Chapter 51
“Your Grace!”
Baran rushed into Aden’s office without knocking, bursting through the door.
Startled by his sudden entrance, Aden dismissed the knights who followed him into the room and stood up.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a big problem… Lady Richelle…”
Before Baran could finish, Aden’s expression changed, and he quickly moved away.
Baran struggled to catch up with Aden, who was moving even before he could catch his breath.
They had moved Richelle to a locked room in the residence to improve her treatment.
Usually a quiet place visited only by knights and guards, it was now bustling with priests, healers, and maids.
A knight, organizing the situation, saw Aden and quickly got to his feet.
“Enough. Report.”
“I heard loud noises coming from inside, and when I went in, she was convulsing and foaming at the mouth.”
Aden opened his palm to stop the knight and stepped into the room.
As he entered, a strong smell of alcohol lingered in the air and quickly faded away.
Aden wrinkled his nose and narrowed his brows.
The healer, who had been checking on Richelle lying on the bed, turned to Aden.
“How is she?”
“She was at risk of suffocating due to a sudden seizure and subsequent breathing difficulties. It was beyond what could be treated with medicine, but thankfully the priest arrived quickly, so we got past the dangerous point.”
“Do we know the cause of the seizure?”
“Not definitively yet. We’re checking the food she ate yesterday and her meals from breakfast and lunch today. We might need to investigate further for any pre-existing conditions or illnesses she might not be aware of.”
The healer’s calm demeanor and reporting showed his experience treating soldiers and knights in the battlefield.
Aden turned his gaze to Richelle, who lay still on the bed, and quietly called Baran over.
Once Baran was near, Aden took a small step back and spoke softly.
“Investigate everyone who entered today and report back.”
“Understood.”
“And since this might be a suicide, pick trustworthy individuals to keep a close watch inside the room. She must not die under any circumstances. It would be troublesome for us, but more importantly, we need the information that girl has. You understand?”
Baran tightly closed his lips and nodded.
Aden turned to look at Richelle again, biting his lip.
Knowing Sierra had entrusted Richelle to him weighed heavily on Aden’s mind.
With his lips pressed tightly, he frowned and looked back at Baran.
“Have you informed Richelle’s parents about her visitation?”
“I notified them yesterday.”
“Damn it.”
Aden muttered a short curse, brushing his hair back in frustration.
“Nothing is going right.”
A deep sigh escaped from Aden, tinged with self-pity.
After instructing Baran to tidy up the surroundings, he stood before Richelle.
The strong smell of alcohol still lingered.
“Do you smell anything?”
“Excuse me? What smell are you referring to?”
The healer looked puzzled at Aden’s question.
Aden shook his head briefly and examined Richelle.
She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, without any apparent issues.
Aden lifted Richelle’s hand to examine her nails.
‘…They’re broken.’
Aden carefully inspected Richelle’s condition, trying to find something to report to Sierra.
He didn’t want to disappoint her, even if he couldn’t be of help.
* * *
“Unbelievable. How could they just fire me?”
Rita’s footsteps were heavy as she returned home, carrying the belongings she had used at the castle.
Having worked as a maid for Sierra for ten years, she couldn’t easily comprehend her current situation.
She hadn’t been given any prior notice about her dismissal; it was sudden and unexpected.
The only things that quieted the outraged staff were the letters expressing gratitude for their hard work and their severance pay from the last ten years.
Since the amount was substantial, most disgruntled servants reluctantly accepted the decision.
They couldn’t argue against the decision when it was based on the estate’s policies and not personal.
However, some people were still filled with resentment.
Those were the individuals who saw little benefit in receiving money and finding new jobs—specifically, those trapped by Belietta.
For them, receiving such a large reward for betraying their master meant severing their ties with Belieta entirely.
Rita was in the same boat.
Especially because, unlike others, she had been treated exceptionally as Sierra’s exclusive maid.
It wasn’t just about the money; it included medicine for her mother’s treatment.
To Rita, Belietta was nothing short of a savior.
“How could they do this after everything I’ve done? Even if they’re letting everyone go, I shouldn’t be among them, right? No, they should at least have told me in advance! I haven’t even finished my tasks yet!”
Rita was grumbling when she suddenly stopped and narrowed her brows.
Nervously biting her thumbnail, she frowned.
“Could they have figured it out?”
Rita recalled how she had been reporting every detail of Sierra’s actions to Bozbourne.
At first, it was just about what clothes she wore and what accessories she donned, but it had escalated over time.
Eventually, it became hard to distinguish whether she was merely a maid or a spy.
Thinking this way, Rita was suddenly unsure if she had the right to feel disgruntled.
After all, she had essentially betrayed them.
She thought that because Sierra had treated her well, she would forgive her even if she got caught.
As her thoughts stretched far, a shadow fell over her face.
Just then, shadows loomed behind Rita, near the door.
When she turned around, a group of stern-faced men were standing closely behind her.
“…W-Who are you?”
Startled by their sudden appearance, Rita shrank back, her voice trembling.
The men confirmed her face and nodded before reaching out to grab her.
“W-What are you…!?”
“Take her.”
It was daytime, and with everyone out working, the quiet alley was devoid of passersby.
The men easily abducted Rita and dragged her to a secluded spot where no one could see.
They threw her down as if she were a sack of goods.
“Oof!”
Rita, whose mouth was covered with cloth, hurriedly tried to get up from the floor, but the man with the sword was quicker, pressing it against her throat.
Feeling the cold, sharp sensation made Rita freeze and gulp.
“Ugh!”
She couldn’t even scream.
Tears streamed down Rita’s terrified eyes.
All she could do was shake her hands in despair.
Why was this happening to her?
She hadn’t done anything wrong.
She had only lived her life diligently.
“Kill her.”
“Ugh!!”
The man, who had been standing with his arms crossed, nodded slightly and gave a brief command.
Frightened, Rita scrambled back, but the swordsman easily subdued her.
He stepped on Rita’s ankle and raised his sword.
Rita shook her head, begging for her life, but the man’s eyes were cold and indifferent.
“Just kill her. We have a lot of people to deal with today.”
“…”
“What are you waiting for? Kill her. What? Is it hard to kill a woman? Pathetic. Get out of the way. I’ll do it…”
“Who are you going to kill?”
Just then, a voice called from behind as the man drew his sword, clicking his tongue.
As he was startled and tried to step back, a sword came flying in from his shoulder and pierced him exactly.
“Ahhh!!”
“Subdue him.”
At the low command, armed knights rushed in from behind and lunged at the man.
The guy who had raised his sword to kill Rita flinched at the sudden appearance of the knights and started to flee in the opposite direction.
The knights chased after him while the remaining man was quickly subdued.
“Don’t kill him. Just keep him alive and gag him so he can’t commit suicide.”
“Understood, Lady Brilloxen.”
Kestian conveyed Sierra’s words to the knights.
With the emblem of the Palieva family, the knights pinned the man down and stuffed cloth into his mouth.
Rita, lying on the ground, stared blankly at Sierra and Kestian as they approached her.
Sierra pulled the cloth that was gagging Rita’s lips, which were smeared with tears and cold sweat.
“R-Rita, are you alright?”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“She looks fine. It doesn’t seem like she’s badly injured, Lady Sierra.”
Kestian said briefly as he checked Rita’s condition.
Rita, still dazed, looked at the unfamiliar man before turning her gaze back to Sierra.
“How did you know I was here…?”
“It’s just in case something like this happens, I had someone watch over you. If I hadn’t noticed a little sooner, it could’ve been a disaster, Rita.”
Rita swallowed hard and nodded.
She quietly looked down at Sierra’s hand, which was holding hers, and bit her lip.
The hand that saved her felt so warm.
That warm hand belonged to the master she had betrayed multiple times.
Only then did she realize that she wasn’t completely innocent.
Even a dull-witted maid could tell who had tried to kill her.
“Did you send those people…?”
