Chapter 78
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I received a message from the Vas Guild.
It was a letter from Jared.
He wrote that House Schultz had been involved in the leak of Baldomer’s confidential information and that he had contacted Kallion to tell him the truth.
I hadn’t expected Jared to involve himself in something like this.
And he had even met Kallion directly…
After confirming that he had written he would contact me again if he met with Kallion in the future, I used my ability to burn the letter without leaving even a trace.
I couldn’t afford to carelessly burn it in the fireplace and leave evidence behind like last time.
As I left the study, I tilted my head at the familiar figure ahead of me.
The woman standing before the head maid with her shoulders hunched was clearly Kate, my personal maid.
The other maids giggled as they watched Kate shrink in front of the head maid.
I walked straight toward them.
“What’s going on?”
The head maid looked toward me and answered as though it were nothing important.
“I merely gave her a word of warning because she has been neglecting her assigned duties.”
I frowned at the head maid’s words.
“Assigned duties?”
Kate, who had been standing with her shoulders hunched and her head lowered, answered in a tiny voice.
“Cleaning the estate’s window frames.”
At those words, I stared at the head maid in disbelief.
“Head maid, Kate is my personal maid. Surely you know what that means.”
“Regardless of that, I believe everyone should carry out the duties assigned to them responsibly.”
At the head maid’s firm reply, I stared at her.
Until recently, the head maid had at least hidden her displeasure and maintained proper manners.
Now she was glaring at me openly.
It had started after the rumors that I was secretly communicating with Silverstel.
Even if I wasn’t the one who leaked the information, it was true that I had exchanged letters with Silverstel’s second son.
The servants had noticed that my relationship with Kallion had grown even more strained because of it and had begun openly disregarding me.
I didn’t care what they thought of me.
But being disregarded myself and allowing Kate to be unfairly harassed were two entirely separate matters.
There was a limit to how much more I was willing to tolerate.
I tightened my grip around the book in my hand, then forced myself to speak calmly.
“This sounds as though it may take some time. Shall we move somewhere more comfortable to talk?”
Apparently believing I was embarrassed to be humiliated in front of the other maids, the head maid led me to an empty room as though generously doing me a favor.
Once we entered the quiet room, I calmly looked around before slowly turning toward the head maid.
Looking at the woman standing with her back perfectly straight, I gave her an elegant smile befitting the lady of the house.
“I agree with you, head maid. Everyone should take responsibility for their assigned duties.”
The head maid looked suspicious when I readily agreed with her.
Smiling gently at her, I pushed the vase sitting on the table.
With a sharp crash, it struck the floor and shattered.
The head maid stared at it blankly.
I smiled at her.
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon?”
“You’re the only maid in this room. I’m asking why you aren’t cleaning it up.”
The head maid’s expression stiffened.
She frowned in displeasure and moved as though she intended to call another maid, but I caught her wrist and stopped her.
“A head maid is still a maid. Didn’t you just say with your own mouth that everyone should take responsibility for the duties assigned to them, when your own duty is to act as the hands and feet of the lady of the house?”
At my calm words, the head maid clenched her teeth.
Judging by her expression alone, she looked ready to hit me.
“Head maid, it seems you’ve forgotten because I’m being disregarded in this estate. I’m still the daughter of a great house. Kallion disregarding me and you disregarding me are two entirely different matters.”
House Heister could make a mere maid disappear without a trace.
Of course, they would never send an assassin for someone as insignificant as me, but the head maid had no way of knowing that.
The head maid’s expression eventually stiffened.
After hesitating, she slowly dropped to her knees.
Then she began picking up the pieces of the broken vase with trembling hands.
Her shoulders shook with rage at the humiliation of being forced to kneel before me.
I looked at her indifferently for a moment, then slowly left the room.
Word of what happened today might reach Kallion.
But I didn’t care.
He couldn’t cast me out anyway.
In that case, I had no choice but to find my own way to survive in this place.
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