Chapter 5
“Ma-Marie, do something!”
A flustered Bartol turned his head left and right before spotting Marie and calling out to her.
“Right now… Yeah, lock up Iris immediately! Say it’s because she was disrespectful to me, and don’t let anyone in! Mother and Father are out right now anyway…”
“Y-Yes, young ma—”
“Don’t you dare.”
I shot Marie a cold glare just as she started closing the open door. I could see her gulp instinctively.
“You must be very loyal to your master, Marie,” I said with a sneer.
At the same time, a few calculations ran through my head.
To reclaim my family, I needed people who would act as my limbs. Most of the employees in the duchy were loyal to the Penton family, so the pool was extremely limited, and I didn’t have much time.
That meant I needed to win over Marie right now—even if I had to play dirty.
“Bartol, of course she’d be loyal. She grew up with Dameira.”
“O-Of course! I’ve always been loyal to my household…”
“Not the household. To you. She’s been stealing the family’s belongings under your orders, hasn’t she?”
“W-What…?”
Marie’s face turned ashen. I spoke with a calm expression, recounting what I had confirmed in my past life.
“Silverware, clothes, jewelry, gold coins… all the items that have gone missing from this estate over the years.”
“…!”
“Should we check under the wooden floor beneath your bed and see if they’re there?”
Marie staggered.
Bartol had to lean against the wall for support.
Only Dameira looked around at them both as if hearing all this for the first time.
“What? Wait—are you serious?”
“How could you…? Were you spying on me?!”
“No. Bartol told me,” I replied with a smirk.
It wasn’t a lie. In both my past lives, Bartol had gone around gossiping that Marie was a thief.
Of course, he left out the part where he was the one who ordered her to do it, and that he sold those stolen goods when security was lax to fund his gambling habits.
Marie had been used like that and eventually kicked out of the estate, meeting a miserable end on the streets.
“He said, ‘Marie will do anything if you ask. If my mother nags me, I’ll just let the servant take the fall—even if it costs her life. All the evidence is under her bed, so I can deny everything. She’s a thief. She can’t possibly defy me.’”
“N-No! That’s not true, Marie!”
Bartol shouted, trying to interrupt me, but Marie was already trembling all over.
“If it’s not true, then how would Lady Iris know about this?”
She asked in a small but firm voice. Bartol opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to answer. He had probably said similar things to other noble children.
“So, it’s true.”
Marie’s eyes, watching Bartol, trembled with betrayal and fear. I didn’t miss my chance.
“Bartol was planning to kick you out anyway. Shall I just speed up the process?”
“N-No, please!”
Marie fell to her knees, begging.
“If I lose my job, my family will starve!”
“Then you’d better think carefully. Whose side would benefit you more right now? Bartol may not be able to reveal your secret right away, but I’ve got nothing to lose.”
I looked at her coldly. Three pairs of eyes were fixed on me, tense and anxious.
For the first time, they were afraid of me.
Which meant—they were ready to obey me.
“As I said earlier, I will attend the ball.”
“You—You can’t be serious…!”
Bartol stammered, but I ignored him.
“I won’t notify Uncle and Aunt until after I return. They’re in the Penton estate, right? It’ll take them at least two weeks to return.”
“B-But if Mother and Father find out—!”
“There’s no time to prepare another carriage, so I’ll be going with you two. Your job is to shut up and go.”
Dameira didn’t get a different reaction from me.
“And Marie.”
“Y-Yes?!”
Her response was oddly sharp and alert. The cold, unfriendly look from earlier was now replaced with disciplined clarity.
“Go to Aunt’s dressing room and bring me something suitable to wear. In the innermost wardrobe, you’ll find dresses Mother wore when she was alive.”
“Wait! Mother said she’d pass those on to me later—!”
“How dare you enter Mother’s room and try to steal her things—!”
Whap—
Before they could finish, I grabbed two pillows from the bed and threw them. The surprisingly firm pillows hit them squarely in the face, and they stumbled, groaning.
“Marie?”
“I’ll bring back three dresses right away!”
Marie, seemingly having assessed the situation completely, replied briskly and dashed off.
She didn’t spare a single glance at Bartol or Dameira, whom she had once called her masters. Her attitude had done a full 180.
I smiled faintly, watching the stunned siblings.
Thus, the Penton family lost one maid. A maid who knew every dark secret of the family, down to the bone.
* * *
Preparation ended in a flash. Barely an hour and a half later, Dameira, Bartol, and I were in a golden-decorated carriage on our way to the imperial palace.
“…”
The inside of the carriage was eerily silent.
I had expected Dameira to throw a fit until the very end, but she sat meekly. Bartol only glanced at my changed attire and makeup but said nothing.
‘Are they really this cowed?’
It was such a drastic change in attitude, I even wondered if they were planning to assassinate me midway. But despite my doubts, we arrived safely at the entrance of the palace ballroom.
“That’s the place. Once the attendant introduces us, we go in.”
Dameira explained as if she were the eldest sister of the group.
“Bartol will inform the chief attendant that you’ve arrived. This sudden addition is troublesome for us too, but… since we’re family, we’re generously letting you in together.”
Family?
A word rarely used—and grating to the ears. My brow twitched.
“I don’t know what you’re planning but…”
“This way.”
Just as I was about to respond, Bartol gestured us over.
In front of him stood a middle-aged attendant, whose build rivaled that of a seasoned knight. Bartol approached him first and exchanged a few words.
The attendant glanced at me briefly, then nodded toward Bartol.
“So this is the young lady of the Apellemeon family. I’m Roy.”
“Yes. I determined that her health had improved enough to introduce her to society. I thought the time was finally right.”
Bartol smiled warmly, like a benevolent brother, as he introduced me to the attendant.
“Since you’re all from the same family, you’ll be entering together. This way, please. The other guests have already arrived. Then… Ahem.”
He positioned us at the entrance to the ballroom and cleared his throat.
In that split second, Bartol and Dameira exchanged a strange smile.
Instinctively, I felt something was off.
A few of the words they used echoed in my mind:
‘Family.’
‘Same household.’
‘Lady of Apellemeon.’
‘I judged it was time to introduce her.’
…Could it be? That bastard Bartol—
“We shall begin the introduction!”
The attendant’s voice rang out loudly. People in the ballroom turned their heads one by one. Bartol and Dameira’s smiles deepened—and I realized what was happening.
“Apell—”
“Wait.”
I interrupted, my voice cutting clearly through the air.
“…Pardon? Milady, it’s time to enter.”
“Tell me. How were you planning to introduce me? I just need to confirm something.”
I ordered coldly.
“W-Well…”
The attendant hesitated, flustered. Bartol and Dameira’s faces flushed red.
People inside the ballroom started murmuring and looking our way, but I didn’t care. Something far more important was at stake.
“Are you insane?”
“Shut up, will you?!”
They both glared at me furiously, but I ignored them and turned back to the attendant.
“Iris of the Apellemeon Ducal House, accompanied by Bartol and Dameira of the Penton Family,” I said, watching the attendant closely. “Was that what you were going to say?”
“Uh… That is…”
The attendant broke into a cold sweat, clearly rattled. But I didn’t miss his eyes darting toward Bartol.
“You’re in charge of introducing guests on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor, right? That shouldn’t be a hard question.”
“Well, since the two have always been introduced as the young master and lady of the Penton family, it’s close to what you said, but…”
“Roy. That’s enough.”
Bartol waved frantically to silence him, but the attendant, now clearly confused, looked between us and finally spoke.
“Exactly as Master Bartol instructed, I was going to say: ‘Bartol and Dameira from the Apellemeon family, and Lady Iris.’”
My expression turned icy.
Bartol and Dameira swallowed hard at the same time.
