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Chapter : 11
“Ugh…”
The cute short-haired maid, who was busy hanging laundry, let out a weary sigh.
Her name was Betty Müller.
She had just joined the princess’s palace as a new maid, having been selected through this external recruitment directly overseen by the head steward.
“Whoa! The ground feels like it’s caving in. Why are you sighing like that?”
Pione, who had easily lifted a laundry basket as big as an ox, tilted her head in concern and asked.
“Well… it’s because of ‘that person.’”
“You mean the princess? Oh, could it be… because of her fatal cuteness?”
“You really are…”
Betty sighed even more deeply at her cheerful junior colleague.
This friend, whose brain seemed all muscle and no sense, apparently hadn’t heard a single rumor yet.
Well, considering how she had caused a scene on her very first day and gotten marked by the seniors, it made sense that no one had bothered to warn her.
Even after a few days in the palace, Betty was the only one who talked to Pione. And even then, she only approached when no one else was around, so Pione was effectively alone in this place.
“Haha! What is it? Why are you looking at me like that? Ahahaha!”
Betty, feeling sorry for her still slightly off-kilter colleague, decided to give some precious advice on surviving in the princess’s palace.
“Be careful of the princess. She’s supposed to be really terrifying.”
“No way. She’s just cute!”
“No. Isabelle said that the princess is setting traps. She’s definitely plotting something dreadful.”
Betty shivered as she recalled Isabelle, hugging her cotton pillow with a serious face, emphasizing the warning repeatedly last night.
The stories Isabelle told under the flickering lantern were a million times scarier than the ghost tales Betty had heard from her grandmother as a child.
It made sense—Isabelle had experienced them firsthand, and soon they would be Betty’s experiences too.
“I don’t know what you heard, but it’s probably all exaggeration. You saw her yesterday, right? Smiling so sweetly as she greeted everyone! She doesn’t seem like someone who would do anything bad.”
“I don’t know… I was so shocked, I don’t even remember that day.”
At this point, anyone with common sense would have sensed something off. But this foolish girl apparently had none.
Surely, she had ears and must have heard rumors in her life at least once—rumors about a wicked little devil, abandoned even by the emperor, hiding in this remote place, building a nest of evil.
Betty had never seen it herself, but there were things she had seen with her own eyes that were far from baseless rumors.
Even Isabelle’s scar from last night was etched into her memory, impossible to forget.
“She’s not a mercenary using a sword… she’s just a maid. And yet she got hurt so badly…”
The scar, protruding from her shoulder like the length of a pinky finger, was grotesque and large, like a fat little caterpillar.
With someone as innocent and clueless as Pione, she might make a huge mistake in front of the princess.
“That can’t happen!”
Even if Pione didn’t get hurt as badly as Isabelle, if she got scolded and quit, Betty would be left alone as the youngest.
Remember what happened when Pione naively tattled to the head steward during her initiation?
After that day, all the seniors in the princess’s palace, regardless of rank or role, refused to speak to her.
This place was full of territorial behavior and pettiness, reaching heights that pierced the sky.
Swish, swish!
Betty, having checked that no one was around, quietly approached Pione and lowered her voice.
“No, really. Isabelle said—”
Her chest tightening with anxiety, Betty’s voice rose.
Suddenly, a window of the princess’s palace flung open.
“What did Isabelle say?”
“…!”
Boom. Betty’s heart plummeted as if falling off a cliff at the sudden voice.
“I-I didn’t say anything.”
“Hello!”
“Hmm.”
Nella, a senior maid in the princess’s palace, looked disapprovingly at Betty, who froze, and at Pione, who greeted her cheerfully.
“Tsk.”
This is why taking people from outside never works.
Normally, one must serve three years at an empty palace within the royal city, be recommended by a supervisor, and undergo a rigorous review by the administrative department before getting this position.
Although dozens of scolding remarks were ready to leave her throat, Nella held them back. There was a more important task than enforcing discipline right now.
And with Pione’s mindset, she would surely get herself into trouble soon enough without anyone having to scold her.
‘Maybe we don’t need to go too far.’
Adjusting her round silver-rimmed glasses, Nella gestured lightly toward the princess’s palace.
“Pione. The princess is calling you, go.”
Huff! Although Pione was the one called, Betty instinctively drew in a sharp breath and then slumped her shoulders.
At that moment, Nella’s glasses flashed toward Betty.
“Betty. You too.”
“W-why me?”
Betty, briefly relieved that she wasn’t called, stiffened again.
“Your mentor taught you to speak up against seniors, right?”
Nella, the senior maid, was one rank above Betty’s mentor, Isabelle.
Isabelle was a kind older sister, but also a harsh senior.
Betty’s mouth froze as if an earthquake had struck, fearing punishment for speaking out of turn.
“No, no! I’ll go right now!”
Nella waved her hand at Betty, who was flustered and unable to carry the laundry herself.
“I’ll finish it for you, so it’s better you go quickly. None of the rumors you heard are false. Also…”
Of course, she reminded the naive newcomer to be careful.
“Whoever told you what, you’d better watch your mouth here. You wouldn’t want that pretty tongue of yours cut with your precious mentor around, would you?”
Eek! Betty’s face turned as pale as if flour had been dusted over it.
“Hmm.”
Nella playfully observed Betty, then noticing Pione’s gaze, quickly erased her expression.
Indeed, this rookie chick needed caution—just like Pione, wisely keeping quiet nearby.
“Wow…”
Betty opened her mouth, completely forgetting to swallow.
‘I didn’t realize it from afar…’
The princess was a walking doll. A masterpiece crafted by a national treasure-level artisan who had dedicated a lifetime to it.
How could a human, let alone a child, shine like this?
Even the horror stories Betty had heard from Isabelle last night seemed insignificant now that she saw the princess up close.
Her hair was as smooth as the legendary golden fox’s fur, her skin whiter than elephant ivory.
Her cheeks were still plump with baby fat, tinted with pink, and her cat-like eyes lifted elegantly with pride.
Betty couldn’t take her eyes off Eirensia.
And when the princess parted her tiny lips…
“Hello! We’re acquainted, right? So… Betty and Pione!”
“To have you remember our names is an honor! The sun is shining brightly today. A day to watch out for shadows!”
“Ah, you know a thing or two.”
- 10 points! 10 points! Perfect score!
With a mysterious voice echoing in her head and her heart pounding like she had been struck by an arrow, Betty felt she had encountered fate.
‘Not bad at all.’
It had only been a day since Betty and Pione had become her personal maids.
Some might ask how she could be so certain after just half a day, but she had a good feeling.
Betty radiated bright energy. Though her constant fussing was slightly overwhelming, she appreciated how thoughtfully she cared for everything.
Pione was sharp. She noticed and brought whatever was needed instantly. She was also skilled at massages, which were incredibly relieving.
“Ah, perfect.”
Betty lay back in bed and enjoyed the massage.
After starting her workouts a few days ago, her muscles were sore.
Pione’s delicate touch melted the tension in her muscles, despite appearances.
“Does it feel good?”
“Absolutely…”
And Pione, perhaps from a past life as a fitness trainer like Betty, tailored a schedule appropriate for her current body and age.
She had also washed and dried Betty, who collapsed exhausted after sweating heavily.
Is this what life as a cat feels like?
‘Then in my third life, I’ll live as a rich cat…’
