I intimidated her a few more times before stopping and, still bowing, spoke.

“Miss, I was about to kneel, but since this hunting dog is not fully trained yet… whenever I try to move, it keeps trying to break free. But I’ll still kneel…”

“Don’t kneel!”

As if she had been waiting for it, Delia urgently shouted with both hands out.

“Don’t kneel! Don’t move a step! Stay right there!”

“Yes, miss. …Cream, sit.”

Cream obediently sat down with grace.

Absolutely adorable. I need to ask Tom to give her a lot of treats when we get back.

“Cream… uh, the dog is under my control, so don’t worry and please go ahead, Miss.”

“Don’t you dare let go. I won’t forgive you if you do.”

Swoosh.

“Aaaah! I said don’t let go!”

“Yes. I was paying attention to your words, Miss, and almost accidentally let go.”

Delia glared at me as she walked past.

“You, I won’t let you off easy once I leave here. You’ll really be sorry.”

Delia muttered as she almost got out of the area, and just then, Cream barked right on cue.

“Bark!!”

“Aaaah!!”

Delia ran off without looking back. I straightened up and gently patted Cream before moving on.

“Are you okay?”

I asked the carriage repairman who was still on the ground. He looked at Cream next to me with a frightened face.

“Don’t worry. It’s a well-trained hunting dog.”

“What? But just now…”

“Cream, could you lie down and wait?”

“Woof!”

Cream obediently lay down and waited. The repairman looked at Cream in amazement.

“You were trying to help me, weren’t you?”

The repairman stood up and looked at me gratefully. I carefully observed his face.

I didn’t recognize him, which suggested he hadn’t been working for the Deverty family for long. Fortunately, he didn’t recognize me either.

But why does everyone act like they’ve met a savior every time I help them from Delia’s wrongdoings?

“I had my personal reasons too.”

“Still… thank you.”

“How much longer for the carriage repairs?”

“It looks like it will take a few more days. The necessary parts are hard to come by… I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize to me. I’m just a maid, after all.”

A few more days. That means I have to stay here longer.

I exchanged a few more words with the repairman before leaving with Cream.

‘She still hasn’t learned her lesson.’

I felt it would be too easy to just let Delia off the hook.

In the wee hours of the morning, when everyone was asleep, I changed out of my maid’s uniform into the clothes I brought with me when I first came to the North.

Using less frequented paths, I headed to the brewery.

The warmth had eased the cold, so the wine production was almost complete, and no staff were stationed at the brewery.

The door to the brewery, which should have been closed, was open. As if someone had entered before me.

‘You’re here.’

I entered through the open door, making no sound.

“Who’s there! Who dares send me this note! Come out now!!”

Inside, Delia was rampaging in a frenzy.

The warm Pallo family’s brewery was always operational, so not considering that no staff would be there, she seemed to have come alone.

Just as I expected.

I knew you would, Delia.

Delia was pacing around the eerie, empty brewery.

In her hand was the note I had secretly placed in her room.

The note scheduled a meeting in the brewery at a certain time and included a question asking how it felt to kill a close friend.
Fortunately, Delia seemed to have recognized my handwriting right away, despite my efforts to make it unmistakable.

Creak.

I reached out and closed the door I had entered through.

As the door closed, Delia’s head turned towards the brewery entrance.

And then her eyes met mine, standing in front of the door.

I smiled, and Delia’s face was etched with sheer terror.

“Hello, Delia.”

“Wha-what, what, huh.”

Upon seeing my face, Delia couldn’t even scream, instead making choked noises and collapsing on the spot.

Her body shook like a leaf in the wind. The fear she had from Cream in the morning was nothing compared to this.

“You, you. You……!”

“Yes, it’s me.”

I slowly approached Delia. I hadn’t worn shoes on purpose to create a sinister atmosphere, and the cold seeped in, but strangely, my blood seemed to boil with excitement.

The sensation of being alive was vivid.

“You killed me, Delia. Repharentia.”

“Aaaahh!!”

As I was about to reach her, Delia screamed and hurriedly fled backward.

Stupidly, she was running away from the door – the very exit she needed – and deeper into the brewery.

Pathetically, really.

“Ha, haha! Hahaha!”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at her ridiculous actions. Clutching my stomach, I laughed heartily for a long time. My laughter echoed throughout the large brewery like a reverberating echo.

“You, you. Who are you?”

Delia, trembling and barely able to speak, bowed her head. She couldn’t even look at me directly, bowing her head first.

Was it because she knew her guilt? Or perhaps she was just terrified of me, a ghost resurrected from the dead.