Chapter 3

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Confrontation
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"The tray should be nearby..."

I emerged from the kitchen and scanned my surroundings. Just as I'd expected, my gaze landed on a maid about to pull away a lavish tray placed by the door. I couldn't recall her name, but I knew her well—she was Clarissa's personal maid.

What was on the tray was undoubtedly Clarissa's lunch.

"There it is!"

With a thoroughly intimidated expression, I lowered my head and clumsily advanced towards the tray. Until the water bottle on the top shelf of the tray collided with my forehead.

*CRASH—SMASH—!*

"Ouch!"

"Oh dear! Lady!"

The porcelain water bottle hit me, fell helplessly, and shattered, while the maid shrieked, at a loss for what to do.

"Couldn't you be more careful...!"

She clicked her tongue and grumbled. As I was little more than a scarecrow in the mansion, she showed no particular concern for whether I was hurt.

Her scowling expression resembled her mistress's, suggesting this maid was likely some distant relative of Clarissa's.

"I'll fetch another bottle, so please, just behave! Behave yourself!"

The maid left me with a scolding identical to Leroy's last words, then headed for the kitchen.

"Sorry. I'll behave."

I meekly nodded, as she'd instructed, and waited there.

After the maid disappeared from view, I meekly removed the cover from a dish on the tray and meekly swapped the bread inside with the one I held in my hand.

Then, I meekly pulled out the spoiled cakes and muffins from my pocket and swapped them with the dishes on the other plates.

Once all preparations were complete, I picked up the tempting dishes from the tray and returned to my room with demure steps.

I'd say I was pretty well-behaved, all things considered.

***

*CRUMBLE—*

I gripped the warm bread and squeezed, and the crust crumbled with a crisp sound. As I pulled my hands apart, the soft, white, chewy interior stretched out.

"Wow... that looks delicious."

I popped a small piece into my mouth, chewing with an exclamation of delight.

Since regressing and becoming a child, my self-control around food seemed to have weakened; the soft texture and savory aroma were almost dizzying.

Leroy might have a terrible temper, but he's a good cook.

I gulped down the milk Jena had brought and then reached for the cake. Judging by its refreshing scent and bright yellow color, it was a lemon cheesecake.

"Jena, want some?"

When I mumbled the question, Jena shook her head with a bewildered expression.

She had been staring at me with wide eyes ever since. That was because I hadn't properly explained where the food came from.

"It's really good, though."

I continued to bring muffin after muffin, each the size of a man's fist, to my plate. The dark brown bread, mixed with cocoa powder, had large chocolate chips studded throughout.

When I cut into it with a small knife, molten chocolate, like lava, oozed from the moist interior of the muffin.

A double, no, a *triple* chocolate muffin!

The moment I bit into the large, tempting morsel, my eyes gleaming, a thudding sound came from behind the door.

Ah, here they come.

I swallowed the rich, sweet liquid that filled my mouth and waited for her appearance.

*BANG—!*

"Harper Luperne."

The one who flung open the door without knocking was my father's wife, Clarissa Luperne. Her beautiful, porcelain-doll-like white face, devoid of even a speck of affection, glared at me.

"Hello, Madam."

"Don't play innocent, Harper."

At her gesture, the maid who had been guarding the tray earlier followed her into the room. Leroy, who had been standing behind them, also squeezed his large frame through the gap in my doorway.

The three of them glared at me with eyes that seemed ready to devour me. Despite my title as a Lady, no one seemed apologetic for bursting in without knocking.

"Madam, I don't know what's wrong, but the Lady is still eating..."

"Silence, Jena. Your accountability will be questioned soon enough."

Clarissa snapped at the quickly interjecting Jena, then spoke to her own maid again.

"Salia, repeat what you said earlier."

"While I briefly stepped away from the kitchen, Lady Harper was near the tray. It was clearly the Lady who swapped the food."

Oh right, her name was Salia.

Salia huffed, pointing at me. There was a red mark on her cheek, as if she'd been slapped somewhere.

'Her temper hasn't changed a bit.'

It was obvious. Salia must have set the table with the tray's contents without suspicion, and then, unfortunately, bit into the moldy bread, which enraged her.

Of course, anyone not an idiot would have known I was the culprit.

"Drag her out."

At Clarissa's command, Salia strode forward, roughly grabbed my arm where I sat, and pulled me to stand before the Madam.

"Ah, Lady!"

Jena, her face pale with fright, tried to intervene, but Leroy's large frame blocked her, preventing her from reaching me.

"To dare tamper with my meal... I wonder how many days of confinement it will take for you to come to your senses this time."

Clarissa leaned down, met my gaze, and murmured. Her cold gaze, which I met while my arm was held fast by Salia, was quite chilling.

Even in my previous life, Clarissa hated me.

Before I turned ten, it was she, more than Callista, who directly tormented me, and the most terrifying thing for me was encountering Clarissa.

At one point, I even thought Clarissa was just trying to curry favor with Callista.

Clarissa appeared quite courteous to Callista on the surface, and the assumption that others disliked me because the next head of the family did seemed plausible.

Of course, that naive thought changed a few years later.

When the opportunity arose, Clarissa joined hands with my father's younger brother and several members of the Luperne Elder Council to assassinate Callista, and in return, Callista, upon ascending to the Duchy, purged Clarissa.

I raised my eyes and looked directly at Clarissa. Recalling her miserable end, I wasn't as afraid as before.

"What did I do wrong?"

"You think trying to feed me that garbage isn't wrong?"

"But, but Leroy clearly said it was a very precious food, something even His Majesty the Emperor eats."

I answered with wide, innocent eyes, like a child.

"It just didn't suit my taste, and coincidentally... coincidentally, your tray only had cheap, common white bread, so I swapped them. I thought food fit for the Emperor should go to you, Madam..."

Leroy's expression, standing behind Clarissa, clouded over.

"Th-that's a lie!"

Perhaps believing that glaring from behind would prevent me from confessing honestly, Leroy stammered out an excuse in a panic.

"I've lived in the kitchen for a total of thirty years, Madam! There's no way I'd send such food to the dining table!"

"It's true. Everyone in the kitchen heard it earlier. And I received that kind of bread every single day."

I shook my head, not backing down. Leroy's eyes widened even further.

Clarissa glared at me without a word. She was maintaining her composure well, but I didn't miss her blinking rapidly several times. It was a habit she only had when flustered.

I instantly knew Clarissa had known everything for a long time. Since Leroy was, in any case, from her family, a little embezzlement of funds in this Duchy, which overflowed with wealth, was of no concern to her.

In return, the Ducal family would gain one more loyal servant.

"...Is what you're saying true? That you ate moldy bread every day?"

Clarissa asked coolly. I nodded.

"If that's the case, then."

A cold smile touched her lips, and her equally cold gaze passed over me to land on Jena.

"Then I should suspect your maid, Jena, first. She dared to pilfer her mistress's food for her own gain."

"Madam! That's unfair!"

As Jena's face turned ashen, Leroy's face brightened.

"What do you say? Should I search Jena's room right now, turn it completely upside down? If even a single suspicious item, or a penny of unknown origin, turns up, she'll be half-dead and thrown out of the Duchy."

Clarissa gripped my shoulder tightly and spoke in a whisper. She knew well how to frighten a child to the utmost.

To take the closest person, the only one I could rely on, as a hostage and threaten them.

"If you admit your mistake now and beg for forgiveness, I might let it slide this once. Of course, you'll still have to be punished."

She tried to persuade me with a chilling smile. As Jena tried to interject, Salia grabbed her arm.

"Now, what..."

"Alright."

I looked her straight in the eye and said. Clarissa's eyes blinked rapidly a few times.

"...What did you say?"

"You said stealing my food was a big deal. You need to find the person who did wrong, so search away."

As I answered, lifting my head even more defiantly, Clarissa's grip on my shoulder tightened.

"You truly don't care if Jena is thrown out of the Duchy?"

"If Jena is the culprit. Of course."

I pointed at Leroy, who was nervously twisting his mustache, and said.

"Leroy should be searched too."

The fingers that had been tugging his mustache froze in place, and Clarissa's eyebrows twitched sharply.

"We don't know if the food was problematic from the kitchen, or if it became strange after passing through Jena, do we? So, it's only fair to search both of them."

I raised my voice slightly, insisting. So that the commotion could be clearly heard outside the door.

"I am the Lady of this Ducal family! Don't delude yourself into thinking a mere child can dictate how a search is conducted."

"But determining the guilt or innocence of servants isn't even your authority, Madam. That's..."

I glanced towards the door, raising my voice even more.

He should be passing by here about now.

"That's Uncle Theon the Butler's job!"

As the Butler's name left my lips, Clarissa flinched. Her pretty face twisted even further.

She took a moment to compose herself, then opened her mouth.

"...It seems I've been negligent in your education. To be so undisciplined."

"My education is also Uncle Theon the Butler's responsibility."

"How dare you!"

Clarissa's brow furrowed intensely, and she raised one hand high, as if to strike me.

Instead of dodging her hand or squeezing my eyes shut, I smiled brightly at the figure visible over Clarissa's shoulder.

Right on time.