I gestured for them to raise their hands, but the maids were only slightly agitated, and no one raised their hands.
I see, you donât want to quit⊠âŠ.
Originally, they wanted to leave my side to the extent that they wanted to quit, but no one raised their hand. I wasnât sure if I should be happy or sad about this.
Then thereâs nothing I can do. Having thought ahead of time in the event that no one wants to quit, I cleared my throat to come up with a suggestion. But someone quickly intervened first.
âMay I dare you to ask why youâre curious about that, lady?â
It was Susan. Susan was the only one who wasnât even shaken by my words. She seemed to be curious about my intention because she was skilled in many ways.
But what are you saying? I canât even say I have to cut one of you to avoid a penalty. In the end, I fumbled.
âAh, well, something came up and I had to fire one person, but I was wondering if anyone wanted to⊠âŠâ
The maids were greatly agitated by my words this time. Except for Susan.
One of the maids, Lyn, covered her mouth with both hands and asked.
âWhyâŠâŠwhat is the reason, lady? Do you really, really, really have to fire one of us?â
âTh, that⊠âŠâ
âDo I have to quit even if I donât want to?â
Laura asked this time. It wasnât that I didnât understand their feelings, so I couldnât say more. But I had to tell them.
âEveryone must have been surprised by the sudden words, I understand. Instead, we will give you severance pay and unemployment benefits as much as the sudden dismissalâŠ.â
⊠⊠Yeah, that was all I thought about this morning. Giving money to a person who has been cut off.
If I were a maid, I wondered how I could be cut off less unpleasantly, but I also couldnât think of anything except money.
The maids became a little quiet. That said, they still had puzzled expressions that like they couldnât understand this situation.
My heart was weakened by that expression, so I opened my mouth to say something, but then shut it.
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In fact, no one wanted to be fired. It was because they were the people I had spent a lot of time with since I was possessed. No matter what they thought of me, I arbitrarily attached affection to them.
âShould I just fail the first mission and aim for the second and third missions? Last time I saw that if I failed one mission, it would be enough if I was sick for 12 hoursâŠ.â
I opened my eyes at the sudden thought.
âWhy didnât I think of this?â
Yeah, not a week, not a day, just 12 hours! Letâs not do this mission!
âBut what if the 2nd and 3rd missions are all nonsense?â
Eyy, what the heck, damn. Iâll just be sick for a week then! Itâs not like Iâm going to die⊠!
I suddenly thought of the seppuku penalty, but I tried to ignore it and tore the dismissal letter I was holding. So, kids? Letâs just quit. Letâs pretend it never happened.
But before I could tear, I heard a light sigh.
It was a very faint sound, but I didnât miss it and turned my head.
It was Susan who let out a sigh. For some reason, Susan erased even the mechanical smile she had been making and lowered her head slightly.
Su, Susan, this situation is so irritating that it erased her constant smile. Well⊠⊠I found out when I saw Susanâs application, she had worked at the mansion ten years ago.
In other words, she must have seen the evil heart of the girl she served the most over the past decade. So she must be exhausted too. Thatâs what happened today.
Now that Iâm going to show you how Iâve changed, so sheâll gradually change too.
It was the moment when I tried to tell Susan that I was sorry for making this sudden decision, and that I would pretend it didnât happen, so donât worry too much. Susan spoke up this time.
âI really donât understand the situation.â
âHuh? Ah, Iâm sorry, Susan. Iâll just quitâŠâ
âSorry⊠What?â
Susan asked again with an expression that seemed to have heard me wrong. Then she laughed. NoâŠ
She laughed mockingly.
At that ridicule, My body stiffened and I blinked my eyes. Susan continued.
âMay I ask you a question, lady?â
â⊠⊠.â
âI havenât appeared in front of you in the past month. Do you know why?â
âWhatâŠ?â
âYou wouldnât know. Then lady, youâve never washed your face with warm water while I was with you, did you know that?â
I couldnât understand at once what she was talking about. I just stared blankly at Susan and clenched my fists. My heart started beating in a bad way.
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âYou donât even know that. Otherwise, you wouldnât have told me to prepare warm water this morning. Then you know what? That the young lady never once mentioned His Excellencyâs name? What about throwing a vase at me immediately upon entering the ladyâs room? The fact that the lady wasnât interested in whether or not I scolded the maid⊠You wouldnât know.â
â⊠âŠâ
âBecause youâre not the lady.â
Thud.
All I could hear was Susanâs raging voice and my rapidly beating heart.
I tried to find a solution quickly, trying to backtrack like a hedgehog that tried to protect itself by erecting thorns immediately when attacked.
What should I say? Should I say that I actually have amnesia⊠? Then why am I saying that now?
It sounded like someone was shouting. Do you think such a lie would work for Susan?
âFor the past month, when I was staying in my room as the lady orderedâŠ.. I heard a rumor. Rumor has it that the lady has changed beyond recognition. Of course, I thought you were playing a new game.â
The word game reminded me of last night. Susan, who was standing in a dark hallway with the lights almost turned off, asked what kind of game this was.
âDefinitely, the appearance of the lady I havenât seen in a long time looks really different like rumors. As if youâre a new person. But I didnât think much about it. I thought you were just playing another gameâŠâŠ .â
Susan put her hands together and put them on her cheek with a puzzled expression.
âBut the young lady continued to play even when I was alone with her. So I was suspicious. Is this the girl I knew?â
â⊠âŠâ
âHuhu. Judging by the look on your face, I think Iâm right.â
The worry didnât last long. If it were her, she would have been angry with the maid who doubted her.
I pressed Susan urgently.
âNow, are you saying such nonsense without thinking that Iâve changed over the past? Itâs very rude⊠!â
âNo, if you were the lady I served, no matter how much you changed, you would have hit me on the neck without hesitation when I act rudely.â
â⊠âŠâ
âYes. Of course, even that could have changed. One day, suddenly, you may change, as if you were someone else, which is very rare, but of course.â
Susan said sarcastically and approached me slowly, one step at a time.
TL/N: YO she creeping me out and leaving me on edge
Itâs just a person. A person who doesnât even have a weapon in her hand. Even though she is shorter than me, even though she is not a threat at all.
That woman approaching me just felt creepy. A red alarm sounded in my head because it was dangerous.
Susan, who had finally come closer, uttered quietly.
âBut, fake lady. There is a reason why I am so sure that you are not my master.â
â⊠⊠.â
âMy master never called me by name.â
â⊠⊠.â
âIn ten years, not once.â
Susan laughed again. It was as if the twinkling eyes between the curved eyes were strangling me little by little.
âSo thatâs what I mean, lady. Who is the lady?â
â⊠âŠâ
âWhy are you in that body?â
PLEASE Read only at PM Translations
I stopped breathing at the words she asked with conviction.
I couldnât think of anything. This situation went beyond embarrassment and felt frightening.
Who is it? Why are you in that body?
Why do I, I need to hear that. And whyâŠ.
You canât answer that easily, can you?
In an instant, I realized that I was taking things too easily that I entered someoneâs body. I only thought that others would see my change and think it was strange, but I didnât know that they would question that I was a different person.
âYou havenât answered me.â
At the moment I was lost in my thoughts, Susan smiled knowingly.
âOr are you using magic to pretend to be the master? If so, where is my master?â
That, how do I know that. Me, too. I was dead, and when I opened my eyes, I came into this body without knowing what was going on.
Even if I die, she doesnât know my circumstances, she stared at me for a while and then turned her head. The four other maids who suddenly caught Susanâs gaze flinched.
âYou guys have a problem, too. I canât believe you didnât even notice this fake posing as a lady while I was away. Can you say that you are a maid who supports the lady closely?â
âItâs not thatâŠâ
âOr? Are you silent even though you know it? Donât tell me Itâs because you think that a woman who doesnât even know the basics is better than the lady.â
The four maids looked at each other. They couldnât speak easily. They didnât seem to understand how to accept this situation.
It was a time when my heart was heavy and I lowered my head. Handelâs shrill voice cut through.
âI think itâs not us thatâs the problem, but the chief maid. Youâre telling the lady that sheâs fake.â
When I doubted my ears because I couldnât believe that Handel, not anyone else, had argued back, a startling cracking sound resounded.
Surprised, I looked up and found Handel lying on the floor. Covering her cheeks like yesterday.
What?
I saw Susan with her hand raised nearby. In that moment, I knew everything about what was going on.
âWhat are you doing!â
Stunned by my shout, Susan lowered her hand.
âDonât mind me. Iâm teaching because sheâs being naughty.â
âI told you not to hit anyone yesterdayâŠ!â
âYes, you did.â
Susan smiled naturally. Then he politely put his hands together and tilted his head.
âBut I only listen to the master.â
âWhatâŠ?â
âBy the way, I wonder what your Excellency is thinking. Thereâs no way he doesnât know that youâre not the master.â
Susan grinned as she mumbled.
âJust in case, I should tell your Excellency.â
Susan turns around and grabs Handel by the hair as if this was all she wanted to say. I blankly looked at Susanâs back and, as if possessed, approached and grabbed her wrist.
Susan looked at me calmly. Facing dry eyes like glass marbles somewhere, I bit my lip.
Iâm a fool for not considering that there will be people who will be suspicious like Susan. I thought it was too easy to enter someone elseâs body.
Just like the novels I read every night, I thought I could act like anything even if I ended up entering someone elseâs body.
I thought that if I showed a 180 degrees-changed figure, everything would be easily resolved. As long as everyone who hated and feared Renee Blair would open their hearts⊠âŠ
But it wasnât.
Still. StillâŠ
Even if I go back to the first day I entered this body, I have no intention of changing my behavior.
Even if I go back to the first day, I wonât follow the mission. Iâll act equally kind, and Iâll show you how Iâve changed.
It was a dreamlike scene. The dream-like moment of sitting on a cliff under a dark but dense night sky studded with stars and eating bread from a basket with a child.