Testing the Waters

In the end, I found no trace of demons—or anything remotely resembling them.

…I had suspected Lady Rebecca, after all.

The moment she stepped out of the church, that inexplicable chill in my body vanished completely.

But… when I thought about it carefully, she was a viscount’s daughter.

How could someone of her standing possibly be a demon or anything so sinister?

Still, just to be sure, I kept a discreet watch from afar.

All she did was read with Nino at her side or chat politely with Lady Noelle.

Nothing suspicious, nothing irregular.

Short-term observation couldn’t guarantee safety, of course.

Long-term surveillance would be the safest approach.

Unfortunately, I had already been caught more than once by Nino.

For reasons I still didn’t understand, that girl always managed to spot me.

If I persisted any further, she would definitely grow suspicious.

Besides, my doubts were based on intuition alone.

That sense of chill I experienced before—it came only from experience.

Even I couldn’t explain why that coldness always seemed to coincide with the presence of demons or demonic energy.

Maybe it was coincidence.

Maybe my senses had simply failed me this time.

All those uncertainties tangled together, wearing down my confidence.

I had no choice but to redirect my focus—back to observing Sophina.

Her behavior hadn’t changed much.

She was still steadily progressing along her route of “capturing” the male leads.

If anything, the only noticeable shift was the timing.

It was nearly Valentine’s Day—the first major event in the game’s story.

She had been spending suspiciously long hours in the academy kitchen lately.

No doubt preparing those obligatory chocolates that would “accidentally” raise affection levels among the male leads.

Yes. It was time to test her again, as planned.

In the academy’s back garden, a pink-haired girl stood biting her finger, anxiety radiating from her in waves.

From our connection, I could tell she probably had her eyes on Noelle as well…

But that wasn’t important for now.

Judging by her current mood, she had likely failed to run into Prince Edwin again—another thwarted attempt at an event trigger.

“Tch… why is it never going right? I can’t meet Lord Claude, and the same goes for His Highness Edwin! I’ve been following the story’s sequence perfectly…

Could it be because the villainess isn’t playing her role? Their routes only move forward with her interference, after all…”

She muttered to herself, unaware that I was listening.

But what struck me most was the expression on her face.

That wasn’t the face of my Sophina.

I stepped out from the shadows, schooling my expression into a gentle smile.

“My, my. You seem quite troubled, dear student.”

“Hmm? You’re… the Duke’s daughter’s maid, right?”

…As I thought.

At that moment, I became completely certain—this girl was not the “Sophina” I knew.

“Yes,” I said calmly.

“I serve Lady Katarina Arnest as her exclusive maid.”

I curtsied neatly, lowering my gaze as etiquette required.

Her eyes flickered up and down, scrutinizing me.

Then her gaze fixed on my silver hair, and a faint, unreadable smile tugged at her lips.

“So it’s you…”

“…?”

That cryptic remark caught me off guard, but I pushed past my confusion to continue as planned.

“So, if you’re troubled, would you like my assistance?”

“Assistance?”

She glanced at me again, then put on that familiar, practiced “heroine smile.”

“No need. It’s just a minor worry. Thank you for your concern.”

“I see… that makes sense. After all, without an oven, it’s rather troublesome to bake chocolate cake, isn’t it?”

“Ah—right… so I’ve been trying to make something simpler instead.”

Got you.

That one careless reply sealed it.

Even if she realized now what she’d said, it was far too late.

Her eyes widened, breaking the serene facade of “Sophina the heroine.”

“You… how do you know what an ‘oven’ is?”

Of course she couldn’t answer that.

This world had no such thing as ovens—nor electricity.

It was a word only a modern person would know.

And that was the trap I laid for her.

I smiled and offered an easy explanation I’d prepared in advance.

“‘Oven,’ you mean? My lady has a friend who loves tinkering with strange inventions.

You might have seen her before—the short girl with messy hair and those dark circles under her eyes.”

It was a complete fabrication.

Honestly, I didn’t even know if Margaret had ever made an oven before.

But since Sophina had little to no connection with her, she wouldn’t know what Margaret was capable of.

Still, she had likely seen Margaret experimenting with unusual, technology-like items at some point—being an engineering-track special admit.

That alone made my story believable.

“She invents strange contraptions all the time. That oven of hers is one of them—very convenient for baking pastries.

But come to think of it, you seem rather familiar with ovens. I wonder why that is?”

“U-uh…”

Sophina flushed, faltered, utterly unable to respond.

“Ah! Perhaps Miss Margaret mentioned it? You’re classmates, after all.”

I offered a kind way out, not wanting to corner her too harshly.

“Ah… y-yes, that must be it! Hahaha…”

She chuckled awkwardly.

“By the way,” she asked suddenly, “how did you know I was planning to make chocolate cake in the first place?”

I had that answer ready too.

“I happened to see you enter the kitchen before. And since Valentine’s Day is around the corner, I couldn’t help but assume.”

That part was indeed a guess—but a logical one, given her background.

“I… see.”

She still looked doubtful, but her suspicion had shifted.

No longer “Is she a fellow modern person?”—now it was merely curiosity.

“Hehe~ judging from your reaction, I guessed right, didn’t I? So, who’s the lucky recipient of your chocolate?”

“U-uh… well…”

She floundered adorably.

“I get it,” I said teasingly.

“You can’t exactly admit you’re giving chocolates to multiple people, can you?”

“Fufu~”

I pressed my hand to my lips, laughing softly like an amused noblewoman.

“Don’t worry. Matters of the heart are personal. It’s natural to keep them secret. My bad for prying~ forgive my nosiness~”

“A-ah… it’s fine…”

“Well then, if you ever need someone to talk to about it, you can come to me anytime~ pardon me for disturbing you~”

Without turning back, I walked away.

I could still feel her gaze on my back—watchful, lingering.

She was still suspicious of me, clearly… but that didn’t matter.

The most important information had already been obtained.

I still wanted to confirm more—to find out whether she harbored any intentions toward my lady, and where the real Sophina had gone.

But if I stayed any longer, the lie I’d told to clear my own name might unravel.

For now, I had to let things rest.

Besides… not all of my problems were solved.

A flicker of gold crossed my mind, and my chest tightened involuntarily.

“My lady…”