Home/The villainess's personal maid is very good at her job/ch 23

Episode 23

"Thank you for your generous understanding."

Bowing once more, Joanna carried Geron in her arms and walked away.

Peeking out from his nanny's embrace, the child gave a small wave.

Janet's face, which had been maintaining a dignified expression, softened in an instant.

Smiling broadly, Janet waved back at Geron.

Ah, his cheeks turned red.

How adorable.

"You're too soft."

"Lord Geron didn't do anything wrong. And Madam Joanna apologized."

"Still, it's annoying. Because of that little brat, we got unnecessarily misunderstood!"

"If you're misunderstood, you just clear it up. Like today."

There was no point getting angry over something already resolved—only the one angry would lose out.

"If you ever feel wronged again, come to me. I'll resolve it for you, just like today."

"……Fancy words."

Though she grumbled, the corners of Julietta's mouth kept twitching upward.

But only for a moment.

The moment Julietta's gaze reached Kendrick's villa, her bright expression cooled.

Biting her lip, Julietta turned her head as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Let's go back to the room. I'm tired and need to rest."

Janet looked between Kendrick's villa and Julietta, then quietly followed behind her.

---

Chapter. Suspicious Tea Leaves

Two days later, in the evening.

Janet headed to the meeting place with Theo. This time too, the meeting spot was the left fork of the North Forest.

"Today…… a knight, I see?"

"Yes. A knight."

Unlike last time when he'd worn a servant's clothes, today Kendrick appeared in a knight's training uniform.

"It's better to disguise myself as various occupations when moving around mixed in."

That made sense.

Janet quickly agreed, unaware of Kendrick's true thought: 'Since she already recognized me, I might as well wear something decent.'

"The results from the tea leaves you asked me to investigate have come back."

"How were they? Was anything mixed in?"

"Yes. Impurities were present."

Kendrick's face was cold as he answered.

"A drug that induces insomnia was mixed in."

"Just as I suspected."

At Janet's reaction, Kendrick looked surprised.

"You already anticipated this?"

"Roughly. Two days ago, I went with her Ladyship to visit Nova."

Usually, subordinates don't summon their superiors.

Yet instead of visiting Julietta's villa herself, Nova had summoned the Lady to her own reception room.

What an arrogant and self-confident attitude.

Anyway—

"After meeting Nova, her Ladyship said something."

"Today I met Nova, so I should sleep well tonight."

"What do you mean by that, my Lady?"

"Exactly what I said. Nova used to be my nursemaid. Maybe because I'm used to relying on her, but on the days I meet Nova, I strangely sleep well."

Janet couldn't help but feel suspicious at Julietta's words.

No matter how comfortable the company, chronic insomnia wouldn't be resolved so easily.

"At first, I suspected sleeping pills."

Maybe Nova was putting sleeping pills in the tea served to the Lady on days they had tea together.

"But that didn't quite add up."

If it were sleeping pills, the effect would be immediate. Not just better sleep at night.

Also, while considering that something might have been mixed into the tea leaves in Julietta's villa, 'sleeping pills' didn't quite fit.

So she decided to think in reverse.

"Mix insomnia-inducing drugs into the tea leaves in the villa, and on days when her Ladyship meets Nova, serve tea containing the 'antidote.'"

"I see."

Theo let out a short exclamation and added.

"Judging by today's results, your deduction appears to be correct."

"I think so too."

Janet's dark blue eyes gleamed sharply.

"Was the drug detected in both the tea leaves from the storeroom and the tea caddy?"

"Yes."

"Then the drug was likely mixed into the storeroom tea leaves. Since Shien managed the tea storage key, it would have been entirely possible."

Janet had taken over the tea leaves that Shien had managed, so the drug remained.

"How did you handle the contaminated tea leaves?"

"I left them untouched for now. I was afraid that if anyone found out I suspected the tea leaves, things would get complicated."

Of course, since she'd started suspecting, she hadn't served the problematic tea leaves to Julietta.

'It's fortunate that the tea leaves the Head Butler shared with me are plentiful.'

Julietta had taken a liking to that tea as well, so she hadn't complained about being served the same tea for several days.

"If Nova looks for someone to replace Shien in handling the tea leaves, she'll have that person spike the leaves in the same way. But if she finds out I suspect the tea……"

"She'll change her method. That would certainly be troublesome."

"Right?"

Kendrick nodded.

"When is the next tea leaf delivery?"

"In three days."

"In three days……"

"After the tea leaves are delivered, I'll watch closely to see who takes an interest in them."

If Nova was indeed the one spiking the tea, she would surely find someone to replace Shien and continue her scheme.

Julietta's insomnia had been going on for a very long time, which meant someone had been continuously spiking her tea.

She wouldn't give up something she'd been doing for so long.

'I'll have to give up sleep for a few days.'

The other party was likely to move at night, after everyone had gone home. So she planned to secretly lie in wait near the storeroom.

As Janet made her plans with a serious expression, Kendrick's eyes narrowed.

"Miss Janet."

"Yes?"

"Let me make one thing clear."

What is it.

Why was he looking so serious?

As Janet tensed slightly, Kendrick spoke with an even sterner tone.

"No dangerous stunts. Prioritize your own safety above all else."

At the unexpected words, Janet blinked.

And then—

"……Yes. I'll do my best."

"Sigh. There you go again with that answer."

At the clearly evasive reply, Kendrick sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

His dark blue eyes, fitting for the night, glanced away.

"Are you carrying the protective artifact with you?"

"Of course. I'm wearing it right now."

Janet proudly lifted the necklace hidden beneath her clothes.

The blue jewel on it sparkled in the moonlight.

"Then that's enough. If anything suspicious happens, don't hesitate to use it immediately."

At Kendrick's warning, Janet didn't answer readily.

She glanced at the necklace with a hint of regret.

"Is breaking the jewel the only way to use it?"

How could she be expected to break such a pretty jewel? Such a shame.

Reading Janet's thoughts easily, Kendrick carefully took the jewel of her necklace in his hand.

"I can get you as many of these as you need, so don't hesitate."

Having her thoughts seen through precisely, Janet bit her lip.

After a moment, she slowly nodded and managed to answer.

"I'll…… try my best at that too."

In any case, she never gave a straightforward answer.

'She could afford to value herself a little more.'

Janet was someone worthy of that. No—there was no one in this world who wasn't worthy of that.

But this wise woman seemed unaware of that simple fact.

Looking down at Janet, the corner of Kendrick's mouth lifted bitterly.

---

A white cargo carriage stopped in front of Julietta's villa.

"Handmaiden. The items you ordered have arrived."

"Thank you. May I check them against the order form?"

"Of course. Here is the order form."

Janet carefully compared the tea leaves with the order form.

Before her, the coachman and porter waited in stiff, formal postures.

They had been severely reprimanded by their superiors for the incident where they'd been swept along by that maid and misdelivered the gifts.

And that maid had even stolen one of the gifts……

'If the handmaiden hadn't forgiven us, we would have been in big trouble.'

It wouldn't have just been a scolding and writing a report—they might have been fired from Ludwig and faced criminal charges.

Remembering that spine-chilling memory, the two maintained their at-attention posture with gratitude.

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