Nine days had passed since Ulrich had left the mansion, and still, there was no word from him.
Ulrich had instructed Fabian to handle the matter of his succession if he did not return within a week, but it had already been two days past that deadline, and Fabian had yet to make a single preparation.
He was still deeply mired in denial, telling himself each passing night that Ulrich would definitely walk through the doors the very next day.
Inevitably, the servants of the Rubenhart Estate had begun to grow highly suspicious regarding their Lord's fate. Many already believed him dead, and whispers of the grim future awaiting the County ran rampant through the halls.
Ulrich was the previous Count's only child. There were no known bastards, and Ulrich himself had no children. His only legally recognized heirs were the three girls he had just adopted….the daughters of a witch.
The entire staff shuddered at the mere thought of where things were heading. It was simply inconceivable; none of them could ever imagine working under the rule of a witch. The very idea was shocking.
How had things even ended up like this to begin with?
Some of the servants even began to wonder if this had been Ulrich's plan all along, to dump the household on the three girls and flee to some distant land, having finally grown tired of the immense burden of his duties.
But that was entirely unlike Ulrich.
His father hadn't raised him to flee. Ulrich possessed a nobility that ran far deeper than a mere title or name. He had an unbreakable pride and quite a strong ego as well. And would he really abandon his own Estate, the land where he had grown up, the place that held the last precious memories of his beloved mother?
And to leave it all to the young daughters of a witch, of all people?!
Of course, the loyal Fabian was still there to manage things, but for how long?
Questions continued to mount, fueling their growing terror at the prospect of taking orders from witches. They weren't merely upset, they were terrified.
And that terror caused their behaviour toward the three sisters to change drastically.
Over the past week, the tension between the staff and the girls had escalated.
Airam might have murdered a couple of the maids by now, had it not been for the stabilizing presence of Monika.
Monika.
Fabian had no idea what kind of merciful God had sent such a woman to the Rubenhart Household.
She had arrived five years ago and had been quietly tending to Ulrich's personal needs ever since.
And shockingly, Ulrich had actually accepted her and allowed her to stay!
Now, Fabian finally understood why. She obeyed Ulrich with complete devotion. So when Ulrich commanded that the girls be treated well and announced their adoption, Monika immediately took the role to heart.
Whenever Airam picked up a kitchen knife and began stalking toward a servant with a pitch-black, murderous glare, Monika would swiftly intervene, gently but firmly prying the blade from her grip.
Whenever Hermione launched a vase or a full plate of food at a maid's head, Monika would immediately apologize to the terrified servant while trying to stop Hermione from throwing the rest of the tableware.
Whenever Esther broke down in tears, overwhelmed by the hostility, Monika was always there to comfort her as best she could. Because of that, Esther had quickly taken a liking to her.
That last fact was likely the only reason Airam and Hermione listened to Monika at the very least a little, but even she couldn't prevent every catastrophe.
Several servants had already packed their bags and fled in the dead of night, while others, sporting fresh bruises and cuts had begun darkly whispering about poisoning the witches' food.
The situation was rapidly spiraling completely out of control.
The only time the three girls were ever somewhat docile was during Linnea's lessons.
Just like now.
Fabian walked down the hall with his hands clasped behind his back to check on the study room.
The door was cracked open slightly. He peeked inside and immediately widened his eyes at the scene playing out before him.
"E—Elder Sister! This is bad!" Esther stood by, panicking and softly scolding as she watched Airam rummage through a large leather satchel. It clearly belonged to Linnea, who was currently dozing at her desk just a few feet away, using her crossed arms as a cushion.
Airam ignored her entirely, pulling books and teaching materials out of the bag and tossing them aside.
"She must be hiding secret orders from Ulrich in here. I am checking," she said, searching as though she fully expected to find a sealed envelope bearing the Count's crest with dark orders concerning them.
"I—It's Count Ulrich... Monika will scold us if she hears you say his name like that," Esther whispered nervously.
"Nobody here cares about Monika except you, Esther," Hermione sneered. "She was definitely sent by Ulrich to monitor us and win our trust. And you fell right into her trap."
"I—Is that true?" Esther's eyes widened in shock. "But she is so kind..."
"It's all an act," Hermione scoffed dismissively.
"Um... Big Sister Hermione, what are you doing?" Esther asked, her face knotting with concern as she watched Hermione clamber up onto the desk, settling onto her knees directly in front of the sleeping Linnea.
Hermione smirked and slowly reached both hands out, hovering them just above Linnea's head.
"I read about a magic spell that lets you see through people's thoughts. I'm going to use it to dissect her mind and find out all their secret plans," she said.
"I found a letter," Airam said suddenly.
"R—Really?!" Hermione stopped mid-spell and whipped her head around to look at Airam.
Esther also crept closer, her curiosity winning out over her fear.
Airam nodded, her expression dead serious.
"But it's a letter from her to Ulrich. She is probably informing him about how their plans against us are progressing," she said, standing up and narrowing her eyes.
"Read it!" Hermione said, sitting back on her heels atop the desk.
Airam unfolded the letter and squinted her gaze.
She had been learning to read, but it had barely been a week, so she had to take her time sounding out the words.
"For my beloved Count Lord Ulrich Van Rubenhart..." She started slowly.
"Ew. Gross," Hermione let out her expression twisting into a grimace.
"Whenever I see your deep red hair, my cheeks bloom red as well..." She continued.
"Is that really a letter detailing her evil plans, Elder Sister...?" Esther asked, furrowing her brow slightly as she peeked over the top of the parchment.
"There must be a code hidden within the text, concealing the true message," Airam concluded darkly.
"I think so too. I mean, why else would she write something so completely gross?" Hermione nodded in agreement.
"But how do we decipher the secret message, Elder Sister?" Esther asked.
"Leave it to me, Airam," Hermione grinned, turning back and thrusting her hands out toward Linnea's head once more. "I will extract the answers from her mind myself."
"W—Wait just a minute!"
Fabian had seen more than enough. He immediately pushed the door open and stepped into the room.
All three girls froze instantly at his sudden entrance.
Fabian let out a long exhale of relief.
"Lady Linnea," he called out to her first.
She remained deeply asleep.
"Lady Linnea!"
"Ehh!" Linnea jolted awake, bolting upright. A sheet of parchment was stuck directly to her cheek by a patch of drool, hiding half of her face.
The moment she saw Fabian, she panicked, peeling the paper off her skin. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and scrambled to her feet.
"M—My sincerest apologies! Please, do not tell the Count about this unsightly behaviour!"
"'Beloved Count', you mean?" Hermione sneered.
"Eh?" Linnea finally turned her head, only just now noticing Hermione kneeling directly on top of her desk.
"Lady Linnea, I told you not to take on more hours than necessary," Fabian sighed.
Linnea was the one who had stubbornly insisted on teaching the girls for extra hours, but as a result, she was barely getting any proper rest or sleep.
"I... I just wanted to make sure the girls were properly ready for when the Lord Count returns," Linnea said, slumping her shoulders in defeat.
"Ready for what?" Airam asked, taking a slow step toward her.
"Elder Sister!" Esther gasped, quickly wrapping her arms tightly around Airam's left arm to hold her back.
In her right hand, Airam was tightly gripping a freshly sharpened pencil.
When Linnea's gaze finally dropped to the makeshift weapon, her eyes blew wide in terror and she let out a sharp yelp. "Eek! I really should rest! You are absolutely right!"
She grabbed her satchel, haphazardly shoving her books and papers inside in a desperate attempt to flee the room.
But just as she moved toward the exit, Monika suddenly appeared in the doorway, completely breathless but wearing a radiant smile.
"The Count has returned!"