ITHTJ 22

Chapter : 22

Somehow Suspicious People (7)

I’d been feeling uneasy, thinking I might be making Penny go through needless trouble, so this worked out perfectly.

I closed the book I’d only been half-reading and called out to Penny.

“Miss Penny.”

“Yes, Lady Blumhire.”

Penny, who had been sweeping the floor with a broom and tilting her head in confusion, walked over to me.

“You called for me?”

“Well, you see… actually…”

I explained to Penny about the magic cast on my broom. As she listened carefully, her eyes gradually widened as if everything finally made sense.

“Oh, so that’s what it was. I was wondering why I couldn’t really see any hair… I never imagined it was because of that.”

She stared intently at my broom, which was basking in the sunlight by the bright window, and then continued,

“Actually, a little while ago when I was cleaning the room, I found a single strand of hair tangled in the broom bristles. I never dreamed that was a trace of cleaning.”

“Right? Hmm, I should’ve told you sooner. I’m sorry—it feels like I made you work harder for nothing.”

“No, not at all. It was my job anyway. Please don’t worry about it.”

Even as she said that, Penny’s gaze was glued to my broom. Seeing her eyes widened in fascination made my lips itch to speak.

“You know, Miss Penny. Would you like me to cast that magic on your broom too?”

“Huh? On this broom?”

“Yes!”

I nodded vigorously.

Maybe it was because we shared the same background—both commoners and employees—but I felt especially fond of her.

“Please.”

I held out both hands to Penny. After glancing back and forth between her broom and mine several times, she handed hers over.

“Here you go.”

“You can just hold it like that.”

“Ah, yes.”

I stood in front of Penny and extended one hand into the air. Penny clutched the broom with both hands and looked at me with eyes filled with a mix of tension and curiosity.

“Just stay still for a moment.”

Waves of magical power rippled around my outstretched hand. Penny’s eyes darted back and forth, following the shimmering magic.

“All done.”

When I said that with a bright smile, Penny asked with a dazed expression,

“Is… is the magic really on it?”

“Of course. If you don’t believe me, want to test it?”

I tore a small corner off a sheet of paper on the table and dropped it on the floor. That was when—

“Oh my!”

The broom, which had been obediently held in Penny’s grip, suddenly struggled wildly to break free. Startled, Penny let go, and the broom immediately dribbled the scrap of paper across the floor before scoring a perfect shot into the trash can in the corner.

“Oh my goodness… I don’t think I’ve ever been this surprised in my life.”

Penny spoke in a trembling voice, as if she’d witnessed something incredible. Her eyes then turned to me.

“So this is magic. Even though I saw it clearly with my own eyes, it’s still hard to believe.”

This is nothing!

Feeling strangely proud, I spoke with a satisfied smile.

“This should make cleaning much easier. It’s nothing big, but please think of it as a small gift.”

“Is it really okay for me to receive something like this?”

“Of course. I’m giving it to you especially, Miss Penny. You could also think of it as a bribe—asking you to take good care of me from now on.”

Penny looked utterly taken aback.

“A bribe? To a mere maid like me… something like this…”

After falling silent for a moment as if lost in thought, she bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Lady Blumhire. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever received such a wonderful gift.”

With her lips pressed together, Penny silently watched the broom as it busily swept the floor on its own. Her eyes looked a bit more moist than usual.

“Oh, right, Miss Penny. There are other magic spells related to cleaning too—later I could…”

I was just about to say more when—

“Oh, right!”

Suddenly, I remembered Eclipse telling me to come to the study by noon.

Snapping back to my senses, I hurriedly checked the time. The clock hands were already pointing to 11:30.

“I almost got into serious trouble. Miss Penny, I need to step out for a bit.”

As I rushed to get ready to leave, Penny dabbed at the corner of her eye with the back of her hand and asked,

“Do you have something urgent?”

“Well, um… the Grand Duke Ledeir called for me. He told me to come to the study within thirty minutes, so I have to hurry.”

“What? The Grand Duke himself?”

Startled, Penny stepped closer to me.

“Lady Blumhire, wait a moment.”

Then, with a rather serious expression, she began scrutinizing my appearance from head to toe.

“W-What is it, Miss Penny?”

“This won’t do at all. Please sit at the vanity for a moment.”

“What? Why all of a sudden?”

Before I could understand what was happening, Penny guided me to the vanity and sat me down. Holding a brush, she gently began brushing my hair, her expression unusually resolute.

“Why my hair all of a sudden…?”

“You said you’re going to meet the Grand Duke, didn’t you?”

What does that have to do with this?

Question marks floated through my mind as I failed to find any connection between the two situations.

In no time, Penny finished brushing my hair and took out a ribboned hairpin and a thin hair tie from the drawer.

“You might not know this, Lady Blumhire, but there have been dozens upon dozens of tutors who’ve taught the Saintess.”

That was something mentioned in the original story, so I quietly nodded.

She tied my hair halfway up and pinned it in place.

“I’m a maid assigned to the annex, so I’ve served many tutors over the years. Some of them went home after just one day.”

“Gasp.”

Seeing me cover my mouth in shock, Penny smiled slightly.

“Don’t worry. I think you’ll be here for a long time, Lady Blumhire.”

“Really?”

“Yes. In over ten years of working at the ducal residence, I’ve never seen a tutor the Saintess follows as well as you.”

It seemed this morning’s events had had a bigger impact than I thought.

Listening to her, I felt it sink in all over again.

‘So Linette really does favor me.’

Naturally—after all, I was the one who saved her life.

In any case, it was good news. It meant the risk of me getting fired was extremely low.

‘The heroine’s closest-ally buff is amazing!’

As I resolved to curry even more favor with Linette, Penny added,

“And the Grand Duke also seems to like you very much, Lady Blumhire.”

“The Grand Duke… likes me?”

That was completely unexpected.

“He really likes me?”

“Yes. You were invited to breakfast, and you even have an appointment with him this afternoon, don’t you? The Grand Duke is not someone who wastes time on things he deems pointless. For someone like him to spend time on you—that carries tremendous meaning.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yes, it is.”

So that means I’m useful to Eclipse?

My chest swelled instantly as I obediently let Penny continue her work.

‘Maybe I’ll achieve my goal sooner than I thought?’

After changing into the clothes Penny brought me, I hurried toward the study.

Before I left the room, Penny stopped me and expressed her thanks.

“Thank you again for such a wonderful gift, Lady Blumhire. Thanks to you, my work will be much easier.”

“It’s nothing. Seeing you so happy makes me feel good too.”

“Oh, and you don’t need to be so formal with me. Please feel free to speak comfortably.”

“Is that okay? I mean… really okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

It was the moment Penny finally opened up to me after treating me so professionally until now. Feeling immensely pleased, I immediately dropped the formalities.

“Got it, Penny. I’ll be back!”

“Have a good trip, Lady Blumhire.”

The last image I saw of Penny was her smiling brightly, cradling the broom enchanted with automatic cleaning magic as if it were a precious treasure.

‘Doing something good really does feel rewarding.’

Is this why everyone talks about good deeds?

With lighter steps than usual, I headed toward the study.

‘Past me who once tried to become a villain—just take one punch, okay?’

I really wasn’t villain material after all.

A kind person like me becoming a villain? That was ridiculous.

‘Still, getting praised felt really nice. And the hairstyle Penny did is pretty too.’

When I styled my hair myself, all I could manage was tying it up at best. A professional’s touch really was on another level.

“Hm, hm-hm.”

Maybe because I was in such a good mood, even the servants I passed in the hallway seemed friendlier than usual.

Humming cheerfully, I soon found myself in front of the study. I opened the door and stepped inside. And then—

‘Eclipse…!’

It was currently 11:49 a.m.

If the clock hanging there wasn’t lying, I was clearly eleven minutes early.

“Welcome.”

Once again, Eclipse was one step ahead of me.