Chapter 3
Inside a small room.
The faces of the maids lying on the bed turned deathly pale.
“L-Lady…”
The maids scrambled off the bed and straightened their posture.
“W-What brings you here…?”
“……”
The woman with short bobbed hair and the one with long hair tied back blinked rapidly, clearly terrified by the sudden situation.
‘…Is that the personal maid assigned to Gerard?’
Despite stealing from Gerard—the only heir of the ducal family—to fill her own belly, the maid brazenly flaunted her misdeeds without fear.
That meant no one in the mansion dared to stop her.
It also meant no one in this place stood up for Gerard.
Gerard Martinhez.
Though he was the only son of the Martinhez duchy, the servants all looked down on him.
‘I thought being the duke’s only son would make him better off than me…’
Contrary to my expectations, Gerard had no protection at all.
“…Haa.”
I had stormed in out of anger, but now that I was here, I didn’t know what to do with them. It was hard to open my mouth.
‘If it were Anditne in this situation…’
I tried recalling Anditne’s memories, wondering if they might help, but…
Verbal abuse was just the start. She slapped people on a whim, poured hot tea without hesitation, and threw things regularly.
Once, a maid brushed her hair a little roughly, and she shaved the girl’s head bald.
She’d beaten many of them with sticks and driven them out multiple times.
According to the memories, many maids left half-dead.
…There’s no way I could act like Anditne.
‘Not helpful at all.’
Did I frown slightly at the frustrating situation?
One of the maids suddenly dropped to her knees and bowed her head.
“L-Lady, I’m truly sorry!”
“…Jane?”
With trembling hands, the maid picked up the pouch of money that had been rolling on the bed and held it out to me.
“B-But it was all En’s doing! I had no idea! I only found out afterward, I swear, Lady!”
But before I could even say a word, the maid named Jane confessed everything.
The other maid, En—Gerard’s personal maid—went beyond pale and turned blue.
Thud.
In the end, En collapsed to her knees.
“L-Lady…”
She opened and closed her mouth like a fish, unable to form any words.
“Lady, Lady, that’s not it…”
En rubbed her hands frantically, dragging out her words as she tried to come up with an excuse.
‘Does the head maid know about this?’
How many people knew about En’s misdeeds? And how many knew but did nothing?
As I pondered how to deal with this—
“Lady! I’m so sorry! I really am! I was blinded by money for a moment! Please forgive me, just once!”
Maybe she couldn’t come up with an excuse, or maybe she realized excuses wouldn’t work.
En bowed so deeply that her forehead touched the floor as she pleaded.
“…This isn’t your first time, is it?”
Gulp.
Having committed so many wrongs, En couldn’t easily answer and simply swallowed dryly.
Unable to confess her crimes to Anditne or to lie her way out of it, she just stood there, stupidly crying.
Stealing her master’s money wasn’t something that could be easily forgiven.
Even if I let it go, if the Duke of Martinhez found out, she’d likely lose her life.
…Not that I felt sorry for her.
‘If Gerard finds out about En’s actions, he’ll be hurt.’
That was my only concern—Gerard getting hurt.
“It’s not my first time. But, Lady, I swear it won’t happen again! Please, just this once, show mercy!”
“Lady! I swear I never did anything wrong to the young master! Please forgive me!”
My head throbbed from the two of them shouting alternately, especially when I already didn’t feel well.
“Enough.”
I raised a hand, and they instantly fell silent.
At the gesture for quiet, the maids pressed their lips shut and only wept.
I couldn’t understand why they would do this to Gerard if they feared Anditne so much.
‘Well… Anditne never cared about Gerard.’
Did they really believe they’d never be caught?
…If that were the case, it meant no one in this estate supported the Martinhez father and son.
Maybe because of Anditne’s cruelty.
‘This is getting complicated.’
If it had just been one maid’s wrongdoing, I could have dismissed her, but it seemed there were systemic issues throughout the estate.
Feeling overwhelmed, I turned my head toward the hallway.
Perhaps drawn by the commotion, two maids were already kneeling in the corridor with their heads bowed.
“…You there.”
I searched Anditne’s memories and quickly found the proper way to address them.
“Yes, Lady,” the maids replied, trembling.
“Bring the guards.”
“Y-Yes! Right away!”
The maids answered in unsteady voices and rushed out of the quarters as if fleeing.
* * *
The situation was more complicated than expected.
Even with Anditne’s memories, the idea of needing to replace the entire staff was daunting.
‘It’s probably best to tell the Duke.’
Even if I didn’t, the Duke would find out soon enough. Still, I’d rather hand everything over to him than handle it myself.
He’d likely be better at this anyway.
‘…Ugh, but how am I supposed to speak to someone who’s furious with Anditne?’
Catching a deceitful servant should have been objectively helpful to the household, yet my steps toward Edvon’s office felt heavy with dread.
“Haa…”
Just as I was struggling to figure out how to bring this up to Edvon—
“M-Mother…”
Gerard called out to me with a trembling voice from the third floor.
“…Gerard?”
The child’s red eyes were filled with tears.
Clutching his shaking hands together, he opened his mouth with great difficulty.
“Sniff. Mother, the maid did nothing wrong. I was the one who asked her. I asked her.”
Drip, drip.
The tears that had been welling up finally spilled down Gerard’s pale cheeks.
“Hic, huff, sniff. I just wanted to make you happy and asked her to help pick a gift. I didn’t know it was wrong. Please, please don’t kill the maid.”
…I didn’t want Gerard to find out, but somehow, he already knew.
Looking pale with worry, Gerard could barely breathe as he pleaded.
“Mother, it’s all my fault. Please don’t punish the maid.”
“…Gerard, who told you?”
There’s no way rumors had already spread to him. For him to know the details so clearly, someone must have told him.
“Sniff, no, it’s all my fault. I’m scared…”
Gerard, now red in the face, wiped away his tears with rough hands.
I was irritated.
I had hoped to handle this quietly so Gerard wouldn’t be hurt.
“Sob, please don’t punish the maid…”
But Gerard looked more afraid than hurt.
He must have been scared that I’d go too far in punishing her.
“Hoo… Alright, Gerard.”
I bent down to meet Gerard’s eyes.
His eyelashes were soaked, his cheeks flushed, and his breath ragged like he was about to collapse.
“It’s okay now, stop crying, Gerard.”
I sighed and gently wiped his tears.
“Sniff, sniff. But…”
“I won’t kill the maid. I promise. So don’t cry. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Alright?”
Finally, Gerard nodded.
“It was all my fault. I gave her the money. I asked her for help.”
“I understand. So stop crying, okay?”
Still unsure despite my sincere promise, the small boy clung tightly to my skirt.
Trying to soothe him, I lifted him into my arms.
“Hic, sob.”
As if he’d never been held before, Gerard stiffened in my arms and struggled slightly.
“Alright, I understand, Gerard.”
After a few pats on his back, the small and light child finally relaxed and leaned into me.
“Sniff, Mother. The maid really didn’t do anything wrong. Please don’t hit her.”
“Okay.”
With his face buried in my shoulder, Gerard whispered quietly.
He hiccupped and struggled to catch his breath, forcing himself to stay silent despite the difficulty.
‘…Just breathe comfortably, silly.’
I stroked the back of his head and glanced up the stairs he’d come down.
At the end of my casual gaze—
I saw a silhouette.
…A person reflected in the window of the hallway to the left.
Her face was indistinct, but the uniform she wore clearly belonged to the head maid.
“…Head maid.”
At that moment, both Gerard and the figure in the window flinched.
Then I realized how Gerard had found out about the maid so soon.
“Sob, sniff.”
Gerard clung to my neck in fear.
“Are you going to come out now?”
After a brief silence—
“…Lady, I’m truly sorry. I had no intention of eavesdropping. I only waited because it seemed you were having an important conversation with the young master. Please forgive my rudeness.”
The head maid finally revealed herself.
And at that moment, another person’s “life” flooded into my mind again.