The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 47

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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 47

“Kendrick?”

Kendrick was considerably flustered by the current situation.
‘How did she recognize me?’
Discovering Janet lingering near the Labyrinth Forest had been pure chance.
He’d been catching his breath in a secluded spot when she appeared, looking rather urgent.
The moment he spotted the suspicious shadow trailing behind her, he couldn’t simply walk away.
‘Surely not Count Berdin’s grandson.’
The instant he identified the man’s identity, Kendrick fought the urge to burst out immediately.
But then.
When the man seized Janet’s wrist and acted forcefully, he could no longer restrain himself.
What stopped his body from moving was—
‘…Her self-defense is impressive.’
Janet’s brilliant self-defense technique halted Kendrick’s advance.
Well, in the end, he’d revealed himself to her anyway.
That much was fine.
He could simply say he’d happened upon the situation. But surely—
“You’re the Third Prince, aren’t you?”
He hadn’t expected her to see through him so instantly.
‘Jeron?’
Perhaps the youngest had described his appearance. After all, Jeron was the only one he’d met in this disguise.
‘That brat. He promised to keep the secret.’
Recalling the child gazing up at him with shining eyes, a chuckle escaped him.
Well, keeping secrets was as difficult for children as resisting sweets right in front of them.
The smile that had leaked through quickly faded from his face.
Kendrick, his lips pressed into a cold line, stared at Janet through his mask and spoke.
“You seem to have mistaken me for someone else.”
“You’re saying you’re not Kendrick?”
“Yes. I’m not.”
Janet blinked at his firm denial.
Her head tilted slightly, confusion evident in her expression.
But then—
“I understand. If that’s what you say, then you must not be him.”
Janet quietly accepted this and gave a small bow.
“Thank you for helping me just now.”
“….”
Kendrick nodded instead of answering.
If she heard his voice, she might realize that he and Theo were the same person—and that would be troublesome.
Janet certainly had quite the keen sense of things.
‘I should leave this place as soon as possible.’
Just as Kendrick turned to depart with that thought, a collapsed man entered his field of vision.
The stone I had hurled struck his temple with perfect accuracy, so he would certainly remain unconscious for some time.
‘Still, I dislike leaving things unresolved.’
The thought of leaving Janet and this man behind continued to irritate me.
Kendrick pretended not to concern himself with Janet as he pulled the necktie from around the man’s neck.
Then he gathered the man’s wrists and ankles together and bound them tightly.
Even if he regained consciousness, he wouldn’t be able to attack easily in this state.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Wait, just a moment, please.”
Janet hastily caught hold of him just as he was about to depart after finishing the cleanup.
“….”
“I’m truly shameless for asking, but might I request your assistance one more time?”
I hesitated.
Assistance? What sort of assistance could she possibly need?
Though I thought I should leave, I found myself unable to easily dismiss Janet’s plea for help.
“….”
Kendrick had no choice but to regard Janet silently. It was a wordless invitation for her to speak.
Exhaling softly, Janet began carefully.
“I am a lady’s maid to the Princess Julietta Ludwig. However, the princess I serve has encountered a problem.”
“A problem with the princess?”
“Yes. She was attempting to move somewhere urgently when she….”
Janet sealed her lips as if unable to continue.
“She must be safe, above all.”
Her face, exhaling trembling breaths, had turned deathly pale.
“Where is she now?”
“In the Central Garden. Likely somewhere near the Central Garden—.”
Before those words could even finish, Kendrick moved with swift urgency. As he vanished like the wind, Janet withdrew the hand that had been covering her mouth.
Hmm. To react with such agitation.
“…How fortunate.”
The Third Prince still cares deeply for Princess Julietta Ludwig, it seems.
Concern was proof of affection. Without affection, there would be no concern.
‘If he thought about it even a little, he would realize it was a lie.’
Why would he be in this desolate Labyrinth Forest if he had left Princess Julietta Ludwig alone with her problem?
‘His mind simply froze at the mention of the princess facing trouble.’
Yet here he was, feigning ignorance despite thinking exactly that.
I felt sorry for lying, but since he had lied first, we were even.

Yet there was something Janet did not know.
Kendrick had indeed fallen for Janet’s words partly because Julietta’s story had left his mind rigid, but more fundamentally, it was due to the profound trust he held for Janet.
Thus, standing before a perfectly healthy Julietta, Kendrick had to feel a small pang of betrayal deep within his heart.
Good heavens.
Could it be that Miss Janet actually lied to me?

***

Julietta had been sitting in the most secluded corner of the Central Garden.
She lacked the energy to mingle among the crowds.
Perhaps it was from rushing about searching for Kendrick, but her heels throbbed painfully where the shoes had pressed.
‘Janet must be hurting too.’
After confirming no one was nearby, Julietta cast off her mask and shoes.
Since when had she become such a dignified person?
With her knees drawn up and her face buried, Julietta waited quietly for Janet.
But then.
“…Kendrick?”
The one who arrived before her was not Janet, but Kendrick.
Exactly as Joanna had described him.
Kendrick stood before her, breathing heavily with excitement. Though he wore a mask, she could recognize him.
“….”
“….”
Of the two who gazed at each other in silence, it was Kendrick who spoke first.
“Are you alright?”
“…hic.”
The moment she heard that familiar yet unfamiliar voice, tears streamed down Julietta’s face.
Three years—no, six years—and the first words of their conversation were “Are you alright?”
From childhood until now, Kendrick had always worried about her first.
Yet she had hated him for it.
She had blamed all the jealousy and inferiority burning within her heart on Kendrick.
“I’m, I’m sorry. Sob, I, I’m sorry.”
With her face buried in her hands, Julietta repeated nothing but apologies.
Last night, she had certainly practiced how to apologize properly.
Hoping and fearing he might actually come, she had practiced her apology before the mirror instead of seeking sleep that would not come.
But now all that practice had become meaningless.
“I, I, did, did wrong.”
At the sight of Julietta weeping like a child returned to infancy, Kendrick let out a hollow laugh and patted her back gently.
“Calm yourself, Julietta. Stop crying.”
“Sob. Because of me, you, you….”
Listening to words that never seemed to reach a proper conclusion, I felt my eyes grow hot before I realized it.

A stifled sound escaped me.
It was some time later that Julietta Ludwig finally stopped crying.
“Here. A handkerchief.”
“…I have my own. My own handkerchief.”
Even as she said this, Julietta Ludwig snatched my handkerchief and pressed it firmly against her eyes, wiping away her tears.
“….”
“….”
With her sobs fading, silence settled over us once more.
“Ahem, ahem.”
This time, it was Julietta Ludwig who gathered the courage to break the silence.
“So, have you been doing well all this time…?”
“Yes. I’ve been well. And you?”
“…I’ve been fine, of course. What reason would I have not to be?”
Yet here we were, living close enough to touch noses, exchanging such pleasantries.
“Kendrick.”
“Yes.”
“Back then, when we were young.”
Julietta Ludwig began carefully, fingering the damp handkerchief.
“Everything I said back then wasn’t sincere. It was really just childish venting, nothing more.”
“Yes. I knew that.”
“…I’m sorry for speaking so harshly. I was wrong. I truly regret it. So.”
It was not a grand apology, but every word carried genuine sincerity.
“So, please forgive me just this once. I won’t treat you badly again.”
Her voice came out stiff with tension.
I gazed down at Julietta Ludwig’s puffy face for a moment, then slowly lifted my gaze toward the sky.
“The weather is lovely.”
Beneath my mask, my lips curved into a refreshing smile.
“It’s a perfect day to reconcile with one’s sister.”
“Ha, how absurd.”
Julietta Ludwig laughed with a hollow chuckle, tears streaming down the corners of her eyes.
She hastily wiped away her tears and spoke with a hint of petulance.
“Janet says the same thing, and so do you. You two are exactly alike.”
“Janet-, no, Janet?”
“Janet is my maid, and she’s a wonderful girl. It was she who gave me the courage to apologize to you.”
Julietta Ludwig smiled warmly and looked up at me with a question.
“It seems you’ve already met her. She’s the one who sent you here, isn’t she?”
“A woman with dark blue eyes and dark blue hair?”
“That’s right. So you’ve already met her?”
I should have known.
Of course—Janet had sent Kendrick to fetch me.
“She said the exact same thing to me before going to get you. That today’s weather was perfect for having a conversation.”

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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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