“I have been entrusted with full authority regarding the villa as the Duke has left. However, before that, he ordered me absolutely not to dismiss Miss Julia, and to cover all expenses required for Miss Tiamat’s school life. Starting today, Miss Julia will be performing tasks not as a maid but as a regular servant.”
“Yes…”
He really left.
I only felt that realization when the butler calmly explained everything to me.
I never thought he would be this kind of person.
No matter how embarrassing the situation, I assumed the Duke would call for me the next morning, grinning shamelessly.
“Butler.”
“Yes?”
“Is there any message that the Duke left when he departed last night?”
“That’s what I want to ask. What on earth happened for the Duke to leave so suddenly? As far as I know, there shouldn’t have been such an urgent matter.”
“…”
I had no choice but to respond to the butler’s annoying question with silence.
Who would have thought such a man would hurriedly pack his things and run away in the middle of the night?
Although the butler probably knew the Duke better than I did, even he did not foresee this.
What could have happened to that brazen, slick, and perverted man?
What kind of change of heart made him apologize to me?
What was he thinking alone last night, and what resolution did he come to…?
“…Ugh.”
I clenched my teeth.
I was irritated.
The very fact that I had to think about such nonsense was frustrating.
In the end, it was that jerk who was at fault, so why should my mind be in turmoil?
Even after leaving, he still caused trouble.
It was still dawn.
It wasn’t even time for Tia to wake up, and breakfast preparation was still a while away.
I took a deep breath and mustered the strength in my body as I headed toward the villa.
There was only one room in the building where the lights were still shining through, brightly illuminated amidst the darkness.
As expected, it was the kitchen.
Now I was also a regular maid.
With the Duke gone, who used to be by my side, I now had to take on tasks like cleaning the villa, doing laundry, and assisting with cooking.
The maidservants would be quite happy with one less hand in the way since I had barely helped them all this time.
I rolled up my sleeves and headed toward the noisy kitchen filled with chatter.
Everyone seemed excited at the news of the Duke’s departure.
“Hehe, are you all raising a toast? Can I join?”
“Ah…”
“Oh…”
“Uh…”
As soon as I entered the kitchen, the atmosphere turned cold and silence fell.
All the maids, who had previously been chatting animatedly, were now staring at me with peculiar looks, each assessing my reaction.
Their faces were filled with bewilderment and confusion.
I recognized it right away.
They had been talking behind my back.
In the past, I might not have noticed, but now, just by looking at their faces, I could tell.
“What? Were you talking about me? I was so clueless about it. Should I leave for a moment?”
“Ah, no, you can come in.”
“Oh? So, what were you saying about me?”
“…”
I playfully asked while tying my apron.
But suddenly everyone fell silent, and the atmosphere felt strange.
It was clear they had been talking about me behind my back.
Yet, a thought crossed my mind; perhaps what they discussed wasn’t necessarily bad.
“Um… Miss Julia…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“We didn’t mean to eavesdrop or anything. It was purely by coincidence while we were pruning the trees in the garden that we overheard it. You… your conversation with the Duke at the main gate yesterday…”
Ah.
I thought I knew which moment they were talking about.
When the Duke had grabbed my shoulder.
In an instant, I panicked and was on the verge of tears.
That was the moment.
The problem was that I couldn’t quite recall what words I had uttered back then.
What did they hear that made them all so hesitant?
“Really?”
“What about?”
“Did you really… get assaulted by the Duke…?”
“Ah…”
So that’s what it was.
I had carelessly mentioned it outside.
I shut my eyes tightly.
Though it wasn’t my fault, it was hardly something I wanted to be known.
It was simply bothersome.
I held on tightly to my skirt and lowered my head.
“Yes…”
“Oh my. What do we do?”
There was no particular reason to hide it.
Whether the gossip spread through the talkative maids was of no concern to me.
So I decided to just admit it.
Denying it would only make me look foolish with strange excuses.
“Julia, I’m really sorry.”
“Huh. What do you have to apologize for?”
“No… I thought you were doing great all this time… But in reality, you had to spend every day with the person who assaulted you…”
Suddenly, the maids started sniffling.
As if it were their own misfortune.
It was quite bewildering.
“Why are you making such a fuss?”
“Come here, Julia.”
“Ugh…”
I tried to laugh it off awkwardly but ended up being embraced.
I was fine just a moment ago.
But as soon as I was held, tears threatened to spill over.
Damn, these girls are making me…
“Huh?”
“Oh?”
At that moment, a sound from the back made my whole body stiffen.
It clearly came from the kitchen door.
Someone was outside.
I hurriedly released the hug and quickly dashed to peek into the corridor outside.
“Who was it?”
“No one. There’s nobody.”
“What? So it must have been the wind.”
That couldn’t have been just the wind.
It sounded unmistakably like someone had stomped their foot—a dull sound.
Who else might be in this villa besides us?
It couldn’t be the butler or the head cook.
If those two overheard our conversation, they’d scold us rather than run away like fools.
So naturally, there could only be one other person…
“Oh. No way.”
My vision blurred.
.
.
.
“Ugh…”
Just after Julia left the room.
Tia abruptly threw off the covers and sat up.
Looking in the mirror, Tia noticed her mother’s displeased face.
“Mom seems a bit strange today…”
Her mother was different from usual.
Typically, Mom would come over to Tia, who was pretending to sleep, and for a while, she’d pet Tia’s head and kiss her cheek before leaving.
But today, there was no contact at all, and in the end, she simply pressed her lips to Tia’s forehead once before going.
It felt as if her mother had completely forgotten about her existence until she noticed her at the last moment.
“Is today a busy day? Was work tough yesterday?”
Tia desperately tried to understand her mother.
But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t suppress the discomfort that lingered.
Today, she felt a strong urge to throw a tantrum at her mother.
Of course, she always felt this way, but today it was especially intense.
Tia quickly washed her face and headed out of her accommodation.
Although she was slightly hungry, she planned to sneak in and grab some ingredients from the kitchen, which was preparing breakfast.
“Huh?”
Thud, thud.
As the sound of someone banging on the iron bars reached her ears, Tia’s head turned.
Beyond the main gate, Leopard was waving his hand.
Tia’s face lit up instantly as she dashed to the entrance.
“Leopard!”
“Don’t call me that outside…”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s a secret that I’m a girl.”
“Really? Anyone can tell you’re a girl! You’re so pretty, have a great figure, and your voice…”
“……”
Leopard’s face turned bright red in an instant.
Me, attractive as a woman?
That was the first time she’d ever heard such a thing.
Overcome with embarrassment, Leopard quietly mumbled.
“That, um, stop. Please, more importantly, can you get the butler to open the door for me?”
“I’ll tell the Duke!”
“Schwarz is probably not here. He left last night.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yeah. I rushed over as soon as I heard the news.”
A gentle smile spread across Leopard’s face.
The Duke had hastily packed and left the villa last night.
Whether he had urgent business back home or had a falling out with Julia was still unknown.
Leopard desperately hoped it was the latter.
“Why? Why did he leave?”
“That’s something I wouldn’t know. Anyway, taking advantage of the owner’s absence, I’m planning to cause a bit of trouble as a guest.”
“Hehe. You say that, but you’re too nice to cause any trouble.”
“No, I’m not.”
Leopard’s expression slightly soured.
Feeling as if she had shown her true feelings to a child, she felt quite uncomfortable.
“So should I go get the butler? Can you wait here a moment?”
“No, I think I can open it without the butler.”
“Huh?”
If I called the butler, there’s a chance Julia would notice.
Leopard wanted to sneak in and surprise Julia, so she smiled and pushed her hand through the iron bars.
With a crackling sound, a red light blocked her hand.
The red light gradually gathered, taking the form of a lock.
“Huh…”
But as soon as Leopard grasped it, the lock crumbled weakly.
Then, with a slight twist of her wrist, the iron bars creaked open.
She had successfully destroyed the villa’s security barrier.
And without setting off any alarms.
“I need to fix that barrier. With a much better one.”
The security was a mess.
Clearly, this was bound to happen relying solely on Duke Dragania’s superhuman vision.
The home of the Holy Maiden had become this way…
Leopard clicked her tongue and stepped inside the villa.
“Shh. You’ll keep it a secret, right?”
“……!”
Leopard brought her finger to her lips.
Tia quickly nodded and followed her side.
What a mysterious person, always revealing something new.
To Tia, there was no one as cool as Leopard.
“Do you know where your mom is?”
“She’s probably in her office right now… Oh! No! The Duke’s not here anymore! So she might be in the kitchen!”
“The kitchen. That makes sense.”
On the first floor of the villa.
There was one room lit up and bustling with activity.
Leopard took Tia’s hand and quietly entered the villa.
While strolling through the hallway, they spotted Julia coming down from the second floor.
“Leo. Hide…!”
“……?”
Leopard and Tia held their breath and hid behind the wall, stealthily following Julia toward the kitchen.
There was no real need to hide and follow, but somehow, they ended up tailing her.
Tia looked happy, so that was good.
“…Were you talking about me? I was so clueless. Should I leave for a second?”
“Ah, no, you can come in.”
As they leaned against the door beside the kitchen, the voices started coming in.
Leopard and Tia glanced at each other, desperately stifling their laughter while eavesdropping.
“Um… Miss Julia…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“We didn’t mean to eavesdrop; it was purely coincidental while we were pruning the trees in the garden that we overheard. Yesterday… your conversation with the Duke at the main gate…”
At that moment, Leopard sensed something was off.
She quickly covered Tia’s ears with her hands.
Even when Tia looked up in confusion, she didn’t let go.
“Really?”
“What about?”
“Did you really… get assaulted by the Duke…?”
“Ah… Yes…”
This was unexpected.
Leopard’s expression hardened.
At that moment, Tia, feeling impatient, accidentally stomped her foot.
“Who was that?”
“No one. There’s nobody.”
“What? So it must have been the wind.”
When Julia peeked out, the hallway was already empty.
It was because Leopard had silently embraced Tia and slipped out of the villa.
“Leo? What was that? What were they talking about?”
“Ha…”
Leopard’s legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the grass.
It was hard to believe.
No, she didn’t want to believe it.
She desperately wished she had misheard.
But after taking deep breaths, trying to clear her mind, Leopard finally accepted reality.
“Schwarz, that damn little bastard… repaying kindness with harm…”
Beside her, Tia was tugging at her clothes, asking questions, but they didn’t register in her ears.
Only anger clenched her fists, and her teeth ground together.
