Chapter 10
With a loud crash, the box in front of me flew away.
“Found you, little rat.”
“Ah!”
A rough hand grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up. My body dangled in the air.
“Ow!”
With one sharp twist, the strong maid spun me around 180 degrees.
Whirl~
“Come out, rat.”
Before I knew it, I was thrown out of the basement. The heavy door slammed shut with a bang. My back hit the door hard.
“I’m not a rat, I’m Coco!”
In front of me stood a group of tall, strong maids, glaring at me.
“How did this brat sneak into the basement?”
“We were guarding the door the whole time.”
“Go call Lady Mary. We need to ask her what to do with this kid.”
My shoulder still hurt from being grabbed, and my vision spun. I swallowed nervously but tried to look confident as I stared back at them.
“I only came here to get my toy! What’s the problem?”
“…Huh? A toy?”
Right after I said that, I heard a soft squeak. A little mouse tossed my squishy toy toward me.
I grabbed it tightly.
“My bone-shaped toy!”
“Why are you looking for that here—?”
But as soon as I shouted about the toy, it was like flipping a switch.
Boom!
The whole hallway shook. Then I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, click-clack, and saw a dim light.
It was my scary-looking older sister, holding a lantern.
“What are you all doing here?”
That was why I hadn’t been afraid. My sister had told me I could wander freely around the mansion. She also told me, if you find your toy, just shout ‘bone-shaped toy!’ and I’ll come get you.
And she really did.
Startled, the maids’ grips loosened, and I dropped safely to the ground.
I stuck my tongue out at them and ran toward my sister.
“Hey! A mouse showed me a secret tunnel, and that’s how I rolled all the way into the basement!”
“…Is that so?”
“And while I was picking up my toy, I found a super suspicious book!”
“A suspicious book?”
“Yes! It says something like ‘embezzlement’ or ‘stealing money’!”
It was the embezzlement ledger. Proof that the maids loyal to my sister’s stepmother, Lucrecia, were stealing money.
I proudly handed it to my sister. She carefully took the toy but grabbed the ledger carelessly.
“…We’ll talk about this later.”
“Okay!”
Then her voice turned cold.
“And you maids—come outside with me.”
“Having fun? Meeting in the basement at night to plot?”
“Th-That’s…”
“You didn’t think I wouldn’t notice, did you?”
Head maid Mary bit her lip.
Normally, Chloe never stepped foot in this damp basement full of mossy stones. That’s why they boldly used it as their hideout. It was also true that they planned their embezzlement schemes here.
But why now? She never cared before.
Mary couldn’t understand Chloe’s sudden interest.
“You shouldn’t have crossed the line.”
Chloe shook the ledger Coco had found.
“The embezzlement.”
“…”
“You kept such detailed records.”
Mary, usually silent, muttered nervously.
“Why now? You already knew about our embezzlement.”
“How dare you question your master. That’s insolence.”
In truth, Chloe didn’t care about the maids’ crimes. She only waited for Coco to bring her the toy.
But then she remembered Coco’s bruised shoulder. How roughly they had treated her little sibling.
“I overlooked you, but now you’ve gone too far.”
If she let them be, worse trouble would surely come. It was better to deal with it now.
Mary lowered her head.
“…I understand. We will resign and return to Lady Lucrecia.”
She spoke calmly, like someone who still had protection.
“Do you think resigning is enough after being caught stealing?”
“As you know, punishment for each wing’s maids belongs to Lady Lucrecia, the Duchess. Since she is away at the temple, her proxy Lady Patricia holds that power. We’ll accept punishment from them.”
“…No.”
Chloe grabbed Mary’s wrist as she tried to leave.
“You don’t even know the house laws, do you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Article 1, Section 10, Special Clause. It says: ‘Due to the family’s special circumstances, the heir may use supernatural powers to punish servants directly.’”
Chloe tightened her grip on Mary’s wrist and whispered,
“For your arrogance, I’ll take away your sight.”
Suddenly, darkness swallowed the maids’ vision.
“In this dark basement…”
“Wh-what is this…?”
“Struggle until morning in the cold darkness, unable to see anything.”
Just like someone who had once been trapped in darkness.
Mary screamed.
“Aaah! Chloe, please! I can’t see!”
The maids panicked, crawling on the ground, bumping into walls, screaming in terror.
Some thought they heard voices, others saw hallucinations, all tortured by fear.
Chloe watched them twist and writhe as if attacked by invisible monsters.
She had finally cut ties with Lucrecia and Patricia’s spies. With the ledger as evidence, their reputation would also be damaged.
She flipped through the ledger without much interest.
I’ll need to hire new maids. Ones not connected to Patricia, and less troublesome.
For the first time in a while, she felt slightly refreshed.
But then her body wavered. Her head filled with the side effects of using too much dark magic: delusions.
***
Her mind replayed warm memories.
“Coco’s little feet are so pretty.”
“Mung! Mung!”
“Oh, you brought me a flower? For me?”
“Mung!”
“My precious baby, you’re the prettiest in the whole world, right?”
Chloe softly smiled, touched by the warmth of the memory. She could almost feel Coco’s warmth in her hands.
But warmth always faded. Soon, terrible pain filled her body. That was the side effect—after happy delusions, sharp pain came.
But this time…
Wait, what’s this?
Chloe opened her eyes.
The pain was gone.
The side effect had ended strangely quickly.
Why? What changed?
