Chapter 14
“Wow! This is great. I guess this is why people need to use their brains.”
Penelope hummed a cheerful tune to herself.
Hailey looked at Penelope, clearly finding her adorable.
“Oh my, Miss. What has you in such a good mood that you’re even singing?”
“Sir Ben and Sir Frederick have agreed to help me.”
Penelope had just sent the two knights off with an unusual task: to come up with ten mischievous deeds that are bad but harmless to people.
At first, the strange command left Frederick and Ben looking bewildered, but as soon as she added more, their eyes lit up with excitement.
“If you do it properly, I’ll extend the time you spend as my servant by fifteen days!”
“…Really?”
“And if your mischief pleases me, a slap on the head for you!”
“We will carry out your orders perfectly, Miss!”
The two knights pledged with gleaming eyes that they would think of “bad deeds.” Their brief display of roguish determination seemed utterly trustworthy.
“Whether it’s good or evil, having assistants makes things so much easier.”
It was mentally exhausting to come up with mischief, but passing the hard work onto others was extremely satisfying. Plotting mischief through her subordinates made her feel like a true villainess.
Meanwhile, the maids’ faces fell as they saw Penelope’s bright smile.
“…Miss? Did you really like the knights that much?”
“I’m looking forward to seeing them again.”
Penelope didn’t realize that a faint sound of fists clenching could be heard—an audible grrr—from the maids.
It was a quiet night. Shadows quickly fell over the two knights.
“Ugh!”
“Ughk!”
Frederick and Ben, who were standing guard, grabbed their shins and hopped in place. Even with protective gear, it still hurt as if they’d hit a stone.
“What the—… no, it’s Anna and Hailey, isn’t it?”
“Long time no see.”
The knights forced smiles onto their contorted faces. Today, the expressions of the two maids serving Miss Penelope were particularly severe.
“What brings you here at this hour? Is something wrong with the lady?”
Carefully, they asked, and Hailey crossed her arms and put weight on one leg, blocking the way.
“The lady is sound asleep. The problem lies with you two.”
“Us? We didn’t come by for the past few days because we were following Miss’s orders.”
“She said to come only after five days.”
As soon as Hailey finished speaking, Anna’s piercing gaze shot straight at them. It sent shivers down their spines, and the knights shrank back slightly.
Hailey, with Anna behind her, continued scolding Frederick and Ben.
“No! What did you do to make our Miss wait only for you two? She always smiles, but do you know how cute it is when she smiles every chance she gets?”
“Hailey, that’s not it,” Anna interjected. Hailey collected herself and continued firing off words.
“Ah, right… anyway! Smiling is good, but if it’s because of the knights right in front of her, then there’s a problem! How did you lure our Miss like that?”
Lately, Penelope had been living leisurely, waiting for the knights to bring her new mischief. Without the pressure of having to come up with evil deeds herself, her face had a radiant glow.
With her clear expression, she habitually muttered, “I’m so glad the knights are here.” It was no wonder the maids’ jealousy flared up.
“…We have nothing to say. We don’t know what misunderstanding you’re under…”
“Stop talking nonsense and tell us! What did you do to our Miss?”
“What do you mean ‘do’?!”
“If not, our Miss wouldn’t fall for such clueless knights like you who bark like dogs looking for bones!”
“Hailey’s right. Especially when compared to our lady, you lot…”
Frederick stammered, “I-Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“You hesitated because it’s exactly the truth, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes, but…!”
Even in a psychological battle with the maids, the knights lost. Frederick and Ben had no choice but to honestly explain the entire situation, including Miss’s strange request!
“Hm…”
“You mean the lady actually said that?”
Anna and Hailey tilted their heads, sensing that Penelope’s request was unusual. Frederick lowered his voice and whispered.
“Isn’t it strange? Mischief, but not too bad—just moderately bad. We accepted it because it was an order from the lady, but… it’s a pretty strange request.”
Anna’s expression became very serious.
Of course. No matter what, even I would find such a command from this lady strange…
Her thought was abruptly interrupted by Hailey.
“My goodness, Miss Penelope! You’ve been working so hard!”
“Yes, even when it wasn’t necessary, you were making efforts alone.”
Anna also looked up toward Penelope’s room in the main building, her eyes slightly glistening more than usual.
“Uh, uh-oh?”
Seeing the knights’ dumbfounded reactions, Hailey rolled her eyes.
“Ugh, this is why knights just don’t get it! They don’t understand a single bit of the lady’s feelings!”
“Could you explain what you mean?”
Hailey sighed and began to explain.
“She’s trying to adapt better to life here! Remember the picky eating incident with the Duke? That’s why!”
“She wants to be like our lord, so she can fit in better here!”
“You mean asking the knights to find mischievous deeds…?”
“See! Everyone in the capital knows what a terrible reputation our lord has—child-eating monster, absolute villain. So Miss Penelope is trying to be like him and commit mischief, isn’t she?”
“That’s right!”
The maids shouted in unison. They even sent fiery looks, promising to help Penelope with her evil deeds.
“Wait, shouldn’t you be stopping her from doing bad things?”
Anna murmured, flames in her eyes.
“As long as it makes the lady feel at ease, what does it matter what the deed is?”
Hailey added, “Besides, our Miss Penelope is too kind to commit real evil. So we have to help make it look convincing.”
“That’s right. The lady needs to be a bit more mischievous. She’s the only heir of the Calix Ducal family, after all!”
“Miss, have a snack.”
Anna placed a tray on the table with cookies and a glass of juice.
Penelope put down the picture book she was reading and picked up a cookie, careful not to spill crumbs on the precious book.
But…
Clatter!
The tray slipped the moment it touched Penelope’s hand, falling to the floor.
Cookies shattered, juice soaked the expensive carpet and sofa, and even the picture book on the sofa got wet.
Penelope, shocked, instinctively tried to apologize.
“Sorry…!”
“My goodness!”
Hailey screamed loudly, even before Penelope could finish apologizing.
“My goodness! Miss! Didn’t you like today’s snack? You threw it all on the floor!”
“It’s not that…”
“Of course! Today’s snack was too meager. Such a shabby menu, unfit for the Calix Ducal family, right?”
“Not at all…”
“It’s understandable you’d be angry. Thank goodness you just pushed the tray a little…”
“R-Really?”
“Of course! By the way, it’s dangerous here with all the broken pieces. Why not take your snack outside?”
Penelope slowly nodded, remembering the soaked picture book, her face hardening.
“The book’s wet. It’s expensive.”
Anna patted Penelope’s shoulder casually.
“It’s okay. We can just commission the same artist to recreate it.”
“That’s a waste of money…”
Thinking that wasting money is a bad thing, Anna whispered,
“The duke is very rich, so it’s fine to be extravagant. Spending money recklessly is fine here. It would be bad for poor people, but at the Calix Ducal residence, it’s normal.”
To become an employee of the Calix household, one had to have such a bold sense of money. Penelope was easily swayed by Anna and Hailey’s words.
By the time she realized, she was sitting alone in the lavish garden. Dozens of intricate desserts were laid out, far beyond the “mere cookies” she had expected.
The maids spoke unusually sweetly today.
“If you don’t like it, you can throw the dish anytime.”
“We’re always ready.”
Penelope wanted to ask what kind of “ready” they meant, but she was too afraid of their answer.
“Then ring the bell if you need anything.”
The maids quickly stepped back, and only then could Penelope mutter to herself.
“What just happened…?”
There was no time to explain that she didn’t throw the tray out of dislike.
She had instantly become the mischievous, spoiled mistress, unintentionally committing a dozen conscience-pricking deeds.
“Good…! Good…! Very… good…!”
“Extremely… successful…!”
Hearing Demonia shout loudly from afar, it seemed that everything had gone well… but
“This feels odd, being misunderstood like this.”
The sudden infamy felt very bewildering.
On top of that, Penelope liked the maids.
“I didn’t want to be bad to Anna and Hailey…”
She tried to shake off the awkward feeling and muttered loudly.
“But I should think positively. I’m going to be a villain! Isn’t this exactly like a pumpkin rolling into my lap?”
What she didn’t know was that the two maids, overhearing her muttering from the other side of the door, clutched their hearts at her cuteness.
