Episode 6
When I stepped through the second iron door, what I saw was a round mountain of blankets piled up on the bed.
I sighed softly and spoke quietly toward the blankets.
“Larisa?”
Marcia couldn’t even remember the last time she had said that name.
I slowly approached the bed and set down the small bundle I had wrapped in a handkerchief, along with a lamp, on the bedside table.
Up close, I could see the blanket trembling noticeably.
“I’m not holding anything. Look, see?”
To show I wasn’t holding a whip, I spread out both palms and held them out toward the mountain of blankets.
But there was no reaction from under the covers.
I took a few steps back.
“Then I’ll stay back here. I promise I won’t come any closer. So… could you show me your face?”
I stood there quietly for a few minutes. Finally, the top of the blanket mountain twitched a little.
Through the gap, I caught a glimpse of silver hair curling out.
I waited patiently, and at last the blanket lowered to the shoulders, and a small head popped out.
The face was pale and bloodless.
Watery green eyes stared at me.
Of course, since we were sisters, they were the same exact color as Marcia’s eyes.
But for some reason, that made me feel even more compassion.
“…Hi.”
I greeted her awkwardly.
The green eyes surrounded by blankets blinked a few times.
Oh, come to think of it, I had never actually talked to Larisa before.
Even searching through Marcia’s memories, it was the same.
Not only that—I had never even heard Larisa speak.
All I’d ever heard were her silent cries of pain.
I cautiously opened my mouth.
“Um… You understand me, right? You can speak?”
“…”
“It’s not that I think you can’t talk, it’s just—I’ve never heard your voice before.”
“…”
“I’ve never seen you talk either… I guess being locked up alone like this, you might not feel like speaking… Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
I rambled awkwardly and lowered my head slightly in apology.
Larisa stared at me for a long moment, then gave a small nod.
Phew, good. I let out a breath of relief inwardly.
At least she could understand me, and her reasoning seemed intact.
Well, it made sense. She was going to marry the prince in three years.
It was a “happily ever after” ending, so the prince must not have abused her, and they must have communicated well.
I raised my hand to point at the table next to the bed.
“…!”
At that, Larisa flinched and dove back under the blanket.
Ah, that was careless of me.
Seeing her frightened by such a small movement made my chest ache a little.
I lowered my hand and spoke gently.
“Sorry, did I scare you? I left a handkerchief on the table, and inside it, there are some ginger cookies. I brought them in case you felt like eating.”
They were desserts served with last night’s dinner that I’d snuck out.
Winning someone over is always easiest with something tasty.
I hadn’t originally planned to bring anything, but when I saw the cookies on the plate, I changed my mind.
They were shaped like cute little people with faces drawn on them.
That made me think it might be okay to bring them to Larisa.
‘I wondered if I was treating her too much like a child, but she’s still a kid, after all.’
Larisa peeked out from the blanket and darted her eyes toward the handkerchief.
Her green eyes quickly returned to me.
They fluttered like leaves, round and curious.
‘Like this, she actually looks like a normal kid. Kinda cute?’
She didn’t say anything, but curiosity sparkled in her eyes.
That was a good sign. At least she seemed willing to listen.
“Hey, I have a proposal I’d like to make.”
I smiled softly and got to the point.
* * *
It was dawn, just before sunrise. I took a deep breath.
Okay. Time to become the crazy girl.
From now on, I’m a madwoman.
I am… a madwoman.
I am…
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!”
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
At the same time, I yanked on the bell rope furiously.
The bell at the end of the cord must’ve made a loud ruckus in the maids’ quarters.
—Ugh, what now, this early in the morning?
—Can’t even sleep, seriously!
I could hear the maids on the same floor grumbling.
I didn’t care and kept screaming and pulling the rope.
After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door to the dressing room, and a maid appeared.
Forced awake at dawn, grumbling inwardly, but now standing with utmost politeness in front of the young lady.
“You called for me, Lady Marcia?”
She stood with her hands folded and eyes lowered.
I pointed at the floor.
“What the hell is wrong with my dresses?! I’ve got an important party tonight and NOTHING to wear!”
The maid cautiously lifted her head and looked around the room.
Marcia’s clothes were all over the floor of the bedroom.
It looked like someone had thrown a tantrum and ransacked the wardrobe after trying things on and being unsatisfied.
“You’re getting ready this early, my lady? And you had new dresses fitted just the other day.”
The maid spoke politely, hiding her emotions expertly.
But it didn’t matter. I could hear her inner thoughts.
—Crazy bitch. Who’s supposed to clean all this up?
I barely held back a smirk.
Well, people are free to think whatever they want inside their heads. Normally, no one can hear them.
‘Too bad I can.’
I was a little worried about coming off suspicious, but since she was only cursing inwardly, I had succeeded.
After all, Marcia was like this.
Making a mess, starting fights, blaming others.
Let’s up the ante a little.
“They all look like garbage!”
I shouted, yanking a dress off the floor.
There was a rip—rrrip!—near the collar lace, torn where it had caught on something.
I had arranged for that to happen, of course.
The maid, unaware, went pale.
I saw her face and deliberately screamed louder.
“EEEEK, it’s torn! What are you going to do about this?!”
“M-my lady…!”
—You tore it yourself just now!
“Should I kick you out of the mansion?! You couldn’t afford this lace even if you saved your salary for a whole year!”
—You tore it, not me! I didn’t even move!
I took a step closer. The maid flinched.
She probably thought I was going to hit her.
Marcia would’ve done just that.
“My lady, please don’t dismiss me! I’ll fix it somehow, I swear…”
—Crazy witch. She’s really nuts!
Wow, she’s good at acting.
Her words and her thoughts were completely different, and I couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
Not because it was funny—but because it was astonishing.
‘If I went through this every day, I’d go insane too.’
The maid turned pale hearing me laugh.
Ah, right. A madwoman laughing probably does look even more insane.
Still laughing, I shoved the dress in her face and said coldly:
“Fix it? You? Do you even know how to sew, huh?”
Poking her shoulder or lightly slapping her cheek would be more effective.
Just like Villain used to do to me.
But I remembered how awful that felt.
‘This should be enough. No need to go that far.’
The maid already looked ready to grovel at my feet.
I’d already heard her call me a lunatic in her mind—mission accomplished.
“Go fetch Miss Nora.”
I named the owner of the tailor I frequented, then shook my head.
“No—pack them all up. Hurry.”
Then I threw the torn dress at the maid’s chest.
Caught off guard, she held it clumsily in her arms and stammered:
“Huh?”
“HUH? Are your ears clogged? I said pack it!”
I snapped and raised my voice.
The confused maid rushed off toward the dressing room to get travel bags.
“I’ll go to the boutique right now to have them fixed. So pack this too. And that. And that one.”
—You idiot. Do you really think any boutique is open at this hour?
“Leave that one out! Are you blind? That style’s way out of date!”
“I-I’m sorry, my lady.”
—Ugh, what a spoiled brat. How is someone like her even a noble?
How? Because her parents were nobles, obviously.
I bit my lip to stop myself from answering.
It was surprisingly hard not to react to the maid’s inner thoughts.
So I sat down on the sofa across the room and watched her bustle about, packing things up.
When she wasn’t looking, I subtly kicked the bag that had the accessories and jewels from yesterday and slid it among the other luggage.
“All the dresses you requested are packed, my lady.”
There were six bags in total, big and small.
The smaller ones were about twice the size of a hatbox, and the bigger ones were large enough to fit a child inside.
I nodded toward the bags.
“Take them all downstairs. And send the others to my room. Clothes—”
