The chefs of Blackwood Manor stepped forward as Ariana summoned them to testify.

Upon seeing them, I instinctively sensed something brewing in my mind.

The reason Ariana confidently summoned these cooks as witnesses to this disciplinary committee…

…and the reason these cooks readily responded to the summons without much hesitation.

My mind was swiftly piecing it all together.

 

“Are all five of the manor’s cooks willing to testify as witnesses for Miss Ariana?”

 

“ “ “ “ “Yes, that’s correct.” ” ” ” ”

 

“Given that hearing the opinions of all five might take too long, could one of you kindly summarize your testimony on behalf of the group?”

 

After hearing the head maid’s words, the cooks started talking among themselves.

Among them, it was that the youngest cook began speaking as the representative of all the cooks.

 

“I will summarize the opinions of my senior colleagues and testify on behalf of them.”

“Understood. What is your name, and how long have you been working here?”

“My name is Paul Remson, and I have been working at Blackwood Manor for five years as of this year.”

“….”

 

Among the five cooks, the youngest one has been working for five years.

I had a moment of utter humiliation when I could only bring one junior maid, who had just completed her first year of service, as a witness.

In a modern society where the law is equally applied to all, one might argue differently. However, in this medieval fantasy world, when it comes to trivial matters, it’s natural for factors like the status and power of the individual to influence the outcome.

The same goes for the status of a person testifying in such a situation.

The weight of testimony already differed significantly just from the status alone: one junior maid with only one year of experience versus five exclusive cooks who had served for at least five years.

 

“Please testify, Mr. Remson.”

“The points I will testify to are that Miss Ariana and Miss Alicia diligently performed their duties in the kitchen, and that Miss Lillith over there committed some negligence in her duties.”

“Please elaborate on the specific details of your testimony.”

“All of us cooks start our work at 7 a.m. to prepare for the breakfast service at 9 a.m. The menu varies each day, but most dishes require prepped vegetables or fruits. When we’re busy and we can’t handle ingredient preparation alone, we rely on the help of the maids.”

“I see.”

“…and when we arrive at 7 a.m. each day, it’s Miss Ariana and Miss Alicia here who hand over the prepped ingredients to us.”

 

Haaaa, damn it.

Yeah, of course, who else would it be?

While I, exhausted from eating hundreds of garlic cloves every day for two hours straight, took a break, who else would hand over the prepped ingredients to the cooks?

No matter how tired and weary I was, I had to somehow endure and hold my ground without leaving my workplace.

It was the moment I absurdly fell into the pit of my own created weakness.

 

“Are Ariana and Alicia the only ones? You’ve never seen any other maids?”

“The maid with the pink hair over there, I’m not sure if I’ve seen her or not, but… Lilith has never been seen during the morning handover even once.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Lilith is quite well-known among our cooks for being beautiful. If we had seen her during the morning hours, there’s no way we wouldn’t notice.”

 

The other cooks nodded along with Paul’s words.

It was a moment where Lilith’s conspicuously noticeable appearance worked against her.

I couldn’t help but envy Catherine for laying low and her petite figure. At least with a nondescript appearance like hers, that could have made it confusing whether she was noticed or not. At this moment, I envied her seemingly non-existent presence and small stature a lot.

 

“Oh, but if we exclude the time for ingredient preparation early in the morning, Lilith has been diligently participating in work after breakfast. She had never missed tasks like cleaning up the kitchenware or doing the dishes.”

“So, are you saying she only skipped out on the ingredient preparation tasks before breakfast?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

 

Though I could confidently testify to my attendance at work after breakfast, now it felt like a meaningless testimony.

Originally, the reason Ariana and I faced disciplinary action wasn’t simply about whether we diligently participated in ingredient preparation tasks or not.

It was a stage for discerning who initiated the quarrel among the junior maids, who took the lead in the fight, and who muddled the disciplinary actions with lies.

As those cooks were unaware of it, they could easily testify with a light heart. They probably couldn’t imagine the severe consequences of missing ingredient preparation for about three days.

 

“Lilith Rosewood.”

“…Yes?”

“Is what Mr. Remson testified correct? That you didn’t show your face to the cooks during the handover of prepped ingredients?”

“…Yes, that’s true.”

“In that case, what were you doing during that time, Lilith Rosewood?”

“…Due to exhaustion from handling the early morning ingredient preparation alone, I took a rest in my quarters until breakfast time.”

 

The disciplinary committee’s chamber began to stir with my testimony.

In essence, it was an accusation of me being negligent in my duties, so it was natural for them to react this way.

However, in a situation with so many witnesses, it wasn’t feasible to brazenly push forth lies.

Of course, what I had been asserting from the beginning was that I handled all the ingredient preparation alone from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.

Unfortunately, there was no credible witness or evidence to testify to this part.

 

“I’ll ask you one last thing, Lilith Rosewood.”

“…Yes?”

“Do you have any witness or evidence to prove that you worked alone in the kitchen from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.?”

 

 

“…”

 

 

For a moment, the face of some piglet flashed through my mind, but I quickly forgot about it.

I never had any expectations from that scoundrel in the first place.

It would have been better to give up on that kid from the start rather than foolishly holding onto false hopes of a last-minute miracle.

 

“It’s ridiculous to think that one person could handle that much produce alone for two hours, Head Maid. It’s obvious that Lilith’s lying…”

“Quiet down, Ariana Lawrence. This isn’t the place to debate what’s possible and impossible.”

“…”

“We’re simply here to confirm whether your and Lilith Rosewood’s working hours were accurate.”

“…I apologize.”

 

Although Ariana’s shift from jubilation to dejection should have been a reason to rejoice, it brought no joy to me at this moment.

At this rate, I would be unable to prove my innocence and would inevitably face severe disciplinary action with no way to escape.

However, wasting time like this wouldn’t provide any means of escape either.

In the end, I had to accept reality and silently lower my head.

 

“I…don’t…have…any…”

“…Is that so.”

“But it’s absolutely true that I’ve been coming in early alone every day to prepare the ingredients for two hours. I’d be fine continuing to work alone in the kitchen from tomorrow if necessary…”

“That’s enough, Lilith Rosewood.”

“…”

 

Melissa’s voice sounded like she had already reached a conclusion in her mind, so I quietly closed my mouth.

I had no choice but to wait quietly for her to speak again, as she remained silent before speaking.

 

“Well, it seems like the extent of your disciplinary measures has been determined.”

 

Melissa, with her arms crossed, glanced between me and Ariana. Though there was a strange sense of pity in her gaze, particularly directed towards me, it was just that.

It was painfully obvious who among the recently arrived junior maid and the mansion’s cooks, with at least five years of service, would be more credible.

Furthermore, unlike the testimony from the other side, which claimed to have directly witnessed Ariana in the kitchen, Isabel’s testimony only amounted to seeing me at the ‘time of arrival.’

In the end, both in terms of witness credibility and the completeness of testimony, I was completely defeated.

 

‘Damn it, Ariana, you cunning woman.’

 

I should have somehow held on without leaving any gaps.

Even if I felt like I was going to die from exhaustion, I should have stayed in the kitchen until the end of my work, facing the cooks.

If I had done that, I wouldn’t have collapsed so miserably in this disciplinary trial.

 

…Regretting it now is meaningless, but it was futile behavior nonetheless.

 

 

 

 

“I will now determine the disciplinary measures for Ariana, Alicia, Catherine, and Lilith.”

 

 

 

 

As I felt dizzy from the events, I felt the voice of the head maid gradually fading away.

It felt like my mind was becoming distant, similar to the feeling of being mentally drained after hearing about cleaning the entire ground floor hallway and the stables for a month. It was evident that the disciplinary measures would have to be more severe than this.

The thought of having the kitchen duties I tirelessly completed, even eating more garlic than a vampire for three days, being so easily taken away by Ariana, ignited a surge of various negative emotions deep within my chest…

 

 

“Ariana and Alicia are exempt from disciplinary measures. Catherine, for perjury and acts of violence, will clean the entire ground floor hallway for one month. As for Lilith, for perjury, acts of violence, as well as negligence and dereliction of duty…”

“…Wait. I saw Lilith coming out alone and working in the kitchen in the early morning the other day.”

 

“……Huh?”

 

“……What?”

 

The solemn atmosphere was momentarily broken by someone’s voice, and everyone’s attention shifted to one person.

As soon as I confirmed the identity of that voice, I was engulfed in various indescribable emotions.

 

“…Master Ethan?”

“I saw Lilith working in the kitchen. Yesterday and… even this morning.”

 

No way… I can’t believe it… Master Ethan Richard Blackwood was testifying for me.