She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 64

After briefly rolling the word “fate” around in her mouth, she opened her lips with a voice tinged with resignation.

“I got the poison from that man. The important thing is that Demaric knew all of this.”

“Ha! Who are you trying to drag into this? I’ve never heard of anything like poisoning!”

“Ahaha! Who said anything about poisoning? You heard me say back then that my goal isn’t to kill Miss Idel, but to silence her. What did you say when I mentioned diluting the poison?”

You said I was right, didn’t you?

With a voice that seemed to gnash teeth, Veronica pressed Demaric and tilted her head, asking Sylvia.

“Isn’t that right, Miss Sylvia?”

They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and Veronica treated her as if she had never been hostile toward Sylvia.

However, Sylvia did not respond to her. The Duchess, who had been quietly watching the fight since the two were first called, finally spoke up.

“Sylvia, why didn’t you tell me anything?”

Rowena did not add many words.

She didn’t reprimand her for recklessly risking Idel Clementine’s safety to gather evidence, nor did she mention the heavy responsibility that the head maid should bear.

It was a belief that Sylvia would already know without needing to say such things.

Facing the Duchess’s expression devoid of any laughter, Sylvia slowly closed her eyes.

Then, with a heavy voice, she answered the Duchess’s question.

“I was prepared. There can be no excuses for this matter. Whatever decision you both make, I will accept it.”

In the already quiet side room, a tense atmosphere and fear spread.

Since the head maid Sylvia had put her neck on the line, it could easily lead to bloodshed in the ducal house.

At that moment.

In the silence where not a single breath could be heard, a high voice broke the stillness.

“You mustn’t do that, Head Maid!”

“Who on earth is this… Diane?”

Sylvia opened her mouth slightly as she recognized the person pushing through the crowd. It was unexpected for her to step forward here, and also…

“Ugh! Head Maid, you mustn’t do that…”

It was also because Diane’s eyes were brimming with tears.

The sudden intrusion of the maid drew gasps of shock from various people, but Diane did not budge.

In fact, it was uncharacteristic for her, given her timid nature, to act this way.

Especially since the duke, duchess, and head maid were in the middle of a conversation. Normally, she would have kept silent and just shuffled her feet among the crowd.

‘Yes, if it were the usual me.’

Wiping away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes with one hand, Diane put on a determined expression.

“I know this isn’t a place where I should dare to intervene. However, there’s no one here besides me who understands the situation properly.”

“Diane.”

“I don’t want to see Miss Idel suffering again!”

“…Idel?”

The name that Diane spoke caught Rowena’s attention. After all, Diane was the maid who had said she would stay by Idel’s side.

Feeling the Duchess’s gaze, Diane took a short breath and opened her mouth with a resolute expression.

“The reason Sylvia didn’t inform the Duchess about the situation is that Miss Idel didn’t want it!”

“What do you mean by that? Idel didn’t want it?”

Did she think it would be useless to say anything?

The Duchess’s expression darkened at this plausible thought. The image of the child who had cried out that she had no allies and the boarding school she had dismissed resurfaced in her mind.

Reading the duchess’s worry in her expression, Diane shook her head firmly and spoke resolutely.

“That’s because Miss Idel wanted to resolve this matter herself! She intended to convey her true feelings to the servants and give them another chance.”

Diane’s voice was filled with conviction.

“Of course, she did collapse due to unforeseen circumstances… But it’s true. Miss Idel intended to reveal the truth at the banquet and forgive the servants.”

“Forgive…?”

“It’s clear, because when I suggested reporting the servants’ harassment to the Duchess, Miss Idel said…”

‘If that happens, all the servants will leave the Duke’s household over one mistake. I don’t want that.’

With both hands placed over her chest, Diane mimicked Idel’s demeanor. Of course, the lines had been distorted and exaggerated as they passed through Diane’s mind.

At least if Idel heard it, she would be baffled and wonder when she ever said such a thing.

However, Idel was not present at that moment, and there was no one to correct Diane’s words.

“Did Idel really say that?”

“Yes. It wasn’t directed at me; she was muttering it to herself. But I clearly heard it!”

Diane’s golden eyes sparkled with conviction. It was a sparkle in name only; her eyes, red from roughly wiping away tears, gave off a somewhat crazed appearance.

“I’ve actually wanted to say this for a while. Our missus isn’t the cruel and wicked person the rumors say. It’s just that her way of speaking isn’t straightforward; she has such a gentle heart!”

“……”

“If you don’t believe me, try sending flowers or desserts to Miss Idel! She’ll definitely say she doesn’t need them, but she’ll keep them aside!”

As if pouring out her innermost thoughts, Diane clenched her fists tightly.

Even now, she could vividly picture Idel collapsing.

She could also recall her own dazed state when the young Lord Knightly and the knights rushed in.

‘Fool.’

She shouldn’t have been so excited about Idel taking charge of the servants like a heroine in a book. She should have checked if the servants had done anything else, if there were any dangers around Idel.

‘I didn’t even keep an eye on Miss Gianna.’

Diane, recalling Gianna, who would be just as shocked, quickly shook her head.

Now was not the time for self-recrimination; it was time to muster courage for Lady Idel.

“Given her nature, when she opens her eyes and sees that Lady Sylvia has resigned as head maid and many of the servants have changed, she will surely blame herself. So, I dare to ask.”

“……”

“After Miss Idel wakes up… could you please make a decision regarding the servants?”

Diane, with her eyes tightly shut and head bowed, added a brief thought as if it just occurred to her.

“Moreover, I’m more worried about that unknown man mentioned by Lady Veronica than about the servants who are clearly identifiable…”

“Yes, I feel the same way.”

The Duke, who had been silent while his wife spoke, nodded in agreement with Diane’s words.

“Wanting revenge on ‘Idel’—and not Clementine. It doesn’t make any sense.”

No matter how much trouble Idel caused, she was still just a child under ten years old.

What kind of grudge could one possibly have against such a young girl to want to poison her?

“Veronica, describe the man’s appearance and where you met him.”

“…He was wearing a priest’s robe. We met near the side entrance where the servants often pass. When he met me, he tried to drag me away forcefully, so he must have been planning to threaten the servants.”

“Where did you last see him? Do you know his name?”

Veronica hesitated slightly at the Duke’s interrogation-like questioning. Seeing her biting her lower lip, the Duke pressed her again.

“It would be best to cooperate willingly. That way, you might save your life.”

“……”

The Duke never spoke carelessly. He was someone who wouldn’t even entertain impossible matters.

In other words, it meant that the Duke was currently treating her as an ‘attempted murderer of a noble.’

Unconsciously swallowing, Veronica answered him with trembling eyes.

“…I heard the name but forgot it. However, I do know where he resides.”

“How?”

“I arranged for his residence.”

Having said this much, Veronica lowered her head in apparent dejection.

“Good. Then, Veronica, let’s take you aside for a moment. We need to find out where he is staying. Rowena, what about you? Have you decided what to do with the servants?”

At her husband’s considerate question, a faint smile appeared on the duchess’s lips for the first time.

After closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, she slowly nodded and looked at Diane.

“If that’s the way to prevent Idel from getting hurt, then we should do it. I think I’ll postpone the decision for now while Idel recovers.”

Of course, that didn’t mean she would release the servants without any repercussions.