Second Life of the Villainess

Chapter 21

Slightly dishevelled and with a sweet smell of alcohol permeating about her, the countess was being served by her maids, who were removing her clothes and ornaments from her body. Then, she stretched out on her bed with nothing on. She was not asleep, so she had plenty of room for conversation.

"I have something to talk to my mother about, so everyone, get out."

Aria, making all the servants who were massaging her body and face leave the room, sat by the countess' head and fiddled with her shiny hair.

The countess, who knew she was affectionate only when she had a request, slowly blinked her drunken eyes and asked her reason, "... What's the matter?"

"It's not a big deal, but I think I should tell you because it happened under the Roscent name. I almost had a big accident earlier."

"A big accident?"

"A carriage accident. I was almost hurt."

The drunkenness on her mother's face suddenly lifted, when she heard that her only daughter had nearly been into a major accident. There was still a flush on both of her cheeks, but the clear look in her eyes made Aria feel her mother's affection, which had a mixture of anxiety and worry.

Aria smiled a little at this, and her mother frowned.

"Explain to me what you are saying. You almost had an accident?"

"I almost had a big accident. My stupid driver came home without his master's permission and got food poisoning while eating lunch, and the driver who replaced the stupid one brought a broken carriage. It was as if he had done it on purpose."

Thanks to that broken carriage, her hips and back were still tingling a little. The countess' face showed a horrified expression when Aria said that they had been very rude and had not admitted their guilt.

"If that's true, I can't forgive them."

"Nothing of it was reported to me. But, forget me. Mother, who is the master of the mansion, also did not receive any reports of the events."

"..."

"Maybe the mansion still considers my mother and me to be useless beings. I'm terribly sad."

Though needless to remind her of that, it was true enough to provoke the anger of the countess.

The countess dressed straight away and called for all the servants and maids of the mansion. Not long after her call, they gathered in the hall on the first floor. Unlike the usual languid looks that were directed at them, those who first saw the countess' sharp and resolute eyes looked puzzled. Of course, some of them were even terrified, shaking uncontrollably, like the driver that had teased Aria earlier.

The countess' mood was ominous, and all the servants and maids closed their mouths and looked down at the floor when they saw her. Breaking that silence, the countess began to tell everyone about what had happened that day and asked them whether it was true or not.

"... So, is it true that the driver named Yagi left his station without asking Aria for permission, and that another driver headed for the mansion on his behalf, but also made no report, even taking the broken carriage and nearly causing a major accident?"

The countess' gaze reached Elect, and dozens of eyes fell on him because he was the only one to question.

Elect slowly began to make an excuse as if he had prepared himself to handle all these questions and eyes alone.

"It-it happened so suddenly that I think I took the wrong carriage..."

"You took the wrong carriage... Then, the transportation manager who made you take the wrong one must have neglected his job."