My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin-Chapter 39: An Empty Title is still a Title

Betty let out a deeper breath as she stepped into the dirty kitchen. It had only been an hour since she finished the tasks left by the other maids. But after dinner, the head maid told her to do the dishes tonight—even though she was supposed to rest early.

"I should’ve just sewn my mouth shut," she grumbled, the corners of her eyes reddening with frustration. "Why am I getting punished like this?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

According to the head maid, there had been reports that she was "slacking." So, as part of her punishment, she was told to do the dishes alone. Meaning, she had to wash this mountain of dishes.

"I think I should just send my resignation letter," she muttered as she dragged herself to the counter, reluctantly putting on an apron with a heavy heart.

Despite everything, Betty still got to work, keeping her complaints to herself. Her heart, however, tightened with the disappointment building inside her. All of them were servants in this mansion—part of the lowest ring of Dominion.

Yet somehow, she felt like she was at the very bottom.

Tears slowly formed at the corners of Betty’s eyes. She wiped them away with her arms while continuing to wash the dishes. Her sniffles echoed in the quiet, dirty kitchen, leaving only the dishes as witnesses to the frustration swelling in her chest.

"Stop crying," she told herself, huffing quietly. "It’s not like this will change anything. All I have to do is shut—ahh!"

Just as Betty turned to grab something, she jumped in shock at the sight of someone seated near the long table in the middle of the dirty kitchen. Her breath hitched, her pupils constricting as realization dawned on her.

What... what is she doing here?

Betty opened and closed her mouth, staring at Ashley. Ashley was seated at the long table, casually eating something. It was already late, and everyone had finished dinner.

She should be resting by now... right? Why is she here?

Betty gulped, suddenly worried she had been speaking too loudly. Having been in Dominion for a year, she knew there were plenty of places people preferred over the dirty kitchen. Even Ashley had never set foot here—she didn’t need to.

After all, Ashley was the madam of Dominion... albeit with an empty title.

Did I say something about her? Am I in trouble? Did she hear anything?!

Ashley raised her brows, still chewing her food. She blinked almost innocently as she met Betty’s gaze, then raised a finger to her lips.

"Shhh..." Ashley hushed. Then, using the same finger, she pointed at her plate. "Don’t tell anyone I’m eating Primo’s snacks."

Betty opened and closed her mouth again, then nodded in response. She studied the madam for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

She probably didn’t hear me.

"Thanks!" Ashley waved. "Don’t mind me. I’ll just eat here. I’ll wash my own plate once you finish."

"Once I finish...?" Betty muttered under her breath, glancing at the mountain of dishes that should’ve taken at least three people to clean.

Her face twitched before she looked back at Ashley.

"Just—just leave them there," she stuttered. "I—I don’t think I’ll be able to finish that soon."

"Don’t worry! I’m not in a hurry!"

"That’s not—" Betty bit her tongue, stopping herself from speaking further. This mouth of hers had already gotten her into trouble. Even if Ashley held an empty title, she was still the matriarch of Dominion—whether people acknowledged it or not.

In the end, Betty lowered her head and quietly continued her work. Still, she couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder every now and then.

The young master really has a lot of snacks to enjoy, she thought. And she doesn’t even have to hide it.

Betty tilted her head slightly, wondering if Lucian forbade Ashley from eating sweets. Although everyone knew their marriage was dysfunctional, no one truly understood the agreement between them.

Besides, no one really knew anything about her.

Unless rumors counted, but Betty wasn’t sure which ones were true. All she knew for certain was that Ashley was Marshal Di Carpio’s illegitimate child.

"I heard someone is getting punished tonight."

Betty flinched when Ashley suddenly spoke. Slowly, she looked back, only to see Ashley forking a piece of cake without even glancing at her.

"It makes me wonder what you did to be punished," Ashley hummed, finally turning her head toward Betty. "Did you steal something?"

"What? No!" Betty nearly dropped the plate as she shook her head frantically. "That’s not—I didn’t steal anything. I would never steal from Dominion!"

"Then why are you getting punished?"

Betty froze, staring at Ashley. Her lips pressed into a thin line.

How could I answer that? What difference would it make?

It wasn’t like she had defended Ashley. She had simply spoken her thoughts aloud—a bad habit of hers. All she meant to say earlier was that Lucian and Primo weren’t foolish enough to simply "tolerate" Ashley. But before she could explain, she was shut down.

And besides, she would only get into more trouble if she told Ashley that the maids had been bad-mouthing her.

Ashley tilted her head. "Hello?"

"Ah." Betty snapped out of her thoughts, meeting Ashley’s gaze again. "It’s not like that, Madam. I just said something that came out wrong."

Ashley nodded in understanding and continued eating. "You should be careful here."

"Huh?"

"You are in Dominion, you know?" she hummed, resting her cheek on her palm. "One wrong word, and it could get you killed."

Betty held her breath, her brows rising in surprise as she stared at Ashley’s side profile. She swallowed, reminded of that harsh truth. It wasn’t that she had forgotten, but the peace in the mansion had made it easy for someone like her to believe she was living a normal life.

"By the way, are you still planning to send your resignation?" Ashley asked suddenly, catching Betty off guard.

"Ye—yes?" Betty blinked in confusion. She heard me!? But that was at the beginning... what else did she hear me say —

"If so, want to work for me?"

"Huh?"

The corners of Ashley’s lips curled upward, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I’m hiring people for my little plantation—and maybe... my business too. I need someone to handle inventory and oversee a few things for me."

She leaned back slightly, her smile widening. "Want to work for me?"

She paused briefly, then added, "There are a few perks. First, I’ll take care of you, of course. And second..."

Ashley trailed off, her smile fading just a little as her gaze sharpened.

"And second, you’ll be able to prove that sucking up to someone holding the so-called empty title of Dominion’s matriarch will land you in a far better position than..."

Her eyes flicked toward the pile of dishes.

"...cleaning up after someone with none."