Who Brought the Head Maid Back? - Chapter 55

Amy’s heart softened. Well, prickly as he may be, he’s on our side. However, Spencer, unaware of her internal shift, continued to direct a gaze filled with distrust and hostility toward her.

Regardless of his attitude, Amy spoke calmly.

“His Grace is currently in lessons. Would you like to request an audience once he is finished?”

“What are you plotting?”

He seemed unsettled by the fact that she remained unfazed despite his overt antagonism. Amy glared back and replied stiffly.

“Did you not come here to see His Grace? If not, you may see him at dinner.”

“I truly do not understand why His Grace tolerates an insolent Head Maid like you.”

That is for His Grace to decide. Amy let out a silent snort, prompting him to glare and point a finger at her.

“If your outward appearance has clouded his judgment, I shall personally see to it that he regains his senses.”

Oh, please. Now he’s critiquing my looks. Amy pouted.

“My, what a loyal subject we have here. A paragon of devotion for the ages.”

“What did you just say?”

As he looked ready to have another fit, Amy took a step back and replied nonchalantly.

“You’ll find out the truth once you see him yourself. You talk far too much.”

“You dare?”

“It seems you have no desire to exchange words with me, so I shall grant your wish. After all, the best way to treat a guest is to ensure their peace of mind. I’ll be going now.”

Amy turned on her heel and walked away. Behind her, she heard a dazed “What? Hey! Listen!” but she ignored it and quickened her pace. Fiddling with the brooch on her chest, she grumbled to herself.

“It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with someone so one-dimensionally aggressive.”

Then, a thought occurred to her.

‘Come to think of it, the day I got this brooch was similar.’

Who was it again? The person who gave this to her was a man as large as Viscount Burton. She searched her memory but eventually shrugged. It had been such a chaotic time that she could remember almost nothing.

As she continued walking, Amy kept muttering.

“Condemning me without even knowing the facts. If you’re so suspicious, see for yourself.”

She wondered how he could have the diligence to go all the way to the Empire to dig up information yet know absolutely nothing about her actions here. Suddenly, she stopped and tilted her head.

‘Wait, was he unable to find out?’

Just then, she spotted Mrs. Weaver walking in the distance with James. Amy hurried toward her.

“Mrs. Weaver!”

“Ah, Head Maid.”

Mrs. Weaver and James greeted her. Amy waved her hand and got straight to the point.

“By any chance, have you intercepted anyone who seemed like a spy in the castle lately?”

“Ah,”

Mrs. Weaver glanced at James as if something had clicked. He caught the hint immediately.

“I have some business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first.”

“Good work.”

Amy watched him walk away with a satisfied expression before turning back to Mrs. Weaver. Her trust in the woman surged once more. A true woman of principle, keeping secrets even from her own son.

Once they were alone, Mrs. Weaver spoke with a serious expression.

“Actually, I was planning to tell you later since you’ve been so busy with festival preparations. It’s not that I have concrete proof; it was merely a suspicion of mine.”

Amy nodded and spoke gently.

“You know I trust your judgment. Speak freely.”

“If you say so,”

Flushed with pleasure at Amy’s words, Mrs. Weaver took a breath and began her tale.

“Since the banquet where that unfortunate incident happened to His Grace, there has been a surge of requests to join the staff. An avalanche, one might say.”

“But we haven’t hired anyone else since we temporarily supplemented the staff with villagers during the banquet, have we?”

Amy tilted her head. Mrs. Weaver hadn’t submitted any documents to recruit more maids. Now that she thought about it, with the Grand Duchy growing, they must be quite short-handed.

“That is because the Captain of the Guard and I rejected them all. We felt it necessary to only admit those whose identities are absolutely certain.”

“ ”

Looking closer, Mrs. Weaver didn’t look well. Vernon hadn’t looked particularly refreshed lately either. It seemed the two had been suffering in secret.

Given that the Grand Duke had been poisoned, it was understandable they were being extra cautious with staff. Amy felt a twinge of guilt for neglecting internal affairs while focusing so much on moving forward.

Amy looked at her with sincere eyes.

“His Grace is lucky to have you.”

“You flatter me.”

Mrs. Weaver looked shy. Feeling her mood lift, Amy decided to tease the stoic Head Housekeeper just a little.

“You and the Captain of the Guard seem to be perfectly in sync, don’t you?”

The woman’s expression immediately turned prim.

“It is merely because our duties overlap so often. We aren’t in sync in that way.”

“Hmm,”

When Amy let out a long hum, Mrs. Weaver’s brow twitched for a second before smoothing out. She fixed her gaze on the distance, her mouth set in a firm line as if she knew nothing. Amy bit her lip to keep from laughing.

‘I did hear that Vernon is preparing very seriously for this festival.’

Could they become the first couple of the Grand Duchy? While she was squinting and peeking at her, the older woman continued.

“Therefore, I believe we must maintain this policy for the time being. Many outsiders will flock here for the festival, after all.”

“Don’t worry too much. Letters are pouring in from vassals offering reliable manpower, and above all, we won’t be opening the castle itself to the public.”

Amy looked toward the nearby training grounds as she spoke.

“And His Grace will have a constant escort.”

“That is very good to hear.”

“His Grace’s safety is paramount.”

“Indeed.”

The two women nodded as they passed the training grounds. Just then, Vernon walked out of the grounds, shaking his head. In that moment, Mrs. Weaver tripped over her own feet, and he witnessed it.

“Joanna!”

Vernon rushed over and supported her. Mrs. Weaver was so flustered she didn’t know what to do. Vernon was so focused on her that he didn’t even seem to notice Amy standing right there.

“Are you hurt? Let me see.”

He dropped to one knee and grabbed Mrs. Weaver’s ankle. Startled, she frantically pushed down her lifted skirt.

“No, I, put this down!”

Amy bit her lip and subtly backed away.

‘My, what a lovely sight.’

She wanted to act like a rascal and tease them, but she held it in. Mrs. Weaver’s face was so red it looked like it might explode. As Amy turned to leave, she caught the eyes of the knights who were crouching at the entrance of the training grounds, their heads poking out in a cluster.

‘Shh.’

Jack put a finger to his lips and gestured for her to come over. Amy crept toward them on her tiptoes. Bradley sat her down in the middle of them and whispered.

“You’re going to see something very interesting at the festival. Captain Vernon is preparing something very intense.”

“Oh, more intense than that?”

Amy pointed at Vernon. The faces of Jack, Bradley, and Dwayne contorted as they struggled to stifle their laughter. Mrs. Weaver was frantically hitting Vernon’s back while he sat there with her leg over his shoulder, stubbornly inspecting her ankle. Vernon acted as if her blows didn’t even tickle.

“Now, Joanna, you’re only going to hurt your hands. Hehe, that tickles.”

“Will you stop? Argh, you crazy man, does it not even hurt?”

“I’m fine, Joanna.”

“Is it enough that you’re fine?!”

Their conversation seemed to be moving in two entirely different directions at once. The trio of knights covered their mouths and snickered.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a show like this.”

“Ethan would love this.”

“James asked me to call him if anything happened.”

Hearing their exchange, Amy realized this was already common knowledge among the staff. She stood up and brushed off her skirt.

“I’d love to watch more, but for the sake of Mrs. Weaver’s social dignity, I’ll stop here.”

“Yes. Safe travels.”

The three waved. Amy turned to leave but then paused and looked back.

“By the way, why was Dwayne so upset the other day? When the martial arts tournament plan was rejected?”

“!”

Dwayne’s face instantly crumpled into a look of sheer despair. At the same time, Jack and Bradley exchanged glances and began to sneak away. Dwayne protested in a voice thick with a sense of injustice.

“They said it was a guaranteed pass, so I bet six months’ worth of my salary!”

Hah. Amy let out a dry breath. She caught sight of Jack and Bradley running away as fast as their legs could carry them. Amy sighed and patted Dwayne on the shoulder.

“Has the money already changed hands?”

“No, luckily I bet my future salary,”

“Is there anyone else who lost the bet besides Dwayne?”

At that, Dwayne balled his fists, which were the size of morning stars.

“No! No one! I have no idea how this could happen!”

Amy looked at him with pity.

‘Because everyone except you was in on it.’

Dwayne chewed his thumb and muttered.

“Where did they learn to do that? Someone should have told me,”

“ ”

Amy closed and opened her eyes slowly. There was no hope for this one. Dwayne’s shoulders slumped in desolation.

“I have so many appointments for the festival. I don’t know what to do. Do you think His Grace would give me an advance?”

“Do you think he would? And even before His Grace, Aide Joseph would never allow it.”

“I suppose so,”

The mountain of a man curled up as if he could fit into a mouse hole, looking as though the world had ended. Unable to watch any longer, Amy consoled him.

“You won’t actually lose the money. Illegal gambling is going to be banned within the Grand Duchy soon. We’ll apply that retroactively just for this once.”

Amy glared toward Jack and Bradley, who were peeking out from their hiding spot. They flinched and vanished quietly. So, you’ve been sleeping well after swindling a simpleton, have you?

“Really? Wow! Thank you, Head Maid!”

Dwayne started jumping for joy but quickly dropped back down into a huddle. Luckily, Vernon and Mrs. Weaver seemed too busy bickering as they walked away to notice. Dwayne let out a sigh of relief, but Amy spoke sternly.

“Listen well. Dwayne, you are going to encounter many more unjust situations like this in the future.”

“How, how can you be so sure?”

Amy stood with her hands on her hips, looking so utterly confident that Dwayne could only blink. Amy placed both hands on his shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.

“Do I not know you, Dwayne?”

“ ”

“I think everyone in the Grand Duchy knows.”

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