Chapter 53

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 53

Chapter Title: The Secret Maid of the Count's Family (6)

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“I heard you're leaving soon. Is that true?”

“Yes. Just for a little while.”

“Really just a little while?”

Lenika sniffled, giving me a look that seemed to question what I meant.

“Paula. We haven't known each other long, but I know you're a good person. At least you're diligent with your duties and not one to throw tantrums.”

“Why say something like...”

“What I want to tell you is, don't trust anyone here.”

Her firm voice rang in my ears. The truth colored her steadfast gaze. I couldn't make sense of her words, yet a strange fear stirred in one corner of my heart. A chill suddenly ran through my entire body. I clutched my arms tight.

“As you know, this is the Count's mansion—a place with strict servant oversight. Male and female servants aren't supposed to have personal contact. That's one of the rules we must follow here. They say frequent contact can lead to indecent thoughts. And there have been plenty of such incidents. This time was no different.”

“......”

“Do you get it?”

Get what? I opened my mouth but couldn't make a sound. She caught my confusion and twisted her face like she was about to cry.

“That every single move we servants make is under management.”

“......”

“If you break the rules and show no sign of returning to normal during the grace period you're given, that's the end. I told you those two didn't disappear willingly, right? They secretly met again during the grace period the butler granted them.”

She said the one who reported their secret meeting was another servant sharing their room. Reporting someone under grace period earns the reporter a reward. So what happens to the reported ones?

“The two vanished suddenly.”

“......!”

“And yesterday, the maid who shared their room said one of the manservants—out on an errand for the butler—spotted suspicious people near the mansion on his way back. Their faces were covered, so he couldn't tell who they were, but they looked like a gang of burly men. They were carrying something that looked just like... a person.”

Lenika paused to catch her breath. I didn't need to ask what she meant. Her sudden sobs answered for her.

“The missing maid had helped me out a lot. She was a good person. She'd come work here to pay off her family's debts. She always wore this bracelet her mother had embroidered—unique design everyone recognized. And that very bracelet was lying there on the ground where those people had stood.”

“......”

“Who do you think did that to them? You know without me saying.”

She was right. Hearing the fate of that maid and manservant who'd secretly nurtured their love at midnight, a few faces flashed through my mind. Vincent wasn't one of them. He doesn't bother with managing the underlings.

“Paula, listen carefully. Don't stand out. Don't be special. Live quietly like the other servants, following every rule. That's how we survive in this mansion. We're the lowest of the low—existences that could vanish, and no one would notice.”

She wiped her face with her apron. But no matter how much she wiped, fresh tears kept streaming down, covering her cheeks.

“Don't forget. If lowly folk like us fall out of favor with the mansion's highborn, there's no more peace. I'm not talking about the Master. He has no interest in servants like us. Watch out for those beneath him who wield power equal to his.”

Lenika warned me through her tear-streaked face. Looking at her, I couldn't find any words.

I ended up leaving the Bellunita mansion even sooner than planned. An intruder—a total stranger—had broken in. It was late at night when everyone was asleep, and despite the recently tightened security, we had no idea how they'd gotten in.

That sleepless night when all were deep in slumber, I tossed and turned more than usual. Giving up on sleep entirely, I rose to at least grab some water—and froze. A black shadow rippled across the sheer curtains.

At first, I thought I'd imagined it. I wanted to believe it was a dream. The room felt stuffy that night, so I'd left the window open. Never dreamed someone might climb the balcony. But there, clear as day between the fluttering curtains, stood the distinct silhouette of a person. My groping hand on the nightstand knocked over a cup.

Crash! The shattering echoed through the room. Taking that as my cue, I leaped from the bed and bolted for the door. But I barely made it a few steps before the dark figure seized my shoulder. I thrashed, but it was no use.

A powerful force slammed me against the wall. The intruder wrapped hands around my throat. Then, in the next instant, something flashed before my eyes. It was pitch black, but I knew it was a blade. That thing would pierce my flesh and spill my blood. Terror welled up, tears spinning in my eyes.

So this is how I die.

Despair choked me just as a sob rose in my throat.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Both I and my attacker whipped toward it. Vincent groped his way into the room along the walls, then raised his hand straight toward us. A gun gleamed in his grip.

The moment I realized it, I didn't think about how he could shoot blind or hit accurately. All I could think was escaping that iron grip. I seized the fingers around my neck and twisted. My attacker groaned and slackened their hold. I didn't miss the opening—I broke free and curled up on the floor.

‘Kyaaah!’

Gunshots rang out immediately after. Not one, but a barrage. I huddled with hands over my head, trembling violently.

Eerie blasts and thuds of impact followed in quick succession. The clamor went on for what felt like ages before cutting off abruptly.

I lacked the courage to look. All I could do was huddle and shake. Footsteps approached—thud, thud—stopping right before me. Something nudged my head. I flinched hard.

‘You're okay.’

‘Ugh!’

Hearing Vincent's voice snapped the dam. I'd held back through sheer terror and relief now flooded my chest in waves. I couldn't even stand—just sobbed there in a ball. He stroked my hair soothingly.

The guards came running at the gunshots. I stifled my cries and lifted my head at their shouts. They couldn't notice Vincent's condition... Thankfully, the room was dark, and he smoothly announced the intruder.

Other servants might show up hearing the shots. I pulled myself together and headed to Vincent's room with him.

The second we were inside, I collapsed onto the bed. Unlike the chaos moments ago, my mind went blank. What had just happened felt like a dream. Yet the throbbing pain in my throat proved it real.

I sat dazed, rubbing my neck, when I noticed bustling nearby. A glance showed him trying to pour water—but missing the cup, soaking his hand instead. Water gushed over his hand and arm, snapping me back to reality.

‘I'll do it.’

‘No need.’

He groped until he finally filled the cup, then handed it over and sat beside me. I gulped down the water sloshing precariously at the brim. The coolness soothed my nerves a little.

Sipping the rest, I glanced at Vincent fumbling with the gun. It was familiar—the one he'd shoved in my face during our old scuffle.

Thinking back on it, I realized how risky his actions had been for me too. Shooting blind like that. What if he'd hit me? I'd screamed to give away my position, but it was still insanely dangerous.

Yet Vincent had fired without a tremor. He'd said he was confident with a gun—not just talk.

I sniffled as I watched him.

‘How did you know to come?’

‘Heard the noise.’

‘Didn't you say there were no bullets?’

‘Never said that.’

‘Then why not shoot before?’

‘If I shoot just because I'm pissed, I'd really seem insane.’

His perfectly rational answer startled me for a whole different reason.

Moments later, Isabella burst in, scanning Vincent with a frantic expression.

‘Are you alright?’

‘I'm fine. Felt a draft—must've climbed the balcony through the open window. Even with guards around.’

‘Guards are checking the room now. We'll question the ones posted here too.’

But those guards were already dead. The ones assigned to Vincent's annex were the Count's family's elite. Taking them out meant the assassin was no amateur.

The assassin, winged by Vincent's shot, was found in the nearby woods—not far from the annex. After failing the hit, they'd taken poison to end it. We never learned who'd ordered it. But who would hire an assassin to kill a mere maid like me? No need to guess.

Come morning, Vincent ordered me to leave at once. I tidied his room as usual that morning, tended to him, and packed up. Then I said goodbyes to the few servants I knew. By the time the carriage arrived, noon had just passed.

Vincent didn't see me off. We were meeting again, so he didn't want to act like it was forever. I agreed.

Isabella came instead. I boarded first and took a seat; she followed and sat opposite. Seeing her brought back what Lenika had said a few days prior.