The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 66

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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 66

Occasionally, an absurd “what if” becomes the truth. Janet’s “what if” was precisely such a case.
“I’ve been hearing strange rumors about you.”
Theo, who had come to Ortea’s Townhouse, made his way directly to Lishar.
“What are you talking about, showing up out of nowhere?”
“You know better than anyone what I’m asking.”
At Kendrick’s pointed question, Lishar couldn’t hide his agitation. Just as he’d said, Kendrick had immediately grasped what he was asking about.
“Now you’re digging into my past too?”
“I’m sorry, but the rumors have spread so widely that I couldn’t help but hear them.”
Their gazes clashed sharply in the empty air.
Yet ultimately, victory belonged to the one who held the truth. Information held its value precisely because one could never defeat the person who possessed it.
A sigh escaped Lishar’s lips as he lowered his head.
“Don’t tell my father.”
Kendrick clicked his tongue softly.
I had never liked the way Lishar always held his head high and looked down at me, but neither did I care for this withdrawn version of him.
In any case, our connection had now spanned six years.
Whether we liked it or not, affection had taken root.
One was Liam Ortea’s son, and the other was Liam Ortea’s comrade-in-arms.
Kendrick thrust his hands into his pockets and leaned his back against the wall.
“Do you truly believe that woman could be your sister?”
At the word “sister,” Lishar closed his eyes tightly before opening them again.
“I think it’s possible.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes. A child adopted at three years old. Found near the Western Riverbank, with a rabbit-shaped burn scar on the back of her right hand.”
“That’s….”
Kendrick couldn’t bring himself to refute it.
The information Lishar had just recited was known only to Marquis Ortea, Lishar, and a select few executives of Ilinia, including himself.
More than that, many didn’t even know that Marquis Ortea had a daughter.
For some reason, the Ortea family had kept their daughter’s existence under wraps.
Even after the daughter went missing, instead of issuing an official notice searching for “Marquis Ortea’s daughter,” they had filed the missing person report under another family’s name.
In the end, it had yielded no meaningful results.
“She’s eighteen, exactly the same age as that child. Her hair is the same bright hazelnut color, and her eyes resemble mine exactly.”
“…But something feels off, doesn’t it? After fifteen years of searching so desperately. To encounter someone presumed to be Jenia Ortea at the Academy? Just like this, by pure coincidence?”
“Sometimes coincidence wears the face of destiny.”
“That’s uncharacteristically sentimental of you.”
“The sentimental one is you. Isn’t information the most important thing in Ilinia?”
Lishar, who had raised his head once more, stared at Kendrick with wide eyes.
“The suspicious timing is merely doubt born of intuition. Conversely, the evidence that Luna is Jenia Ortea is objectively and physically certain.”
At Lishar’s relentless barrage of words, Kendrick furrowed his brow.
“I’ve never seen you talk this much before.”
“Don’t waste time dancing around the point.”
“…Fine. I’ll admit it. You’re right. For now, the odds are high that Luna is Jenia Ortea. But.”
A soft hum escaped Kendrick’s throat.
He tapped the windowsill lightly with his fingertips.
“Then why are you keeping it secret from Marquis Ortea?”
“….”
The tables had turned once more.
Lishar’s mouth clamped shut, as though he hadn’t just delivered that lengthy monologue.
“You have doubts too, don’t you?”
“I don’t.”
“Yet you won’t tell Marquis Ortea? Not when you know why he founded Ilinia?”
Liam Ortea.
He had established Ilinia to find a lost treasure. And that treasure’s true identity was none other than Jenia Ortea.
A precious daughter who vanished at the tender age of three.
“….”
As Lishar remained silent, Kendrick exhaled a weary sigh.
What was the point of this?
It wasn’t even like children quarreling.
In truth, Kendrick understood Lishar’s position well enough. How could he not be overjoyed at having stumbled upon someone who might be his sister?
He also understood why Lishar wouldn’t tell Marquis Ortea.
In the past, Marquis Ortea had discovered a child presumed to be Jenia. But that child ultimately was not her.
When his soaring hopes came crashing down in an instant, the Marquis had lost himself entirely.
His participation in the Ashleyde War occurred around that same time.
Unable to bear such profound emotional anguish, he had chosen the battlefield.
Seeking death.
Hoping for death.
Lishar was not ignorant of his father’s true intentions. Because of this, he had fallen into a chasm of profound betrayal and shock.
Though Jenia was the apple of his eye, was Lishar not also his son?
The fact that his only father had enlisted to die had dealt the young boy a considerable blow of betrayal and anguish.
The distance that had grown between the Count and Lishar stemmed from that very incident.
In any case, Lishar could not help but hesitate to tell his father about Luna.
What if, by some chance.
By the smallest of odds, Luna were not Jenia Ortea?
He dreaded the shock Marquis Ortea would suffer then.
And with a similar heart, Kendrick worried for Lishar.
“I’m not saying Luna isn’t Jenia Ortea either. I’m just saying don’t give your heart away so freely until you’re certain.”
Rumors about Luna and Lishar had already spread throughout the entire Academy.
It was difficult to find a student who hadn’t heard the gossip surrounding the two.
“If it turns out otherwise, how will you endure it?”
“…At the very least, I won’t behave like Father.”
“Haha. Yes. That’s a decent answer.”
Lishar glanced back at Kendrick, who was laughing heartily, and took a small breath.
Without realizing it, my shoulders had become far too tense.
The area around my shoulders felt stiff, as though knotted.
“Kendrick. I’m going to entrust you with a request.”
“Hmm? I didn’t expect a reaction like this.”
Despite Kendrick’s words, Lishar continued without the slightest change in expression.
“Find out whether Luna is truly Jenia Ortea.”
Good heavens. I’ve ended up accepting requests from this man for everything.
Kendrick shrugged and pulled his lips into a grin.
“Just wait. I’ll demand an astronomical fee for this one.”

***

Lishar still remembered vividly the day Jenia Ortea disappeared.

“Brother. Look over there.”

Mother and Father. And Jenia Ortea.
On a secret journey to the Western Region with the entire family, Jenia Ortea tugged at his sleeve.

“Over there? You want to go to the riverbank?”
“Yes!”

The child’s hazelnut-colored hair gleamed in the sunlight.
Looking at those eyes that resembled Father and me so perfectly, I felt an inexplicable warmth—this adorable child was truly my sister.
Glancing back, I could see my parents sleeping on the picnic mat.

‘Should I wake them?’

But the riverbank was very close to this spot. We could reach it in less than thirty seconds if we ran.
Lishar was only six years old at the time, yet he was far taller and stronger than his peers.
Since he often took his sister for walks in the garden at home, he thought it would be fine to spend a brief moment playing by the riverbank.
A child’s misjudgment was precisely this foolish.
The two children held hands and headed toward the riverbank.

“Rocks! Let’s find some rocks!”

Finding beautifully shaped stones had long been Jenia Ortea’s cherished hobby.
Lishar burst into laughter at the sight of his younger sister’s eyes sparkling as she gazed upon the stones scattered along the riverbank.

“Yes, let’s find some stones.”
“Pretty ones! Big brother, find the prettiest one you can!”

Her slightly lisping pronunciation was utterly endearing.
Lishar gently stroked the child’s head before beginning to search for beautifully shaped stones alongside her.

“Lishar, big brother, that one!”
“This one?”
“No. Not that one, that one.”
“This one? Is this the one you mean, Jenia Ortea?”
….
“Jenia Ortea? You mean this one… huh?”

Thud.
The smooth stone slipped from the child’s small hand.
Whoosh—
The sound of leaves brushing against the wind cut through the air with a piercing quality.

“Je, Jenia Ortea?”

With that gust of wind, Jenia Ortea vanished without a trace.

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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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