An Anonymous Letter and the Phantom Threat
Veronica had been given Sylvia’s order to keep an eye on Idel, yet in truth she harbored no intention of getting involved in that task at all.
After all, Idel Clementine was nothing more than a target beyond her reach.
“Idel Clementine? There’s nothing to be gained from her in the first place.”
The second daughter might have been the one in line for a title, but she lacked the social graces to spread her wings in high society.
More importantly, after Demaric had vouched for her, Veronica planned to leave the ducal residence with him immediately.
To her, Idel was no more than a lady she would never serve long-term.
So whether the lowly maids stirred trouble for her or not, Veronica intended to turn a blind eye as long as she did not cross the line.
“Of course, there’s a limit to how much I can ignore.”
But if she stepped out with Demaric now, the problem would explode. If that happened, she and Sylvia would both be held accountable.
“What if Sylvia loses trust and can no longer fulfill Demaric’s requests?”
In that sense, it was fortunate that it was herself—rather than Rose—who had received Sylvia’s instructions.
“I have to keep my darling happy, so I’ll do whatever it takes.”
That evening, as they parted, the fingers that had brushed together in secret still lingered in her thoughts.
But even that sweet memory lasted only a moment.
When Veronica returned to the maids’ quarters, she crumpled the anonymous letter she had found, her expression darkening.
“Veronica Wans. I know your secret.”
Only one line.
Cut from newspaper text to obscure the handwriting, the letter alone flattened her mood to the ground.
“What… is this?”
She crumpled the paper as if she could crush the sender, then quickly glanced around, though it was a meaningless gesture.
The sender would not be spotted that way anyway.
In the end, Veronica simply tore the letter with a mix of irritation and unease.
“This is ridiculous! Who does such a thing!”
Panting, she frantically turned the matter over in her mind.
“Nothing has happened yet. That letter only hinted at Demaric’s relationship, not exposed it. I’m fine.”
Veronica decided to ignore the shredded paper.
Or at least, she told herself she would not find the culprit, even if she could.
But if everything unfolded exactly as she hoped, how wonderful that would be.
Contrary to her wishes, the anonymous sender continued sending letters without tiring.
“The ring suits you well.”
“Your cousin is amusing. Did you really think no one would notice?”
“I wonder what the head maid would do if she found out.”
The content grew more sophisticated with each message, making it clear that the sender knew the truth.
“Aah! Who on earth are you?!”
She had expected it to be difficult, but identifying the culprit was harder than she imagined.
Unlike Idel, who kept complaining about missing items and demanding action, Veronica could not interrogate the servants with a single order.
“If I did that, I would have to explain myself to the head maid.”
Of course she could claim the same thing Idel did—items had simply vanished—but……
“If that backfired and the anonymous sender exposed everything, I would be in trouble.”
The growing anxiety slowly gnawed at her heart.
And on a day when her sensitivity reached its peak, a sudden sound rang out.
“Clink!”
“……What is this ring?”
Veronica had been caught off guard by an unexpected weakness.
She was the one who had always dismissed Idel Clementine and ignored her.
To recount how Idel had successfully trapped Veronica’s weakness, we must turn the clock back slightly.
Precisely, to the moment Jiana volunteered to become the “mail delivery boy.”
* * *
A while ago, in Jiana’s secret hideout.
“What? Veronica lied to Sylvia?”
“Yes. She knew the maids were bothering Idel but never told Sylvia the truth.”
“That’s impossible!”
A scream—not the kind one expects to hear in an old wooden house—burst out.
Jiana, who had heard the shocking truth about Idel, could not hide her shock.
“Of course, it’s only half the truth.”
Noticing Jiana covering her mouth with her hand, Idel gave Diane a subtle glance, urging her to back her up silently.
Quickly reading Idel’s look, Diane nodded vigorously and spoke up.
“Yes, Idel-nim is right, Lady Jiana. Among the maids, several have stolen Idel-nim’s things, but she overlooked it anyway.”
“Really? Stealing is a very bad thing.”
“……”
Seeing Jiana look thoroughly disappointed, Diane suddenly recalled her conversation with Idel.
“Don’t mention Demaric and Veronica to Jiana. Just say that Veronica is pretending not to know about the maids bothering Idel. The plan is safe anyway.”
“What? But why……”
“Were you really asking without knowing? If you knew Jiana’s personality…… Ah, never mind! Just do it that way.”
Back then she had been puzzled, but seeing Jiana’s reaction firsthand now made her understand why Idel had said that.
“Even this fact alone upsets her, so telling the truth would wound Jiana-nim.”
Diane’s chest felt tight, but as she let her imagination run wild, Idel felt a different kind of relief.
“Fortunately, she won’t run off screaming. Good thing I only told her half.”
If Idel had revealed the entire truth between Veronica and Sylvia, Jiana would surely have exploded with righteous anger.
Sylvia was precious to Jiana after all.
Lightly shaking her head at the imagined scenario, Idel clapped her hands to gather their attention again.
“So, I plan to give Veronica a scare. Like a ghost prank.”
“A ghost prank?”
“Yes. Every day after returning to her room, anonymous letters arrive. They say things like ‘I know your mistake.’ But I don’t know who sent them or when they were left.”
“Wow! So you’re trying to make Veronica regret her ways?”
“……Only if possible?”
The odds were slim, but while Idel was thinking Jiana’s words were impossible, Jiana’s eyes sparkled with a suddenly cheerful expression.
“But how exactly can we stage a ghost prank?”
“Making the letters is easy. Just cut out letters from newspapers and paste them. The real problem is delivering them. I could slip them through the door gap……”
Jiana tilted her head, then suddenly raised her hand.
“I! I’ll do it!”
“What? Jiana, you?”
“Yes! Veronica and Sylvia’s rooms are close, right? I pass them almost every day! It’s near the second study! I can do it without anyone noticing!”
Idel watched Jiana’s sparkling eyes begging her to trust her and fell into thought.
“If I think about it, there might not be anyone more suitable than Jiana.”
First, leaving Diane aside, no one in the ducal family knew that she and Jiana had reconciled.
“Besides, Jiana is one of the people who roam the ducal residence the most actively.”
This was not exaggeration—this was the truth.
From the duke’s study to the stables, no corner of the ducal residence escaped Jiana’s footsteps.
Normally, as the duke’s daughter, she should have brought maids with her……
“From a young age she stirred things up so much that the duke gave up and threw his hands in the air?”
Indeed, if permission had not been granted, Jiana would not be able to leave her hideout now for a secret meeting.
Of course, the duke had not granted it thoughtlessly; he had poured an enormous amount of money into a protective artifact custom-made for Jiana.
Idel briefly glanced at Jiana’s wrist, then shook her head lightly to clear her thoughts and continued.
“All right, let’s do it.”
“Really? You’re entrusting it to me?”
“Yes.”
“Yay!”
“That’s settled, then. What about the ring?”
The ring?
Just before Jiana’s eyes widened again in confusion, Diane, who had been listening quietly, spoke first.
“In case the ghost letter prank fails to make Veronica feel regret, you’re preparing for that, aren’t you? That ring is special, so I thought of a way……”
Diane smiled awkwardly at the two pairs of blue eyes fixed on her, then pointed to her palm cautiously.
“The other day when I hurt my palm, I modified the incident a bit and tried writing with it… Would that work?”