CH 12

His eyes darkened incomprehensibly.

“Should I not say no?”

“…No way.”

He laughed at my answer as usual.

“I was just curious why you refused.”

“Because it’s a job I used to do. I turned it down because I’m used to what I was doing before, which is serving meals.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t know why I had to talk about this part as if I was explaining it.

Richard didn’t ask anything further, as if he already knew my answer, but it somehow felt a bit unclear, so I stood from a distance and stared at him. 

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Because you’re handsome.”

In response to my soulless response, Richard opened his eyes wide.

“I hope I can please your eyes, Maid.”

Where does he learn such sly words?

With that face, his eyes bent beautifully, and it was fascinating to the point it made the viewer dizzy. 

I turned my head away from him and pushed out his meal. 

I mean, it’s a harmful face however I see it.

“Why don’t you look at me now?”

“I don’t want to see you.” 

Richard burst into laughter at my answer.

Indeed, the obsessive male lead in this novel was an unpredictable person. 

*****

Emily was worried about Rosie.

Rosie had changed recently.

Rosie, whom Emily knew, was somewhat helpless—

Emily knew Rosie even before entering this mansion, because she had been with her for a long time.

It was she who helped Rosie get a job here in the first place.

‘I fed and raised her.’

Emily knew Rosie that well. 

Rosie’s change was strange, but she didn’t hate the lively appearance on her face.

No, it was rather good.

Because Rosie was precious to Emily.

‘More than that—’

Emily recalled Marie being dragged away.

It was going to be a little bit dangerous.

Emily saw how Marie looked at Rosie.

It was eyes full of malice. 

With quite a few experiences, Emily knew what people with those eyes did.

‘It must be quite dangerous.’

They were eyes that were likely to cause trouble.

Unfortunately, Emily’s expectations were right.

Marie grabbed all the fruit she had hidden, hid it in her pocket so that she wouldn’t be found out, and left the room.

*****

This was ridiculous.

Marie was imprisoned in her room and was told to self-reflect.

She bit her nails so much it revealed flesh. Blood flowed, but she continued regardless. 

She was on the verge of panicking. 

Marie wandered around the room for a long time before stopping. 

The ‘plan’ that she was thinking of before had to be implemented now. 

That was the only way to live.

She quickly waited for the time to pass. Waiting for it to become dawn, a time when no one went around.

When time felt like an eternity had passed and everyone in the mansion fell asleep, Marie finally stood up.

She headed straight to the basement room where the monster was.

The gatekeeper guarding the front of the underground room was dozing off while crouching down.

“Stop dozing off and wake up.”

“Ugh—?”

“I said wake up—!”

When she kicked the dozing gatekeeper’s leg, he shook his head in surprise. 

The eyes of the gatekeeper who found Marie dimmed.

The gatekeeper had seen Marie a few times as she passed by.

Therefore, he knew that Marie was the center of today’s incident.

“I have something for you to do.”

Is she crazy? 

The gatekeeper was surprised and blinked at the woman’s words.

“—I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll refuse. Even though I’m working in a place where I don’t visit often, my ears aren’t deaf.”

“….”

“Maid Marie, I heard that the monster in that room was eating something suspicious.”

“I didn’t do it.”

“Anyway, all the circumstances fit, right? I know everything that happened today, including the fact that the maid serving the monster informed the butler.”

Marie glared at the gatekeeper with fierce eyes.

He turned his head away from the stinging gaze.

“Then can I reveal that you are a spy?”

The face of the gatekeeper was distorted.

How did she know that he was a spy?

The gatekeeper was surprised and couldn’t say anything. He hardened and his fingertips got cold. 

“A person who is aware of this matter—”

“If I’m the only one who knows, will you kill me?”

He didn’t know how she knew, but he had to deal with the woman who knew that he was a spy.

Otherwise, he would be in danger.

However, Marie laughed at the gatekeeper’s thoughts as if she had read them.

“Don’t even dream about it. Do you think I didn’t take any action?” 

The gatekeeper’s eyes shook greatly.

Marie was relieved to see that because there was actually no plan.

In fact, it was just a gamble, let alone a full on plan.

It really was a coincidence that the gatekeeper was a spy.

If she hadn’t secretly gone out to meet the kitchen maid at night, she wouldn’t have seen the gatekeeper in contact with the outside world. 

“If you don’t want to be caught, cooperate with me.”

The gatekeeper struggled for a long time.

There were only two people here who knew that he was a spy now.

One was Marie, who was threatening him right now— one was the monster in that room. 

He didn’t know what that monster did to notice that he was a spy.

When the monster first whispered to the gatekeeper outside the room that he knew about it, the gatekeeper lost his reason.

He lost his reason and used violence against the monster. It was a complacent idea that he could press it with fear. 

Even if he got hurt anyway, the monster’s resilience was very high, so it would heal quickly.

However, no matter how much he hit him, the monster’s eyes were still arrogant, and in the end, the gatekeeper had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and beg.

He had to follow Richard, the monster, like that.

For example, providing convenience without being detected or providing information necessary for his escape.

The gatekeeper, who had been recalling bad memories, finally opened his mouth at Marie’s urging eyes. 

“…Is there something you want?”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything to Marie who was in front of him. 

She was not just a maid, but a woman of a noble family, and one that was favored by the head maid. 

He thought it would be annoying to kill her.

“That’s right. I ordered her to mix the fruit with the food.”

It was a confession he didn’t want to hear.

It was not a secret, but also a secret, but the moment she confessed it, the gatekeeper had no choice but to cooperate with her. 

He didn’t know if she really took action as the woman said, but if it was true, he would be in trouble.

If this woman revealed his identity to the Marquis, his life would immediately end at that moment.

“The kitchen maid is in jail, and I’m self-reflecting. But if I get fruit in the food, it’ll prove that I’m not the culprit.”

“No way. What are you trying to make me do now—”

Marie smiled and handed him the fruits. 

“It’s more than usual, so if you put it in his meal, it’ll be effective immediately.”

“….”

“By the way, this is meant to be Rosie’s job.”

It meant to set it up as Rosie’s work.

The gatekeeper couldn’t answer anything and just received the bottle of fruit Marie gave him. 

He meant to follow it. 

He expressed his apologies to Rosie, who had always smiled kindly and greeted him. 

It didn’t matter that the disgusting monster was there, but Rosie was a lovable and fragile maid who had to be protected.

However, the gatekeeper had to do something harmful to Rosie to live.

‘I’m sorry.’

He apologized to Rosie continuously.

But– 

They didn’t know that someone was listening to this story.

“Ah.”

Inside the dark room. 

The man with closed eyes burst into laughter.

His beauty resembled an angel with a sacred hymn.

“Maid, things are going to be very fun.”