Chapter 166 Dodge The Bullet

"Matilda..." Harford mutters the name of the next head maid, Mark Donald's little sister. She was personally assigned by the prince to observe the princess. In a way, the prince does this to test her loyalty and see if she can be trusted like her brother.

If it was her, then she's probably lingering around the princess in the nursery room.

"What are you waiting here for? Did you have anything else to say?" The head maid's voice interrupts his thoughts.

Harford clicked his tongue. His expression filled with annoyance, "Tsk, I was about to leave, old hag. Be patient."

After throwing a series of curses at the head maid, he promptly exited the office.

His next destination is the nursery room.

Ever since the young lord was born, Princess Reina spent most of her time there. Thanks to her, his monitoring job became a lot easier.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Harford gently knocks on the door, afraid of disturbing the young lord.

"Your Highness." He calls.

"What is it, Harford?" Princess Reina replied from the opposite side.

"Is Matilda inside with you?"

"No, she's not here. I'm with a maid."

"Hoh?! A maid, you say?" He had heard a rumour about a princess taking a liking to a certain maid. Although he's curious, Harford has priority.

He needed to focus on his investigation first.

"If she's not with you, then, I'll leave now. I apologize for disturbing your time."

....

He couldn't find Matilda but it's okay.

There's one thing left he needs to do.

To check the escape route.

Harford went to the administrative building. At present, this place is full of people coming and going. Ignoring the commotion in the building, he went straight to the third floor.

His eyes are running wild, inspecting every corner of the floor.

'There are not many options to escape, only windows or stairs. Supposed that the intruder chooses to flee through the window, how is she planning to close it back? Not to mention, jumping straight from the third floor to any tree to cling to is highly dangerous. Unless, she doesn't care about being found out. However, her action shows otherwise. So, the only option left is stairs. The question is which stairs?'

Between two stairs, one is a main and the other is a kitchen stair. He knows that the intruder may spend some time in the prince's office. As the sun rises, the palace would become livelier with the increasing presence of people. Escaping using the main stair will put the intruder in an odd situation.

The most probable choice for a maid would be the kitchen one at the back.

Harford descended the stairs that led him directly to the kitchen.

He pushed the wooden door open.

In return, the kitchen staff was startled by his sudden entrance.

"Don't mind me, continue with your work."

Everyone is busy during lunchtime. So, he bet it's the same case in the morning. The idea of sneaking into the kitchen unnoticed doesn't seem far-fetched.

The butler approaches the group of gossiping maids. "What are you people talking about?"

"S-Sir Harford!" They stuttered but tried their best to explain, "W-We are talking about the lucky maid."

"Lucky maid? Who is she? Why is she called 'lucky'? Explain it to me." He said with a commanding tone.

After receiving the explanation, his interest in this maid named Dorothy skyrocketed. An excellent laundress and somehow catch the eyes of Matilda and Princess Reina. It's hard to not be suspicious.

"Where is she now?"

"That...We have no idea where she was assigned to."

"Is that so? Fine by me."

With his authority, Harford proceeded to the dormitory to rummage through Dorothy's room. His action most likely pissed off the head maid. He honestly doesn't care though.

Who knows, maybe he can obtain evidence to catch her.

The maid dormitory as a whole is pretty much inaccessible, at least at the outermost security layer. Once you get in, you're free to roam. Each room was equipped with a simple lock mechanism at the door that can be easily broken.

Harford entered the room.

"This room is fairly clean. Now, which one is Dorothy's." He looked left and right alternately.

The room was split into half for each person. Since he doesn't know, he'll just take a look at their belongings.

"Sir Harford?" Dorothy appeared at the door with her ragged breathing. She had run here with all her might.

Her eyes were looking at the butler with a confused look.

"Are you Dorothy?" Harford remains calm.

"Yes, sir!" She replied. Her heart trembles in fear.

"Why aren't you working right now?"

"I already finished my tasks, sir."

"Excellent as she told me," Harford mumbles by himself. "Anyway, which one is yours?"

"The left side, Sir." She pointed out. "May I know why you're here?"

While answering her, Harford didn't stop rummaging. "Are you aware of the rumours of me investigating something?"

"Yes, I'm aware of it, Sir."

"Good, it'll make things easier. You're one of the potential suspects."

Dorothy's eyes were wide open, "Huh? M-Me?"

"If you're innocent, there is no reason to panic."

"H-How could I not panic, sir?! This place is where people stab each other in the back to eliminate competitors." Dorothy was quick-witted.

She came up with an excuse that suited her current situation by blaming others. Ultimately, whether the suspicion of her would be reduced or not depends entirely on Harford.

"Is that so?" Harford gives a blank answer. Maids' internal conflict is not interesting to him. "Why do you have so many papers with you?"

"T-That...I often send letters to my family."

"Can you just visit them on the weekend or during your off-duty?"

"I-I generally only get one or two days off. It definitely isn't enough time to travel back home."

"I see, Klover is pretty far from the capital, right? You need to sail for a week just to get there."

"Ah!...A-Actually...you sail for three days to Krigos by ship before continuing by land. In total, it took only five days. Klover...didn't have a port, sir."

"Oh! My bad." A huge grin spread on his face.

Harford's smile sends a shiver down Dorothy's spine. The butler has done a background check on her. His question was purely to test her. Had she stupidly agreed with him or answered 'travelling by land', it'll put her in a very hot spot.

The butler found scribbled papers in the drawer of her desk which further strengthened her claim. For the first time, she's grateful for not being a fastidious person.

Shortly after, Harford said with disappointment. "There is nothing suspicious for me to charge you with."

Dorothy sighed in relief. Thankfully, she stores her lock-picking tools separately.