Chapter – 10
When Luciena looked up, she found Reshuna’s maid, Chellin, glaring at her with sharp, hostile eyes.
Startled by Chellin’s shout, Luciena instinctively took a step back.
Watching the scene in silence, Erteo stepped forward.
“So, judging by your clothes, you’re a servant of this household. Yet you’re glaring at your master and raising your voice? Don’t you think that’s crossing the line?”
Erteo stared at her coldly, but Chellin showed no sign of backing down. The tension between them was so intense that it looked as though they might clash at any moment.
“Erteo, if you want to help me, then just leave.”
“Luna, wait.”
Erteo opened his mouth as if he still had something to say, but Luciena simply grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
Only after they had walked a considerable distance from the vegetable garden did Erteo speak again.
“Who exactly was that woman just now?”
“She’s Reshuna’s personal maid. She’s worked in this house since before my sister and I were born.”
Erteo frowned.
“Did something happen between the two of you? She openly showed hostility toward you. She didn’t even bother hiding it in front of a guest like me.”
“That’s just how she is.”
Come to think of it, among all the servants in the mansion, Chellin was the only one who had ever treated Luciena coldly.
Well, she’s my sister’s personal maid, and my sister hates me. I guess that’s only natural.
Even so, Luciena couldn’t understand why someone who had barely exchanged a few words with her would hate her so one-sidedly.
Now that I think about it…
Suddenly, she remembered the time she had died from the bite of a poisonous spider.
Standing beside Reshuna, silently looking down at the dying Luciena with icy eyes…
It had been Chellin.
A chill ran down Luciena’s spine.
Even if she’s completely on my sister’s side, reacting this strongly toward me… it feels like there’s something more going on.
For the first time, Luciena seriously began to pay attention to Chellin, Reshuna’s closest confidante—a person she had never truly considered before.
It was a peaceful morning with nothing unusual happening.
“Miss, I brought back more books from the Villainess series. It turns out it’s actually a classic collection that’s been around for over a hundred years.”
At Luciena’s request, Pioda had gone to the bookstore.
“Every story is so sensational, and they always make you want to keep reading. They’re far from morally uplifting, but I can see why they’re so popular.”
“Exactly. Once I start reading one, I can’t put it down. And I couldn’t believe that some of the stories were actually based on real events.”
With nothing pressing to do, Luciena and Pioda sat together analyzing the Villainess series.
“Did you find out anything about the publisher?”
“Yes. Apparently, they specialize exclusively in publishing the Villainess series. Their office is in the city near the royal palace.”
The city center was quite far from Luciena’s home.
Even by carriage, it took three hours.
“Maybe I’ll set aside a day and go there myself…”
“Sounds good. Oh, Miss, I should get back to work now. If you need anything else later, just call me!”
Leaving those words behind, Pioda skipped out of Luciena’s room with light footsteps.
Now alone, Luciena picked up a book and lay down on her bed.
How did Reshuna, who doesn’t even have a single friend, end up writing books like these…?
She was still reading when someone suddenly pounded harshly on her door.
A moment later, Reshuna’s furious voice rang out.
“Come out, Luciena! Right now!”
Even as Luciena hurriedly got out of bed, Reshuna continued shouting.
The moment Luciena cautiously opened the door, Reshuna violently shoved it the rest of the way open.
Standing face to face across the fully opened doorway, they stared at each other.
Reshuna’s eyes burned with rage.
“Big Sis, what’s wro—”
Smack!
Before Luciena could finish speaking, a searing pain spread across her entire left cheek.
She instinctively touched her burning face.
“You disgusting hypocrite…”
Luciena stood frozen.
More painful than the slap itself was the fact that she had no idea why Reshuna was cursing at her.
“What was that for? Have you lost your mind?”
Luciena’s voice rose.
No matter how much she tried to endure things, being slapped without warning was impossible to simply accept.
But even faced with Luciena’s anger, Reshuna merely glared even more fiercely.
“You… you’re unbelievably shameless. I’ve always thought so, but now that I think about it, you were like this even when we were children.”
Reshuna shoved Luciena hard in the chest.
“What are you even talking about? Say something that actually makes sense—”
“Why did you do that to my garden?”
“…What?”
Even after hearing the accusation, Luciena had no idea what she meant.
“Your garden? What are you talking about? I don’t even know—”
“Stop lying. I have a witness. Just come with me.”
Following Reshuna, Luciena arrived at the small garden she had visited with Erteo a few days earlier.
The sight before her was devastating.
The entire garden had been completely trampled.
Even Luciena gasped in shock.
“What… Who would do something like this…?”
“You really have the nerve to say that after being the one who did it.”
Reshuna forcefully shoved Luciena’s shoulder again.
“Don’t even think about denying it. I have a witness.”
The moment Reshuna finished speaking, Chellin stepped out from behind a large tree beside the garden.
“I saw everything. A few days ago, Miss Luciena was lurking around here suspiciously, pulling up winter herbs. She stopped only because I caught her.”
Luciena was so dumbfounded by Chellin’s shameless accusation that she couldn’t even find the words.
“I never did that. Erteo was with me that day—”
“Then why did you panic and run away the moment you saw me? Weren’t you scouting the place before carrying out your plan?”
“You suddenly started yelling at me, so I got startled and left. Can you even take responsibility for what you’re accusing me of?”
Luciena refused to back down.
She had only touched the plants because she admired how they managed to survive despite the harsh winter.
She had never imagined it would lead to something like this.
But Chellin’s accusations didn’t stop there.
“This is my garden where I grow ingredients for magical potions. The plants that survive the harsh winter are especially precious because their medicinal properties are stronger. Chellin has taken care of this place with great devotion every single day.”
“Yes. I’ve tended this garden every year, and this is the first time anyone has deliberately destroyed it. Right after Miss Luciena was seen wandering around here a few days ago… this happened.”
Reshuna and Chellin glared at Luciena simultaneously.
Those were unmistakably the eyes of people looking at a criminal.
“Luciena… Even if you hate me, wasn’t this going too far? What are you going to do about all these plants that died because of you?”
“No! I don’t hate you! I didn’t even know this was your garden in the first place!”
No matter how loudly she protested, it was useless.
Reshuna and Chellin were already completely convinced that Luciena was the culprit.
Reshuna bent down and picked up several winter flowers whose roots had been torn apart.
“These flowers… Do you know how hard we worked to raise them this much in weather this cold…? And you…!”
“No! I swear to God—”
At a complete loss, Luciena reached out toward Reshuna’s back.
“Don’t touch me with that disgusting hand!”
Just as Reshuna shouted and suddenly stood up—
Because she rose so abruptly, Luciena, who had been resting her hand on Reshuna’s back, lost her balance and stumbled backward.
“Ah…!”
“Ah…?”
Splash!
In the blink of an eye, Luciena fell straight into the well beside them.
*
Luciena’s 106th death was from falling into a well.
No…
To be precise, it was death by freezing.
The water inside the well wasn’t deep, but the weather was so cold that a thin layer of ice had formed on its surface.
Although the fall had broken several bones in her arms and legs, the injuries themselves weren’t fatal.
If Reshuna had rescued her before she lost consciousness from hypothermia in the freezing water, she would have survived.
Ha… I’m so furious…! I begged them over and over to save me!
Luciena kept calling out to her sister from inside the well.
She begged her to save her.
She begged her to call for help.
But Reshuna and Chellin simply stood at the edge of the well, looking down at her and talking to each other.
Without making even the slightest attempt to rescue her.
“Miss Luciena… you should experience the same thing down there yourself.”
Those words were the last thing Luciena heard.
The final sight she saw before she died…
…was Chellin’s back as she walked away.
