Chapter 21

Several days passed like that.

The satisfaction of catching the spy hiding in the estate thanks to a hint from Ronald only lasted for a short while.

“Are you seriously going to do this?”

Lately, Blake had become a little more cooperative whenever I approached him, so I thought we had gotten somewhat closer.

Apparently, that had been entirely my imagination.

With my hands on my hips, I shouted,

“There was nothing in the contract about a ban on going outside!”

“No.”

“Why not?!”

“Because rumors have already spread among the servants. They’re saying a filthy, ugly brown teddy bear possessed by a ghost is wandering around the estate.”

Blake, dressed impeccably in his fitted uniform, adjusted his sleeve as he spoke.

I was struck with shock.

Filthy and ugly?

What?

Ugly?

The description was even more shocking than the “ghost” comment I had heard before.

Staggering backward, I braced myself against the wall.

“You added that middle part, didn’t you?”

“No.”

Just hearing it made me want to faint.

But Blake continued speaking in a firm tone, leaving no room for negotiation.

“Does everything have to be written in the contract to count? The contract also states that you shouldn’t unnecessarily reveal your identity.”

“Hmph! Then I just won’t get caught!”

“Sure you won’t.”

Crossing my arms, I glared at him with narrowed eyes from where he stood blocking the doorway.

It had absolutely no effect.

Blake spoke with unmistakable finality.

“Anyway, don’t move from this room while I’m gone. If you cause trouble and draw suspicion, you won’t be the only one who suffers.”

“No! How am I supposed to stay here every day? I have things to do too!”

“What things?”

“Finding the portal!”

At that, one corner of his mouth curled upward mockingly.

“If I remember correctly, you said it would be difficult to find it on your own. You need my help anyway.”

Don’t you?

His smug expression made my lips twitch as I tried to think of a rebuttal.

Nothing came to mind.

“Looks like you have nothing to say. I’m leaving.”

Without a moment of hesitation, he turned around.

Grabbing the doorknob, he walked out.

“Hey! Wait a—”

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Left alone in the room, I muttered miserably,

“I said wait a second…”

How powerless.

I looked down at the faint traces of mana still circulating through my body and trailed off.

I had been trying to be understanding because he was a tragic second male lead with a complicated past.

But seriously—

“I’m going to get revenge. I’m not letting this go. Even if I’m a kind and innocent witch, this treatment is unfair!”

In the end, I collapsed onto the floor and ground my teeth.

“Blake, you jerk! Trip while you’re walking! And when you fall, may your pants come off and embarrass you!”

Of course, it didn’t make me feel any better.

The words wouldn’t even reach him.

And if his pants actually did come off, I’d rather it happen in front of me so I could enjoy the show.

What good would it do if it happened where I couldn’t see it?

Eventually, I ran out of energy and lay sprawled on the floor, staring blankly at the dark ceiling.

But then Blake’s infuriating face floated into my mind again.

I immediately sprang up.

“Just you wait. If you think you’ve got me completely under your thumb, you’re making a huge mistake.”

Being told not to go out only made me want to go out even more.

Of course, Blake was right.

Finding the portal in this form would be difficult.

But I had other things to do.

And I had no intention of sitting around this room waiting forever.

“…Heh heh.”

As I strode toward the door, a sinister smile spread across my face.

If Max saw this expression, he would probably panic.

What had he called it again?

The “smile that appears right before a catastrophic incident.”

“Well, if you were that worried, you should’ve stayed here and guarded me yourself.”

Maybe I had been behaving too well lately, because today there wasn’t even a mustached butler watching over me.

“You actually dared to call Lady Vivian a filthy and ugly teddy bear.”

I’d show him.

A woman’s transformation—

No, a teddy bear’s transformation—

was innocent!

---

***

“Now then… where would the bathhouse be?”

For the first time since my refreshing outing the other day, I was wandering through the estate alone.

The hallways felt enormous.

Maybe it was because my body was so small now.

“It’s huge…”

Up until now, I had only traveled between Blake’s bedroom, the greenhouse, and a few nearby corridors.

Now I found myself completely distracted by the magnificent paintings lining both sides of the hall.

“Oh! This painting belonged to an artist whose work used to sell for dirt cheap. Looks like he became successful.”

Some of the paintings were familiar.

I had seen them about two hundred years ago.

As I admired the artwork, I finally reached a fork in the corridor.

A staircase to the left.

Another to the right.

Which one led to the bathhouse?

As I stroked my chin and pondered the question, voices came from behind me.

“This way. Today’s our chance.”

“Yeah. This should have been finished long ago.”

“It’s only because we never had the opportunity. If we’d been caught, we could’ve been killed.”

“…Alright.”

Huh?

What was that?

Maids?

My heart immediately started pounding.

I quickly slipped into a nearby room with a slightly open door and listened.

“We should hurry. What we’ve been waiting for will be there.”

“Once this is done, I’ll feel completely refreshed. Like washing away years of grime.”

Refreshed.

Washing away grime.

‘Aha!’

I had figured it out.

They were clearly heading to the bathhouse.

For someone who had been searching everywhere for it, this was the perfect opportunity.

The two women confidently headed up the left staircase.

I quietly followed behind them.

Past the stairs.

Down the corridor.

All the way to the room at the very end.

When I finally reached the destination, however, I frowned.

‘Uh? Excuse me, ladies, but this isn’t a bathhouse.’

What was this place?

The moment I entered, enormous bookshelves filled my vision.

The two women, dressed as maids, moved through the room without hesitation, as though they knew it intimately.

Their movements reminded me of cats.

Or perhaps leopards.

They were so agile that I couldn’t look away.

After weaving through several bookshelves, they finally stopped in an unexpected corner of the room.

“Here.”

At that point, I understood.

Their destination was definitely not a bathhouse.

But there were still many questions.

The women’s movements were far too skilled.

And this clearly wasn’t a place ordinary maids should be entering freely.

So who were they?

Holding my breath behind a bookshelf, I watched silently.

One of them tapped the floor with the toe of her shoe.

Tap. Tap.

Then she nodded.

Bending down, she opened a hidden door.

Creeeak—

The concealed entrance swung open.

Without hesitation, both women jumped inside.

Thunk.

The door closed behind them.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“…Ah.”

Then I thought for a moment.

Should I pretend I hadn’t seen anything?

Wouldn’t that be easier?

“Haaaah.”

I followed them because I thought they were heading to the bathhouse, and now look where I ended up!

If Blake found out, he’d undoubtedly complain that I had gotten involved in another incident.

Should I call someone?

But running through the halls looking like this would attract too much attention.

If I went to find Ronald, I’d probably lose track of them.

I really shouldn’t have seen this.

After hesitating, I clenched my fists.

Dragging my feet toward the hidden door, I finally made a decision.

No matter how I looked at it, the situation was suspicious.

And if I ignored it, the Leblanc family might end up harmed.

‘…Ah, whatever.’

Taking a deep breath, I walked around to the other side and pulled out the hidden handle.

The door was surprisingly heavy.

My body wobbled as I lifted it.

Then I tumbled straight through the opening into the darkness below.

CRASH!

Something shattered as I landed noisily.

When I lifted my head—

“Bookshelves… and maps?”

A large, gloomy chamber spread before me.

Orange candlelight flickered dimly throughout the room.

Maps covered the walls.

Pins marked various locations.

It was unmistakably a war room.

And two maids had entered it.

That was definitely strange.

As I cautiously moved forward, I discovered one advantage of living in this body.

‘…Oh. My footsteps don’t make any noise.’

Maybe it was thanks to my soft plush paws.

Even without trying, I could move around silently.

After squeezing myself into various hiding spots while searching for the two women—

“Where could it be?”

“I was told it was definitely stored here. We just need to find the trade-route authorization for the border.”

“It’s not here. Maybe someone already took it.”

“No way. He’s been too busy wandering outside the estate to pay attention to politics inside the Empire. It has to be here.”

There they were.

In the center of the room.

Frantically searching through a massive cabinet.

‘I’ve never seen those maids before.’

The women were so focused on their search that they seemed completely unaware of my presence.

‘Hmm. What should I do?’

The contract explicitly said not to reveal my identity unless absolutely necessary.

So stepping forward was out.

That meant stepping backward was the answer.

And just then, I spotted something useful.

Behind the women hung a portrait of an unfamiliar man.

An elderly gentleman with a white beard and fierce violet eyes.

The face felt strangely familiar.

I glanced at the portrait and quietly mouthed,

‘Sorry. I’m going to borrow your face for a moment.’

First, an apology for the rudeness I was about to commit.

Then I slipped into a dark corner beside the painting and snapped my fingers toward it.

Mana rippled outward.

The portrait shimmered.

And soon, the wrinkled face inside began to move.

‘This is what projection magic is all about.’

Projection Magic.

A special spell that projected my own expressions and movements onto an inanimate object.

Ahem.

Clearing my throat, I raised my voice in a deep, imposing tone.

“You insolent fools!”