16.

Victor called out to the two maids in a dry voice.

“You two.”

“Ah, Manager Victor.”

The maids quickly lowered their heads in response to Victor.

Victor’s gaze swept up and down the maids before he suddenly asked with a sneer in his voice.

“Where have you been?”

The maids looked at each other briefly before cautiously answering.

“W-well, we were running errands for Lady Elze…”

“Elze?”

In an instant, sparks seemed to ignite in Victor’s eyes.

“Ha, Elze. That damned woman!”

It seemed Victor was completely unaware of my presence here. His relentless stream of profanity, delivered with a grumbling voice, made it evident.

“If it weren’t for the Marquis, she’d be nothing. And yet she dares to embarrass me in front of the students? Without any sense of propriety!”

“Manager, your voice is too loud.”

“What do I care if someone overhears?”

The maids seemed rather flustered.

Victor scolded the maids again.

“So, what kind of errand did that Elze girl send you on?”

“What? It wasn’t anything special. We just delivered tea and pastries to Lady Martin, the Countess.”

“…Countess Martin?”

Suddenly, Victor’s face took on a strange expression as he stared at the maids.

“You mean Brigitte Martin?”

“Yes. Lady Elze personally instructed us to do so.”

“Hmph.”

Victor snorted.

“They seem to be quite chummy. Two inadequate beings suit each other well.”

After that, Victor extended his hand towards the maids.

“Here, take it.”

“Yes?”

“This, this is…”

The maids’ eyes widened in surprise.

And no wonder, each of their hands held gleaming silver coins.

“It’s for you.”

Victor lowered his voice discreetly.

“From now on, keep me informed about what that Elze woman is up to. Report back to me promptly.”

“But…”

“Just gather whatever information you can.”

Whispering like that, Victor’s lips curved into a sly smile.

“How about it? If you do a good job, I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of, so to speak.”

In an instant, the maids’ eyes glinted with greed.

* * *

After the maids and Victor scattered in different directions, I emerged from the hidden room.

‘So… Victor is finally becoming cautious of me.’

I tilted the corner of my lips slightly.

Until now, he had been disregarding me as an empty-headed villain, but lately, it seemed that a sense of crisis had set in.

‘If that’s the case, I should find a way to ease his suspicions.’

Coincidentally, I now had two sparrows that would bring me news of Victor.

Furthermore, I had carried one notorious reputation like a label for a long time.

‘The foolish and extravagant villain.’

Now was the time to use that prejudice to my advantage.

* * *

A few days later, Victor unexpectedly received some news.

“So, that woman, Elze, is going out tomorrow?”

“Yes. I heard that she’s going to the wardrobe to have a new dress fitted.”

The maids who had received the silver coins previously came rushing in, eager to report Elze’s movements.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard.”

After handing a silver coin to each maid and sending them away, Victor rubbed his chin with satisfaction.

Lately, Elze had been interfering in Victor’s affairs, and it had been quite annoying.

Finally, it seemed she had returned to her usual extravagant and empty-headed self.

“If that Elze hadn’t stolen the letter…”

Although Elze claimed she hadn’t taken the letter, who else could have taken it?

‘If only I had that letter, I could have made a big profit and used it against her.’

Of course, as long as he continued to work as the caretaker of the boarding school, he would have more opportunities. However, the bitterness couldn’t be helped.

Victor, who was savoring his snacks again, narrowed his eyes.

‘But speaking of that, Elze… She seemed quite unpleasant during the tea time the other day.’

At that time, Elze behaved as if she could completely see through Victor’s thoughts.

Victor harbored deep-seated inferiority complexes towards the nobility he had as a steward. Because of these feelings of inferiority, he had tried to exert control over the students in this boarding school, even in his role as a steward.

He had blabbered as if he knew everything.

To be honest… it was eerie.

But…

‘Well, it’s just Elze after all.’

With just a pretty face, she managed to become the lover of the Marquis of Offenheir, using her power recklessly even though it wasn’t hers.

If it weren’t for the Marquis, she would have been sold to a nobleman long ago and probably would have never been seen in the Institute.

“Tsk.”

Victor clicked his tongue briefly and leaned back in his soft chair.

‘That girl isn’t worth worrying about; she’s in the palm of my hand.’

Victor twisted the corner of his lips into a sly smile.

* * *

At that moment, in Lucian’s solitary cell…

I was reviewing the events of the morning.

‘By now, the maids have probably reported my outing schedule to Victor.’

To subtly leak my destination to Victor’s sparrows, I had moved quite carefully.

First, I had called the sparrows Victor had his hands on early in the morning and let them overhear my breakfast plans.

As an excuse for the morning meal, I had placed them in my room.

Then I rummaged through the wardrobe, becoming increasingly annoyed.

‘What in the world is this dress supposed to be…?’

I threw one of the dresses in my hand onto the floor and stepped on it mercilessly.

Then I sighed deeply while rubbing my forehead.

‘Ugh, how can I meet the Marquis in such a shabby dress?’

…Well, to be honest, all the dresses in the wardrobe were packed with similar ones.

They were indeed sophisticated enough to be worn at royal gatherings, but still, it was frustrating.

I decided to overlook them with blurry eyes.

‘Really, I should contact Madame Tilda right away.’

By the way, Madame Tilda was the owner of one of the most prestigious clothing shops in the city.

As I muttered impatiently, I felt the maids behind me exchanging secret glances.

Well, I had been speaking so blatantly to the point that if they couldn’t even guess my whereabouts after hearing my soliloquy, it would be a failure on their part.

However, even if the maids found out their owner’s whereabouts, it was a virtue for them to keep their lips sealed.

Especially since I was ostensibly Dante’s lover, and monitoring my movements was tantamount to challenging Dante’s authority.

While it was a principle that my whereabouts should not leak to anyone, “sparrows” couldn’t be trusted to keep a secret.

Victor’s bribes were quite tempting, after all.

“Hey, you.”

Just as I was being called, I snapped back to my senses.

“Why are you so lost in thought?”

Lucian was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

Oh, that’s right. I came to bring dinner for Lucian.

“Come to think of it, I forgot to mention it to the Duke.”

I gave Lucian a cheeky smile.

“Well, it seems I won’t be able to visit the Duke tomorrow.”

“…”

Then, Lucian stiffened his plump shoulders.

Huh?

I was momentarily bewildered.

But since Lucian’s expression was as vacant as usual, I thought maybe I had seen wrong.

So, I just explained in a mumbled manner.

“Others will bring your meal. Don’t refuse and make sure to eat.”

Honestly, leaving Lucian behind was a bit bothersome, but when looking back at the original content, there was really no one within the boarding school who posed a threat to Lucian.

Until the female protagonist of the original story appeared, Dante had only thought of Lucian as a source of consistent income.

Since Dante, the owner of the boarding school, held Lucian in high regard, no one else would dare lay a finger on him.

Then why did Lucian’s peaceful life at the boarding school turn into a living nightmare?

It was all because of the ‘original Elise,’ who equally subjected everyone except Dante to her wickedness…

But at that moment…

Clank.

The sound of utensils clashing against a plate rang sharply.

Lucian, who had set down his cutlery, pushed the food tray aside as if he had lost his appetite.

And then…

“Why won’t you be able to come tomorrow?”

… Somehow, Lucian’s voice sounded somewhat edgy.

Was this just my imagination?