Aeria, Judgment (2)

And then, the next dawn.

“……”

With eyes that had naturally opened due to several days of dawn shifts, I quietly rose from bed.

Despite my body waking up on its own, there was no need for me to head to kitchen duty this early morning.

Naturally, there was also no need to chew hundreds of garlic cloves while prepping vegetables.

After Aeria and Alicia received their punishment (violence under the guise of discipline) from Harold, some adjustments had been made to mine and Katarina’s work schedules.

First, Head Maid Melissa sincerely apologized to me and Katarina once everything was settled.

For not realizing sooner that I had been handling most of the kitchen work alone these past few days, and for failing to uncover the truth about the stolen necklace incident involving Tanasia that Aeria had committed a year earlier.

“I’m truly sorry for not uncovering the injustice in this matter sooner. Especially to you, Katarina Rain-I’ve caused you over a year of unnecessary distress.”

“No, Head Maid-nim. The truth has come to light now, and that’s all that matters to me.”

“I-I also… Just having this false accusation lifted is more than enough for me…”

It wasn’t as if the Head Maid could be expected to know everything that happened among the junior maids, so I didn’t feel the need to demand an apology from her.

Still, since she was the highest-ranking person in our profession here, I ended up accepting her apology anyway.

Katarina seemed happy enough just to have the false accusation against her cleared.

In fact, last night, she suddenly showed up at mine and Isabelle’s room and bowed deeply, nearly giving me a heart attack.

“T-Thank you so much for today, Lady Lillith! I-I’ll follow you for the rest of my life! If you ever have any troublesome tasks in the future, just tell me! I’ll handle everything myself…”

“…That’s enough, just get up already. What are you doing, suddenly acting like this? It’s only because Isabelle is in the bathroom that she didn’t see this-what would she think if she saw you like this?”

“B-But… When I think about what I did to you, Lady Lillith, I can’t even lift my head without feeling endlessly guilty…”

“I said that’s enough, just get up!”

Honestly, it was a bit too much-her loyalty felt almost burdensome.

Her heart seemed genuine, but beyond that, she was just an endlessly fragile and naive person.

Someone like Katarina, who willingly crawled to my feet like this, was more unsettling than anything else.

‘With a personality like this, no wonder she got used and manipulated by Aeria and Alicia for the past year…’

It would have been nice if Katarina had a personality and distance like Isabelle’s.

A comfortable friendship between girls, where we could speak casually and still feel at ease.

Of course, since I had already lied to Katarina about being some noble lady, that was already impossible.

Still, since I’d be looking out for her for the next seven years or so, this fragile Katarina wouldn’t get unfairly treated like before.

…Honestly, the more I thought about it, the more it felt like I was becoming a caretaker rather than a maid.

Still, being Katarina’s caretaker was slightly better than becoming Ethan’s exclusive maid.

Though there was no guarantee that doing one would let me avoid the other.

Speaking of which, I should talk about Ethan too.

Naturally, I had already thanked him for testifying on my behalf yesterday.

Even if he looked like a thirteen-year-old brat on the outside, the fact remained that his testimony had pulled me back from the brink.

No matter how much I despised Ethan in my past life, I wasn’t shameless enough to ignore a favor I had received.

Not expressing gratitude would have hurt my own pride more than anything.

“Thank you sincerely for testifying on my behalf in this matter, Young Master Ethan.”

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

“Thanks to your words, I was able to avoid disciplinary action that nearly fell on me.”

“So, can I still go to the kitchen today?”

“…I can’t exactly decide your whereabouts, but you probably won’t find me there this morning.”

“Why?”

“Head Maid Melissa-nim said she would take responsibility for this incident and handle the dawn kitchen duties alone from now on…”

“…Oh?”

“Since her cooking skills are better than mine, you might still want to go if you’d like.”

“Nah, never mind. I won’t go then.”

…What was with that unsettling response?

It almost sounded like the only reason he came to the kitchen was because of me, not because he was hungry.

His reaction was so unsettling that any positive feelings I had for Ethan instantly evaporated.

Get a grip, Lillith. Even if he helped this time, the fact remains that Ethan is the same guy who sexually abused Lillith in 『Luminor Academy』.

The moment some switch flips, the Lillith abuse route could start anytime, anywhere.

As long as this Lillith’s appearance stays the same, there’s no telling when or where Ethan might take an unhealthy interest.

Even if dirt gets in my eyes, I refuse to let the Ethan abuse ending happen.

Anyway, the long day that began with a dawn brawl had finally come to an end.

Less than six hours after going to bed, my eyes opened again at four in the morning.

An extremely early hour when most of the mansion’s servants were still asleep.

Despite the fatigue weighing heavily on my body after everything that had happened, I still managed to rise from bed since I was already awake.

“Lillith… Is it time for work already…?”

“No. You can sleep more, Isabelle. It’s only four in the morning.”

“Mmm…? Then what about you…?”

“There’s somewhere I need to go for a bit.”

“But you’re supposed to start at six now, right…? Why are you going out again…?”

…Well, my shift had changed to six, sure.

But I had something more important to do right now.

“Yeah. If the top bunk is uncomfortable, you can come down and sleep in my spot.”

“Mmm…”

After watching Isabelle quietly climb down the ladder and burrow under my blanket, I changed into my maid uniform and stepped out of the bedroom.

Instead of heading straight to the kitchen like the past few days, I walked toward the mansion’s back gate where the Blackwood family’s carriages were kept.

Heading for the prisoner transport carriage that would carry Aeria and Alicia-whose punishments had been decided overnight.

Honestly, I just couldn’t resist some good old-fashioned trolling.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Finding Aeria and Alicia in the mansion’s backyard wasn’t difficult.

The prisoner transport carriage, with its iron bars visibly exposed, was impossible to miss.

While it was usually empty, today it held two people locked inside together.

A coachman was hitching horses to the carriage, likely planning to complete the prisoner transport before the mansion’s guests woke up.

Seizing the opportunity, I approached and greeted him casually.

“Good morning. You’re working hard so early.”

“Ah, the maid. What brings you here?”

“I was just wondering-are you about to start transporting the prisoners?”

“Hmm, I’m not supposed to tell just anyone, but…”

“It’s fine. I know who’s in there. They were my seniors.”

“I see…”

The coachman averted his eyes awkwardly, likely expecting me to make some unreasonable request, like freeing the two.

Of course, I had no such intention. If anything, I just wanted these two gone from my sight.

But letting them leave without a proper send-off would be such a waste.

After everything Aeria had done and tried to do to me.

Before they left for good, I wanted to clear the air and send them off with a satisfying farewell.

“Could you delay the departure by just three minutes?”

“…Three minutes?”

“I just want to say a final goodbye as a fellow colleague. I won’t ask for anything unreasonable, like freeing them.”

“Hmm…”

“Please…?”

Clasping my hands together and putting on my most earnest expression, the coachman cracked a slight smile and nodded.

“…I’ll leave in two minutes, so finish whatever you have to say quickly.”

“Thank you, sir!”

At times like this, Lillith’s looks really came in handy.

After thanking the coachman, I immediately approached the back of the carriage and peered through the bars.

Casually greeting the two miserable souls awaiting punishment inside.

“Did you sleep well last night, Seniors?”

“…Huh?”

“…L-Lillith?”

Clad in tattered rags, their wrists shackled to the carriage-their pitiful state spoke volumes.

The bruises on their arms and legs were clear evidence of Harold’s violence in the etiquette training room yesterday.

They really got beaten like dogs on a hot summer day, huh?

Not that they didn’t deserve it for stealing Tanasia’s necklace and shamelessly pinning it on someone else.

I had only come to troll them a bit before they left, but seeing them like this almost made me, the victim, feel bad.

“Y-You came to save us?”

“Excuse me?”

“Y-You also think this punishment is too harsh, right? That’s why you’re here?”

“I-I won’t dump work on you anymore, so please, just talk to them! Please!”

What the hell are these crazy bitches talking about?

Even if I had earned some trust from Harold after yesterday’s events, there’s no way he’d listen to me.

And even if he would, I never had any intention of helping them in the first place. What, do they think they’re cute or something?

“W-We just stole a necklace! Being sent to Silverwood is too much! That place is buried in snow year-round, and there are dangerous monsters everywhere…!”

“T-This isn’t fair! She’s the one who stole the necklace, so why am I getting the same punishment?!”

Wait, they’re being sent to Silverwood…?

I thought they’d just be sold off as debt slaves in some city. Harold must have been really pissed.

If they’re going to Silverwood… they might as well be written out of the story.

Two maids in their prime, sent to a northern territory as criminals.

I didn’t need to see it to imagine what kind of fate awaited them there.

“What? You bitch! You were all for it when you followed me!”

“If I’d known you stole the master’s late wife’s necklace, I wouldn’t have gone along with this crazy plan, you bitch!”

“You fucking whore!”

“Aaaah!!”

All I did was peek in to say goodbye, and suddenly they were grabbing each other’s hair and fighting.

They were doomed to self-destruct even without my trolling.

Still, since we’d spent three days together (however unpleasant), I decided to offer them some parting advice.

“You shouldn’t fight now, Seniors. If you want to survive in Silverwood Territory, you’ll need to rely on each other-or you’ll break.”

“…What?”

“W-Wait… You didn’t come to save us…?”

“Save you? I don’t know what you’re talking about. The most I can offer is advice.”

“Advice…?”

“……”

The two of them tensed up, waiting for my next words.

Smiling, I shared what I knew.

“Silverwood Territory is already freezing year-round, but the northern borderlands are especially harsh-ordinary people can’t even enter.”

“…I-I know that.”

“So what…?”

“Because of that, there aren’t any proper brothels or pleasure houses near the northern borderlands. Not that any woman would travel that far to sell herself. But with so many soldiers working hard in such a remote place, it’s truly a shame.”

“…Brothels? N-No way…?”

“T-That can’t be… right…?”

“But with such beautiful seniors like you willingly traveling to the northern borderlands of Silverwood, I’m sure the soldiers who endure such harsh conditions will find great comfort in your presence!”

“……”

“……”

Their faces turned pale as they gaped at me in horror.

Just as I was enjoying their expressions, the coachman called out from the front.

“Miss! Finished saying your goodbyes?!”

“Yes, you can depart now!”

“Alright!”

“Drive safely!”

The crack of the reins signaled the departure of the prisoner transport carriage.

Just before it left, the two inside screamed my name, begging for something, but I didn’t pay much attention.

After all, I’d never see them again-and if I did, they’d probably be broken beyond recognition.

As the carriage carrying the two criminals disappeared over the horizon, I waved them off without a shred of regret.

For sacrificing two hours of sleep, the payoff was more than satisfying.