone surprised Isabella, who was about to explode.

Sera continued exaggeratedly, “Your family is of such prestigious lineage; it is this village's fate that you people are living here.”

Isabella’s anger started to subside.

“Hey Sera, what are you saying?” The spectators were confused by her words.

“How could we commoners know your greatness? Julian doesn’t need to apologize to anyone now.”

“Mother, what are you…” Vina felt confused.

‘Why is mother spouting such nonsense all of a sudden?’ Tia’s eyes widened.

“All your servants and maids do not know how unfit they are to work for you.”

Reynard, who was beside Isabella, also had his eyes wide open, unable to understand what was happening.

“Oi Sera, what are you saying?” Emma became flustered.

Listening to Sera’s words, some of the spectators who were poor clenched their fists and lowered their heads. 

Elena pursed her lips as tears started to form in her eyes. 

Alaric dropped his jaw in astonishment.

“Oh! You finally recognize my greatness,” Isabella seemed overjoyed at Sera’s words.

“Yes, I understand how great you are. As a baroness, I should grant you a special privilege in this village that no one else has,” Sera replied.

“Elena and other servants and maids who are working in her house, come forward,” Sera commanded.

Slowly, some of them came forward out of the crowd.

“You are all from poor and low-class backgrounds. Do you understand that?” Sera asked.

“Yes,” they replied, biting their lips in frustration.

“You are such lowlifes that none of you deserve to serve her.”

Sera’s tone became loud, sharp, and deep, 

“I, as the Baroness of Raven’s Crest, hereby order the entire village, and those who come from outside the village, for the next 8 years, none of you are allowed to serve at her house. You are not to clean her house, wash their clothes, or provide any household services. Anyone who doesn’t comply will have to pay 10 times what they receive as their wages to the baronet, and they will be presented with 10 lashes on their backs. Anyone who exposes those who try to serve her will be rewarded. And during these years, Reynard shall pay all the wages for the servants who are banned from working for them.”

Silence descended on the square. Everyone who listened to Sera’s decree had their eyes widened and jaws dropped. Everyone seemed to be in a daze.

“Isabella, I hope you are satisfied,” Sera smiled gently.

Her words brought Isabella out of her daze.  Soon, she understood what Sera meant.

“Haha”

“Hahaha”

“Hahahaha,” the laughter spread through the crowd.

“You…” Isabella tried to move towards Sera, but Sera’s glare struck fear into her, causing her legs to turn to jelly as she fell to her knees, unable to move.

“Mom!”

“Bella!” Reynard and Julian shouted as they tried to help her up.

“Do you have anything to say, Reynard?” Sera asked, her tone firm.

Reynard, looking at Sera with a mixture of fear and resignation, replied, “No, nothing. We will follow your decree.”

“Good. That’s all. Everyone can disperse,” Sera declared, her voice carrying authority.

With a gentle smile, Sera walked towards Elena and Lily. “Elena, starting from tomorrow, come to the castle to work there.”

“Yes,” Elena responded tearfully, grateful for the unexpected kindness.

‘Mother is so cool,’ Tia and Vina rejoiced inwardly, feeling a surge of pride.

Sera then turned to Vina and Tia, brushing off Vina’s gown. “Vina, Tia, let’s go.”

---

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