"And word has gotten out that Uncle Samuel is safe because of you, so everyone is thankful to you."
"What? Really?"
Anna smiled and nodded.
After all, she had tried to convince me that Samuel couldn't have had a bad heart.
Then she looked around, tugged on my arm, and headed off into the shadows.
She whispered, "Actually, not long ago, a maid named Sabina disappeared."
"What? Disappeared?"
The name Sabina sounded vaguely familiar; I'd heard it from Cliff a while back.
He had told me then that he would promote her if she had a good reputation......!
"What do you mean she's disappeared?"
"Literally. All the stuff is there, but the person is missing."
"Oh my God...... and she still hasn't been found?"
"Yes. But more importantly, in the days leading up to her disappearance, she's been going around saying that she saw you poisoning Miss Lizé's embroidery thread."
"What?"
I gasped in surprise, and Anna quickly covered my mouth.
"And she said she was going to tell Master Cliff sooner or later, and then she just disappeared, so everyone was saying that you had something to do with her disappearance."
It was ridiculous.
So Cliff asked me just to test me?
"Well, so, are things different now?"
"Yeah. Apparently, everyone has changed their minds, saying that the lady who saved Uncle Samuel's life, even when her own was in danger, would never have anything to do with a bullshitting maid."
I just nodded, unable to close my gaping mouth.
"For what it's worth, I don't even know what this maid named Sabina looks like. I only heard her name from Cliff."
"There's no way you could have gotten rid of a maid without me noticing, especially since I've been by your side almost the entire time."
"Would you mind telling that to Cliff?"
"I've already told him."
"Thank you."
Sighing deeply, I walked into Renon's office again, pretending to be unaffected.
"Welcome, miss. It's been a while since I've seen you." Renon greeted me, his voice still emotionless.
"It's been a long time, Sir Renon. I've been absent so often that I don't think I deserve to be here, saying I'll help you with your work."
"I heard you almost drowned this time. Not a day goes by without wind." [1]
[1] The stronger the wind blows means your day is getting harder – referring to the proverb 가지 많은 나무에 바람 잘 날 없다 (No wind blows through a tree with many branches).
"I know."
I sighed again.
I didn't really want to be like this either.
"Actually, so far I've only heard a sketchy version of why you can't come out, so if you don't mind, could you tell me in more detail?"
Now, Renon, I think you're holding back some of your anger......
I mean, from the perspective of a boss, it's kind of pissing him off.
I'm parachuted in as the new employee, then I miss work on a random day for no apparent reason, and he can't find a new employee to replace me, so he ends up doing double the work.
I broke out in a cold sweat and told him what had happened. I tried to keep my emotions out of it and just give him the facts, but it was kind of frustrating because it made me feel like I was the culprit.
'Is this going to make Renon think I'm weird?'
While I was worrying about that, Renon nodded, then suddenly said, "That's weird."
"Well, it's been weird."
"It's not the incident itself, it's just that I don't understand the behavior of the people of this house."
"Yes? Like what?"
I widened my eyes, even more puzzled that Renon, a longtime vassal of the Ludwig family, couldn't understand the Ludwig people.
"Why didn't anyone think of Miss Lizé as a suspect?"
"Yes?"
"Miss Lizé could have been the culprit in all of those incidents. No way, you didn't realize that either, Miss Edith?"
I looked around the office in a panic in case anyone had heard.
"Renan, is that what you think?"
"Yes. I think it's what anyone would think."
"......thank you."
"I didn't say this to get a thank you."
"I know."
Again, Renon seems to be less affected by the author due to him being an unnamed extra.
Renon makes this simple assumption, one that no one in the Ludwig family would have thought of.
Conversely, the Ludwig family is closer to the main character, so could it be that they are controlled by the author?
"I know what you are saying, Renon, but I think it's best we don't talk about this, and since you're a vassal of the Ludwigs, it wouldn't do you any favors to offend Sir Cliff or His Excellency."
Renon looked shocked for a moment at my words, then broke into a hollow laugh.
"That young lady of the Sinclair family wields a great deal of power in this mansion."
"Don't say things like that."
I tensed, afraid I'd unnecessarily put Renon in a bad light.
"There's no way Cliff or Killian couldn't have thought of that, but...... there's no evidence anywhere that Lizé is the one who did it."
"So you're saying she's innocent."
"Well, yeah."
"That principle of presuming innocence in the absence of hard evidence, why didn't it apply to you?"
That's what I said.
I feel like my heart is pounding now that I have someone to communicate with, but I can't bring myself to show it.
"Because they found things that seemed to point to me as the culprit, even if the evidence was flimsy...... and that's why it's so easy to think that way."
I smiled weakly at Renon.
But rational, logical Renon shook his head as if this didn't make much sense.
"Renon. Don't even think about it. The Sinclairs could be the culprits, and maybe...... my own family."
"Don't worry about it. I'm not interested in anything but my own safety."
"I'm glad to hear that, so let's get on with today's work, shall we?"
I smiled and took the documents from him.
It was nice to see the documents after a long time.
"I was going to ask you to do this last time, but things got in the way. In the future, I'd like you to check the documents for the Ryzen estate."
"Ryzen?"
"Yes. It's where Master Killian and you will be going. It's a bit far from the big city, but it's a nice estate."
At the mention of a place for me and Killian to go, I suddenly felt a surge of affection for the documents.
"What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to get the tax and production records for the last ten years and organize them for me. Think of it as a head start for you yourself."
"Okay. Thank you, Renon."
I flipped through the ten volumes of thickly bound folders one by one, trying to get a handle on the situation at the estate where I and Killian would be living.
I have seen the tax receipts of some of the estates before, so I can tell that Ryzen's production capacity isn't bad.
The population is a little disappointing compared to 21st-century Korea, especially Seoul, but the age distribution, sex ratio, and productivity per capita put a smile on my face.
'This is where Killian and I are going to live build our territory......'
My heart skipped a beat at the thought.
I should have played some kind of territory development game in my previous life. No, what's the point?
Anyway, we're going to develop this estate that has a lot of potential, but is still a bit underdeveloped in one way or another.
Just thinking about it made me feel proud and motivated.
By utilizing the memories of my previous life, I might even be able to turn Ryzen into one of the best estates in the empire.
'So, please, may I survive and be able to leave for Ryzen with Killian.'
I prayed silently.
***
Today, the Countess of Sinclair's tea party was in full swing, as House Sinclair has been trying to expand its power lately.
Leila was there, and she received some unexpectedly upsetting news.
"Did you hear the news? Edith Riegelhoff almost drowned in the lake!"
"Oh, my God, how did that happen?"
"Well, her yacht malfunctioned, and it happened in a flash."
Up to that point, the story was pretty exciting.
But the gossip monger went on to tell a very disappointing story.
"But Sir Killian jumped into the lake himself and rescued Miss Edith, that's what they say was so wonderful!"
"My goodness...... the sons of that family are so brave, they all look like His Excellency the Duke of Ludwig!"
Leila's excited face crumpled in disappointment.
But she didn't give up hope, and cautiously joined in the conversation.
She asked, "So, how is Miss Edith doing now?"
Leila expected to hear that she was on the verge of death, but once again, her hopes were dashed.
"Oh, it was a scare, she wasn't even breathing when Sir Killian first got her, they said she woke up after three days, but she's doing fine now."
Leila gripped her fan tighter.
'It would be nice if she just died right away or was unconscious until the end of the year with nothing to go on!'
Her breath was ragged with anger, but she couldn't show it.
Then came an interesting story.
"You know, the yacht malfunctioned...... and they say it was because someone deliberately tampered with the wheel."
"Oh, my God! Are you saying someone was trying to hurt Sir Killian?"
"No. Sir Killian is an excellent swimmer, and who usually dies in boating accidents?"
Everyone at the tea party fell silent at the sudden question.