Be My Heroine Chapter 34
Then, I wish you good luck (5)
The Countess had her own methods. She would ensnare and torment those of lower-ranked than her.
This was her rule.
It was a rule so that when employees would quit they would be unable to ask for severance pay or letters of recommendation.
She loved ruining other people’s lives beyond repair.
The Countess’ hand trembled when she saw the perfect cup of coffee. At first, the other maids thought that Beth had done something wrong, so they looked nervous. However, when they saw that the Countess remained silent, they could sense an abnormal pressure.
This maid brewed the Countess’ favorite coffee.
Beth laughed inside upon seeing the Countess was lost for words.
This was nothing more than a basic requirement for part-time jobs at convenience stores and cafes.
Of course, Beth wouldn’t say that she worked part-time at a cafe.
For a short time in her previous life, Beth worked under the head barista at a large café. It was a pleasant memory that stayed with Beth. At times, her boss would explain in detail how to make coffee in case she was unavailable. Her boss would also give her leftovers after her shift. In fact, Beth was grateful for the leftovers since that was one less meal to buy. Her boss felt sympathy towards Beth, as she would always consume cheap food.
While Beth reminisced about pleasant memories from her past life, the Countess flung her cup of coffee against the wall in a fit of anger.
Caught off-guard at how hard the Countess threw the cup, Beth’s heart pounded.
‘Was it due to lack of sleep?
But Beth didn’t dwell on it too much. She didn’t feel fearful, so she assumed her heart fluttered a little because she was tired.
“Did the chef make it?”
“I wouldn’t dare lie.”
Beth maintained a polite appearance with her head bowed down. Her tone seemed slightly stiff.
“Lies!!”
The Countess became hysterical and threw a tray at Beth.
When the tray hit her head, Beth fell to the floor. While her vision darkened, Beth felt dizzy. She thought to herself, ‘I should have slept…’.
She heard a murmuring sound.
The Countess threw the tray so well that Beth wondered how much power could be hiding in such a skinny body.
***
Late at night, Beth fiddled with an unlit lantern.
Kedrick was next to her.
As he pulled down the hood of the cape she was wearing, Kedrick asked,
“Is your head okay? I heard you were hit hard. Does it hurt?”
“It’s okay.”
In fact, she still felt her head spinning, but it was fine since she could still walk.
Despite Beth’s previous life ended due to over-exhaustion, she never changed her habit. In fact, she wasn’t aware of it.
She was just thinking, ‘Ah, I’m tired…’
When Beth opened her eyes again, she saw a familiar ceiling and familiar faces.
The faces belonged to Kedrick, Claire, and Ryan. She explained she didn’t tell them because she was afraid they would be worried.
Kedrick pressed something cold against her forehead and handed the unique tea he would usually drink to Beth.
Beth drank the tea silently, as she got used to the flavor, while Kedrick suggested to postpone the appointment.
Of course, Beth refused as it was nighttime.
Kedrick looked at Beth as if he was worried.
“… I’ve already taken care of the work, so let’s go over the wall.”
He wanted to ask Beth if she had to do this. But he already knew her answer.
‘Yes.’
She was concerned for Claire. Beth was cooler and calmer than anyone else…
‘So why do you continue to act that way?’
She behaved more like a cornered rat who couldn’t escape.
Once attacked, it would charge forward and aim to kill . At least that’s how it appeared to Kedrick. What she was being chased by, he didn’t know.
But Kedrick wouldn’t ask Beth about it. He didn’t ask because he wasn’t close enough to Beth.
It was the first time that he had taken a genuine interest in someone else.
“Then if you’ll excuse me.”
“Yes.”
Kedrick held Beth in one arm and climbed over the wall with his opposite hand. Meanwhile, Beth held onto his shoulder to balance herself.
He had tremendous strength despite having a slender body.
After they had reached the other side and confirmed they were undetected, they walked a short distance before lighting the lantern.
Beth wouldn’t respond very much to information she wasn’t interested in. But if she was, her eyes would twinkle.
Looking at Beth’s eyes, Kedrick just laughed.
Beth pulled her hood down further. It wouldn’t be good to show her face.
As they walked further, they saw a shabby-looking house.
She heard a squeaky, rough sound. Eight women with tired expressions sat inside the small house.
It was a pity that all ten people who were sent invitations did not come, but that was okay.
Beth sat in an empty chair while Kedrick stood behind her looking at everyone.
Beth slowly opened her mouth.
“Then… what should we talk about first?”
The stories exchanged were so predictable. It was so predictable and sad.
Among those who were unfairly fired, one screamed in resentment, saying that they were kicked out of their house when they could no longer make money. Another explained that they had ran out of money to buy medicine and so they sent their children away.
There were a lot more severe consequences than Beth thought.
The level of their hatred was beyond imagination.
Yes, the Countess hated people who were good at their jobs and worked hard. She despised desperate people.
Thus, the Countess took away the desire to live from many people and took away their rights.
This was a much more serious situation than she anticipated. After her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, unable to get a word in, Beth asked,
“What….what would you do if you could take revenge?”
The wailing that filled the room, stopped. Everyone’s eyes turned savage.
Yes, their eyes were blazing with revenge.
It was easy.
—
A few days after that, Jenny was fired from her maid position. She didn’t even get her letter of recommendation.
Beth looked at Jenny’s love letter and the letter she wrote using Jenny’s handwriting. Beth then placed the papers over a glass plate with a lantern underneath. When she went to negotiate, she had covered her face, concealing her appearance. Therefore, Beth would not have been caught even when one of them did snitch.
The only proof they could provide was a letter and the handsome man who was with her.
Beth appeared to be calm and collected, so no one even considered her to be a suspect. Sometimes other people’s incompetence was more convenient than anything else.
They didn’t seem to reveal anything about Kedrick. She was not sure why. Maybe his face had an effect? Beth thought briefly then carried on.
Jenny cried out to ask the Countess why. But she had angered the Countess so the Countess retorted to stop pretending that she didn’t know what she did and that she was fortunate enough that she hadn’t been thrown in jail.
While observing the scene, Beth said in an indifferent tone,
“I knew this would happen and pretended to be Jenny.”
When Kedrick heard her, he said,
“I’ve often wondered if Beth is human.”
Beth ignored Kedrick’s mischievous sarcasm and approached Jenny, who was squatting in the middle of the floor, and handed out a handkerchief.
Jenny became angry when she saw Beth and whispered,
“What? Do you feel sorry for me?”
“I’m sorry.”
Beth handed her the cheap handkerchief to the angry Jenny and whispered to her.
“It would be better to move to a distant land as soon as possible. I heard the Countess is secretly preparing to kill you.”
“What?! What did I do wrong!!”
“Shh.”
Beth held her index finger to her mouth and made a gesture to keep quiet.
“I don’t know. But you don’t have time to dilly-dally.”
Beth put five silver coins in Jenny’s hand.
“I bought a small carriage. Use it to escape. After all, we are still comrades who are in the same line of work.”
“Beth….”
“There is an unnamed village in the forest next to the Marquis of Ethelvine, so why don’t you go there and hide?”
Beth whispered to Jenny about a location far from the reaches of the Countess.
Jenny looked at Beth with a bit of dislike, some gratitude, and a dash of shame.
“Hurry up. It’ll be dangerous if we get caught having a conversation like this.”
“… okay.”
Reluctantly, Jenny got up from her seat and staggered to the opposite side of the road.
Beth, who was staring at her, asked.
“… do you have anything you’d like to say to Mr. Kedrick?”
At Beth’s question, Jenny’s back straightened and paused. She stood still, considered something, then turned her head and looked at Beth.
“… yes, Sir Kedrick.”
It was as if she had forgotten. Beth felt discomfort and squeezed her eyes shut. In a sorrowful voice, Jenny answered,
“Tell Sir Kedrick that I loved him more than anything in the world.”
She said it as if it was the romance of the century. Beth got goosebumps at the cringy remark.
Jenny, then added that she didn’t want to be a burden to him, which was why she was leaving without saying goodbye. With that, she disappeared through the alley.
Kedrick approached Beth who had been staring.
Beth said calmly.
“How on earth do you flirt with someone like that in a few days?”
“Haha, shouldn’t my appearance and listening skills be good enough?”
Kedrick peered down at Beth with expectancy.
“Because I am good at listening.”
“Oh, yes… well… yes…”
Beth looked at Kedrick with a salty expression and then left.
Kedrick asked, quietly following her.
“What are you going to do now?”
“Just following what I’ve planned.”
Beth pulled out a letter from her apron pocket, and handed it to Kedrick.
“Give this to Dana.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Kedrick didn’t ask why when he received the letter.
“Then see you later. Beth.”
“Yes, see you later.”
The next day, Beth became the Countess’s maid to replace Jenny.
The maid who served the Countess the longest, told Beth with a tired appearance,
“It is a great honor to serve the Madam, so be more cautious than when you serve the young miss.”
“Yes.”
“Madam has teatime every morning…”
For several minutes, Beth listened to what the madam did, what she liked, and what to do when the Countess was in a bad mood.
Beth, who more or less knew this information due to her intel, listened with one ear and let it out the other.
Then, the Countess entered the room.
“Greetings, Madam.”
A maid bowed her head and Beth followed suit.
The Countess, who looked at them, smiled softly, knowing what the maids were doing.
“There is no need to teach new recruits so severely.”
“Yes.”
“It doesn’t seem necessary to memorize everything.”
Meaning, Beth was not going to be around for long.
‘Yes, you don’t have to memorize everything. You will soon be expelled from this mansion.’
—-
A letter reply came within 24 hours after that. It was sent to Dana, but the reply was from James.
When Beth negotiated to open a store on the Islands for Dana, James responded.
The names of the two maids who reported to the Countess were listed.
‘You mean it’s not one?’
Beth already knew someone was going to betray her.
The larger the group, the more risk of a double-crosser.
Beth smiled bitterly.
“Beth!!!”
“Yes, Madam.”
Beth tucked the letter from James into her apron pocket and walked as slowly as possible to where the Countess was.
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