Camilla retorted blankly, looking at me like I had thrown a forkball.
“You.”
“Even if it seems like I changed from before, it’s not because I’ve gone insane.”
I let out a sigh, then I talked with a hushed voice.
“I just want to save my husband, and I want to give Mother a cute grandchild. It’s a positive change, it’s not because I’ve become crazy.”
Despite my quiet tone, Camilla replied in a stabbing tone.
“Where did you hear that? If it was Raymond then—”
“It’s about my own health, so I have the right to know. You don’t need to blame Raymond.” I stood up from my seat. “Then, I’ll be on my way.”
As soon as I left the room, a deep sigh left my lips.
“Huu.”
Rona, who was waiting outside the door, quickly came to my side.
“Milady, are you alright? Why were there other noblewomen here?”
“Well, I’m curious about that too. Why was I called here?”
Camilla’s dumbfounded expression as she saw me lingered in my mind.
“Rona, what’s the name of the maid who came to get me earlier?”
“Well, I’m not sure…”
“You don’t know?”
“I think she’s a new maid. Shall I go and find out?”
“No need.”
Her traces probably got covered already. Either she left by herself, or someone else cleaned up after.
“What a great maid.”
As I clicked my tongue, a look of astonishment gradually filled Rona’s face.
“D-D-Don’t tell me… Head maid Greta intentionally…”
“Shush.” I lowered my voice and whispered, “We don’t know who’s listening.”
“Yes, Milady.” Rona’s voice also dropped to a hush.
“Let’s go back for now.”
At least I knew one thing for sure.
I really don’t have anyone on my side in this mansion. And Greta’s hostility towards me was worse than I thought.
“You look exhausted, Milady,” Rona said anxiously as she handed over a heated towel.
“Yeah.” I exhaled deeply as the towel was placed over my face.
The steam relieved some of the stress I’d been feeling since the start of the tea party.
As Rona arranged the sheets and pillows on my bed, she asked, “Do you still have nightmares lately, Milady?”
“…Sometimes.”
I lifted a hand to place on the back of my neck. It felt like the tension on my neck was enough to make it break in half.
“But it’s less frequent these days.”
Clearly, my nightmares were decreasing. Back then, I had such terrible dreams almost every night, but it wasn’t as often anymore.
I noticed that they lessened exactly when my relationship with Amoide improved on the surface.
I just hope this was a good sign.
“The kettle is empty. I’ll step out for a while to fill it up, Milady.”
I could hear Rona carrying the teapot that was placed at the table near my bed. With my back supported by a cushion, I sighed deeply once more.
I couldn’t get it out of my mind… what I heard at the tea party.\nAt the count of three, I flung the hot towel at the snake.
Fortunately, the snake got hit squarely on the face, so it lost its balance and flipped over. Then, Rona ran over to catch it in the pillowcase.
“Kyaaaak!”
Rona screamed and screamed as she held the wildly rocking pillowcase. Every time the snake thrashed inside, her screams grew even louder.
At the sound of her screaming, footsteps could be heard coming closer from outside.
“What’s going on… Gah!”
A servant came rushing and saw the wriggling pillowcase, and was instantly frozen in place. The same was true with the maids who came over as they were still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.
As soon as they saw the pillowcase, they screamed one after another an octave higher like piano keys being hit.
“S-Somebody take this off my hands!”
Rona was running around with the pillowcase, but nobody was willing to take it from her. It was the same for me. All I could do was sit on the bed in a state of shock as I watched Rona flail.
It took a while for everyone to come back to their senses.