Chapter 43
“An invitation came from the imperial palace!”
Ares grimaced and covered his ears at Aveline’s loud proclamation.
“I’m right in front of you, you know?”
“Ahem.”
Sensing that Ares might leave if she kept shouting, Aveline quickly cleared her throat and turned her head.
She turned towards the direction of the servants’ quarters.
“But you see, that invitation was meant for me, yet strangely it was delivered to Father? Strangely. Isn’t that strange?”
“How many times are you going to say ‘strange’?”
Ares crossed his arms and looked at his sister suspiciously.
‘That should have been loud enough to hear.’
Emma’s room was on the first floor of the servants’ quarters, close to the entrance.
So if her roommate Lisa was in the room, she would have heard it clearly.
Tap
Just then, the sound of a window closing came from not too far away.
The sound came from the direction of the first-floor entrance.
‘Did we catch something?’
Someone had definitely heard, but she couldn’t be certain it was Lisa.
“And I should apologize to His Highness the Crown Prince for almost missing the invitation because it wasn’t delivered to me. Mishandling a letter bearing the imperial seal could lead to serious consequences.”
“Hmm.”
“Fortunately Father received it, but otherwise, I might have committed the discourtesy of ignoring an imperial invitation. What do you think, Ares?”
“That’s true, but…”
Ares responded.
“Why do you keep talking towards someone’s window?”
“Huh?”
When she turned to look, she realized she was indeed standing in front of a first-floor window of the servants’ quarters, just as Ares had said.
‘When did I get this close?’
She had tried to maintain a reasonable distance, but it seemed she had failed while focusing on speaking.
“Ahem.”
How did the window get so close?
Though slightly embarrassed, Aveline decided to examine the window since she was already there.
‘I think I see something.’
Below the window frame, she could see what looked like the frills of a maid’s headdress.
‘Aha.’
Someone was apparently hiding and listening intently.
Aveline stepped back one step and surveyed the location again.
This spot wasn’t far from where she had previously visited Emma hoping to get freshly baked cookies.
‘Emma said her room was the second from the entrance on the first floor.’
One, two.
Coincidentally, the window in front of Aveline was also the second from the entrance.
This meant whoever was crouching under the window eavesdropping on Aveline and Ares’s conversation had to be either Emma or Lisa.
But judging by the hair color visible under the frills, which wasn’t brown, it wasn’t Emma.
Therefore—
Clang!
“Aaaah!”
Aveline didn’t hesitate to throw the window wide open.
The maid hiding beneath the window fell backward in surprise.
She was a young-looking maid with round glasses and dark green curly hair.
“M-My lady!”
The maid immediately prostrated herself upon seeing Aveline.
‘This must be Lisa.’
She had to be Lisa, as she was the only other person who would be in Emma’s room.
‘But she looks younger than I expected.’
She couldn’t be more than twenty, even being generous.
“Did you hear well?”
“P-Pardon?”
“What I just said.”
The maid, presumably Lisa, visibly panicked at Aveline’s words.
“I-I didn’t mean to listen, it just happened to be audible!”
“You’re Lisa, right?”
“How did you…”
Lisa gaped in surprise.
“Emma, who I’m close with, uses this room. So the only other person here would be her roommate, right?”
“B-Being close with a maid… even knowing about the roommate…”
Lisa muttered in apparent shock at Aveline’s words.
‘That’s what’s shocking?’
Isn’t it natural to be close to someone you see and talk with frequently?
Besides, Aveline had spent the last few years confined to the mansion, so she inevitably spent more time with the servants than other noble ladies would.
“Ahem. Anyway, Emma mentioned you handle the correspondence?”
“H-How do you know that too!”
Lisa jerked her head up in surprise again.
Then, upon meeting Aveline’s eyes, she quickly prostrated herself again.
“You’ve been working here for about four years, right?”
“Eek!”
Lisa jumped at each of Aveline’s statements, making Aveline feel like some kind of fortune teller.
“You look young—how old were you when you started working?”
“T-Twelve years old.”
Lisa’s answer surprised not only Aveline but also Ares standing beside her.
That would mean she was only sixteen now?
“At such a young age?”
“I-I’m the head of my family…”
What a sad story.
‘Could her mistakes be due to lack of experience because of her young age?’
Aveline, who had initially suspected Lisa might be working under someone else’s instructions, felt her heart softening slightly upon hearing that Lisa had started working at only twelve years old.
“…Are you managing the work okay?”
“T-To think you would even ask about that!”
Lisa ducked her head again in shock.
“After four years, you must be quite used to it by now.”
Ares, who had been quietly observing, cut in.
“Eek!”
Lisa’s shoulders jumped even more dramatically when Ares, who had been silent until then, spoke up.
“You almost went soft there, didn’t you? After hearing about how young she was when she started.”
“…No?”
Aveline awkwardly shook her head, having been hit right on the mark.
“Really? Then why did your face suddenly become so understanding while interrogating her? Today’s letter incident was a serious mistake. Even though it went to Father, since it was addressed to you, you should have received it.”
Ares pointed out the facts.
“That’s true.”
Thanks to him, Aveline quickly regained her composure.
“I almost became too lenient. It’s not time for that yet.”
“H-Hiik!”
Lisa panicked again as Aveline collected herself.
“Ares is right. I’m going to tell His Highness the Crown Prince about this. Because due to your mishandling of the correspondence, I didn’t receive it on time and will be late to his invitation.”
“B-But!”
Lisa cried out, seemingly feeling wronged.
“Y-You did receive it properly! I-I tried my best!”
“What good is that if it didn’t come directly to me?”
“I-I thought delivering it to the Count would be fastest…”
“Hmm.”
Aveline’s eyes narrowed at Lisa’s words.
“So you’re saying you intentionally diverted my letter to Father?”
“Eek!”
Lisa prostrated herself even lower at Aveline’s observation.
‘She’s practically touching the ground.’
Her small head could be seen trembling.
‘She seems easily frightened, yet her actions are quite bold.’
Something didn’t add up.
She wouldn’t have dared to interfere with an imperial invitation like today’s unless she had done similar things with correspondence before.
“This isn’t your first time, is it?”
“P-Pardon?”
Lisa raised her head blankly at Aveline’s question.
“I’m not sure what you mean…”
“I’m talking about intercepting my letters all this time.”
“I don’t know what…”
“All correspondence addressed to me stopped after you arrived at the mansion. And letters only reached me normally on the one day you were off—when Emma worked in your place.”
“…”
Lisa fell silent as Aveline presented her circumstantial evidence.
“Well, since there weren’t many letters addressed to me, I suppose no one was suspicious until now. Not even me.”
“…”
“But what about the letters Servell has been sending every day recently?”
“…!”
Lisa’s eyes wavered behind her large round glasses.
“Those only reached me on days when you weren’t here. Isn’t that strange?”
“…”
Lisa’s face filled with terror as she failed to find any more excuses.
“What? Is that true?”
Ares cut in as soon as Aveline finished speaking.
“You dared to tamper with letters coming into the mansion? We should inform Father and have her dismissed.”
Ares turned to head into the mansion with a cold expression.
“P-Please spare me!”
As Ares showed his determination, Lisa fell to her knees and began begging with clasped hands.
“I-I have siblings in an orphanage, I-I only did what I was told!”
Then she began confessing voluntarily.
“Because of mother’s dying wish to protect my siblings no matter what… sob I-I’m sorry!”
Her circumstances seemed quite complicated.
However…
‘Wrong is still wrong.’
While it was tragic that she had become the head of her family at such a young age, the isolation Aveline had felt for the past four years due to Lisa’s actions couldn’t be compensated for.
“Just how far did your tampering go?”
Ares, who had stopped on his way to the mansion, asked.
“Come to think of it, I thought something was odd lately. I haven’t been seeing any of the love letters that usually come for me.”
“…”
“Let me ask while I have the chance. Did you tamper with my letters too?”
Ares crossed his arms and put on an arrogant expression.
“If you dared to handle my love letters based on your own assumptions that I might be tired of them…”
“N-No!”
Lisa, face pale, squeezed her eyes shut and cut off Ares’s words.
“I never touched any letters addressed to young master!”
