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‘It was Riel's scheme to get rid of Vera by damaging the statue.’
Iana suppressed her surprise and thought calmly.
The breaking of the Goddess of Suffering statue happened about half a year later.
It seemed that after the regression, the order of events had changed as the situation changed.
Before the regression, Iana hadn't met the nobles who came to attend the banquet with the First Knight Order.
"Young Riel had been running errands at the Marble Quarry of the War Heroes before coming to the Retchels family."
Iana found this out while investigating Riel's misdeeds after the divorce.
Sranka.
Riel had a highly toxic substance that slowly dissolved marble, and she tried to use it to kill Iana.
'I should have prevented this from happening...'
As Iana was lost in confused thoughts, the nobles were whispering while looking at the statue that had become a mosnter.
"My goodness, what happened here?"
"I've never seen anything like this before."
It wasn't simply a matter of one artwork being damaged.
Artworks were the face of the noble family that owned them.
They were symbols that showed the level and status of that family.
In noble families, it was the virtue and duty of the head of the household to buy good artworks and leave them as family heirlooms.
Now that it was revealed in front of the royalty and nobles that they had failed to properly manage their artwork, Carrion's anger reached its peak.
"What happened to that?!"
Carrion shouted fiercely, pointing at the statue.
Overwhelmed by his force, the old butler couldn't speak properly.
"W-well, you see..."
"Speak clearly so I can understand!"
Carrion roughly grabbed the old butler by the collar.
Once he got angry, he would turn frighteningly violent. So much so that no one could stop him.
'That's the kind of person you were, Carrion.'
Iana remembered clearly.
Before the regression, Carrion had severely beaten the butler, guards, and maids who cleaned the gallery, holding them responsible for this incident.
The old butler, well aware of his master's temper, trembled as he struggled to answer.
"C-certainly, there was no problem until lunchtime..."
"Is that what you call an explanation?"
As Carrion, unable to contain his anger and was about to slap the old butler's cheek, Iana stepped in front of him and stopped him.
"My Lord, the guests are watching from behind."
Iana said, gesturing with her eyes towards the nobles behind Carrion. But Carrion, having lost his reason, paid no heed.
"That's why I need to show them how a master properly educates his servants. Step aside, Iana."
At that moment, Iana saw Vera and the maids rushing to the gallery door.
"Please, Carrion."
"Didn't you hear me? I said step aside!"
As the enraged Carrion was about to grab Iana's shoulder and push her away.
"Count Dietrian."
Charles called out in a low voice.
Carrion turned around with a sharp gaze, unable to suppress his anger.
"I understand your frustration. However..."
As Charles was about to continue, his eyes turned cold.
"How long are you going to keep me standing here?"
"...!"
Everyone's gaze fixed on Charles.
The mad Grand Duke who would mercilessly trample and crush anyone who irritated him, even with just a look.
Seeing his sharp, glowing eyes, one could understand why he had earned such a nickname. He seemed to know well how to subdue a raging beast-like human.
For a moment, Charles and Carrion's gazes clashed intensely.
But in the end, Carrion was the loser.
At least he wasn't foolish enough to go up against a royal who commanded the strongest knight order.
"...I apologize, Your Highness. An unfortunate incident occurred, and I momentarily failed to show proper courtesy."
"I understand, but I'm not very good at waiting, you see."
Charles replied, softening his sharp expression.
"Then, I'll guide you to another place."
As Carrion was about to head towards the door, he gave a quiet instruction to Iana.
"My lady, find out what happened here."
"I will do so."
Iana responded with proper courtesy.
Carrion left the gallery with the nobles.
"Hah...!"
Once all the nobles had left, Iana heard the old butler behind her exhale deeply.
The head maid and other maids who had been watching fearfully from the gallery door, and Riel, who had arrived at some point, all entered together.
"Oh my, how could this..."
The maids looked at the damaged statue with shocked faces.
Riel also put on a shocked expression, covering his mouth with both hands.
'How disgusting. When you're the one who did this.'
Iana felt uncontrollable anger seeing Riel like that.
After all, Riel had deceived her countless times with such expressions.
"Who entered the gallery today?"
Iana asked the old butler in a firm voice.
"A few days ago, the Count ordered us to keep the gallery door locked. So only I, who opened the door, and the maids who cleaned entered."
"Then who touched that statue today?"
At Iana's words, everyone looked at Vera.
Vera spoke up in a terrified voice.
"Th-there was no problem when I was cleaning..."
"Riel, did you clean the gallery today too?"
Iana spoke as if she was questioning why Riel had been allowed to clean.
Riel stepped forward with his characteristic kind expression.
"I offered to help. Since everyone seemed busy."
"Then tell me. How did you clean the gallery today?"
Iana asked Riel in an angry voice.
As if she was the only one she could trust at this moment.
Riel pretended to look around cautiously before continuing carefully.
"We divided the areas and cleaned separately. We didn't do anything else. We just mopped the floor and dusted off the statues."
Riel emphasized that there was nothing problematic, as if taking Vera's side.
'Riel, I'll play along with your intentions.'
Iana immediately pointed at Vera.
"So the statue Vera cleaned ended up like this?"
"Madam, I really didn't do this!"
Vera trembled and burst into tears.
At that moment, Iana's eyes met Riel's.
Riel shook his head slightly as if telling her to be firm.
Iana spoke sternly as Riel wanted.
"Vera and the head maid, follow me. The rest of you, make sure you're not neglecting your duties to serve the guests."
"Yes, madam."
The old butler and maids bowed their heads and answered in unison.
Riel slowly raised her head and smiled slightly at Iana as if she had done well.
With a cunning and disgusting expression.
Iana smiled back with an innocent expression.
As she did so, she thought:
'Riel, is this how you've been manipulating me all this time? Like a piece on a chessboard.'
* * *
Iana took Vera and the head maid to a guest room without connecting doors.
She was concerned that the meticulous Riel might be eavesdropping.
Once inside the room, Vera cried endlessly, feeling wronged.
"Madam, I really, really don’t know why something like that happened.”
Before the regression, Carrion, unable to contain his anger, had severely beaten Vera and then driven her out.
There was no evidence.
Unable to find the real culprit, he had taken out his frustration on Vera simply because she had cleaned the Goddess of Suffering statue.
But as rumors spread that Vera had damaged the statue, she couldn't find work as a maid in any household.
'I can't let innocent people get hurt. Just to catch the moment when Riel tries to kill me.'
Iana made a resolution in her heart.
The problem was that as the situation changed, it was impossible to predict what would happen next.
She looked at the crying Vera.
The feelings of someone who was used without even knowing they were being used.
Knowing that sense of injustice and humiliation better than anyone, Iana knew she had to resolve this issue no matter how the situation changed.
'That's right. Even if situations change, people don't. Especially people like Riel.'
As Iana pondered how to resolve this situation, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
"A piece on a chessboard."
"Pardon? A piece on a chessboard?"
Vera, who had been crying, stared blankly, not understanding what Iana meant.
"Madam, I will investigate the maids once again. And I'll also check if anyone else entered the gallery."
The head maid, seemingly at a loss, spoke up with difficulty. Iana then turned to the head maid with sharp eyes.
"If we don't catch the real culprit, Vera will be driven out. You've been with the Dietrian family for a long time, so you know the Count well, don't you?"
"..."
"How the Count acts in situations like this, and how he treats his employees."
"But..."
Doubt clouded the head maid's eyes.
It was because the mistress, who had only been married for about a month, seemed to know the Count inside out.
At those words, Vera burst into tears again.
"What should I do? My father is sick and I have to take care of my younger siblings, what should I do?"
Iana looked back and forth between Vera and the head maid, and slowly spoke.
"I have one way."
"What is that way?"
"If I tell you the method, will you do exactly as I say?"
Vera wiped her tears with her sleeve and nodded.
However, the experienced head maid seemed to have doubts once again at Iana’s unusual behavior.
Iana continued resolutely without stopping.
"Not just today's incident, but any unfortunate events that happen to you two in the future..."
"...?"
“Please blame it all on me.”
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