Chapter 10
Lily, hearing Charlotte’s words, couldn’t help but think—if the mistress was only keeping the head maid out of old affection, then wouldn’t it be enough for something to happen that would erase that affection?
If that were the case, wouldn’t the head maid disappear cleanly?
With such thoughts, the corners of Lily’s lips curled upward.
“Oh, Miss. I need to take the bedding to be washed—I completely forgot. May I step out for a moment?”
It was clearly an excuse. She would run straight to where the other maids were and spread the story. Then they would put their heads together and come up with a way to drive out the head maid. For that, she needed time. Charlotte had no reason to stop her.
“Of course. Come back when you’re finished.”
Lily beamed and gave a deep bow.
“I’ll bring you your favorite sandwiches for lunch, Miss! And éclairs as well.”
Charlotte smiled gently and thanked her. Lily left the room with steps lighter than when she had entered.
Andrea’s scream rang out less than a week later.
“M-Madam! It’s a misunderstanding! I truly have never done such a thing!”
Charlotte stepped leisurely out of her room and stood at the landing.
There, seated in a gaudy yet vulgar armchair—who knew where it had come from—was the Duchess.
Before her, Andrea was groveling desperately, hands and feet practically scraping the floor. Beside her stood Lily and her group, arms crossed in plain display.
Sensing someone’s presence, Lily turned toward the landing. The moment her eyes met Charlotte’s, she winked.
The corner of Charlotte’s mouth lifted.
It wasn’t difficult to grasp what had happened.
As Charlotte had expected, Lily began moving the very day of their conversation. She gathered, one by one, those who already disliked Andrea and made them her allies. She collected every mistake Andrea had made and even uncovered the small deceits she had long practiced.
And today, just in time for the seasonal deep cleaning, Lily publicly accused Andrea.
“I-I truly don’t know how this happened! I have no idea why that was in my room!”
What Daisy—Lily’s close confidante—had discovered in Andrea’s room was a small box, no bigger than a palm.
Of course, the box had long been there, but no one had dared to open it. In the past, a maid had been dismissed merely for tidying Andrea’s notebook on her desk. No one wanted stray sparks to fly their way.
But Daisy had just been scolded harshly by Andrea over something trivial and was nursing a grudge.
She now knew that Andrea had been clinging to her position thanks to the mistress’s favor. And she was clever enough to understand that if they could seize a weakness, removing Andrea as head maid would not be difficult.
So Daisy opened the small box.
Inside were tiny gemstones—pearls, rubies, sapphires, even emeralds. At first glance, they could have been dismissed as trivial. But Daisy took them straight to the head maid of the east wing.
The east wing head maid immediately recognized them as gems that had fallen from their masters’ jewelry. The butler was summoned.
After bringing in an appraiser to examine the stones, the butler confirmed that the east wing head maid was correct. The matter was soon reported to the Duchess.
“It was found in your room, and yet you claim you know nothing of it? Does that make any sense?”
The Duchess clicked her tongue, brushing a finger beneath her darkened eyes.
“M-Madam, this is truly slander! I, I really—!”
Andrea pleaded desperately, but her gestures seemed to say something else.
At this level, head maids skim a little from time to time. Other noble houses do the same. Wouldn’t it be better to keep me than to cast me out?
If the Duchess had only heard about today’s incident, she might have thought along those lines. But unfortunately for Andrea, this was not the end.
The Duchess recalled the three sheets of paper that had been slipped under her door that morning.
On them were detailed records of the goods and money Andrea had embezzled over time.
Taking a few loose gemstones from damaged jewelry could be overlooked—considered a tip for hard work. Once the adhesive had weakened, those pieces would never be worn again anyway.
But embezzlement was different. It was deliberate theft, a calculated crime and an act of deception against one’s master.
And since someone had personally delivered this evidence, the Duchess could not simply close her eyes, especially for the sake of maintaining order in the household.
‘I clearly warned her not to make enemies.’
This situation was undoubtedly the result of other maids who disliked Andrea. The Duchess cast a sidelong glance at the few maids wearing triumphant expressions.
“If this matter spreads beyond these walls, the Duke’s household will lose face. You all understand that this family’s reputation is the only thing that gives your lives meaning.”
“M-Madam!”
“I do not wish for discord in my estate. Frankly, it is most tiresome. For now, I am in a good mood and listening to you… but who knows what my mood will be in five minutes?”
The Duchess straightened slightly from where she had been leaning.
“So, Andrea, what should you do?”
She tapped the marble floor lightly with the toe of her red enamel shoe.
“Well? Speak.”
Andrea stared at the flashes of red within her blurred vision and felt an odd relief that the color was not her blood.
It’s over. I’m finished.
“I… I will l-leave….”
“Yes. A wise decision. The money you’ve taken should be more than enough for your retirement pay, don’t you think?”
“…Yes.”
Though she had squandered it all on horse racing and had no idea how she would survive starting tomorrow, she could not dare ask for mercy.
To leave with her life and an unharmed body was already a blessing.
“Ha… I’m tired. Truly tired.”
Despite dismissing someone who had served her for over twenty years, the Duchess’s face remained calm.
Like pruning a diseased branch. The only difference was that she had not cut it for the health of the tree, but for the sake of a single flower—herself.
She shook her head with mild relief. Then, as if something belatedly occurred to her, her wrinkled eyelids lifted.
“Such a commotion has occurred, and what is Charlotte doing? Does she not realize she is the mistress of this annex?”
Charlotte had long since assessed the situation and hidden herself away in her room, so the Duchess had not spotted her.
The rising pitch of her voice signaled that the ‘good mood’ she had spoken of was coming to an end.
Everyone gathered instinctively shrank their shoulders. Even the butler did. There was no one who could stop the Duchess’s hysterics except Marlen.
Then—
“Shall… shall I go check on her?”
A maid standing behind Andrea timidly raised her hand.
“It’s just that the young lady relies on me quite a bit. She shares her health condition and mood with me and such…”
At that, the Duchess’s eyes narrowed.
“Well, we have that kind of relationship. So I thought if I went, perhaps she might speak more openly. Ah! I’m Lily. I’ve been at the estate for eleven years.”
The Duchess’s gaze traveled from the top of Lily’s head down to her toes and back again.
