Miss Mabel’s full name was Mabel Percy. Her father was a baron, a relatively low-ranking noble, but he held considerable influence in Parliament.
Baron Percy had perfectly seized the opportunities of the era. He was the first noble to invest in factories and embrace industrialization. Today, his businesses spanned the entire country, and he had even established a major bank.
The place Mabel had invited Elisa to was a large estate on the outskirts of the city. It was merely Miss Mabel’s summer retreat, yet it was already far more luxurious than the manor Elisa had spent a fortune renting.
When the carriage arrived at the estate gates, a dedicated coachman took over, while a maid led Simon, Elisa, and Eve into the mansion.
Elisa took her personal maid Eve with her to the drawing room to meet Miss Mabel, while Simon was shown to the servants’ lounge.
Socializing among nobles wasn’t limited to the masters. Their servants had their own places to socialize as well.
The estate’s housekeeper came to the lounge and greeted Simon.
[Simon had a delightful conversation with the housekeeper, Julia. Miss Julia invited Simon to sample some tea she had received from her employer. Their relationship has improved.]
Elisa’s hand paused as she held her cup of black tea, and she nearly failed to keep her expression composed in front of Mabel.
Why are you flirting with someone else’s housekeeper now?!
Is that even proper?! Is that appropriate?!
[Simon told an amusing story, and all the servants in the lounge struggled to hold back their laughter.]
“???”
What amusing story?! At least tell me what it was! I’ll tell it to Mabel!
Elisa was fretting over what topic she could use to liven up the atmosphere. For some reason, after she arrived, Mabel had exchanged only a few words with her before falling silent and sipping her tea.
It was almost as if she had been invited over just to drink tea.
[From his conversations with the housekeeper and the other servants, Simon has discovered that Miss Mabel is quite a good employer. He has added the Percy household to his list of potential places to jump ship to.]
Bastard! What are you trying to do?! This is practically treason!
[Piecing together various clues, Simon has formed an impression of Miss Mabel. She is somewhat childish and willful. While difficult to handle, she is also easy to please.]
Elisa straightened up and carefully committed Simon’s findings to memory.
So that’s what you’re really like, Mabel! But now comes the question: how am I supposed to play to her tastes?
Why did she invite me here only to sit there without saying anything and drink tea? Weren’t we supposed to admire the flowers?!
[Simon has noticed that the servants made no special preparations for afternoon tea. It seems Miss Mabel has no intention of keeping Miss Elisa here for afternoon tea.]
Afternoon tea wasn’t just tea. It also included refreshments.
Elisa had no interest in afternoon tea, so she paid the matter no mind.
[Simon has discovered that Miss Eleanor stayed overnight at Miss Mabel’s residence last night. They discussed the poor relief proposal.]
None of this information was useful for the moment. Elisa closed the [Simon Log] and did her best to strike up a conversation.
Miss Mabel seemed distracted. After responding with a few words, she would let the conversation die again.
As an adventurer, Elisa was only skilled at assassination and kidnapping. Seducing innocent young noblewomen wasn’t her specialty. That was the domain of con artists.
Damn it, can’t there be a feature like [The Male Servant’s Morning Lessons]? I need his ability to charm beautiful ladies!
Elisa drained her third cup of tea and began to suspect that Mabel was trying to show off the manor’s washroom. Why else would she keep pouring so much tea into her?
Just as she was wondering whether she should pay it a visit, Mabel suddenly stood up.
“All right!” Mabel looked at Elisa with delight. “Let’s go admire the flowers!”
Elisa had no idea what exactly was “all right”, but at least they were finally getting to the flower-viewing part.
Elisa rose and followed Mabel, delighted that the geranium appreciation techniques she had crammed last night were finally going to come in handy.
“You two stay here,” Mabel said to her own personal maid and Elisa’s. “Elisa and I will take a walk around the garden alone.”
Elisa felt that something wasn’t quite right, but Mabel had already hurried out of the drawing room, so she quickly followed.
On the way, she instinctively opened the [Simon Log] to see if it held any answers.
[Through the window, Simon spotted the two young ladies heading toward a secluded corner of the garden.]
[He bid farewell to the Percy family’s servants, called over his young lady’s personal maid Eve, and told her that Miss Elisa had instructed them to go back and retrieve something. Together, they headed out of the estate.]
When did I ever give you that order? What are you planning to do with my personal maid?!
Are you finally no longer satisfied with mere flirting and planning to make a move on a pretty maid?!
Elisa had no time to worry about Simon for now. When she spotted a beautiful bed of geraniums, she cleared her throat and was just about to offer some praise when Miss Mabel rolled up her sleeves and shoved over a goblet-shaped garden planter.
The beautiful geraniums spilled onto the ground and were buried beneath the soil.
Miss Mabel pushed the planter up against the garden wall, stepped onto it, and leaped with all her strength. She caught hold of the top of the wall, struggled to hoist her right leg up, and finally straddled it.
Elisa’s eyes widened.
What was this, a boarding-school student sneaking out to have fun?!
Miss Mabel, what are you doing?!
“Quick, Elisa!” Miss Mabel excitedly held out her hand to Elisa. “We only have ten minutes. Once the gardener comes back, we won’t be able to leave!”
So when she’d said “All right” earlier, she’d meant that it was time for the gardener’s break.
And the reason she’d called me over without saying anything was that she was plotting to climb over the wall.
Elisa took Miss Mabel’s hand, then remembered what she had read in the [Simon’s Log] and thought of Simon’s strange behavior.
She had a feeling that once they climbed over the wall, the male servant Simon would be waiting outside with the maid Eve.
You damned male servant! If you figured it out, why didn’t you tell me?! You never used to be like this. At least you would have left me a little hint in the Log!
Wait, there actually was a hint in the Log.
Besides saying that Miss Mabel was childish and willful, it had also said that Miss Mabel had no intention of keeping her for afternoon tea.
Come to think of it, that was terribly impolite. When a guest came to visit, how could you not even arrange afternoon tea?
I actually overlooked that clue!
I helped Mabel resolve her friendship crisis, so I’m practically her benefactor. There’s only one reason Mabel wouldn’t keep me for afternoon tea: we’re going out, so we won’t be here to have it!
“Here goes!” Mabel jumped down from the wall, turned back to Elisa, and spread her arms. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you!”
“No need.” Elisa leaped down from the wall.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she realized this was turning into something rather serious.
On my very first visit, I’ve run away with the baron’s daughter… No, wait, we’re not eloping! We’re sneaking out!
Where on earth was this noble young lady planning to go?
“Let’s go explore the East District! They won’t let me go, so we’ll sneak there!” Mabel said excitedly, pulling Elisa along by the hand.
The East District. The slums. The place where Simon had falsified the donation figures.
The slums… the poor-relief proposal!
[Simon’s Log] had mentioned that Mabel and Eleanor had discussed the poor-relief proposal…
So all the clues had been there from the beginning?
Write it clearly, you bastard! How am I supposed to figure it out when you put it like that?!
Elisa covered her face with her hands.
My teachers always praise me for my exceptional intelligence. I’m the renowned “Scarlet Scholar” of the archipelago. So why is it that here in the royal capital, in front of that indecent male servant, I feel like a curly-haired baboon?
They had landed in the middle of an alley. Elisa looked toward its entrance and, sure enough, she spotted Simon and the maid waiting there.
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