Staring at Meiana in disbelief, Vainty shouted abruptly.

“Do you think I’d believe that?”

Yet, Meiana calmly crossed her arms.

“You’d do well to lower your voice. If you wake everyone and recite what I just said, we’ll have more than a little problem. You’re not that stupid, are you?”

Vainty’s face flushed crimson. Even then, Meiana momentarily thought of Ariante and stifled a laugh. She wished Ariante were here to hear this.

See, Your Highness, this is what they call a ‘fool.’

However, Meiana’s calm demeanor couldn’t last. Vainty, trembling as if on the verge of exploding, lunged at her as if to grab her by the collar.

“Fine, let’s say I believe your cunning words. Who the hell are you then? Who’s behind all this?”

Straightening her shoulders, Meiana blinked. She then paused and looked down at Vainty, who stepped back, suddenly uneasy.

“Why, what’s the matter?”

Meiana spoke.

“The perpetrator is still uncertain.”

“You’re absolutely insane!”

Vainty took the chance to mock her. But Meiana’s expression remained unchanged.

“I said ‘uncertain,’ not ‘unknown.’ And whoever did this must be sleeping soundly right now. You and I must find them. To be more accurate, you have to help me.”

“Why should I?”

Meiana pulled a button from her pocket and dangled it in front of Vainty.

“Don’t you want this back? Your possession. Word is, this button is a gift from your lover. So cherished, you haven’t even sewn it onto your clothes.”

Vainty stared at the button, then frowned.

“Hey, hold on. I never said that!”

“Didn’t you?”

“Yes! If the housekeeper heard I had a lover, do you know what would happen? She’d oust someone at the drop of a hat. Am I mad?”

For a moment, Meiana’s eyes seemed to shine. It could have been a trick of the lamplight, but to Vainty, it looked eerily ominous.

“So, Vainty, you haven’t told anyone about this button? Be honest.”

Vainty hesitated.

“Well, not ‘no one.’ One time… while doing laundry in the evening…”

“Once? Are you sure?”

Vainty grimaced, but Meiana pressed on.

“Why aren’t you answering? Was it only once?”

“…Three times! Why do I have to tell you all this? Are you an interrogator?”

“Who did you tell?”

Vainty named some maids, but Meiana didn’t recognize all of them. Yet, one name did ring a bell.

“And Bridget… that’s all.”

“Bridget…”

Biting her lower lip, Meiana fell into thought.

“Doesn’t Bridget share a room with Grete?”

“Yes, so what?”

Vainty moved closer as if demanding the button, but Meiana swiftly turned, dodging her reach.
While his gaze still wandered elsewhere, as if mulling over some intricate puzzle, much like a child…

Then Bainti spoke, crossing her arms and snorting.

“Speaking of Grete, that girl. I’ve heard she’s been rather out of it lately.”

Meiana swiftly turned her head.

“Out of it, Grete?”

Looking at Meiana with disdain, as if she should already know, Bainti spoke. “Well, what would a newcomer like you know about this?” She shrugged her shoulders as she continued.

“You might not know since you’re new here, but that Grete, that girl, is hilarious. The first day she came to the mansion, she locked herself in her room all day, crying. She was almost kicked out by the head butler.”

“Crying, for what reason?”

Humming sarcastically, Bainti responded.

“If I were a daughter of a noble house… well, a house no one’s heard of anyway, what’s so great about it? Probably just some country bumpkins who owned some land. Went bankrupt because they had no money. She should’ve come to her senses if she had to earn money, but she acted as if she were the protagonist of some tragic story.”

While saying this, Bainti sneakily glanced at Meiana’s expression. She hoped to see a shocked face but was disappointed.

To her surprise, Meiana had a serious look on her face. She appeared more convinced than shocked.

A damp wind blew, and the sound of mosquitoes buzzing near her ear reached Bainti. Annoyed, she swatted her hand and spoke tersely.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Meiana retorted.

“I’m waiting for you to speak. You haven’t gotten to the important part yet. You said Grete seems out of it lately. What does that mean?”

“Literally what I said. You see her face every day and you didn’t notice? Does she think she’s some sort of Countess? She’s been skulking around the Count’s residence, didn’t you know?”

This time, Meiana gave Bainti the expression she desired. It wasn’t that she ‘gave’ it; rather, she had no choice…

Meiana spoke, “Grete is doing such things?”

“Yes, can’t you see? The maids in that department are already gossiping about how Grete shamelessly lurks around. She picks flowers to put in vases, idles around in corridors. She even cheekily asked me to deliver the princess’s meal because the Count had urgently summoned her. A complete lie. Why would the Count summon her? I pretended not to know just to be kind.”

Meiana was not in a position to argue with Bainti’s words right now. She was thinking about an event from a few days prior.

It was when Grete had asked her to bring the princess’s meal; instead, Bainti had come. With a plate that had had all of Ariante’s disliked foods meticulously hidden…

Meiana had thought it was Bainti’s prank. That Bainti had seen Grete bring the meal and deliberately switched the plates.

It wasn’t unreasonable to think so. Bainti had always been rude to Ariante…

‘But it wasn’t that. There was another culprit.’

As Meiana sorted out her thoughts, muddled with a faint sense of betrayal and confusion, Bainti continued to chatter on, swatting mosquitoes away with her hand.
“Grete, the maid, will surely cause some trouble soon. She might even sneak into His Lordship the Count’s bed, avoiding the butler’s eyes. And she claims to be so innocent. On the surface, she acts like a fluffy lamb, but inside, she probably harbors a hundred dark snakes.”

Then, seemingly lost in thought, Bainti began to chuckle. When Meianna stared at her, she continued.

“I just remembered something. Was it about two years ago? She had a terrible experience. Ah, that was so funny.”

“A terrible experience?”

“By the Princess. She pretended to know something about a toy and ended up disgraced. I happened to be there, and her expression was truly priceless. I thought she was going to throw the Princess out the window.”

Impatient, Meianna urged Bainti.

“Elaborate.”

“What was it… Ah, yes. The Princess had a doll with green eyes. Well, she has so many, I don’t know if she still has it… but she did. Grete saw the doll and suddenly exclaimed, ‘Oh my, this doll! I had one too. These green diamond eyes! They were so beautiful. How nostalgic…'”

Bainti mimicked Grete’s voice with exaggerated falsetto. Though it wasn’t a close imitation, the tone was convincing. Her unique way of softening the ends of her sentences…

“And then?”

“The Princess stared at Grete and said, ‘Those aren’t diamonds, they’re green garnets. You think every shiny thing is a diamond? There are many types of gems. Even if you’re just a maid, educate yourself. And don’t touch my things.’ Can you imagine how Grete must’ve felt?”

Bainti doubled over, chuckling as if she couldn’t contain herself.

“It was so funny! She keeps dropping hints like, ‘I was originally a noble,’ you know? But she couldn’t even distinguish one type of gem from another. Thinking every shiny thing is a diamond? What kind of noble does that? Anyway, after that, Grete was like a dead person around the Princess. But do you think she can avoid my gaze? Every time she came out of the Princess’s room, her face was contorted as if she’d seen a demon. Well, she had good reason.”

“What do you mean, she had good reason? Are you saying the Princess is the problem?”

Meianna’s voice suddenly turned cold, catching Bainti off guard.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that? We’re just talking among ourselves here, but what’s so great about that little girl?”