Chapter 23: This Wasn’t the Plan
“Speak.”
Demian set down the document he had been holding, displaying the composed attitude of a superior willing to listen to his subordinate.
However, Rosaline mistakenly assumed that his willingness to listen meant he was at least somewhat interested in her.
“Demian Vandermir doesn’t even spare a glance at things he has no interest in. Keep that in mind.”
She had heard this advice from the Duke’s household before, which only fueled her misconception.
Swallowing her nerves, Rosaline clasped her hands together and stepped forward to stand before his desk.
“From the moment I first saw you, my lord, I have admired you.”
“Even when the mistress dismissed me coldly, you still accepted me.”
“I tried to suppress these feelings, but my heart is so full of love for you that I can no longer hold them back.”
Her voice trembled just slightly, intentionally feigning a sorrowful fragility.
With teary eyes, Rosaline gazed up at Demian.
Yet, his face remained unreadable—a perfect mask of indifference.
Beneath the shadows cast by the window, his golden eyes glowed ominously.
“I do not dare hope that you will return my feelings. However…”
Stretching her words seductively, Rosaline stepped around the desk, approaching Demian directly.
His thick brows twitched in response.
She planned to throw herself into his arms, cling to him, and whisper, “You may do as you wish with me.”
This final touch would complete her seduction.
Like a small, delicate bird, she hurled herself toward his chest.
“A man wouldn’t be able to refuse—!”
SCRAPE—THUD!
Demian pressed his foot against the floor, pushing his chair back abruptly.
Instead of falling into his embrace, Rosaline crashed onto the floor.
Her face hit the cold surface, and she stared up in disbelief, dazed.
Demian, now glaring down at her, radiated sheer contempt.
“This… this isn’t how it was supposed to go…!”
Leaving her stunned on the ground, Demian rang the bell, summoning his butler.
The loud chime echoed through the room, and Albert rushed in, breathless.
“What is the matter, my lord?!”
“Albert. Fetch the head maid immediately and have her remove this woman.”
“…Pardon?”
Albert, upon seeing Rosaline sitting dumbfounded on the floor, was utterly confused.
Why is a maid even in this situation…?
Nonetheless, he obeyed Demian’s orders, retrieving the head maid to have Rosaline taken away.
“It seems the maids require additional training.”
Demian’s icy tone made the head maid stiffen.
His golden eyes, as piercing as molten sunlight, turned coldly toward Rosaline.
“And as for you—do not overstep your place.”
Even from a distance, his sheer authority was overwhelming.
Rosaline gasped, her legs trembling.
“Understood, my lord! I sincerely apologize!”
The head maid dragged her away, bowing repeatedly as they exited the room.
A Foolish Mistake
Once they reached a secluded part of the estate, the head maid exploded in anger.
“What were you thinking?! How could you enrage the master like that?!”
“…I only confessed my love and tried to seduce him! I didn’t even touch him!”
Rosaline, her face burning with shame, protested weakly.
She had never been so thoroughly rejected before—her pride was shattered, and she felt like crying.
“Ugh, you fool.”
The head maid clicked her tongue in disapproval, shaking her head.
She had opposed this plan from the start.
The Duke’s household didn’t care enough about Demian to know this, but the truth was many maids had attempted to seduce him before.
Yet, he had always remained stone-cold and dismissive.
Even though Rosaline was one of the most beautiful maids the head maid had ever seen, it made no difference.
“Just look at him and the mistress. She’s breathtakingly beautiful, yet they’re still distant. Do you really think you stand a chance?”
She had expected Rosaline to fail, but she had at least been impressed with her previous work—isolating Audrey and damaging Aracila’s reputation.
Now, all that effort was on the verge of being wasted.
“Hmph! My feminine charm is far superior to the mistress’s! And to fully undermine her position, I had to seduce the master!”
“And what good did that do?! You failed!”
Rosaline opened her mouth to argue, but nothing came out.
The head maid sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration.
“The master will never allow a maid like you to remain in this household.”
“…Am I going to be expelled?”
“What did you expect? I’ll try to buy you some time, but you’d better figure out what you’re going to do next.”
After issuing this strict warning, the head maid stormed off.
Rosaline bit her lip hard, furious.
“What do I do now?”
Her seduction attempt had failed, so she needed another strategy.
Instead of falling herself, she needed to bring Aracila down with her.
Even if becoming Demian’s mistress was impossible, she couldn’t abandon the reward promised by the Duke’s household.
A New Plan
The head maid secured a three-day grace period for Rosaline.
In that time, she needed to deliver something valuable—otherwise, she wouldn’t even receive half of the promised reward.
A letter from the Duke’s household arrived, containing similar instructions:
“If you have failed to seduce Demian Vandermir, then bring us a weakness of Aracila Hugo instead.”
Rosaline clenched her teeth.
“This actually works out better. Since I’ve returned to being the mistress’s maid, it’ll be easier this way.”
For three days before leaving the estate, Rosaline resumed working under Aracila. It was only natural for a maid who had attempted to seduce the master to be dismissed.
Fortunately, thanks to the head maid’s protection, the details of her disgraceful expulsion were not made public.
Everyone assumed that she had been transferred to serve the master due to her strained relationship with Audrey and was simply reassigned due to a shortage of staff.
Back in her previous position, Rosaline quickly resumed helping her fellow maids with their work—of course, with a hidden motive.
“I’ll clean the mistress’s dressing room alone. You all should take a break.”
“Are you sure, Rosaline?”
“Of course! Since I just returned, I should warm up a bit. I can handle it alone.”
Gently nudging the hesitant maids out of the room, Rosaline was left alone in the dressing room.
Her sharp gaze swept across the space.
This was Aracila’s most private area. If she were hiding something incriminating, she would never keep it in the bedroom—it would be here.
“I must find something I can use against her!”
With desperation, Rosaline tore through the dressing room.
She searched the vanity, the sofa, the wardrobe, the side tables, the jewelry box—even sifting through the dresses and lifting every carpet.
For hours, she ransacked the entire room like a madwoman, yet found nothing.
Exhausted, Rosaline collapsed onto the floor.
“Damn it, I can’t leave empty-handed!”
Lying on her back, she turned her head to the side—and then…
“Huh? What’s that?”
Underneath the lavishly decorated white vanity, something was stuck.
Scrambling to her knees, Rosaline crawled forward, reaching underneath to pry it loose.
It was a sealed document.
“If it was hidden like this, it must be something important… Something she absolutely doesn’t want anyone to see… Suspicious.”
Sensing that she had finally discovered Aracila’s weakness, Rosaline grinned triumphantly and prepared to open the document—
But just then—
“Rosaline, are you in here?”
The door opened, and a voice called out for her.
Rosaline jumped in shock, hurriedly shoving the document back into place before scrambling to her feet.
When she turned around, she came face to face with Audrey.
Audrey surveyed the disaster of a dressing room with a deep frown.
“W-What? Why are you looking for me…?”
“You insisted on cleaning the dressing room alone, but I thought that was too much work. So I came to check on you, only to find… this mess.”
“Ah…”
In her frantic search for Aracila’s weakness, Rosaline had completely wrecked the room.
She had intended to clean it up before leaving, but Audrey arrived too soon.
“What the hell were you doing? Did you dare touch the mistress’s belongings?”
“N-No! I was just looking around out of curiosity, and things got a little messy…”
Rosaline waved her hands in panic, cold sweat trickling down her back.
Did Audrey see her touching the document?
Even if she hadn’t, just the fact that Rosaline had rummaged through the dressing room would be a huge problem.
“Audrey, I’m sorry! Please, don’t tell the mistress! I must have lost my mind for a moment. I swear it won’t happen again! You see, I had a rough childhood, so—”
“Enough. I have no interest in hearing your pathetic excuses.”
Audrey’s voice was ice-cold.
Looking genuinely upset, she began picking up the scattered items.
Rosaline, watching nervously, also started tidying up.
“Audrey…?”
“Rosaline, I’ve been meaning to say this for a while now.”
Audrey’s sharp gaze pierced through her.
“Your appearance is far too excessive for a working maid.”
“And instead of trying to win people over by doing their work for them, why don’t you focus on doing your own job properly?”
Her harsh tone and piercing glare made Rosaline’s jaw clench with fury.
Her pride burned—she couldn’t bear being scolded like this.
Yet, she couldn’t talk back, fearing Audrey might report her.
With a stony expression, Audrey pointed toward the door.
“If you understand, then leave. I can’t entrust the cleaning to someone who goes through the mistress’s things without permission.”
“Today’s incident…”
“I’ll let it slide.”
“But only this once.”
If it had been anything else, Audrey wouldn’t have been so harsh.
However, when it came to matters involving Aracila, Audrey was unyielding.
Still, understanding her mistress’s desire to avoid unnecessary conflict, Audrey decided to let this go—for now.
Even though she got the answer she wanted, Rosaline left feeling anxious and resentful.
“Damn Audrey. Who says she’ll actually keep her promise?”
As Rosaline stormed down the hallway, her eyes gleamed with malice and urgency.
“If I’m leaving, I need to deal with her first.”
A Stolen Necklace
The commotion began shortly after noon.
“Someone stole my necklace!”
A sharp cry echoed through the estate.
It was lunchtime, and most of the maids were gathered in the dining hall.
Audrey turned her head toward the source of the shouting.
The one screaming was Amy, a maid who shared a room with Rosaline and was one of her closest allies.
Naturally, Amy had always been hostile toward Audrey.
Now, with Rosaline leading the charge, a group of maids quickly surrounded Amy, causing a ruckus.
Audrey, eating her meal alone, watched the scene with a sideways glance.
“Everyone, listen up! Amy’s necklace—her mother’s keepsake—has gone missing! So, can we all agree to search our rooms? If no one is guilty, there should be no objections!”
A maid, standing beside Amy, boldly declared.
Her tone was not a request—it was a demand.
Audrey, disliking the idea of someone going through her belongings, had no choice but to stay silent.
If she refused, she already knew what accusations would follow.
“It’s none of my business anyway.”
Audrey had never even seen this so-called keepsake necklace before.
There was no reason she would have stolen it.
Instead, her mind drifted to what Aracila had mentioned that morning—that she might leave work early today.
“Since she’ll be home early for once, should I go pick her up from the Mage Tower?”
The thought of Aracila’s delighted expression if she arrived with a carriage on time made Audrey smile.
Despite the difficulties of working at the Vandermir estate, as long as her mistress was there, Audrey could endure it.
Just then, multiple shadows loomed over her.
“Audrey, we need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Amy’s necklace was found in your room. Explain yourself.”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
