Chapter 32: Chapter 31 - Villainess Rival... Very Villainess
Shrriinngg...
Shrriinngg...
It was midday, as the sun shone brightly, emitting its blazing heat that damaged a woman’s skin. A soft knock sounded at the door of a luxurious room.
In the deepest part of Duke Adelheid Von Blutfeld’s mansion, there is a special room that is off-limits to everyone. This room is used by the nobles who visit Duke Adelheid Von Blutfeld’s residence. As a Duke, second only to the King and Queen in rank, the guests who visit Duke Adelheid Von Blutfeld’s residence naturally have unusual backgrounds. One of those visitors is Marchioness Shinano VII Lichtberg.
Her calm exterior, reminiscent of a mature woman who doesn’t want to cause trouble, is a far cry from the rumors. This calm and unconcerned demeanor is in keeping with her formidable magical abilities. Outwardly, she appears like a harmless cat, but underneath, she hides venomous fangs ready to be used at any moment.
Realizing the danger potential she was in, the girl who served as Head Maid knocked on the door again. This time, she did so slowly, trying not to disturb anything on the other side.
Craaack...
The door she knocked on opened slowly and revealed a figure behind the door, which felt intimidating for a Head Maid who was get used to serving high-ranking nobles.
"Oh my... You don’t usually knock on the door so awkwardly, Mell."
The soft voice sounded, shaking the Head Maid’s heart as she prepared herself to step inside.
"Some issues are going on, Duchess."
The short, troubled answer was heard, making the Duchess smile faintly and give a small signal to enter her room immediately.
Tap...
Tap...
With gentle, cautious steps, the Head Maid walked inside. She passed through the opulent door and saw something she shouldn’t have seen.
Right inside the room she entered, an intricate magic circle formation was spinning in the center of the room and showing a moving image that she had seen before.
"There’s been some trouble, huh?"
"Let me guess, it’s about Liliana, who can cast magic and is having a hard time dealing with... two Masters who have become her responsibility as a apprentice maid?" said the Duchess, playing up her tone as if she were joking with her.
Just looking at the magic circle in the center of the room and the moving image of Liliana struggling with something was enough to make the Head Maid speechless.
"Yes, Duchess..."
"I would like to report a matter regarding Liliana and the dispute between the two Young Miss... who is somehow very interested in Liliana," the Head Maid replied, keeping her tone even.
The Head Maid already knew her report would sound futile to the Duchess. However, the verbal report had to be delivered immediately to the Duchess for a formal report. Even though the Duchess already knew about it, she needed to hear the report and the testimony of a Head Maid she trusted.
"Liliana is really sinful, isn’t she?"
"She has hidden such extraordinary talent..."
"Fufu~ I had already suspected this. Because Liliana’s personality is always calm when facing bullying from Reina."
The Head Maid’s face fell after hearing Duchess Adelheid Von Blutfeld’s words.
"Oh, I think I misspoke."
"That’s not a calm personality but... Liliana already knows she won’t survive if she makes Reina an enemy," said the Duchess with a faint smirk on her face.
"Pretty clever for her young age, huh?" the Duchess remarked, glancing at the moving image of Liliana in distress.
The magic circle in the center of the room didn’t just showing up Liliana action, and its sheer size certainly drained a significant amount of magical resources.
However, that didn’t seem to be a major issue for Marchioness Shinano VII Lichtberg.
"Looks like you’ve found some talented people again," with a calm tone and gentle eyes, Marchioness Shinano Vii Lichtberg butted in on the Duchess’s important conversation with her Head Maid.
"I didn’t know Liliana had this kind of talent; it was just a pure coincidence," the Duchess replied, smiling at her.
"Coincidence, you say? It’s no coincidence... that my beloved daughter is also interested in your maid. Since I am the mother who gave birth to her, I will say one important thing. Amagi has a bad attitude about possession something... that has caught her attention. So, I cannot guarantee Liliana’s safety."
"That’s just an excuse for you to escape responsibility as her mother, right?"
"Not really, I will take responsibility for all my responsibility as Marchioness. But when it comes to my daughter’s bad nature of not giving up easily on something... I prefer to run away from that’s responsibilities, though."
"Is Amagi... so scary when serious?" the Duchess asked, tilting her head and trying to understand the Marchioness’s words.
"If you knew... You would have done the same thing to run."
"Compared to Reina’s unruly behavior and behavior as a noble lady, which one is worse?" the Duchess asked jokingly with a chuckle.
"Of course, my daughter is the one who’s worse off, Hahaha!!" the Marchioness exclaimed, laughing cheerfully and covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
The Head Maid, witnessing this, remained silent and refrained from commenting. Deep within, she sensed something was amiss within the minds of the Duchess she served and the Marchioness as her guest. Her expression remained impassive, maintaining the calm demeanor of an elegant and obedient Head Maid.
"I said that for a reason..."
"Do you still remember the fire incident at the Royal Palace Library?" asked the Marchioness as she snapped her fingers and conjured a new magic circle formation.
Snap!!
With a loud snap of the fingers, a magic circle formation showing moving images was created in the middle of the room.
"Of course, I still remember it clearly. It was an impossible fire incident inside the Royal Palace. The place which was protected by fire-preventing magic and water magic mechanisms installed in every room."
"Yes, from the outside it looked safe. However, that security was broken by my daughter, who was upset after being thrown out of the Royal Palace Library." While saying that, the magic circle formation cast by the Marchioness showed a unique event.
The magic circle formation in the center of the room showed a moving image of a little girl being dragged out of the Royal Palace Library, her body thrown violently, and the door of the Royal Palace Library being forcibly locked.
The moving image then moved, showing the little girl carrying a mysterious plant, inserting the mysterious plant into the gap between the door locks, and leaving with a satisfied smile.
"Umm, Shinano..."
"This isn’t what I thought, is it?"
Snap!!
Without giving the Duchess a chance to answer the question, the moving picture cuts to a terrifying scene, where someone who responsible for opening the locked door of the Royal Palace Library suddenly ignites a small fire coming from the keyhole.
Causing a serious fire in the Royal Palace Library.
"..." The Duchess was speechless after seeing that.
"It seems Reina has a rival... quite a formidable one to keep Liliana," the Duchess continued after a moment of silence.