When Charlotte, who had been preparing snacks, entered the room, Navia was lying on the floor.
"Oh, Miss!"
Wood hurriedly used magic to knock Charlotte unconscious.
Thud!
If it were not for Navia, who could steal magic, such an act would have been insignificant.
Among the four servants waiting in Navia's room, Tom, already frightened by the two people collapsed on the floor, began to tremble uncontrollably.
Wood scolded him.
"Aren't you going to close the door?"
"S-sorry, my lord..."
Tom cursed inwardly, regretting getting involved in such a dangerous situation just because he had caught Wood's attention.
But as he had just witnessed, Wood, being a magician, could easily put him, an adult man, in danger.
He had to follow orders or face retaliation, so he trembled yet didn't let go of the club in his hand.
"Damn, I completely forgot about the dedicated maid..."
Wood glared at Charlotte annoyedly and then said.
"You two, lock her in the unused annex. The other one will take the low class to the storage."
Duke Agnes's residence had numerous external facilities besides the main building.
Among them were small cabins unknown to most servants.
He planned to take Navia to an external storage, wake her up, and teach her who really held the power through violence.
'I spent all of yesterday scouring the house for this.'
"But... can we get there without being noticed?"
Tom asked with a worried expression, and Wood snapped back irritably.
"I'll lower them down through the balcony anyway, what's the problem!"
Wood's magical ability was far from lacking. His superior lineage meant he was exceptionally powerful.
Lowering an adult woman and a girl was no trouble for him.
"It won't take long anyway."
Showing Navia the upper hand wouldn't even take half a day.
Even though Nikan valued Navia, if Wood chose the spots carefully, he could bruise her without being noticed.
Wood giggled, imagining Navia begging for mercy.
"Go ahead and wait below."
"Understood."
He hummed a tune and magically lowered the two.
Surprisingly, his movements were delicate.
"Hehe, can't have them hurt now."
It would be a problem if they were damaged before he had his chance to vent.
Quietly, Wood also descended to the first floor. The servants didn't find it odd that Wood was leaving the mansion.
Upon reaching the backyard, the other two servants had already taken Charlotte away, and only Tom was left, carrying Navia on his back.
"Let's go."
Tom sighed inwardly, having to carry Navia, and just hoped this act wouldn't be discovered by anyone.
* * *
Wood moved to a location far from the main building.
As he entered the forest trail behind the mansion, a place decorated like a mountain lodge appeared.
There was also an old storage, seemingly abandoned for at least a hundred years.
"Put the low class down there."
"Pant, pant, yes… my lord."
Tom, carrying a slumped Navia, had walked briskly for a while, his breath coming up to his throat.
He laid Navia down inside an old wooden warehouse. The musty, damp smell of mold involuntarily wrinkled his brow.
"Well, shall we wake up this lowlife now?"
At that moment, servants assigned to move Charlotte rushed over urgently.
"Master! You must return to your room immediately!"
Wood, who was about to douse Navia with water to wake her, turned irritably towards them.
"What now!"
"The Lord has assigned a knight to watch over you, sir. They asked where you were, so we said you were strolling in the garden, but…"
At the servant's words, Wood gritted his teeth. Just when he was about to attend to the lowlife, he was being watched?
"Why would father suddenly assign someone to watch me!"
"It seems he went to the imperial city…"
Wood's eyes lit up at that.
"He went to the imperial city? Hmm, that's even better."
'I'll lie that I'm in my room, dodge the knight, and then come back here to thrash this lowlife.'
It was a flawless plan in his mind.
"Let's return for now. Lock up this warehouse."
Wood returned to his room on the third floor. As the servant had said, a knight was standing in front of his room.
He entered his room with a sneer.
But the knight, whom he thought would be guarding the door, followed him inside.
"What now, you? Why are you following me in?"
"The His Excellency ordered me to guard you closely, sir."
"Eek… won’t you leave immediately? You're supposed to stay outside!"
"I'm sorry, sir."
The knight said so, but had no intention of leaving.
Wood, furious to the tips of his hair, was about to throw something at the knight but calmed himself down.
If he showed more anger, the knight might suspect something.
'There’s still time to deal with the lowlife.'
If Nikan had gone to the imperial city, he wouldn't return to the duke's mansion until late afternoon. There had to be a way to dodge this knight by then.
For that, he needed someone's help.
Wood ordered a servant brusquely.
"Hey, you there. Go and call the nanny."
Philippa would do anything he asked, being completely smitten with him.
Quite some time had passed since the servant went to call the nanny.
Just as he was getting irritated, the servant returned, but he was alone.
"Master, I can't find Miss Philippa."
At the servant's words, Wood finally exploded.
"Where on earth did the nanny go!"
* * *
Philippa returned to her room from Vivian's room, her face aged a decade in just a short time, overwhelmed by humiliation.
She felt so wronged and resentful that she thought she might go mad.
Despite her years of loyalty, Nikan had ultimately drawn his sword against her.
"How could you do this to me? How…!"
Thump! Thump!
Philippa pounded her chest with her fists. She had to do it, or she felt suffocated, as if something was weighing heavily on her.
"It's all because of that woman."
Her anger naturally turned towards Navia.
Nikan had just been deceived by that wicked woman.
But for now, there was no other choice but to suppress her anger inwardly.
Knock knock.
One of Philippa's confidants arrived, holding a ledger in her hand.
"The item you requested has arrived."
"Why are you so late!"
Philippa snatched the ledger with a strong hand and checked its contents.
She skimmed through the list of embezzlements arranged by the spy she had persuaded, drawing a sinister smile on her lips.
She had newly inserted Charlotte's name amidst the facts of the chef's embezzlement.
'It's perfect! Flawless!'
She took out evidence consistent with the contents of the doctored ledger and went to Charlotte's room.
The room was empty, which was a relief as Charlotte could have been inside. It seemed even the heavens knew of this detestable woman's guilt and were aiding her.
Philippa quickly stuffed the evidence into the wardrobe of the room used by her and hurried out.
The preparation to frame them was perfectly complete.
She went to the office, pretending to be urgent, holding the ledger.
"Master!"
But there was no sign of Nikan.
Instead, Lyndon, who was sorting receipts related to housework, looked at Philippa with a puzzled expression.
"Butler, where is the master?"
"The master has gone to the royal palace. What is the matter?"
At this crucial time, to the royal palace! Philippa frowned deeply, then composed her expression and looked at Lyndon.
Lyndon had the authority to handle some major and minor matters of the house in Nikan's absence.
Therefore, he also had the authority to arrest those involved in the embezzlement.
Philippa spoke solemnly.
"Butler, I have something important to tell you. Do you remember I told you about a conflict I had with Miss Navia earlier?"
"I do."
"It's actually because of this."
What Philippa presented was a ledger that contained detailed evidence of the chef conspiring with Agnes's company to embezzle funds.
"The chef has been committing embezzlement."
"How dare they!"
Lyndon opened the ledger with an indignant expression. The details of the chef's embezzlement were thoroughly recorded there.
"But it wasn't just the chef who did this. You know the maid Charlotte?"
"Charlotte, you mean Miss Navia's personal maid?"
"Yes. Charlotte is also an accomplice. Those shameless people even tried to pin it on me."
One truth and one lie.
Philippa had devised a strategy, not unworthy of a favored minister.
"Even Miss Navia tried to falsely accuse me of embezzlement! Of course, that was a lie and didn’t succeed."
She implicated not only Charlotte but also Navia in the embezzlement evidence.
Even if this ledger wasn't enough to dismiss Navia immediately, it didn't matter.
What mattered was public opinion.
'As long as everyone is aware that there is a problem with Navia.'
That way, a pretext would easily arise, and hence, an opportunity for revenge would surely come!
Philippa continued with a voice intoxicated with a sense of victory.
"You must arrest them immediately, Butler!"
