Blazing sunlight poured down at midday, bright enough to dazzle the eyes. Inside the mansion of Duke Rukael, a suffocating silence hung heavily.

The mansion, devoid of any signs of life, appeared almost like a ghost house. However, past the main entrance hall, all the servants of the ducal residence were prostrated flat on the marble floor.

They remained in their uncomfortable positions for a long time, not even blinking or breathing.

How much time had passed?

In this place where not even a breath could be heard, the sound of footsteps began at regular intervals.

Tap, tap. The footsteps hitting the marble floor grew closer and closer, until they suddenly stopped nearby.

“I heard there was poison on Cecilia’s teacup. Fortunately, the poison was discovered before she drank from it—it could have been disastrous.”

A chilling voice that raised goosebumps echoed throughout the hall. He skipped any simple greetings or even a subject, going straight to the point.

“Who is Cecilia’s personal maid?”

“……”

But no one answered.

It was out of fear that responding ignorantly might incur the Duke’s wrath.

However, the Duke’s patience was not very long. He drew the sword at his waist. A sharp aura radiated in all directions from the gleaming blade.

“Confess now. Otherwise……”

He paused briefly. Then he slowly walked in front of the servants lined up prostrate.

Screech, screech.

The tip of the sword dragged against the marble floor, making an eerie sound.

The servants huddled even tighter, hoping that the spine-chilling sound wouldn’t stop in front of them.

After the creepy sound tormented their ears for a while, it suddenly ceased. Instead, the earlier voice echoed through the hall again.

“……I’ll have to question each one individually.”

The first was Emma, the head maid.

Emma, who had been holding her breath in fear, was startled by the cool blade touching her neck and quickly answered.

“D-Daisy, sir.”

No sooner had Emma finished than a young maid suddenly jumped out in front of the Duke. It was the maid called Daisy that Emma had mentioned.

“D-Duke, Your Grace! I’m innocent! Just like always, I took the teacup the chef gave me to the lady……”

But the maid’s explanation never formed a complete sentence.

Squelch—!

The Duke’s sword had pierced through the maid’s heart.

As the sword that had torn through her chest was quickly withdrawn, her front became soaked with dark red bl＊＊d.

“Ah, ahhh……”

Unable to believe her approaching death, Daisy wiped the bl＊＊d soaking her front with her palm.

The red bl＊＊d spread between her trembling fingers. Daisy’s eyes gradually lost their vitality as she stared at it.

“Kyaaak!”

With head maid Emma’s terrible scream marking the moment, Daisy’s body slowly began to tilt sideways.

Soon after, Daisy died instantly, unable even to close her eyes.

“……!”

The servants who had been secretly watching through squinted eyes could only gape in shock at the tragedy that unfolded in the blink of an eye.

“You’ve taken care of the annex kitchen staff, haven’t you, Enoch?”

“Yes. All have been dealt with as you instructed.”

So that explained why the servants who worked in the annex kitchen were nowhere to be seen.

They had already been disposed of by the Duke’s hand long before—just like the horrific scene that had unfolded before their eyes.

Everyone swallowed hard and trembled slightly. No one knew when their turn might come.

“And Cecilia?”

“……She’s lying in bed as usual.”

“Tsk, my wife is still lazy.”

“Shall I bring her?”

“No need.”

Duke Edmund swung his bloodstained sword once through the air. The red bl＊＊d on the blade scattered in all directions.

The Duke gazed at this with indifferent eyes, then noticed that bl＊＊d had splattered onto his cheek.

Enoch tactfully took out a handkerchief and offered it, but for whatever reason, the Duke refused to take it.

Instead, he rubbed his cheek hard with his finger, making the bloodstain spread even more darkly.

A faint smile briefly crossed the Duke’s face. His bl＊＊d-smeared face was twisted like a child who had discovered an amusing prank.

“……I should go see my wife for a moment.”

“I’ll escort you.”

“No. It seems the business here is mostly finished, so Enoch, you handle the cleanup……”

It was then.

“Excuse me, Duke, I apologize for interrupting, but there’s something that must be done before you leave.”

Albert, the chief chamberlain who had been standing at a distance observing the situation, cut off the Duke mid-sentence.

“……What is it.”

Perhaps due to the sudden interruption, the Duke’s expression clearly showed his displeasure. His momentarily subdued aura turned fierce again.

Some servants finally couldn’t withstand his pressure and fainted. But the chief chamberlain, who had watched the Duke since childhood, knew there was no k＊lling intent in that pressure.

The elderly chief chamberlain answered calmly.

“Lunchtime is approaching. We can order food from the main building’s kitchen staff, but we need a maid to clean the lady’s chambers and bring meals directly to her room.”

“……”

“However, the lady’s personal maid……”

The chief chamberlain glanced at Daisy’s cold corpse and let his words trail off.

“……”

The Duke, reading the chief chamberlain’s gaze, briefly furrowed his brow uncomfortably, but nothing else happened.

The chief chamberlain’s point was valid. A new replacement for that one was needed.

“……Indeed. I can’t let my precious wife go hungry.”

As soon as the Duke finished speaking, the chief chamberlain responded as if he had been waiting.

“We’ll take care of the rest. Quickly, a maid to attend to the lady……”

The Duke, half-listening to the chamberlain’s words, looked around the horrifically transformed hall with somewhat bored eyes.

His gaze fell on a brown-haired maid huddled near the maid’s corpse.

Any maid would do since they would be replaced again anyway. The Duke’s decision was swift.

“That maid will do.”

With that, Duke Edmund left the scene as if his business there was finished. It was an action implying that Enoch and the chief chamberlain should handle the cleanup.

Enoch and the chief chamberlain responded immediately.

“Cremate the body and give her a simple funeral. Take those who have collapsed to the infirmary.”

“Yes!”

“Maids, clean the hall thoroughly.”

“Yes, understood.”

The servants moved in perfect coordination under Enoch and the chief chamberlain’s command. Their movements, flowing like water, were clearly not skills practiced just once or twice.

However, only one person remained frozen in place, unable to move.

It was Anna, the “that maid” the Duke had specifically pointed to.

The knights and all the servants looked at Anna with pity, but that was all. No one approached to comfort her or help her up.

Being the lady’s personal maid was the reason.

Generally, becoming the personal maid to the mistress of a ducal family was equivalent to success for a commoner, but in this mansion, the meaning was different. The servants in this mansion were reluctant to become the lady’s personal maid or someone in her inner circle.

Because if anything happened to the lady, the first person to be disposed of, guilty or not, was the lady’s personal maid. Just like Daisy, who had died with a single stroke just now.

Not just Daisy—thinking about all the personal maids who had been disposed of over time… it made one shudder.

Everyone valued their lives too much to step forward and get involved, knowing they might end up bleeding.

Only the chief chamberlain, who had received the Duke’s order, approached her and spoke.

“What is your name?”

“……A-Anna, sir.”

The maid…… no, Anna, tightly gripped her trembling hands and somehow managed to stammer out her response.

“Very well, Anna. As you heard, we need to put out the most urgent fire first, so help prepare the lady’s meal. For the handover, go to the head maid early tomorrow morning.”

“……”

“And starting today, you’ll be working in the annex where the lady stays, so your quarters will be moved there as well. Your belongings will be moved by the other maids, so don’t stray and go straight to the kitchen. Do you understand?”

“……”

How could she understand? It was only natural.

How could the chief chamberlain’s rapid-fire instructions register when she could barely grasp what had happened?

However, chief chamberlain Albert didn’t consider Anna’s circumstances at all. He too was an attendant following the Duke’s orders. Nothing was more important than the Duke’s commands.

Albert shouted loudly at Anna.

“If you understand, move quickly!”

And finally, Anna’s foggy mind snapped to attention.

“……!”

This wasn’t just an order.

“Hurry!”

It was advice infused with the chief chamberlain’s bl＊＊d and flesh—to pretend to understand and move according to the situation if she wanted to survive in this mansion.