Edith was startled by the unfamiliar sight and stopped as she opened the door.

‘Of course, I thought it was a dangerous situation.’

Some variable intervened and shattered her expectations. The maid was too small to even see. Perhaps, she was only one head taller than Rodion? However, what was that fearless behavior…?

‘I am sure I did not see anything good in this room.’

There was a bowl of soup lying around like that? Even though it was not possible to know the details, it was obvious that the reason was in Rodion. Simply put, it meant that he had already experienced a crisis of going berserk once.

‘But, it turned out to be a simple emergency?’

This was unexpected.

Rodion, in the midst of a berserk, had always met the end in Edith’s numerous hypotheses. Nevertheless, how could it be this calm?

‘Only because of that young maid?’

Not knowing how to delve into this variable, Edith did what researchers usually do when they find a problem.

…Observe.

She watched the variable kneeling on the carpet and comforting Rodion, leaving a decent bed.

“It’s okay, Young Master.”

The variable acted as if she could not say anything other than that. What was interesting was that Rodion gradually found stability whenever those words came out. In the end, he dropped his head in the maid’s arms and fell asleep.

As the boy, who looked so amazingly similar to Edith, fell asleep quickly, the variable patted the boy a couple of times took him before putting him on the bed. It was an incredible force from such a tiny body.

And, those eyes as well…

“Did you watch everything?”

…It was not appropriate for that age.

The variable, who laid Rodion on his back to sleep, glanced at Edith with an indifferent gaze and asked. That casual attitude had stimulated a corner of interest in the researcher. Edith corrected her crooked glasses and replied a beat late.

“…This is impressive.”

“Are you giving me respect?”

“It’s the most efficient way to respect others without needing to be polite.”

The maid did not answer.

She did not know if it was because of her duty to not respond to answers without questions or if it was an unspoken affirmation of her words. Regardless, it was probably good because Edith was curious about something else.

“So, how did you do it?”

“Yes?”

“It mustn’t have been easy to put my son to sleep.”

“It’s easier than you think. All you need to do is give him a hug.”

“How did you know that?”

“I didn’t know it. The Young Master threw a tray and tried to hit me, so I just wanted to hang on to him.”

“Aha, so you hugged him while trying to hang on to his waist?”

“Yes.”

“Then, he became gentle?”

“That’s what happened.”

The variable — the girl answered quietly before beginning to clear the soup bowls and trays that were lying on the floor. The silence was the same as it had been a while ago, but somehow, the intention was evident this time.

The girl was trying to avoid further questions and answers.

‘…Why?’

Would it be difficult to tell her in detail why Rodion had that attitude? Did it have anything to do with her? What was certain was that Edith could not arbitrarily remove the variable until she found out how that girl put him to sleep.

Rodion’s berserk happened when his desire was eaten by reason, and his unconsciousness was awakened. In other words, the Rodion at that time was irrelevant, even if he was in a state like a chick that wakes up from an egg. Besides, this was the first time that Edith had managed well, even when he awakened his unconscious.

It also meant that this was the first time Rodion’s unconscious had seen the world.

‘In such a situation, a variable has appeared.’

The possibility that Rodion’s unconscious was imprinted on that girl was high. Because of that, she could not get rid of that girl carelessly. In addition, perhaps, the girl did not even know what she had done herself. Since then, Edith had let the girl take care of Rodion.

‘She did not bother making a fuss.’

Anyway, except when Rodion was asleep, the only ones who went into his room were the kitchen maids. Unexpectedly, the girl was the youngest of the kitchen staff. It would have happened naturally, even if it was not for Edith.

It was because Rodion’s meal duty, which everyone was reluctant to do, was passed to the young Irene.

Yes. Everything was natural.

The girl who was in charge of his meal also became attached to him. After a while, the girl who was recognized for her contribution became a part of Rodion’s life — everything from Henrietta’s arbitrary misunderstanding of Edith’s drug and throwing Charlotte away… all of them.

‘Everything is going as intended.’

While others were fighting for power, Edith quietly collected her research materials. In fact, she did not care what was going on as long as she could continue this research steadily.

“…As I said before, Henrietta. I don’t care who wins this game. Power and wealth are means to me, not my ends.”

“You want me to forget? I know, that’s why you and I are getting along so well.”

Research was the most important thing to her, she knew.

Henrietta smiled brightly, relaxing her chin and slowly raising her torso. Her grinning face always made it difficult to understand her intentions, but often, she would deliberately express displeasure.

…Just like right now.

“Though sometimes you do unplanned things, and it’s annoying. I thought I’d tell you not to.”

“So, are you saying that you’re warning me?”

“Oh, don’t use such scary words. If I had to say it, it’s just a recommendation. If you’re going to give poison to a child like Charlotte, please tell me in advance.”

In other words, do not touch the plate Henrietta has made.

In a very cleverly intertwined interest, they were moving to satisfy each other’s desires.

“Who knows if Charlotte will poison my tea or Veronica’s tea? If you’re going to do something, you should’ve chosen a smarter child to do it.”

“Don’t you think you’re more foolish to think it’s a poison?”

Edith cut Henrietta’s words.

Thanks to this, Henrietta, blown away by her words, raised her willow-like eyebrows.

“…What?”

“Even though I make a lot of poison, I don’t need to give it to someone so stupid as you say. It’s inefficient. Besides, samples are difficult to obtain.”

“So… what you gave her wasn’t poison?”

As Edith shrugged at her words, Henrietta sat back down, leaning her body all the way on her back. Her cynical gaze glanced at Henrietta up and down, who seemed a little startled.

“I had no intention of giving her poison from the start. And, Charlotte, too… If she had been given the poison, would she have thought of using it easily like that? She didn’t seem brave enough.”

“Although it looks like she’s trying to feed them something? What else is there besides poison?”

“It’s not a big deal. It’s a drug that doesn’t have much effect other than to give you a little bit of a pounding feeling and misunderstand your feelings.”

Edith chuckled and shrugged.

“Charlotte seemed to be struggling with my son, so I gave her one. If you had asked me in advance, I would’ve kindly informed you, Madam.”

Henrietta looked incredulous at the unexpected identity of the drug. It was just such a drug… from the cold-blooded person in front of her?

“Such a drug…? How did you know she has a heart for your son?”

“I heard her muttering Rodion’s name. Even though you seem to be thinking of throwing Charlotte away, if it’s like this, you won’t be able to do it. If she does something wrong, she won’t come back alive… Ah!”

Edith, who had been muttering, opened her eyes wide and clapped.

“By the way, I didn’t tell her the amount.”

“What do you mean?”

“The right amount when she uses it. If it exceeds the amount, the excitement effect would be excessive and that person would lose consciousness for a while.

‘Well, she would have figured it out.’

Shrugging her shoulder, Edith continued in a nonchalant tone.

“Even if they lose their consciousness, you will wake up quickly. So, you don’t need to worry.”

‘I am really looking forward to seeing what the results will be.’



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