Chapter 17
Gremory went on strike.
Lately, she had been working too much and needed a period of laziness. Fortunately, Cheshion allowed it. As a reward for her contributions, Gremory was granted three days of vacation.
She left the potion-making to the abbess. Since the potion required a bit of magical power to complete, Gremory gave the abbess a few condensed orbs of her own magic before leaving. The abbess was delighted, claiming those ominous black orbs were sacred relics of the saintess.
Barricading herself in her bedroom, Gremory drew the blackout curtains and burrowed under the blankets, curling up into a ball.
‘Ah, this is nice.’
Drowsily nodding off, Gremory thought to herself. Being known as a saintess wasn’t so bad after all.
‘My original goal was to hide and live here. If I’m known as a saintess, no one would ever suspect me of being a witch—perfect. Plus, a saintess hiding her true identity? Even better.’
Then, she engaged in a bit of self-reflection.
‘Should I hide my true self more from now on? Maybe declaring myself a witch in front of so many people wasn’t the best idea. I’m supposed to be living in hiding, after all.’
Just as she was thinking this, Iris scolded her.
—That’s exactly why you shouldn’t go around shouting about being a witch from now on! You’re way too obvious about it at the worst times. Aren’t you supposed to be hiding? This time, people let it slide, but there’s no guarantee they will next time!
“Shut up. If anyone says anything, I’ll just hit them with a mental curse. Ugh, I was trying to be careful, but now that you’ve nagged me, I don’t feel like it anymore.”
—Don’t you dare do something that terrifying!
“I said shut up.”
Gremory wrapped herself in the fluffy blankets and dozed off. Just as she was about to fully enjoy the coziness, a soft knock echoed, followed by the creak of her door opening.
Her irritation instantly flared.
“Um, Miss Mori? Are you in here? Ah! You are! It’s been so long since you’ve been at the mansion!”
Anna, the tiny maid who used to serve her meals, dragged a chair to her bedside and sat down. Gremory peeked her eyes out from under the blankets, silently asking what she wanted.
“You’ve been away for so long, I had no one to talk to! I’ve got so much to say, it’s been piling up!”
Gremory stared at the little snack with a dumbfounded expression. The snack, still convinced the witch was a bamboo forest, began chattering away in earnest.
“—So I heard the rumors! They say you’re the saintess? That’s amazing! Thank you for protecting our territory.”
Anna’s words were long but devoid of substance. It was as if she was dancing around the real issue. Someone like Gremory, who could see through the darkness in people’s hearts, couldn’t possibly miss Anna’s true intentions.
“Anna.”
“Yes, Miss!”
“Get to the point.”
“Ah…”
Anna’s expression darkened rapidly.
“Actually… I’m being bullied by the other maids. Because I’m from the orphanage.”
“Orphanage? Didn’t you have a family? You once told me you lost your parents and siblings to the Gremory Plague.”
“W-well… My parents and siblings died in a fire when I was really young. The ones who died from the Gremory Plague were the orphanage director and the older kids there. Honestly, I wasn’t even that close to the director, and the older kids just stole the little food she gave me…”
“What? I thought you lost someone really important to that plague. So the other maids are picking on you because of this?”
“Yes…”
Gremory’s mood grew strange. The unpleasant sensation that had been squirming in her chest whenever she saw Anna seemed to subside a little. Instead, anger took its place.
“Anna. Sleep in my room tonight.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Don’t ask. Just sleep.”
The maids were largely divided into three groups.
The first group quietly did their work without fuss—mostly the black-haired women Cheshion had brought in. The second group chattered among themselves, forming cliques. Though noisy, they still did their jobs diligently.
The problem was the third group.
These were the ones who had gotten their positions through noble recommendations. They were the most influential among the maids and took turns tormenting the meek and kind ones over trivial reasons. This time, their target was Anna. With no recommendations or backing, Anna couldn’t even squeak in protest.
They threw the laundry Anna had spent all day cleaning onto the dirty floor and poured water on her bed, forcing her to sleep on the ground.
The reason Anna was bullied was simple: she earned the most money by serving the Grand Duke and his attendants up close, yet she didn’t share with the others—an absurd justification.
Cheshion was aware of this issue. Isolene had reported the bullying among the maids. In fact, one maid had already quit because of it.
Cheshion called in the black-haired maids to ask if there was a bullying problem. Unfortunately, none of them paid attention to anything beyond their work, so they hadn’t noticed. Anna was also the type to endure quietly, with no one to confide in.
In the end, Cheshion decided to stealthily walk the maids’ dormitory hallway, hoping to overhear something.
That night, Cheshion used magic to conceal his presence and headed to the maids’ quarters.
Most rooms were quiet at this late hour, though some still whispered meaningless gossip among themselves.
Cheshion stopped in front of Room 404 on the fourth floor. The voices inside were anything but ordinary.
“Did you see her face? So pathetic! Ahaha!”
“But Anna’s really something. If she had any sense, she’d either leave or contribute to the common fund.”
“Right?! Where is she tonight, anyway? I don’t think she’s in her room.”
“We poured vinegar on her bed, remember? She’s probably sleeping in the backyard or something!”
‘…Found them.’
Cheshion’s expression hardened. Of all people, Anna was the victim?
Just as he was about to knock sharply on the door, a scream erupted from inside.
“KYAAAAAH! What is this?! Bats!”
“Get away! Eeek! Let go!”
“What’s happening?! The door won’t open! Someone help!”
Cheshion was baffled. Bats? There were no bat habitats near the Grand Duke’s residence.
But was the door really stuck?
Out of curiosity, he tried the handle. It was stiff as stone, unmoving.
“KYAAAH! What is that?! A person?!”
“A witch! She’s controlling the bats!”
“Is—is that even human?! Red eyes! Ah! It has bat wings! AAAAAH!”
Cheshion held his breath and pressed his ear to the door crack. What? A witch? Bat wings? Let me see too.
“What do you want?! Why are you doing this to us?! AAAAAH!”
Then, a voice spoke.
“Get out of the Grand Duke’s residence. Forever.”
Cheshion flinched.
That was unmistakably Mori’s voice.
He sprinted outside and looked up at where Room 404 should be.
Surprisingly, it was silent. The wooden window was tightly shut. No bats in sight.
A chill ran down his spine as he hurried back inside and rushed to Room 404, forgetting even to hide his presence in his shock.
But…
Room 404 was gone.
After Room 403 came Room 405.
Just then, a maid awakened by his footsteps peeked out of her door.
“Who’s making such a ruckus at this— Huh? Your Grace? What are you doing here?”
“Sis, wasn’t there a Room 404 here?”
“What are you talking about? It’s common knowledge there’s no Room 404 in the maids’ quarters. An assassin broke in long ago and killed the maid inside, so… Your Grace? Are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh. Just… a bit cold.”
Rubbing his goosebump-covered arms, Cheshion hurried to Gremory’s room. She was sleeping in the same bed as Anna.
Anna, a light sleeper, rubbed her eyes and woke up.
“Mmm… Huh? Your Grace?”
“Why are you two sleeping together?”
“Ah… I had some trouble with the other maids, so Miss Mori said I could sleep here tonight. Right, Miss?”
“Snore.”
“R-right. Got it.”
Feeling like he’d seen a ghost, Cheshion returned to his bedroom. The entire way, he felt something following him.
“Damn it…!”
He locked his bedroom door in a hurry, then the windows.
‘Gremory was definitely asleep. If she’d moved, Anna would’ve noticed immediately. So she couldn’t be the culprit. Then whose voice did I hear?’
Cheshion burrowed under his blankets, pulling them over his head. The voice he’d heard in Room 404 kept echoing in his ears.
‘Even if I want to believe Gremory isn’t a witch, things like this keep happening…! I’m losing my mind!’
