The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 89

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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 89

The man who appeared in secret wore the uniform of a Kinsel Estate servant.
With white cloth concealing the lower half of his face, he slowly surveyed the warehouse interior before approaching the men sprawled across the floor.
The men lay unconscious and motionless—the lingering effect of the knockout incense he had ignited beforehand.
‘Is this… a magical artifact?’
The lantern clutched by one of the fallen men bore faint magical inscriptions etched into its surface.
Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be enchanted to extinguish instantly upon impact.
‘They certainly craft everything these days.’
Tsk, tsk.
The Intruder clicked his tongue and swapped the magical lantern for an ordinary one.
Moving silently, he slipped from the warehouse, leaving the door half-ajar as he struck a match aflame.
Watching the flames dance, I recalled the students gathered in the garden just moments ago.
Had they called it an Academy class event?
‘How pitiful.’
A day meant for joy would become their hell.
Yet beneath the white cloth, hidden lips curved into a smile.
Just as he was about to toss the burning match inward—
A torrent of water crashed down.
“Ugh!”
Water drenched him from above, extinguishing the match in his grasp simultaneously.
‘Damn. Has the operation failed?’
Sensing the failure, the Intruder immediately prepared to flee.
However.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Before he could properly escape, a strike to his vital point sent him crashing down.
“Pathetic. Your profession and aptitude seem rather mismatched, don’t they?”
With the cold judgment of someone in a similar line of work, Kendrick kicked the unconscious man aside.

***

“Janet!”
Barbara rushed through the empty Garden and burst into the Reception Room, breathless.
Janet and Theo were already seated inside the Reception Room.
The other children, including Julietta Ludwig, were currently touring the Greenhouse.
Barbara had personally ushered them there, insisting that their mother’s prized Greenhouse was worth seeing.
Though truthfully, it was Janet who had ordered her to do so.
‘To be honest, I was rather taken aback at first.’
When Janet had presented that strange warning letter to me.
The paper she’d found nearby bore
‘I will detonate the Food Storage Warehouse today!’
—a threat so disturbingly direct that it could only be a criminal warning.

“Couldn’t it simply be someone’s prank?”
“But what if it isn’t?”
“What?”
“If someone truly is planning a crime, all the children would be in danger.”
“I share your concern. It’s always better to err on the side of caution with matters of safety.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”

Theo and Janet.
As the two of them pressed forward with such conviction, my resolve wavered.
And finally.

“It will be too late once the incident occurs.”

Those words drove the final nail into my internal conflict.
Janet was right.
It would indeed be too late once the incident happened.
If I ignored this warning and a crime actually unfolded, the Kinsel Family would bear all responsibility.

“But still, sending the children away immediately feels rather…”

The tea party had only been underway for just over an hour.
Now that the atmosphere was finally warming, I worried about the family’s honor if I simply shooed the children away.
Thus, Janet suggested the idea of guiding the children to the Greenhouse.
“You were right to send the children to the Greenhouse.”
There was considerable distance between where the culprit had been captured and the Greenhouse. Even if the incident had occurred, the Greenhouse would have remained unharmed.
“You’re going to keep the incident a secret from the children?”
“Yes. I intend to keep it secret.”
The culprit had been apprehended, after all.
I had no intention of spreading word about an attempted crime.
The mere fact that a dangerous person had been present in the same space could potentially tarnish the family’s reputation.
“If you don’t mind, could the two of you also keep this secret?”
“Of course.”
“Very well.”
At Janet and Theo’s responses, Barbara released a sigh of relief. With those two, I needn’t worry about the secret leaking out.
“By the way, Janet. How did you know it was that particular warehouse?”
At Barbara’s question, Janet flinched momentarily. And then—
“Well, I suppose I have good instincts.”
“…Instincts?”
At Barbara’s questioning, Janet blinked.
…That’s strange. Theo had believed me readily when I explained it that way.
I cleared my throat and quickly came up with a better excuse.
“I was joking. I simply thought that if I were a terrorist, I’d choose the location with the greatest potential for damage.”
“Ah, that makes sense. That warehouse is closest to the Garden, after all.”
Barbara nodded in understanding and released another sigh of relief.
If the explosion had occurred as planned in the warehouse near the Garden, it would have been truly catastrophic.
The mere thought made my blood run cold.
“I’m truly grateful to both of you.”
Barbara rose from her seat and bowed deeply to Janet and Theo in gratitude.
“My parents are currently busy interrogating the culprit, so they asked me to convey their thanks separately later.”
The spy whom Theo had personally apprehended was transferred directly to Barbara’s parents.
Shocked and enraged to an even greater degree than Barbara herself, the two of them had bound him in the Underground Prison and were conducting the interrogation.
“Your parents are conducting the interrogation themselves?”
“Yes. Running a business inevitably brings many dangerous situations. There are also matters related to important information, so…”
Having conducted interrogations directly for the sake of maintaining secrecy, had they become skilled interrogators?
“Um, Barbara.”
“Yes, Janet?”
“Would it be possible for me to receive the interrogation results?”
“The interrogation results?”
Barbara blinked in surprise as Janet spoke with earnest urgency.
“You don’t need to tell me everything. It’s just… if I don’t know why they committed such an act, I’ll feel unsettled.”
“Besides, there was that explosion at another family’s Food Storage Warehouse recently.”
Kendrick’s measured agreement prompted Janet to nod in understanding.
“Right. I was curious whether it might be a series of arson attacks.”
“Ah, yes. I’d be concerned about that too if I were in your position.”
Barbara, who had been pondering for a moment, added in a hesitant tone.
“I won’t be able to tell you all the details, but is that still acceptable?”
“Of course.”
“Understood. I’ll share what I can later, then.”
At Barbara’s response, Janet smiled warmly.

***

A few days later, Theo and I returned to the Kinsel Estate.
The Earl and Countess Kinsel welcomed us warmly.
“We should have come to visit you ourselves. My apologies.”
“Not at all. We’re both currently on assignment with other families.”
“Indeed. It’s far more convenient this way.”
The Earl and Countess exchanged pleased smiles at the considerate responses of the two visitors.
“So, you wanted to know the results of the interrogation?”
“Yes, if it’s not too much trouble, we’d like to know.”
“Our benefactors wish to know, so of course I’ll tell you.”
The Countess, who answered cheerfully, took a sip of tea before continuing.
“He said he’d been commissioned for this job.”
“Commissioned?”
“When you conduct business, you naturally accumulate enemies. Such incidents do happen from time to time.”
At the Countess’s explanation, Theo posed a follow-up question.
“Then, this incident is separate from the explosion that occurred at another family recently?”
“According to him, yes. He claimed the commission he received concerned only our family.”
At the Earl’s response, the two fell into contemplative silence.
‘So it’s not a series of arson attacks after all?’
“But why target the Food Storage Warehouse specifically?”
“Just as you two suspected a series of incidents, he was trying to make it appear as though a serial arsonist was responsible. That way, the investigation would become far more complicated.”
Now that it was explained, it made sense.
He’d originally intended to disguise it as part of a series to confuse the investigation, but he was caught so quickly that he confessed the truth instead.
After all, if it became a series of crimes, the charges would be far more severe.
“He didn’t reveal who commissioned him?”
“No. He claimed he was merely an operative and didn’t know the client himself.”

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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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