Chapter 28
It was the butler, Patrick, who recommended May for the position of head maid.
Her family had served as maids for generations, so he trusted her. She was also living alone without a husband, and her daughter was sick, so she needed more money. Patrick felt sorry for her and decided to help.
So when May, claiming that the manor’s duties and miscellaneous tasks were overwhelming, offered to help him out like it was a favor, Patrick didn’t suspect a thing.
He simply thought it fortunate that May, being a woman herself, was willing to look after Victoria in the absence of a mistress.
Butlers and servants of the manor had no eye for spotting things like jewels or dresses.
Even if a scam was pulled right under their noses, they wouldn’t have noticed.
“It was my fault for not realizing it sooner. I’m terribly sorry, My Lord.”
The elderly butler fell to his knees, and Hannibal’s face contorted with a complicated expression. If anyone was at fault, it was him.
Because he was a Clayde.
As the unquestioned ruler of the West, no one dared to challenge his authority, so the idea that his subordinates might deceive him had never even occurred to him.
He had been blind to what was right beneath his nose.
“Please punish me, My Lord. Even death—I will accept it.”
A butler who had served Clayde with unwavering loyalty all his life was shaken to the core by the betrayal of a colleague.
Hannibal Clayde had never stayed long in the lord’s estate.
In the spring and summer, he was often at the border fighting frequent skirmishes. In the fall and winter, he was busy with monster subjugation.
Even during the short periods he stayed at the manor, the Lord would leave early in the morning to oversee Taguenes’ city affairs and return only late in the afternoon.
Compared to his father, Arthur Clayde, Hannibal’s actions were far more deserving of the people’s respect.
Patrick, who had served as butler for two generations, took it upon himself to fill the void left after Sarah Clayde’s death, managing the manor without a lady of the house.
But to think he had failed to notice things crumbling from within… even death would be too light a punishment.
In the tense, ice-cold atmosphere, the door burst open and Victoria appeared.
“Brother! I want to go catch that scammer!”
She stopped short, eyes wide, as she took in the scene inside.
She glanced at Hannibal, then at the silent attendant Jack, and finally to Patrick, who was kneeling on the floor.
“Butler Patrick?”
“Get up. We’ll deal with your punishment after May is caught.”
“Were you in on it too?”
Victoria’s voice trembled with disappointment.
Patrick was one of the few people in the estate who had treated her kindly.
Even if it had only been due to his upright character, she had felt some warmth from him—but was all of that a lie?
“Victoria.”
As she glared daggers into his graying head, Hannibal called her name.
“Yes, Brother.”
Victoria faced his sharp gaze without flinching.
Whether she liked it or not, the siblings shared the same indigo eyes.
Their resemblance was strong enough for anyone to immediately recognize them as siblings.
Had she not looked so unmistakably like a Clayde, Victoria likely wouldn’t have survived in this place.
Unlike the maids who pretended to cater to her whims, or the butler who had always smiled kindly, her brother had never done either.
Still, even though he disliked her, he had never completely ignored her—that must mean, deep down, he acknowledged her existence.
So even if only halfway, Hannibal must consider her family. At least, that’s what Victoria had tried to believe.
“Tell Jack, and leave it to him. You return to your room.”
“I want to catch her.”
“I don’t have time to indulge your whims. Go.”
Their relationship wasn’t close enough for her to whine and beg, so Victoria didn’t press further.
As she turned to leave, wearing a dissatisfied expression, there was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Anne, young lord.”
“Anne?”
Before Hannibal could respond, Victoria flung the door open. Anne was just catching her breath.
“Anne, were you running? Is something urgent?”
“Matilda is gone!”
Hannibal, Jack, and Patrick all turned to Anne.
“I went to bring her dinner, but she wasn’t in her room.”
“Did Matilda run away too? She wanted to leave, didn’t she?”
After her miscarriage, Matilda had grown hostile toward others and expressed a desire to leave the manor. Victoria had heard about it.
“She’s not well enough to leave on her own.”
“Could Head Maid May have orchestrated something?”
At Anne’s reply, Hannibal speculated aloud.
“I suspect so as well. Just this morning, May told me she’d leave Matilda unattended if I wasn’t around—but apparently, she brought her lunch herself. She may have hidden her somewhere to buy herself time to escape, or even sent her far away—”
“Did they steal a teleportation scroll to escape?”
Anne looked puzzled, unfamiliar with the term, and Jack turned to her.
“You don’t know about that?”
“Is it something related to magic? Then my sister wouldn’t know either. We’re both from the East.”
“Ah.”
Patrick seemed to realize something and raised a hand.
“The Witch’s Compass. She might have used that. We were planning to start organizing the relics this week, and I asked May to clean the basement. I handed her the key myself, the one you gave me, My Lord.”
“The Witch’s Compass?”
Everyone except Anne seemed to recognize the name.
As Hannibal ordered Jack to retrieve the relic immediately, Patrick explained it to Anne.
“It’s a magical artifact passed down through the Clayde family. It’s said to take you wherever you point it.”
Old noble families typically had a separate basement for storing artifacts and treasures.
Only trusted personnel were allowed access. The head maid, who managed the household, would surely know about it.
“It’s gone. It’s missing!”
Jack’s report froze the air in the room.
How could the sickly Matilda have known about the artifact, let alone found it? The culprit could only be the head maid.
“Jack. Contact Oliver and assemble a knight order immediately. Use tracking saddles and recover the artifact.”
Hannibal rose and looked around the room.
“Patrick, focus all efforts on finding May. And—”
“Yes, I’ll do everything I can.”
After hearing Patrick’s resolute reply, Hannibal turned his gaze to Victoria. With difficulty, he opened his mouth.
“While I’m away, I entrust you with the authority of the Lord. Victoria Clayde.”
“Really?”
Victoria’s face lit up as she clenched her fists in excitement.
Hannibal was reluctant, but the situation left him with no choice.
There was no one else in the manor he could trust besides a Clayde.
He had no idea where the lies and betrayals began or how far they extended.
Even if Patrick’s words were true, these events began at least five years ago.
Hannibal fell into deep doubt and disillusionment, wondering if anyone at the estate had truly followed him.
To make matters worse, the person who had unearthed all this was standing right in front of him—he couldn’t help but feel unsettled.
What was her aim in stirring up the estate? Could it all be part of some scheme or deception?
Hannibal’s suspicion was a natural form of self-defense.
Still, the truth could not be denied.
“Clayde belongs only to Clayde.”
Raised through harsh training as an heir, Hannibal had taken their loyalty for granted.
“You must be perfect, Hannibal. Your enemies are everywhere.”
He had been too focused on outside threats to realize there were enemies within.
Clayde’s presence was essential to sustaining the oasis that fed the West.
That unshakable fact gave him supreme authority.
But Hannibal had only ruled in name—he had not governed.
Failing to inspire loyalty was entirely his fault.
And now, he had been thoroughly exposed by a woman from the capital.
“Anne Perrault.”
He felt defeated by a mere maid as he called her name.
The brown eyes that looked up at him were calm and still.
“Support Victoria.”
No matter what he said, she didn’t flinch or show any pride.
“Yes.”
Though the answer was obedient, there was something stubborn in her tone—or was that just his imagination?
A maid banished to the frontier after a scandal with a young duke. That was all the information he had received about her.
Hannibal glanced at Anne briefly, then swiftly left the room.
* * *
“What should we do first, Anne?”
Victoria bounced around excitedly, thrilled to be entrusted with authority for the first time.
“We need to find Head Maid May.”
“Right. She has a sick daughter, so she couldn’t have gone far.”
Patrick added to Anne’s remark.
“We should check her house first and investigate around herbal shops. Also, let’s summon the scammer with the excuse of fitting the young lady’s dress. If May fled in a hurry, the scammer might still be unaware.”
“I’ll send people to search as well. We’ll have to catch the head maid eventually anyway.”
Once again, Patrick supplemented Anne’s suggestion. Victoria nodded in agreement.
With the manor now buzzing with activity, Anne got to work immediately.
She quickly wrote an invitation letter bearing Victoria’s signature and handed it to a servant.
She ordered them to search the head maid’s house for evidence and bring her family to the lord’s manor.
“If the fake André isn’t there, we’ll issue a wanted notice for both him and Head Maid May.”
Even if she had fled right after giving Matilda lunch, it was still too soon for news to spread widely.
“Do as Anne says.”
Victoria accepted all of Anne’s suggestions. After Patrick gave a bow and left, Victoria turned and said:
“Shall we have some tea while we wait?”
This chapter is still locked :’(