After exiting the Duke's office, Penelope walked straight to the hall with the central staircase to climb into her room. It was as soon as she had left the long hallway that she heard something.
"Miss."
A familiar voice called her. It was the butler. Penelope paused at the scene in front of her. From the entrance of the hallway to the central staircase, all employees of the duchy stood in rows on both sides.
"What are you doing?" Penelope looked around and asked. Everyone was looking at her with strangely tense faces. At that moment, the leading butler suddenly bowed in front of her, shouting loudly.
"You had a hard time coming. Welcome home, young lady."
"Welcome back, Young Miss!" As soon as the butler's cry came to an end, all the employees bowed down and shouted loudly. It was a hearty welcome, as if they were welcoming the royal family
'Did you have any orders from the Duke? You're all doing things that you haven't done before.'
Embarrassed, Penelope stared at them blankly. She saw a mix of employees, who had not greeted her each time she passed by or face-to-face, bow down. In the past, this change would not have been too bad. It would have been proof that her fame had risen.
But maybe it's because she had a pretty satisfying life at the Imperial Palace. The sudden change of attitude of the Duke's people was not very touching.
'Now it's really over.'
At the same time, Penelope felt that all of the lingering feelings from the place were all gone. Rather than regret or anger, she was just relieved.
"Get up and do your jobs. I just stopped by because I had something to do." Penelope spoke in a cold voice as she walked towards the middle. The butler, who was bending over, hurriedly followed.
"Young Miss,. I prepared a meal when I heard that you were coming…"
Meanwhile, when she arrived at the stairs, Penelope stepped up the stairs and indifferently responded.
"Don't worry, I'm going back to the Imperial Palace to eat." As she looked back at the butler, Penelope could see him look at her with a puzzled expression.
It was the same with the butler.
Like people she hadn't seen in a long time and didn't know that she'd be so cold-hearted. 'That's funny. Why did you think I would eat at this corner of the house?'
She had been through some things for dinner. What's the matter with them? Contrary to what she thought, however, she didn't actually get a false note. But it wasn't like a blow that would make her feel better.
Penelope just didn't feel anything.
Like a distant stranger, just like it was originally.
"…Oh, I see, My Lady." The butler, who had been silent for a long time, answered with a heavy voice. He asked again, trying to hide his sad face.
"Would you like to go up to your room, then?" "Yes. But where is Emily?"
"It seems like she is still cleaning your room. I have been informed that you were coming all of a sudden…I will tell them that you are going up and to come down now."
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"Okay. Well, I'm going up." Penelope didn't intend to stay long anyway. She turned around without delay and climbed the remaining stairs.
"Is there anything else I can do?" The butler asked as he annoyingly followed her. Penelope slowed down for a moment, as a thought had struck her.
"The last time I saw you. Did you get the letter? I need you to bring me the mining ledger in a few minutes."
"Okay." When she gave him something to do, the butler, who was in a state of anxiety, finally turn around with a slightly brighter face. Penelope quickened her steps up the stairs. She could feel the gazes watching her in the back of her head, but she was indifferent.
As always, it was none of her business.
As the butler said, her maid was cleaning her room. It was already clean, but it seemed to show the enthusiasm in the owner's visit.
"Emily." When Penelope called out to Emily, who was frantically arranging the sheets, she jumped into place.
"Oh, Young Miss!" Emily came running to Penelope at once with a bright face. Fortunately, she didn't seem to have been hit hard or become sick from the day's work.
"Lady, how long has it been? How have you been? Oh my God, look at my mind. I didn't even know that it was time for you to come!"
"How have you been?"
"Yes, of course! Thanks to the young lady, I came back safely to the Duke's residence…" Emily made a fuss and burst into tears, as if she was moved by a reunion after a few weeks. Still, Penelope was glad to see that she was affectionate.
"Really, Lady. How could there be no connection to me doing well? If you had given me the opportunity to come, I would have been perfectly prepared and understood if you told me you were coming…!"
"Don't be sad. That's why I deliberately stopped by to see your face." Emily replied to Penelope with a startled look.
"Are you going back to the Imperial Palace? Didn't you come back to Duke residence?" "Yes, I'm just dropping by for work. I snuck out, so I have to go back."
"I mean, does that mean it's really true, Young Miss?!" "What?" There were many false rumors, so Penelope asked. "Why, that I may defeat the prince and take the throne?" "No. My lady….maybe our lady might be the Empress…Ooh!"
Penelope was aware that the door was still open, and she quickly closed Emily's mouth. "Who, who said that? No, that crazy, no,did Your Majesty came all the way here last night…?!" "Oh, uh!" At her sudden act, Emily shook her head with her eyes wide open like a rabbit. 'Otherwise, how did the rumors spread all the way here in half a day?!'
Penelope fumbled at Emily in confusion. "So what is it?!"
"Oh, um…" When the maid made a strange sound, Penelope realized that her hand was still blocking Emily's mouth and quickly put her hands away.
"Fooha! No! His Majesty did not come…" "Then?"
At Penelope's unfamiliar momentum, Emily seemed hesitant before killing the sound and answering carefully.
"Over the course of several days, the Duke instructed the butler to burn all the letters from the Imperial Palace. Then Lena discovered that she almost picked up a letter to you…"
"…"
"The other dozens were letters of proposal." Lena is a bit picky. Emily added with a puzzled look. Penelope knew very well that the woman who had helped her with her business whenever she went out was very familiar with the stories she picked up from the other maids.
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Sometimes I knew that the maid who helped my service whenever I was out was picking up stories from other house maids.
'Somehow, why did you leave so much trouble?'
Penelope recalled the previous situation and grabbed her forehead and muttered. "…It must have spread widely over the mansion."
Emily, who was looking at Penelope, tried to get up.
"But…how many things from Marquis Ellen are left to deal with?"
It had been a while since the strange battle of nerves between the supporters of Count Ellen and the Duke after the hunt. Penelope had been in a hurry to finish the game so she hadn't cared about that at all. The masters of the house had put their power together to push them back (this whole section's translation doesn't make sense).
"…That's a good thing."
Emily's elated expression left Penelope's bitter face and caused her to smile. In any case, the Crown Prince could not hide the fact that he was a rabid dog forever. So, it wasn't that shocking that everyone knew. Penelope took a step and sat down on the sofa, looking for Emily.
"Rather, are the children doing well? The guardian was rescued alive last night." "Of course." Emily replied quickly, as she knew who Penelope was talking about.
"they're still staying in the place the Duke gave me. The butler and I take care of them on a daily basis." "Really?"
"Raon's condition has also improved, so he plays well with his friends."
"I'm glad." Penelope was relieved of her anxiety and smiled for a while. Despite being in the imperial palace, Raon, who had been shocked by the brainwashing, had remained on her mind and was not forgotten.
'Now that your teacher has come back, everything will be back to normal.' Penelope was relieved at such thoughts.
"Happy, Young Miss?" Emily suddenly asked.
"…Huh?" As Penelope turned her head at the random question, she saw Emily was looking at her with an unfamiliar look.
"You've gotten a lot brighter in the meantime." "Really?"
It was similar to what the Duke said. 'That's the face. What is different?'
Not feeling well at the awkwardness, Penelope swept her face with her hands. Emily hesitated several times and opened her mouth.
"The Imperial Palace is better than here, right?"
"…Well." Penelope's voice was awkward, just like how she felt.
"At least, I don't worry about being stabbed with a needle to wake up." "Oh, Young Miss!" Emily turned pale as she answered.
"That, that thing… that thing was my fault"
When Penelope saw Emily crying, she thought that she should stop making fun of her. "Emily."
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Penelope took her hand off of her cheek and reached out to grasp Emily's hand. "In the meantime, you have done well enough as my dedicated maid."
Honestly, it was beyond expectations. When she first decided to use Emily as her right hand, Penelope never imagined that Emily would help her even in danger. Thinking of her, who had supported her for a long time, Penelope spoke calmly.
"So I will forgive you now." "Oh, My Lady…"
Was it unexpected? Emily just looked at Penelope with a blank expression at her words. But not long after, her brown eyes filled with tears. The back of Emily's hand, which began to tremble underneath Penelope's palm, told Penelope the magnitude of Emily's guilt. After keeping her mouth shut for a while, Emily finally squeezed out a nasal sound.
"When you are married… I can't even ask you to take me to the Imperial Palace." "…"
"But…you'll still come over to the duchy, sometimes? Since the young lady rescued us from the evil monsters…everyone has been deeply reflecting on themselves."
"…"
"Me too, Young Miss. I always do." Emily confessed her sins to Penelope, unable to hold back as she shed tears.
"I shouldn't have done that to you, I should have been nice to you from the beginning, at least I shouldn't have done that…I've always regretted it."
She grabbed Penelope and cried for a long time, only as a complete acquaintance. "Wherever you are, you should always be happy."
Unlike Emily, covered in tears and a runny nose, Penelope answered with a smile. "…Yes."
***
Because of the magic that made it so no one but Penelope could open, the last drawer of the desk remained the same. Penelope left the room with everything in it.
The last stop before leaving the duchy was the incinerator behind the mansion. She opened the door of the incinerator and put the items in her arms into the kiln. The scarf and magic bracelet that Derrick gave her, the magic necklace, and the mask that Rennald had bought her.
And the paper that recorded the information and favorability fluctuations of the targets. It was all of the miscellaneous items Penelope had from the game. She had put them in a drawer only she could open, but Penelope was still a little nervous about leaving them behind. So before she left, she decided to burn everything.
'It's kind of a shame to burn everything…'
After looking at it for a while, Penelope soon closed the door and turned the lever without hesitation. Fwoosh-!
At the same time, a flame rose over the small side window on the door. Unlike burning a piece of mirror, the fire created by magic ate everything that could be firewood. Listening to the sound of flames burning, Penelope waited for the moment when the last remaining traces of the game to dissipate.
Tak-!
Suddenly, someone called out to Penelope with an overly low voice, making an appearance behind her back.
"…Penelope."
This had happened before. Penelope's heart sank with a bad sense of deja vu. As she slowly turned back, she saw a tall figure on the road leading to the incinerator.
Fortunately, it wasn't him. "…Young duke."
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