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Joan was startled when her name was called.

She looked at the nanny and soon left the room.

Joan came back faster than I thought.

Annie was with her, of course. Annie looked at the messy room and spoke to me with some surprise and a little stiffness in her voice.

“Miss, I heard you wanted to see me.”

“Yes. I have something to ask you. Come here.”

Annie could not readily enter the room even at my call. The reason… was probably the nanny.

Because from the moment Annie appeared, the nanny was sharply staring at her, as if Annie was an irreconcilable enemy.

“Quickly.”

I called again and Annie had no choice but to come and stand in front of me.

“Annie, tell me what you saw a few days ago.”

“……!”

At my command, Annie hesitated for a moment, but soon spoke with difficulty.

“What I saw was… Viscountess Willis was searching through the Lady’s drawers.”

The maids opened their eyes as if they were surprised.

The nanny was silent, but I could tell she was in a state of great anger.

“At first I thought she was running an errand for the young lady, but when her eyes met mine, Viscountess Willis shouted and said I was a thief. That’s when the young lady came in.”

Annie’s voice was small and slow, but her manner of speaking was firm and her meaning was clear. As soon as she finished, the nanny slapped her on the face before I could stop her.

“Nanny!”

I shouted, sincerely surprised.

The nanny was still angry, but she was more energetic and even rougher than before.

I grabbed Annie’s wrist and made her stand behind me, then blocked the two of them so that the nanny couldn’t get to Annie any further. However, as if my attitude further stimulated the nanny, her face heated up red with anger.

“You! How dare you fool people with lies?”

The nanny shouted, pointing at Annie.

The nanny was certainly different from ordinary servants, as she was able to accuse loudly and proudly in front of her master even in a situation where her sins were revealed.

In many noble families, there was often a deep bond between the nannies and the nobles’ children, but the current nanny’s attitude was certainly out of line.

To people who didn’t know what was going on, they would think that she was the owner instead. I was speechless by her overly cheeky attitude.

But it wasn’t the nanny’s fault alone.

Roxana had tacitly accepted the fact that the nanny often behaved excessively compared to the nannies of other families.

Roxana relied very much on her nanny to take care of her instead of her parents from a very young age.

Growing without affection was scarier than she thought. There were no parents – or siblings – who could be there for Roxana, so the nanny must have been irreplaceable and important to her, as she was lonely. However, there were some people in the world who did not appreciate and took it for granted, no matter how much they tried to help with favors.

In my opinion, the nanny belonged to such people.

“Young lady, you don’t believe in the words of this vile thing, do you?”

The nanny finished her question and looked at me as if seeking my consent. But she had no one on her side in this room, not even me.

However, in the eyes of the already excited nanny, the reactions of the maids and surroundings who were whispering with astonished faces seemed to be out of sight.

“I don’t know where the accessories are. I didn’t see them.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know, but I’m sure the maid knows.”

My head was throbbing. I tried to keep my voice as calm as I could without sounding angry.

“Didn’t you say the other day a wicked maid had gotten her hands on something in my room?”

“That’s…….”

“Why do things in my room keep disappearing even if I change people? The only thing that hasn’t changed in this room for years is me and the nanny.”

“Lady!”

The nanny exclaimed with a reddened face, as if she had just been subjected to some great insult. I remained silent, unfazed by her.

“Stephen has already done all the research. I have proof and witnesses that the nanny has been stealing my items for years.”

“….. !”

“So leave it at this point. If you make any more fuss here, I can’t cut you anymore slack.”

The nanny opened her mouth in a daze as I spoke.

With eyes that wavered helplessly and a sense of bewilderment hidden within them, she seemed unable to find any more excuses.

“This is… a ruse. You know this, don’t you, young lady? I’m sure you know how the butler usually regarded me as a thorn in his eyes.”

The nanny seemed to be trying to grab everyone around her and droop down like a mouse in a tight spot making a last effort.

First Annie, then Stephen.

If I let it go, there was no telling who would be next. I motioned to the maids in the room and Annie to leave.

Everyone left and soon it was just me and the nanny in the room. I waited in silence until she calmed down. After a few minutes, the nanny, realizing that her lies were not working, said in a shaky voice,

“You’re going to abandon me, the woman who raised you, because of one maid?”

“It isn’t because of Annie that I’m kicking you out.”

“Then why….”

The nanny stared at me with a look of incomprehension.

“It’s just that having bad people around can have bad effects. Do you remember you said that?”

“…!”

The nanny’s face distorted.

“It hasn’t been more than a few days, and since the nanny said it directly, how could she have forgotten?”

“If you forgive me this once, I won’t let this happen again.…….”

“I do not trust the words of a liar. Nanny has been deceiving me for years now, how can I believe you anymore?”

“Lady, I’ve been taking care of you since you were born. How can you do this to me?”

People never change easily.

When I saw her framing others even after her sin was revealed and eventually pouring out words of resentment toward me, I could see that the words were not wrong.

“That’s what I’m trying to say. Nanny, don’t you remember how much I’ve tried to be understanding of your situation so far?”

I stared at the nanny with a disappointed look on my face.

“I was sad to see you not caring one bit about my illness, but I persevered. However, you deceived me and tricked others with lies. I can’t believe this is only the result of trusting and believing in you…”

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, so please, once and ……..”

The nanny knelt down on the floor with a thump. Roxana would not be able to see her kneeling on the cold floor and begging.

Then again, I didn’t really enjoy watching a woman older than me cry either.

Tears streamed down her dark eyes. Her face as she looked up at me looked so sad and desperate.

“Get up already. It hurts my heart when the nanny does this.”

Somewhat lightly, I took the nanny’s hand and helped her up. Then I took off the ruby necklace around my neck and put it in her hand.

It was far more expensive than anything the nanny had ever taken before. This would be enough for a year’s worth of living expenses.

“You don’t have to pay back the money you have borrowed so far, and you won’t be able to get back the goods you secretly got your hands on because you have already sold them.”

“Lady…….”

“This is my payment for raising me until now.”

“…!”

The nanny looked up at me in disbelief. I spoke softly to her.

“I think I’ve been fooled enough and helped enough. It’s time for you to go.”

“…”

The nanny stared at me for a moment, then turned around helplessly.

The last I saw of her face, it oozed more contemplation than anger or resentment.

Before she closed the door and left, I said to her one last time,

“Thank you for everything. I’m serious. I don’t know if it sounds funny for me to say these words in this situation, but I hope you have a prosperous life wherever you go.”

Was the last word said in vain?

The nanny paused for a moment and then went out without reply.

I went and leaned against the back of the couch with my hand on my forehead. Honestly, judging by her behavior so far, my sending her away was too light of a punishment. I had just given a moderate punishment to an evil person, so why was I feeling so hazy?

“My Lady…”

As I was deeply in thoughts, someone woke me up. I opened my eyes and saw Annie.

“What’s going on?”

“…I just want to say I’m sorry.”

Despite the fact that the nanny who had been badly treated her was gone, Annie still looked uncomfortable.

I frowned at the sight of her.

“You’ve done nothing wrong, so why are you looking like that? Did the nanny or the maids say something to you?”

Annie quickly shook her head at my question.

But I noticed something immediately.

If the nanny had bumped into Annie on her way out, she wouldn’t let Annie off. I sighed as I saw the red handprints engraved on Annie’s cheek.

“Your master is me, not them. So you don’t have to care about them in the future. If they say something to you, make sure to tell me.”

“…!”

Annie raised her head and looked at me. Her eyes were filled with tears.

“You can go rest now. You’ve worked hard so far. And I look forward to working with you in the future.”

****

After the nanny was removed, the maids became more reserved in their attitude toward me.

Not only did they become more serious, but they were also more careful in their behavior even when I couldn’t see them. After I got rid of the nanny, Laura, and all those who had led the disturbance, I felt a real sense of peace.

Annie was the one who changed the most.

She had always been sincere, but she had definitely brightened up and become more loyal since the nanny was gone.

If before she seemed to be quiet because it was just something she had to do, now she couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she worked.

Not only did she no longer look bad in the face of others, but most importantly, she was very friendly to me.

I needed at least one loyal servant, so this change came naturally to me.

I decided to accept it.

I stopped reading the letters and invitations that came in daily for a while and was having some tea.

One of the servants came and handed me an invitation that was sent from Hermes.

I opened it cautiously.

What was written inside was simple.

It said the meeting would be at the annex of the Hermes three days from now. I immediately wrote a reply saying I understood and gave it to the servant.

“Lady, is something wrong? You don’t look so happy. Are you worried about His Highness?”

“…?”

Annie asked anxiously, pouring some tea into my empty cup.