After all the events had concluded, Ariella and Amira passed through the servants with calm expressions as if nothing had happened.
Their steps through the corridor towards the room were neither too fast nor too slow, but confident.
Whispers from the servants could be heard here and there. The content was not clear, but it was certain that the atmosphere was friendly towards Ariella.
Before long, Ariella and Amira returned to the room.
Thud. As the door closed, Amira leaped up as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“Hahaha! Miss, did you see the expressions on their faces just now? Did you see Lizzy’s face when she left? Hahaha!”
Unlike her earlier graceful demeanor, she was now bouncing with excitement, looking childlike in her innocence.
Ariella smiled brightly at her. The smile on her face was much more genuine than the one she had shown in front of others.
“Ah! It was so refreshing, Miss! It felt like a decade’s worth of frustration just melted away! Did you see that expression? The moment the box opened and the real earrings came out, they looked like they had eaten poop! It was so funny!”
A face that looked like it had eaten poop. It was a phrase she had never heard before. But if someone really did eat poop, it seemed like that expression would indeed come out.
“Thank you, Amira. Thanks to you, it ended well.”
“Me? What did I do? It was all you, Miss.”
“Not at all. You found the old box, showed up at the right time, and surprised Lizzy. That was all you.”
“Well, that was because you told me to do so…”
“Regardless, you did well, Amira. Oh, and I’m sorry. I should have warned you that I could mention the theft. Since I said it was because I had you do something else, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll make sure to handle it well so that no issues arise.”
“Sorry? Don’t say that! Even if there is a problem, it was my fault for not managing the items properly in the first place. I’m just really happy that you thought of me even in such a dire situation.”
Amira giggled shyly, like a girl confessing to her first love.
Seeing her, Ariella felt a similar emotion.
‘Why does she follow me so devotedly for what I’ve done?’
It was both heartwarming and frightening.
Having been betrayed by those who had given her trust was not a rare experience. So even though she thought she shouldn’t trust or be deceived this time, she felt foolish for giving her heart more than she had intended.
‘I need to be careful.’
Watching Amira’s bright smile, Ariella steadied her wavering heart. She wasn’t sure if she had truly steadied it, but at least she tried to do so.
“By the way, Miss, did you know this would happen? Did you predict that Lizzy would claim she was framed?”
“I wasn’t certain. But I thought that just stealing the earrings wouldn’t be enough to drive me out, so I figured Lizzy would definitely plan something additional.”
“She would try to bring you down using the earrings somehow.”
“Yes. And people usually think of familiar methods first when they devise schemes.”
The reason she could predict this incident was that she had experienced it before.
A few weeks ago, Lizzy had slapped her own cheek and tried to frame Ariella. Not only that, but even when she was a maid, she had tried to shift the blame for her mistakes onto others.
She would steal what looked good in her eyes and push the bad onto others. This was probably Lizzy’s preferred method.
“I’ve fallen for my own trick, heh heh. Anyway, now she’s probably too scared to even touch your jewelry box, right?”
“Well, for a while, yes. But I don’t think it will last long.”
“Really?”
Amira’s eyes widened in surprise. She couldn’t understand how someone could go through such a situation and still do something similar again.
“I’ve seen many kids with bad habits before.”
Ariella recalled memories from a decade ago. Perhaps it was because it was the happiest time of her life? Even after so long, the memories from that time were still vivid.
“One day, there was a kid who decided to fix themselves right away. But most of them, even if they said they would change, ended up touching other people’s belongings again. They’ve experienced that they can easily have good things without effort, so they don’t want to try. Habits are truly frightening.”
Lizzy would likely be one of those most.
No, she probably wouldn’t even think of trying to change. Instead, she would strive to steal what Ariella referred to as ‘more precious things.’
Ariella was certain of this. It was something she could know because she had been watching her for a long time.
