Chapter 36
“Mother already knows, so I’m just trying not to waste ti.”
“Why did you go there?”
“Why else would I go to a pharmacy? It’s because of dicine.”
“If you need any dicine, you only need to tell Raymond. He’ll prescribe it for you after treating you, so why would you go to such a place?”
“I went to ask about so dicine.”
“dicine? What kind?”
“A conception pill.”
“….”
“There’s a rumor that the dicine that the pharmacy I went to has a pretty good effect on pregnancy. I’ve heard about it even before I entered this mansion.”
The words flowed out of freely. As a matter of fact, Walter’s pharmacy was famous for selling redies of one kind or another, so it wasn’t a complete lie.
“Are you going to drink the dicine that such a quack doctor made?”
“Not a quack, a pharmacist. And, I can’t just rely on Raymond forever. Right now, it feels like I’m grasping at straws.”
I ntioned Raymond’s na.
“I’ve been drinking Raymond’s prescription already, but a baby hasn’t been conceived yet.”
I looked Camilla in the eye and said this. “While I’m working to improve Amoide’s health, I thought it would be good to approach this from a different angle, too. That’s why I went there.”
Camilla listened well and lifted her teacup to her lips.
“But, did soone put a tail on ? How undignified.”
Splatter.
At that, Camilla spat her tea onto my face, so of it even going into my mouth.
Drops of tea dribbled down my face and onto the ground.
“I’m fine.”
I reached into my skirt and dabbed my handkerchief over my face, wiping off the tea.
“W-what do you say just now.”
“A tail, why did you—”
“That! Not that!”
“Ah, ‘undignified’?”
“….”
Camilla’s complexion quickly turned red as I repeated the word with more emphasis.
“Tailing another person without their knowledge is never a decent thing to do. Am I mistaken?” Asking that, I tilted my head to the side, shrugging my shoulders.
“Moreover, I didn’t say that about Mother? Soone else must have ordered it. You have no reason to do that, right Mother?”
Backhanded complints—It was a necessary skill to master when dealing with soone stronger.
“You’re the one who lied about your destination,” Camilla rebutted.
“Yes, but if I told you that I was going out for the pills…well. That’s why I told you the usual instead.”
I smiled amiably and lifted my teacup.
“Besides, in the first place, my condition was that I go out once a month, but I never specified where I’d go every ti.”
Of course, it was hardly an outing anyway, and I barely saw my siblings. I just went to my aunt’s house, saw the faces of my younger siblings, spent a little ti with them, then returned to the manor when the sun set.
“Mother gave permission to go out and I returned safely. What’s the problem, then?”
Feigning naivety, I blinked at her as if nothing was truly wrong.
Plus, I never lied, not before and not now.
“Oh, and I decided not to buy the dicine in the end. I only took a look because I was in a hurry, and as Mother said, I thought I should trust Raymond more. Mother’s right, it was thoughtless of ,” I added earnestly.
“….”
Camilla stared down at for a long ti.
There really wasn’t anything wrong with what I did. In addition, Camilla wasn’t saying anything because she knew that I wouldn’t do any of what she was worried about.
But, she was in a bad mood.
Whenever she stared at like this, I was reminded of how desperate she beca whenever it ca to her son.
The pressure she exuded always made it hard for to breathe.
Knock, knock.
After the long silence ca a sudden knock on the door.
Greta ca in with a tray. As she placed a teacup onto the table, Camilla’s gaze shifted away.
Fortunately, her intrusion gave a chance to breathe, so I hurriedly lifted a teacup and placed a hand over my chest.
“The tea tastes really good. Is this also brewed by Greta?”
“…Yes.”
Greta looked at with confusion in her eyes, answering slowly.
“Well, there’s no one here who could match Greta’s tea brewing skills,” Camilla said, and I grinned at her complint towards the maid.
Greta was Camilla’s maid from even before she married into the Efret household, which was why she was the only one who could cater to Camilla’s particular palate.
Because of that, Greta’s word was absolute amongst the maids. It would be bad if any of them caught her attention, because once Greta’s eyes turned to them, they would be kicked out imdiately.
“It is said that a maid resembles her master. You must have learned a lot while you’ve been serving soone as graceful as Mother, even before she got married.”
I had yet to grease my tongue, but the words were flowing out smoothly.
Opposite , Camilla had a peculiar expression as she watched speak. It was probably the first ti I flattered her like this, so her confusion was understandable.
It was also because I didn’t know what else to do in this strange household.
It was a matter of life and death, so I had little choice in the matter.
“It’s such a blessing to have you here, Greta. I can’t believe soone as talented as you have stayed so fateful by Mother’s side.”
Greta’s eyes widened, then she exchanged glances with Camilla.
“Thank you for the complint, Young Madam.”
“It’s my pleasure. Serving your master well is Greta’s specialty.”
I smiled.
“You follow Mother’s orders well.”
Greta responded with an equally bright smile. “Of course. It is my duty.”
It was a smile I’d never seen before, even after she’d been giving dicine all the ti.
‘Ah, because she’s in front of Camilla…’
No matter how much she ignored , she still couldn’t do that in front of Camilla, since she might think less of the maid if she did that here. However, even so, thanks to Greta’s apathy, I’d been ignored in places Camilla couldn’t see.
‘Was it you who put a tail on ?’
I couldn’t tell who ordered it.
During the incident with the snake last ti, it reached Camilla’s ears right away, and the only one capable of achieving that was Greta or the head butler.
Nonetheless, Camilla wasn’t on comfortable terms with the Head Butler since he’d been serving Amoide’s father.
Hence, it was obvious that Greta was the one who put a tail on —watching all my actions, following wherever I went.
That was the result of Camilla giving Greta free reign.
I couldn’t let go of what little temporary power Camilla bestowed upon over Amoide’s health. I would try hard to interfere between Camilla and Greta so I could raise a white flag for myself.
“By the way, Jean’s new kitchen will be finished soon. I’m so grateful that you allowed it so that Amoide’s als can be prepared in a much more pleasant environnt.”
“It’s for my son, so you have nothing to be thankful for. Don’t cross the line.”
“Yes, of course. We all have our own roles.”
I glanced sideways towards Greta.
“It’s a place where food is being prepared, so I pushed for the renovation to keep the food clean, and there were so people who were against it, but Mother’s support helped a lot. It must have been hard to follow my instructions, hm, Greta?”
“…Yes.”
“Greta, you’re being awfully quiet today.”
“Pardon?”
“You said a lot of things about the kitchen last ti. As expected, you realized the distinction between the places you can and cannot interfere with. Now, I understand why Mother cherishes you so much.”
Greta’s expression gradually darkened, as if she were swallowing sothing bitter.
“Then, I’ll be off to visit Amoide.”
Finishing my words, I stood up, pushing myself off the chair. Now that I’d said everything I had to say, it’s ti to leave the stage.
“He must have been bored all day without by his side, maybe.”
* * *
On the way to Amoide’s room, I saw that the garden I needed to passed through to get there was turned upside down. Most of the ruined foliage were the thick bushes or the plants at the rear of the garden.
Shovels of soil were piled up here and there, and a large net was installed.
“Oh, Milady.”
Coulton, the butler, bowed to when he saw .
Even with a head full of white hair, he still continued to work in this estate, managing the entire household.
“Coulton, what’s going on?”
“We’re looking for snakes.”
“Snakes?”
“There’s a hunt for them within the estate. Under Camilla’s instruction, the servants and gardeners are looking for them.”
“Oh…”
“It’s an order to capture every single one of them, so they don’t have a chance to crawl out.”
The old butler’s face looked pretty tired. I could understand his fatigue, seeing how much fuss Camilla was making.
“But, how are you doing it?”
“The first thing we did was place a net over the places where there’s likely a snake so that its actions are limited. Then, we lure it out with strawberry juice. It’s easier to capture them together like that.”
I could see gardeners carrying jugs of strawberry juice and spraying them near the net.
“That way, it’s easier to catch them all at once.”
“I guess so,” I said as I nodded.
Suddenly, it beca noisy in another part of the garden.
“They must have caught one.”
Just as Coulton guessed, the gardeners were startled by the sudden appearance of a snake, then they picked it up with thick branches and put it in a sack.
Just the thought of it gave goosebumps.
“It may be dangerous in this area while we’re catching them, so please refrain from taking walks here with the Master for a while.”
“…All right.”
I took a look at the sack one last ti.
The leather sack was shaking wildly because the snake was still alive.
I hurriedly looked away and exited the garden.
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