Chapter 21
Erica roughly rubbed her face with a half-dried hand, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Then she tidied her messy hair and tied it tightly with a ribbon.
It felt a bit gross not having washed her face, but there was no helping it.
Next, she pulled out the most comfortable and least cumbersome everyday outfit from the clothes she had brought.
All the other clothes were old hand-me-downs from the real Lady Blanche, but this particular outfit had been prepared for her personally by the girl’s mother, Julia.
It was one of the best and neatest pieces of clothing Erica had secretly packed when leaving Bonpiju.
“Alright. Let’s head out.”
Erica, now dressed, took a deep breath with a determined look on her face, gathered her strength, and carefully opened the door.
Erica hurried down to the first floor.
She remembered the lessons that a proper noble lady should never run, so she walked fast — nearly a jog.
But it didn’t seem like anyone was watching, so she figured it would be okay.
Actually, Erica had planned to ask for help if she ran into anyone along the way. Strangely, though, she didn’t run into a single person.
‘How is this even possible?’
Tilting her head in confusion, she wondered.
The mansion, which felt like a castle, was so vast that by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was out of breath.
‘But seriously, where is everyone?’
Tilt, tilt.
Her head shifted side to side.
‘Where could they all be?’
Standing in the middle of the entrance hall, Erica thought about where the other servants might be.
“Maybe the kitchen?”
Servants usually gathered in that area.
There was a break room nearby, and there were usually snacks or leftovers to nibble on, so people lingered around.
Though unfamiliar with the place, Erica quickly found the kitchen.
As expected, she could hear quiet chatter coming from inside.
“Um, excuse me.”
Peeking her face through the door, Erica hesitantly greeted them.
The chatting stopped, and the people inside turned their attention to the girl.
Three or four maids were gathered around a long table in one corner of the kitchen.
“Oh my, oh my.”
“Who’s this little one?”
“Never seen her before.”
Was it because she wasn’t wearing Lady Blanche’s usual dresses, but rather the casual clothes Julia had given her, and her hair was simply tied up in a ponytail?
Whatever the reason, they misunderstood.
“Ah! Are you the girl who came from the capital with the young lady?”
“Huh? Oh, um…”
Erica’s speech was slow, and she felt a compulsive pressure to be cautious with her words. So, she couldn’t correct them immediately.
“Looks like she came to get the young lady’s wash water.”
When one of the maids said this confidently, the others all nodded in agreement.
“But isn’t she too young to serve as a maid?”
“Maybe she’s just a companion to keep her company?”
“Well, could be.”
“Didn’t the night shift girls mention anything?”
“They’re too busy sleeping.”
And so the misunderstanding only grew stronger before it could be cleared up.
Thankfully, they didn’t seem suspicious.
The maids efficiently handed Erica a wooden tray, a silver basin, and a clean water container.
“Whoa!”
Caught off guard by the sudden weight, Erica’s arms dropped under the load.
If the maid hadn’t quickly supported it, she would have dropped everything.
“Are you okay? Is it too heavy? Want me to carry it?”
“Oh, n-no…”
She completely missed her chance to clarify her identity.
At this point, if she came clean, their faces would definitely turn pale.
And from what she overheard, the people who greeted her yesterday must’ve been on the night shift…
So it made sense they wouldn’t recognize her yet.
‘It’s just a misunderstanding.’
It wasn’t like they meant any harm. Erica didn’t want to correct them unnecessarily.
After all, she herself had lived as a servant in the Marquisate of Blanche for a long time.
That’s probably why she didn’t want to make a fuss.
‘This much is fine. I’ll just carry it myself.’
She had only almost dropped it because she was startled — it was actually manageable.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
She gave the maids a short nod and turned around — then stopped and spoke again.
“Ah, also…”
“Yes?”
Not sure how to refer to herself, Erica hesitated before speaking vaguely.
“Um… I think the wash rope is broken. Could you let someone know?”
“Oh really? Alright, thanks for telling us. That could’ve been a big problem.”
“Thank you.”
Even after she thanked them, Erica didn’t move.
Her gaze had gotten stuck on the basket of bread.
A moment ago, she hadn’t been thinking about food, but now that the aroma of freshly baked bread hit her, her mouth began to water.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
One of the maids suddenly stood and grabbed a piece of bread.
“Hey! Someone hand me a spare apron!”
With quick hands, the maid tied an apron on Erica and tucked the bread into its pocket.
“I-it’s okay!”
Erica quickly came to her senses and declined, but the maid insisted.
“Take it. We all have to eat, right?”
“Thank you.”
With a hesitant smile, Erica left the kitchen.
She retraced her steps exactly.
Still, no one was in sight.
‘This really is strange.’
It felt like the entire place had been purposely emptied.
‘Do the Duke and his son prefer this kind of atmosphere?’
She made a mental note to find out later, then cautiously ascended the stairs.
Finally arriving at her room, Erica set the tray down on the floor.
“Phew.”
As she bent over, the bread fell from her apron pocket.
She quickly picked it up and brushed it off with her hands.
Then she wiped the sweat from her forehead and threw the door open wide.
As she tried to lift the tray again, her arms gave out, so she ended up dragging it across the floor inside.
She was just about to close the door when—
Someone at the far end of the hallway saw her and gasped.
“Huff! This is bad…!”
The door shut with a thud, and the onlooker sprang into action.
“Oh no, oh no! When did she wake up?”
No, more importantly — when did she even leave the room?
I’ve been keeping watch here since early morning!
I just stepped away for a moment to use the bathroom!
Could she have slipped out during that time?
Panicking, the girl sprinted like a cat in the night toward the head maid Alma’s room.
The hem of her maid uniform fluttered as she ran.
“Mrs. Alma! Something terrible has happened!”
Coincidentally, Vincent had come to see Alma about work, and frowned at the sudden commotion.
“What is all this noise about?”
“Haah, haah. Oh, Head Butler, you’re here too?”
The short-haired maid gasped for air, her whole body trembling.
She was trying to talk, but was too breathless to be clear.
“I’m sorry for running, but this is really urgent…!”
“Urgent? What do you mean?”
Vincent looked at her with clear disapproval, annoyed by the chaos.
Alma also glanced at him, worried.
“Joanna, dear, please calm down and speak clearly.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Alma handed her a glass of water.
After gulping it down and offering a quick thanks, the maid blurted out:
“The young lady took her own wash water!”
“…What?”
“What did you just say?”
“Well, I’m not totally sure! She was dressed casually, so maybe not! But she went into that room without knocking, so I’m almost certain!”
“Can you please calm down and speak like a normal person? I can’t make any sense of this.”
Joanna nervously glanced between them.
Then, lowering her voice and adding excuses along the way, she explained:
“I had a stomachache, so I went to the bathroom for just a moment… I think the young lady must’ve left her room during that time.”
Vincent’s brow deeply furrowed.
Joanna added one more detail.
“Oh — and she picked up some bread that fell on the floor!”
“…What?”
“What if she eats that?!”
Surely not, right?
At that thought, Vincent’s face turned ghostly pale.
Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack!
Vincent marched quickly but precisely down the corridor.
His always neatly slicked-back hair now had one strand hanging out of place.
Just from that, the servants could tell how urgent the situation was.
In truth, Vincent was in turmoil.
‘How shameful this must look!’
Behind him followed Head Maid Alma and Joanna.
The three soon arrived in front of Erica’s room.
Vincent took a long breath, then knocked with practiced formality.
“Excuse me.”
He realized too late that he hadn’t waited for permission — his hand had already moved to open the door.
And then Vincent gasped.
“L-Lady Erica!”
