The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 15

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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 15

Cold sweat drenched my back, leaving it clammy and uncomfortable. My chest heaved rapidly, struggling against the shallow, labored breaths that came in gasps.
My trembling fingers quivered as my eyes darted about frantically.
Dark pupils swept across the surroundings with urgent haste.
Beside the bed, a young Maidservant sat slumped in a chair, nodding off intermittently.
‘Why is the Maidservant here…’
Ah, that’s right. I had collapsed while clutching that scalding teapot.
Bandages wrapped around the wound site—the Doctor must have finished treating it while I slept.
‘I wonder if Miss Julietta is all right.’
She must have been quite startled.
As these thoughts drifted through my mind, the haze gradually lifted, and clarity returned. Yet the lingering phantom of that nightmare persisted.
‘What on earth was that dream…’
It had been more vivid than reality itself, yet upon waking, nothing came back to me.
I could only dimly recall a blindingly brilliant light flashing before my eyes.
And something had glimmered on my wrist as well…
“Ugh.”
Without thinking, I touched my wrist and let out a low groan. A sharp, cutting pain throbbed dully through the area.
The moment I examined the source of that pain in alarm.
“What is… this.”
The last traces of sleep vanished in an instant.

「Salvation」

On the inner side of my wrist, in a spot barely visible, faintly glowing characters were inscribed.
The white-luminous letters, as if to announce themselves to me, slowly faded away.

***

The next day.
As soon as dawn broke, Julietta Ludwig came to find me.
“How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Can you move without difficulty?”
“Yes. I’m fine. The Doctor said I was fine too, didn’t he?”
The Doctor, who had been holding his breath beside me, nodded vigorously.
“To be honest, I was worried until yesterday, but the condition has improved significantly overnight. As long as you manage the scarring well, there should be no problems. Truly, I can only say that Dake must have aided you….”
At the mention of Dake, I glanced down at my wrists.
Not my right wrist, which bore the burn, but my left wrist—the one where the word “Salvation” had appeared during the night.
The Latrian Empire fundamentally granted religious freedom, but most of its citizens believed in the singular deity, Dake.
Since the very roots of the Empire had begun in a sacred nation that believed in and followed Dake, it was only natural in a sense.
Followers of Dake performed a blessing prayer when a child reached their tenth birthday—a tradition meant to wish for the child’s health and success.
However, sometimes the god would answer those prayers.
That was precisely what a “Blessed Verse” was.
A Blessed Verse would be inscribed upon the body of a child whom the god had answered, and it would only glow and reveal itself when the child exercised an ability related to that blessing.
‘Could this also be a Blessed Verse?’
Could it be that I too had received the god’s answer on my tenth birthday?
Yet even if that were true, I could not fathom the meaning of “Salvation.”
What on earth was I supposed to save?
My thoughts were interrupted by the Doctor’s words.
“Apply the medicine to the wound twice daily. For now, be careful not to let water touch it.”
“Yes. I will.”
“Well then, I shall take my leave….”
Julietta Ludwig waved her hand dismissively at the Doctor, who was subtly reading the room.
The Doctor, seizing the opportunity, bowed deeply and departed.
Julietta Ludwig collapsed into the chair beside my bed with a weary expression.
“My lady, please don’t sit there. Go somewhere more comfortable….”
“Never mind. This is fine.”
Julietta Ludwig answered tersely and let out a long sigh.
“I’ve confined Sien to her room for now. I’ll leave her punishment to you, so tell me if there’s a specific penalty you’d like.”
A specific penalty, she said.
“My lady, there’s something about Sien that’s been bothering me.”
“Something bothering you?”
“Not long ago, the Marquis who wrote my letter of recommendation sent me a gift.”
To be precise, it was Theo who had sent the gift, but I couldn’t say that honestly.
Above all, Theo had sent the gift under the name of the “Marquis” anyway.
“Ah. I heard something about it. They said the scale of the gift was enormous.”
At Julietta Ludwig’s words, I laughed awkwardly.
“Yes. It was a bit more than I deserved. In any case, one of the gifts has gone missing.”
“What? A gift has gone missing?”
“Yes. The day after the gifts arrived, I received a list of them. I checked it carefully just in case, and one yellow diamond was unaccounted for.”
“Good heavens. That precious stone has vanished?!”
Yellow diamonds were not easily procured gemstones. They cost twice as much as ordinary diamonds.
“This is no trivial matter.”
“Indeed. Especially since a thief has infiltrated the young lady’s Separate Residence.”
“But the fact that you’re bringing this up in connection with Sien….”
At Julietta’s perceptive remark, I nodded in agreement.
“The other servants say it was Sien who ordered the gifts moved to the first-floor room that day. And she was the only one who entered that room.”
“The audacity of this wretch!”
Julietta sprang to her feet with an indignant huff.
“As if deliberately pushing someone into scalding water weren’t enough, now she’s stealing?!”
“We don’t have confirmation yet. It’s merely circumstantial evidence.”
“With circumstances like that, the conclusion is obvious.”
“Still, the investigation must be thorough.”
At my words, Julietta’s agitation subsided and she nodded.
“Very well. I’ll speak to the steward and have the Ludwig Internal Investigation Unit mobilized.”
“I appreciate it, young lady.”
“Then it would be best to determine the consequences of this matter only after the theft investigation is concluded.”
“Yes. I agree.”
I offered my response with a faint smile and bowed my head.
“Thank you for your consideration in all of this, young lady.”
“…Never mind. There’s nothing to thank me for.”
Her tone was gruff, yet somehow melancholic. Julietta collapsed back into her chair, her lips trembling slightly.
Like a child caught just before discovery after committing a misdeed.
After a long hesitation, she finally spoke, accompanied by a sigh.
“The truth is, Sien’s actions might be half my fault.”
“Pardon?”
“I despised the idea of having a lady’s maid. The thought of someone clinging to my side, attending to me—it repulsed me. That’s why I wanted to drive you away.”
A heavy breath escaped her.
Julietta sighed once more.
“When Sien offered to help, I told her to go ahead. But honestly, I never expected her to go this far. Above all, I even told her that she no longer needed to assist me…!”
“I see such circumstances have occurred.”
At my composed response, Julietta flinched.
…She must be disappointed. Her affection must have withered.
The mistress she had risked her body to save turned out to have been desperate to cast her away.
“Young lady.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you perhaps feel sorry toward me? Or do you still wish to drive me away?”
At my direct question, Julietta blinked rapidly. After a moment’s hesitation, she stammered.
“I’m s-sorry. I deliberately treated you coldly to drive you away. And I….”
You.
Julietta bit her lip hard, forcing herself to continue through the pain.
“I don’t want to cast you out.”
“Yes. That’s all I need.”
“…What?”
It was Julietta who was startled by the unexpectedly lighthearted response.
“You’ve already apologized, and you don’t wish to drive me away. Surely our relationship can simply begin anew from this moment.”
“You’re… truly satisfied with just that?”
“Of course. The bonds between people are often simpler than we imagine.”
Anger flares, then apologies follow, and reconciliation blooms.
And so, gradually, affection deepens.
“Once more, I look forward to our time together going forward, Miss Julietta.”
At Janet’s earnest greeting, Julietta’s eyelashes trembled softly.
She closed her aching eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them, hesitating before she spoke.
“Me too. I look forward to it as well, Janet.”
“….”
“….”
After their exchange of greetings, a brief silence settled between them. The two, who had been gazing at each other intently, burst into genuine laughter without either needing to break first.
Soft sunlight flooded the room.

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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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