IHDOE Ch 2

[Satina] "……Death?"

[Marie] "What did you say?"

[Satina] "It is nothing."

Anticipating Satina's potential confusion, the maid's face and personal details floated onto the translucent window.

Name: Marie

Occupation: Satina's personal maid

Current Status: Seeking an opportunity to betray her master

Even without the notification, she knew Marie well. How could she not know her own personal maid?

[Marie] "Why are you acting like this today? Whatever. You are going to eat dinner now, right?"

Without waiting for Satina's answer, Marie spun around and walked out of the room.

Expel Marie?

As a duke's daughter, expelling a mere maid like Marie posed little difficulty in theory. Marie's recent behavior alone provided ample reason. A maid pounded on her master's door, barged in without permission, ignored her master's response, and made decisions as she pleased.

Any other noble would inflict severe punishment and throw Marie out without hesitation. The problem lay in the fact that Satina was the target. She was not Duke Bersabet's biological daughter, but a stain on House Bersabet who had lost the Duke's favor.

Besides, I am currently confined to my room under punishment.

For Satina, whom the servants treated with utter contempt, attempting to dismiss a maid would only invite ridicule.

The Duke ordered me to stay quiet and reflect…… but failing the quest means death anyway.

If death awaited either way, attempting something before dying made far more sense.

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[Marie] "Eat."

She slammed the bowl down before Satina. The rough motion splashed soup onto her skirt, but Marie merely glanced at it and remained silent.

[Satina] "Wait."

[Marie] "What now?"

Marie replied, making no effort to hide her annoyance. Her eyes drifted to Satina's stained skirt. Marie knew her own mistake, yet she also knew Satina could do nothing about it.

Such was Satina's position in this household.

Duke Bersabet and Satina's stepsiblings considered it a disgrace that Satina—a girl without a drop of their blood or a noble lineage—bore the Bersabet name.

Her birth mother, the Duchess, stayed far away even during blatant abuse, fearing sparks might fall on her.

With the family acting this way, the servants had no reason to treat Satina with respect.

[Satina] "……No, it is nothing."

A triumphant look filled Marie's eyes at Satina's response. She found it entertaining that a duke's daughter backed down helplessly before a servant like her.

[Marie] "Honestly, calling me over when I am busy. Just hurry up and eat."

Satina looked at the soup before her. Left unheated for a long time, the soup had gone cold, looking more like watery broth than a proper meal.

[Liv] "Nutrition and taste are both abysmal. Grazing on roadside grass would offer better sustenance."

Satina replied mentally to Liv's assessment.

I know.

She could guess the taste without taking a single bite. It was surely excessively salty, sweet, or spicy.

On the day she first ate food that resembled a punishment dish rather than a meal, she flew into a rage. Yet nothing changed.

Are you in any position to complain about food? Stay quiet, Satina. Stay quiet.

Duke Bersabet's careless words practically granted the maids permission to disregard Satina. Normally, she would eat quietly, but today demanded a different response.

Because this food contains poison.

Satina recalled what her younger stepbrother, one of the game's male leads, had told the heroine.

Our elder sister went even crazier after a maid attempted to poison her on her birthday this year.

The day a maid tried to poison me is today.

Satina was still alive right now. Therefore, if a maid attempted poisoning, the poison was most likely inside this dinner bowl.

Or she is carrying the poison on her person, waiting for a chance to feed it to me.

Having finished her calm calculations, she spoke.

[Satina] "Did you bring this expecting me to eat it?"

[Marie] "Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You always ate it fine before."

[Satina] "No, I am curious. Duke Bersabet ordered me to reflect, not to consume trash."

Her firm attitude flustered Marie.

[Satina] "Who ordered you to do this? The head maid? The head chef? Or did you do this on your own?"

[Marie] "What are you talking about?"

[Satina] "I must know the culprit to hold them accountable. Otherwise, no servant would dare serve food unworthy of a stray dog to a duke's daughter. Fine. I will investigate this myself."

As she moved to leave the room, Marie blocked her path.

[Marie] "Wait! My Lady! Where do you think you are going? Did you not hear His Grace's orders to remain in confinement?"

[Satina] "That doesn't mean I must keep eating trash like this. I will speak directly to the head maid."

[Marie] "Wait a moment. Please calm down first……!"

She grabbed Satina around the waist.

[Satina] "Let go! Will you let go? How dare a maid block the path of a duke's daughter? Are you mocking me right now?"

[Liv] "To cause a larger scene, strike the maid across the face."

Though Satina heard Liv's suggestion, hesitation stayed her hand; instead, she shoved Marie violently.

[Liv] "Shove harder."

[Liv] "Force of that degree will not cause death."

The system offered odd advice, but no time remained to question Liv. Between the open doorway, she was occupied wrestling with Marie.

As the commotion grew, maids passing through the hallway cast glances toward Satina.

[Liv] "Fame decreased by 1 due to the disturbance."

Though the system chime sounded, Satina didn't stop making a scene. Lost Fame could be recovered, but a dead life would never return.

The critical goal was expelling Marie from the mansion today to survive.

I am a villainess now. The crazy woman to end all crazy women.

Steeling her resolve, she shouted.

[Satina] "Aha! So you put poison in my food! That is why you are stopping me from leaving!"

[Marie] "My Lady! What are you talking about! Poison! I served you with absolute devotion; how could you……!"

[Butler] "What on earth is the meaning of this outrageous behavior!"

Ah, he finally arrived.

Why else had Satina caused such an uproar? Lacking the power to expel a servant herself, she needed to summon someone holding that authority.

Turning around, she found the butler standing with a terrifying expression. The butler approached the two women with a rigid face.

[Marie] "B-Butler…… that is……"

Facing her superior, Marie's face turned deathly pale.

Without sparing a glance at Marie, the butler confronted Satina directly.

[Butler] "My Lady, what are you doing? Not even three hours have passed since His Grace ordered your confinement! Do you think creating such a scene makes any sense!"

In the past, the butler's scolding would have made Satina shrink back instantly. In fact, she would never have thought of causing a scene to summon the butler in the first place. Yet now, thanks to memories of her past life returning, she assessed the situation with composure.

Brushing back her stray hair, she met the butler's eyes directly.

[Satina] "Yes, I heard Father's order to remain in confinement. I have no intention of breaking his command. But Butler, how can I stay quiet when that maid is trying to kill me?"

Her voice sounded calm, making her previous wild outburst hard to believe.

[Butler] "Trying to kill you? What nonsense are you talking about? Stop causing trouble over foolish delusions and return to your room."

[Satina] "This is no delusion. She tampered with the food brought for my dinner. Inspect the meal right now, and you will see."

The butler studied her with unfamiliar eyes.

What is this? Has Lady Satina ever held such a look in her eyes?

The Satina the butler observed over the past ten years resembled a withered flower. She always appeared cowered, lacking the confidence to make proper eye contact with anyone. At the same time, she was needlessly sensitive and hysterical, occasionally throwing strange tantrums.

To think someone bearing the Bersabet name possessed so little dignity.

Having served House Bersabet for generations, the butler despised Satina for failing to shed her lowborn roots even after ten years. Yet the Satina standing before him now was different.

Despite her disheveled clothing, she faced the butler directly with an elegant composure.

Did Lady Satina always look like this?

The face he encountered just a few hours ago appeared entirely new. He was looking at her face properly for the first time.

[Butler] "What will you do if this turns out to be false?"

She smirked at his question.

[Satina] "Butler, I am not talking about a maid attempting to harm me. I am talking about a maid attempting to harm the Lady of House Bersabet. Regardless of how Father treats me, I remain Lady Bersabet and the Crown Prince's fiancée. Attempting to kill me means this maid dared to challenge Father's authority, or else……"

She cast a sharp gaze at Marie.

Ever since the butler appeared, Marie clung to the wall, trembling, unable to utter a single word.

[Satina] "She might be a spy sent by another house."

Marie shook frantically in denial.

[Marie] "N-No! A spy! What are you talking about! That is right! Butler! I did nothing!"

The butler frowned in dilemma. Whatever the maid did to Satina was none of his concern. However, the uproar Satina caused drew many watching eyes. If he ignored the matter after accusations of espionage, bizarre rumors of favoring the maid might spread among the mansion servants.

[Butler] "Very well. However, if this proves false, I will report this matter to His Grace. You know what will happen if you cause such a scene during confinement, do you not?"

[Satina] "Do as you wish."

Though the butler threatened her, Satina retained her relaxed expression.

[Butler] "You two over there. Seize this maid so she doesn't escape."

[Marie] "Ugh, ugh……"

The butler stepped inside her room, bringing along Satina and trembling Marie.

Spotting the soup resting on the table, the butler narrowed his eyes.

Unbelievable.

Even for someone under confinement, the meal was far too meager.

The maid had clearly tampered with it, yet even this meal was more than generous for Satina, the disgrace of House Bersabet. Should she not be grateful to eat inside the ducal mansion?

To test for poison, the butler drew out a narwhal horn and stirred the soup.

……This is.

The tip of the horn had turned black.

Can her claims actually be true?

He issued orders with a grim face.

[Butler] "Seize that maid at once! You, go inspect her quarters!"

[Servant] "Understood!"

At his command, the servants moved swiftly.

Marie begged desperately.

[Marie] "N-No! Butler! There is a misunderstanding! Why would I do such a thing?! I did nothing! T-That is it! Lady Satina put it in herself and lied! My Lady! No matter how much you hate me, how could you do this!"

Though she thrashed and screamed, Satina stood motionless without uttering a word.

The butler searched Marie thoroughly. Finally, he retrieved a small bottle the size of a finger from her pocket. As he held up the bottle, Marie's face grew pale.

[Marie] "Wait! Butler! That is……!"

[Butler] "Unhand me!"

Roughing off Marie, the butler examined the liquid inside the bottle and spoke.

[Butler] "This is…… paralytic poison."

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