Chapter 55
“Te–Teacher? When did you get back?”
“Just now. I was looking for you to ask if you wanted to eat together.”
Including Sophia, who was sprawled on the floor, there were six maids in total. After committing all of their faces firmly to memory, Ailesia continued calmly.
“So. You lunatics were doing something pretty interesting, huh? What was it? ‘Just a single child?’”
Bullying Hilda wasn’t enough—you even dared to spout that kind of nonsense about Eleonora? As Ailesia was considering how best to deal with this, Sophia suddenly sprang up from the floor and screamed viciously.
“Y-You think you can just get away with this?!”
“What did I do, exactly?”
“You laid hands on a servant of the Grand Duke’s household! How rude do you think that is?!”
“Uh……”
So this is what they mean when they say your mind goes blank.
When something is absurd beyond a certain point, laughter comes out instead of words—this must be what that feels like.
“No matter who you are, even if you’re a guest, you have no right to act like this!”
“Pfft.”
Ailesia couldn’t hold it in and let out a quiet laugh.
What made it worse was that this woman—Sophia—clearly knew who Ailesia was. And yet she still behaved like this. That meant whoever was backing her wasn’t an ordinary person.
“And?”
“…What?”
“So what exactly can you do about it? What, were you planning to stir up the servants like you did with Hilda and try to ruin my reputation? Do you really think someone would clap their hands and kick me out?”
Once, while reading web novels, Ailesia had wondered:
Why are all villains so stupid?
With just a little calm thought, the answers were obvious—yet they always rushed ahead and ruined everything. She could never understand it.
But now that I’m seeing it firsthand, I get it.
Unlike modern people who process massive amounts of information daily, these people had no sense of self-objectivity. What they personally experienced was their entire world—so of course their thinking was shallow.
“I don’t know who your backer is, but the person who hired me is Termion. So here’s the problem.”
Tap.
Ailesia placed her hand on Sophia’s shoulder and smiled brightly.
“Do you think your backer will protect you while openly opposing Termion? Or will they pretend they don’t know you?”
“Th-That’s—”
“And next question. Which do you think is faster—me, a mage, burying you right here… or you running off to tell someone about this?”
Creeeak.
As Ailesia’s smile deepened, the pressure in her fingers slowly increased.
“Aaagh…!”
“Oh dear, you must work so hard. Your muscles are completely knotted up. How pitiful.”
“AAAAAH!”
Sophia struggled desperately to break free, but Ailesia’s grip didn’t budge. Instead, her fingers dug even deeper into Sophia’s shoulder.
“I’ll let today’s incident slide. If you want to keep working in the Grand Ducal Castle, watch your mouth, okay? Second-class maid Sophia?”
Thud.
The moment Ailesia released her, Sophia collapsed limply to the floor. Clicking her tongue softly, Ailesia turned to Hilda.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine, Teacher.”
“Did you eat dinner?”
“…Not yet.”
“Then let’s go eat together. I’ve been busy too—I haven’t eaten anything either.”
“W-What? B-But—”
Hilda glanced anxiously at the other maids, but Ailesia wrapped an arm around her shoulders and strode forward.
“You remember Baron Beighton, right?”
“…I understand.”
As expected of clever Hilda—she returned to her usual calm expression almost instantly. That single phrase was enough for her to grasp Ailesia’s intent.
“Grrr…!”
Sophia’s frustrated voice echoed from behind them, but Ailesia merely curved her lips in a knowing smile.
Please go tell on me. Please do.
She had only come back to rest for a bit—she hadn’t expected to catch a lead like this.
There was no concrete proof yet, but it was obvious that a traitor existed here as well. Ailesia had already discussed this with Termion on the way to the castle.
Still, perhaps because they were wary of Iolene, no one had revealed any clear weaknesses—until now.
“It was probably easier to recruit the servants here than in the town house.”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s called a castle, but it’s remote and the climate’s harsh. Perfect conditions for building resentment, don’t you think?”
“That’s true. Some servants have complained that they want to be transferred—preferably to the capital.”
“They might say it casually, but that’s usually where their real feelings leak out.”
“And the atmosphere got worse the day after His Grace left.”
Talking with smart people was always enjoyable. There was no need to overexplain—they grasped the point immediately.
Hilda clearly hadn’t been idle either; she had gathered quite a bit of useful information.
“I heard the administrator and the finance officer don’t get along at all. The servants seem to be quietly split into factions too.”
“Even with the Dowager Lady here?”
“The head butler is mediating. As for the Dowager Lady… it feels like she’s intentionally using the situation to a certain extent.”
“Ah.”
That explained things.
There were over two hundred servants residing in the castle alone—not to mention the vassals and their families living in the outer grounds. Managing them all perfectly was difficult even for the Dowager Lady.
Allowing factions to exist, letting them balance and check each other—that was likely her strategy.
Efficient, yes… but only if everyone is loyal to Lettis.
If an external force intervened, everything changed. Sophia’s earlier behavior made that clear.
No matter how influential her backer was, a mere maid wouldn’t dare treat Ailesia—Termion’s personally invited guest—like that otherwise.
And soon, Ailesia realized the situation was worse than she’d expected.
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“Do I really need to say it twice? Dinner was ages ago. What do you expect us to do if you come late and ask for food now? What were you doing while everyone else was eating?”
“We’re not asking for anything extravagant! Is it really that hard to bring out a few pieces of bread and two glasses of milk?”
“Ah, whatever. We’re people too—we need to rest. The ingredients are basically gone anyway, so what do you want us to do?”
She’d stopped by the kitchen just to grab a quick bite, but the response was ridiculous.
No matter how strongly Hilda protested, the kitchen staff remained uniformly indifferent.
“Really? Well, then there’s nothing we can do. Guess we’ll just starve.”
As Hilda stood flustered behind her, Ailesia suddenly leaned into view.
Nearly a head taller than the other women, with blue eyes and flowing blond hair—there was no servant in the castle who didn’t recognize the Grand Duchess’s tutor.
“A guest with no sense of tact is a problem, you know. Did you really think the Lettis family wouldn’t even have leftover bread? If it’s that impoverished, insisting like this just makes you look like a nuisance.”
“T-Teacher?! Th-That’s not—!”
“I-I thought you weren’t in the castle!”
“That’s not the point! Teacher, you haven’t had dinner yet?!”
“Sorry for interrupting your break. Well then—goodbye.”
Ignoring the kitchen staff’s shocked reactions, Ailesia waved lightly and left without hesitation.
Her next destination was the banquet hall on the first floor—reserved exclusively for direct members of the Lettis family.
“Oh? Teacher?”
Standing guard at the door was Ronel. His eyes widened, then he snapped into a crisp salute with a grin.
“My goodness—when did you return?”
“Not long ago. Ellie’s inside, right?”
“Yes. She’s dining with the Dowager Lady. Shall I announce you?”
Ailesia nodded. Ronel knocked and raised his voice.
“Dowager Lady, Instructor Milenov requests an audience.”
“What? Let her in at once!”
The Dowager Lady’s surprised voice rang out—and the moment the door opened, Eleonora bolted straight toward Ailesia.
“TEACHERRR!”
“My little one—have you been well?”
By now used to it, Eleonora didn’t even flinch when she was lifted into the air. The moment she landed in Ailesia’s arms, she wrapped her arms tightly around her neck and rubbed her face against hers.
“Teacher! Why are you so late?!”
“I’m sorry. I had a lot to do.”
“Ellie missed you so much! Waaah!”
Ah—her exhaustion melted away instantly.
Eleonora therapy truly was the best.
“Teacher’s at fault, so pretty Ellie, forgive me just this once, okay?”
