Episode 3
It had already been a month since I entered the Atherion mansion.
And I…
Splash!
“Oh my, what a mistake!”
A maid had snuck up behind me and splashed vase water on me.
But I was used to this by now.
As I had prepared for in advance, I fell over and spilled the bucket of dirty mop water I had been carrying—
at a carefully calculated angle and direction.
Splash!
“Eek!”
The maid who had thrown water at me got drenched in filthy water and screamed.
At the same time, she dropped the flower vase she had been holding.
I caught it just in time.
‘Good! Nice catch!’
After carefully putting the vase back in its place, I secretly glanced at Tiseriel.
There was a trace of irritation in her dark blue eyes.
‘I knew it. If the vase had broken, she was planning to punish me too.’
But I had caught it, and one excuse for tormenting me had disappeared.
Since coming here from the orphanage, I had changed.
I wasn’t just getting splashed anymore—
now I was making other people get splashed too.
And between vase water and filthy mop water, the second one obviously wins!
“Ahhh! It stinks! What is this? Do you want to die?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. If I hadn’t fallen, I wouldn’t have spilled it. Hehe.”
I gave a silly grin and tapped my head.
As if I were too dumb to notice people bullying me, and too innocent to even imagine getting revenge on purpose.
What were they going to do?
She was the one who splashed vase water on me first.
Anyone could see I spilled mine while falling, but she had obviously done it on purpose.
“I’m sorry for causing a disturbance, my lady.”
I said it briefly and went back to my work, as if nothing had happened.
Tiseriel glared back and forth between me and the maid covered in dirty water, then seemed to make a decision.
About who to torment.
“You.”
“Yes!”
“Come to think of it, why haven’t you apologized?”
“…Pardon?”
“You made a mistake in front of me. Why have you said nothing to me, your mistress? Even she did.”
“W-What? But this was because you, my lady—”
The dirty-water maid looked flustered.
Well, of course she did.
Tiseriel had probably ordered her to splash me.
It was unfair to be scolded now for not apologizing, when she had only done what her mistress wanted.
‘But Tiseriel isn’t that kind of sensible mistress.’
That order would never have come directly from Tiseriel’s mouth.
It would have been given through looks, hints, and silent pressure from those close to her.
Of course there was no proof.
“I have no idea what you mean. Nanny, do you understand?”
“Not at all, my lady.”
And just like that, it was over.
The secretly cruel mistress vanished, and all that remained was a maid who had done something wicked on her own and was now trying to blame her lady.
“B-But I…!”
Before the maid could even defend herself, Tiseriel gave a cold command.
“And on top of that, you damaged my property. The ducal family’s property. I can’t let that pass.”
“What? But the vase is fine.”
That was true.
She had dropped it, but I had caught it, so it hadn’t broken.
Tiseriel widened her eyes and tilted her head.
“You weren’t the one who caught it. You only dropped it.”
“But—!”
“So the crime of damaging the vase still stands. Take her away.”
The maid was dragged away, her face full of horror. Her screams were quickly silenced.
I had seen this kind of scene many times over the past month.
It was one of Tiseriel’s ordinary hobbies.
After the maid who splashed me was dragged away, Tiseriel’s gaze turned to me.
“!”
I tensed up immediately.
“She’s stupid, but lucky.”
Tiseriel muttered her complaint openly, as if it didn’t matter whether I heard it or not.
Pretending to be deaf, I kept wiping the floor.
‘At least before, she used to pretend to hide it. Now she doesn’t even bother.’
Until recently, she hadn’t shown her true feelings when I could hear.
Even when she bullied me, she would only signal her followers with glances or gestures.
It was a habit meant to protect her image as an angelic saint.
But as she started thinking I didn’t even realize I was being bullied, her behavior became more and more obvious.
That was exactly the reaction I had intended to provoke over the past month.
Anyway, by acting carefully based on what I remembered from before I returned, I was still alive.
‘Lindel must still be alive too. Before, he should have died by now, right?’
That alone meant I had definitely managed to change at least one thing from before.
That made me feel a little proud.
Meanwhile, the nanny brought over an ivory comb and began brushing Tiseriel’s silvery gray hair, saying it had been messed up by the breeze.
The maids immediately started flattering her.
They went on and on about how beautiful she was, how dignified she looked, how fitting she was for a lady of the ducal house.
Tiseriel wore a cool expression.
She didn’t show it openly, but she looked very satisfied.
Then she proudly touched the ring on her finger.
It was a platinum ring shaped like a grapevine, set with a blue crystal the size of a thumbnail that gave off a mysterious light.
I knew exactly what it was.
No—
that was the very reason I had risked my life to come into enemy territory, the Atherion ducal house.
One of the treasures passed down through the family.
Its name was Astraia.
But it was better known by another name.
‘The Lady’s Ring!’
Just like the name said, it was a family heirloom given only to the direct daughter of the main house.
In other words, Tiseriel’s mother had stolen it from my mother’s corpse and put it on her own daughter’s finger.
‘More importantly, it’s the key and compass that leads its owner to the sealed sacred relic!’
In other words, I needed that ring to find the relic.
‘I need to steal it soon…’
I had already made a lot of preparations.
But I still hadn’t gotten the perfect chance.
Just then, Tiseriel’s sharp voice pulled me back to reality.
“Where are you looking right now?”
“Pardon?”
“How dare you stare so openly at my face with those lowly eyes…”
What? No, I wasn’t.
‘I was looking at the Lady’s Ring.’
It was absurd, but I couldn’t say that, so I kept quiet.
Tiseriel misunderstood on her own and started showing off.
“Even a stupid little rat knows what’s pretty.”
Beside her, the two noble young ladies serving as maids eagerly began flattering her.
Those two were like Tiseriel’s hands and feet, so of course they knew her true nature.
“Exactly. Even a lowly maid can recognize our lady’s beauty.”
“Oh my, Lady Renkil, why say something so obvious like it’s remarkable? Anyone with eyes would have their gaze stolen by our lady!”
‘Ugh!’
I felt like my ears were rotting from hearing that.
My ears suffered, but apparently Tiseriel’s ears liked it.
Her mood visibly improved, and she waved her hand.
“Fine. Even though you dirtied my drawing room, I’ll give you a chance, little rat.”
Little rat was Tiseriel’s nickname for me.
When she was in a good mood, it was little rat.
When she was in a bad mood, it was rat bastard.
But more importantly—a chance?
“We’re out of tea. Would you like to brew some?”
“My lady, that child has never been trained in serving tea.”
“You’ll only waste precious tea leaves.”
People around her tried to stop her, but Tiseriel’s dark blue eyes gleamed strangely.
Then her pink lips moved.
“No. I really want to drink tea brewed by that child.”
The other maids caught on and stepped back.
I knew what this meant.
‘She’s trying to create some excuse to torment me.’
I could roughly guess what she had in mind.
‘She’s probably planning to pour hot water on my face as an excuse for ruining the tea.’
No, she was definitely planning that.
But surprisingly, just as Tiseriel said, this was also a chance for me.
I smiled to myself.
‘Good! Then I’ll show off my skills a little.’
Tiseriel gave the order again, and I slowly approached.
I made sure to look nervous and awkward, like I was afraid of doing something unfamiliar.
But then—
“Huh?”
Tiseriel’s dark blue eyes widened in shock.
