Chapter 6……………………………………
“The incompetence of those below is the incompetence of those above. Under someone like the head maid, it’s obvious what Chloe must have learned—yet I failed to consider that. The fault is mine.”
“You’re saying the head maid failed to properly educate Chloe?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
At Trisha’s words, the marchioness’s expression noticeably softened.
Although Chloe worked under her, her official affiliation was with the ducal household, and her direct superior was the head maid.
For a moment, the marchioness had thought Trisha was accusing her of incompetence—but since that wasn’t the case, there was no need to take offense.
“That’s not true! Her Grace never gave me any such order! Please believe me, my lady!”
Chloe shouted from behind, looking utterly wronged, and Trisha let out a small snort of laughter.
“Yes, of course. It’s my fault for giving instructions to someone who doesn’t even know she shouldn’t butt into conversations between her superiors. I understand now, so that will be all.”
“No, I—!”
“Silence.”
Judging that every word Chloe uttered only damaged her own dignity, the marchioness cut her off.
That said, she had no intention of ending her interrogation of Trisha here.
“I hear you struck the head maid without cause. Where did you throw away the dignity befitting the mistress of the ducal house?!”
At the sharp rebuke, Trisha’s gaze drifted behind the marchioness.
Seeing the head maid sneaking glances their way, she could roughly guess what had happened.
She must have reported things in a way favorable to herself.
Maintaining her courteous demeanor, Trisha spoke.
“You’re right, Aunt. I was rash. The head maid whispered words insulting you, and I couldn’t restrain my anger.”
Then, without giving any chance for rebuttal, she added,
“She said that you maintain improper relationships with multiple men while keeping His Majesty the Emperor—and that I, as your niece-in-law, am no different.”
“What?!”
“Of course, there’s no way you would do such a thing, Aunt. I was simply afraid those words might reach His Majesty’s ears.”
At the unexpected turn of events, the maids standing behind them began to whisper.
“Did the head maid really say that?”
“If she whispered it so only Her Grace could hear, maybe she did?”
“I did think it was strange how she suddenly leaned in to whisper…”
The head maid’s face drained of all color.
Naturally—she was about to suffer consequences for words she had never spoken.
If you know how that feels, you shouldn’t have framed Jane in the first place.
Trisha thought coldly.
“Grace! Is this true?!”
At the marchioness’s shout, the servants parted, revealing the head maid.
“Oh? Head maid, you were here?”
Trisha responded calmly, as if only now noticing her.
Struggling to suppress her rage, the head maid approached the marchioness and dropped to her knees.
“Marchioness of Devon, Her Grace is trying to pin her own mistake on Chloe and assaulted me under the guise of discipline—all to protect a maid who stole!”
“Grace, I asked whether you insulted me with your own mouth!”
“Of course not, my lady! Her Grace is falsely accusing me to cover her own wrongdoing!”
The marchioness narrowed her eyes.
She was weighing which of the two was lying—when Trisha stepped forward.
“Aunt, the head maid told me she knows exactly which men you’ve been involved with.”
As she spoke, she calmly listed names one by one.
As the list dragged on endlessly, the marchioness finally lost her temper and flung the fan in her hand to the floor.
The head maid’s face turned deathly pale.
At this point, only a handful of the marchioness’s closest confidants—and the head maid—knew the names of the men she had been involved with.
And among them, the only person who had recently come into contact with Trisha was the head maid.
“Grace, you treacherous wench!”
“No, it’s not true! I’ve been wronged, my lady!”
“Enough! Take her away, whip her, and imprison her for ten days!”
Though the head maid desperately begged, the marchioness’s decision did not change.
Once the head maid was dragged away, the marchioness’s fury turned toward Trisha.
“This household is truly a mess—head maids slandering their superiors, and the duchess’s maid stealing!”
She then ordered the maids to force Jane to her knees.
“Who here saw that girl steal something?”
At her raised voice, the maids stepped forward as if they’d been waiting.
“While cleaning the quarters, we found an emerald necklace in Maid Jane’s room.”
“It’s not something a maid’s wages could buy. My family has run a jeweler’s shop for generations, so I recognized it immediately.”
“My older sister married into the nobility, so I also knew it was a valuable item.”
Watching the testimonies flow smoothly, as if rehearsed, a sneer formed on Trisha’s lips.
“Is it impossible that someone gave Jane that necklace as a gift? Are you really calling her a thief based on that alone?”
“Other items have gone missing as well! Whenever Maid Jane was cleaning alone, especially many pieces of jewelry disappeared!”
“Jane is my maid. And you had her clean alone?”
At Trisha’s incredulous question, the maids faltered briefly, then quickly regrouped.
“Ah—anyway, that necklace was definitely stolen by Maid Jane!”
“That’s right!”
Seemingly growing irritated, the marchioness gestured sharply.
“Bring me the necklace.”
The maids brought the necklace in question from the table.
After examining the obviously expensive piece, the marchioness frowned.
“Indeed, it does seem excessive for a mere maid. Perhaps it belongs to Princess Lizaina.”
There was no need to guess her intent in deliberately bringing up Lizaina, who wasn’t even present.
Frame Jane, confiscate the necklace, then claim she’ll personally return it to Lizaina—and pocket it herself.
The fact that she had proceeded so secretly that even her trusted head maid hadn’t known suggested the marchioness didn’t fully trust Grace either.
Trisha herself had lost the necklace this exact same way in the past.
And in the process, Jane had been seriously injured trying to protect it.
I won’t let the same thing happen again.
Once was enough—trying to protect everyone and ending up protecting no one.
“And what do you think, Duchess?”
The marchioness looked at Trisha with puzzlement as she noticed her standing by the window.
“What are you doing over there—”
“This is what I think.”
Trisha opened the window. Black feathers fluttered in, accompanied by the caw of birds.
“Crows like shiny things. Go fetch that nest over there.”
A moment later, a servant returned with a crow’s nest—filled, just as Trisha had said, with various pieces of jewelry.
As the maids murmured about finding the missing items, the marchioness’s expression hardened.
“The nest was right next to the room Jane stays in.”
“So you’re saying a crow accidentally dropped the necklace into that maid’s room?”
“That seems far more plausible than Jane stealing Princess Lizaina’s necklace.”
Seeing Trisha boldly challenge her, the marchioness let out a hollow chuckle.
“Didn’t you say earlier that necklace was a keepsake left by your mother?”
“It seems Jane was mistaken. She likely thought I had briefly left my mother’s necklace in her room.”
As she spoke, Trisha handed the necklace to the marchioness.
“Looking closely, it’s slightly different from the one my mother left behind. The difference is subtle—someone other than the owner might not notice.”
The marchioness hesitated.
Trisha’s intent was clear.
If she didn’t brand her maid a thief, Trisha would hand over the necklace without resistance.
But if she tried to escalate matters, Trisha might respond in ways she couldn’t predict.
Of all things, the head maid’s loose tongue let that girl learn far too much.
If word of her affairs reached the emperor’s ears, the consequences would be dire.
So it was best to retreat for today.
In any case, she had obtained the necklace.
“Very well. A simple misunderstanding over a necklace doesn’t make someone a thief—especially with a crow involved.”
“A merciful and wise judgment, Aunt.”
Having read the marchioness’s calculations, Trisha continued calmly.
“Jane is innocent. But those girls, who dared accuse a colleague of theft simply because a valuable necklace appeared in her room without knowing the facts—”
Trisha pointed toward the maids who had accused Jane.
“They should be punished.”
The maids looked doubtful. Surely not—
But the marchioness was far more ruthless than they expected.
“Whip them and imprison them for a week.”
“M-my lady!”
“Please—please spare us!”
The maids were dragged away in tears, victims of the marchioness’s merciless decision.
Yes, they must feel wronged—being punished just for following orders.
That’s why you need to choose your allegiance carefully.
Trisha judged, with a trace of self-mockery.
Throughout the evening, Jane’s expression remained gloomy.
Before bedtime, when Trisha asked why, Jane only shifted her eyes awkwardly.
“It’s not because of what happened earlier, is it?”
“That’s…”
“I told you—the living matter more than what the dead leave behind.”
“But still, it was a keepsake left by Your Grace’s mother…”
“It’s fine, Jane.”
Sensing they were about to repeat the same conversation again, Trisha decided it was time to tell the truth.
“That necklace was fake anyway.”
“…What?”
The real one had been destroyed when Trisha turned back time.
“The one my aunt took was a replica I prepared in advance.”
