Getting to the servants’ lounge wasn’t difficult at all.

Every time I passed through a hallway, I simply hid beside cabinets or statues and secretly listened to the servants talking to figure out where to go.

“Hurry up. We should rest while Vice Commander Rain is here. There’s evening roll call afterward.”

“You’re heading to the servants’ lounge, right?”

“Yeah, let’s go together.”

Just like now.

Stuffed tightly beside a statue, I quietly crept after the maids walking ahead of me.

Well, even I knew getting caught by the servants in this state would be… troublesome.

So I was trying to be careful, but—

“KYAAAAAAH!”

One servant with her hair tied up in a short ponytail suddenly screamed in terror.

The servant beside her immediately shrieked too.

“KYAAAAAA! What’s wrong with you?!”

“A ghost, a ghost!”

“Where is there a ghost?”

“The shadow following behind us! Didn’t you see the shadow with ears?!”

Ah, crap.

The sunset streaming through the hallway windows must have cast my shadow way too clearly.

One maid had briefly glanced back and spotted my silhouette.

“It could’ve just been a rat!”

“Have you ever seen a rat standing on two legs?! And it was way bigger than a rat!”

I immediately hid myself completely behind the statue.

My shadow vanished at once.

“S-Scary. You heard that story before, didn’t you? About the teddy bear shadow wandering the halls.”

“Yeah, I heard…. But didn’t they say it belonged to the Young Master?”

“Do you seriously believe that? The Young Master and a teddy bear? That’s ridiculous!”

“What I’m saying is maybe it’s actually the ghost of a teddy bear wandering around! And the Young Master’s been possessed by it!”

“Watch your mouth! Let’s just hurry to the lounge.”

Now they were calling me a ghost?

For a title completely unbefitting the Great Western Witch of the Demon Realm, I could only stare blankly for a moment.

Then I quickly chased after them again.

And at the end of the hallway, the exact scene the Operation Clear Blake’s Misunderstandings Completely alliance had been hoping for unfolded before me.

Among the servants gathered in a noisy circle with their heads pressed together stood the maid I had seen yesterday.

The one who claimed to have a male servant friend working at Billiard.

“Is this all the notes? Did you check if there were more nearby?”

Another maid answered her.

“We checked everywhere. For now, Molly, these are all we found.”

Aha.

So her name was Molly.

Now that I knew her name, I focused on the conversation again.

“So to summarize, the social club employee’s death really was suspicious, and the cause of death resembled poisoning rather than immediate murder?”

One freckled maid said this while examining the notes Molly held.

Then she suddenly frowned as if realizing something strange and asked Molly again.

“Wait a second. Molly, didn’t your friend say the Young Master killed her?”

Molly, who had been listening quietly until now, slowly nodded.

Despite all the questioning looks directed at her, her expression remained fairly calm and composed.

Still, she couldn’t completely hide the slight panic flickering in her eyes now that people were beginning to doubt her story.

“…Ah. Yeah, that’s right. I trusted what my friend said. He worked there for quite a long time.”

But her opinion immediately met strong opposition.

“But you read the notes too, didn’t you? The blackened skin, one of the signs of poisoning! And like the notes said, there were many employees who didn’t even know exactly when she collapsed or what her face looked like. All of that points to one thing!”

The servants began murmuring loudly.

The freckled maid, now completely fired up, raised her voice confidently.

“Which means the Young Master didn’t kill that employee!”

“But Molly’s friend works at Billiard and told her directly!”

Another servant argued back.

The freckled maid shook her head again.

“Even Molly said her friend didn’t witness it personally and only heard about it from someone else. Besides, once you put all the notes together, they sound pretty convincing!”

At that, Molly—who had remained silent until now—quickly agreed.

“You’re right. Looking at it this way, maybe that’s true. I guess my friend must have been mistaken.”

She slipped out of suspicion incredibly smoothly, like a slippery eel.

That maid was definitely not ordinary.

‘No matter how I look at it, she’s suspicious.’

Still, this meant my plan had been a success for now.

Hidden behind a bench near some saplings, I couldn’t suppress my proud smile.

Ah, Ronald really should’ve seen this!

While I was basking in my victory, the servants—still fully immersed in detective mode—continued discussing things excitedly.

“But who left these notes in the first place?”

A male servant from the kitchen spoke up.

“Someone who knows the real culprit. Someone who didn’t want the Young Master to continue being falsely accused.”

“I knew it! The Young Master may be scary, but he’s not someone who kills people randomly. You all know that none of the servants in this estate have ever been harmed or thrown out unfairly.”

Right, exactly!

That’s the point!

Finally, the conversation was moving in the right direction.

Watching the hardworking humans passionately debating among themselves, I glanced down at the final note clenched tightly in my paw.

I needed them to see this one too for the plan to be complete.

How should I do it?

While I was thinking, the two servants who had entered the lounge with me earlier joined the discussion.

Now was my chance!

I performed a magnificent forward roll across the floor and quickly snuck behind them.

This time, I ended up near a trash bin.

After spending the past few days replenishing my mana beside Blake, it was finally time to show off some magic.

‘It’s been a while, so this feels a little awkward.’

Still, why not test it out?

Squeak, squeak.

Right then, a rat suddenly jumped out of the trash bin and landed on the floor.

I had been wondering what spell to use, but instantly an idea came to me.

Alright, little rat.

Please deliver this final note to them.

‘Delivery!’

The moment I chanted the spell internally, mana rippled outward.

And immediately, I knew it had worked.

As though enchanted, the rat approached me and grabbed the note in its mouth.

Then it nodded enthusiastically and scampered toward the servants.

“Squeak! Squeak squeak!”

The noisy rat drew everyone’s attention downward.

And the instant they spotted the note dangling from its mouth—

“AHH! What is that?!”

“There’s more evidence! Another note appeared!”

Shouts mixed with horror and excitement erupted everywhere.

The maid who unfolded the final note trembled slightly as she read aloud.

“Blake Leblanc… actually cares about the servants more than anyone else…?”

“That’s what it says? Really?”

“Look, it’s true.”

“Come to think of it, even if he doesn’t return greetings much, he’s never actually harmed any of us.”

“Right. The Young Master may be prickly, but he’s never reduced wages or benefits or anything like that….”

“I’m only saying this now, but… honestly, I’ve never seen another lord who takes better care of his territory’s people than he does.”

And yet people believed he murdered someone over a tiny mistake?

Now that they thought about it, the rumor sounded utterly absurd.

The atmosphere instantly turned solemn.

“Maybe all this time we closed our eyes and ears and only listened to what we wanted to hear.”

“And whoever left these notes probably knew that and wanted to clear the Young Master’s name.”

Leaving the quiet conversation behind me, I silently slipped out of the lounge.

As I walked back toward the mansion, I fell deep into thought.

I was now certain Molly had lied about hearing the story at the social club.

When I watched her carefully, it became obvious she was lying.

And Ronald had already confirmed that the social club employed only women.

‘I should go investigate that maid Molly tomorrow.’

Safely back in the room, I stretched my legs out and drifted into an awkward evening nap.

The magic had worked, and the rumors about Blake had mostly been resolved, so I felt much lighter inside.

Maybe because I fell asleep peacefully that night, a face I dearly missed appeared in my dream.

‘Lady Vivian! You’ve been doing well, right?’

‘Maaaax!!! I missed you!’

‘You’re living exactly like yourself over there too, I see. Still, please don’t get hurt. It causes me trouble.’

‘I’m doing great. I made friends, and I even found a contractor.’

‘Well done. Lady Vivian has always been someone worthy of being loved.’

‘Mm. My wine collection’s doing okay too, right?’

‘…….’

‘…Why aren’t you answering? Max? Hello?’

‘I should get going now.’

‘Hey! HEY! Max, you bastard!’

Max was walking farther and farther away.

“Max… you better not touch my wine….”

It had been a wonderful dream right up until the end.

I was so distressed imagining Max stealing all my wine that I tossed and turned without even realizing the blanket had fallen off me.

“Leave some… for me…!”

“…Ha.”

But then it felt like someone quietly pulled the blanket back over me again.

I was too busy chasing dream-Max—who was apparently dumping out my wine—to open my eyes and check.

Still.

It was a wonderfully sweet rest.