Chapter 14

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: A Spider's Web
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“My lady? Did something happen?”

When I hesitated, my expression grave, Marie asked cautiously in a timid voice.

Ever since her harsh lesson from me, she had become almost completely subservient. Images of Seril in the chest and the bracelet I’d offered her so temptingly must have been lingering in Marie's tiny head. That must be why she was ‘pretending’ to be so genuinely worried about me.

I shook my head and said to her.

“No, it’s nothing. Marie, let’s go back now.”

There was no need to trouble myself by imagining events that hadn’t even happened. I could only hope that the man's lips were sealed as tight as a lock.

As I elegantly turned, the hem of my dress swirling, I felt a sharp gaze on me from somewhere.

It was so blatant as to be rude, but it was surely either Theodore Beatrice or one of his subordinates, so I feigned ignorance and accepted the knight's escort. My heart pounded fiercely, as if to say my connection with him was not over yet.

Would it be too much of a leap to think I had just met some ‘mastermind’—someone my past self never encountered because I hadn't gone out that day, someone I never knew until the day I died?

But the man's sly tongue, his somewhat melancholic disposition, and his dark eyes that reeked of danger were far too impressive to be dismissed as a fleeting encounter.

‘So, if we ever meet again, we won't be parting with smiles like we did today.’

Before being led to the carriage by the knight, I glanced toward the source of the intense gaze and offered a languid smile. And like a mute, I moved my lips, mouthing a single phrase without a sound.

‘Until we meet again.’

I don't know if he saw my words, but a loud laugh carried on the wind suggested my effort wasn't entirely in vain. So, let's call this round a draw.

After buying the stationery and returning home, evening arrived quickly, and Marie's hands grew busy. She helped me out of the dress, its hem now dirty, and brought a fresh one.

Worried that my skin might have been damaged by the brief exposure to the sun, she brought water with jasmine flowers floating in it and busied herself preparing a whitening powder to smooth my complexion.

As Marie attended to me, I glanced toward the chest. A moan from within was growing louder, as if she were slowly regaining consciousness.

With Marie's help, I changed into my slippers, and as Seril moaned, I approached the chest and lifted the lid just a crack. I could see Seril, her face swollen from crying, unable to even open her eyes properly, her hands flailing in the air.

In a soft and gentle voice, I called her name sweetly.

“Seril, are you awake?”

Perhaps her throat was parched from crying for so long; Seril's dry lips parted as she asked for water.

“Ugh… Wa-water!”

“Oh, dear. You poor thing, you must be thirsty. Yes, I suppose I should give you some water. But isn't there something you should say first?”

But stubborn Seril pressed her lips together, refusing to give me the answer I wanted.

I watched her and smiled sweetly. Yes, that's more like you.

I reached out and gently stroked her swollen cheek, as if soothing a child. Then, in a cheerful voice, as if singing, I said.

“Yes, that's right. Keep being stubborn. I'm not upset by this behavior at all, you know. By the way, you said you were thirsty, didn't you?”

I gestured for Marie to bring a cup of water. Then, smiling with my eyes at Seril, who was glaring at me through slits, I poured the water Marie brought into the chest.

“Here, here's your water. You can lap it up gratefully, like a dog.”

And without waiting for a reply, I closed the lid of the chest and whispered one last thing.

“If you decide you want to be a dog, just bark. Then I'll let you out. Of course, you shouldn't take too long. Not before your pretty back is covered in festering bedsores, and you've soiled yourself down below. It's not hard. All you have to do is bark. Oh, and don't think you can try any cheap tricks. If you try to deceive me with some half-baked idea, I won't hesitate to wring that delicate neck of yours.”

Her body was covered in bruises, and she hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a day and a half. The interior of the chest, so cramped there was no room to move, was also draining her strength.

If left like this, she probably wouldn't be lucid by tomorrow. She didn't even have the strength to cry out!

But I had no intention of letting Seril rest comfortably in the chest and recover her strength. So I gestured to Marie.

“Marie, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Please, just tell me.”

“It's nothing difficult.”

“What is it?”

“Something very simple. You just need to come into my room every two hours and kick that chest for ten minutes.”

Marie's face went pale. Her eyes welled with tears as she shook her head.

“Ah, Young Miss. Please, don't make me sin any further. How much more do you intend to torment me? Have you still not forgiven me for what happened this morning?”

“What is? Punishing a maid who deceived her master is a sin? Fine, if that's what you think, I won't make you.”

Her face brightened at my words. But that was fleeting; my next words made her expression turn ashen with despair, dark as charcoal.

“Instead, I'll call for people. I'll scream and gasp for breath like a madwoman. I'll shriek that I found Seril in the chest and then faint. Oh, yes. I see that look of confusion on your face. It's just a fun little story, really. While I was visiting Mother, you stole my bracelet, and Seril caught you. Yes, that's it. The brave and righteous Seril threatened to tell me, and you, panicked and overcome with fear, knocked her unconscious with the nearest object and beat her half to death.”

“G-Good heavens. Young Miss!!! How could you say such a thing!”

“Shh. Be quiet and listen. Unable to control your terror, you struck her again and again, and her injuries became more severe than you intended. Afraid she would die if you left her, you began to treat her wounds with trembling hands. But then you heard my footsteps. In a panic, you frantically stuffed Seril into the empty chest and then pretended nothing was wrong as you attended to me. Luckily for you, I left to buy stationery, completely unaware. But then, while you were preparing the jasmine water for me after I returned, the unconscious Seril woke up. I heard her moans and happened to open the chest. Horrified, I screamed and called for everyone. So? How does it feel to have heard such an interesting story?”

I watched Marie, who was gasping for breath as if she were about to faint, with a leisurely gaze.

The reason I could get away with such atrocious behavior was all due to the immense power of my status as ‘Young Miss’.

The reason I could spout such nonsense and make such a far-fetched claim was because I was a lady of the Vischwartz family.

Therefore, even if I screamed and gathered a crowd, no one would listen to Marie's side of the story.

Because rumors had already spread that she was a maid caught trying to harm me. If I added that she'd tried to steal my jewelry beforehand out of fear of being dismissed, no one would be able to refute it.

Of course, Seril could contradict me, but unable to even speak properly, all she could do was communicate through gestures. And I could simply dismiss that as the delirious ravings of someone not in their right mind.

Above all, my stepfather, already angry that a maid had tried to deceive his adopted daughter, would be so sorry if something like this happened again that he wouldn't even be able to look me in the eye.

And he would do his best to appease me. Hmm, that doesn't sound too bad, either.

However, taming a new maid to be like Marie would be a hassle, so I waited patiently, with a generous heart, for her to make the wise decision.

“Ah, Young Miss, I'll do it. I'll do it, so please don't do that. I was wrong.”

Marie knelt and begged. She was genuinely terrified of being thrown out of the mansion. For girls like her, there was no better-paying job than working in a count's household, especially attending to the young miss.

Could they, who had lived on soft bread with jam and tea, wearing clothes of cotton and muslin in exchange for serving a noble lady, survive doing menial labor?

Absolutely not. Those who had enjoyed a life better than that of commoners could never go back to softening hard, black bread with their own saliva or breaking ice to do laundry in the freezing water.

Moreover, Marie was a maid specially trained to serve the nobility. With her standards already raised so high, she could never sleep in a shabby bed where sewer rats roamed.

Above all, for maids like Marie, there was nothing more frightening than being dismissed in disgrace.

Word of mouth was a powerful thing, leading to situations where they would be rejected not only by other noble houses but even by common shops.

So, she never had a choice to begin with. I held all the power. Poor Marie. She was nothing more than a delicate butterfly caught in my web.

She would remain tangled in my threads, swaying, until I had sucked her dry and cast her aside.

I nodded and helped Marie to her feet. Then, looking at her trembling form and wavering eyes, I spoke in a firm, warning tone.

“Yes, that's right. Never question my orders again. My patience isn't very long.”

Marie nodded her head. She shook it so violently it looked as if it might fall off. The sight was so amusing I laughed out loud. Then I kissed her cheek.

“Well then, get to it.”

***

Dinner with my stepfather was quite pleasant. The salt-cured pork tongue was fresh, and the ham cooked in wine was incredibly tender.

The skewered lark, seasoned with lemon and butter, was an indescribable delicacy, and I couldn't help but marvel at the cooking technique that used sage to eliminate the gamey smell of the meat.

The roasted veal pancreas seasoned with eggplant and the meat jelly served with crushed pine nuts were also perfection itself, leaving me very satisfied.

Finally, after cleansing my palate with honey-preserved cherries, cheese, and wine, I was able to quiet my famished stomach. My mood would have been even better if not for Roena, who chattered at me incessantly.

Roena didn't close her mouth for the entire meal. It seemed she had forgotten all about her supposedly perfect table manners, trying her best to throw all sorts of topics my way.

Perhaps still giddy with the excitement of having a new family member, her soft cheeks were flushed with a shy, lovely pink. Her lively, sparkling eyes were fixed on me the whole time.

The topics of conversation were quite varied. Throughout the meal, she brought up numerous subjects, spanning literature, history, and the arts.

The problem was that most of the topics she raised were based solely on her own interests, with no consideration for me. Roena seemed to have forgotten that I was a commoner who hadn't even received a proper education. Otherwise, she never would have tried to steer the conversation toward such subjects.

The things that came out of her mouth were topics of such a high level that my past self would never have known them had I not studied myself to death to overcome Roena.

I was only able to respond so leisurely because I already knew everything she was talking about. If I hadn't, I surely would have been unable to answer, my face flushing red as I deemed myself a disgrace.

I felt a deep anger at her attitude—so caught up in her own excitement that she gave no thought to her conversation partner.

The thought of her inevitable reaction—that distinct, awkward expression as she'd say, ‘Oh, I'm sorry. You wouldn't know about this, would you?’—had I failed to answer in time, felt utterly revolting.