The First Female Duke

The small town of Akiyoshi was situated in the southeastern part of Nobia City, and at the edge of the town there was an ancient castle where the town's only noble lived. Edith was just eight years old this year, and was the only owner of this old castle, the other owner being her mother, Polina. As you can see, there is no male owner of this old castle, but that is nothing to Edith. She sat in her chair in a pink tutu, just a short while ago she had sent her governess off to finish the day's lessons. Edith glanced at the clock and didn't move, as was customary, her personal maid, Mary, would be bringing up a strawberry cream pudding for her shortly afterward. It was her daily dessert, a small portion but still a time Edith enjoyed the most. Polina sat not far from her, a beautiful, elegant noblewoman - or so it seemed, with thick, curly brown hair, exquisitely well-dressed and made-up so that there was no room for error, and extremely well-maintained hands holding wands, folded in front of her legs. She looked imposing, but was very gentle with Edith, and spoke at the right time as Edith finished the last of her pudding and put down her silver spoon: "Edith?" Edith wiped her mouth, then immediately sat upright, "Yes mom." Fingers coated in red kohl tapped the tabletop, and Polina reminded, "After dessert, you can play for a while, and then you can start learning the basics of magic." Edith's personal maid Mary was packing up the dishes that contained the dessert just now, perhaps because she sensed that the mistress and young master of this ancient castle were engaged in a more serious conversation, she packed up the things a little fast, but because she was not skillful, the silver spoon accidentally collided with the porcelain plate, making a crisp sound. It was very noticeable in the quieter main room, and Polina shifted her gaze over to see Mary fumbling with her hands, and she frowned lightly. Servants were never allowed to interrupt or make noise while their masters were engaged in conversation, and Mary's actions were, in her opinion, a sign of great disqualification. Edith noticed her mother's gaze, her heart trembled, and she hastily changed the subject: "Mom, can I start learning the basics of magic already?" Polina never ignored her daughter's questions, so she obediently answered even when she sensed her little trick to change the subject: "Yes." "So, still have the tutor teach me?" Polina placed her wand on the table and denied, "No, you will have me personally teach you the basics of magic." Edith's eyes couldn't help but go to the wand. It was dark brown, with three pure and expensive magical gems set in grooves at the top end, and perhaps due to regular use, a sleek and lustrous encrustation had rubbed off on the handle of the wand. Edith couldn't help but feel a little envious as she raised a pair of blue eyes and asked: "Mom, in the future, can I also become a powerful magician like you?" Polina smiled, "Of course!" Her voice was elegant but not overpowering. "You will be an impeccable lady and an immensely powerful wizard." "Mom never doubted that." With Edith's relief, Mary finally cleared the table without incident and left the premises, not having been reprimanded in any way, but her face still looked so distraught that she stood and launched herself into a stupor as she put the plates back into the kitchen sink for cleaning. Mary's white face attracted the attention of Mrs. Mowgli, the cook, who had been directing the kitchen maids to check the ingredients for today's dinner, when she saw the dazed Mary standing like a log. "With all due respect," Mrs. Mowgli wiped her hands on her apron and frowned up and down at Mary. "It's not even dark yet, Mary, and you're already in an early state of sleepwalking?" Mary woke up with a start, and she swept her eyes obliquely around the kitchen, and sure enough, she saw that the maids who were cleaning the ingredients were listening to the commotion over here with their ears perked up. She was Miss's personal maid, how could she let these people see the joke! Mary straightened her back and said calmly, "Oh, Mrs. Mowgli, thanks for the concern, I'm just a little tired." Mrs. Mowgli looked at her suspiciously for a couple of moments and nodded, the two of them walked out of the kitchen together, Mrs. Mowgli pulled Mary into a corner and asked in a concerned tone, "What happened?" Mary finally showed her distressed face as she called out, "Auntie." And told what had just happened. Mrs. Mowgli was the woman with the best cooking skills in the small town of Qiugi, and thus was able to serve the only noble in town, and because of that, her niece Mary followed suit and became Miss Edith's personal maid. This allowed their family to make a big splash amongst the crowd of commoners, reaping countless gazes of envy and jealousy. This was originally a great good thing, but if they angered the main family nobles and were driven out, then there was no doubt that they would be ostracized and mocked by everyone in town. It was of course the commoner's fault for angering the nobles. For this reason Mary was terrified: "Her Ladyship and Fanny housekeeper have always felt that I have not learned the rules well, and are very dissatisfied with me Auntie, do you think they ...... will drive me away." Mrs. Mowgli was quite composed, and she pointedly found the point, "But mademoiselle relieved you, and that shows that mademoiselle likes you." She imparted a lesson to her still tender niece, "Mary, you must know that although I was recommended by Her Ladyship when she was selecting a valet for Her Ladyship, if Her Ladyship doesn't fancy you, then it's no use for anyone to recommend you." "So, do you understand, you are Mademoiselle's personal maid, and to you, Mademoiselle's will should be above all else." Mrs. Mowgli stepped further and lowered her voice, "Even, above madam." Mary calmed down, she pursed her face and affirmed: "Swear by God, my loyalty to my lady is impeccable." In the study, Polina looked at Edith, who was carefully flipping through the Fundamentals of Magic, and suddenly asked: "Edith, do you need me to change a personal maid for you?" Edith's hand, which was about to turn the page, stopped at once, and she turned back helplessly, "Mom, haven't you dismissed the idea yet?" Polina sat sideways in a suede chair embroidered with delicate floral patterns, her posture graceful, "But, as your personal maid, Mary is quite unqualified." Edith retorted, "You can't hold Fanny's housekeeper to the same standards as her, mom, and realize she's not much older than me either." "Of course she can't be compared to Fanny, Fanny is excellent on any level and Mary, she didn't even go to a specialized housekeeping academy." The butler academy is a place that specializes in letting those worldly servants or servants who serve the nobles to learn, to be able to become a noble's butler, one must necessarily have received education and learning from the butler academy. Even in some great nobles' homes, all the servants had attended the butler academy and undergone strict training. Edith returned her gaze back to the books, her mouth still saying, "Mom you're too harsh on Mary, we don't have a butler academy in Qiuji Town." So of course Mary couldn't study there. "Mommy only feels condemned to you." Edith secretly pouted, she had never understood the odd thinking in her mother's head, "A personal maid didn't even go to a specialized housekeeping academy, this must be a condemnation for my daughter." She said contentedly, "Aiya mom, those are all rules that only exist in a great noble's house, this is fine in our house!" Edith's back was turned to Polina, so she didn't see the complex emotions in Polina's eyes. Polina gently stroked Edith's hair and said in her mind: Of course mom feels that you are aggrieved, originally, according to your status, you should be equipped with two specially trained personal maids. But now, you're being raised by me in the remote town of Akiyoshi, never enjoying everything you should. The plan was for her mother to tutor her in the basics of magic for at least an hour, and then after a short break dinner could begin, but the sudden arrival of a guest in the house seemed to have disrupted the rhythm. Edith looked at the group of men in black tuxedos in the living room with a look of surprise; they were not arrogant, but they carried an unknown pride and aura. Edith originally thought that these people were here to pick a fight, but she didn't expect that when they saw her mother, their movements were neat and tidy, and they even dropped their heads and bowed immediately, addressing her respectfully: "Eldest Miss." The group came to the castle entrance in a carriage, carriages are exclusive to nobles, for example, Edith's family has two carriages, but just from the clothes, they are not dressed like nobles, but the carriage they drive is many times more exquisite than their own, at least Mary secretly told her that the roof of the carriages outside is inlaid with rubies - that is only enjoyed by the ancient noble families. Edith couldn't understand. She leaned over the door of the conference room and listened to what was going on inside. Normally, her movements would have been detected, but no one was paying attention to her, so Edith was able to "eavesdrop" without any problems. The group was respectful and excited to see their mother, especially the oldest man at the head of the group. His back was straight and his gaze was sharp, he was the most imposing one in the group, Edith was facing the man's face from the doorway, so she could see clearly, he looked at her mother, his eyes glistened with tears, and he immediately performed a big salute - Edith's education from childhood made her immediately react, this was the manners of the household servants towards their masters. "Onii-sama, the master passed away in the early hours of the morning, five days ago." He said sadly. Originally, Polina's face was still not very pretty, but when she heard this, it was as if she had been struck by lightning, and she was immediately stunned in place. In the next second, the always tough and elegant mistress of this castle blinked and rolled down a tear in an instant. "Father ......," Polina choked out. Then Edith saw the room of large men and their mothers, plus Fanny the housekeeper, gathered in a knot and crying. From their sobbing conversations, Edith summarized two key messages. Her mother, it seemed, was the eldest lady of the Marquis of Villiers' family. And with the death of the Marquis de Villiers, her mother - was the rightful first in line heir to the title.