Previously, every conclusion the male servant had suddenly come to could be traced back to something. The clues needed to solve the mystery were always there in the records from the preceding few hours.
But Elisa had gone through every entry from last night and found nothing relevant. How on earth had the male servant known that his former colleagues would come to steal from the manor that night?
She couldn’t help suspecting that the male servant had never written about it in the [Log] at all. This was a major dereliction of duty on his part!
Elisa grumbled about the male servant in her heart.
“Miss Elisa, you’re awake!” Eve pushed open the bedroom door and, seeing Elisa sitting by the bed, hurried inside in delight.
Maria followed behind Eve.
As the head maid, Maria was a manager and didn’t need to attend to the young lady when she got up. Elisa understood that Maria had come to discuss the thieves.
Sure enough, the head maid briefly explained what had happened last night, with Eve occasionally adding a few words, mostly to emphasize how brave, intelligent, powerful, and handsome Mr. Simon had been.
Both maids’ voices carried a trace of lingering fear and relief.
When they had finished, Elisa nodded with a calm expression. “I see.”
Maria said admiringly, “As expected of Miss Elisa. You’re so composed.”
Eve gazed at the young lady with reverence. “When I first heard about it, I was scared half to death!”
My heart was pounding when I first read the [Simon Log], too. If I hadn’t read the log first and had heard it from you instead, I would definitely have been terribly anxious, Elisa thought.
She gave an elegant smile. “Worrying cannot change the past.”
The saying was nothing new. Both Eve and Maria had heard it before, but only when they were caught up in such a situation did they realize how difficult it was to put into practice.
They lowered their heads and flattered Miss Elisa, acknowledging that they had learned something.
As expected of Miss Elisa!
Aside from being a little childish about the size of her chest, Miss Elisa was practically the embodiment of elegance!
Elisa gave a reserved nod, then stood up and let the two maids help her wash and dress.
“How did Simon discover those three thieves?” she asked, bringing up the question that had been bothering her. She wanted to know exactly what information the male servant had kept hidden.
Maria replied, “Mr. Simon said that around noon yesterday, he already felt that something was off about George.”
Noon?
Elisa froze for a moment, then rapidly scrolled through the [Simon Log] with her mind until she found the entries from yesterday afternoon.
There was an incident about a subordinate making a mistake at work. An ordinary male servant had broken a silver pot. She had paid attention to the matter yesterday and had even learned a saying from it: “The first time, give forgiveness. The second time, give consequences.”
And the male servant who had caused the incident by breaking the silver pot was named George.
He was one of the three thieves!
Elisa stared at a sentence in the [Log].
[…Simon asked George why, after working as a male servant for six years, he would make a mistake like this…]
A male servant of six years, someone who shouldn’t have made such a mistake, yet had made one…
So that was where the clue had been!
This clue had appeared more than half a day before the mystery itself! I only checked the records from the previous five or six hours just now, so I missed it.
No, even if I had seen it, I might not have realized what it meant.
Looking at that sentence by itself, no matter how you thought about it, it just sounded like an ordinary reprimand. It didn’t feel important at all!
Only by carefully thinking it over could you notice that something was strange about it. Back then, I hadn’t given it any serious thought at all!
Damn it, I was already reading [Simon’s Log] carefully enough. So even that still wasn’t enough?!
Elisa thought very quickly. By the time she was regretting her oversight, Maria had only just finished organizing her thoughts.
The head maid explained, “Yesterday at noon, George…”
“He accidentally dropped the silver pot,” Elisa interrupted. “Heh, George is a servant with six years of experience. He shouldn’t have made that kind of mistake unless he was extremely nervous and uneasy at the time, because of the theft that was about to take place.”
Maria and Eve parted their lips in astonishment. In both pairs of eyes, there was not only surprise but also deep reverence.
“Just as you surmised.” Maria lowered her head, not daring to look directly at Miss Elisa.
Miss Elisa had not only understood the truth almost immediately, but she also knew about George breaking the silver pot and his six years of service!
People in the cafés and taverns always said that the inhabitants of the isles were rude, stupid, curly-haired baboons. That had to be a rumor. Miss Elisa, who came from the isles, was practically a master detective!
“Your wisdom is astonishing,” Maria said sincerely.
Elisa smiled and shook her head. “All it takes is a little attention and a little deduction.”
She was delighted inside: Being treated like a clever person feels wonderful!
Back in the archipelago, my teachers often praised me for being smart. But after I came to the royal capital, everyone who knew I was from the archipelago looked at me as though they were examining a curly-haired baboon, including the young ladies at that salon and the servants here at the manor.
Now I’ve finally shaken off that stereotype!
Alongside her joy, she also felt a tiny bit guilty.
Elisa, oh Elisa, you need to be confident! What belongs to your male servant belongs to you. A subordinate’s achievements are the leader’s achievements, and a subordinate’s talents are the leader’s talents!
Besides, I really did figure it out myself!
Well, I figured it out in the [Simon’s Log].
Miss Elisa straightened her back and asked, “Where are the three thieves?”
Maria led Elisa to a servants’ room. Sheldon and the other two were tied to the legs of a bed, with two male servants guarding them.
Elisa asked a few simple questions, including why they had targeted the manor and whether they had any other accomplices inside.
The former butler Sheldon made no attempt to hide the truth. “There are no other accomplices. If there were, we would have taken over the manor outright instead of stealing from it.”
He went on to explain why he had resorted to such a desperate measure. “My savings were stolen, including all my cash and all my jewelry. The thief didn’t leave me so much as half a penny. I need money.”
Elisa felt a pang of guilt.
The person who stole all his savings seems to have been me.
So I’m the one who brought this theft upon the manor!
“Miss Elisa,” Sheldon pleaded, “I’m willing to sign any agreement you want, as long as you spare me!”
His two companions joined in begging for mercy.
Elisa fell into thought.
According to the customs of the Isles, they would lose at least a hand. But this isn’t the Isles. I need to behave in a manner befitting the upper class of the royal capital.
I’ve got it!
Elisa slowly shook her head. “My father taught me: the first time, give forgiveness. The second time, give consequences.”
Despair appeared on Sheldon’s face. This was already their second attempt to seize the manor’s property.
Elisa turned to Maria. “Hand them over to the police.”
No one would hire a servant with a criminal record. Once they entered the police station, leaving aside the legal punishment, they would never find work again. After their release, they would either have to leave the royal capital or move to the East District.
The police station was not far from the manor, and two officers soon arrived.
There was no need for an investigation or evidence gathering. The mere fact that the dismissed male servants had appeared at the manor was enough to establish their guilt.
The officers took the three thieves away. Awaiting them were at least two years of imprisonment and hard labor.
Standing on her bedroom balcony, Elisa watched the officers leave while observing the servants’ reactions.
There’s only reverence, not fear. I handled this appropriately.
Even if someone thinks the punishment is a little harsh, that saying provides an explanation. It really is useful!
She closed the balcony door, returned to her bedroom, and sat down on the sofa to consider what came next. There was still one loose end to the matter… that finger bone.
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