A Mad Lady’s Confession - Chapter 20

‘Let me try meeting them one by one and ask them to speak honestly.’

Even she thought this wasn’t a noble’s method. Her sister always knew how to handle those beneath them with the right amount of authority. But Eleanor didn’t have that kind of presence, so she thought this was the best she could do.

The head maid sent the maids into the drawing room one by one. Some cried, some were calm, and others were frightened, but every answer was the same. “I don’t know,” and “I didn’t take it.”

Eleanor couldn’t help but wonder what Del would’ve done. Even if she was weak, Del had been clever.

“Um, madam….”

The youngest maid cautiously called out to her. Was her name Lili? For some reason, after calling Eleanor, Lili looked terrified.

“It’s alright. If you just tell the truth, nothing will happen. I won’t be angry. Did you take it?”

“N-no! I swear to the sun god, I didn’t take it!”

Lili waved her hands frantically in protest, tears streaming down her face.

“Then why are you crying?”

“I-it’s not that, it’s just….”

“You don’t have to be afraid.”

“A-actually… I saw Miss Sorelson…… coming out of here late at night….”

“….”

“I-it’s not a lie, I definitely saw her—”

“I’m not doubting you.”

Among the many maids in the mansion, Lili was one of the youngest. She had many younger siblings at home, and her parents were always burdened with work.

When she first said she would work as a maid, her parents had held her hand for a long time, crying as she pretended to be asleep with her eyes closed. Lili could never forget that night.

She knew how relieved and happy her parents were when she got into House Nielsen, which treated its servants better than anywhere else. Lili didn’t want to leave this place.

“M-madam… if Miss Sorelson f-finds out what I saw, then she might….”

Eleanor looked quietly at Lili. Her frightened eyes trembled.

Even with the mistress of the house standing right before her, she was more afraid of being harmed by a mere lady-in-waiting of that mistress. Because she knew the mistress wouldn’t be able to protect even a single young maid.

What should she call this?

Am I really doing this right?

Del. Am I doing this right?

Of course, there was no one who would answer her.

“…Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you.”

Only then did Lili, her eyes red, nod as if reassured.

Miss Sorelson didn’t bother to hide her displeasure. The way she looked at Eleanor was arrogant and sharp enough to pierce.

“Miss Sorelson, I’ll ask you. Do you happen to know where the perfume bottle bestowed by Her Highness the Princess went?”

“How would I know?”

“You know that the number of people who can enter this room is limited.”

“So?”

“…The maids I asked earlier all said they didn’t take it.”

“How naive of you to trust the words of maids, Madam.”

Eleanor paused for a moment and chose her words. She wasn’t questioning Miss Sorelson simply because she believed Lili’s statement.

No matter how large the mansion was, it wasn’t as easy as one might think to secretly take something in and out.

The servants were all meticulous in managing the areas they were responsible for, and they worked carefully enough to notice at a glance if anything was different or suspicious.

Moreover, since they themselves would be the first to fall under suspicion if something went missing, they also kept an unspoken watch over one another.

If that many people, who would all be in trouble if an item went missing, tried their hardest and still couldn’t find it, then there was a high chance it had already been taken outside.

“Servants aren’t allowed to leave without the master’s permission, are they, Miss Sorelson?”

“Are you trying to ask me how to manage servants?”

“If the item didn’t turn up even after searching the entire mansion for half a day, then the perfume bottle is probably already outside.”

“….”

Eleanor slowly picked up the servants’ work log that had been placed on the table.

“From last night, when the perfume went missing, until now, six people have gone out. All of them received permission from the butler and the head maid, and they went in pairs to run errands.”

“Then it must be one of those six.”

“None of those six can enter my drawing room.”

“….”

“In other words, among the people qualified to enter my room, not a single one has gone out.”

Except for one person.

A lady’s lady-in-waiting could usually only return to her family home when permitted or given leave by her mistress.

However, Miss Sorelson was only a lady-in-waiting in name, so while Eleanor was being held back and picked apart by Lady Jules, she would visit her estate.

And she always returned to Nielsen’s stone mansion before dinner, just before Matthias came home.

Miss Sorelson had gone to her estate early this morning, saying her grandfather was unwell. Even without Eleanor saying more, Miss Sorelson’s eyes trembled at what that could imply.

Of course, it was possible that her grandfather was truly ill. It could simply be unfortunate timing. But….

When Miss Sorelson had come close to her earlier, asking about the embroidery pattern, Eleanor had caught a faint scent from her. It was very similar to the perfume from yesterday.

She didn’t want to create conflict. At least for a year, she wanted to live as a good wife and a good mistress, just as someone had once hoped for her. After a quiet sigh, Eleanor continued speaking.

“…If you happened to set it somewhere else for a moment and forgot, please think about it carefully…. Everyone makes mistakes—”

Smack.

The sharp sound echoed through the study. Heat immediately flared across her burning cheek. The one trembling uncontrollably wasn’t Eleanor, who had been struck, but Miss Sorelson.

“How dare you try to frame me as a thief right now?!”

Her raised voice was sharp enough to tear at the eardrums. Eleanor simply stared blankly, one hand holding her cheek, at Miss Sorelson, who was shaking with rage.

“How dare you! Someone like you! A lunatic, of all things!”

“….”

“Just because you entered Nielsen, do you think you’ve become the real mistress?! No one acknowledges you! Even the maids out there don’t follow someone like you!”

It wasn’t something Eleanor didn’t already know. She might be slow and awkward, but she wasn’t foolish or oblivious. In fact, because of her childhood experiences, she could read the atmosphere keenly in some ways.

The servants of House Nielsen held respect and pride for the family, along with a strong sense of duty toward their work. In any case, they treated her with proper courtesy as the mistress of Nielsen.

However, Eleanor also knew that no one truly respected her.

“Do you even know what everyone calls you? The most infamous madwoman in Lemren! Ah, you already know that, don’t you? Should I say it again?”

Miss Sorelson’s lips twisted into a crooked smile. Her voice dropped low, whispering, the words tasting foul.

“A whore who’s desperate to spread her legs for the Crown Prince.”

“….”

Her head spun. It felt like nausea was rising from deep inside her. Something bubbled up from the pit of her stomach.

Breathe, I need to breathe.

What did Dr. Milton say? What was it….

Her breathing wouldn’t come easily. It felt like something was lodged in her throat, choking her.

Her heart felt like it would burst. Hah, hah, harsh breaths echoed, she couldn’t even tell if they were her own.

The eyes of Miss Sorelson, which had been glaring like a wildcat just moments ago, shifted into shock. Crash, with a loud noise, Eleanor’s vision went black.

***

“There’s a mad disease living in our blood.”

Whisper, whisper, someone murmured.

Yes, that’s right. Our blood is teeming with a mad disease. So you have to endure it, El.

Eleanor, you have to endure.

You have to endure.

Endure.

“….”

When she opened her eyes again, it was quiet and dim all around.

A faint light spreading from the far end lingered at the edge of her vision. Eleanor slowly raised her body.

“Have you come to your senses?”

At the voice that rang out in the space where no presence had been felt, Eleanor’s eyes hurriedly searched the room for its source.

By the terrace window, a man sat on the sofa like a sculpture. Even under the dim lighting of the night, his presence was distinct. She could sense that his gaze was directed at her.

“How did I—”

“They say it was hyperventilation.”

“….”

“Does it happen often?”

“…I was just startled. …B-because I lost the imperial family’s gift…….”

“You hyperventilated and fainted over a single bottle of perfume?”

A single bottle of perfume. Everyone had caused an uproar all day as if it were something indispensable.

As always when he was deep in thought, Matthias tapped the armrest with his index finger. Tap, tap.

That gesture made it feel like he was waiting for her answer.

Eleanor wanted to tell him honestly about what happened with Miss Sorelson. She wanted to ask for help, to say she didn’t know how to resolve it.

Why did she think that? He didn’t show her any courtesy beyond formality, nor did he speak kindly to her. In truth, they hadn’t even spoken much.

And yet, the man seemed extremely rational. In a world where one could go mad, he seemed like someone who still retained his nature.

If Eleanor poured out her story, it felt like he would judge it rationally and give an objective answer in a calm, ordinary tone.

Just as she finally made up her mind and parted her lips, a low voice came first.

“Were you afraid you’d be punished for losing a gift bestowed by the imperial family?”

“….”

“And so, you had to frame Miss Sorelson as a thief?”

“…What?”