Chapter 36

Chapter 36

“Mother already knows, so I’m just trying not to waste time.”

“Why did you go there?”

“Why else would I go to a pharmacy? It’s because of medicine.”

“If you need any medicine, 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 some medicine.”

“Medicine? What kind?”

“A conception pill.”

“….”

“There’s a rumor that the medicine 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 me freely. As a matter of fact, Walter’s pharmacy was famous for selling remedies of one kind or another, so it wasn’t a complete lie.

“Are you going to drink the medicine 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 mentioned Raymond’s name.

“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 someone put a tail on me? How undignified.”

Splatter.

At that, Camilla spat her tea onto my face, some 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? Someone else must have ordered it. You have no reason to do that, right Mother?”

Backhanded compliments—It was a necessary skill to master when dealing with someone 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 time.”

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 time with them, then returned to the manor when the sun set.

“Mother gave me 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 medicine 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 me,” I added earnestly.

“….”

Camilla stared down at me for a long time.

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 me like this, I was reminded of how desperate she became whenever it came to her son.

The pressure she exuded always made it hard for me to breathe.

Knock, knock.

After the long silence came a sudden knock on the door.

Greta came in with a tray. As she placed a teacup onto the table, Camilla’s gaze shifted away.

Fortunately, her intrusion gave me 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 me 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 compliment 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 immediately.

“It is said that a maid resembles her master. You must have learned a lot while you’ve been serving someone as graceful as Mother, even before she got married.”

I had yet to grease my tongue, but the words were flowing out smoothly.

Opposite me, Camilla had a peculiar expression as she watched me speak. It was probably the first time 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 someone 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 compliment, 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 me medicine all the time.

‘Ah, because she’s in front of Camilla…’

No matter how much she ignored me, 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 me?’

I couldn’t tell who ordered it.

During the incident with the snake last time, 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 me—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 me 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 meals can be prepared in a much more pleasant environment.”

“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 some people who were against it, but Mother’s support helped me 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 time. 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 something 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 time to leave the stage.

“He must have been bored all day without me 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 me when he saw me.

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 became 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 me 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 time.

The leather sack was shaking wildly because the snake was still alive.

I hurriedly looked away and exited the garden.