Chapter 4.8

Liz was thrown back into the room she had just left, now with only a maid’s uniform.  

Kate begged for mercy, but Valentine ignored her pleas.  

“A maid hiring another maid? Absurd.”  

And so Liz returned to the attic, sitting dazedly in the empty room.  

Since she had cleaned thoroughly in preparation to leave, the room was completely bare.  

Without even her bag, Liz now possessed nothing but a single maid’s uniform.  

She staggered to her feet, removed her dress, and changed into the uniform.  

When Isabel first arrived, it had been his command that made her wear a dress again.  

Now, it was his command that made her a maid once more.  

Fully dressed, Liz stared blankly into the mirror.  

Did he intend for her to live as a maid of Winchester again? Cleaning and doing laundry?  

Or perhaps he would assign her even harder tasks.  

Her plans to return to her family and start a new life had been completely shattered.  

The thought brought tears to her eyes.  

“Ah… the letter.”  

Suddenly, she remembered the letter she had left behind.  

She had never intended to accept Theodore’s proposal, but now it was entirely meaningless.  

Seeking some small comfort, Liz bitterly lifted the carpet.  

“…Huh?”  

But the letter was nowhere to be found.  

Panicked, Liz searched the floor thoroughly but couldn’t find it.  

“Where could it have gone?”  

The only person who had entered the room after she hid the letter was Kate.  

Liz furrowed her brow. At that moment—  

-Bang!  

A gunshot rang out, followed by the sound of something shattering.  

Startled, Liz ran to the door. But the door remained intact.  

“W-What…?”  

Liz grabbed the doorknob in confusion.  

But the knob wouldn’t budge, as if it had been broken.  

Outside, she heard Valentine’s voice.  

“Seal it off. This door will not be opened again.”  

“Yes, Your Grace.”  

Liz covered her mouth in shock.  

“This can’t… be happening.”  

Valentine had deliberately broken the doorknob with a gunshot.  

A shiver ran down her spine.  

The door could only be locked from the inside, but now it was permanently sealed.  

This meant that, except for the high window, the room was completely enclosed.  

Was Valentine planning to confine me here and abandon me?  

A primal fear of survival surged through her. Her head spun.  

Suddenly, the floor shook violently.  

“W-What is… happening…?”  

Liz collapsed to the ground.  

The shaking floor continued to tremble. It felt like an earthquake, but the outside was eerily calm.  

One inexplicable event after another unfolded before Liz.  

Her fear made it impossible to think rationally. She could hardly breathe.  

The trembling floor abruptly split open.  

“Ahhh!”  

Terrified, Liz covered her mouth.  

Emerging from the floor, shockingly, was Valentine.  

“Valen—no, M-Master? How did you…?”  

Liz looked at him with a bewildered expression.  

Valentine climbed up effortlessly, brushing off his shoulders.  

“Didn’t I tell you? There’s no place in this mansion I cannot reach.”  

Liz’s mouth hung open in disbelief.  

She crawled on her knees toward the opening in the floor.  

Peering inside, she saw a dark passage stretching into the depths.  

“This can’t… be real….”

The day Liz completed Valentine’s portrait and collapsed, she hadn’t thought deeply about how Valentine had entered that room.  

Even when Valentine, who was about to leave the attic, kept bending down unconsciously, Liz hadn’t thought deeply about it.  

“Give up on the idea of using this passage. It’s connected to my bedroom.”  

Even when Valentine had said he’d show her the atelier and led her to his bedroom, Liz hadn’t known.  

Liz’s eyes widened as she stared blankly at the passage.  

The missing letter and the crack she had found on the floor where the passage was.  

“Don’t tell me… the letter too…!”  

Liz quickly lifted her head. Valentine’s expression carried a mocking smile.  

“So, you’re finally confessing.”  

Valentine continued with a cold tone.  

“Yes. Leaving this mansion wasn’t a decision you made alone, was it? Were you excited after receiving that merchant’s proposal? Enough to dare abandon Winchester?”  

A flustered Liz shook her head. 

“Abandon? That’s not it….”  

He strode toward Liz. His foot lifted her chin as she sat collapsed on the floor.  

“Keep your mouth shut. Only answer what I ask.”  

His cruel action brought tears to Liz’s eyes.  

He spoke coldly.  

“How did you retrieve the letter? Who helped you?”  

“T-That’s….”  

Liz swallowed her tears and forced herself to think.  

Gerald, Martha, Kate—there were likely many others involved.  

She couldn’t shift the responsibility for their goodwill onto them.  

Liz spoke calmly.  

“…I did it alone.”  

Valentine stared at Liz intently.  

He didn’t appear to believe her.  

“Well, it doesn’t matter. You’ve become my maid anyway, so something like that is trivial now.”  

Valentine slowly lowered the foot that had lifted Liz’s chin.  

Liz suppressed her trembling body and asked.  

“So… what are you going to make me do?”  

Valentine smirked.  

“Oh, do you think I’d have you do something like cleaning?”  

If not that, then what?  

Valentine bent down to meet Liz’s gaze.  

“Shall we say… you’ll be the Duke’s personal… nighttime maid?”  

Liz’s face turned deathly pale at his words.  

She would be less than even a mistress.  

Liz crawled backward on her knees.  

“No, no. I won’t… Ah!”  

But Valentine grabbed her arm tightly.  

He whispered into her ear.  

“Remember this. I am your master, and you cannot defy me.”  

“H-Huh….”  

Tears poured down her face.  

His lips moved from her ear to her tear-streaked cheek.  

His tongue brushed over the wet trail of tears.  

“You will never leave this mansion. Not ever.”  

***

Valentine didn’t leave the attic until evening.  

His shirt and cravat were immaculate, and he still carried the fresh scent of soap.  

He looked exactly the same as he did before entering the attic.  

Because of this, it felt all the more uncanny and grotesque.  

However, none of the servants hiding nearby to observe the situation dared to show it.  

Valentine glanced lightly around the empty surroundings and spoke.  

“Who’s there?”  

After a moment, Martha quietly stepped forward.  

“You called for me, Master.”  

Martha was an experienced head maid. Yet even she couldn’t completely hide the tension in her expression.  

Valentine spoke lightly, as if unconcerned by Martha’s state.  

“Prepare dinner. I’ll dine with the Madame.”  

“By Madame… do you mean…?”  

“Isabel, of course.”  

Valentine gestured toward the guest room with his chin.  

Understanding his intention, Martha nodded.  

“Understood. Then….”  

Martha hesitated for a long moment before asking.  

“What should we do about the new maid?”  

Martha swallowed nervously.  

Valentine smiled faintly.  

“The new maid. Yes, the new maid.”  

Valentine nodded. It seemed Martha’s choice of words hadn’t been wrong.  

Martha sighed in relief internally.  

Then Valentine spoke.  

“…As before. There must not be a single deficiency.”

Valentine’s voice was icy. It sounded as though it could slice through the air like a blade.  

A cold sweat ran down Martha’s back.  

She nodded with a tense expression.  

“Understood. Then, for dinner, what kind of dishes should be—”  

“Oh, that’s a good question.”  

Valentine raised the corners of his lips and whispered to Martha.  

***

The Winchester dining hall exuded a dignified yet elegant atmosphere.  

Across the long table adorned with lavish flowers and fabric, Valentine and Isabel sat facing each other.  

Indeed, the sight of Valentine and Isabel seated together was as beautiful as a painting.  

But the two did not appear to be a loving couple.  

Rather, they seemed more like business rivals in competition.  

Isabel raised a faint smile.  

“It seems you’ve finished tidying up? That’s good news.”  

Her tone was polite and friendly, yet it carried no warmth whatsoever.  

“Then I suppose I can move my belongings into the Duchess’s room? I’ll arrange for the move after dinner. Oh, and there will be more items arriving from Myra.”  

Valentine didn’t respond.  

He merely sipped the aperitif in front of him with an enigmatic smile.  

After a moment, a servant entered carrying a tray of food.  

The servant’s face was unusually tense.  

Isabel tilted her head slightly, finding it odd.  

‘Were they overwhelmed by the atmosphere?’  

Well, given the circumstances, even the most well-trained servants would likely feel nervous.  

Valentine gestured gracefully.  

“Let’s talk while we eat.”  

The servant placed a silver plate in front of Isabel’s table.  

Their hands were trembling ever so slightly.  

“P-Please enjoy your meal.”  

The servant quickly spoke and retreated with backward steps.  

Isabel frowned.  

No matter how nervous they were, Winchester servants wouldn’t normally act at this level.  

But when Isabel checked the plate in front of her, shock spread across her face.  

“What… is this?”  

On the beautiful plate, there was only a piece of blackened bread and a bowl of soup.  

The watery soup contained a few floating vegetables, and a shriveled piece of bacon lay next to the bread.  

It was the kind of meal that impoverished noble households might serve to their maids.  

“Is something wrong? I prepared a meal befitting someone who covets a maid’s position.”  

Valentine smiled faintly and raised his wine glass in a mock toast.  

Realizing the situation, Isabel trembled and stood up from her seat.  

“Are you mocking me? No matter how much of a Duke you are, this is unacceptable!”  

Her voice was sharp enough to shatter glass.  

But Valentine calmly set down his wine glass and spoke.  

“Isabel Myra. You may play the role of the Duchess of Winchester outside this mansion. But don’t dare act as the master within it. Inside this mansion, you are….”  

Valentine shrugged as he finished his sentence.  

“Nothing more than an unpleasant parasite.”  

“How dare you!”  

Isabel stormed toward him.  

Without hesitation, she slapped him across the face.