IWMBS 2

Chapter 2

“Haaah……”

In the end, I couldn’t get a wink of sleep.

I rubbed the dark circles that had formed beneath my eyes and let out a deep sigh. Seeing this, Anna, who was standing beside me, approached.

“What’s wrong? Is something bothering you?”

Anna, the girl who had been there when I first opened my eyes after transmigrating, still seemed worried about Lillian.

“No, it’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep very well……”

I trailed off and waved my hand as if it were no big deal.

Even though something very much was bothering me.

‘W-Wait, no! Right? Tell me that’s not true, Lillian!’

Last night.

Because of a single secret letter I found in Lillian’s room, my plans for a new life had completely fallen apart.

‘Lillian, who I thought was an ordinary maid, was actually a spy?’

That meant I was a spy now!

Unable to accept this unbelievable reality, I tried to deny it first.

‘Come on, there’s no way……’

With that innocent-looking face, she looked like someone who couldn’t even hurt an ant.

Hadn’t the other maids testified to that just the other day? Although she was a little shy around people, she was a kind girl who often helped others with their work.

‘That’s right! Just because she received a suspicious piece of paper doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a spy!’

While my rational mind desperately tried to come up with hopeful explanations, my instincts had already taken control of my body and were thoroughly searching Lillian’s room.

And as a result……

I discovered two finely sharpened daggers, a dark purplish liquid that appeared to be poison, various other concealed weapons, and even a piece of black cloth.

No matter how you looked at it, those were spy-like possessions.

‘I seriously want to cry……’

A few tears welled up in my eyes.

Wasn’t all the hardship I went through in my previous life enough? Now I had to work two jobs here, too? And as a spy, of all things?

For someone as timid as me, this was far too cruel.

I was the kind of person who always prayed to get the innocent civilian role whenever I played Mafia!

Sliiide—

Meanwhile, as time passed, the writing on the secret letter disappeared as though it had been waiting for the right moment.

It seemed to have been written with special ink, and the fact that even this was so spy-like only made me feel more miserable.

“Lillian!”

While I was absentmindedly recalling last night’s events, Anna called my name again. Then, she promptly took the broom out of my hands.

“Good grief, this won’t do. Go wash your face or something.”

Anna waved her hand, urging me to hurry along.

Her tone was a little gruff, but I knew this was her own way of showing concern.

“Thanks! I’ll be right back!”

My mind had been in a complete mess all morning anyway, so this worked out perfectly.

I quickly headed in the direction Anna had shown me.

It was what you might call a shortcut that avoided running into the head maid.

Click, click.

The sound of my shoes echoed through the quiet corridor.

Since everyone was busy working at this hour, there wasn’t a single person in the hallway leading to the annex.

‘It was to the right here, wasn’t it?’

The Pelliam Grand Ducal Residence, located in the capital, consisted of the main building, two annexes, and a garden.

The main building was, quite literally, where the owner of the mansion, Grand Duke Pelliam, resided. It was also where Anna and I had been busy cleaning just moments ago.

On either side of it stood the East Annex and the West Annex.

The knights used the East Annex, while the servants, including maids like us, lived in the West Annex.

‘A directionally challenged person wouldn’t stand a chance working here.’

The main building was enormous, and so were the annexes and the garden.

At this point, shouldn’t they honestly call this place a palace rather than a mansion? Maybe then people would at least realize just how huge it was.

‘Anyway……’

Who on earth had left that secret letter yesterday?

Now that I was alone, my thoughts naturally drifted back to that question.

It was only natural. After all, this was a matter that would determine my identity from now on!

‘Did someone sneak in from outside? Or is there another spy here, just like Lillian?’

Perhaps it wasn’t even a person. Maybe it was an animal.

You know, like in movies, where they train birds or rats and use them for secret missions.

‘No, wait.’

There was something I needed to consider before all that.

The most fundamental question at this point was—

‘Who on earth sent this body here as a spy in the first place?!’

Lillian might know, but I certainly didn’t!

My head was starting to throb.

At this rate, I was going to end up working as a spy, doing something completely unsuited to my personality, under someone whose identity I didn’t even know.

‘Should I search Lillian’s room one more time?’

Yesterday had been rather rushed, after all.

If I searched through everything again more carefully, I might be able to find a clue about the person behind all this.

‘That’s right! I’ll start there!’

I clenched my fist with determination and quickened my increasingly sluggish steps.

I needed to hurry back, if only for Anna’s sake. She was probably cleaning all by herself right now.

And then, at that very moment—

‘Hm?’

Lillian’s keen senses picked up an unfamiliar presence.

I reflexively turned my head.

“Ah……”

The first thing that caught my eye was a magnificent head of blond hair.

Under the sunlight, his hair shimmered as though it had been made by melting pure gold.

Below it were delicate and finely sculpted features.

His sharp eyes, straight nose, and slightly pursed lips were so beautiful that he looked as though he’d stepped straight out of a masterpiece.

But more striking than anything else were his eyes.

‘Red……’

His vividly crimson eyes were so breathtakingly intense that I couldn’t take my gaze away from him.

As I stared at him blankly, the man tilted his head and gazed back at me with an unreadable expression.

Then, he slowly opened his mouth.

“How long do you intend to keep staring?”

In an instant, I snapped back to my senses.

I hurriedly lowered my head toward the man.

‘If my guess is correct, this man is……’

Raymond Pelliam, the owner of this mansion and the Grand Duke of Pelliam.

According to the other maids, he was young, handsome, and the kind of man who was most beautiful when admired from afar.

In particular, that last description was what convinced me that this man was the Grand Duke.

‘He’s terrifying!’

He was certainly as beautiful as a sculpture, but somehow, that only made him even more frightening.

His intense gaze and chilly tone of voice certainly didn’t help, either.

Not wanting to offend this terrifying master any further, I hurriedly opened my mouth.

“I-I greet Your Grace, the Grand Duke.”

Y-You idiot!

Why did my tongue have to trip over itself at a moment like this?!

My face instantly grew hot.

I was almost relieved that my head was lowered, so he couldn’t see my expression.

“……”

“……”

The silence that followed felt like fifty minutes, even though it lasted only five seconds.

Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, he spoke.

“I heard there was an accident a few days ago.”

An accident?

His question was rather unexpected, so I cautiously glanced up at the Grand Duke.

Was he talking about the incident where Lillian had fainted?

Or was there some other accident I didn’t know about?

The question was so vague that I couldn’t immediately come up with an answer.

Seeing this, the Grand Duke added another remark.

“You. I’m talking about you.”

Oh, so he was talking about Lillian after all.

It was rather surprising.

I hadn’t expected him to remember a maid who had only been working here for three months.

It seemed he’d just returned after being away from the mansion for some time, so when had he even heard about it?

Admiring his impressive information network, I gave him a brief answer.

“It wasn’t a serious accident, so I recovered quickly.”

Although I’d actually spent two days unconscious before transmigrating into this body.

There was no need to tell the Grand Duke that much.

No, I absolutely mustn’t tell him.

After finishing my answer, I lowered my head again.

‘I hope he leaves soon……’

No matter how handsome he was, a one-on-one conversation with one’s employer was bound to be uncomfortable and awkward.

Besides, I’d already wasted quite a bit of time.

At this rate, I’d feel guilty toward Anna even if I skipped washing my face and went straight back.

While I was thinking about this and shifting my eyes around, the Grand Duke suddenly lowered his posture and asked me a question.

“Are you all right?”

It was an unexpected question.

I hadn’t thought someone who was notorious among the maids for being cold-hearted would actually show concern for me.

Still, it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.

“Yes! I’m perfectly fine.”

I nodded energetically to show him that I really was all right.

At that, the corners of the Grand Duke’s lips lifted slightly.

Well, who would have thought our Grand Duke had such a thoughtful side to him—

“That’s a relief. Having to hire a new maid every time is quite troublesome.”

Excuse me?