TRGDP 34

Chapter 34: The Thief

“Who sent you as a spy?”

“A s-spy? No! I swear I’m not! I just…”

‘Wait, is he really about to stab her?’

The sharp tip of a sword was pressed against the girl’s throat.

‘Why is he acting so aggressively all of a sudden?’

Norton was never the kindest knight, but I’d never seen him this intense before. He was completely focused on protecting the castle, and it seemed like he was ready to kill the girl at any moment. I quickly reached out and stopped him.

“That’s enough, Sir Norton. Lower your sword.”

At my command, Norton immediately obeyed, though he still held the sword in his hand, ready to strike again if necessary.

Seeing me as her only hope, the girl suddenly ran to me and clung to my dress.

“Your Highness! I-I just thought the paper looked expensive! I thought it was trash! I never meant to steal anything!”

“Uh… alright. Stand up first.”

Sensing hesitation in my voice, the girl started pleading even harder, and Norton’s grip on his sword tightened.

“I’m not a spy! Please, Your Highness, show me mercy!”

‘If she’s just a simple thief, this isn’t a big problem…’

But if she really were a spy and I let her go, it could cause serious trouble later. It would be best to let the Grand Duke handle this matter.

I was about to ask Norton if there was a place where we could keep her until then when—

“Your Highness!”

Someone came running toward us from the distance.

‘…Leta?’

It was my maid, Leta. Unlike her usual calm demeanor, her face was twisted in panic.

“Huff… Your Highness!”

Breathing heavily, Leta fell to her knees in front of me.

“I… I gave her that letter paper! I gave it to her!”

‘Oh… I see.’

Now I understood why the girl looked familiar.

She and Leta had the same face.

***

I brought Leta and the girl to the sitting room in my chamber. I didn’t want the other servants to see this situation unfold.

Whitley, ever the thoughtful butler, appeared with warm tea for us. I took a sip to moisten my dry throat.

“Alright, now explain what happened.”

“Well…”

Leta gripped the hem of her apron tightly and was about to speak when—

Knock knock.

A firm knocking sound interrupted her.

“Your Highness, I am coming in.”

Before I could even allow it, the door opened, and an unfamiliar middle-aged woman entered, followed by a group of maids.

‘Who is this now?’

“I am Marzella, the head maid. It is an honor to meet Your Highness.”

The woman approached me and gave a formal bow.

“I apologize for this disgraceful incident.”

She spoke politely, but there was no sincerity in her expression.

“A head maid?”

I pretended to be unfamiliar with the title, though I already knew of her.

Whitley had once explained the “special rules” of the Grand Duke’s castle.

A few days ago, I had seen a group of maids leaving the castle at sunset. When I asked Whitley about it, he explained,

— “Female servants are not allowed to stay in the main castle after working hours.”

The maids entered the castle every morning under the head maid’s supervision and left together at night.

In the past, even night shifts were handled by male servants.

But after my arrival, the Grand Duke allowed night-duty maids, though they were strictly forbidden from using the central staircase, which he frequently used.

The person leading the maids that evening must have been this woman, Marzella.

‘Actually, I already knew her name from somewhere else.’

“It took me some time to introduce myself properly. Please forgive me.”

Marzella lifted her head and immediately turned to Leta with a cold gaze.

“I understand the situation. It was my failure as the head maid to let a thief slip through. I will make sure she is punished severely so this never happens again.”

She had completely ignored my authority and decided everything on her own.

I frowned without realizing it at her arrogant attitude.

She’s not even the head lady-in-waiting, just a mere maidservant head, yet she acts like this? Have I adapted too quickly to this world’s hierarchy? Why am I so angry?

As I remained silent, Marzella seemed to take it as approval and nodded. The two maids behind her stepped forward as if to grab Leta.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

At my words, the maids hesitated.

I swallowed a sigh, trying not to take out my frustration in the wrong place.

“I will decide what happens to this child after I hear what she has to say.”

“I wouldn’t want to trouble Your Grace over such a trivial matter. Please leave it to me…”

“I will decide whether this is trivial or not.”

“But, Your Grace—”

As my tone grew firmer, the hrad maid lifted her chin and spoke.

“Managing the maids is my responsibility. I ask that Your Grace respect my role so I may fulfill my duties in this castle.”

Hah, look at this.

Does she think I’m that easy to look down on?

The Grand Duke treats me as the lady of the house, but he hasn’t given me full authority over the household affairs. Since I have only a one-year term here, I hadn’t planned to involve myself deeply in the castle’s management just yet.

But respect her role?

A mere maidhead talking about respect to the Grand Duchess?

She doesn’t even know about my contract with the Grand Duke. Does she really think I’m a fool?

Everyone knows the immense power that comes with the title of Grand Duchess.

So, her attitude must come from one of two possibilities:

Either she knows too little about me and assumes I’m just a naive young noble, easy to manipulate.

Or she knows too much—realizing that, unlike the rumors, I’m neither a powerful marquis’s daughter nor a wife with any real influence over the Grand Duke.

Either way, she thought I was someone to be taken lightly.

I shook my head internally.

Did I really get reincarnated into a powerful noblewoman’s body just to be treated like this?

Even in my past life, I faced many infuriating situations.

But I endured them all.

Not because I was kind or patient—far from it. I simply had no power, no support, and no right to express my true self.

I thought things would be different this time.

But even after reincarnation, I was still being treated like a pushover.

Why hasn’t anything changed? Is it my fault? Am I the problem for being too weak and easy to ignore?

Heat rushed to my head, and an unpleasant pressure built in my temples.

“Respect?”

My voice rose.

“Are you trying to put yourself on the same level as me, the lady of this castle?”

Marzella’s face flickered with surprise, as if she hadn’t expected my reaction. She hurriedly lowered her gaze.

“Of course not, Your Grace. I only ask that you not ignore the work that I have devoted my entire life to.”

Hah. Devoted her life?

Compared to Whitley, she still looked young.

If this were my previous world, she wouldn’t even be old enough to be called Ma’am.

I glanced at Whitley and saw her watching Marzella with a peculiar expression.

“You have an interesting way of speaking. Do you mean that I should not take your life’s work into consideration?”

Being arrogant did not require any work, that much I was certain of.

I had met plenty of self-important, rude clients in my past life, and their condescending tone came naturally to me now.

“Whitley, who has the authority to manage the maids?”

“Of course, that would be you, Your Grace, the lady of this castle.”

Whitley responded in a calm, unwavering voice. Marzella’s hands clenched her dress tightly.

I didn’t need to read the room to know that these two weren’t on good terms.

“And yet, a mere headmaid dares to warn me not to overstep my bounds? When this isn’t even your authority to begin with?”

Marzella bit her lip hard, as if she hadn’t expected me to involve Whitley.

“T-That’s not what I meant, Your Grace. It’s just that, until you arrived, I have always—”

“Well, I’m here now, so the past doesn’t matter.”

I cut her off coldly.