The Villainess Lives Twice: Butterfly's Dream (IF Story) - Chapter 47
As the attention of the crowd turned toward her, Artizea flinched and tensed.
She knew she could simply shrink back and hide behind Marie if she didn’t want to be seen. Cedric had promised to protect her, and he would keep that promise. She didn’t have to do anything scary.
But Artizea also knew that wasn’t the way she should act.
She wanted to grow up quickly and become a great adult. She wanted to be able to protect her mother. And help those poor girls.
The girl in front of her, who was sitting and looking up, had a swollen cheek as if she had been hit hard, and her body was covered in dirt from rolling on the ground. It looked too much like her own face, and her heart contracted painfully.
Trying to mimic the most dignified person she knew, the Empress, she asked with effort.
“Did she really steal the money?”
She had always wished there was someone to ask that question. When Bill or the other servants had reported her faults, her mother had never asked if it was true.
She had always wanted an opportunity to explain herself, whether it was an excuse or an explanation. So often, her words piled up like fallen leaves clogging a drain in her throat. If she couldn’t express them and cried, her mother would get even angrier.
The girl shouted.
“I’m not a thief! I didn’t steal anything!”
“This is no matter for a noble young lady to be involved in. If it wasn’t this girl, then who else could have stolen my money?”
The middle-aged man answered as if it were obvious.
Artizea looked at the girl. She swallowed hard several times, looking as if she was about to cry but holding back the tears.
“Does that mean you didn’t see it happen?”
“No, it was just me and this girl in the shop. And for just a moment, while I was distracted, the money box was emptied, and this girl ran off.”
“Did you chase her immediately?”
“Uh… Yes.”
The middle-aged man hesitated slightly. Artizea quietly observed him.
So he didn’t chase her right away. She briefly wondered why. The man must have been holding something in his hands he couldn’t just leave.
It was either something very heavy or valuable, or there was a customer in the store—one or the other.
But it probably wasn’t the former. He wouldn’t have just thrown something like that around in the store and rushed out. If he had properly stored his goods, he wouldn’t have said he chased her right after. It seemed he had probably greeted a customer before chasing her.
“You had a customer, didn’t you? It wasn’t just the two of you in the shop.”
“What does that matter?”
“It’s important because we can’t just accuse someone without evidence. You didn’t see her steal, and there was another person in the shop. We can’t just treat her like a thief because she’s poor.”
If he had been greeting a customer, he wouldn’t have been keeping an eye on the money box the whole time. He probably discovered the theft while trying to put the money he had received from the customer into the box.
The man’s words, “for just a moment,” were unconvincing. The exact moment the money box was emptied was unclear, and there was no way to prove that only the girl and the man were inside the shop at that time.
Artizea calmly said so, but the middle-aged man retorted.
“Our shop’s customers are all trustworthy. If this little beggar didn’t steal it, why would she run away?”
“I was called a thief and beaten!”
“A thief deserves to be beaten!”
“Then let me check.”
“Huh?”
“You said she ran off after stealing the money. If she has it now, I’ll check.”
At those words, the girl jumped up and tried to take off her upper clothing.
“Alright, please check, miss!”
The man’s confidence faltered for the first time in response to her boldness.
If a noble hadn’t intervened, even if they didn’t find the money, he could have just claimed it was a misunderstanding and sent the girl away. But with a noble involved, he had to be accountable for his words and actions.
Artizea looked at him.
“If what you’re saying is true, what are you worried about?”
“Fine.”
The man tried to protest, but when he saw the young knight standing behind Artizea, he hesitated. The person in front of him wasn’t just any child. She was a noble accompanied by two guards.
“Marie, please check.”
Artizea spoke. Marie, who had been anxiously watching, stepped forward toward the girl.
The girl stood proudly as Marie began her search. From her pants pockets, she retrieved two coins and a worn shoelace, and from her top, nothing at all. The sleeves were too short and ragged to hide anything.
“She must have handed it off to someone while running!”
“You said you chased her right away.”
The middle-aged man’s face turned pale as Artizea’s words became undeniable. She asked,
“Was it a promissory note that you lost?”
“…Well…”
“It doesn’t seem like there are any coins or silver. Those would be hard to hide on the body. Should we check further?”
“…No, but…”
“If you can’t prove it, then she isn’t a thief.”
The middle-aged man’s face turned beet red.
Artizea hesitated for a moment longer. Alphonse, bowing his head to her, quietly spoke.
“I’ll help you take him to the guard and report this.”
“Could you do that?”
“Yes.”
Alphonse walked toward the shopkeeper and placed a hand on his shoulder. He said a few quiet words to him before leading him away toward the other end of the street.
Artizea approached the girl. The girl, with her brown eyes wide open, looked directly at her.
“Why did you believe me?”
Instead of thanking her, the girl asked that question. Artizea didn’t find it strange. People who are always doubted can hardly believe that someone would trust them.
She hesitated for a moment before answering.
“You’re poor.”
“Yes.”
“And children have a hard time finding work.”
It was unlikely that the amount of money in the box would even amount to a day’s earnings, and Artizea thought that few people would throw away a hard-won job over something like that. And adults always suspect only those who have been suspected.
Artizea swallowed that thought. The truth was, she had wanted to believe, and so she did. People tend to believe what they want to believe.
The girl shook her head.
“You’re mistaken. If it’s something I desperately need today, I might steal it. Especially if the owner isn’t a good person.”
“You too?”
“Yes. Me too.”
“Good thing you’re not.”
Artizea murmured, and the girl lowered her head.
“Thank you for helping me.”
“I didn’t help you. It’s just that you weren’t a thief.”
“Still, I would have been beaten and thrown out. I thought you were a good person…”
“You haven’t worked there for long, have you?”
“No. It’s been three days. I haven’t even been paid yet…”
Artizea thought that the owner probably never intended to pay her from the start.
The girl spoke in a sad voice.
“If I had been paid, I would have bought my younger siblings some white bread…”
Artizea felt pity for the girl. After a brief hesitation, she looked at Marie.
“Marie, can I ask a favor?”
“Of course.”
Marie smiled brightly, as though she had already guessed what Artizea was going to say.
“Can you write me a letter of recommendation?”
“It might be hard to write a really good one, but our mansion is in need of new maids. I’ll speak to the head maid.”
This girl was too young for maid work, and it wasn’t that hard to find young, lower-ranking maids. But if she thought of it as a companion for Artizea to play with, it might not be such a bad idea. It was common for young people to be trained from a young age in noble families.
This girl wasn’t a thief. She was honest and had courage. It wouldn’t hurt to give her a chance.
So Marie gladly said to the girl,
“Come to Grand Duke Evron’s residence the day after tomorrow. Just say that Marie Carval sent you.”
The girl didn’t know how noble Grand Duke Evron was, but she looked up at Marie with wide eyes.
“A, a noble mansion?”
“How old are you, and what’s your name? I’ll tell the guards.”
“I’m, I’m eleven, and my name is Alice.”
The girl answered hesitantly. Marie handed her a coin and told her to get her face treated and buy clean clothes for her visit.
“Alice, I really hope to see you again.”
Artizea said this sincerely, then followed Marie as she led her to the carriage.
Alice stepped aside to let the carriage pass and, as it left, bowed deeply. This was the first opportunity she had ever received in her life.