Chapter 72

“It’s been a while, Susan.”

“It has indeed, Catherine.”

Though it had been some time since I last saw her, Susan was still as beautiful as ever. Her cascading blonde hair and intelligent green eyes added a radiant touch to her beauty. Susan, who had removed her glasses, gazed at me. Formerly a secret agent of the royal court and now my mentor, Susan had an air of mysteriousness about her. Behind her, the twin swords that were her trademark stood neatly arranged.

“So, what brings you here right after your return?”

“I have something I want to ask you.”

“About Marcia, I presume.”

Susan, with uncanny intuition, slowly rose from her seat. She approached me without making a sound, her footsteps so silent it felt like I was seeing a ghost. Once she reached me, Susan took both of my hands in hers.

“So you’ve been training hard during your time away.”

“Well, I think I might be able to beat you now.”

“Oh please, you could have beaten me before even entering the Academy.”

With an elegant smile, Susan released my hands and casually walked back to her desk to pick up a document. As I received it, I began reading the letters inscribed on the paper: Marcia Alistair. A lady from a noble family?

“This is the investigation report on Marcia.”

“…Hmm.”

The fact that they didn’t chase her away after such an investigation indicated she was either useful or innocent. I thought this as I continued to read the document.

‘Marcia Alistair. Second daughter of the disgraced Alistair family. The eldest disappeared, parents dragged off to labor camps and perished. Left all alone, she abandoned the Alistair name and took a position in a count’s family before coming to the House of Marquis of Portus as soon as her contract expired…’

It was noted that her sword training likely took place before her family’s disgrace, suggesting she might have had some talent. However, no weapons were found, prompting a small sigh from me.

“With just this, I can’t tell if she’s innocent or not.”

“That’s right. Which is why you happened to come at the perfect time.”

“No way…”

“Investigate that maid named Marcia for me. As much as I feel uneasy about her, I can’t just kick out the daughter of a fallen family, even if she is just a common maid.”

“Why me?”

“Because you have the most free time.”

With a smile that said everything, I found myself without a rebuttal and simply nodded. After all, I had no justification to refuse, and investigating her was something I wanted to do in the first place.

“Wait a minute. Why does she hold such animosity toward me?”

“Hmm? She holds animosity toward you? That’s news to me.”

Her response, delivered with wide blinking eyes, seemed sincere. If Susan didn’t notice, it meant Marcia had hidden it well. Or it could be that I had been absent from the family for so long that such matters passed me by. How should I approach someone who harbors animosity towards me? I fell into deep thought.

#

“Ah hahah!”

“…Young Lady, shouldn’t you be doing something more productive during vacation?”

As I watched Lilian sprawled across the bed, I let out a small sigh. While investigating was important, my first priority was Lilian. I offered her some cookies as a snack and poured juice into a cup from the tray.

“Huh? It’s vacation! What am I supposed to do?”

“Productive work…”

“Hahahaha! That’s a funny joke! Catherine!”

Saying it wasn’t a joke seemed pointless as Lilian grinned and fell back onto the bed. Who is this lazy bum? The young lady I knew wouldn’t wallow like that. I sighed again, casting a slightly annoyed glance at Lilian, who was now spilling crumbs from the cookie.

Does she even realize who’s going to clean that up? This foolish girl… Wait, I remind myself that she is the young lady I serve. With that thought, I controlled my annoyance and softly spoke up.

“Please don’t eat in bed.”

“…Huh, when did I spill this?”

With an apologetic look, Lilian nodded and moved to sit at the small tea table beside the bed. Of course, she wasn’t drinking tea. Lilian began reading the novel while continuing to munch on cookies and slurping juice. Watching her, I let out my third sigh of the day.

“Why do I keep sighing? I’m going to jinx myself!”

“Does sighing cause bad luck?”

“Huh? Yes, yes, that’s what they say.”

“…”

Is she pretending she doesn’t know, or does she genuinely not care? Seeing Lilian use a phrase that is more common in the East, especially in Korea, made me gulp. Lately, it felt like everything I did with Lilian led to me sighing more than normal.

“Young Lady, I’m stepping out for a bit.”

“Uh-huh, bring back more cookies! They’re delicious!”

Nodding at Lilian, who stared at me with a cookie hanging from her mouth, I thought she looked a bit cute despite everything.

“Oh my, who is this? It’s Catherine, the young lady’s dedicated maid!”

“…Miss Marcia. Nice to meet you.”

“Not nice for me.”

“Is that so?”

What does this prickly young lady want from me? Despite saying she didn’t want to socialize on the first day, she constantly comes to me if she’s bored, practically challenging me every chance she gets, even seeking me out during breaks.

“Miss Marcia, do you perhaps like me?”

“Wha, wha, wha, what are you talking about?!”

With her face reddening as she shouted, I simply nodded. She looked genuinely taken aback; I could tell it wasn’t a lie… probably.

“With nonsense like that coming out of your mouth, it seems you’ve caught a fever or something. I have no interest in the company of strange people, so I’ll take my leave.”

“Um, Miss Marcia, take care.”

“Hmph!”

Watching Marcia snicker and walk away, I turned to leave. So much for trying to become friends today. I had shown her kindness, exercising a bit of patience, but my true self would have unleashed a swift kick her way. However, the fact that she was my investigation target, plus oddly not being entirely detestable, kept me from doing so.

“What a bother…”

It had been two weeks since the young lady arrived at the estate. The day of the Marchioness’s return was fast approaching. That crazy woman would come looking for the young lady right after her return. Heaven knows what kind of nonsense she might stir this time.

The Marchioness despises the young lady. While the Marquis remains indifferent towards her—well, indifferent seems too mild—The Marchioness openly loathes her. One could say that such animosity still contains a form of interest, but frankly, it seems better if there’s no interest at all.

Honestly, I don’t know the reason. Could it be because the young lady takes after the Marquis? Or perhaps some unresolved grudge? The Marchioness is a difficult woman to understand.

Last time she returned, she slapped the young lady across the face. In high society, she would have furiously retaliated, but she barely reacted to her mother’s aggression. In a tense atmosphere, the young lady held back her tears, gracefully curtsied, and left.

The Marchioness was the type to mete out such unprovoked violence against her own flesh and blood. To be frank, I’ve had my moments where I wished to staunchly oppose her. Despite this, the young lady followed her mother regardless, yet the way the Marchioness viewed the young lady—that wasn’t the gaze of a loving mother.

Therefore, during this vacation, I sincerely hoped the Marchioness wouldn’t return. Even the somewhat blind young lady broke down into tears after being assaulted by the Marchioness. Would Lilian escape unscathed from the brutality of the Marchioness?

Currently, Lilian probably has no feelings towards the Marchioness. I could even suggest that she should hide herself from the Marchioness’s sight. But no matter how she avoids it, the likelihood of facing the Marchioness remains high.

In the end, my responsibility is to steer clear of any encounters between Lilian and the Marchioness and, should that encounter happen, ensure Lilian remains mentally intact. After all, if the Marquis doesn’t step in, the Marchioness is the one in charge around this mansion.

At least with the Marquis staying, the Marchioness’s excess would be somewhat curbed, yet alas, the Marquis had temporarily left the estate for business. In this situation, I was the only one capable of protecting Lilian. Though my method was passive.

Reaffirming my determination, I resumed my aimless footsteps.