IWMBS 4

Chapter 4

Thud.

My legs suddenly gave out, and I collapsed right there onto the floor.

‘This place is insane…… Absolutely insane!’

This wasn’t the time to leisurely gather information about the owner of the mansion. I was in a situation where I could have a knife shoved into my neck at any moment!

‘A warning…… right?’

Several days had already passed since I received the first secret letter.

I hadn’t done anything simply because I had no idea what I was supposed to do. But the people who had assigned me the spy mission might have thought I was deliberately ignoring their orders.

‘No, but still!’

How could someone just barge into another person’s room, stab a bloodstained knife into the wall, and leave?!

It’s not like I’d been missing for that long!

A few tears welled up in my eyes.

I’d already been thrown into another world without warning, and I was still struggling to make sense of everything. Having something like this happen on top of that was simply too frightening and upsetting.

“Why does this always happen to me……?”

The only crimes I’d ever committed in my life were things like badmouthing unreasonable customers and complaining about terrible bosses.

This was far too cruel!

Of all the bodies I could have transmigrated into, why did it have to be this one?

If this was a talent, then it was a talent for getting myself into a miserable mess.

“Haa……”

A sigh escaped me, but I couldn’t keep whining forever.

I roughly wiped my tear-stained eyes and firmly stood up. Then I slowly approached the wall where the dagger was embedded.

‘Good grief. Couldn’t you have stabbed it in a little more gently?’

Up close, I could see that more than half of the blade had sunk into the wall.

Grumbling inwardly at the rude nighttime intruder who apparently had plenty of strength but no manners, I grabbed the dagger’s handle with trembling hands and pulled.

“Huh?”

Contrary to my worries, the dagger came out surprisingly easily.

At the same time, the secret letter that had been pinned beneath it dropped helplessly to the floor.

I quickly shoved the bloodstained dagger into a drawer and unfolded the letter.

[Submit your reports once every five days. Until further instructions are given, keep a close watch on the Grand Duke’s movements and nothing else.]

Just as I thought.

The instructions were similar to those in the first secret letter I’d received.

The only difference was that the orders had become a little more specific.

‘Once every five days, huh……’

I’d only ever encountered spies and secret agents through the media. What kind of report could someone like me possibly submit?

My future was already looking bleak.

But what made me feel even more suffocated was the final sentence of the coded message.

[I will be watching you.]

That settled it.

Someone was watching Lillian, and if I didn’t do as they ordered, I could be killed at any moment.

For example, while I was sleeping—

“Wait, but if they have a spy that capable, couldn’t they just use that person instead?”

Why did it have to be Lillian……?

I couldn’t help questioning why they’d chosen someone who was so clumsy at being a maid to work as a spy.

But for now, I’d have to put that question aside.

There had to be some reason.

Besides, that wasn’t the most important thing at the moment.

‘What should I do?’

Even though I’d worked all kinds of part-time jobs in my previous life, being a spy was something entirely new.

And I didn’t even have any memories of the original owner of this body, Lillian.

‘What if I just tell them I’ve lost my memory and can’t continue working as a spy—’

Wait!

What usually happened to characters who tried to quit in situations like this?

In an instant, images of spies from various movies and TV shows flashed through my mind.

And most of their endings were……

Gulp.

I unconsciously swallowed.

Just imagining the horrible things that could happen made them feel like my own future.

And not some distant future, either.

‘No!’

I couldn’t let myself die meaninglessly in this life, too!

I firmly clenched Lillian’s delicate, soft hands.

It was the moment when the will to survive, which had been quietly dormant inside me, burst into flames.

“Today’s hallway cleaning in the main building—”

“I’ll do it!”

“Ah, and we need some available people to clean the windows in the main building—”

“I’ll do it!”

“Then, after that, in the kitchen—”

“I! Would! Love! To!”

The head maid stared at me strangely as I enthusiastically raised my hand.

The other maids were no different.

“Hey, hey. Have you not woken up properly yet?”

Anna, who was standing beside me, looked horrified as she poked me in the side.

‘Well, I suppose that’s understandable.’

In fact, working in the main building was one of the most dreaded assignments among the maids at the Grand Ducal Residence.

The head maid was already strict, but whenever it came to anything involving the main building, she became especially sensitive.

From the main building’s hallways to the guest rooms and kitchen, even the most capable maids rarely managed to get through a day without being criticized.

Things were so bad that the maids even had a rather depressing joke:

‘When you work in the main building, you have to start working again during everyone else’s break time.’

‘And now I’m volunteering for a place like that……’

For a moment, I felt terribly sorry for myself.

But there was nothing I could do. This was the best option available to me right now.

‘Somehow, I need to stay in the main building so I can find the Grand Duke.’

My target—or rather, the target of the person who had assigned me this spy mission—was none other than the Grand Duke.

However, I knew absolutely nothing about him.

I had no special abilities and no impressive position, either.

‘Then, I’ll start by keeping an eye on the Grand Duke.’

That way, I could at least write a somewhat convincing report, even if it was a fake one.

I stubbornly kept my hand raised, ignoring Anna’s persistent poking.

The head maid quietly looked at me with her usual cold gaze.

“……Very well.”

After a brief silence, she finally gave her permission.

I beamed at her to show how enthusiastic I was about working.

Yes, everything was fine up to this point.

The work was exhausting, and the head maid’s nagging was even more exhausting, but it was still fine.

Compared to my previous life, this was practically a dream working environment.

The problem was……

‘Where on earth are you, Your Grace?!’

I couldn’t find the owner of the mansion anywhere!

He’d supposedly returned to the residence, so why wasn’t he showing up?!

No matter how enormous the Grand Ducal Residence was, it had already been three days.

At this point, I was beginning to wonder whether he was even alive.

“His Grace the Grand Duke seems to be staying in his office all the time.”

“He always did that quite often, but……”

“He must be especially busy this time.”

A few maids whispered among themselves.

I perked up my ears while continuing to wash the dishes.

At least it seemed he was alive and well.

‘Although that doesn’t mean he’ll show up in front of me.’

Even among maids, there was an unspoken hierarchy based on seniority.

The Grand Duke’s private spaces, such as his office and bedroom, were generally managed by senior maids who had worked at the residence for a long time.

In other words, the chances of someone like me, who had only just finished her probationary period, getting to serve the Grand Duke up close were practically zero.

‘Come to think of it, the fact that I even ran into His Grace that day was an incredible coincidence—’

“My goodness, Lillian! The plate!”

“Y-Yes?!”

I’d been lost in thought for a moment, so I jumped in surprise and raised my head.

And then I saw the disaster I’d caused to the plate.

“Gasp!”

A long scratch had appeared right in the middle of the pristine white plate.

“Lillian.”

I was in trouble.

The head chef was already staring in my direction with his burly face.

In the end, I had no choice but to put on a miserable expression and go over to him.

I was definitely going to get scolded.

After all, the damaged plate looked expensive just at a glance.

At least, that’s what I thought.

‘You.’

‘I-I’m sorry!’

‘Enough. Just go to the garden.’

‘Yeees…… Huh?’

But the head chef casually handed me a basket.

It was the snack basket that was delivered to the gardener every day.

Caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, I could only blink at him.

The head chef then gave me a sly wink with his usual intimidating eyes.

After that, he silently mouthed a few words.

‘It’s a secret.’

Sir……!

I’d grown quite close to the head chef recently because I’d been working in the kitchen so often.

But I hadn’t expected him to look after me this much!

With deeply moved eyes, I gratefully accepted the snack basket.

And so, here I was.

“I wonder where the gardener is?”

I was wandering around near the garden.

Since delivering snacks to the gardener wasn’t normally my responsibility, I had no idea where he might be.

‘Well, he must be somewhere around here.’

I slowly walked along, looking around.

Just then—

‘Hm?’

I spotted a woman I’d never seen before.

She was dressed in an elegant, luxurious purple dress and was strolling through the garden all by herself, without anyone escorting her.

Her graceful movements reminded me of a butterfly.

‘Who is she?’

Out of habit, I tilted my head slightly.

As it happened, the woman turned her gaze in my direction, and our eyes met.

“Wow……”

An exclamation escaped my lips before I even realized it.

Perhaps she wasn’t a butterfly after all.

She must have been a fairy.

As I stood there staring blankly at her, she smiled and waved her hand.

Gently, back and forth—

It was a greeting from a fairy to me.

And, as though bewitched, I waved back.