Chapter 20

“I’ll give you three seconds. Answer quickly. Three, two—”

“It’s a man!”

“Are you sure?”

“Huh?”

“Are you sure your friend is a man?”

“Well… unless that friend suddenly changed genders.”

At that, Vivian’s smile deepened.

“Wrong. You failed. That confirms it—you’re a spy.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.”

Vivian let out a mocking chuckle.

Being sneered at by an adorable teddy bear left Molly speechless.

“You were assigned to spread the rumor that Blake killed an employee, weren’t you?”

Molly frantically shook her head, but the expression on Vivian’s face clearly said she already knew everything.

Her heart sank.

“The Billiard Social Club only employs women. A messenger like you, who just follows orders and spreads rumors, probably wouldn’t know that. I heard it’s an upper-class social gathering that only nobles attend.”

Only female employees?

The panic on Molly’s face was obvious.

After quietly observing her reaction, Vivian calmly asked,

“You don’t want to die here, do you?”

Of course not.

“Absolutely not!”

“The other servants might have fallen for your lies, but I didn’t. If you keep lying…”

Silence settled between them.

Then Vivian cheerfully declared,

“You’ll receive a fitting price for what you’ve done.”

A price.

Molly didn’t know exactly what she meant, but fear quickly gripped her.

If Young Master Blake learned the truth, she might receive a terrible punishment.

Or perhaps she would be thrown out of the estate and lose her source of income entirely.

Watching Molly’s face grow paler by the second, Vivian quietly added,

“Or you could join our side.”

Molly’s eyes immediately lit up.

If there was another way to survive, she was willing to hear it.

Vivian understood her perfectly.

“How about becoming a double agent between us and the person who gave you the assignment? Feed them false information about the situation inside the Leblanc estate, and pass their information to me.”

Simple, right?

Vivian spoke as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

Molly bit her lip.

If things went wrong, she could lose her life.

“If you don’t want to, just say so. I’ll find another solution.”

As she said that, Vivian slowly raised a fist in a rather ominous manner.

Feeling her body still completely frozen, Molly swallowed hard.

‘Is this teddy bear really a guardian angel? Even if it isn’t, it’s obviously something extraordinary.’

Was it a magician?

Whatever it was, it possessed enough power to control her life and death.

And Molly treasured her life more than anything.

The entire reason she chased money was simply so she could live more comfortably.

There was no reason to refuse.

Quickly shaking her head, Molly answered,

“No! I don’t mind. I’ll do it!”

“I’ll make sure you’re paid generously. Well, not by me. By Blake or Ronald.”

It was a vague promise.

Yet Molly seemed completely convinced.

That was understandable.

She already knew how wealthy the owner of this estate was.

“Alright. Then what should I do?”

“The first thing you need to do is tell me who gave you the assignment.”

Vivian plopped down onto the bench.

Then she made a little “Ding!” sound with her mouth.

Instantly, the stiffness left Molly’s body.

Finally able to move again, she obediently sat beside Vivian.

“…The person is a noble’s son. He belongs to the same social circle as the Young Master.”

“I didn’t ask for a quiz.”

“I-I was getting to it! It’s Young Master Brown.”

“Brown?”

Watching Vivian’s adorable side profile as she sank into thought, Molly nodded.

“That’s right. Brown. He was the one who told me to spread this rumor properly.”

“Does he make you do this often?”

“Sometimes. The money is pretty good, so I made a little mistake and…”

“Puhahaha! Molly, you’re an interesting girl.”

“Huh?”

“That wasn’t a mistake. It was a completely calculated decision. You don’t do things that lose you money.”

“No, Guardian Angel!”

Vivian snorted with amusement.

People like Molly were actually easy to handle.

Those with a strong attachment to money and survival would willingly move as long as they got what they wanted.

“If you join our side, you won’t suffer any losses. I’ll make sure Young Master Brown never threatens you either.”

“Thank you.”

Molly no longer questioned Vivian’s identity.

She simply expressed her gratitude.

She was quick-witted enough to recognize the overwhelming difference in power between them.

“Guardian Angel, despite your cute appearance, your power is incredibly strong…”

“Thanks for the flattery. Compliments are always nice to hear.”

“Um… how can I meet you again in the future?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll find you whenever I need you.”

Vivian patted Molly’s shoulder.

Then she clapped twice.

At once, the stars in the night sky began spinning in circles.

Molly stared blankly at the breathtaking sight.

“From now on, spread the word among the estate servants that Blake is absolutely not a bad person.”

You can do that, right?

When Vivian asked, Molly confidently declared that she could.

Vivian clapped again.

The spinning stars immediately returned to their original positions.

“It was just a simple illusion spell. Did you like it?”

“I’ll do my best!”

“Good. Then I’m counting on you starting tonight. I’m going back to sleep!”

Yawning so widely it seemed her mouth might split open, Vivian waved goodbye.

Molly absentmindedly waved back as she watched the small teddy bear wobble toward the main building’s entrance.

Soon, silence returned to the dormitory grounds.

Still staring blankly into space, Molly slapped her cheeks a few times.

The stinging sensation told her it hadn’t been a dream.

She staggered back into the dormitory, pulled the blanket all the way up to her neck, and closed her still-wide-awake eyes.

Only when morning finally arrived did Molly fully realize that last night had truly happened.

As she went about her maid duties as usual, she found herself unconsciously looking around.

Just in case that special teddy bear calling itself a guardian angel suddenly appeared again.

She spent the entire morning doing laundry and running errands.

The teddy bear never showed up.

Molly even asked the other maids about it.

“Have any of you seen a teddy bear in this estate?”

“You mean the one people say belongs to the Young Master?”

“Yeah. Has anyone actually seen it?”

“Not me. But some people said it has yellowish fur and light-green eyes.”

Ah.

So the teddy bear she met last night really did belong to Young Master Blake.

But nobody else knew it was a guardian angel.

Now she finally understood.

The reason Blake suddenly carried around a teddy bear.

‘It’s because it’s a guardian angel!’

Normally, practical-minded Molly never would have believed something like that.

But after personally experiencing magic, she had no choice but to believe.

As she diligently swept and polished the entrance hall floor, Molly made a firm resolution.

If the Guardian Angel paid her, guaranteed her safety, and continued standing on her side with that overwhelming power—

‘Then I’ll do my absolute best to complete every task entrusted to me in this estate!’

At that moment, another maid approached her.

“Molly. I heard you were there yesterday when everyone was reading those notes about the Young Master. I wasn’t there, so what exactly did they say?”

Molly grinned.

“Oh, that? You’re curious? I’ll explain it properly.”

The maid, who already liked Molly because she was always cheerful and hardworking, listened attentively.

“Well, the truth is… as you know, Young Master Blake is actually very good about providing wages and benefits for the estate servants. But the story about the social club was completely full of misunderstandings…”

The maid’s eyes sparkled as she listened to every word of Molly’s lengthy explanation.

Meanwhile—

On the railing above the estate’s grand central staircase.

Leaning against the edge while using a Listening Spell, Vivian closed her eyes with a satisfied smile.

The operation had been a complete success.