The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 30

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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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The Villainess Hides Her Identity, and Everyone Misunderstands
Chapter 30

Look at this!
It was clear that something other than tea leaves had been steeped together.
Unable to spit out the bitter-tasting tea water, I barely managed to swallow it before pulling the bell cord to summon a maid.
“You called for me?”
It was one of the maids here, not Genie.
She stared at me with a peculiarly vacant expression and emotionless eyes.
“…Bring me the maid who brewed that tea.”
“I brewed it myself, but is there a problem?”
“A problem? Did you just ask if there’s a problem? Look at this…!”
I stopped mid-complaint.
I had noticed the corner of the maid’s mouth twitch slightly as she answered so casually.
‘This is….’
I swallowed the words I was about to speak.
Damn it, if I react to every little thing like this, she’ll just get more excited. I was about to dismiss her with resignation when it happened.
“…!”
My hand moved of its own accord.
It was a filthy sensation I hadn’t felt in a long time. A movement as though I were being controlled by something, and my hand suddenly raised.
My hand, forced into motion against my will, struck the maid’s cheek.
Crack!
“Aaah!”
The maid collapsed to the floor with a thud. Her cheek swelled red in an instant.
‘What, what am I doing…!’

[The story’s progression returns to normal parameters.]

I faltered for a moment, but it was already too late.
Damn it, I wasn’t paying attention at all!
When I was in the Capital City, the maids approached me with goodwill, so I rarely had to resort to such hysteria. Even when I did, I only orchestrated things intentionally.
So I’d half-forgotten about this…!
‘It’s my fault….’
I knew Evelyn was being tormented at the Estate, but I didn’t prepare for it. I just thought if I acted like this, everything would be fine….
“M-Miss! I’m so sorry! I, I accidentally brewed the tea wrong….”
“….”
“Miss, please spare me! I beg you, just let me live!”
The maid suddenly dropped to her knees and began pleading. It was an excessive reaction.
No matter how much of a villainess Evelyn was, she wouldn’t kill someone over poorly brewed tea.
I heard whispering from beyond the open door. Only then did I grasp her true intention.
‘This insane maid…!’
Unable to do anything about this wretched situation created by the system, I bit my lip in frustration.
To anyone watching, I was clearly the perpetrator.
Of course, slapping her for brewing tea poorly was my fault…! But her intentions were impure from the start! You can see she deliberately set out to torment me!
Since my freedom level had risen considerably and I had no plans to further antagonize the maids here, I froze, unable to do anything.
Just then, someone came thundering down the corridor.
“Evelyn!”
The one calling me in an angry voice was none other than Killian.
Yes, perfect timing!
I was about to resort to Evelyn’s specialty—using tears to plead innocence.
“Brother! I…!”
“Evelyn, you’ve done it again! Did you torment another maid? Thanks to you, there are hardly any maids left!”
“…!”
This damned brother of mine!
“What?! What did I do that you’re so angry the moment you see me!”
Killian ignored my sharp cry and surveyed the entire situation.
A maid lying face-down on the floor with a swollen cheek and tears streaming down her face, and me standing arrogantly before her.
“I thought you’d been well-behaved lately!”
He turned to me with an angry expression.
“Please hear me out first! I…!”
Just as I was about to protest, the maid lying on the floor hastily cut me off.
“Y-Young Duke! I was wrong! I brewed the tea so poorly that I must have upset Miss’s mood. P-Please, just spare my life…! I beg you, let me live!”
Hey! If you say it like that, what does that make me!
It sounds like I tried to kill her just because she brewed bad tea!
At that moment, the maid’s cheek twitched slightly. It was an angle only I could see from where I stood behind her.
This is exactly the torment Evelyn suffered at the Estate. Knowing that Evelyn had fallen out of favor with the Duke and Young Duke, they use them to further isolate her.
‘Looking at how she endures getting slapped like that, she’s quite the dopamine addict….’
I couldn’t understand it, but it seemed they were venting their own resentment at having to serve the nobility for meager wages. A kind of inferiority complex, or perhaps self-loathing.
But that doesn’t justify acting this way!
“Evelyn, is that really true?”
“Well, it’s not wrong, but… the thing is, how dare she tamper with my tea—!”
“Young Master! Please show mercy…! I have three younger siblings I must feed! Please, spare my life—!”
“I’m talking here! Shut it, now?!”
I snapped loudly. Finally, the maid flinched and closed her mouth, and Killian momentarily froze as well.
“Brother, listen properly. This maid put something in my tea. It tasted absolutely vile—”
“Evelyn.”
Killian sighed and rubbed his face with one hand.
‘This doesn’t feel right…’
He then lifted his head, his face etched with exhaustion, and opened his mouth.
“Evelyn, you get scolded by Father and come down here, only to cause trouble again immediately? You hit a maid just because the tea tasted bad?”
He’s not listening to a word I’m saying!
I knew exactly what image of Evelyn had formed in Killian’s mind, but surely he could trust his sister at least once.
Yet Killian seemed convinced that everything was Evelyn’s fault.
I responded irritably to his words.
“It’s not just bad taste! If you don’t believe me, check for yourself. The tea I drank is right here on the table!”
I pointed at the table, but Killian only sighed again.
“Do you really want me to check? You truly…!”
Just as he was about to say something in anger.
“Young Master!”
Someone shouted from outside.
Though the voice was quiet, it was enough to catch Killian’s attention.
“…Count Maren?”
He turned around with a bewildered expression.
What, did he come after hearing the commotion?
In that brief reprieve, I quickly began calculating. How could I escape this situation?
Biting my lip, I finally opened the system window. I needed to reactivate the choice function.
‘I tried to avoid this as much as possible.’
The more I used the system function, the more I couldn’t shake off an unsettling feeling.
Still, if I look at the choices, there might be something different.
“Young Master, I apologize for interrupting while you were speaking… but there’s something I really must say…”
“…What is it?”
Killian frowned, clearly displeased at being interrupted.
Maren, his face slightly flushed, continued hesitantly.
“That is… perhaps it would be best to… hear the young lady’s words a bit more…?”
I paused.
I stopped my fingers just as I was about to open the choices.
“What?”
He repeated as if bewildered.
Maren wasn’t accustomed to speaking while all eyes were fixed on him, so his face flushed red. Yet he moved his lips with stubborn determination.
“Y-Your Ladyship would never do such a thing without reason… She might scold someone for brewing tea poorly, but she’s not the sort to try to kill someone on a whim…”
“…!”
I slowly turned to face Maren and lowered my hand completely.
His face had turned so red it looked ready to burst, yet his eyes held nothing but sincerity. As though he absolutely had to make me believe those words.
‘What…’
…What is he thinking?
My lips fell open blankly.
“So please, I beg you, just listen to what Her Ladyship has to say!”
He shouted with his eyes squeezed shut.
I looked him over with a suspicious gaze.
‘Why on earth is he taking my side?’
There would be no benefit to it.
Standing up for Evelyn, whom everyone despises, would gain him nothing whatsoever.
“…Are you saying my judgment is wrong?”
Killian spoke in a voice turned cold.
The flustered Maren opened his eyes wide and waved his hands frantically.
“N-No! That’s not it! I just…”
“I would like to say the same thing, Young Duke!”
At that moment, someone else spoke up.
It was a familiar voice I heard every day.
“…Genie.”
I muttered quietly.
A maid interjecting in such a matter was absolutely unheard of. She could be arrested for lèse-majesté if she overstepped her bounds.
I looked back and forth between the two of them with a bewildered expression.
‘…Why on earth?’
Yet Genie cried out with confidence.
“Her Ladyship would never hit someone without reason!”
“…”
I’m grateful, but… does that mean she hits people if there is a reason?
I rubbed the back of my neck, unable to hide my bewilderment.
As I gazed at the two of them, my mouth went dry and thirst washed over me.
My mind was searching for the reason behind their interference, but the moment our eyes met, my suspicion melted away like snow.
“…Fine.”
Killian, who had been deliberating for a moment, spoke.
His expression was strangely hardened.
‘Why does his expression look so displeased?’
Shouldn’t I be the one angry in this situation?
“Evelyn, I’ll ask you first. Why did you hit the maid?”
“Y-Young Duke! It’s my fault! I brewed the tea wrong—!”
“Silence!”
His thunderous rebuke fell upon the maid who had interjected.
Moments like this truly proved he was the son of Count Rosenthal.
“I was asking Evelyn.”
His gaze returned to me.
Two blue eyes bore down upon me, their depths unfathomable.
“Evelyn.”
The silence grew so profound that even breathing seemed to vanish. Everyone’s eyes were fixed upon me.

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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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