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Chapter 08
“Head Butler, where did you find my earring?”
“It was deep under the bed in this child’s room.”
“That’s not true. I’ve never even seen this earring before.”
Jane’s voice trembled with indignation.
“Are you really saying you’re not the thief?”
“Yes. I absolutely am not, miss.”
“But… there’s evidence that you’re the culprit, and no evidence that you’re not.”
“Someone is framing me!”
Jane cried out as if screaming in despair.
“Then do you have any proof that someone framed you?”
When I asked brightly, Jane stared at me with a hollow expression.
“That kind of proof…”
“Miss. This child’s room was neatly packed, as if she were about to leave at any moment. She must have planned to steal and run away.”
At the head butler’s words, I nodded as if I had expected it.
“So you were trying to escape before getting caught stealing the earring, right?”
“No. It’s a misunderstanding. I was just…”
“Then why were your things packed?”
“That’s because… I was planning to quit to meet the person I love.”
“The person you love?”
“Yes.”
“You have someone you love? Who is it?”
At that question directed at Jane, Sebastian shouted in panic.
“Espin!”
“Why?”
Sebastian’s eyes darted back and forth.
Unable to find a suitable excuse, he said nothing.
I turned back to Jane and pressed her further.
“So who is the person you love? You’ve only ever stayed inside this mansion as a maid… Don’t tell me you have another accomplice?”
At those words, Sebastian stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Espin. Thieves like this should be driven out of the mansion immediately.”
“How could you…?”
Jane looked at him in shock.
“Jane, were all the rings and earrings that have gone missing until now also your doing?”
“N–No. That’s not true. Really.”
Even as she insisted on her innocence, Jane’s gaze remained fixed on Sebastian. She was looking at him with eyes full of hope, wishing he would step in for her.
She still hasn’t realized what kind of man Sebastian really is.
Feeling sorry for Jane’s lack of awareness, I became even more aggressive.
“But Jane, you should answer while looking at me. Where are you looking? Sebastian? Why are you looking at him?”
“Espin, there’s no need to listen to a thief like her. Throw her out right now.”
Sebastian flared up as if he himself had been falsely accused.
“Sebastian. There might still be an accomplice, so we should be sure.”
“What accomplice? Just look at her face—she reeks of greed. She probably acted alone.”
“Oh, come on. She clearly said earlier that she was planning to run away with the person she loved. That person must be her accomplice.”
“…”
Sebastian quietly moved behind me. Reflected in the distant mirror, he was signaling Jane to keep her mouth shut.
“Jane, speak now before things get ugly. Otherwise, it’ll be hard for you to endure.”
At the chilling threat hidden in those words, Jane’s eyes wavered.
“I really didn’t steal anything.”
“Sigh… Sebastian, what do you think we should do in a situation like this?”
Jane looked at Sebastian with eyes full of expectation. She still believed that the man who loved her might save her here.
“Cut out her tongue. In our Kingdom of Arcadia, we cut out a thief’s tongue.”
At Sebastian’s answer, given without a moment’s hesitation, Jane collapsed.
“Her tongue? That’s too cruel…”
Her eyes trembled violently, and as if she could no longer hold it in, she lifted her head.
“Sebas—!”
The moment Jane tried to call Sebastian’s name, he stepped forward and slapped her across the cheek.
Smack.
A loud sound of impact filled the drawing room.
Jane’s head turned limply to the side.
“Oh my… Sebastian…”
“These uncivilized wretches only come to their senses after being beaten. Treating them like nobles is completely useless.”
At Sebastian’s words, Jane completely broke down.
“How… how could you…”
Deeply shocked, Jane stared blankly at the floor, repeating “how” over and over, before suddenly lifting her head with wide eyes.
“Sebastian, how could you do this to me!”
Jane, her face flushed as if blood might burst from it, struggled wildly, but the maids restrained her.
Sebastian returned and stood in front of Jane once more.
“Are you crazy? You’re just a maid—how dare you!”
As he raised his hand again, the head butler and other attendants rushed to stop him.
“Sebastian, you’re more violent than I expected?”
“Pardon?”
Sebastian finally seemed to regain his senses and looked at me with a blank expression.
“This side of you is unfamiliar.”
“No—no, that’s not it. Our Kingdom of Arcadia has very severe punishments for criminals. I simply hate the sight of such criminals. I would never do this to anyone else.”
Watching him abandon Jane so readily for his own self-preservation made me feel sick.
“Sigh… Jane, are you still unwilling to name your accomplice?”
Jane sat there vacantly, as if she had lost the ability to speak.
This is the true face of the man you loved.
I hoped Jane would finally realize what kind of person Sebastian really was.
“Head Butler. Lock Jane in the underground prison for now.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Unlike when she had come in, Jane was dragged away without any resistance.
“Espin, I’m sorry for showing you such a violent side of myself.”
Sebastian anxiously bit his nails, as if worried I might have seen through him.
“No, it’s fine. It’s just because Sebastian despises crime so much.”
Sebastian’s shoulders twitched for a moment. Then he put on an affectionate gaze and took my hand.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“If I’m to become the queen of Arcadia, this level of understanding is only natural.”
Only then did the stiffness leave Sebastian’s lips, as if he were finally relieved.
“Yes. My lady, please be sure to bring the seal with this money. For the sake of our brilliant future.”
“Leave it to me.”
“Oh, and even if that thief says something strange later, don’t believe her. Criminals like that try to drag innocent people down to lessen their own crimes.”
“Really? Thank you for the advice. I definitely shouldn’t believe anything Jane says.”
I smiled brightly at Sebastian, and only then did he return a greasy smile of his own.
“Why does the atmosphere feel so strange today?”
The head butler summoned all the maids and attendants to one place. At his call, everyone who worked in the mansion and came into contact with the young lady and guests gathered together.
“Is it because of Jane stealing today?”
“Maybe… Don’t tell me he called us because we’ve been a bit disrespectful to the young lady?”
“That could be it. I got scolded by her a few days ago.”
“Hasn’t the young lady been acting strange lately?”
“She’s like a completely different person.”
“No, it can’t be that. We’ve been careful these past few days.”
The maids and attendants began whispering anxiously among themselves.
“Look, the head butler is coming.”
At his appearance, the murmuring voices instantly died down.
“Ahem.”
Standing before them, the head butler looked unusually expressionless today.
The elderly head butler surveyed those in front of him with a dignified expression before opening his mouth.
“The reason I called you all here today is to inform you of your dismissal.”
“What?”
Everyone’s mouths fell open.
“Due to my own negligence, I failed to notice your disrespectful behavior toward the young lady.”
“B–But even so, dismissal like this…”
“All severance pay will be provided in a lump sum upon termination. If you wish, I will also write letters of recommendation.”
“Even so, firing us without any prior discussion is completely unfair!”
One of the attendants protested.
Others nodded and began to speak up in agreement.
“Silence. The disrespect you showed the young lady is something absolutely unacceptable for maids and attendants.”
“I–I did not disrespect the young lady!”
One attendant cried out in indignation, but the head butler fixed him with a cold stare.
“Standing by and doing nothing is also a fault. Dismissal is the minimum punishment. If anyone cannot accept this, please raise your hand.”
At the head butler’s words, the maids and attendants quickly exchanged glances.
The moment we raise our hands, something worse will happen.
They knew they could be punished simply for having ignored the young lady’s words in the past.
Catching the hidden meaning in the head butler’s words, no one raised a hand.
After a long silence—
“The people who will replace you are already at the mansion, so finish the handover by tonight and leave.”
“T–Tonight?”
“Yes.”
With that, the head butler turned and left without looking back.
“Haa…”
All that remained behind him were the sighs of those who had become unemployed overnight.
