The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 49

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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 49

‘It must be a sacrificial play.’
Once branded a felon, no amount of eloquence could restore one’s credibility—it would crumble into dust.
If she were holding hostages, she wouldn’t dare open her mouth at all.
“…So Nova orchestrated all of this?”
“Yes. Nova confessed that she had Sien carry out the scheme.”
“I see. So that’s how it was. That’s what happened.”
Julietta murmured vacantly, swaying slightly.
“Are you alright, Miss Julietta?”
“Mm, I’m fine. I was just a bit shocked….”
Julietta exhaled deeply, clenching her fist tightly before releasing it.
“I suppose I’d been anticipating this. The shock isn’t as severe as I expected.”
“You anticipated it?”
“Yes. It was strange, wasn’t it? If someone had given me a drug to keep me awake, preventing sleep, then why did I sleep so well whenever I met Nova?”
“…Ah.”
At Janet’s sigh, Julietta let out a small laugh.
“Actually, this is better. Now I can hate Nova cleanly and without reservation.”
Julietta, speaking those words, looked genuinely relieved.

***

“Theo.”
“Miss Janet.”
The two of them met in the Northern Library Reading Room after quite some time.
“It feels like we haven’t seen each other in ages, even though it’s only been a few days.”
Theo’s expression became subtle at Janet’s words.
Janet didn’t know, but the two of them had conversed at Jeron’s Birthday Ball, hadn’t they?
“Indeed. It does feel like ages since we last met.”
“Doesn’t it?”
Janet’s face, which had been smiling and agreeing, stiffened slightly.
“I heard Nova confessed.”
“That’s correct. News travels fast—it’s already reached you, Miss Janet.”
“It’s such a significant matter, after all. I didn’t expect her to confess to drug charges on top of the bribery.”
Janet, who had been muttering to herself, posed a question to Theo.
“Is it a scapegoat play?”
“Most likely. The investigation forces and attention are focused on the princess, which must be bothersome. They’ve resolved it cleanly by using Nova.”
“Did you happen to discover the identity of the mastermind?”
Theo hesitated at Janet’s question.
He turned his head toward Janet with a slight smile.
“Of course. That’s Ilinia’s specialty, after all.”
The person who visited the imprisoned Nova was a subordinate of Count Hosenne.
And behind Count Hosenne was…
“Merian Ludwig. It appears Nova’s mastermind is the Grand Duchess.”
“…The Grand Duchess?”
“Yes.”
Unlike Janet’s reaction of surprise, Theo remained quite composed.
The Grand Duchess had already been on his list of suspects long ago.
“You’re aware of the complicated family relationships within the Ludwig Family, aren’t you?”
“Of course. It was written in the Ludwig information notebook you gave me.”
“All children except the First Prince are registered under Merian’s household register.”
The Grand Duke’s children couldn’t be made illegitimate, so it was merely a facade for public appearances.
Though no one was fooled, everyone pretended to be deceived and said nothing.
“…It certainly is something the Grand Duchess would have reason to be angry about.”
“Yes. I think so too.”
To have evidence of the dissolute Grand Duke’s affairs thrust beneath her as the legitimate wife—what a dreadful feeling that must be.
“So she did this because she disliked the children?”
“Partly because she dislikes them, but also to make Zephyr the Grand Duke’s successor.”
“Then why did she only do such things to Miss Julietta?”
In truth, judging purely by succession prospects, Julietta wasn’t a particularly threatening figure.
So why would she have tried to ruin Julietta?
“The real target probably wasn’t Princess Julietta.”
“Then…?”
“It would have been Kendrick Ludwig.”
Ah.
Janet exhaled a small sigh.
“If you shake Julietta, Kendrick would shake along with her.”
“Precisely. The two of them were far more affectionate siblings than one might assume.”
I understood.
‘She must have resented Kendrick Ludwig, who had received such a prolonged blessing.’
To check him and unsettle him, she would have needed a hostage.
And that hostage was none other than the Grand Duchess Julietta.
“And there is one more fact.”
“What is it?”
“The Grand Duchess’s choice to assign Joanna to the Fourth Prince was also deliberate.”
At Theo’s words, Janet bit her lip and nodded slowly.
“…Now that you mention it. I always thought something was odd.”
To entrust a nursemaid position to someone drowning in the grief of losing a child.
And Jeron had been a frail child from birth, had he not?
It was only natural that Joanna would harbor such anxieties.
“She used Joanna to keep tabs on Jeron.”
“That would be accurate.”
“…She’s truly a terrifying woman.”
I could understand the Grand Duchess’s anger toward the Grand Duke.
I could even comprehend her desire to make her own child the Grand Duke’s heir.
But to deliberately drag someone’s life through the mud for that ambition…
‘Besides, Jeron would never pose a threat to the succession.’
So assigning Joanna to Jeron was purely an act of revenge.
“The guilty party is someone else entirely, yet only the innocent suffer the consequences.”
If she wanted vengeance, she should have directed it at the Grand Duke, the true source of the problem.
“So, what should we do now?”
The opponent was far stronger than anticipated.
The Grand Duchess of Ludwig, and the celebrated daughter of the Hashat Marquis Family, one of the greatest noble houses.
“Well. We’ve extinguished the immediate fire, so now we must prepare for any unforeseen dangers.”
“Will that be enough? There’s a saying that the best defense is offense.”
“…You certainly know how to speak such things.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind.”
Theo shook his head with a smile and shrugged his shoulders.
“Of course, if we had means of attack, we would strike. However, a reckless assault can become poison in itself.”
What was needed now was vigilance.
To observe and watch the opponent, and to prepare for their next move.
“This gives me one more reason to absolutely pass the Academy entrance exam.”
To commute to the Academy, I would need to stay at the Capital Townhouse. That meant putting physical distance between myself and the Grand Duchess.
“It’s not easy to harm someone who’s far away.”
“That’s true. My safety should be guaranteed while I’m at the Academy.”
Yes, I need to stay close.
Janet, steeling her resolve, looked up at Theo as if remembering something.
“What is it?”
“Well, about that…”
“Yes, Miss Janet?”
“I met Kendrick at Jeron’s Birthday Ball.”
“…Oh.”
Theo let out an awkward exclamation, his gaze fixed on the distant void.
Throughout Janet’s account of Julietta and Kendrick’s circumstances, Theo could only stare into the emptiness, wearing a serene smile.

***

“How many do you think will pass this time?”
The Academy, which had been quiet during the break, was bustling with activity once more.
It was because of the special student entrance examination being held today.
“What do you think, Lishar?”
“Not interested.”
“Tsk, you’re cold.”
Despite his words, Shane’s face bore a bright grin.
Shane and Lishar.
The two were the top students of the Magic Department and Swordsmanship Department respectively, and had been asked by the supervising professor to assist in proctoring today’s examination.
“Ah, it brings back memories. I was so nervous back then.”
“Were you a special student too?”
“I’ve told you a hundred times, and you still don’t remember?”
“….”
Shane let out a small chuckle at Lishar’s cold response.
“Back then, I was the only one who passed. I’m that amazing!”
“Ah. Sure.”
Tch.
Shane, leaning against the second-floor railing, observed the test-takers with keen interest.
People of all ages and genders streamed toward the examination hall.
“There doesn’t seem to be anyone particularly noteworthy.”
At Shane’s words, Lishar also glanced sideways at the examinees.
Indeed. Just as Shane said, there was no one particularly striking…
‘…Hmm?’
Then two people caught his eye—a tall man with jet-black hair and a woman beside him with dark blue hair tied up in a single knot.
“Why the long face? Do you know someone here?”
“More or less.”
Shane’s eyes narrowed at Lishar’s response.
‘So Lishar knows someone.’
Of course, coming from a noble family meant he’d have acquaintances, but he rarely let it show in such an obvious manner.
This was rather intriguing.
Shane’s eyes gleamed with amusement.

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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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