Thanks to that, her weak body, which had been unable to eat, gradually got better, and her permanent dizziness got better. The outcome of the incident was heard one day when she was recovering smoothly. Someone came to her room and said something in Anna’s ear, and Anna said it back to her.
“A few suspicious circumstances have been detected, but Lady Lise said she doesn’t want to make things big…”
“Are they going to bury it again?”
“…yes.”
“It’s very strange…”
It’s really rare. When Lise buried the peach pie incident, all she could think of was thanking her, but she thought it was a little strange that Lise kept asking for an incident like this to never happen. Was it to rescue her? No, she didn’t think so.
In the meantime, she heard it through Killian, but even Cliff and the Duke admitted that it made no sense that she tried to poison Lise right after the peach pie incident. So in this case, she was slightly off the line of suspect. Then, just because it’s burdensome that the incident related to her was growing within the Duke’s family?
‘Hmm. She deserves it.’
Lise was still a guest here, not part of the family.
‘Since the Sinclair family can’t come out already, the flow of the original story might have led Lise to ask about this case.’
One big conspiracy theory. But otherwise, Cliff’s attitude couldn’t be explained either. When it comes to Lise’s safety, it’s Cliff who was reckless. Even if it was Lise’s request, it was impossible to ask about the incident in which Lise’s life was directly threatened…
‘If that’s the case, does it make sense to go against the force of the flow of the original work?’
She shook her head as she remembered that thought. It was a story that was too empty and draining, and the voice that used to explain the rules of the game to her in a dream was not explained.
‘Obviously someone played a game with me… However, there are stages where I can intervene and change the story.’
Or that was what the voice in the dream said.
She got an exception because she met the exception condition in step 1. However, the truth about her couldn’t be revealed until the three-level exception was met. The truth about her, about Edith, was almost a twist. Being able to tell that fact would bring about a big change in this story. And to make that much of a change, she had to meet the three-level exception, and maybe…
‘It must mean that as the stages pass, there are more things I can change…!’
Her fists were clenched tightly. She made different assumptions and thought about it several times, but it seemed that there was only one reason for the existence of a ‘stage’. The problem was, as with step 1, she didn’t know what the exception conditions for steps 2 and 3 were. It must be a situation where she had to hope that the cow would backtrack and catch the mouse.
‘No matter how you think about it, it’s vicious. You’re saying that watching me struggle is fun, right?’
While she was lost in her thoughts, Anna, who had been visited by someone again, approached and whispered.
“The lady’s probation is off,” she said. “You can go to Lord Filch’s office tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, Anna.”
She went to Renan’s office the next day, completely unaware of how the case had worked and had been resolved. She decided to ask about the case, but the eyes of the servants and knights looking at her made her realize that the suspicions about her had not yet been resolved. It made her think that the probationary order might have been a measure to protect her from these gazes.
‘Well, Lisze has already been in this Ducal family for 5 years, and during that time she has also attracted favor from the servants. In their eyes, I’m just the daughter of the Rigelhoffs and a villainess who is jealous of Lise.’
It seemed like there was a long way to go, but the fateful day was approaching, so her stomach was burning. However, Renan’s office, which had been open for the first time in a while, was still there.
The smell of paper, the slightly cool air, silence, and a dry feeling. For some reason, her heart softened.
“It’s been a while, Renan.”
“Hello, lady.”
She hadn’t been out for quite a while, but she wondered if Renan had been doing everything alone. He was, of course, a person with that much ability, but he felt sorry that he seemed to be suffering because of her.
‘Even Renan wouldn’t want to work with me…’
He would need a worker who could go to work more stable than her. Because she had asked the Duchess for no reason, Renan had done nothing wrong and took on the shunned her. But today, as if Renan had never heard of her, he treated her the same way as before.
“Today, you can organize these by date.”
“All right.”
She took the file that Renan gave her and sat down at her desk. Receipts and purchase statements were laid out one by one on the wide desk, and again, nothing was heard in the office except for the rustling of paper. Some may find this silence unbearably frustrating, but she felt comfortable. There were no glances to find fault with her attitude, no need to try to understand anyone’s psychology. She was just a worker who needed to be good at organizing receipts. As a result of quietly focusing on her work, she was able to complete all her tasks in an hour.
“I’ve done all of this.”
“I’ve thought about it before, but you have good concentration and quick hands.”
“No, well, it’s a simple job.”
“If everyone thought like a lady and did the work, I wouldn’t have had to cut so many workers.”
She laughed when she remembered the story of the person who scattered all the documents of the duchy and ran away.
“The papers the lady worked on are meticulously and neatly organized, so I have no place to touch them. It is always a huge help.” said Renan in an impassive voice.
But today, she didn’t know why that indifferent compliment was so comforting. Suddenly, the tip of her nose twitched and hurt, and tears fell.
“Miss…?”
“I’m sorry, Renan. I am… No, no. sorry.”
She didn’t know what to say. She was grateful to him for evaluating her solely for her work. Because of her reputation or a series of events, there must have been a lot of room for other feelings to intervene, but he treated her excluding personal feelings. Renan diidn’t know how much consideration that was for her now.
“Sigh, uh… sorry. If you give me a little time, it will stop soon, soon.”
She tried to hold back her tears by hiding behind a pillar, feeling sorry for Renan, who was probably bewildered. But Renan caught her trying to hide behind the pillar and handed her his handkerchief.
“There is no need to hold back your emotions as if you are being chased. Emotions are bound to explode someday if you forcefully cut them off.”
“Renan…”
“You take care of things so quickly that you have time, so you can take it as slowly as you like.”
After leaving her behind a pillar, Renan quietly went to his seat and began to do his business nonchalantly. Feeling much more at ease with that, she buried her face in the handkerchief Renan had given her from behind the pillar and tried to calm herself down. Even if most of the people try to put her down and attack her, she didn’t know that someone knowing her sincerity would be such a great comfort.
‘It’s an extra whose name doesn’t even appear in the original work…’
He was mentioned only a couple of times as ‘the Duchess’s aide’. The Duchess also appeared a few times, so her aides had nothing to do with appearing. However, she was greatly comforted by such screen-like supporting actors. Of course, their opinions couldn’t change her reputation, but…
‘Wait a moment.’
Thinking that far, she came up with a certain assumption. It came to her mind in an instant, so she didn’t know why she thought of it.
‘The Duchess or Renan are minor supporting characters. Their opinions can’t make a big difference in the flow of the story…’
It may be a guess. But strangely, it felt close to certainty.
‘That’s why, on the contrary, these people are hardly affected by the flow of the story.’
No matter what impression they had of her, they couldn’t get in the way of the story. Conversely, it meant that they were characters whose thoughts about her could change without being swayed by the flow of the original work.
‘As for supporting characters, they are not subject to the flow of the original work, so there are more things I can change them for.’
Her heart was pounding. If that’s true, she could make a lot more helpers. Of course, even if she made helpers, they wouldn’t be able to change her situation, but they might be able to make a very small change in her favor.
‘And that might give me a big chance.’
Maybe it would be a small hole through which she could escape from a miserable death. In addition to the goal of saving her life by forming a bond with Killian, she began to see a small hope.
‘Yes, I always have to have a plan B ready.’
She decided not to ignore nameless extras from now on. Because they were precious people who could be her lifeline.
‘First, let’s attack the servants of the mansion.’
Fortunately, the Duke’s servants had never made a mistake.
‘First of all, greetings!’
As she returned to the room to help Renan with his work, she greeted the servants who made eye contact with her with a slight smile.
How do you feel?
