“Lady Catherine seems to have given her some errands, so she’s been busy lately.”
“Catherine?”
Cecil muttered in a disapproving tone, as if something about it didn’t sit well with her.
“I wonder if she actually has something to do or if she’s just goofing off.”
I let out a small laugh at Cecil’s muttering. Looking slightly embarrassed, she added quickly, as if to explain herself.
“I didn’t mean to talk bad about her or anything…”
“No, it’s fine. I laughed because it’s just like Erin.”
If it were Erin, it wouldn’t be surprising at all for her to casually toss someone’s name around while taking it easy.
“Well, I suppose you’d know better than I would, Lady Renee.”
“Just leave her be for now. It’s actually quieter and better without her around.”
“Understood.”
If Erin were constantly hovering around, that would be noisy in its own way, so this was probably for the best.
Since Raynan already knew Erin was one of Schneider’s people, there would surely be eyes watching her anyway.
Just the fact that Erin wasn’t around made me feel much more at ease.
Then I suddenly remembered the conversation I’d had with Raynan in the carriage after the party.
“When did you find out Erin and Marvin were working for Schneider?”
“Hmm…”
When I said it came from Schneider himself, Raynan didn’t seem surprised. He didn’t even look like he was getting confirmation.
He just had the expression of someone hearing something they already knew.
It seemed Raynan had figured out they were Schneider’s people a lot earlier than I’d thought.
“Why did you just leave them be?”
“Because it was convenient.”
“Convenient?”
“Schneider’s people probably aren’t just those two. If we removed them, he would’ve just sent replacements or tried to win over someone else from the duke’s estate.”
“I see.”
I nodded at Raynan’s logical response, but then another question popped into my mind.
“Then… why did you assign Erin to be my maid?”
“Didn’t you ask me to?”
“Well, yes, but… I didn’t know back then.”
That strange look Roman gave me when I asked for Erin to be assigned wasn’t meaningless after all.
It was clear now—Raynan and Roman had already known Erin was one of Schneider’s people.
I had asked without knowing, but why had Raynan gone along with it even though he did know?
“That’s why I told Amelia not to leave your side, remember? And unexpectedly, you managed things quite well on your own.”
“Managed?”
What had I managed? No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t recall doing anything like that.
“You kept Cecil close and pushed Erin aside to do menial chores. You did well.”
“Oh, that…”
I’d only done that because I found Erin annoying. But in Raynan’s eyes, it must’ve looked like I had purposely moved Erin out of the way.
“Now that Schneider has openly admitted Erin and Marvin are his people…
what do you think will happen to them?”
“Hmm. Normally, someone would clean them up first. But Schneider? Who knows. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Raynan was probably right. Since Schneider had revealed that secret himself, I expected Erin and Marvin to suddenly disappear.
But it turned out differently. Even days later, Erin was still around.
If anything had changed, it was that she was spending more time outside than sticking close to me lately…
Could it be that Schneider gave her a different mission?
The more I thought about it, the less clear anything became. All it did was give me a headache.
Still, if she had something to gain from staying near me, she’d probably stick around as my maid.
“Oh. So that’s why that day…”
“Yes?”
Cecil responded to my muttering again.
Even though she always wore a blank expression, I knew she was sharp, so I quickly changed the subject.
“Hm? Oh, nothing. I’d just like a cup of warm tea.”
“I’ll have it ready right away.”
“Thank you.”
Watching Cecil prepare the tea without any suspicion, I slipped back into thought.
So that’s why she suddenly showed up, talking about becoming my maid out of nowhere.
She must have begged with tears in her eyes just to come back to my side.
It wouldn’t have been hard to guess that I’d soon be in need of a maid. Even back then, there were plenty of rumors about me and Raynan.
If I really was one of Schneider’s people, then maybe Erin was supposed to be the messenger.
Those dresses that filled my closet—
there was no way I could afford even one with my salary.
The way she was especially close with me, and how she had items far beyond her means…
Was it all because she was working for Schneider?
Could it be… Renee?
“If it’s Renee… that’s me.”
I buried my face in the sofa and whimpered.
Thankfully, my voice was muffled enough that Cecil didn’t seem to hear.
To be one of Schneider’s people…
Just the thought of it made my heart drop.
But no matter how much I tried to recall, there was never any sign of it.
No one secretly gave me any orders. And since I came here, I hadn’t received any extra money beyond my wages.
What was going on?
The more I thought about it, the more confused I became.
It felt like I was back to square one. I didn’t even know where to start unraveling everything.
Maybe what I really needed to do was figure out what parts of Schneider’s words were true and which were lies.
Now that I thought about it, Schneider had said something else too.
“Will you claim you don’t even know how you got the position of Edwin’s nanny?”
As she aged, Teresa stepped down from being Edwin’s nanny due to her health.
And around that time, someone had noticed me working hard, trying to leave the mansion…
Right as I was following that train of thought, I suddenly sat upright.
“That’s right. The one who had authority over the maids was…”
“Lady Head Maid,” Cecil answered as she placed a teacup on the table, as if wondering why I was bringing up something so obvious.
“Yes. The head maid.”
What if Catherine had chosen me on purpose?
Maybe the answer to Schneider’s words lay there.
***
“You said I’d definitely become the Duchess.”
Erin’s sharp voice filled the room.
“Keep your voice down. And when did I ever say that?”
“You did!”
“No. That was you saying it confidently to me.”
Erin clenched and unclenched her fists, pacing in tight circles with irritation. Yelling might have made her feel a bit better, but she couldn’t. Nothing Catherine had said was actually wrong.
It was Erin herself who had declared that she’d use Renee to become the Duchess.
“You don’t even know your place and can’t read people—how pathetic.”
Catherine’s voice was full of scorn, though she clearly understood Erin’s frustration.
Even so, with nothing solid to argue, Erin could only redirect her anger toward René.
“That damn girl!”
“Watch your language.”
“I thought she was just a dumb, greedy little thing, but…”
“Right. Turns out she was a step ahead of you.”
“Lady Catherine!”
Erin couldn’t hold it in anymore and screamed. But Catherine didn’t flinch. She stayed seated, composed, and replied coldly.
“You’re the one who missed your chances. When I had you sent to be the nanny, when I gave you chances to run into Renee while you were working in the west wing—those were all opportunities.”
“And you think those little things—”
“No. Every one of those moments was a chance. I didn’t think you were too stupid to realize that.”
Erin bit at her fingernails in frustration. Where had it gone wrong? She never imagined things would turn out like this.
Maybe it started when Renee suddenly changed.
No, back then, she’d actually thought it was a good thing. Before that, Renee was sharp enough to make even Erin nervous.
Seeing her suddenly act like a simpleton had been a relief. A woman who was just diligent wasn’t likely to stay at Raynan’s side for long.
She certainly wouldn’t be someone he’d fall for. Erin figured that if Renee got herself thrown out for overstepping, that would be her moment.
But Renee kept smiling like she didn’t know a thing and effortlessly won everyone over.
Everything Renee had should’ve been hers.
She couldn’t believe it—and she definitely couldn’t accept it.
“You think I don’t know you’ve been skimming money from Renee? You should be grateful I’ve kept my mouth shut.”
Erin shut her mouth tight.
She hadn’t expected Catherine to know even that.
“Renee never had a clue about anything. You were just using her. So why get so worked up now?”
“But…”
“So what now? I heard she’s pregnant.”
“Is she really?”
“Who knows? Everyone who might know has zipped their lips. And if she’s not?”
“Well, then…”
“Either way, there’s nothing you can do. The Duke is already completely taken with her.”
“Is he really?”
“I wish you’d at least realize where you stand.”
“What do you mean, where I stand? They’re only engaged.”
“Do I really need to spell it out for you? If you screw things up because of your petty jealousy, it could ruin everything.”
“It’s not over yet, okay? If I get rid of Renee and become Duchess, wouldn’t that be better for all of us?”
“No. I’d honestly rather see Renee as the Duchess.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re completely driven by emotion. You don’t think.”
“And you think Renee’s any better?”
Catherine looked at her like she was beyond exasperated.
She already knew Erin wouldn’t listen, no matter what she said. So she made it clear.
“You can’t even grasp the situation you’re in, and you think you’re fit to be Duchess? Erin, listen carefully.”
Catherine spoke with clenched teeth, each word deliberate, and Erin finally fell silent.
She knew full well that Catherine, despite her usual temperament, had been unusually patient with her.
“There’s someone dumb enough to drink the poison meant for Renee. I don’t know if it was Renee’s luck or Marvin’s mistake.”
At that, Erin scoffed.
‘Idiot. He even followed them on vacation but couldn’t get close to Renee or Edwin. Then finally got a chance and still blew it…’
“Thanks to Marvin’s screw-up, now we have to be careful around the Duke.”
“Exactly. He should’ve created more chances and taken action. What an idiot.”
As Erin grumbled, Catherine let out a cold laugh and snapped at her.
“And you don’t even realize that you’re being just as stupid as Marvin?”
“You’re comparing me to that brainless Marvin?”
“I’m worried about how quiet the Duke is being. It’s lucky Marvin moved at all, but now he can’t do anything for a while.”
“That’s why I—”
