Chapter 9
Episode 9
"I have no reason to leave."
"Rosie, does that mean you're going to cause trouble for all of us?"
"Trouble? Watch your words. The moment I entered this mansion as a maid, I had the right to eat here. And I have no reason to give up that right just because of your absurd logic."
"So you're saying you'll harm us to protect your rights?"
"Before that. You should think about who brought that monster into this mansion before you speak."
As if asking what that meant, Marie furrowed her brows and looked at me.
"It's the Marquis. The Marquis brought that monster here, so isn't insulting him first, since he's had contact with the monster?"
"What nonsense is that! How can you spout such rubbish......!"
"Yeah, bringing up the Marquis over your ridiculous story is nonsense."
"......"
"And clearly, your words right now are insulting all the maids who've attended that monster's meals so far. No one buys that childish nonsense, so cut it out."
At my words, those who had been keeping their heads down and watching nervously glared at Marie.
They must have been too afraid of receiving the same treatment as me to say anything.
From what I could see, Marie seemed to hold a fairly high rank among the maids. That's why no one was contradicting this unreasonable situation.
"Anyway, since there's no food today, I'll be going. Don't pull this kind of prank next time, okay?"
Why bully each other when we're all working hard?
"You're pathetic."
Though I couldn't eat, I felt refreshed having said my piece. I averted my gaze from the trembling Marie and grabbed Emily's arm.
"Let's go, Emily."
Maybe if we went to the Head Chef now and explained, he'd give us some food.
But Emily's body didn't budge an inch.
......Huh?
Her arm felt quite rigid through the thin fabric. What were these muscles?
"Rosie."
Emily's voice calling my name was chilling.
"......Emily?"
"Lock the door."
......The door? Why?
Suddenly, Emily's intimidating aura made me unable to ignore her words.
As if possessed, I locked the door.
It felt like the genre had suddenly shifted to thriller......
I blankly watched what Emily was doing.
Emily's unexpected actions brought a heavy silence to the room.
They watched her just like I did.
Emily strode to the center of the maids. Then, stopping at the middle of the table, she slammed her hand down on it.
Bam!
With an enormous sound, cracks spiderwebbed across the table at rapid speed.
......My god. What just happened?
"Who stole Rosie and my meals?!"
Emily's eyes gleamed with madness.
Look at that.
This is what happens when you don't feed someone.
* * *
After Emily smashed the table in the dining hall, total chaos ensued.
Emily rampaged, demanding they confess quickly, and in the end, she got all the bread the maids had received.
I was bewildered by the food that had multiplied several times over from yesterday but didn't refuse it.
I vaguely thought the other maids wouldn't dare mess with Emily anymore.
Even I, who had witnessed the scene, thought I needed to be careful around her.
After the small commotion, as always, I went to bring Rihart his meal.
But Rihart was staring at me intently.
Did I have something on my face?
"......Miss maid, there's something on your face."
It really was there.
"Looks like blood......"
"......"
"Who hurt you?"
Looking into his complexly swirling blue eyes, I thought.
Ah, this isn't my blood.
I know him.
Deep down, he's a person converging toward zero empathy, without blood or tears, but on the surface, he's convincingly well-put-together.
He asks with concern, but I know it's fake and not from the heart.
I wiped the blood from my cheek that I hadn't noticed and said calmly.
"This isn't my blood."
"......Then why is someone else's blood on you?"
"These things happen in life."
"......"
Sometimes blood gets on your face. It happens.
You, who's sent many people off, should know that.
I assumed he knew the circumstances of how someone else's blood ended up on me and kept my mouth shut.
Rihart quietly looked at me like that before soon wearing his usual seductive smile.
"Don't get hurt, miss maid."
"I'm not hurt."
"I'm worried."
I looked into his blue eyes devoid of warmth.
Sure you are.
* * *
After the dining hall incident, Marie subtly bullied me from behind the scenes.
She couldn't be overt because of Emily, but petty harassments continued.
Deliberately giving wrong information, tripping me on the way to bring Rihart's meal, and especially rumors.
A baseless rumor had spread among the maids that I'd been cursed by the monster.
What the hell is her problem......?
It was more than annoying.
"I'm gonna......!"
"Calm down, Emily."
"Do I look calm? Why is she suddenly acting like this? Did something happen between you two?"
The losing-it Emily tried to pull a knife hidden in her bosom, and I hurriedly stopped her hand.
......Why does she have a knife in her bosom of all places?
"Emily, no violence."
"No this, no that—what can I do?"
"Eat?"
Only then did Emily look satisfied.
Actually, I had one guess.
Last time, the maids offered to take over Rihart's meal duty for me.
But I refused the offer, and from then on, the maids' attitudes changed abruptly.
Centered around that maid named Marie.
That meant my doing the meal duty was disadvantageous to her......
The most prominent thing I'd done differently was monitoring so the kitchen maid couldn't add drugs to the food.
Did Marie instruct the kitchen maid to add the drugs?
Things were starting to fit together piece by piece.
Hmm...... This is tricky.
About 4 days left until the end of Rihart's meal duty.
Should I just leave them be, or......
This is problematic.
* * *
Lately, it wasn't just the maids acting strangely.
"......Where does it hurt this time?"
This is weird. Rihart, who should be much tougher than me, kept whining about some pain every time I arrived.
At first, I was slightly startled by his complaints of pain, but this was the umpteenth time. Suspicion was starting to sprout.
"It doesn't hurt much, so if you stay by my side, miss maid, I'll be fine."
"If it doesn't hurt much, you should be fine alone."
"Nurse me. It's lonely by myself."
You said you're kind to patients.
His eyes rounded innocently as he added that. He must have gotten a taste for teasing me.
"And miss maid, you seem to be with the Guard outside all the time."
That's to keep the Guard from messing with you.
"Then you can stay by my side."
"Why does it always twist into that?"
"Do you hate me by any chance?"
His pitifully downcast eyes evoked a poignant beauty, making my hand tremble reflexively.
Damn it, why is he so pretty?
Did he act like this with all the maids who came for meal duty?
"Yes, I hate you."
"Being too honest hurts."
"It's fine. I'm not the one getting hurt."
A normal person would surely be hurt, but my opponent was Rihart. He chuckled lowly, as if enjoying my reaction.
His sweet laughter echoed through the room.
Mom, he's weird......
"Alright, miss maid. Then from now on, we can get close."
"......Why should I?"
"Because I like you, miss maid."
"I don't particularly like you......"
Without a hint of hesitation in my reply, his expression changed slightly. It was wistful, his pupils filled with melancholy......
Facing those mesmerizing blue eyes that seemed to pull me in, for a moment, I couldn't think straight.
"Really?"
His silver eyelashes quivered, his red lips twitched.
As if enchanted, I nearly corrected what I'd just said. That I liked him.
Only then did I realize. This is the honey trap.
Everything before had been nothing compared to this—he was a master at bewitching people.
"Ahem! We've talked too long. Eat your meal."
I shoved the plate toward him.
The more I talked to him, the more I felt myself getting ensnared, so I hurriedly ended the conversation.
As if peering into my thoughts, Rihart stared at me quietly before picking up the spoon.
Thinking it would finally quiet down, he scooped a spoonful of soup and his expression stiffened rigidly.
"......"
"......Does it taste weird?"
