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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: This Isn't Right
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“Speak.”
Demian put down the documents he was holding and adopted the posture of a proper superior, ready to listen to his subordinate.
But Rosalyn misunderstood even that, thinking it meant he had some interest in her.
「Demian Vandermir is the kind of man who wouldn’t even spare a glance if he wasn’t interested, so keep that in mind.」
She had received such advice from the Ducal Family before, which made her even more prone to misinterpret.
Swallowing dryly, Rosalyn stood before the desk, clasping her hands together.
“From the moment I first saw you, I’ve adored you, Master. Even when Lady Aracilla coldly shunned me, you accepted me.”
“……”
“I tried to suppress these feelings, but my heart is so full of love for you that I can’t hold back anymore.”
Her voice, intentionally given a slight tremor, was pitifully delicate to hear. With tears welling in her eyes, Rosalyn looked at Demian.
Even amidst this, he wore an expressionless face, his thoughts unreadable. His golden eyes, beneath the shadows cast by the window, shone with a clear light.
“I don’t dare ask you to accept my feelings. But……”
Rosalyn drew out her words in a seductive whine, then walked around the desk directly toward Demian. His dark brows twitched.
Rosalyn intended to embrace him, cling to him, and whisper, “You can do whatever you want with me,” to punctuate her seduction.
It was the moment she threw herself into Demian’s arms, like a small bird.
‘A man could never refuse…!’
*Thud*, *Splat!*
Demian kicked his feet back, moving his chair and himself away. As a result, Rosalyn didn’t land in his broad embrace but sprawled onto the floor.
Rosalyn’s face hit the cold, bare floor, and she lifted her head with a dazed expression. Demian looked down at her with a look of contempt.
‘This isn’t… what I expected…’
Leaving her bewildered, Demian rang the bell to summon the Butler. The loud chime brought the Butler rushing in.
“What is it, Master!”
“Albert, call the Head Maid immediately and have her take this person out.”
“Y-yes?”
Albert was flustered to see Rosalyn sitting blankly beside the desk.
‘No, why is the maid sitting there…?’
He, at least, followed his master’s command and brought the Head Maid to take Rosalyn away.
“It seems you need to re-educate your maids.”
Demian warned the Head Maid in a chilling voice. His golden eyes, like melted sun, turned towards Rosalyn.
“And you, don’t overstep your bounds.”
The pressure, palpable even from a distance, made Rosalyn gasp. Her legs trembled uncontrollably.
“Understood. I am truly sorry, Master.”
The Head Maid dragged her away, bowing her head as they exited.
The Head Maid took Rosalyn to a secluded spot and burst out.
“What in the world did you do! How could you make the Master so angry!”
“…I just confessed my love and tried to seduce him. I didn’t even touch a hair on his body!”
Rosalyn, belatedly overwhelmed by shame and embarrassment, replied, her face turning crimson up to her neck.
It was the first time she had ever been rejected by a man in such a way, and her pride was wounded; she felt like crying.
“Ugh, you foolish girl.”
The Head Maid clucked her tongue and shook her head. She had been against this plan from the start.
The Vandermir Ducal Family might not have known because they weren’t interested in Demian, but he had always been popular among the maids and received many such advances. However, he had always coldly rebuffed them like a block of wood.
Even if Rosalyn was among the prettiest maids she had ever seen, it wouldn’t make any difference.
“Look how distant the Master is with Lady Aracilla, even though she’s so beautiful after their marriage. Do you think he’d notice you? You should have just kept trying to undermine Lady Aracilla’s position, like you were doing.”
She had naturally expected Demian’s seduction plan to fail, but she had secretly admired Rosalyn’s skill in isolating Audrey and damaging Aracilla’s reputation.
But to ruin it like this, all the opportunities they had painstakingly created were about to vanish.
“Hmph, my feminine charm is superior to Lady Aracilla’s, you know? And to completely undermine her position, I needed to seduce the Master anyway!”
“Then what good is it! You failed!”
Rosalyn’s words caught in her throat, and her lips parted. The Head Maid sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead.
“The Master will never keep a maid like you in this mansion.”
“…Am I going to be thrown out like this?”
“Exactly, who told you to act so rashly? I’ll plead for some time, so you figure out what you’re going to do within that period.”
After the Head Maid left with a stern warning, Rosalyn bit her lip in frustration.
‘What do I do now?’
The seduction failed, so she had to try another method. She had to bring down Aracilla even more completely than she herself had fallen.
Even if the position of Demian’s mistress was out of reach, she couldn’t back down considering the compensation promised by the Vandermir Ducal Family.
* * *
The Head Maid bought her three days of reprieve.
Within that time, Rosalyn had to return with some tangible results. Only then would the Vandermir Ducal Family hand over at least half of the promised compensation.
「If you failed to seduce Demian Vandermir, at least bring back a weakness of Aracilla Hugo.」
Just then, a letter arrived from the Ducal Family with a similar directive. Rosalyn bit her lip tightly.
‘It’s better this way. Since I’m back as Lady Aracilla’s maid, this is more advantageous.’
For the three days before she was to leave the mansion, Rosalyn resumed working under Aracilla as before. It was only natural for a maid who tried to seduce her master to be dismissed.
Fortunately, thanks to the Head Maid’s protection, this fact was not widely known to others.
Everyone just thought she had been transferred to the Master’s care due to an awkward relationship with Audrey, and then returned because of a shortage of hands.
Upon her return, Rosalyn first took over her colleagues’ duties as before. Of course, this was a purposeful action.
“I’ll clean Lady Aracilla’s dressing room by myself. You all can rest.”
“Are you sure about that, Rosalyn?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Since I’m back, I can do it alone, it’ll help me stretch a bit.”
Rosalyn deliberately pushed the hesitant maids out, leaving herself alone in the dressing room. She surveyed the room with sharp eyes.
This was Aracilla’s completely private space. If she were hiding something, it would clearly be in the dressing room rather than the bedroom.
‘I must find something that can be a weakness!’
Rosalyn frantically searched the dressing room. The vanity, sofa, wardrobe, side table, jewelry box… She meticulously rummaged through the dresses and even lifted all the carpets.
After hours of searching the room like a madwoman, when nothing turned up, a weary Rosalyn slumped to the floor.
‘Ha, I can’t go back empty-handed.’
She closed her eyes and lay down, then abruptly turned her head to the side. And when she opened her eyes again—
‘Huh? What’s that?’
Rosalyn discovered something attached beneath the luxurious white vanity adorned with gold.
She scrambled to her feet and crawled over, tearing off what was stuck under the vanity. It was a sealed document.
‘Seeing as it’s hidden like this, something important that shouldn’t be revealed must be inside… Suspicious.’
Rosalyn instinctively sensed she had found Aracilla’s weakness and was about to tear open the document with a triumphant smile when—
“Rosalyn, are you in here?”
The door opened, and a voice called out to her. Startled, Rosalyn quickly put the document back in its place and stood up.
The person she faced was none other than Audrey. Audrey frowned, surveying the messy dressing room.
“W-what? Why are you looking for me…?”
“You said you’d clean the dressing room by yourself. I thought it might be too much, so I came to check, and instead of cleaning, you’ve made a complete mess.”
“Ah…”
She had turned the dressing room upside down in her search for Aracilla’s weakness. She had planned to tidy up before leaving, but Audrey had arrived first.
“What in the world are you doing? Did you dare lay hands on Lady Aracilla’s belongings?”
“N-no! It’s not! I was just curious and looking around, and then I accidentally…”
Rosalyn waved her hands frantically. Cold sweat ran down her back.
‘…Did Audrey see me touch the document earlier?’
Even if she hadn’t, it would be a huge problem if it became known that she had searched the dressing room.
“I’m sorry, Audrey. Please, please don’t tell Lady Aracilla. I must have lost my mind for a moment. I won’t do it again, okay? The truth is, I grew up in hardship when I was little…”
“Enough. I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses.”
Audrey replied coldly. Then, with a distressed look, she began picking up the items scattered messily on the floor. Rosalyn also, watching her, helped tidy up.
“Um, Audrey…”
“Rosalyn, I’ve been meaning to tell you. You put on too much makeup when you work. And instead of trying to win people over by doing their work unnecessarily, just do your own job properly.”
Audrey’s chilly voice and sharp, reprimanding gaze stung Rosalyn. She clenched her teeth, her jaw trembling.
This moment of being scolded by Audrey was too humiliating to bear.
But fearing she might displease Audrey if she argued, she said nothing. She had something to hide, so she had no choice.
Audrey, with an unfeeling expression, raised a hand and pointed towards the door.
“If you understand me, get out now. I can’t entrust the room’s cleaning to someone who carelessly lays hands on Lady Aracilla’s belongings.”
“About today’s incident…”
“Yes, I’ll overlook it. But I’m only letting it slide this one time.”
Whatever else, Audrey was firm and harsh when it came to matters concerning Aracilla.
However, considering her master’s desire to avoid conflict with the maids, she intended to overlook today’s incident just this once.
Although she got the answer she wanted, Rosalyn left the dressing room feeling uneasy and uncomfortable.
‘Audrey, you’re so annoying. Who knows if she’ll keep her promise after saying that?’
Rosalyn’s eyes, as she stomped down the corridor, gleamed with resentment towards Audrey and anxiety that she might report her to Aracilla.
‘Even if I have to leave, I need to deal with her.’
* * *
The commotion started just past noon.
“Someone stole my necklace!”
Someone screamed. It was lunchtime, so most of the maids were gathered in the dining hall.
Audrey turned her head to identify the maid. It was Amy, a maid who shared a room with Rosalyn and was very close to her.
That’s why she was particularly hostile towards Audrey.
The maids, led by Rosalyn, formed a large group, comforting Amy and making a fuss.
Audrey, who was eating alone, also glanced their way.
“Everyone, please listen! Amy’s mother’s heirloom necklace is missing, so would it be alright if we searched everyone’s rooms? If you have nothing to hide, you’d naturally agree, right?”
One of the maids gathered around Amy stepped forward and spoke assertively. It was an almost forced request for consent.
Audrey was reluctant to have her room searched but had no choice but to allow it. It was obvious how they would react if she refused.
‘It has nothing to do with me anyway.’
Audrey didn’t know what Amy’s mother’s heirloom necklace was, nor had she ever seen it. So she couldn’t have stolen it.
Instead, she recalled Aracilla’s words from this morning, that she might leave work early that evening.
‘Since she said she’d be back early for once, should I go meet Lady Aracilla at the Magic Tower?’
She could picture Aracilla’s delighted face if she waited in front of the Magic Tower with a carriage at her dismissal time.
A smile naturally formed on Audrey’s lips. Life at the Vandermir mansion wasn’t easy, but with her master, she could endure.
Just then, several shadows fell over Audrey’s head.
“Audrey, could you come with us for a moment?”
“Why?”
“Amy’s necklace was found in your room. Explain what happened.”
