Not the Villainess, but the Maid

Chapter 45: Diana’s Cooking Class (2)

Diana leaned close to my ear, smiling softly as she whispered.

"Or... is it because of me?"

Something about her today felt off.

It was as if her atmosphere had shifted, making her irresistible yet unnervingly different.

If this continued, I felt like my mind might go haywire.

-Click, click.

At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the kitchen door.

Diana, who had been standing close to me, seemed to hear it too and took a step back.

"Who's coming?" she asked.

The steps were steady and confident.

They sounded oddly familiar, so I peered through the window into the hallway, feeling uneasy.

"It's Lady Ruby...!"

"What? Ruby?"

I had no idea how she had tracked us down, but the person walking directly toward the kitchen was undoubtedly Ruby Sarka.

"What should I do...? Lady Ruby thinks I'm resting because I'm sick!"

On top of that, my secret cooking practice would inevitably be exposed.

When she saw how flustered I was, Diana quickly opened the cabinet under the counter.

"Get in here for now, Amber."

"Hide in there?"

"I'll handle it somehow. Just don't come out."

The cabinet was just big enough for one girl to squeeze inside.

I folded myself into the small space and quietly shut the door.

As I held my breath, I heard the creak of the kitchen door opening.

A calm but intimidating voice resonated from the direction of the entrance.

"Diana. Why are you here...?"

There was no mistaking it—Ruby's voice.

The sound of her footsteps grew louder as she walked toward us.

Diana responded in a composed tone.

"Uh... I thought I’d take a break from the club today and try cooking instead."

"That's strange. I heard you were resting because you weren’t feeling well."

"Well... My head stopped hurting after a short rest. Haha..."

"Hmm."

-Click, click.

The sound of her steps grew closer to the cabinet I was hiding in.

Ruby turned on the sink faucet and casually asked Diana a question.

"Are you sure you came here alone?"

"Of course. I've been here alone the whole time."

"Then why are there two wet bars of soap?"

The kitchen fell silent.

If Diana had come alone, there’d be no reason for two bars of soap to have been used.

"That’s..."

When Diana hesitated to answer, Ruby spoke again in her calm voice.

"And since earlier, there’s been a faint strawberry scent lingering around here."

Just as I could recognize her footsteps, Ruby had spent enough time with me to pick up on my faint scent.

It wouldn’t be surprising if she figured out I was here.

"Almost as if Amber were nearby."

"…!"

-Tap, tap.

The sound of Ruby’s fingers drumming on the counter sent chills down my spine.

"Now that I think about it, this cabinet is just the right size to hide someone. Don’t you agree?"

Diana’s voice betrayed her flustered state as she replied.

"Hide someone? What on earth are you talking about...?"

"Let’s find out."

The situation felt like a scene from a movie where a raptor plays hide-and-seek with its prey.

A cold terror unlike anything I’d ever experienced before crept through my body.

I heard Ruby grip the cabinet handle, and I knew the end was near.

"Let’s see if you can deny it after this!"

She yanked the cabinet open.

-Clatter.

Terrified, I shut my eyes tightly.

After a moment, Ruby’s startled voice reached my ears.

"This can’t be. There’s no way..."

Luckily, the cabinet she opened was the one right next to mine.

‘I’m safe…!’

Not missing the opportunity, Diana spoke up to distract her.

"Could it be that you mistook the smell of this strawberry syrup for something else?"

"…Hmm."

Apparently, there was indeed strawberry syrup in that cabinet, as Ruby closed it without further probing.

As she walked away, she addressed Diana.

"Sorry for doubting you, Diana. I must have been overly sensitive."

"It’s alright. I understand."

"Take care of yourself, too. Don’t push yourself too hard, even if you’re feeling better."

"Thank you for your concern."

The sound of the door closing signaled Ruby’s departure.

Only then did Diana open the door to my hiding spot.

"Phew…!"

"Ruby is gone. You’re safe now."

"My heart almost exploded…"

If I had been caught just now, I couldn’t even imagine what excuse I would have made.

It might have even resulted in a one-month dormitory confinement.

After narrowly avoiding disaster, Diana and I resumed cooking, now with a more subdued atmosphere than before.

The odd, sticky tension that had filled the room before Ruby's arrival seemed to have evaporated.

As I followed Diana's instructions to knead the dough, she suddenly asked me a question.

"Amber, is something bothering you?"

"What?"

"You seem unusually on edge."

"…"

At her question, I paused my kneading.

"Actually, next week is Lady Ruby's birthday. By then, I want to make delicious cookies for her."

"Oh, come to think of it..."

In the past, I had tried to prepare some sort of gift for Ruby's birthday, but she always found out during the preparation and refused it.

"Now that you mention it, all the gifts I gave Ruby were rejected too."

"Right? Whenever it’s her birthday, she always says she doesn’t need anything. But I still want to give her something."

Diana, who was helping me knead the dough, suddenly seemed to recall something and asked,

"By the way, Amber, when is your birthday?"

"Me? I don’t know my birthday. I don’t have parents..."

Hearing my answer, Diana lowered her head slightly and apologized.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t know."

"It’s fine. Can you check this dough for me?"

Since possessing this body, not having a birthday had become natural to me.

If I had blood-related family, they might have known, but I was a commoner orphan when I was possessed.

Anyway, I resolved to make sure this birthday would be celebrated properly, and I vowed to perfect these cookies by then.

Since the kidnapping attempt, Clara and her followers had not shown any significant activity.

Clara, who was oddly focused on club activities, had one of her followers cautiously ask her,

"Um, Clara…?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Have you decided not to cause any more disruptions?"

Hearing this, Clara slammed her hand on the desk and rebutted.

"What? Who said that?"

"But recently, you haven’t done anything…"

"..."

It was true that she hadn’t done anything lately.

At first, Clara had been entirely consumed with thoughts of getting rid of Amber, but over time, she had found herself blending into the tranquil atmosphere.

‘I must pull myself together. If I don’t remember my original goal…!’

Her plan to use Ruby Sarka's vast wealth and power as a shield to control the academy was slowly becoming hazy.

-Sip.

Thinking that, Clara brought her teacup to her lips.

Before she knew it, it had become second nature to accept the tea poured by that pink-haired commoner.

Even though she knew it was bait to make her complacent, she couldn’t resist its deliciousness.

‘Amber, you’re truly a terrifying woman…’

Suppressing her desire for another cup, Clara barely managed to get up from her seat.

With a troubled expression, she walked to the backyard and sat down.

‘How did things turn out like this…?’

According to her plan, by now, she should have pushed out that commoner Amber and been smiling by Ruby’s side.

Instead, here she was, sitting in a corner, pitifully cutting and gluing colored paper.

‘Soon it’ll be summer break… If I don’t do something by then…’

Having made over fifty promotional flyers for Ruby's club, Clara was beginning to feel a growing sense of urgency.

At that moment, a group of female students began to gather around the despondent Clara.

"…?"

The girls, who had been nervously eyeing her, looked around before speaking.

"Are you Clara?"

"Yes, I am. And you are?"

One of the girls handed Clara a drawing.

"I heard you also hold a grudge against this commoner. Is that true?"

The drawing depicted a girl with pink twin-tailed hair.

‘This is Amber…?’

As Clara accepted the drawing, her expression turned wary.

The fact that they had gone to the trouble of tracking her down clearly meant they had a purpose.

"First, tell me who you are and why you’re looking for me."

Hearing her question, the mysterious girls exchanged glances before nodding as if they had come to a decision.

"We’re members of the Instrumental Performance Club."

"The Instrumental Performance Club?"

Wasn’t that the club whose president had recently been put on trial?

It was a widely known incident that their president had been caught and brought to trial for sending anonymous threatening letters to Ruby.

"We’ve been trying to clear our president’s name since she was put on trial. But we keep failing…"

Their club president had been caught sending repeated threatening letters to Ruby and had been sentenced to a one-year suspension.

It was an incident severe enough to warrant expulsion, but since no direct harm had been done, the punishment had ended with a suspension.

Listening to this, Clara asked with a curious expression.

"Clear her name…? Are you saying your president was falsely accused?"

"It’s all a misunderstanding! Our president would never do something like that! She’s such a considerate and kind person…"

Clara had heard of the Instrumental Performance Club president’s reputation.

She was known for her exemplary behavior and speech, earning the respect of her juniors.

‘Their loyalty is incredible…’

Seeing their unwavering belief in their president’s innocence despite the trial outcome showed just how thorough a person she must have been.

"If it weren’t for that pink-haired commoner, our president wouldn’t have been falsely accused."

"So, you want revenge, is that it?"

"Yes. But it’s impossible for us to do it alone."

"A plan, huh…"

"That’s why we sought you out, Clara, hearing that you share the same goal."

"…"

It was clear that for both Clara and these girls, Amber was a common enemy.

"What will you do? Will you join us?"

Clara, listening to their proposal, tapped her fingers on the wooden bench.

Finally, she stopped and opened her mouth to speak.

"…I’ll hear your plan first."