Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Dogfight (4)
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Following Aeria's request to summon witnesses, the chefs of the Blackwood mansion stepped forward.
The moment I saw them, I instinctively knew deep down that I was screwed.
I could instantly grasp why Aeria had so confidently summoned these chefs as witnesses to the disciplinary committee.
And why the chefs had agreed to testify without a shred of suspicion.
My mind was racing sharp enough to piece it all together in a flash.
"All five chefs of the mansion are volunteering as witnesses for Miss Aeria?"
"""" "Yes." """"
"Hearing testimony from all five would take too long, so could one representative summarize for the group?"
The chefs huddled together at the head maid's words.
And among them, the one who looked like the youngest stepped forward to speak on behalf of all the chefs.
"I'll summarize the senior chefs' opinions and testify as their representative."
"Understood. May I have your name and length of service?"
"My name is Paul Leymson, and this year marks my fifth year working at the Blackwood mansion."
"……."
Among the five chefs, even the youngest had five years of service.
It was the moment when I, who had brought just one first-year junior maid as a witness, felt utterly pathetic by comparison.
In a modern society where the law applies equally, it might be different, but in this medieval fantasy world, status, power, and position naturally swayed judgments when sorting right from wrong.
The same went for the status of witnesses in a situation like this.
One first-year junior maid versus five dedicated chefs with at least five years each—the weight of their testimonies was on another level entirely.
"Please go ahead, Mr. Paul Leymson."
"What I'll testify to is that Miss Aeria and Miss Alicia diligently performed their kitchen duties, while the Miss Lilith over there showed some negligence in her work attitude."
"Could you elaborate on the specifics?"
"We chefs start work at 7 a.m. to prepare breakfast at 9 a.m. The menu varies, but most dishes require prepped vegetables or fruits. During busy times, we've never had enough hands just among ourselves for prep, so we rely on the maids' help."
"I see."
"And every day when we arrived at 7 a.m., the maids who handed over the prepped ingredients to us were none other than Miss Aeria and Miss Alicia right there."
Hah, damn it.
Of course. It had to be that way.
Who else would have handed over the ingredients I'd prepped to the chefs while I, exhausted from peeling hundreds of garlic cloves for two hours straight every day, slipped away for a break?
No matter how exhausted and miserable I felt, I should have toughed it out and stayed at my post without leaving the kitchen.
This was the moment I absurdly fell into the very gap I'd created for myself.
"Only Aeria and Alicia? You never saw any other maids?"
"The pink-haired maid over there... I think I might have seen her, or maybe not—it's hazy... but I've never once seen Miss Lilith during morning handovers."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Miss Lilith's looks are pretty famous among us chefs as a beauty. If we'd seen her in the mornings, there's no way we'd forget."
The other chefs nodded along with Paul the chef's words.
This was the moment when my overly striking appearance turned into poison.
If I'd had a plain, forgettable look like Katarina's, I could have muddied their memories entirely.
Right now, I was insanely jealous of her unremarkable features and petite frame.
"Well, excluding those predawn prep hours, Miss Lilith did participate diligently in duties after breakfast. She never missed cleanup, organizing kitchenware, or dishwashing."
"So, she only skipped out on ingredient prep before breakfast?"
"Yes."
They did confirm my attendance for post-breakfast duties, but at this point, it was meaningless testimony.
The reason Aeria and I were even facing discipline wasn't just about whether we'd shown up faithfully for ingredient prep.
This was about distinguishing, in a brawl between junior maids, who started the provocation, who led the fight.
And who sowed confusion with lies to muddy the disciplinary action.
These chefs, unaware of that, could testify so lightly.
They couldn't imagine skipping a few days of prep would warrant severe punishment.
"Lilith Rosewood."
"……Yes."
"Is Mr. Paul Leymson's testimony true? That you never showed your face to the chefs during ingredient handovers?"
"……Yes, it's true."
"Then where were you and what were you doing during that time?"
"…Exhausted from handling all the predawn ingredient prep alone, I rested in my private quarters until breakfast."
The disciplinary committee stirred at my testimony.
It was practically admitting to negligence, so of course it did.
But with so many witnesses, I couldn't brazenly lie through my teeth.
Of course, my original claim had been that I'd handled all the ingredient prep alone from 4 to 6 a.m.
Unfortunately, I had no reliable witness to back that up.
"One final question, Lilith Rosewood."
"…Yes."
"Do you have any witness or evidence to prove that you alone showed up to the kitchen and worked between 4 and 6 a.m.?"
"……."
For a split second, a certain piglet's face flashed in my mind, but I dismissed it immediately.
I'd never expected anything from that guy to begin with.
Better to abandon him from the start than build false hope and crash later.
"Handling that much produce alone in two hours doesn't even make sense, Head Maid. Miss Lilith's clearly lying…."
"Be quiet, Aeria Lawrence. This isn't the time to debate possibility."
"……."
"We're only confirming the exact times you and Lilith Rosewood worked."
"…Sorry."
Aeria, who had been chattering excitedly, deflated—and while that should have been good news, it didn't help me at all.
If things stayed like this, I couldn't prove my innocence and would face severe discipline inescapably.
But dragging out time wouldn't magically provide an escape.
In the end, I had to face reality and quietly shake my head.
"No… I don't…."
"…I see."
"But it's true that I came early every day for two hours to prep ingredients alone. I could even do solo kitchen duty starting tomorrow without issue…."
"That's enough, Lilith Rosewood."
"……."
I quietly shut my mouth at Melissa's voice, which sounded like she'd already made up her mind.
All I could do was wait silently for her next words.
"…With this, the severity of your disciplines has been decided."
Melissa crossed her arms, glancing between me and Aeria.
I caught a flicker of pity in her eyes toward me, but that was it.
Between a junior maid of just one year's service and the mansion's veteran chefs of at least five—it was obvious whose word carried more weight.
Plus, unlike their direct sightings of Aeria in the kitchen, Isabel's testimony was only about seeing my 'arrival time.'
In the end, I lost completely—both in witness credibility and testimony substance.
'Damn it, that sly bitch Aeria.'
I should have gritted my teeth without giving an inch.
No matter how dead tired I felt, I should have stayed in the kitchen till the end to show my face to the chefs.
Then I wouldn't have crumbled so pathetically in this disciplinary trial.
…Regretting it now was pointless, of course.
"Then, we'll decide the disciplinary measures for Aeria, Alicia, Katarina, and Lilith."
A numb haze filled my head as the head maid's voice grew distant.
A month scrubbing the entire first-floor corridors and stables was already dizzying, but this would surely be worse.
The thought of that bitch Aeria snatching away the kitchen duties I'd slaved over—peeling more garlic than a shaman—for three days straight ignited a torrent of negative emotions from deep in my chest….
"Aeria and Alicia: no discipline. Katarina: for perjury and violence, one month cleaning the entire first-floor corridor. And Lilith: for perjury, violence, negligence, and insubordination…."
"…That's not right. I saw Lilith come out alone to work in the predawn hours last time."
"……Huh?"
"……What?"
"……?"
The solemn atmosphere shattered at someone's voice, drawing every eye in the room to that one person.
The instant I identified the voice, a whirlwind of indescribable, complex emotions swept over me.
"…Young Master Ethan?"
"I saw Lilith working in the kitchen. Yesterday... and again this predawn."
Hate-dan… no, Ethan Richard Blackwood was testifying for me.