@ryuu23
As much as I hope this isn't the case, I do recognize that probably was the "apology". But a lashing =/= not bowing. The mistreatment is not at the same level of severity, and the maid did not do anything to warrant the mistreatment to begin with. The duchess was someone from our world, and as such should be held to some of our standards. Even if she wasn't directly responsible, seeing as it was the actions of the previous version of Chloe, it would still be prudent to directly apologize. In the business world, which Chloe is acquainted with, apologies are common among superiors and subordinates even if the superior is not directly responsible for whatever warranted the apology. For example a new manager might say to a subordinate, "I'm sorry such a thing happened to you under the previous management, this is what I can do to make it up for you...". In this case, the new soul inhabiting Chloe is the new management.
I do understand the logic of not apologizing though. If you equate the duchess' situation with that of a used car, you wouldn't expect a owner of a used car to apologize to all the victims of an accident the previous owner of the car caused while driving. In any case, those are some of my thoughts on the matter. Honestly though, I'm expecting this to just be brushed aside.