It wasn’t worry for Lilian—it was worry over the trouble of having to hire another servant.
‘I take back what I said about him being thoughtful! I take it back!’
I swallowed the surge of emotion and pressed my lips tightly together.
“Then, good work.”
Whether my insides were churning or not, the Grand Duke, who had thoroughly upset me, leisurely disappeared on his own.
I glared at his retreating figure for a while, then suddenly remembered something important.
‘The cleaning……!’
Wow, even without washing my face, I was suddenly wide awake.
If I got caught by the head maid, both Anna and I would obviously be scolded as a set. My footsteps quickened.
Thud, thud—
I hadn’t realized it when I came this way earlier, but this hallway was quite long. So I practically ran, yet strangely, I wasn’t out of breath.
‘So I do have good stamina.’
Aside from the personal satisfaction, it was quite suspicious. Could this also be because I’d received some kind of spy training?
Just as a sprout of reasonable doubt was about to bloom, I spotted Anna’s round back of the head at the far end.
“Anna!”
I pretended to be out of breath for no reason and approached Anna. As if she’d been waiting, she spoke fussily.
“You really cut it close! You almost got caught, you know?”
“Sorry, sorry.”
“Phew, it’s a good thing the head maid left because His Highness the Grand Duke returned.”
“I-is that so? Haha…….”
Well now……. I wasn’t sure whether I should be grateful to the Grand Duke or not.
I forced a smile and took the broom back. Fortunately, Anna, who had relaxed, didn’t seem to notice my awkward reaction.
Several more days passed after that.
In the meantime, I naturally blended into the group of maids, and my work became more familiar.
“Lilian, these dishes are being washed separately…… oh, you are doing that?”
“Lilian, these need more care because of the grease…… oh, you are doing that?”
“W-what? Why is she so good at this……?”
The other maids watched my dishwashing show with bewildered eyes. At that, Anna answered with a proud face.
“Ahem, ahem, three months of work is finally bearing fruit!”
It’s probably just because of my part-time job experience…….
But I couldn’t say that, so I just smiled quietly.
Just then, a blunt voice cut in.
“Hmph, making a fuss over doing just one person’s share now.”
Her name was Ivy, wasn’t it?
The girl with dark blue hair was a maid about the same age as Lilian.
‘Her gaze toward me hasn’t been kind these past few days…….’
Apparently, she didn’t like me.
“Hey, what did you just say—!”
“I’m fine, Anna.”
I stopped Anna, who was about to lunge at Ivy in her excitement.
I was already used to that kind of malice. In fact, ever since coming here, there were so few people who disliked me that it was awkward—now it finally felt a bit realistic.
‘Well, I don’t have the time to care anyway.’
I sat the huffing Anna down and started washing dishes again. And in between, I scanned the others.
‘Maybe the person who left the secret letter is among them.’
Of course, I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that it came from outside, but for now, the people around me were the most suspicious.
Anna, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Ivy…….
Looking at them like this, they all seemed like ordinary citizens.
‘Well, does Lilian really look like someone who’d work as a spy?’
Feeling unfairly accused, I scrubbed the dishes harder.
Scrub, scrub—
By the time clean dishes and utensils were piled up in front of me, I managed to obtain quite important information from the maids’ chatter.
“So this time again, as a gift—”
“Gasp, really?”
“His Majesty the Emperor is something else…….”
It was the fact that the master of this estate, the Grand Duke of Pellium, was the ‘illegitimate child of the current Emperor.’
Despite being in a position where it was difficult to be acknowledged as a proper child, the fact that he could rise to the position of Grand Duke was entirely possible because of the Emperor’s favor.
Perhaps because he himself had once borne the disgrace of being born to a concubine? The Emperor reportedly granted him the title of Grand Duke despite everyone’s opposition. Fortunately, the Grand Duke’s achievements on the battlefield provided a plausible justification.
“But will it be all right? That person won’t just stand by and watch.”
“This time he even received a mine, after all…….”
“Come now, His Highness the Grand Duke must be prepared as well.”
I, who had been listening quietly, tilted my head and looked at Anna.
“That person?”
At that, Anna glanced around once, then sidled up close to me. Then she whispered in my ear.
“I mean His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Ah, so there is a Crown Prince?
Hearing that, I could roughly guess the situation.
The legitimate heir and the favored illegitimate son. Isn’t this a staple setup of historical dramas?
‘Usually, the former is the protagonist, though.’
Unfortunately, our Grand Duke seemed to be in the opposite position.
A half-brother who held the right of succession to the throne and had even captured the people’s hearts with his achievements in war. It was fully understandable that the Crown Prince would be wary of him.
‘Then, was it the Crown Prince’s side that sent me as a spy?’
They seemed like the ones who would want to dig into the Grand Duke’s secrets right now. Or perhaps someone who supported the Crown Prince.
‘Anyway, the world of the powerful…….’
I clicked my tongue inwardly, then suddenly recalled the unreal figure of the Grand Duke of Pellium.
They say beauty is short-lived. His life, marked by the Crown Prince despite that handsome face, was a little pitiful—
“Lilian, wipe this too when you’re done!”
……I stand corrected.
Compared to the Grand Duke, the master of the house, my life—washing dishes under him—is far more pitiful. Indeed, most certainly!
* * *
A night when everyone was asleep.
Someone dressed in black moved like a shadow along the walls of the annex. Unlike the main building, the west annex, which wasn’t heavily guarded, was perfect for a nighttime visitor to slip into.
Eventually, the place he headed to was a maid’s room.
Swiish—
Opening the door without a sound, he slowly approached the bed. There, the owner of the room lay fast asleep, unaware of the world.
“……”
The man watched her for a moment, then drew a well-sharpened dagger. It was a blade sharp enough to pierce through a woman’s slender neck in one thrust.
Swish—
He aimed it at her neck. Then, without a single moment of hesitation, he brought it down.
Thud—!
But the place the blade embedded itself was not her neck, but a soft pillow.
“……!!”
Before he could even be startled, the opponent’s fist flew at him. At that, the man hurriedly dropped his sword and tried to retreat, but it was already a step too late.
Thwack—!
A fist heavy enough to make his skull ring slammed into his head. For an instant, his mind went hazy. But that wasn’t the end.
“Kuhk……!”
In an instant, his arm was twisted behind his back, and his knee hit the floor. A sharp blade was pointed beneath his nape. It was the dagger he himself had been holding just moments ago.
In a situation where the tables had turned in less than a minute, the man let out a hollow laugh.
“I heard you woke up after two days.”
Seems you’re still the same.
At that murmur, the blade pressed tightly against him dug into his skin. Soon blood trickled down the blade, but the man paid it no mind.
Rather, he continued speaking.
“It is that person’s command.”
The man tossed something to the side. At that, the woman behind him reflexively threw her dagger toward it as well.
Thunk.
Along with a white sheet of paper, the dagger embedded itself in the wall.
In the meantime, the man shook off his opponent and fled out the window.
Whooo—
Cold dawn air flowed in through the open window.
The owner of this room, she, stared blankly at it with unfocused eyes, then soon walked unsteadily to the bed.
And then, as if nothing had happened, she lay back down to sleep.
* * *
“Nngh…….”
For some reason, my body felt chilly.
Perhaps because of the cold air, I woke earlier than usual and rubbed my stiff eyelids. Looking around with half-open eyes, I saw the window was half open.
“Did I leave the window open when I slept……?”
I must have fallen asleep the moment my head hit the pillow, so I don’t remember. If I’d known the weather would be this chilly, I should have checked before going to bed.
“Ugh, you fool!”
I closed the window belatedly. If I caught a cold, it would be a disaster. For us workers who live day by day, our bodies are our capital.
‘They said Lilian was on the sturdy side, so I have no choice but to trust that.’
I shook my head and turned back to the bed—
“Huh?”
Something was stuck in the right wall.
‘What is that?’
I narrowed my eyes and approached to identify the unknown object. As soon as I confirmed what it was, I couldn’t help but be horrified.
“Hee, heeek……!”
It was a secret letter impaled on a knife.
And moreover, from that knife…… blood was dripping.
