Rewriting the Trash Ending - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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17.

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A Bound Spirit who could not sleep for twenty-four hours had only one thing it could do: watch.
Half by choice, half by circumstance, I’d peered into the private lives of others.
Among everything I saw and heard, the most memorable incident was the one Becky caused.
She stole things, lied about being the Grand Duke’s woman, got caught, and was cast out.
‘I kept watching it like some melodrama, wondering when it would finally unravel…’
It was such an obvious lie that I’d been surprised it lasted as long as it did.
The basic duty of a handmaiden was to pretend ignorance of her mistress’s affairs, which is how the deception had persisted.
But when it was someone else’s problem, it didn’t matter—when it became mine, my head throbbed.
Lumiere stared in dismay at the ragged seam of her Dress, the fabric billowing loose and torn.
“Is repair possible?”
Terra answered in a dark tone.
“It will be difficult. The seam is completely torn, and the fabric has stretched. Even with repair, marks will inevitably remain….”
Truly hopeless.
I already had a mountain of work, and now this on top of it all.
Did she ruin the Dress on purpose, just to spite me?
‘Never mind. First, I need to find the culprit.’
Securing a new Dress was urgent, but I had to catch the perpetrator while the ‘evidence’ was right in front of me.
I was about to speak as I examined something thin caught around the torn seam—
“Your Highness, there’s something fallen just there.”
Directly beneath where the Dress had hung lay a leather Sewing Kit.
Terra read the name inscribed on the Sewing Kit in a confused voice.
“Hannah Everett?”
“Who is that?”
“You’ve seen her before, Your Highness. She’s the handmaiden in charge of supplies, but why would it be here….”
“Is she the woman who nearly defrauded me of Silk in the Reception Room?”
“Yes. In any case, I’ll conduct an interview with Hannah first.”
Becky cautiously interjected then.
“Handmaiden Chief, with solid evidence like this, shouldn’t we send her to prison immediately or cast her out?”
“Still, it’s best to hear from the person herself first.”
“But with the Ceremony so close, if we waste time on this….”
“Are you truly calling the investigation of who destroyed the Highness’s Dress a trivial matter?”
Terra’s gentle rebuke made Becky bite her lip.
Lumiere, who had been listening silently, collected her thoughts and gave an order.
“Bring Hannah here.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Becky vanished like an arrow, as if she’d been waiting for this moment.
“Your Highness, a Sewing Kit alone is insufficient to draw conclusions. We must hear from the person involved and verify any witnesses.”
“I know.”
Yet now that Hannah had been mentioned, she had to be brought in.
Not long after, Becky dragged Hannah through the door by the wrist.
“Your Highness, I’ve brought her.”
Hannah stumbled and caught her balance.
Her eyes were red and blotchy—she’d clearly learned of the suspicion on the way.
That she was under suspicion.
“Y-Your Highness….”
She was terrified.
Hannah gripped the hem of her maid’s uniform with trembling hands.
“Come closer.”
At Lumiere’s gesture, Hannah shuffled forward slowly, dragging her feet.
As if being led to the slaughter.
Lumiere held out the Sewing Kit and asked.
“Is this yours?”
“Y-yes, Your Highness, but that went missing several days ago… I truly know nothing of this….”

Of course.
The Sewing Kit had been placed beneath the hem of the Dress, as if someone had deliberately left it there.
As if someone had put it there on purpose.
“Take it.”
“I… pardon?”
“I’ve found its owner. It should be returned.”
Hannah accepted the Sewing Kit with a bewildered expression.
“That’s all I needed. Now go back to work.”
Hannah blinked rapidly.
“But… surely you have questions for me…?”
“I can only ask questions if there’s something to ask about.”
How your belongings ended up there, where you’ve been these past few days, what you were doing, whether anyone could vouch for you—Hannah had braced herself for all of it.
But Lumiere had simply returned the Sewing Kit without any interrogation. It was impossible to believe.
Lumiere watched Hannah standing motionless, clutching the Sewing Kit, and let out a soft laugh.
That was when Becky’s anxious voice cut in.
“Your Highness, you’re just letting her go? What if something like this happens again? You should lock her in prison or dismiss her at once—!”
“That’s precisely why I’m trying to catch the real culprit now, Becky.”
“Pardon?”
Lumiere showed Terra the inside of the torn seam.
“What does this look like to you?”
“Hair, isn’t it?”
Bright blonde hair had been caught inside the torn seam.
Hannah’s hair was a deep brown.
And Becky’s hair was a bright golden blonde.
“It was stuck inside the torn edge.”
“That… I must have gotten it there while helping you with your wardrobe—”
“That’s impossible unless you’d actually worn it yourself. And besides, no one has access to my Dress Room but you.”
“…!”
Becky’s face went pale.
Just then, drawn by the tense atmosphere, Kaiden poked his head through the doorway.
“What’s the matter?”
In that instant, Becky’s eyes blazed.
‘The Vice-Captain…!’
Kaiden was the one who had been furious when this Marriage Proposal had been accepted.
He’d nearly destroyed the Martial Training Ground, refusing to accept the State Marriage—it was widely known.
Since he’d already despised the Princess, surely he would believe her.
“My lord, I’m innocent…!”
“…?”
Kaiden raised an eyebrow, as if unsure what she meant.
“I… I only did what the Princess commanded me to do.”
“What?”
“Her Highness asked me to—”
When he crossed his arms as if settling in to listen, Becky continued, wiping tears from her eyes.
“She asked me to ruin the Dress because she didn’t want to marry.”
Shock flashed across the Head Maidservant’s face.
“Becky, what are you saying?”
“Please believe me. Cutting off dealings with merchants—all of that was because she wanted to cancel the Wedding Ceremony!”
“That makes no sense—”
“But everyone knows she tried to take her own life! For someone like that to suddenly prepare so eagerly for the wedding—isn’t that strange?”
Becky pressed on, her voice trembling with desperation.
“It’s all an act! She told me she didn’t want to die as a Concubine, and begged me to help her—!”
Then Kaiden uncrossed his arms and straightened.
“What did you just say?”
“Pardon?”
“What did you just say?”
Becky’s eyes faltered.
His voice had dropped low, laced with a killing intent so sharp it made her skin prickle.
Why…?
Didn’t he hate the Princess?
The thought that something had gone terribly wrong drained all color from Becky’s mind, and paralyzing dread crashed over her.
“B-but Your Highness…….”
Kaiden let out a hollow laugh.
“Your Highness, shall I handle this?”
The head maid, Hannah who’d found herself stranded in the room by accident, and Becky who’d caused this whole disaster.
Three pairs of anxious eyes fixed on Lumiere.
She, who’d been watching in silence until now, held up the ruined dress as if to make a point.
“I’d be grateful if you took care of it. As you can see, I’m about to become rather busy.”
Kaiden seized Becky’s wrist and dragged her toward the door.
“Let’s go.”
“Ah, this isn’t fair! Head Maid, Head Maid……!”
Becky protested loudly, but there was no one to hear her pleas.
After Becky had been hauled away, still struggling noisily.
When the commotion in the room finally died down, Terra, coming to her senses belatedly, spoke with evident mortification.
“I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness. I never imagined Becky would do such a thing…….”
“It’s done now. They say we can see through ten fathoms of water but not one fathom into a person’s heart. How could you have known?”
The damage to the dress was something even she hadn’t foreseen.
“Setting that aside, the real problem now is how to fix this…….”
Silk could be replaced if one had the money, but that wasn’t the issue.
A dress had to be sewn by hand, stitch by stitch.
Even if master craftsmen worked around the clock, finishing it in time for the ceremony was nearly impossible.
And that was all the more true for something as ornate as a wedding dress.
She was sighing, feeling the weight of helplessness.
Hannah, who’d been holding her breath all this while, unable to do anything either way, quietly raised her hand.
“I…….”
“Yes?”
“If you don’t mind, would it be all right if I took a look?”
Someone once said that even if the sky falls, there’s always a hole through which one can escape.
A hidden master of sewing had just thrown her a lifeline.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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