Chapter 59
"Oh my God, where could she be?"
Edel watched Linnea as she searched through the drawers of the dressing table, opening and closing the drawers again and again as if she were looking for something lost.
"What are you looking for?" asked Edel.
“It’s a pearl hairpin. I remember using it last week, but now I can’t find it.”
“Perhaps it’s in the black velvet box where you keep your pearl accessories?”
“Yes, that’s what I remember too, but I don’t see him there.”
Edel approached Linnea, shaking her head in surprise. As Linnea rummaged through her jewelry boxes, her expression grew increasingly serious.
“Not only did the hairpin disappear, but I remember there were some earrings too, and even some delicate gold chains that were here.”
The missing items were rather strange, as they weren't the ones Linnea used regularly. Idel and Linnea continued searching, taking all the velvet boxes out of the drawers and opening them all the way, but there was no sign of the missing jewelry.
“If only the hairpin had disappeared, I would have thought I had lost it somewhere, but now that this many have disappeared, someone has definitely stolen them!”
Confident that it was a robbery, Linnea shouted, calling for Marsha.
"How could they underestimate me to even think of stealing my things from my room? Gather everyone now!"
All the servants gathered in the hall. Anger on Linnea's face was a rare sight, and everyone was in a state of tension and anticipation.
"Did you think you could steal my little things without me noticing?"
Everyone was staring nervously at each other as Linnea shouted towards Marsha,
“Marsha! Who are these servants entering my room?”
Marsha replied,
“Bebian, Gina, and May take turns cleaning the room, in addition to me… Edel.”
"Okay, then go and inspect the rooms of these maids right now."
Marsha replied, "Okay."
She quickly left to search the rooms of the maids who were responsible for cleaning Linnea's room. The search wasn't complicated, as the rooms were small and sparsely furnished, so it didn't take long.
Meanwhile, the servants stood in the hall with pounding hearts, while Linnea sat angrily and threatened with her presence, preventing them from whispering or speaking.
Marsha returned after the search and said, “I searched all three maids’ rooms, and I didn’t find any of your belongings, ma’am.”
"Are you sure?"
“I can’t lie to you, ma’am. I wasn’t the only one who carried out the search.”
Just as Linnea was about to burst out talking, Marsha quickly added,
“Perhaps we should search all the servants’ rooms. Perhaps her friends hid things for her.”
"Good idea. Search all the maids' rooms."
Marsha left again, while Linnea expressed her displeasure with impatience. But she whispered to Idil beside her, her gaze cold in contrast to the angry expression she had shown Marsha.
"We probably won't find anything. They must have sold it quickly."
“Yes, they certainly rushed to get rid of the stolen items.”
“But I wanted to create this uproar so that something like this would never happen again.”
Idil realized once again that Linnea was clever and thoughtful. In fact, Linnea wasn't really upset about the lost items. They weren't particularly valuable, nor were they among her favorite jewels. All she wanted was to send a message to the servants so they wouldn't take her lightly.
'She is intelligent and unafraid to assert her authority over the servants. If you train her well, she could become a distinguished noblewoman.'
Of course, she still suffers from some habits she acquired in her life among the general public, but overall she has a good style.
Idyll was imagining herself helping Linnea become a respectable lady, until she noticed Marsha hurrying back with some servants, carrying some obvious objects in her hand.
“Madam! We have found her!”
Linnea, who had not expected to find anything, was surprised.
"Really? Where did you find it?"
Marsha looked at Mina, who answered with a serious expression,
“We found the hairpin and earrings in Daisy’s room, and we found some other necklaces and earrings in Celia and Lila’s rooms.”
"What…?"
It was Idil who asked in surprise, as did Daisy, Celia, and Lila, who were standing with the rest of the servants listening to the accusations.
"What? How can you say that?"
"Are you saying that those things were found in my room?"
“This is impossible!”
Marsha stepped forward instead of the confused Linnea, and spoke in a stern voice, giving orders to the rest of the servants.
"Pull them forward!"
Therefore, the maids following Marsha dragged Daisy, Celia, and Lila and forced them to kneel before Linnea. But suspicion hung in the air.
“This is a conspiracy, madam! How dare we steal your things?”
“I don’t even know what your room looks like, I’ve never been in it!”
“Madam, we are innocent, there must be a mistake here!”
The three maids were right; they had no chance of entering Linnea's room, and therefore did not know the whereabouts of her jewels.
"This is really strange."
Linnea raised her eyebrows in surprise. Meanwhile, Marsha, who had been watching Linnea carefully, spoke hesitantly, as if she were considering the matter.
“Coincidentally, these three are related to Idil, and each of them is experiencing financial hardship.”
Upon hearing these words, everyone's attention turned to Idil. But she had already grasped the plan before Marsha had even finished speaking.
'So, she wanted to frame me and implicate innocent maids as victims?'
If Marsha had accused her directly, the anger would have been less intense, but the idea of sacrificing hardworking and struggling maids because of their relationship with her was unacceptable.
The good thing is that Linnea, who had benefited greatly from Idel's help in the past, did not suspect her directly.
“Are you saying that Edel stole and gave the things to them? I don’t think so.”
“But… but, madam, there is no other reason why these maids would be able to steal things,” Marsha replied, trying to convince her.
“Mmm…”
Linnea looked at the three maids and Idil before making her decision.
“Okay, let them get back to work. I want to talk to Idil alone.”
Marsha was surprised by this decision; Linnea trusted Edel so much that she wanted to speak to her directly, something she hadn't done with Marsha when she was her head maid.
This feeling of confidence in Edel, who had only taken over the position of head maid two months ago, was a severe blow to Marsha's dignity.
“Yes… of course. But as far as theft is concerned, a severe punishment must be imposed, otherwise there will be no point in disciplining the other servants.”
Marsha tried to compose herself and displayed a neutral expression, hiding her resentment under the mask of justice.
But even if Marsha hadn't said so, it was clear something had to be done. She'd made all the servants witness the incident, and if the matter were dropped without a clear explanation, everyone would think Edel was receiving special treatment.
“Do I look so naive to you that I would listen to those hints?! Well, now you all get back to your work. I will inform you of the decision when I reach it soon.”
In the end, the servants dispersed quietly, although some of them did not hide their displeasure at Idel not being punished immediately.
Linnea returned to her room with Edel, looked at the recovered jewelry for a moment, then asked her:
"You must have something to say, don't you?"
"It's as you expect, ma'am."
"And how do you know what I expect?"
“You believe that I did not commit this act.”
She had previously said in front of the servants that it was impossible for Idil to do that, so the answer was obvious.
But this does not mean that Linnea did not have questions; from the moment the three maids close to Idil were brought in until now, Idil has not justified or defended herself.
“If you were innocent, you would have cried out your innocence immediately. …But it seems that the Duchess doesn’t act so hastily, does she?”
“I am no longer a duchess, my lady. And frankly, it wasn’t so much a feeling of injustice as it was…”
Edel paused for a moment, then said:
“I felt that the moment had come.”
"The moment has come? What do you mean?"
"my lady."
Edel raised her eyes to meet Lenia's gaze directly.
“On this matter, I apologize, but I believe the Count should also be consulted.”
"Tell my brother? Are you absolutely confident in your ability to prove your innocence?"
Linnea asked, her tone a mixture of doubt and concern.