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

 

Thanks to Ethan’s testimony, which began just before disciplinary action was to be taken against me and Catherine, the atmosphere in the room suddenly turned a complete 180.

 

“…Master Ethan, what do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t Lilith being punished for not working at dawn?”

“That’s true, but….”

“Lilith was in the kitchen at dawn, I saw her.”

“….”

 

…What’s going on?

What’s the catch?

Although the atmosphere of the disciplinary committee changed with Ethan’s sudden testimony, strangely, instead of relief, a greater sense of unease began to grow within me.

Why is Ethan testifying like this for me?

Could he be demanding something from me in return for his testimony?

 

“Master Ethan, I apologize, but this disciplinary committee is a place for determining the punishment levels for the maids, so if you mention false testimony as a joke…”

“I’m not lying, I saw it. I talked to Lilith, and I ate her food…I don’t think it was food, but it was something.”

 

…

 

As more details were added to Ethan’s testimony, Head Maid Melissa’s glare changed, and she began to listen more attentively to the conversation.

Once Ethan’s testimony seemed to be gaining credibility, she turned her gaze toward me and began to cross-examine his testimony.

 

“Is what he just said true, Lilith Rosewood?”

“…Yes, it is.”

 

After my response, the sound of murmuring was suddenly heard in the Etiquette room.

Immediately, Ariana, with an impatient expression, began to interrupt my conversation with the head maid.

 

“Just a moment, Madam Head Maid! Hasn’t the level of punishment already been decided?! Adding a new witness at this point is unfair…”

“Ariana Lawrence. This place is not just for issuing punishment according to procedure, but also for revealing the truth about what happened among you. The more information we have about what happened during the early hours of the past three days, the better.”

“…”

 

Aria was instantly dumbfounded by Melissa’s remark.

I had been somewhat feeling it for a while.

I don’t really know why, but I had a sense that the head maid was slightly more supportive of me than of Ariana.

I honestly don’t know why she would support me over Ariana, who has worked for at least a year more than me.

 

“Lilith Rosewood.”

“Yes, Madam Head Maid.”

“If it’s true that you were talking with Master Ethan in the kitchen in the early hours, why didn’t you request him as one of your witnesses?”

 

…

 

…How do I say it?

I can’t bring myself to say that I didn’t call him as a witness because I was counting on Ethan’s testimony and I didn’t want to risk getting stabbed in the back for nothing.

Moreover, it’s possible that the conversation could digress into me pointing a kitchen knife at Ethan in the pantry.

As I briefly pondered how to finesse the situation, suddenly, I recalled the conversation we had on the first day when I parted ways with Ethan. It seemed like a plausible excuse that could be conveniently used in the current situation.

 

“It was a secret between us two…”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I was worried that if it became known that Master Ethan had entered the kitchen in the middle of the night out of hunger, it might tarnish his honor. So, Master Ethan and I promised not to tell anyone about his intrusion into the kitchen and his eating the food I had prepared before leaving.”

“Oh, right! That’s it! I shouldn’t have said that!”

 

…It seemed that Ethan had completely forgotten that we had made such a promise.

Thanks to that, I felt like I had narrowly escaped falling into the abyss.

 

“In that case, Lilith Rosewood.”

“Yes.”

“…Are you saying that, even if it meant facing disciplinary action alone to protect Master Ethan’s honor, you chose not to summon him as a witness?”

 

…Is that really how it turned out?

I hadn’t particularly cared about Ethan’s honor one way or the other.

However, with the head maid’s confident voice, the murmurs grew louder, and suddenly, I found myself dedicated to preserving Ethan’s honor.

Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about the misunderstanding between Ethan and me…

…but at this moment, I realized it could be useful.

As all eyes were on me, I nodded quietly and as nonchalantly as possible.

 

“Yes, that’s correct.”

 

As I responded, people around started to chatter excitedly. I couldn’t catch every single conversation, but judging from the positive buzz circulating about me, the atmosphere didn’t seem too bad.

Isabel was also sending intense glances toward me from the crowd.

Beside me, Catherine was practically clinging to my body for support.

…Amidst all this, Ariana was the only one who seemed unwilling to accept the situation, as if she couldn’t acknowledge it.

 

“L-Lies!”

“Yes?”

“If… if Master Ethan really visited the kitchen early in the morning, the-then… th-that girl… Li-Lilith, there’s no way she wouldn’t have called him as a witness from the start! Master Ethan must have just made up the testimony out of pity for Lilith, and Lilith just went along with it on the spot…”

 

Oh. What a piece of shit.

Is she really pointing out that Ethan lied right here, right now?

Especially in front of Harold, who’s watching our every move?

 

“You there.”

“M-Master…?”

“Are you implying that my son is a liar?”

“….”

 

What was she thinking????

The moment Harold’s cold voice and gaze reached Ariana, she froze like ice, her expression turning into one of realization.

There are two ways to really irritate the gentle Harold. One is to insult his deceased wife, Thanasia…

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

…and the other is to openly insult Ethan in front of him.

 

“Oh, no, Master… that’s not what I meant…”

 

Harold was a nobleman with a heart broad enough to overlook insults, but for him, these two subjects were absolutely untouchable.

Even in the original game, confronting Harold was far more intense than dealing with Ethan.

It’s pretty audacious to openly insult Ethan in front of Harold.

Seeing that cunning woman unable to even handle basic etiquette, it was clear she was also feeling the pressure.

 

“There’s no need to be angry, Master.”

“…Head Maid.”

“If we carefully examine the testimonies of Master Ethan and Lilith Rosewood, the truth will quickly come to light.”

 

Melissa, alternating her gaze between me and Ethan, calmed Harold down and wore a confident expression.

She opened her mouth, and this time, she directed a question to both Ethan and me simultaneously.

 

“Master Ethan, and Lilith Rosewood.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“On the day Master Ethan visited the kitchen, is it true that Lilith Rosewood prepared a dish for you, sir?”

“It wasn’t a dish! It’s just food!”

“…Yes.”

“…Then, Master Ethan, please whisper in my ear now. What food did Lilith Rosewood serve you?”

“Well, you see…”

 

Ethan began to murmur something into Melissa’s ear as she leaned in closer.

It seemed he was providing additional testimony about the dishes I had served over the past two days for a more thorough cross-examination.

…To be honest, even I couldn’t call those dishes anything close to real cooking.

As the rather lengthy whispering came to an end, the head maid straightened up and turned her gaze towards me, then asked:

 

“Lilith Rosewood.”

“Yes.”

“Please tell us about the two dishes you served Master Ethan.”

“One was a tomato and radish salad dressed with honey, using fresh tomatoes and radishes. The other was radish rolls, thinly sliced radishes wrapped with radishes, onions, and carrots, drizzled with olive oil.”

“…I see. Thank you for sharing.”

 

Melissa listened to my words with a faint smile and responded.

…and this time, she immediately began to tell what Ethan had whispered to her.

 

“Master Ethan described the meals to me in this way.”

“….”

“He mentioned a dish with sweet tomatoes and radishes, and another strange dish with thin radish slices and other vegetables wrapped in radishes.”

‘Strange dish…’

“When considering that description and the ingredients used in the cooking, it exactly matches what Lilith Rosewood mentioned about the dishes.”

 

While I felt a bit irritated by the blatant disregard for the effort put into preparing the dishes during my scarce spare time, seeing that he remembered even the meals I prepared and testified accurately, in a way, provided some relief.

Now that it’s fully proven that I worked the night shift, it’ll soon be proven that no other junior maids reported for duty either.

I was almost on the verge of receiving the disciplinary action of cleaning the stables alone for at least a month.

It felt oddly ironic to be rescued by Ethan, whom I had so despised in my previous life.

 

“Now, hold on…”

“Do you still have something to say, Ariana Lawrence?”

“W-Well… um…”

 

In the current situation, there was practically no way for her to reverse the decision to be made.

To refute this testimony, she would need to summon a witness much more powerful than Ethan or present irrefutable evidence that could even push Ethan aside, which was practically impossible.

If such evidence were readily available, the situation wouldn’t have escalated to this point in the first place.

However, Ariana, who didn’t know when to give up, desperately looked around for a way to survive.

Her gaze shifted to Catherine, who was trembling beside me.

 

“C-Catherine is suspicious!”

“W-What?!”

 

Suddenly being pointed out by Ariana, Catherine’s voice filled with surprise as she instinctively hid behind me.

Even I was curious about what she would bring up, as her accusation seemed completely out of the blue, beyond my expectations.

Immediately, Ariana continued her desperate defense, shifting the blame to Catherine as if it were her final attempt.

 

“C-Catherine is the one who stole Lady Thanasia’s heirloom necklace from Sir Ethan’s room a year ago!”

“W-What?!”

“T-That’s not true… I-I never stole Lady Thanasia’s necklace…”

“You DID steal it, you little thief!”

“W-What…?!”

“….”

 

You can’t win against the message, so now you’re attacking the messenger.

But Ariana, you don’t realize that what you just said just dug your own grave deeper.

Lady Thanasia’s necklace?

My mouth almost burst into laughter as soon as I realized that you were referring directly to an item that NO ONE in Luminor Academy would be aware of.

The moment she mentioned that necklace in front of me was akin to confessing to stealing it herself.

Thinking that I could send her packing once and for all, I subtly raised my hand and interjected in Ariana and Catherine’s conversation.

 

“…Um, I just wanted to ask, you know.”

“Yeah?”

“What about it, Lilith Rosewood?”

“Are you referring to the gold necklace with the blue gemstones as Lady Thanasia’s heirloom necklace…?”

“….”

“…How do you know about that…?”

 

Facing Harold’s gaze, which was mixed with suspicion, I continued to feign innocence.

 

“Lilith Rosewood.”

 

This was a golden opportunity to clear Catherine’s unfairly tarnished reputation while completely discrediting that irritating Ariana.

 

“I, um, I think I’ve seen it before.”

“….”

“I remember seeing a flashy and expensive-looking necklace in Senior Ariana’s room before…”

 

With my statement, the room fell silent once again. As uncertainty lingered in the air, all eyes turned towards me.

 

“Uh… uhhhhh…?”

 

One thing is for sure now, Ariana, you’re as good as dead.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here; we’re finally up to date! I promise to commit to the daily chapter plan.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one!