If I were to choose the most absurd thing I’ve heard recently, I could pick what Deputy Captain Calt said without a moment’s hesitation.

[Hahaha, you came all the way here because you’re worried about Young Master Dietrich? Oh my, Heidi. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for the young master?]

Me, fallen for Dietrich?

Haha! Uncle Calt, who had no idea about my taste, was spewing nonsense.

Even thinking about it again, it doesn’t make sense.

But I think I just heard an even more serious nonsense than that, just now.

Thinking I must have misheard, I rubbed my ears.

However, the maid started to continue with the shocking words without stopping.

“Look at everyone pretending not to know. It’s okay for us to talk comfortably among ourselves! The rumor has already spread widely throughout the mansion, and there’s no one who doesn’t know about it.”

At the maid’s words, another maid finally started to speak.

“That’s true. Well, this is quite a believable story since the young master has never met any other young lady before. He was strangely uninterested in women too.”

Dietrich, a homosexual.

Dietrich, a homosexual!

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurd and suffocating words.

Ah, if only Dietrich could hear this, how amusing would it be?

I could have laughed at the sight of cracks forming on his usually expressionless and cold handsome face.

As I was giggling alone, Marie, who was next to me, asked.

“Why are you laughing, Heidi?”

“Ah, I just can’t believe that the young master is a homosexual.”

I could bet my life that Dietrich was not a homosexual.

That’s because Dietrich was the male protagonist of the popular romance novel “The End of Salvation”.

Since there was a clearly defined female protagonist, Dietrich couldn’t possibly be a homosexual.

However, the maid seemed to firmly believe the false information.

“I heard the madam has been feeling down lately, and it’s all because of the shock that Young Master Dietrich is a homosexual.”

“But what does Young Master Dietrich often leaving the mansion have to do with him being a homosexual?”

Another maid tilted her head and asked, looking puzzled.

It was a very apt question.

I was also extremely curious about that very thing.

I knew better than anyone that Dietrich had been frequently leaving the mansion lately.

Although I wasn’t particularly waiting for Dietrich, contrary to the thought that I would occasionally run into him, it was hard to see him as if he didn’t live in the mansion at all.

“Ah, that’s the key point of today’s story. But you have to keep this a secret. If it gets out who started this rumor, everyone’s heads will fly off.”

“Alright, I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Hurry up and tell us. I’m dying of curiosity.”

The maid who was urged by the surrounding maids glanced around and whispered in an even lower voice than before.

It was so quiet that you wouldn’t be able to hear unless you put your ear close.

We huddled together, our faces almost touching.

“Actually, the person Young Master Dietrich has fallen for is…”

“Is?”

“Viscount Nocturne Frey.”

…?

I just blinked stupidly.

Wow, what did I just hear?

Unlike me who was dumbfounded, the other maids clapped their hands or covered their mouths.

“No way! That Viscount Nocturne Frey?”

“Isn’t he the young master’s friend?”

“Love usually starts from friendship. But the young master is in big trouble too. If the rumor about him really being a homosexual spreads, won’t his succession to the dukedom be out of the question?”

“To be honest, I thought Young Master Yurian was better than Young Master Dietrich from the beginning. Young Master Dietrich is known to be a scary person. If someone like him becomes the duke, it will be hard to work comfortably in the Delgado mansion. If we make even a small mistake, our heads will fly off immediately.”

“That’s true. He’s famous for being merciless. I’ve never even made eye contact with him while working until now.”

The maids’ dangerous gossip continued endlessly.

However, I couldn’t even join the conversation due to the shocking rumor floating around in my head.

‘Dietrich and Nocturne are in love with each other?’

Where on earth did such an absurd rumor start to spread from?

My plan to tease Dietrich by telling him the nonsensical rumor I heard today, saying ‘You love Nocturne!’, vanished like a bubble in the unexpectedly serious situation.

‘This is a deliberate slander.’

If the rumor of Dietrich being a homosexual spreads, there was a high possibility that it would cause serious problems for his succession to the dukedom.

And the person who wants Dietrich not to inherit the dukedom the most.

‘Duchess Leriana.’

It was strange to the core that the duchess was ailing because of this rumor.

I hastily drank up the remaining strawberry juice in the cup.

Come to think of it, it was infuriating.

Using a tactic of spreading absurd rumors in such a cowardly way.

It seemed to be a strategy that took advantage of the fact that there were many foolish maids who would fall for such rumors.

Bad rumors about Dietrich, who had a poor reputation within the mansion, would spread quickly even without the duchess putting in effort.

“Although Young Master Yurian is still young, he’s not very heartless.”

“That’s right. You know that rumor? The one about Young Master Dietrich cutting off the wrist of a maid who lost a jewel he cherished.”

“I remember that. So that maid lost her wrist and had her tongue cut out, and was kicked out of the Delgado mansion.”

As the excitement died down, I started to hear the maids’ stories.

Ah, I knew the full story of this as well.

The identity of the maid who supposedly lost the jewel Dietrich cherished was a spy planted by the duchess.

She pretended to clean Dietrich’s room and tried to steal the imitation jewel necklace left by his mother, the former duchess, but was caught by him.

The maid who was caught by Dietrich begged for her life and returned the necklace, and he tried to kill her in anger but eventually decided to forgive her.

It wasn’t Dietrich who took the maid’s wrist and tongue.

The truth of the rumor was that the duchess, who was afraid that the maid would reveal everything if she failed her mission, cut off her wrists and tongue and kicked her out.

However, there was no way the maids would know these facts.

Misunderstandings kept piling up.

‘It’s amazing that he remained unaffected despite receiving such misunderstandings.’

If there’s something wrong, you should have tried to set it straight first!

Of course, I could guess that Dietrich might have let go of the endless misunderstandings and pretended not to know.

People who were caught up in the duchess’s long-standing scheme to isolate Dietrich probably wouldn’t even think of listening to the truth.

It was probably only a matter of time before Dietrich, who was left alone after his mother left, became even more lonely.

I understood him resigning to the already widespread false rumors and not denying them, but it was frustrating.

‘I can’t just watch and let this go on like this!’

I couldn’t let Dietrich keep being misunderstood.

At this rate, wouldn’t the possibility of him becoming the duke certainly decrease?

So this is all for the sake of Dietrich’s smooth succession to the dukedom.

That’s what I said, but my anger had risen to the top of my head while listening to the conversation of the ignorant maids.

I exhaled loudly to suppress my boiling insides and speak as calmly as possible, but only a huff of breath came out of my nose.

It’s not a good choice to get angry here, so let’s stay calm for now.

I closed my eyes tightly and caught my breath.

If I flail and get heated in front of people who already firmly believe the distorted truth, I’ll only look strange.

The most effective way to deal with them is to make them see and believe directly.

To do that, I just need to lay down a little bait.

Subtly implying that Dietrich is actually kinder than he looks and is obsessed with swords, let alone being a homosexual.

I casually joined the conversation that was heated up by the fresh rumor.

I poked my face between the whispering people and nodded as if listening intently, then suddenly muttered.

“By the way, has anyone actually had a conversation with Young Master Dietrich?”

“Huh?”

Despite their reaction that it was out of the blue, I steadfastly continued.

“Come to think of it, it’s strange. I heard Young Master Dietrich is a very scary person, but it’s a bit odd that he’s quiet about such rumors.”

“… Well, maybe it’s because he has something to hide? Besides, it must be hard for Young Master Dietrich to find out who’s been spreading it around.”

I feigned ignorance and shrugged lightly.

“Really? But weren’t we just talking about the rumor of the young master being a homosexual?”

At my words, the surroundings instantly became quiet.

Realizing that they were the ones who were talking about the rumor, their faces turned pale.

“Maybe he knows but is pretending not to. If the rumor has spread widely in the mansion, he would surely know that such talk would come up while he’s away. Yet he doesn’t scold us, pretending not to know. Perhaps he doesn’t want to blame the ignorance of easily falling for lies.”

I felt the maids exchanging glances with each other.

I sensed them realizing some fact they had missed out on due to their fascination and becoming confused.

“Then are you saying I’m spreading false rumors?”

The maid who shared the rumor spoke bluntly.

“No way! It could be true that Young Master Dietrich is a homosexual.”

I hurriedly waved my hands and denied it.

Gently appeasing the maid so as not to hurt her feelings.

“Even so, I don’t think I would believe the rumors unless I hear it directly from Young Master Dietrich.”

And finally, I wrapped it up with the tenacity of conveying my opinion!

The maid flinched when she saw my eyes shining brightly and clearly.

It was evident that she was afraid of becoming the main culprit spreading uncertain rumors due to my firm stance.

After hesitating for a moment and rolling her eyes, she nodded slightly.

“Yeah, that would be the right thing, wouldn’t it?”

Starting with the maid’s words, other people around also began to agree, saying it was right.

“That’s right. Come to think of it, Heidi. I think I heard from Clara before that you know a bit about Young Master Dietrich.”

“Me too! I think I heard that. To be honest, I don’t believe it, but she said Young Master Dietrich has an unexpected side.”

“Then that rumor might not be true after all.”

The attitude of the maids who were gossiping about the rumor changed in an instant.

I smiled with a sense of accomplishment and got up from my seat, brushing my hands.

It may have only briefly stopped the spread of the bad rumor.

‘I should definitely tell Dietrich about it later.’

It doesn’t seem good to just watch and leave the rumor like this.

Anyway, I felt a sense of pride for working hard for Dietrich’s succession to the dukedom today as well.

Now, as I waved my hand lightly to return to the kitchen, Robert quietly followed behind me.

Robert, who had been strangely quiet, started walking side by side with me, matching my pace.

Glancing at me, he suddenly asked.

“What would you think if Young Master Dietrich was really a homosexual?”