Chapter 14
“Pierre found out about Asil and me. He keeps threatening me, saying he’ll tell Anna…”
“He’s such a jerk.”
“Sniff… What should I do? If people find out, Asil will have to quit his job!”
Since there were more male servants than maids in the temple, it was understandable. Maids were considered highly skilled workers, and there weren’t many applicants for the position.
“What do you mean, what should you do? Just threaten him back and say you’ll kill him!”
Anette was still in a rough mood from the anger she felt yesterday. She had slept well and felt refreshed, but her bad mood lingered.
She was ready to take out her frustration on anyone.
“Just stab him with a knife!”
“A-Anette! H-How can you say that?”
Lucy’s eyes widened in fear and quickly turned suspicious.
Anette’s mind raced.
Lucy was starting to doubt whether the rumors about Anette being a villain were true and if Anette had been attacked or not.
She had spoken too harshly in the heat of the moment.
“I’m just joking! What am I even saying? I must have gotten too worked up because I’m worried about you. He’s a real scumbag, isn’t he?”
“Yeah… He is.”
Lucy’s face relaxed, and her suspicions faded.
Anette sighed in relief.
“So, what exactly is he threatening you with?”
“He says that if I don’t go out with him, he’ll get Asil fired.”
“What a crazy idiot. If you go out with him, you’ll get fired too.”
“He’s an important person in the kitchen, so he won’t be fired that easily…”
In other words, Asil was just another replaceable worker.
Anette thought for a moment.
“Do you want me to take care of it?”
“H-How?”
“How much will you pay me?”
“Huh?”
Lucy looked confused.
Anette turned to her and began explaining enthusiastically.
“I’ll take care of everything. But if I do it for free, you’ll feel guilty, right? So let’s just say you’ll pay me a small amount. How does that sound?”
“How much?”
“How much can you give me?”
“Umm… Would 50 Rauds be okay?”
“Oh, perfect.”
Anette cheered internally.
50 Rauds was almost a full day’s wage.
It seemed like Lucy had saved up quite a bit from working at the temple for a long time.
Even though she was getting paid, Anette felt like a hero of justice.
She had a plan.
It was after lunch, once the morning tasks were done.
Anette walked into the kitchen just as the servants had finished eating.
As soon as she stepped inside, all eyes turned to her. She was breathtakingly beautiful, as always.
“Pierre?”
Anette walked toward Pierre, who was sitting in the corner.
He looked shocked as if he hadn’t expected this.
The other servants stared at Pierre with jealous eyes.
Pierre straightened his shoulders proudly.
He greeted her confidently.
“A-Anette! Did you have a good lunch?”
“Yes, I did. But…”
“Hmm?”
“I have something to ask you. Can you spare a moment?”
The other servants glared at Pierre with burning resentment.
They were cursing him silently with their eyes.
“O-Of course! L-Let’s go outside, Anette.”
Anette followed Pierre out through the back door of the kitchen.
There was a garden with trees where the servants could take breaks.
Pierre could still feel the jealous glares of the other servants on his back, but he was too excited to care.
“S-So, Anette, what did you want to talk about…?”
Anette slowly turned around.
Her stunning peach-colored hair framed her even more beautiful face.
“Aah… Anette… You’re truly, truly beautiful.”
He muttered the words without realizing it.
You’re truly beautiful…
Pierre felt like a fool for saying it out loud.
But something felt off.
“Hey.”
Anette’s expression changed.
Her usual warm gaze turned ice cold.
Pierre knew that the other servants feared Anette because she was an Etheled.
But he didn’t believe the rumors.
He wished she would know that he, out of everyone, had always trusted her.
‘Everyone else doubted you, but I always believed in you!’
He wanted to say that.
But then—
“You’ve heard the rumors about me, right?”
Her voice was just as cold as her eyes.
“W-What rumors? Anette, I don’t believe those nasty stories about you.”
“They’re all true.”
“W-What?”
“The rumors about me using poison? They’re all true.”
“That… That can’t be.”
“I couldn’t kill him, though. Heine Royce, I mean.”
Anette’s lips curled into a seductive smile.
It was an evil grin.
“W-What are you saying…?”
Pierre’s pupils shook violently.
Anette continued speaking calmly.
“Do you know how many servants I’ve killed?”
“Gasp.”
“Over half of the Duke’s household staff died because of me. Of course, no one knows that. Because I used poison.”
“H-How…?”
Anette, who had looked like an angel, now seemed like a demon.
There were so many rumors about her cruelty.
Even commoners used her name to scare children.
“Stop crying or Anette Etheled will come get you!”
Pierre gulped.
Anette roared like the goddess Hella, delivering judgment.
“You bullied Lucy, didn’t you?”
“M-Me? That’s a misunderstanding!”
“Leave Lucy alone. Unless you want to disappear without a trace.”
“Y-You’re threatening me?”
Pierre looked terrified, but he forced himself to laugh.
After all, she was just a weak woman.
But—
“They foamed at the mouth, I bet. The ones who drank my poison.”
“F-Foamed…?”
“They died without even screaming. Do you think the Duke’s family abandoned me? Wrong. The Royce family still supports me.”
“That… That’s not possible… I heard you were exiled…”
“Right now, I may be here, but even if I kill you on the spot, the Duke’s family will cover for me. Do you think I ended up here by accident?”
“…”
“Or I could just have them send an assassin. That works too.”
“…”
Pierre was now completely terrified.
Anette was delighted that her plan was working.
She felt a little guilty about taking her anger out on someone else, but this guy was a scumbag anyway.
And she was getting 50 Rauds for it.
“Don’t mess with Lucy or Asil again. Answer me.”
“I-I understand… I swear…”
“And if my words get out, you know what will happen, right?”
Her reputation had just started to recover. She needed to make sure he kept his mouth shut.
“I might have to cut your tongue out. Snip, snip.”
Anette stuck out her tongue and made a scissor motion with her fingers.
Pierre let out a strangled squeak and flinched in horror.
Anette had tried to act as intimidating as the gangsters she had seen in movies.
She worried it wouldn’t work, but he fell for it.
Of course, what got through to him was the mention of the Duke’s family.
It was a little sad, but whatever.
The 50 Rauds were more important.
Anette felt proud of herself.
She decided to become even more shameless from now on.
Pierre promised to keep quiet and left.
And Anette received her 50 Rauds.
“This might be a good side job.”
She felt happier than ever.
It was the first money she had ever earned here.
“So this is what it looks like.”
Smiling, Anette examined the coins.
Even though she had earned it through threats, it was still money she made herself.
And then, even better news came.
That evening, she found out that the maids got paid weekly, not monthly.
And tomorrow was payday.
On top of that, she was getting a day off as a reward for her hard work.
She didn’t have a home to go to, so she’d still sleep at the temple, but tomorrow she’d be free all day.
She decided to spend her first paycheck all at once.
Her heart pounded with excitement.
She had always been good at saving money but never at spending it.
That night, she was too excited to sleep.
