I heard that the house steward had tried to speak with them on Louis’s behalf, but every single one of them had refused.

Thanks to that, his expression now looked like that of a man who had given up on the world entirely.

It was delightful.

They say you reap what you sow, and this was exactly that. This was what people called reaping what you deserved.

“Why on earth did you do such a thing?”

After a long silence, the house steward finally spoke, his voice heavy.

“Hm? Do what?”

I fluttered my fan lightly, feigning ignorance. At that, the house steward clenched his fist, his body trembling.

“If you had remained quiet as you always have, this never would have happened. Madam, did you not think at all—!”

He started to shout, then stopped himself and pressed a hand to his face.

“Your intellect may be lacking, but because of your actions, my lord has been placed in a very difficult position.”

Not just Louis—that applies to you as well.

“Well, that’s not something I know anything about.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“The master never touches the manuscripts in the first place.”
I know. That’s why this disaster happened.
If he had reviewed the manuscript, the paper I secretly inserted would never have been published as a book.

“I was right beside you when you handed over this manuscript. Moreover, looking at this signature, it’s clearly yours, Madam. Don’t try to deny it.”
The house steward pointed to the bookshelf, veins bulging in his neck.
There was my handwriting of Louis’s signature, obvious at a glance.
Even so, the public would believe it was Louis’s actual handwriting.
After all, I was the one who signed the books when they were sold, and signed all official documents too.

“Hmm, is that so?”
Instead of denying it, I responded ambiguously, just slightly raising the corner of my mouth.

“Ha!”
I was surprised to see such a strong reaction now, when there had been no particular response when the pre-order numbers came out.
In truth, I hadn’t expected the repercussions to be this great.
I just hoped it wouldn’t end as a simple incident.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, Louis had not yet returned to the mansion.
I heard he was selling treasures sent from the Duchy of Baltazar, using the money for gambling expeditions in neighboring countries.
I couldn’t help but laugh thinking about how that idiot would foam at the mouth the moment he returned to the mansion.
Ah, I should control myself.

“If you’d just kept your mouth shut like you always did, none of this would have happened. Now you think you can be a writer or something?”

The house steward scolded me in Louis’s place, his attitude no different from an adult reprimanding a misbehaving child.

“And how, exactly, would that make me a writer?” I replied. “If anyone knows that a woman can’t become an author, it’s me.”

Even as I said that, the corners of my lips kept twitching upward and falling again. It wasn’t because I was enjoying the situation itself—it was because watching the house steward tremble with rage was absurdly amusing.

“Then what the h*ll were you thinking, pulling a stunt like this?!”

Now he was shouting as if he might lunge at me. I almost felt sorry for him. He must be truly desperate to be that hysterical.

Well, from your perspective, it must feel like fire licking at your heels. You’re probably thinking that everything you’ve built by exploiting me could be lost in an instant.

Though, really, it’s already collapsing.

“After everything the master has done for you—how dare you be so ungrateful!”

Instead of answering, I covered my ears with both hands.

“Goodness, I’ll go deaf! Why do you keep yelling? Do you think I can’t raise my voice too?”

Some of it wasn’t even worth hearing—but since things had already come to this, I figured I might as well provoke him a little.

“This b*tch really has no grasp of the situation, does she?”

It must have worked, because the house steward ground his teeth and jabbed a finger at me.

“If the master finds out about this, you’re as good as dead!”

I didn’t bother reacting to his condescension. He’d always looked down on me—there was nothing new about that.

What intrigued me was the situation itself.

If Louis were cast out by the public, the house steward working here would have to leave the estate as well. And that was… delightful.

Being abandoned by the public meant the money pipeline would be cut off. And that meant Louis would become unemployed.

At this rate, it wouldn’t take long for him to be driven out into the streets.

People might assume he had savings, given how much he’d earned over the years—but Louis spent everything as fast as it came in, pouring money into gambling, alcohol, and women. He had no real assets to speak of.

At best, this estate.

The house steward knew the estate’s financial state better than anyone. That was why he was reacting so sensitively to the loss of future income.

In truth, there was something else he was even more worried about.

He’d siphoned off quite a bit of money behind Louis’s back over the years. No wonder he was panicking. If things went south, it wouldn’t take much for his embezzlement to come to light.

“I’ll report every last detail to the master and make sure you die for this.”

At some point, the house steward had closed the distance, standing right in front of me and pointing his index finger so close it looked like he might stab my eye out. Seeing the veins bulging in his bloodshot eyes, I figured he must be truly furious.

“Well, then I’ll die,” I said lightly. “What’s so special about dying, anyway?”

Maybe it was because I’d already died so many times—but words like that didn’t even register anymore. Dying this time wouldn’t be the end, either. I’d even been buried alive in a past life, so what was there to be afraid of?

“You devil of a woman!”

The house steward raised his hand at me as I smiled faintly—then swung, trying to slap my cheek.

Thud!

I had no intention of standing there and taking it, so I kicked his shin without hesitation.

“Aaagh!”

The house steward collapsed to the floor, clutching his shin and groaning in pain.

“They say livestock resemble their owner,” I said coolly. “Looks like you can’t control your temper either—raising your hand like that.”

“L-livestock? Are you finished talking?!”

The house steward screamed, veins bulging at his neck.

“How vulgar.”

I clicked my tongue and turned away. Beating him any further would only make my hands and feet hurt. Better to go rest.

I’d need to conserve my energy if I wanted to enjoy mocking Louis when he arrived later.

That was when it happened.

Thwack!

The servant from the Duchy of Balthazar, who had been standing silently at my side, moved in a blur and stepped in behind me. At the dull sound, I turned my head to see him gripping the house steward’s arm tightly.

“Let go! What do you think you’re doing?!”

The house steward screamed and lashed out at the servant, but the man didn’t so much as flinch.

“Hm?”

Watching the scene, I tilted my head. Had he been about to strike me while my back was turned? And had the servant stopped him?

“How insolent, for a mere servant,” the house steward spat. “What should we do with him?”

In the meantime, a petite female servant stepped forward and knelt before me. Judging by her face, she was someone I hadn’t seen before.

“…Mistress?”

I couldn’t help but be startled. In all the years I’d lived in this estate, no servant had ever addressed me that way.

Then I remembered what the servant from the Duchy of Balthazar had said some time ago, and a calm smile settled naturally on my face.

“I’d like him tied up until Louis arrives. Somewhere everyone can see.”

“Yes, understood.”

The female servant answered respectfully, then signaled to the others. At once, the servants standing nearby seized the house steward by the arms.

“What is this supposed to be?! Why are you grabbing me?! You should be grabbing that b*tch instead! Have you all forgotten who your master is?!”

Unable to grasp what was happening, he thrashed wildly.

Of course, that didn’t make the hands restraining him loosen in the slightest.

“What are you idiots doing?! Separate them at once!”

When his thrashing proved useless, the house steward barked at the knights guarding the entrance.

The knights hesitated, glancing around as if reading the room—then abruptly turned their heads away.

That was… strange.

If it had been newly arrived servants, I might’ve understood. But those knights had worked at this estate for years. More than that, they’d always followed the house steward’s words without question.

So why were they ignoring him now?

“D*mn it…”

Seeing the knights turn their backs on him, the house steward muttered a curse under his breath and shot me a glare.

I was just as much in the dark as he was.

“Be a good boy and stay put until Louis arrives.”

One thing was certain: pretending I didn’t know what was going on would be foolish. So I smiled as brightly as I could.

“Like a dog.”

As if I were enjoying this beyond measure.