Chapter 22

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: Chapter 11

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In that moment, Marie realized it. This damned girl had never submitted.

On the contrary, she was saying she knew Marie had been drugging her food.

But Marie quickly regained her composure. It was a futile gesture anyway.

"So what? Got any proof?"

"Are you admitting to it right now?"

"Admitting what, Rozhi? I never did anything like that. You're the one spouting nonsense, so I asked for evidence."

"But Marie."

Rozhi gently stroked Marie's hair. Marie swatted her hand away roughly, repulsed by the creepy sensation.

A flicker of hurt crossed Rozhi's face.

That two-faced bitch...!

"Normally, when someone says 'It was you,' you'd ask 'What was me?' right? I hadn't said anything yet, but you acted like you already knew."

"...That's."

Marie was at a loss for words. She bit her lip in frustration.

"...Even if you interrogate me, it's pointless. You have no evidence, so quit falsely accusing innocent people."

"Got it. Then let's go."

"What...?"

Before Marie could make sense of Rozhi's out-of-context words, she grabbed her arm and pulled.

Marie stumbled after her in bewilderment.

Rozhi led her to the first-floor hall, where...

"You're here, Marie."

The butler gazed at her with a cold expression.

Marie's eyes trembled as she scanned the surroundings.

Beside the butler stood the head chef with a fierce look. Next to him was the maid Emily, brimming with confidence. And...

...in front of them, on her knees, was the kitchen maid.

What in the world was going on?

Marie's fingertips shook uncontrollably.

At that moment, Rozhi, who had her arm linked with Marie's, turned to her. A soft smile played on her lips.

"Now, explain yourself, Marie."

In truth, she knew a simple way to resolve the issue of drugs in Rihart's food.

Catch the kitchen maid in the act of adding something suspicious.

So she'd tipped off the head chef and Emily to keep an eye on her.

The kitchen maid was only wary of Rozhi herself, so she wouldn't suspect the others were watching.

And just as expected, once night fell, the kitchen maid sneaked in to mix berries into the ingredients for Rihart's meal.

Thanks to the prior warning, the head chef and Emily caught her red-handed.

And now.

All the servants had gathered on the first floor, and the chaos had erupted.

"Confess honestly what you were trying to put in the food! Speak!"

The butler shouted sternly at the kneeling kitchen maid.

Rozhi watched half in resignation.

The first time she saw the butler today, she'd realized something.

That blond man she'd reported to for Rihart's escape attempt last time wasn't the butler.

I hope I didn't mess up with some high-ranking person...

If that guy I called butler was actually Arjen...

'No. It's not him.'

Her suspicions had hardened into certainty amid heavy distrust, but she had no choice but to trust him through gritted teeth.

"What exactly were you trying to add? Do you realize the grave mistake you've made?!"

"I-it's... I heard it enhances the flavor when added to food... so I thought it would be good..."

No one was fooled by the kitchen maid's rambling lies.

Rozhi signaled Emily with her eyes. Emily nodded, catching on, and approached the butler.

"Butler."

"What is it?"

"It's a plant guidebook."

Emily handed him a thick book, and he accepted it reluctantly.

He opened it to the page with the bookmark.

"When we saw the kitchen maid adding something suspicious, and she wouldn't confess properly, we borrowed it quickly."

A glint appeared in the butler's eyes.

"Was this your idea?"

Emily's gaze flicked to Rozhi when the butler asked. Rozhi signaled again.

Just say it was you!

Emily beamed as if understanding their silent exchange. What a sharp girl...

"No, it wasn't me. Rozhi told me to do it!"

...Hey, Emily?

"And Rozhi was the one who noticed the kitchen maid's suspicious behavior too!"

No, Emily! That's not it!

"Quite a clever maid."

The butler gave Rozhi a quick once-over before turning back to the guidebook.

Rozhi figured nothing major would come of it and let things play out.

"Is this true?"

Having read the guidebook, the butler held it open in front of the kitchen maid.

She desperately shook her head in denial, but the truth came out in seconds.

Realizing she couldn't lie anymore, the kitchen maid confessed everything. At the butler's summons, Rozhi had brought Marie along.

"Repeat what you said earlier."

The butler commanded the kitchen maid with icy eyes, and she looked at Marie with teary ones.

"Maid Marie knew about my sick little brother and gave me money to drug the meals!"

"What the hell is this...? Butler, this is slander!"

"Silence!"

Determined not to go down alone, the kitchen maid spilled all the details.

Marie yelled denials with a flushed face, but too many pieces fit together perfectly.

"That kitchen maid is framing me!"

"Why would the kitchen maid go out of her way to frame you?"

"I don't know! I'm innocent! I swear!"

Even as Marie pleaded pitifully, the butler's gaze remained frigid.

"I'll report this to the marquis for now. Lock up the kitchen maid, and Marie, you reflect on your actions. It's circumstantial for now, but you'll be punished the moment evidence confirms it."

Marie ground her teeth and glared at Rozhi, who pretended not to notice and looked away.

While she was on meal duty, she had to block every potential issue.

This was good for the next maid who would take her place too.

"And Rozhi."

Rozhi hadn't expected the butler to call her name, so she widened her eyes.

"Ever thought about becoming his dedicated maid?"

"...Pardon?"

"They call the one the marquis brought home a monster. Say he curses people and bewitches them. But that's not true, unlike the rumors."

Hold on, butler. What are you saying?

The butler tried to persuade her, softening Rihart's image built by Arjen as much as possible.

But Rozhi knew what had happened to the original story's dedicated maids.

"It'll be easier than your current work. And your pay will go up."

"... "

"Not a bad deal. Hard to find better."

"...Butler, I."

Reading the refusal on her face, the butler spoke before she finished.

"Think it over and give me your answer..."

"I thought about it, and no thank you."

Her firm reply left the butler visibly flustered, but he quickly composed himself.

"Understood. If you're against it, I won't push."

"Thank you for the generous offer."

Fortunately, he didn't press further.

Rozhi planned to leave the marquis household as soon as she saved enough money.

She'd bolt before Rihart's escape in the story.

So no way was she becoming a dedicated maid with a death flag stamped on it.

With that resolve, she'd come to deliver Rihart's dinner...

"I heard you turned down the dedicated maid position."

How the hell do you know that?

"Why did you refuse?"

Incomprehensibly, his eyes darkened menacingly.

With Marie's issue resolved, Rozhi felt relieved as she headed to Rihart's room with his dinner.

"I heard you turned down the dedicated maid position."

But the moment she entered, Rihart asked point-blank.

How does he know?

Rihart was smiling, but it didn't look like genuine amusement.

"The gatekeeper told me."

As if reading her confusion, he revealed the source right away.

"The gatekeeper...?"

"Precisely, he overheard the gatekeeper talking to a friend outside."

Can he hear outside conversations from in here?

"Why did you refuse?"