Home/The villainess's personal maid is very good at her job/ch 24

Episode 24

From that night, Janet's all-night surveillance began.

She had placed the tea leaves in the storeroom and the kitchen, so surely someone would make a move.

Though Janet now had the key to the tea storage in the storeroom, it was highly likely that a spare copy had been made during Shien's time.

However—

'It's already the fourth night, and no one's come.'

Yawn.

Letting out a small sigh, Janet leaned her head against the wall.

Four nights in a row was perhaps too much, no matter how she looked at it.

But there was no choice.

If she let her guard down for even a moment and missed the culprit, she'd be so frustrated she wouldn't be able to sleep.

Of course, she wasn't sleeping anyway.

'No matter how I think about it, it's about time for them to act.'

She had been checking through Nia, the kitchen maid, to see if anyone had approached the storeroom during the day, but there seemed to be no unusual movements.

As expected, the culprit moved at night rather than during the day……

"Yawn."

Another yawn made her eyes water. Her head, leaning against the wall, kept getting heavier.

Her eyelids grew heavy too.

This was bad. If this continued, she'd end up dozing off right here……

Huff.

Janet snapped her closed eyes open and looked around.

'Oh no. I dozed off without realizing it.'

And that wasn't all.

What had woken her was the sound of someone's footsteps. It wasn't a loud noise, but she heard it clearly.

'Surely they haven't already come and gone?'

This was no time to be idle. Janet sprang up and rushed out of the kitchen.

The storeroom was located at the back of the kitchen.

With no windows in the storeroom, the only passages were the kitchen door or the kitchen window.

'They probably wouldn't have walked out through the kitchen door.'

Sure enough, the lock on the kitchen window was open.

At this point, hesitation was a luxury.

Opening the window, she jumped out—her eyes flashed.

Footprints that hadn't been there during the day were visible.

From not too far away, the sound of someone running urgently could be heard.

'They're trying to leave after finishing the job.'

No. She had to confirm their face before that, no matter what.

Did lack of sleep actually sharpen her mind?

Or was it because she had just woken from a nap?

Her vision was strangely clear and her mind sharp. Even her five senses felt several times more acute than usual.

'The sound of grass being stepped on.'

Over there.

'The footsteps are light.'

A woman? Or a small-built man?

Fortunately, the other person wasn't very fast. They probably never imagined someone would be watching at this hour, so they must have let their guard down.

'Getting closer.'

Soon, the figure came into Janet's view.

A short-haired maid of small stature.

A silhouette that seemed somewhat familiar.

'That person is……'

Recognizing the person's identity, Janet ran without hesitation and grabbed the maid.

"Eek, mmp!"

Startled, the maid screamed as her wrist was caught. She was quickly silenced by Janet.

"Shh, be quiet. Sandy."

At Janet's warning, Sandy slowly nodded.

---

The two moved to Janet's room.

Having resigned herself to being caught, Sandy obediently followed Janet.

"Now, let's hear what you have to say."

Why she had done such a thing.

At Janet's addition, Sandy flinched. Tears quickly welled up at the drooping corners of her eyes.

"Th-that's…… well……"

"Sandy, do you know what you've done?"

Sandy trembled silently as Janet sighed.

"Spiking tea leaves meant for the Lady—a child of a great noble family—with drugs. This is not something that can be brushed aside."

"B-but……!"

"But?"

"I-it wasn't poison or anything……"

Sandy's voice, which had been making excuses, faded. Probably because even she realized how absurd it sounded.

"It doesn't matter whether it was poison or not. What matters is that you attempted to harm the Lady."

Trickle. Sandy, now crying out of fear, turned pale.

"H-Handmaiden. I was wrong. I never meant to harm the Lady. Please, believe me, p-please."

Sob. Sandy burst into near-hysterical crying.

"An-and, sniff, I haven't actually done anything to the Lady's tea leaves yet."

Janet, who had been looking down at Sandy with a cold gaze, blinked.

"Is that true?"

"Y-yes. Today I was going to…… I was definitely going to do it, but……"

Trembling, Sandy pulled a small bottle from her bosom and handed it over.

The tiny glass bottle contained a greenish-brown powder.

It was a color that would be difficult to notice if mixed into tea leaves.

"I just couldn't do it…… hweeeh."

"I see. So that's how it was."

Only then did Janet's expression soften slightly. In truth, Janet had been quite shocked to learn that Sandy was the culprit.

A young maid who worked hard, though sometimes clumsy.

Janet didn't dislike Sandy. She had even felt sympathy for her, knowing how hard it must be for someone so young to work in the kitchen here.

But to learn that she had been following Nova's orders to spike the Lady's tea.

She couldn't describe her disappointment and sense of betrayal.

But—

'She hasn't done it yet.'

That one fact alone made Janet's feelings toward Sandy considerably lighter.

"Sandy."

"Sniff, y-yes. Handmaiden."

"Why did you do this?"

At Janet's softened voice, Sandy fidgeted with the bottle in her hand.

"Sandy. If you tell me honestly, I can protect you."

"……R-really? If I'm honest, sob, you'll, you'll really protect me?"

"Of course. I swear it on my position as handmaiden."

Her position as handmaiden.

Sandy knew what that meant. For someone like her, she was even swearing on her handmaiden position.

After a moment's hesitation, Sandy finally gathered her courage and spoke.

"A-actually, it was Head Housekeeper Nova who told me to do it."

Sandy's story went like this:

A few days ago, she had received a secret summons from Nova and visited the main building. There, Nova had handed her this drug and told her to mix it into the Lady's tea.

Frightened, Sandy had tried to refuse Nova's orders.

However—

"Mary, who works in the main building, is from the same hometown as you, isn't she?"

At that name, Sandy couldn't bring herself to refuse.

Mary was Sandy's childhood friend, born and raised in the same village. They had been inseparable since childhood, and had even applied together when Ludwig was recruiting maids.

Though they had ended up in different workplaces—the main building and Lady Julietta's villa—their friendship remained strong.

"It seems Mary is having a hard time adjusting lately."

"M-Mary?"

"Yes. Look over there."

With those words, Nova pointed out the window.

Following her gesture, Sandy was shocked.

Two tall maids followed beside Mary, who was staggering under a mountain of laundry.

They poked Mary's back with their fingers, and when she fell with a crash, they clutched their stomachs laughing before walking away.

Left alone, Mary picked up the scattered laundry while crying.

"Sandy. If you do this one thing for me, Mary won't have to suffer such harsh treatment. I'll see to it."

"……"

"But if you disobey me."

Hoo.

Nova's sigh, laced with feigned pity, pressed heavily on Sandy's shoulders.

Her best friend's fate was in her hands.

In the end, Sandy had no choice but to follow Nova's orders. She had a strong intuition that if she refused, Mary would face even worse treatment.

After finishing her story, Sandy wiped her tears with the back of her hand and said:

"B-but when I actually tried to do it, I was so scared and guilty that……"

Janet could hardly contain her anger at Sandy's story.

Sandy was just a young maid of fifteen. Mary was likely the same age.

And yet, to torment such young children and force them to do this.

Nova was a far more terrible woman than she had imagined.

"Thank you for being honest, Sandy. I'll protect you and Mary no matter what."

"R-really, handmaiden?"

"Of course. So don't worry—go back and rest. And don't tell anyone about today."

"Y-yes! I, I will."

Janet handed her handkerchief to Sandy, who was rubbing her tear-stained eyes.

Receiving the handkerchief, Sandy's eyes welled up with tears again.

"I'm…… so glad you caught me before I did it."

Sniff.

Bowing her head with sorrowful tears, Sandy said—

"Thank you, thank you so much, handmaiden."

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