I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend Chapter 136

 

Cecil watched the situation with bated breath.

 

Just as the Princess had said, the trap had been set.

 

First, she directly mentioned the chandelier, which would be easy for the culprit to tamper with.

 

She even went so far as to say that the string was ‘loose’ so that the perp could manipulate it.

 

Honestly, I thought that speaking so openly would scare the perpetrator away, but she shook her head. 

 

Then she said, ‘I don’t think so.’

 

‘It’s one thing if I showed him what to do, and another if I showed him how to fix it on the spot. Rather, they’ll think the chandelier is perfectly intact, and they won’t be able to notice it.’

 

Cecil nodded meekly. In any case, unless she knew better, it was better to do as she said.

 

And she was right.

 

The closer the date of the party drew, the more nervous the servants became, and it wasn’t until they checked every other chandelier besides the swaying one that they were relieved.

 

Only when Cecil saw the reaction did she move on.

 

“And the maid says you don’t have to lock the door tonight.”

 

The ‘locking the door’ thing was also a recent development.

 

Not so long ago, people simply closed the door to the reception room when they were done. No harm was done to anyone too big to steal things or cause a ruckus in the fearsome ducal residence.

 

But lately, such a big fellow has appeared, and he’s the leader of the First Division of the Knights of Bouser.

 

Known as the ‘Maniac Knight’ in the common parlance, and more recently as the ‘Button Knight’, he would sneak out in the evenings whenever he could and destroy everything in the parlor.

 

At first, the servants were too scared to speak, but as the days went by, they became more and more vocal in their complaints, until finally, the maid of honor decided to lock the door at night.

 

But today, the door was left open again, drawing worried glances from the surrounding people.

 

“What if the knight causes another accident…”

 

“It’s okay, the knight is off duty from today.”

 

“Really?”

 

They were visibly relieved, they’d all been having trouble with the knight’s work.

 

“Oh, well, I’m glad to hear we won’t have to clean up after him anymore.”

 

“I’ve given up on cleaning up after him, and he’s been a little scary lately. He looks at you, yells at you, and… He glares at you at every opportunity.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right, I hope he’s back after the party.”

 

“I don’t think he’ll ever have to return.”

 

“Dude, you can’t say that.”

 

They laughed merrily, and Cecil laughed along with them, but she felt a shiver run down her spine.

 

They would never know that the Princess had been the mastermind behind all of this.

 

But she didn’t want to give it away, so she let out an awkward laugh and quickly changed the subject.

 

“By the way, who’s going out tonight? Write down the list.”

 

Three hands went up at once.

 

Cecil turned and quickly scanned them: from left to right, Beth, Mary, and Anna.

 

“There are only three of you?”

 

“Yep. Anna and I are going into town to pick up some supplies, and Mary has an appointment.”

 

“An appointment? What kind of appointment? Isn’t this some kind of sneaky meeting?”

 

“You do realize that I broke up with my lover a few days ago, right?”

 

“What, you mean he was wearing two sets of stupid leggings?”

 

“He is!”

 

Cecil stifled a sigh as she glanced at her colleagues, who were now laughing merrily, distracted by something else.

 

‘Be suspicious of people who go out in the evening,’ the Princess said.

 

But going out in the evening wasn’t exactly a big deal, and being suspicious of the people you’ve worked with for so long was the last thing on Cecil’s mind.

 

‘Could it really be one of us?’

 

Of course, she agreed, it would have to be someone who knew the manor well.

 

When she went to the storeroom to get new candlesticks, she stumbled upon a stash of perfectly good candlesticks hidden in a corner.

 

There were only a few people in the warehouse who knew what they were for and were allowed to roam freely.

 

Still, Cecil was hoping it wasn’t one of her peers.

 

They had grown tired of the stifling minutes and were actually looking forward to the party.

 

“What if we catch the eye of a nice gentleman at the party?”

 

“What can we do, I’m sure he’ll flirt with us.”

 

“That’s right. I hear wallflowers are all the rage these days. Go out with a bang.”

 

“Like the Princess?”

 

“Yes, like a princess!”

 

And the Princess’s popularity among the maids was soaring.

 

She was the next highest thing to a status symbol for them.

 

As one of the few noble princesses in the empire, she was beautiful, kind, and always so confident that she couldn’t possibly appear to be anything less.

 

It was natural for them to feel conceited that such a great being would be so good to them.

 

But not everyone enjoyed the Princess’s favor.

 

“…But it’s also true that the Princess caused all the commotion.”

 

“Mary?”

 

There were a few people who didn’t like change, like Mary, for example. She didn’t hide her displeasure as she blurted out a string of words.

 

“I don’t know if it’s for the better, it’s just one incident after another every day, and it makes me more anxious, like something’s going to happen.”

 

“Certainly… a bit since the Princess came…”

 

“I don’t know why she came here, and if it’s really just a vacation, I’d rather she went home sooner rather than later…”

 

“Mary.”

 

Beth, who had been listening to the woman without speaking, suddenly sounded stern.

 

“I understand your uneasiness, but let’s not take her good intentions as malice; she’s been very generous to us.”

 

“But…”

 

“Beth’s right, it’s true that she’s made the atmosphere better, so let’s talk about something else instead of gossiping, okay?”

 

“…Okay.”

 

Beth and Cecil were followed by those in favor of the Princess, and eventually, Mary and some maids were silenced.

 

And so they dispersed in a strange atmosphere.

 

Cecil had to bite her lip in frustration as she went back to her room, and she glanced back to find Mary still there, unable to leave.

 

As he watched her pacing nervously, Cecil muttered to herself.

 

“It can’t be…?”

 

But for some reason, the stirring in her heart that had begun earlier refused to subside, and instead of returning to her room, Cecil headed straight for the door.

 

Somehow, she had a strong premonition that she should report to the Princess right now.

 

As she paced, Cecil secretly hoped that the culprit was not among them.

 

She secretly hoped that the culprit was nowhere among those who were involved, but rather a particle of spittle lurking outside.

 

But her hopes were soon dashed.

 

The very next day.

 

It was again at lunchtime when someone said to the gathered maids.

 

“What should we do about this…”

 

“Why? What happened?”

 

“I don’t know where it got stuck.”

 

🌸

 

Cecil was more skillful than I thought.

 

She could do what I told her to do naturally, but she could also think on her feet in unexpected situations.

 

One day, just as the plan was coming together nicely, she came to me in the middle of the night in a hurry.

 

“I, um, I have some suspicious circumstances…”

 

Her words went something like this.

 

She said that there was a group of people who didn’t like me.

 

Especially the one who went out at night separately. I understood her feelings and told her I’d keep an eye on them.

 

But despite what was said, I didn’t jump to conclusions about her being the culprit. The fact that she was barely hating me was not proof of a crime.

 

And the culprit would reveal itself in a little while anyway.

 

‘That is if she touched the chandelier as planned.’

 

Luckily, the culprit moved according to my plan.

 

“Well, I guess she touched them little by little, huh?”

 

I had to click my tongue at the fully expected result when Hestia and I went to check on the parlor at first light.

 

I hadn’t expected anything less than a hastily organized plan, and the culprit was even more sloppy than that. Whether this was a coincidence or a trap, I did not doubt that it had bitten the bullet.

 

Where the hell was the finesse that went into the poisonous herbs in the first place?

 

I stare at the chandelier and eventually break into a weak smile.

 

“This is good for us.”

 

And as if to prove my point, less than a day later, Cecil came running panting to me.

 

“Princess, it’s changed color, it’s changed color…!”

 

As she exclaimed, she looked like she couldn’t believe it, like she was going to cry at any moment.

 

I calmed her down and asked her to explain.

 

At a loss for words, Cecil finally calmed down and began to stammer and tell me what had happened. Then, out of nowhere, she offered me something.

 

“…”

 

“She said it was sticky… it’s sticky, so I gave her a rag with some medicine on it, just in case…”

 

“This, like this…”

 

The rag she held out was common, but it was different. It was dyed blue where the medicine had been applied.

 

I turned to her and asked, “Who is it?”

 

And when I finally heard the culprit’s name.

 

I went straight to Rudrick.

 

Standing next to him, going about his business as usual, was a man I knew well. It was Kassar, who was rumored to be away from the manor for seven days on a mission.

 

Rudrick’s face was somber, as if he had already been told the whole story.

 

No, rather, as if he knew why I was here, he said with a nonchalant tone as soon as I finished explaining the situation.

 

“We’ll have to get some evidence first.”

 

It was like he wanted to make sure there was no escape route.

 

And since I knew the suspect, it was easier to find evidence.

 

Rudrick ordered Kassar to sneak into the perpetrator’s room. I wondered if a man of his size could sneak in.

 

He lived up to his reputation as a First Division commander, for he soon had incriminating evidence in his hands.

 

Only when we had all the evidence we needed did we move into action.

 

The people of the Duchy were enjoying a peaceful afternoon, just like yesterday. The culprit swooped in when they were least expecting it.

 

Suddenly, the knights burst into the annex where the servants were housed and soon had a woman bound.

 

At the same time, a screaming voice was heard.

 

“Beth, Beth?!”