That’s How I Became a Villainess - Chapter 8

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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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Chapter 8

From the maids’ reactions, it seemed that Bellingham’s reputation in this household was not particularly good, and I thought I’d be able to hear all sorts of amusing stories simply by asking the right questions.
“Earlier, upstairs, Bellingham was slapping one of the maids, wasn’t she? From what I gathered, she’d tried to steal Winston’s jewels, got caught by the maid, and was taking it out on her…….”
The maids wriggled their hips and broke into excited chatter.
“Is that really true?”
“This shameless woman took all the Mistress’s dresses yesterday, and now she’s putting her hands on the Mistress’s jewels in empty rooms?”
“It must have been Anna who went to the Mistress’s room—she hit Anna? It’s unbelievable. How dare she lay hands on the Mistress’s personal attendant!”
The maids grew far more heated than Mariam had anticipated, their anger flaring hot.
‘Whatever’s happening, something rather entertaining is afoot in this household.’
Gossip about romantic conflict was always the finest dessert, and the Dressmaking Room was a place where society ladies gathered year-round, hunting for such delicious morsels.
And beyond taking measurements and running errands, Mariam had been tasked with pleasing those finicky ladies and keeping them entertained.
Mariam silently exulted at the fact that she had discovered this piping-hot tidbit first.
“What on earth happened? Tell me all the details.”

* * *

That evening, Penelope shut herself in her room and insisted she would not come down to dinner.
When Penelope did not appear in the Dining Room, Isaac heard from the Butler what had transpired that afternoon and went to find her.
“Isaac!”
Penelope, who had been lying on the bed with her face buried in a pillow, lifted her tear-stained face and clung to him.
“You didn’t come to dinner, so I came to see you. I heard the rough outlines of what happened today—is that what’s bothering you?”
“I haven’t the appetite to eat. Do you know what sort of insult I suffered today? A maid called me a thief! I told her it was all a misunderstanding, but……. I thought Bridget was in the room.”
“I heard the bracelet was damaged.”
“You suspect me too?”
Penelope glared at him.
He soothed her as she trembled, tears glistening in her eyes—the sting of betrayal evident in every line of her face.
“I want to hear the full story from beginning to end. The Butler who relayed the message couldn’t possibly know how wronged you feel.”
Though he spoke of hearing both sides, Bridget’s account had come through the Butler, so in truth, he meant to hear only Penelope’s side of things.
Only then did Penelope’s expression soften, and she drew a breath of frustration.
“Anna broke the bracelet.”
She said it without blinking.
Had Anna not appeared, she would never have swung her arm so forcefully, and the bracelet would not have broken; in Penelope’s reasoning, Anna’s responsibility was as good as the deed itself.
“Is that so?”
“I was merely looking at it when she suddenly appeared and accused me of theft, then seized it from my hands. Bridget must have seen it clearly too.”
Isaac’s expression darkened.
“Bridget was there at the time? Since when?”
“It seems she’d been watching from the very beginning.”
She dropped the word “perhaps”—if she admitted it was merely her guess, Isaac would dismiss it as inconsequential.
Penelope wanted him to treat this matter with the seriousness it deserved.
“And then she said Anna had done nothing wrong and demanded I apologize to her! Oh! She deliberately saddled me with a false accusation when she knew it was all a misunderstanding!”
Penelope drooped her head sorrowfully and tears streamed down her cheeks.
The tears falling ceaselessly from her large eyes stirred sympathy in anyone who beheld her.
“Don’t worry, Penelope. What does it matter when I know the truth?”
“There was someone else beside Bridget. In front of that person, Anna slandered me as a thief, and Bridget didn’t stop her. That person must have thought I was certainly a thief, mustn’t they?”
“Who was there?”
“Some Dressmaking Room employee, I think. I’m not even sure who they were.”
“Never mind the Dressmaking Room employee. What could they possibly do?”
“It’s a matter of honor! I am not a thief!”
Isaac’s brow furrowed.
‘Did she agree to stay together just to plot something so petty? To tarnish Penelope’s reputation?’
The thought made him regard Bridget with considerable displeasure.
“For now, have something to eat. Think of the child you’re carrying—you mustn’t skip meals. I’ll speak to Bridget about this.”
“Just the two of you?”
“Why?”
“Make sure the servants know that it was the maid and Bridget who were wrong. That way, everyone will understand how wronged I’ve been, won’t they?”
“Understood. Will you come down to dinner now?”
Penelope pouted, then gave a reluctant nod of assent.
“That’s right—good thinking. Have the Butler bring food to your room.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Her gratitude made Isaac’s shoulders rise with satisfaction.
“Anyone who harms you, I’ll deal with them. So cheer up. For the baby’s sake, if nothing else.”

* * *

Isaac stepped outside and searched for Bridget.
He found her just emerging from the Dining Room, crossing through the Lobby. It appeared she had finished eating alone.
‘Penelope’s so upset she can’t eat, yet the very woman responsible looks utterly untroubled.’
Bridget’s composed expression turned Isaac’s stomach inside out.
“Bridget.”
At his call, Bridget looked up at him as he descended the stairs.
His face was clearly seething with anger.
“Is there something the matter?”
Even as she asked, she already knew what he meant to say.
Bridget thought, ‘Here it comes,’ and regarded him steadily.
“You accused Penelope of being a thief, didn’t you?”
His sharp voice rang loud through the Lobby.
The servants’ eyes snapped toward Bridget, standing in the center of the Lobby.
“People are watching. Let’s go to the Study and talk.”
Bridget spoke with restraint.
Quarreling with one’s husband before the servants was shameful, whatever the cause.
How much worse, then, to have such a quarrel centered on the conflict between wife and mistress play out before others.
‘Though I doubt he understands that.’
Bridget knew that Isaac scarcely regarded the servants as people at all.
Because of his inferiority complex about his commoner origins, he believed himself special—’I am different from them, which is why I became a nobleman’—and clung to that conviction.
To feel himself elevated, he firmly believed that commoners were crude and ignorant creatures.
In turn, he often overlooked that the servants harbored thoughts and feelings of their own.
‘That’s why he accepted such a preposterous proposal to live with Penelope—shameless, and utterly blind to his own disgrace.’
In her previous life, Bridget had endured Isaac’s relentless cruelty before the servants.
How humiliating it had been.
The humiliation stemmed not only from the abuse itself, but from the shame of what her husband was doing.
Then as now, Bridget had never believed he would hear her words and calm himself.
As expected, Isaac dismissed Bridget’s plea entirely.
“Why should I care who’s watching? You publicly humiliated Penelope before outsiders—didn’t you? Well?”
Bridget, whose only thought was to leave the Winston Household at the opportune moment, felt no humiliation as she had before.
If anything, she was relieved.
In her previous life, she had stammered and fumbled, unable to speak properly in her efforts to soothe his anger. Now, she harbored no such inclination.
Penelope had slandered her falsely, but with Isaac laying out the stage like this, Bridget saw it as an excellent chance to reveal the truth.
Bridget spoke in a clear, measured voice that all the servants could hear, laying out what had actually occurred.
“Very well. If that’s what you wish, we’ll speak here. The Dressmaking Room employee you’re referring to—that person is the one who called Penelope to make her Dress. We happened to hear the commotion while searching for Penelope.”
“…Fine, suppose that was coincidence. But then why did you blame Penelope for the Bracelet that the maid broke? Why make such a fuss over a trinket?”
“I didn’t hold anyone at fault for what happened with the Bracelet. As you say—it’s just a trinket, isn’t it? Fix it and be done.”
Isaac fell silent.

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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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