Chapter 53
53
53. The Baron family's Secret Maid (6)
"I heard you're leaving soon, is that right?"
"Yes. Just for a while."
"Is it really just for a while?"
As I looked at Lenika as if asking what she meant, she sniffled.
"Paula. I haven't known you for long, but I know you're a good person. At least, you're diligent in your work and not someone who whines."
"Why are you saying that..."
"What I want to say is, don't trust anyone here."
Her firm voice echoed in my ears. The truth was reflected in her hardened eyes. I couldn't understand her words, but a strange fear arose in my heart. I felt a chill run down my spine and grabbed my arms.
"As you know, this is the Baron family's mansion, and the management of servants is strict. Male and female servants are not allowed to have personal contact. That's one of the rules you have to follow while working here. It's because frequent contact can lead to impure thoughts. It's happened a lot in the past, and it's happening again now."
"......"
"Do you understand?"
Understand what? I couldn't make a sound and just moved my lips. She seemed to understand my question and distorted her face as if she was about to cry.
"That all of our servants' every move is under surveillance."
"......"
"If you act against the established rules and there's no chance of returning to normal during the grace period given, that's the end. You said earlier that the two people didn't disappear because they wanted to, right? That's because the two of them secretly met again during the grace period given by the butler."
She said that the maid who shared a room with them reported the fact that the two had secretly met. If someone reports a person who is in a grace period, the reporter receives a reward. Then what happens to the reported person?
"The two of them suddenly disappeared."
"......!"
"And yesterday, the maid who shares a room with her said that one of the servants saw suspicious people near the mansion while returning from an errand for the butler. They were covering their faces so she couldn't tell who they were, but they seemed like a group of burly men. They were carrying something, and it looked like... a person."
Lenika paused and took a breath. There was no need to ask what that meant. Her subsequent tears answered for her.
"The disappeared maid was someone who helped me a lot. She was a good person. She said she came to this mansion as a servant to pay off her family's debt. She always wore a bracelet made of thread that her mother made for her, and everyone knew it because of its unique shape. But that, that was rolling around where those people were standing."
"......"
"Who made them like that, you probably know without me having to say it."
She was right. After hearing about the maid and servant who secretly nurtured their love in the middle of the night, several figures flashed through my mind. Vincent wasn't one of them. He doesn't even care about managing his subordinates.
"Paula, listen to me carefully. Never stand out. Don't become special. Live like the other servants, following the rules and holding your breath. That's how we can survive safely in this mansion. We're the lowest class, existences that no one would know if we died."
She lifted her apron and wiped her face. But no matter how much she wiped, the tears that flowed down again covered her face.
"Don't forget. If someone like us, a lower person, gets on the wrong side of the mansion's higher-ups, there will be no more peace. I'm not talking about the master. Rather, the master is not interested in servants like us. Be careful of someone below that, but who can wield power equal to the master."
Lenika warned me with a tear-stained face. Looking at her, I couldn't say anything.
\ \ *
I left the Bellunita mansion sooner than originally planned. It was because a stranger had invaded the mansion. It was late at night when everyone was asleep, but they had recently strengthened security even more, so I couldn't figure out where they had entered.
Late at night when everyone was asleep, I couldn't sleep and tossed and turned all night. Eventually, I gave up on sleeping and got up to drink some water, only to be startled. A black shadow flickered on the transparent curtain.
At first, I thought I was seeing things. I wanted to believe it was a dream. I had left the window open tonight because it was stuffy, but I never imagined that someone would come in through the balcony. The shape of a black person was clearly visible through the fluttering curtains, and my hand groping on the bedside table touched a cup.
Crash! The sound of shattering echoed in the room. Taking that sound as a signal, I immediately jumped out of bed and ran towards the door. But I couldn't take a few steps before a black person grabbed my shoulder. I struggled, but it was no use.
I was pushed against the wall by a strong force. The intruder strangled my neck. And then, something flashed before my eyes. Even though it was dark, I realized it was a knife. That would pierce my skin and burst my blood. I was so scared that tears welled up in my eyes.
So, this is how I die.
It was the moment when tears were about to burst out of despair.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Both I and the other person looked towards the door. Vincent entered the room, groping around with his hands. Then he immediately raised his hand towards us. He was holding a gun in his hand.
The moment I realized that, I didn't even think about how he would shoot without being able to see, or whether he could hit accurately. I just thought that I had to get out of the other person's grasp. So, I grabbed the fingers strangling my neck and twisted them. The other person groaned and loosened his grip. I didn't miss the opportunity and slipped out, crouching on the floor.
'Kyaaak!'
Soon after, a gunshot rang out. Not just once, but in succession. I covered my head with both hands and trembled.
Eerie gunshots and the sound of something colliding were heard in succession. The noisy noise continued for a while, then suddenly stopped.
I didn't have the courage to check the situation. All I could do was crouch down and tremble. After a while, the sound of footsteps approaching stopped in front of me. Soon after, something touched my head. I flinched.
'It's okay.'
'Ugh!'
Hearing Vincent's voice, I finally burst into tears that I had been holding back. Fear and relief stirred in my heart at the same time. I couldn't even think of getting up and just sobbed while crouching down. He stroked my head soothingly.
The guards who heard the gunshot ran to my room. I stopped crying and raised my head at the sound of them asking what was going on. The guards mustn't realize Vincent's condition... Fortunately, the room was dark, and Vincent skillfully announced the intrusion of a stranger.
Other servants who heard the gunshot might come. I tried to calm myself and headed to his room with Vincent.
As soon as I entered the room, I collapsed on the bed. Unlike the chaotic moment before, my mind was blank. What had happened to me felt like a dream. But as if to say it wasn't a dream, I felt a tingling pain in my neck, which had been strangled.
I sat blankly, groping my neck, when I felt a bustling movement next to me. When I glanced over, I saw him pouring water into a cup. But he lost his direction and poured water on his hand instead of the cup. Seeing the pouring water soaking his hands and arms, I came to my senses.
'I'll do it.'
'It's okay.'
He groped around with his hands and finally poured the water, handing me the cup and sitting next to me. I gulped down the water, which was filled to the brim and teetered precariously. As I drank the cool water, I felt like my heart was soothed a little.
While sipping the remaining water, I glanced at Vincent, who was groping for the gun. It was a familiar object. It was what he had held up to me when he was fighting with me.
Recalling the situation just now, I realized that his actions were very dangerous to me as well. A person who can't see shooting a gun. What if he hit me? I screamed to let him know my location, but even thinking about it again, it was too dangerous.
But Vincent shot the gun without the slightest hesitation. He said he was confident in shooting, so it must not have been an empty boast.
I sniffled as I looked at him.
'How did you know to come?'
'I heard a sound.'
'Didn't you say you didn't have any bullets?'
'I never said that.'
'Then why didn't you shoot before?'
'If I shot because I felt bad, I'd look like a real madman.'
I was surprised this time in a different sense at his very normal words.
A little later, Isabella came into the room. She looked at Vincent's condition with a hurried face.
'Are you alright?'
'I'm fine. I can feel the wind, so it seems like he came in through the balcony over the open window. Even though there should have been guards around.'
'The guards are currently searching the room. We will also immediately investigate the situation with the guards guarding this area.'
But those guards were already dead. The guards guarding the Separate Residence where Vincent was staying were said to be the most skilled in the Baron family. Seeing that he had defeated such skilled people and entered, I thought that the assassin was no ordinary person.
The assassin who was shot by Vincent and ran away was found in the forest not far from the Separate Residence. It seemed that he had committed suicide by taking poison after failing the assassination. In the end, I couldn't find out who had ordered it. But there was no need to find out who was trying to kill me, a mere maid, by hiring an assassin.
In the end, as soon as this morning dawned, Vincent ordered me to leave the mansion immediately. During the morning, I cleaned his room as usual, attended to him, and prepared to leave. Then I said goodbye to the servants I knew at least. The carriage arrived a little after noon.
Vincent didn't see me off. He said he didn't want to act like someone who was saying goodbye forever when we would meet again. I agreed with him.
Instead, Isabella accompanied me. As soon as I got into the carriage and sat down, Isabella, who followed, took a seat opposite me. Looking at her, I remembered what Lenika had said a few days ago.
