ASLD 40

Chapter 40

I quickly smacked her on the head and jumped in before she could speak.

In that short pause of What?, Betty happened to bring Levi over, right on cue.

I dashed over to him and whispered dramatically, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

“Levi, the jewel got caught! What do I do?”

“…Just play with it again later.”

Perfect. He played along.

Clutching his sleeve, I put on the most pitiful face I could muster.

“But that’s no good! Yesterday Eva said it was really precious. She told me never ever to touch it…”

“Did the head maid scold you, miss?”

Excellent. Nicely done, Betty.

I added a hint of childish lisp to my voice so it wouldn’t sound too forced and answered tearfully.

“Mmhm. So I cried a little, and then Levi secretly gave it to me and told me I could play with it for just one day!”

Levi nodded along as if it were all true.

‘So even this scary young master turns into nothing more than an eleven-year-old boy when he’s with his nine-year-old fiancée.’

I had already been hearing that kind of talk a lot lately.

Thanks to that, the servants watching us didn’t doubt our story in the slightest.

“How adorable. I never thought I’d live to see this.”

“They’re already such a good match.”

“Good grief, what a fuss this morning over a silly theft.”

While everyone was chuckling warmly, I awkwardly shuffled toward the freckled maid.

The maid, who had been staring only at Eva in panic, flinched with every step I took.

The look on her face was exactly like a gambler caught cheating at cards.

‘Feels like I’m venting on the wrong target, but since you look guilty about something too, I won’t hold back.’

Smack!

I slapped her hand as hard as I could.

The ruby slipped from her grasp, tumbling across the floor like a drop of blood.

Instantly, sharp gazes turned toward the freckled maid.

“Wh-what are you—”

“You can’t touch it! Eva will scold you like she did me!”

I raised my voice in a childish huff.

And just like that, everyone’s eyes turned not to me, but to Eva.

“…So the head maid actually hit the young lady?”

No way. The calm head maid? How could she dare strike the young master’s fiancée?

Even if they weren’t fully convinced, the murmurs began spreading. I picked up the ruby and shuffled forward.

Toward Eva, who had remained silent through this whole counterattack.

Unlike with the maid earlier, I made myself look timid and whispered like an ant crawling.

“Sorry for taking it… I just thought it was so pretty, like Levi’s eyes.”

Thank you, ruby, for being the perfect prop. The story was getting richer.

I held it out to Eva and ducked my head, my face trembling as if I might cry.

“Don’t cry.”

It was time for the master’s son to drive the nail in.

“Everything in Bastion belongs to you anyway.”

As he said that, Levi folded my fingers around the ruby.

I had asked him to take my side, but he spoke with genuine conviction.

And really—who in this household would dare dispute the words of the heir to the Bastion dukedom?

The atmosphere quickly shifted: Well, when you think about it, he’s right…

Servants started chiming in.

“That’s right, miss. Nothing to cry about.”

“You’ll be managing the annex soon.”

“When you become the lady of the house, you can play with anything you want!”

Yes, yes. Keep talking. Future mothers-in-law in training, aren’t you?

“Mouthy old hag.”

I mouthed the words at Eva, who clenched her teeth and glared daggers at me.

Oh? She wasn’t even trying to keep her expression in check now. Had she hit her limit?

But what could she do? Start an argument with me here? The more she denied hitting me, the guiltier she’d look.

Or would she try to snatch the jewel back by force?

When it comes to children versus adults, the weight of their words is never equal. The child’s innocence is always more convincing…

“R-really, Asha? It’s all yours?”

Sometimes, ignorance and innocence are the strongest weapons.

If she actually tried to argue against it, she’d only look petty.

Clutching the ruby tight, I widened my eyes to sparkle with delight, and the servants cooed like, Yes, yes, let the child have it.

“…Still, if it’s that precious, what if you lose it while playing? Let’s put it back where it belongs.”

After basking in enough praise to feel full, I obediently became a good little girl again.

The servants applauded and praised me. Puffing up my chest, I played my last card with a bright smile.

“See, Eva! Don’t play tricks—return Asha’s jewel properly!”

Direct hit.

Eva finally broke, storming off with a demonic expression. Her underlings scurried after her.

Now, all that was left was for the rest of the staff to gossip and speculate.

‘That’s it. Herd them into the net for me.’

When the murmuring crowd dispersed, only Levi, Betty, and I remained. I clenched the ruby in my fist and said:

“…Nailed it.”

Honestly, I should’ve gone to Sol Academy’s theater department instead.

‘Agreed?’ I looked at Levi and Betty.

Especially at Levi—who I’d warned last night this might happen. I winked at him.

‘I’ll throw the bait. She’ll react. Then we’ll trap her. Nothing complicated. Just act like a kid. Kids may have limits, but more often than not, it’s easier for them to win.’

Sure enough, Eva had snapped exactly as predicted.

Of all the possibilities, I had guessed framing me was most likely.

‘Mm, yes. Most likely she’ll try to pin the blame on me. If something goes missing, she’ll argue I’m the prime suspect. But I can shrug it off as childish mischief. Better that than loudly denying it and ending up like Franz. I have to control the flow so they say, “Why make such a fuss over a child’s prank?”’

Unlike Franz, I was known as the “bright, kind young lady.” That reputation made it easy to shape the mood.

Drowsily, I muttered one last time before smirking.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll handle it. You just watch and, when the time comes, always take my side. Your role is the love-struck little fiancé who becomes an accomplice. Can you play that part?’

Levi nodded—and he really pulled it off. Whether it was acting or not, I couldn’t tell.

Either way, our con-artist couple had made a successful debut.

“Miss… are you saying the head maid really…?”

“That’s right.”

Betty would surely believe me by now, so I told her everything. Her usually timid face hardened.

“Let’s cut her down.”

“Calm down.”

Girl, your eyes are all whites right now.

After a long moment, Betty regained herself and asked with a worried frown:

“Then what? Are you going to wait until the master returns?”

“In the end, yes, that’s probably best.”

Not that I’d stay quiet until then. Until her punishment was decided, I’d meddle as much as I pleased.

But it wasn’t easy to involve Benjamin in Bastion family matters. And for a proper reckoning of a household servant, Wolfgang would need to be present.

And besides… there was someone I needed to have a real conversation with.

‘…Can I separate Franz from Eva?’

Even if he hates it, will he understand it’s for his own good?

On the surface, Eva seemed like a mother figure to Franz, and he like a child clinging to her. But it was an illusion.

‘She’s been isolating him more and more.’

Outwardly branding him as bad or lacking. Inwardly coddling him so she could hold onto her position as more than just a head maid.

Even Levi had been lenient toward her because Franz valued her.

‘So when I appeared, of course she couldn’t stand it.’

Her carefully stacked tower of twisted influence shook.

And that dress I saw in her room… If I think about it…

“Oh, that. Maybe I should use that.”

Nothing to lose, and maybe something huge to gain.

I flashed a bright smile at Levi and Betty, who both looked at me questioningly.

There’s an old saying:

If someone hates you for no reason, give them a reason.

“Well then… if they’re calling me a thief, maybe I should really steal something!”

* * *

Giggling echoed across the garden, and Franz’s ears perked up.

In the whole Bastion mansion, only one person laughed like that.

Levi’s fiancée, who had suddenly fallen from the sky.

Her name, supposedly, was Asha. That white little girl.

They said she was Franz’s age—but she was absurdly small, noisy, and strange.

To be precise, she made his brother act strange. She made him act more like a true Bastion than Franz ever could.

As Franz stole glances toward the tea-table window, Eva slammed down her teacup with a scowl.

“She’s vulgar and sly beyond belief.”

“…”

“Wherever she came from, now that she’s under Bastion’s roof, she should know her place. But she struts around as if she owns the house.”

Tch. The sound of her tongue made Franz flinch.

Eva’s mood was Franz’s mood. If she was happy, so was he. If she was angry, he was too.

That’s why Franz hated Asha.

He had to hate her.

Because Eva’s mood had soured ever since Asha arrived.

“She really does resemble the late madam.”

Like when Eva spoke of his mother.

Her lifeless brown eyes swept Franz up and down.

Eyes he clung to and feared at once. Eyes that seemed to appraise him.

“The young master resembles the madam as well. That is why the master—”

“Oh, Eva!”

Eva’s face twisted in irritation, then froze in shock.

Why?

Franz turned toward the window.

Right below it, Asha was bouncing up and down, waving at them.

“Peek-a-boo!”

Wearing some man’s jacket.