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Chapter 19
“Miss? What brings you here today?”
Some maids working in the kitchen noticed El and came over. As always, she was carrying an assortment of gifts.
“I want to learn how to make cake.”
“Oh my! That scarf is so beautiful.”
“I heard you burned your neck the other day.”
“Heavens… you remembered?”
The maids gathered around El and received the gifts.
El always seemed to know what the maids liked, how many family members they had, and what had recently happened in their lives.
It wasn’t something she was born with. At the orphanage, if she didn’t please the headmaster, she would be beaten—so she had been forced to learn to read people’s moods.
“Then I’ll go wash some fruit!”
The maids eagerly prepared ingredients in front of El.
Whenever she wanted to clear her mind, El would come to spend time with the maids. Cleaning or cooking alongside them made her stop overthinking.
“Here, hold this part first…”
One maid was about to teach El when suddenly a young maid came running in.
“They—they’re here again!”
“What? Quick, hide Sara!”
At the girl’s urgent whisper, one of the maids quickly wiped her wet hands on her skirt and moved.
She shoved a pretty maid named Sara into a cabinet and slammed the door shut.
And just as it closed, a harsh voice rang out from behind.
“Ha, I knew it. The prettiest ones always work in the kitchen.”
El turned her head slightly and saw two knights.
Their eyes gleamed like hunters searching for prey as they scanned the kitchen, then approached the young maid.
“Where’s Sara?”
“I—I don’t know.”
“We know she’s on duty here today. And you dare lie to a knight?”
“I-I really don’t know!”
The child maid trembled in fear. One knight raised his hand, ready to strike her at any moment.
“Would your lord be fine with this?”
El’s clear voice spread through the kitchen. The knights’ faces stiffened as they finally noticed her.
“Well, well. Isn’t this the precious young lady?”
“You know I’m staying here as an honored guest, don’t you?”
El’s calm voice carried not a hint of fear.
Their behavior was exactly the same as the thugs she had encountered countless times in the slums. But how could men like this be living in a noble household?
“So, they say you’re keeping our lord’s bed warm, huh? Ha ha!”
The knights laughed crudely, mocking her openly. But El’s expression only grew colder, calmer.
“A commoner who insults a noble commits the crime of defaming nobility, does he not?”
“As if anyone doesn’t know? Everyone here knows you were just picked up from the forest! What kind of noble lives like a beggar in the woods?”
“You’re right—I was from the forest. So what?”
“…What?”
“So. What do you think will happen if I run to the lord right now and tell him about this? Shall we find out?”
“Acting high and mighty just ‘cause you’re the lord’s favorite…”
One knight spat on the floor and cursed.
Still, the mention of Karon seemed to scare them; hesitantly, they slipped out of the kitchen.
As soon as they were gone, sighs of relief spread throughout the room.
“Miss, thank you so much!”
“I thought it would happen again today, and I just… ugh…”
The youngest maid, who had been the most frightened, finally burst into tears. El hurried over and hugged her tightly.
She thought to herself: wherever people live, things like this happen.
“What on earth is going on? Why are knights suddenly barging into the kitchen?”
At her question, the maids quickly began to explain.
“Some of the new knights have been harassing us.”
“Since when?”
“A few months now. At first it was just vulgar words, but later they started reaching their hands toward us…”
The maid’s voice caught, and she couldn’t continue.
Then the cabinet door creaked open, and Sara stepped out.
“It’s because of me.”
“……”
“Whenever they harassed us, they’d always forcefully shove a few coins into my pocket afterward.”
“…What?”
Shock spread across El’s face.
“As you know, miss, legally, that counts as prostitution. So we couldn’t even tell the lord…”
“What nonsense…!”
“Please, keep this from the lord.”
“Sara!”
“Please, miss. We’d have nowhere to go if we were dismissed from here.”
Sara bowed deeply.
The other maids also seemed unwilling for this to reach Karon’s ears.
After quietly gauging the mood, El let out a soft sigh.
“…I won’t tell him.”
“Thank you.”
“But this problem must be dealt with.”
Her following words left the maids bewildered.
How could she possibly resolve something like this?
From the start, the standing of knights and maids in a household was worlds apart.
Maids were disposable parts of the household, while knights were closer to assets—official knights could even become minor nobles.
So the maids had no choice but to endure their abuse.
“Do you have a plan, miss?”
At Sara’s question, El nodded.
“There’s one way.”
From what the knights had said, no one seemed to know that El had been granted noble status. That was why they had dared to treat her so disrespectfully.
But now El was a noble.
And if a commoner harassed a noble? The punishment was death.
“Karon was right after all.”
It would serve as a shield of protection—or rather, this time, a weapon of threat.
In the end, what’s the difference?
* *
“Miss, is it really all right for you to do this?”
“Of course. I’m just an honored guest here. I can do as I please.”
“But still…”
The maid swallowed her words, worried that trouble would come if the lord found out. She watched El nervously.
El had even postponed her lessons, coordinating with Ena to act according to plan.
“And don’t call me ‘miss.’”
El whispered quickly.
“O-oh. Right… Lona.”
Now, El had disguised herself as a maid named Lona and was on her second day of diligently cleaning the mansion.
Just pretending would have been enough, but El insisted that would arouse suspicion—so she worked harder than anyone else, scrubbing and polishing.
“Lona, how did you get this stain out?”
“It’s better with cold water. If you use hot, it’ll leave marks.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
El—now Lona—was actually more skilled than many of the household maids. Wherever she worked, the place shone brilliantly.
The head maid, supervising the others, inspected the stairs and raised her head.
“Who cleaned the stairs today?”
“I did!”
The maid talking with El quickly stepped forward. The head maid narrowed her eyes at her, then shifted her sharp gaze to El.
“…I don’t recall seeing you before.”
“H-hello…”
El, bowing her head, gave an awkward greeting. The head maid’s eyes widened as she got a good look at her.
“M-Miss?”
“Shh. I’m Lona.”
El quickly pressed a finger to her lips.
“What in the world…?”
“Please pretend you don’t know. I beg you.”
The head maid lowered her voice, still baffled.
“Why are you doing maid’s work?”
“It suits me. Look at this—see how clean the stairs are?”
El proudly tapped the polished steps.
Just as she said, not a speck of dust could be seen, even on the railings.
“…You did this yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Have you been disguised as a maid for about two days?”
“How did you know?”
El asked in surprise as she tossed her rag into a bucket.
Seeing her darkened hands, the head maid pressed her forehead, sighing.
“The mansion has been unusually clean since then, so I suspected something.”
“…Oh, I didn’t realize.”
“Whatever the reason, if the lord finds out, it will be serious trouble.”
“I’ll take responsibility. Truly.”
“…Sigh. Very well.”
In truth, the lord would likely just find it cute and let it slide—he was endlessly indulgent toward El.
The head maid studied El again.
“Miss, if you want to disguise yourself, you should hunch your shoulders a bit more.”
“L-like this?”
“Yes.”
When had she changed so much?
When she first arrived, she looked like nothing but a beggar.
But now, she had to intentionally hunch and disguise herself to pass as a maid.
Her eyes, her expression, her posture—
“You’ve truly become a noble now.”
The words slipped out unconsciously. And indeed, El now looked every bit the noble.
“It’s just an act.”
El gave a shy little grin.
“Miss, no dangerous behavior, please.”
“I’ll be careful.”
El clenched her thin fists as if to reassure her. Her bony fingers still jutted out prominently.
The head maid hesitated, worried, then sighed once more and left.
“Let’s keep cleaning.”
El cheerfully lifted the bucket of supplies.
To the maids who once dismissed her, she now looked more dignified than when she wore a dress.
El sparkled.
As though she were plotting something.
(To be continued…)
