Chapter 18
The Canis family, who drew a safety line in the savage habitat of monsters.
If it weren’t for them, humanity would have withered away in this barren land.
‘With the Canis family, we can live safely.’
Feelings of gratitude, respect, and awe blossomed from the deepest parts of people’s hearts and were engraved into their very bones.
Further, they wished to contribute to the footsteps of the Canis family.
Becoming the head maid of that Canis Castle was the greatest achievement of Maita’s life.
But then.
“Entry to the head maid’s office is strictly prohibited.”
Maita had just finished her patrol around the castle. Could something have happened while her office was unattended?
“Has a thief broken in, perhaps?”
When she tried to push past the soldiers, their spears crossed, blocking her way.
“Do you know who I am and still dare to block my path?”
She had entered the castle in her ignorant youth, starting with menial tasks and rising to become a close aide to the late lady.
Had she not broken through fierce competition to be chosen as the family head’s wet nurse?
She had shed blood, sweat, and tears day and night to secure the position of head maid.
Yet, what kind of thunderbolt from a clear sky was this?
“It is the lord’s command. Resistance will be treated as treason, and you will be detained.”
“The lord’s?”
The lord’s command is absolute.
She knew the situation couldn’t be overturned, but Maita couldn’t just obediently be driven away.
“Then why on earth is this happening? Give me a reason or an explanation!”
No matter what anyone said, this office was the embodiment of her life and pride.
“Hey, answer me!”
She shouted until her throat felt raw, but the soldiers remained unresponsive as if they heard nothing. That’s right. They too were subjects of Canis.
She knew no way to break their rigid, unwavering loyalty.
Maita bit her thumbnail hard and turned away.
The problem didn’t end there.
Her bedroom was also blocked by soldiers, barring entry.
With nowhere to go, she ended up staying in the room of Annesa, who could be called her right-hand woman.
“Have you found out what happened?”
“It seems to be Lacey’s doing.”
Lacey.
That name again, and again.
The troublemaker of Euphorian, causing incidents left and right.
Maita had felt uneasy ever since hearing the news that the lord himself had hired a maid.
This was a first, after all.
Moreover, she was a foreigner. She was clearly going to be a seed of discord in the tranquil Canis Castle.
Maita had been relieved to hear she’d been thrown into a remote branch estate.
It must have been a passing whim.
Just as she was beginning to forget about her, the girl appeared before her.
Her face was as white as a sheet of paper, her limbs skinny and frail.
Maita almost clicked her tongue in disbelief.
A girl looking like this passed the ‘Emotion’ test? How preposterous.
She looked like she could die any moment. Maita tried to ignore her, thinking such a state couldn’t possibly adapt to Canis’s harsh environment.
But instead, she seemed to gain more vitality day by day.
Not stopping there, like a naive rabbit, she scurried all over the castle causing trouble.
How many times had she swallowed headache medicine because of the chief aide making a fuss, day and night, demanding the girl be found?
Maita covered her forehead, which was beginning to throb again.
“Tell me the details.”
“As soon as Lacey left the aide’s office, the soldiers moved, they say.”
Starting today, she wanders the administrative floor, only permitted for administrators and such.
Judging by the circumstances, it seems she spouted nonsense in front of the chief aide.
“But I don’t know why the inspectors were mobilized too.”
“What? Inspectors?”
Maita felt a dizzying sensation.
“Ah, ah! Head Maid, are you alright?”
The fact that even inspectors were involved meant they were convinced she had committed misconduct.
Going there now was useless. The office was likely already ransacked in search of evidence.
Of course, there wasn’t much to worry about.
Let them search all they want. What more could they find if they shook her out? Dust, nothing else.
It wasn’t something that would pose a real threat to her safety.
However, suffering such humiliation from a lowly maid was something her pride couldn’t allow.
“Haa— Annesa.”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
Maita placed a hand on Annesa’s shoulder. And she smiled a bitter smile.
“There’s something you must do for me.”
***
Day 2 of working on the textbook.
The day started with a notice telling me not to come to the office for the time being.
Since the day Fritz would question me about the sheet music was postponed, it was a good thing, I guess. It would be even better if he just forgot.
Moreover, Ash Canis hadn’t returned since leaving two days ago. If I couldn’t make contact with the target, it was better to save working days.
Put simply, you could say I was lucky.
“Well, it’s good for Sonya too.”
While I was exiled to the laundry room and placed under confinement, Sonya, crying, cleaned the ritual chamber.
“L-Lacey, sorry, but can we swap shifts?”
Did she have a bad experience in the past?
Seeing her hands trembling the whole time she was asking was so pitiful.
I couldn’t bring myself to say no.
Might as well think positively.
After wiping the scary-looking wolf statue, the remaining time is free, right?
I could look for the device to open the secret door Ash Canis and Fritz used, or just rest comfortably.
Though my head is too tangled with thoughts of the ledger I saw yesterday to focus on anything else.
Recalling Annesa’s words, I asked Sonya about her wages. There was a bit of a difference from what I saw in the aide’s office. If so, it’s highly likely the other maids’ wages were also reduced.
Yet there were no complaints….
“…A fake ledger.”
By letting them confirm a fake ledger, they prevented any dispute.
Incredibly meticulous.
Could I convince Fritz with just the circumstances? Even if he believed me, the head maid would never admit it.
I needed irrefutable evidence.
The physical fake ledger itself.
Normally, it would be hidden in the most reassuring place.
Where would the head maid feel at ease?
Simply thinking, it would be her bedroom or office, but those are also places that would be quickly discovered if searched.
Where on earth is the fake ledger?
“Ugh, I’ll think about it after cleaning.”
I finally arrived at the ritual chamber. Holding the cleaning basket with one arm, I leaned my shoulder against the massive door.
The door opened more easily than expected.
But then, there was a scraping, skittering sound from the floor. I quickly stopped and looked down.
Through the gap, just wide enough for my body, I could see large and small stone fragments.
What’s that?
I cocked my head at the existence of fragments scattered on the floor.
“That’s strange. Sonya clearly said we just had to wipe the statue….”
At that moment, I met red eyes. The eyes of the wolf statue.
Like someone cursed by the snake-headed witch of some legend, my body stiffened.
“How did this happen….”
I stuck just my head through the door gap to look at the spot where the statue should be.
It was empty. Completely, utterly.
“Why is the statue broken?”
The statue was fine even during the vibration when the secret passage opened. So, this wasn’t a natural occurrence. Goosebumps ran down my spine.
“I need to get out of here right now….”
An irresistible intuition tugged at my arm.
I thought I hastily pulled my body back, but perhaps it was already too late.
“Eek! This is terrible!”
Turning around, a maid was covering her mouth and stepping back.
“W-wait, this is…!”
“L-Lacey broke the statue of Euryphus!”
***
Because of the ear-splitting scream, people quickly gathered.
The head maid, who arrived last, also checked the ritual chamber along with them.
“Oh my… how could this happen….”
The maids caught her as she staggered from shock.
“Daring to break a symbol of Canis Castle? You’ve committed an act that will anger the heavens.”
The head maid glared at me, her face pale. She seemed to have heard the situation on the way here.
“I didn’t do it. When I got here, it was already…”
“She’s lying! Right after I heard something breaking, I clearly saw Lacey coming out of the ritual chamber!”
Lies. The only sounds that broke the dead silence filling the corridor were the sound of a cane tapping the floor and my footsteps.
So, this was clearly a trap.
I don’t know why I became the target.
But I couldn’t waste time figuring out the reason.
Being branded the culprit means becoming a traitor who damaged a symbol of the Canis family.
I had to clear my name by any means necessary.
“Your Highness was strangling His Majesty the King’s neck!”
But a familiar sense of déjà vu paralyzed my lips.
“So you plan to keep making excuses even with a witness right here?”
“Both the witness’s testimony and the circumstances all point to you assassinating His Majesty the King!”
Contempt, disgust, scorn.
The malicious emotions pouring from the gazes pressed down on my chest. I couldn’t breathe.
“Tsk, this is why outsiders can’t be trusted.”
“What were they thinking, taking in a filthy bastard….”
It was exactly the same as back then, to the point of nausea.
Thanks to that, I understood reality.
“I will banish you from this castle. It’s simply taking responsibility for what you’ve done, so do not resent it.”
It’s no different, whether in Euphorian or in Canis.
Even if I shed the skin of a princess and became a mere maid.
Perhaps it was even harsher now than in those days.
“Girls, take her away.”
At the firm command, the maids moved.
Thump!
“Don’t touch me.”
But I wouldn’t be dragged away helplessly like before.
At least this time, I don’t have a gag in my mouth.
