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Chapter 25
But the world isn’t so easy.
Tyburn gathered the entire family for breakfast. Of course, Karte was absent again, and Tyburn merely clicked his tongue once when he saw the empty seat.
That only made Kiera even more upset.
“Father.”
Kiera forced a smile as she began to speak.
“Karte will be fine soon. You don’t have to worry. Oh, and I heard you dismissed the head maid and some of the servants.”
“That did happen.”
“So I contacted my mother. She’ll help select some appropriate people—”
“No need for that.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ve already found a new head maid. Now we just need to hire a couple of decent doctors and some maids to serve you.”
“You’ve already… found a head maid? What do you mean by that?”
Kiera asked, her face stiffening awkwardly. Tyburn raised an eyebrow. Just looking at her pale face made his teeth clench.
Poisoned, was it?
It wasn’t hard for Tyburn to guess the culprit. He already suspected Kiera was involved in Amy’s death. And ever since she arrived at the mansion, the ones who tended to Tyburn were all people from Kiera’s side.
And that wasn’t all.
From interrogating the family doctors who had worked in Katieron, he had learned the truth.
“The Duchess told me to keep it a secret…!”
“I’m sorry! B-But… I have a family to support!”
Those men were probably trembling in a carriage heading north by now. Once they were dragged around by the knights up north and forced to extract byproducts from monster corpses, they’d learn the true value of labor.
But that alone wasn’t enough to drive Kiera out. He needed to prove that she was the one who used the poison.
Tyburn said coldly.
“Is something the matter? Tsk. When I looked into it, I found out that head maid was involved in all kinds of corruption. Embezzling money, stealing the maids’ wages, even pilfering expensive luxury items. Seems you’re still too young to properly judge people.”
“She… stole luxury items?”
“You didn’t know? I’m talking about your necklace. The emerald one. I heard you turned the place upside down accusing Hider and even locked her in the attic.”
Kiera swallowed. She had no idea who blabbed. It could’ve been one of those who were dismissed. She gave a regretful smile.
“That was something that deserved punishment, Father. That necklace was an heirloom passed down to me.”
“That may be. But Hider wasn’t the one who stole it, was she?”
“…I just found that out now. Thanks to you, Father. Thank you for clearing up the misunderstanding.”
She didn’t know how this had turned out this way, but she felt suffocated. Each word exchanged made her heart stop.
“Is that so? Well then, you should apologize.”
Tyburn pointed at Hider with his fork. Hider, who had been quietly eating, froze.
Hider had been lost in thought throughout the meal.
He had thought Rani had gotten closer to someone else. Seeing her excitedly heading out with Dania had left him feeling strange and upset. But when he heard she’d been thinking of him even while she was out, he felt happy. The world sparkled beautifully again.
But the moment his eyes met Kiera’s, it felt like all that light went out.
“…An apology?”
“Yes. What are you waiting for, Kiera? Apologize.”
“I… I…”
“Now.”
At Tyburn’s stern command, Kiera’s lips trembled. Just as Hider was about to say it was fine—
“…S-Sorry.”
It was an apology he didn’t even want to hear.
Hider pressed his lips together in silence.
Hider didn’t care for the half-hearted apology, but Rani clearly did.
“Did you see how twisted her face got like a squid? I felt so refreshed! Lord Tyburn is the best!”
She kept repeating the same thing in different ways. It was obvious Rani was excited. Hider let out a small chuckle.
Rani was usually so mature, but sometimes she acted just like a child.
“Why are you so happy?”
“…It’s like when you have something stuck in your throat and finally drink a cold beverage. That’s how it felt. Anyway—weren’t you happy, too?”
“If you’re happy, then I’m happy.”
“See? You are happy!”
Rani laughed brightly. And Hider was genuinely glad to see her laugh.
The world began to sparkle beautifully again.
She hovered near Tyburn’s room. She was using her stealth skill, but Tyburn would still be able to see her. That’s exactly why she was doing it—so he would see her.
“What is it, Rani?”
A low voice called out. He had just finished training with Hider, his body still damp with sweat.
Ahem.
“I brought a gift for you, Lord Tyburn.”
Honestly, she had debated whether this would be crossing the line. After all, it wasn’t exactly normal for a maid to give her employer a gift…
But on the other hand, it wasn’t normal for a maid to receive such an extravagant gift from her employer either—or to be saved by him.
So, in the end, she decided it was okay.
“A gift?”
Tyburn raised an eyebrow.
“I went out three days ago. I was shopping for some things for the young master, and something caught my eye…”
“So what you’re saying is—you thought of me while shopping for Hider’s gifts?”
She hesitated, then nodded. She pulled the envelope from behind her back and handed it to him with both hands.
Tyburn opened it and took out the contents.
In his hands, they looked like toys for children.
“…They’re the same gloves as the ones I got for Young Master Hider. I thought it’d be nice if you both wore matching ones. And the scarf is for winter, to keep your neck warm. Lastly, the socks and handkerchief—I made those myself while making Hider’s.”
“So, you went to all this effort… for me?”
Who else was here? She didn’t know why Tyburn looked so surprised.
She nodded her head vigorously.
She hadn’t expected him to be happy necessarily, but with a reaction that lukewarm…
No, to be honest, she had expected him to be pleased.
Which is why his reaction annoyed her. Maybe it wasn’t much money to him, but her hands were shaking when she paid for it.
Feeling a bit indignant, she stuck out her lips and held out her hand.
“If you don’t like it, then give it back! The shop said I could get a refund within a week, so I’ll just return it…”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Tyburn raised his eyebrow.
“You said it yourself before. That taking back something you gave someone is a bad thing. Are you going to do that to me now? This is mine.”
“…So you like it?”
“I’ve never received a gift that pleased me more.”
Tyburn said seriously.
He didn’t look happy at all, but apparently he really did like it.
Well, thank goodness. Now Tyburn should be even more certain of something—just how great of a maid she was.
“Would you like to come inside?”
“Huh? I still have a lot to do…”
“There are cookies in there—from the North. I bought them for Sornya, but that girl runs away just from seeing me, so she probably doesn’t like cookies either.”
“…You’re giving them to me?”
“You can take them all if you want.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll help myself.”
Cookies from the North?
Never say no to free sweets. Just thinking about sharing them with Dania made her happy.
She had introduced Dania to another side hustle besides herb-trimming—knitting winter socks and hats.
Thanks to Dania, her skill points were steadily increasing. And since Dania liked sweet things…
She’d love it, right?
…Is she going to cry again?
Ugh, that girl.
Does she like me that much?
