Reniqa sniffled as if asking what she meant by that. I couldn't understand her words, but a strange fear began to rise in my heart. Suddenly, I felt a chill run through my body. I clasped my arms.
"As you know, this is the Count's mansion, where the management of servants is strict. Originally, male and female servants are not supposed to have personal contact. That's one of the rules we must follow while working here. They say frequent contact can lead to improper thoughts. In fact, such incidents have happened many times, and this time was no different."
"......"
"Do you understand?"
What do you mean? I couldn't speak, only opening my mouth slightly. She seemed to sense my confusion and her face contorted as if she were about to cry.
"All our actions are under surveillance."
"......"
"If we break the established rules and there's no chance of returning to normal during the given grace period, that's the end. The two people who disappeared didn't leave by choice, you know. It's because they secretly met again during the grace period given by the butler."
She said the person who reported the two meeting secretly was a servant who shared a room with them. If someone reports a servant during the grace period, the reporter gets a reward. Then what about the reported person?
"The two people disappeared suddenly."
"......!"
"And yesterday, a maid who shared a room with me said that one of the servants, while running an errand for the butler and returning from outside, saw suspicious people near the mansion. Their faces were covered, so it was impossible to know who they were, but they seemed to be a group of men. They were carrying something that looked like... a person."
Reniqa paused to catch her breath. There was no need to ask what she meant. Her sobs that followed answered the question.
"The missing maid was someone who helped me a lot. She was a kind person. She came to work here to pay off her family's debt. She always wore a bracelet made of thread, which her mother had woven, and its unique shape was known to everyone. But it was rolling around where those people were standing."
"......"
"Who could have done this to them? You know who, don't you."
She was right. Thinking about the last moments of the maid and the servant who had secretly loved each other, a few figures came to mind. It wasn't Vincent. He doesn't care about managing his subordinates.
"Paula, listen to me. Don't draw attention to yourself. Don't stand out. Live quietly, just like the other servants, following the rules. That's the only way we can survive in this mansion. We are the lowest class, and if we die, no one will notice."
She wiped her face with her apron, but the tears kept flowing, covering her face.
"Don't forget. If a servant like us falls out of favor with the high-ranking people in the mansion, there will be no more peace. I'm not talking about the master. He doesn't care about servants like us. Be careful of someone lower than him but with equal power to the master."
Reniqa warned me with her tear-streaked face. I couldn't say anything as I looked at her.
* * *
I left the Bellunita mansion earlier than planned. It was because an intruder had entered the mansion. Although it was late at night and everyone was asleep, the security had been recently strengthened, yet no one knew how the intruder got in.
It was a late night, and everyone was asleep, but I couldn't fall asleep. I tossed and turned all night. Finally, I gave up on sleeping and got up to get a drink of water, only to be startled. A black shadow flickered on the transparent curtain.
At first, I thought I had seen it wrong. I wanted to believe it was a dream. I had left the window open because it was stuffy tonight, but I never imagined someone would enter through the balcony. The moment I saw a dark human shape clearly through the fluttering curtain, my hand, which was fumbling for a cup, knocked it over.
Bang! The sound of the cup breaking echoed in the room. Taking that as a signal, I jumped out of bed and ran towards the door. But before I could take a few steps, I was grabbed by the shoulder by the dark figure. Struggling was useless.
I was pushed against the wall by a strong force. The intruder choked me. In the next instant, something flashed in front of my eyes. Even in the darkness, I realized it was a knife. I was so scared that tears welled up in my eyes.
So this is how I die.
Just as I was about to burst into tears in despair, the door suddenly burst open. Both I and the intruder looked towards the door. Vincent entered the room, feeling his way around, and immediately raised his hand towards us. He was holding a gun.
The moment I realized this, I didn't even think about how he could shoot accurately in the dark. All I could think about was getting out of the intruder's grip. I twisted his fingers that were choking my neck. He groaned and loosened his grip. I took the opportunity to escape and crouched on the floor.
"Ah!"
Gunshots rang out immediately after. They didn't just fire once but repeatedly. I covered my head with both hands and trembled.
The chilling sound of gunfire and the sound of something colliding continued for a while, then suddenly stopped.
I didn't have the courage to check the situation. All I could do was crouch and shiver. After a moment, the sound of footsteps approached and stopped in front of me. Something touched my head. I flinched.
"It's okay."
"Ugh!"
Hearing Vincent's voice, I finally burst into tears. Fear and relief churned in my chest. I couldn't even think about getting up and just sobbed, curled up. He stroked my head as if to comfort me.
The guards, who heard the gunshots, rushed into my room. When they asked what had happened, I stopped crying and looked up. I didn't want them to notice Vincent's condition... Fortunately, the room was dark, and Vincent skillfully reported the intrusion.
Other servants might have heard the gunshots and come. I tried to calm myself and headed to Vincent's room with him.
As soon as we entered the room, I collapsed onto the bed. My mind, which had been chaotic just a moment ago, was now blank. What had happened to me felt like a dream. But the sharp pain in my neck, which had been choked, reminded me it wasn't.
While I was sitting there, touching my neck, I felt movement beside me. Glancing over, I saw him pouring water into a cup. But he missed the cup and poured water into his hand. Seeing the water soak his hand and arm, I snapped back to reality.
"I'll do it."
"It's fine."
He finally managed to pour the water and handed me the cup, sitting beside me. I hastily drank the water that was almost overflowing from the cup. The cool water seemed to soothe my heart.
While sipping the remaining water, I glanced at Vincent, who was fumbling for his gun. It was a familiar object. It was the one he had pointed at me during our struggle.
Thinking about what had just happened, I realized how dangerous his actions were. Shooting a gun when you can't see... What if he had hit me? Although my scream had revealed my position, it was still too risky.
But Vincent shot without any hesitation. He must have been a good shot, as he had claimed.
I sniffled as I looked at him.
"How did you know to come?"
"I heard the noise."
"You said you didn't have any bullets."
"I never said that."
"Then why didn't you shoot before?"
"Shooting someone just because I'm in a bad mood would make me look crazy."
His normal response surprised me in a different way.
A moment later, Isabella entered the room. She looked at Vincent with concern.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. It seems the intruder climbed in through the balcony, which was left open. There were guards around, though."
"The guards are currently searching the room. I'll also check with the guards around here immediately."
But those guards had already been killed. The guards around the annex where Vincent stayed were said to be the most skilled in the Count's household. The fact that they were eliminated and the intruder managed to get in suggested that the assassin was no ordinary person.
The assassin who was shot by Vincent and fled was found in the forest not far from the annex. It seemed he had taken poison and committed suicide after the assassination attempt failed. In the end, we couldn't find out who had hired him. But I didn't need to find out who would hire an assassin to kill a mere maid.
As soon as the morning light broke, Vincent instructed me to leave the mansion immediately. I spent the morning tidying his room as usual and preparing to leave after serving him. Then I said goodbye to the servants I knew. The carriage arrived a little after noon.
Vincent didn't see me off. He said he didn't want to act like we were parting forever when we would meet again. I agreed with him.
Instead, Isabella accompanied me. After I got into the carriage, she sat opposite me. Seeing her, I remembered what Reniqa had said a few days ago.