"...Death?"
"What did you just say?"
"It's nothing."
Thinking Satina might be confused, a translucent window appeared above, showing the maid's face and details.
Name: Marie
Occupation: Satina's personal maid
Current status: Looking for an opportunity to betray her master
Even without the system's notification, Satina already knew well about Marie.
How could she not recognize her own personal maid?
"What's going on with you today? Anyway, whatever. You're going to have dinner now, right?"
Without even waiting for Satina's reply, Marie quickly left the room.
'Liv telling me to kick Mari out?'
In truth, it wasn't difficult for a noble lady to dismiss a mere maid.
Just moments ago, her behavior alone had been enough reason.
If it were any other noble, Marie would have been harshly scolded and kicked out.
But the problem was that Satina wasn't just any noble.
She wasn't the real daughter of the Duke and was considered the black mark of the Bersaebet family, far from his interest.
'Besides, I'm currently under house arrest as punishment.'
If she was going to die either way, it was better to try something before meeting her end.
***
"Eat."
Marie roughly placed the dish in front of Satina.
Soup splashed onto Satina's skirt from Mari's forceful movements, but Marie only glanced at it once and said nothing.
"Wait a minute."
"What now?"
Marie responded irritably, unable to hide her annoyance.
Her eyes briefly flickered at Satina's stained skirt.
She knew it was her fault.
But she also knew Satina couldn't do anything about it.
That was the reality of Satina's situation in this household.
"... Never mind, it's nothing."
At Satina's words, a sense of victory flashed in Mari's eyes.
She enjoyed seeing Satina, a noble lady, lower her head in front of a mere maid.
"Why are you calling me for no reason when I'm busy? Just eat quickly."
Satina stared at the soup in front of her.
It had been sitting for too long, and it looked more like water than soup, both thin and cold.
The food is lacking in both nutrition and taste.
You'd be better off eating grass from the roadside.
The first time Satina tasted something like this, a meal closer to a punishment dish than real food, she had gotten angry.
But nothing changed.
'Are you really in a position to complain about food? Stay quiet, Satina. Quiet.'
The Duke's indifferent words had practically given the servants permission to treat her as they pleased.
Under normal circumstances, Satina would have obediently eaten it, but today was different.
'This food is poison.'
She remembered what her brother, one of the characters in the game, had told the heroine.
'My sister... got weirder after a maid tried to poison her on her birthday this year.'
'The day that Maid tried to poison me is today.'
Satina was still alive.
So if the maid had indeed tried to poison her, it was highly likely that the poison had been put into this dinner.
'Otherwise, she's carrying the poison with her, waiting for the right moment.'
Having calmly finished her calculation, Satina spoke.
"You really brought this for me to eat?"
"Why are you acting like this? You've eaten just fine before."
"I was just curious. The Duke told me to stay under house arrest, but I don't recall him saying I should eat trash."
Unlike usual, Satina's firm attitude seemed to catch Marie off guard.
"Who ordered you to do this? Was it the head maid? The cook? Or did you do this on your own?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Someone has to be responsible. There's no way anyone would serve food like this to a noble lady. No matter. I'll find out myself."
As Satina made a move to leave, Marie blocked her path.
"Wait! Miss! Where do you think you're going? Didn't you hear the Duke tell you to stay under house arrest?"
"That doesn't mean I have to eat that. I need to speak to the head maid."
"Please, calm down for a moment..."
Marie grabbed Satina by the waist.
"Let go of me! How dare a maid block a noble's way? Are you playing with me?"
[To create more of a scene, slap the maid.]
Satina heard the system's advice but hesitated. Instead, she forcefully shoved Mari.
[Push her harder].
[She won't die from that.]
Although the system's message seemed odd, she had no time to dwell on it.
With the door now open, Satina was too busy struggling with Marie.
As the commotion grew, passing maids began glancing their way.
[Due to the commotion, your reputation has dropped by 1.]
Satina ignored the system's alert and didn't stop the chaos.
Her reputation could be recovered, but a lost life couldn't be.
What mattered was surviving today by getting Marie thrown out of the mansion.
'I'm the villainess now. The most insane woman in the world.'
With her resolve strengthened, Satina shouted loudly.
"Oh, I see! You must've put poison in my food! That's why you're trying to stop me from leaving!"
"Miss! What are you talking about? Poison? I've served you with all my heart, how could you say such a thing?"
"What's going on here?!"
Ah, finally.
This was why she had caused the uproar.
She didn't have the authority to kick out a maid, but someone with the power to do so had finally arrived.
As Satina turned her head, she saw the butler standing there with a terrifying expression.
With his face stiff and hardened, he strode toward the two.
"B-butler, this is..."
Marie's face turned pale.
Without even glancing at Marie, the butler immediately scolded Satina.
"Miss, what do you think you're doing? It hasn't even been three hours since the Duke ordered you to be confined! And yet, here you are causing such a commotion! Do you think this is acceptable?"
In the past, Satina would have immediately shrunk under the butler's rebuke.
No, she wouldn't have even thought of causing a commotion that would summon the butler in the first place.
But now, perhaps thanks to memories of her past life, she could observe the situation more calmly.
She swept her fallen hair back and looked directly at the butler.
"Yes, I heard Father's order for my confinement. I have no intention of disobeying it. But how can I stay still when that maid tried to kill me?"
Her voice was calm, as if the frenzied outburst from earlier had never happened.
"Kill you? What are you talking about? Stop being delusional and go back to your room."
"It's not a delusion. She tampered with the food served at dinner. If you check the food right now, you'll see."
The butler looked at Satina with unfamiliar eyes.
'Has the young lady ever had such a look in her eyes before?'
The Satina the butler had known for the past ten years was like a withered flower.
She was always timid, lacking confidence, and couldn't even make proper eye contact with others.
At times, her overly sensitive and hysterical nature caused her to throw strange tantrums.
For someone of the Bersaebet name to lack such dignity was disgraceful.
As the butler who had served the Bersaebet family for generations, Satina's inability to shed her unrefined nature, even after ten years, displeased him.
But the Satina standing before him now was different.
Though her clothes were disheveled, she met his gaze with a noble demeanor.
'Has she always had this face?'
The face he had seen just hours ago now appeared different.
It was as if he was truly seeing her face for the first time.
"What if you're lying?" the butler asked.
Satina smiled at his words.
"Butler, I am not speaking as myself. I am speaking as the 'Lady of Bersaebet' who was attacked by a maid. No matter how my father treats me, I am still the daughter of the Bersaebet family and the fiancée of the Crown Prince. To attempt to kill someone like me means either that maid is challenging my father's authority, or..."
Satina's sharp gaze landed on Marie, who had been trembling against the wall since the butler's arrival.
"She's a spy sent by another family."
Marie shook her head frantically.
"N-no! A spy? What are you talking about? Butler, I didn't do anything!"
The butler's expression grew troubled.
He didn't care what the maid had done to Satina.
But with the commotion Satina was causing, too many eyes were on them.
If the accusation of being a spy was not investigated, rumors might spread among the household staff that the butler was favoring the maid.
"Very well. But if this turns out to be false, I will report this to the Duke. You know what will happen if you cause a commotion while under confinement, don't you?"
"Do as you please."
Though the butler's voice was harsh, Satina's expression remained relaxed.
The butler led Satina and the trembling Marie into Satina's room.
His eyes narrowed as he saw the soup on the table.
'How pathetic.'
Even for someone under confinement, the meal was too meager.
The butler pulled out a unicorn's horn to test the soup for poison.
The tip of the horn turned black.
'The young lady was telling the truth.'
With a grim expression, the butler barked an order.
"Arrest that maid immediately! And search her room!"
"Understood!"
The servants moved quickly at the butler's command.
Marie shook her head desperately, pleading.
"No! Butler, there must be some mistake! Why would I do such a thing? I didn't do anything! It must have been the young lady! She must have put something in it and lied about it! How could I possibly do such a thing, no matter how much she hates me?"
Though Marie struggled and shouted, Satina remained silent, standing still.
The butler searched Marie's body thoroughly.
Finally, he found a small vial in her pocket.
As he picked up the vial, Mari's face turned visibly pale.
"W-wait! Butler! That's...!"
The butler roughly pushed Mari aside and examined the liquid in the vial.
"This is... paralysis poison."
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