Chapter 17

After escaping nearly two hours of the head maid’s sermon hell…

I somehow managed to get up with my numb legs and exited the Etiquette Room with the other maids.

The head maid stayed behind to organize the room while the four of us walked out.

The door to the room had barely closed when Ariana’s sharp voice called out.

“Catherine.”

“H-huh…!”

As the gaze of the maid who had been watching us disappeared, Ariana shot a sharp glare towards Catherine.

She’s probably trying to say something about Catherine taking my side instead of her side in the disciplinary action earlier.

There was no way that bitch would let her get away with what she just did.

“What are you thinking? I tried to save you, and now you’re taking Lilith’s side?!”

“Ugh…….”

“I can’t believe you haven’t gotten your shit together after a year. Maybe it’s because you still haven’t gotten your ass kicked enough, huh?”

“Hmph, hmph…!”

Ariana raised her palm in the air in a threatening manner.

I reflexively put myself between her and Catherine, who looked like she was going to cry at any moment.

“Could you calm down?”

“…Huh?”

“Why don’t you try punching Catherine one more time? I might just kill you, for real this time.”

“Do you have that power? Aren’t you just a junior maid? How will you handle the aftermath if you kill someone?”

“I don’t know, damn it. The least I can do is leave you with a body you’ll never want to live with for the rest of your life.”

Of course, that’s impossible, since actually killing her would change the difficulty from ‘Nightmare’ to ‘Hell’.

Anyway, in this kind of fight, the one who hesitates loses.

“Let’s stop this, Ariana.”

“….”

“Don’t mess with such a crazy bitch for no reason. She looks dangerous from the looks of her eyes….”

“Yeah, well, we don’t need to turn this into a fist-pumping dogfight.”

“After all, we have witnesses. We can just watch later as both Lilith and Catherine get their asses handed to them later.”

…What? They have witnesses?

Are you saying there are witnesses to prove the diligent work of those girls who haven’t properly worked a single day in the past three days?

Caught off guard by Alicia’s unexpected remark, I couldn’t hide my momentary confusion.

Seeing my reaction, Ariana smirked and asked casually.

“Judging from your reaction, I’m guessing you don’t have any witnesses to corroborate your statement?”

“…….”

“Yeah, well, if you’re going to pick a fight, you should watch your step. You just throw punches whenever you feel like it.”

“…Fuck you. I know you’re bluffing.”

“We’ll see if I’m bluffing or not this evening. You’ll see soon enough if we do have witnesses who can testify that Alicia and I have been working hard and that you, Lilith, have been acting like a jerk every day.”

…That’s fucked up.

Something in her reaction told me she wasn’t joking around.

Well, she’s been a maid for a year longer than I have, so its obvious that she knows more people in the manor than me.

While Lilith is certainly striking in appearance, her actual connections pale in comparison to that bitch Ariana.

Off the top of my head, Isabel and Catherine were the only two people I could think of who could be considered my connections.

“I’m looking forward to seeing your faces tonight.”

“…Ridiculous.”

“And Catherine, I’m going to make sure you get what you deserve for challenging me with no fear.”

“…….”

“Let’s go, Alicia.”

“Yeah.”

The two of them glared at Catherine and me with sinister expressions before heading upstairs.

I remained at the bottom of the stairs with Catherine, contemplating how to get out of this situation.

“Li-Lilith…”

“…….”

“Th-there are… witnesses, right? Li-Lilith… are there witnesses…?”

“……Yes, maybe.”

“T-then… Li-Lilith really is a noblewoman… I’m… I’m glad….”

It’s a regrettable story for Catherine, who still thinks of me as a noble.

Honestly speaking, I had nothing.

I had no evidence to support my statement nor a witness who could provide clear testimony in my favor.

And so the hours passed, after dinner.

The Etiquette room was a little more crowded than it had been in the morning.

The four junior maids to be given disciplinary action, the head maid, and all of the manor’s maids had gathered to watch the disciplinary process for the junior maids. By my rough estimate, there were about fifty of them.

Moreover, seeing even the master, Harold, and Ethan present, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that more than half of the members of the Blackwood family were in attendance at this disciplinary committee.

Since it was an internal matter of the family, it seemed that there were no external guests in attendance.

‘I wonder why there are so many spectators for the disciplinary proceedings of the lower maids….’

For a moment, I entertained the thought that enjoying the spectacle of someone else’s misfortune was the source of the attraction, but surprisingly, most of the gathered people seemed to have been personally invited by the head maid to witness the disciplinary committee.

“Originally, I intended to quietly conclude this disciplinary procedure under my authority, but considering that the level of discipline may increase, I have also requested others to observe.”

“……”

“As the disciplinary procedure has already been initiated once and with so many people present as witnesses, there will be no further reversals in the disciplinary action to be taken this time. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.” “Yes, ma’am.” “Yes, ma’am.” “Yes, ma’am.”

With nowhere to run, we silently answered the head maid’s words.

Immediately, the disciplinary committee began to decide the level of discipline to be handed to the four maids.

“First of all, I would like to explain to the observers the incident of violent behavior by the junior maids that occurred around 6:00 am this morning….”

The voice of the head maid leading the disciplinary committee echoed throughout the Etiquette room, summarizing the incident from this morning involving Catherine, Ariana, Alicia, and I getting into a brawl.

She outlined a brief overview of the altercation and the conflicting claims between Ariana and me about the events leading up to the fight.

She also mentioned that Catherine and Alicia were siding with each of us respectively, and this disciplinary committee was convened to ascertain the credibility of these claims.

After the fairly concise summary by the head maid, she called out my name.

“Lilith Rosewood.”

“Yes.”

“I instructed you to attend if you had any witnesses or evidence in this case, correct?”

“…Yes.”

“Do you have any witnesses or evidence that can prove your diligent work?”

“Yes, I do, ma’am.”

…I didn’t want to resort to this method if possible…

…but I had to grasp at straws somehow to survive, so I suppressed my feelings of remorse and called out the name of the witness who would prove my diligent work.

“I call to the stand Miss Isabel Grace, a fellow maid who shares the same bedroom with me.”

“Isabel Grace, are you present?”

“Yes, Madam Head Maid.”

As soon as Melissa called her name, Isabel stepped forward without hesitation.

Like me, she was a junior maid with only a year’s experience, but her confident demeanor was quite impressive.

“Lilith Rosewood has summoned you as a witness, will you testify?”

“Yes, Madam Head Maid.”

“Go ahead.”

“Miss Lilith Rosewood, who began working at Blackwood Manor at the same time as I did, and who shares the same bedroom with me, testifies that she has worked faithfully and without fail for all three days from the day she began working in the kitchen.”

“Do you have anything to support that testimony?”

“Miss Lilith Rosewood and I share the same bedroom, and we share a bunk bed to make efficient use of the small space. Furthermore, as you are aware, Madam, the bunk bed is quite noisy and shakes quite a bit when the occupants of the bunks move about.”

“Go on.”

“I have been awakened by the movement of the bed since three days ago, when Miss Lilith Rosewood first began her shift in the kitchen, until today, and I have seen Miss Lilith Rosewood leave for her shift after being awakened at four o’clock in the morning.”

“Is that the end of your testimony, Isabel Grace?”

“Yes, Madam Head Maid.”

Isabel conveyed her words confidently and without hesitation while speaking fluently.

Somehow, the sight of her trustworthy side made my heart swell with pride.

Isabelle’s title in the game isn’t “Smart Isabelle” for nothing.

She’s not a playable character in the game, unfortunately, as she doesn’t have combat abilities, but she’s still a pretty important part of the Lilith route.@@novelbin@@

The fact that she was given a title meant that the developers put a lot of thought into her character.

I remember playing through the Lilith route and often thinking how much I’d rather want to pursue Isabel instead.

While her importance in the game doesn’t necessarily mean she’s competent, Isabel had left quite a favorable impression, just as she had shown at the Luminaire Academy.

I felt quite grateful to her for stepping in to save me in a crisis.

…It was just this morning that I had decided not to cause trouble for Isabel, but I didn’t think that I would end up indebted to her in less than a day.

“Then, Isabel Grace, I have one question for you.”

“Yes, Madam Head Maid.”

“Did you happen to see Lilith Rosewood leave her bedroom at 4:00 a.m. and enter the kitchen at the ground floor of Blackwood Manor?”

“No….”

“So you don’t actually know where Lilith Rosewood headed after she left her bedroom?”

I fully expected this question.

It’s a disciplinary committee, after all, and they’re supposed to be fact-checking.

I thought Isabel would have to acknowledge that much and lower her head, but surprisingly, she continued to insist on my innocence until the end.

“Lilith wouldn’t just leave her duties unattended! Whenever we worked together, she always tried to take on the unpleasant tasks, and even after collapsing from illness not long ago, she immediately returned to work as soon as she recovered…”

“I’m not specifically claiming that Lilith Rosewood didn’t show up for work and committed dereliction of duty, I’m just saying that it’s a possibility.”

“…I apologize, Madam Head Maid.”

“Still, Isabel Grace’s trust in Lilith Rosewood is well conveyed. I will take this testimony into account when deciding on disciplinary proceedings. Please go in.”

“Understood, Madam.”

After finishing her statement, Isabel raised her head and returned to her seat.

As she was about to sit, our eyes met briefly, and I couldn’t help but give her a small wink.

If it weren’t for her, my situation, in possessing Lilith, would have been much more dreadful.

Thanks to Isabel’s fervent testimony, suspicions about my negligent behavior were somewhat alleviated for the time being.

It would seem rather suspicious if a junior maid, who had left her bedroom at 4 a.m., wandered around the mansion instead of going directly to her workplace.

Although Isabel couldn’t testify to the part about me going into the kitchen, her testimony alone was helpful enough for me.

After all, both Ariana and I had argued our cases to the maids in our favor, and even the slightest bit of testimony could sway the judgment.

Unless clear evidence of my negligence in kitchen duty emerged, the head maid couldn’t discipline me, no matter what witness she brought forward.

“After hearing Isabel Grace’s testimony, it seems credible that Lilith Rosewood indeed reported to work in the early morning.”

“Ariana Lawrence.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any witnesses or evidence to prove Lilith Rosewood’s negligent behavior or to refute Isabel Grace’s testimony?”

‘Please, let there be none. Please let my words from this morning come true…’

However, contrary to my desperation, Ariana had an expression that exuded her firm stance.

With a confident demeanor, she responded to the head maid.

“I have, Madam.”

“Have them summoned.”

“I will summon the chefs responsible for the Blackwood family’s breakfast as witnesses.”

As she spoke, one by one, the cooks of Blackwood Manor stepped forward.

Not one, not two, but a whopping five cooks stepped forward to testify for Ariana.

Amidst the murmurs in the courtroom due to the appearance of five witnesses, Ariana, quietly turning her gaze towards me, subtly smirked.

As soon as I read that look in her eyes, I could sense that something was seriously wrong.

…Because I could now see why that damned bitch had been so arrogant the entire time.