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Chapter 6
The carriage only came to a stop after passing through the main gate and continuing onward for quite some time.
Before Janette could open the door herself, a footman came running over from somewhere and opened it for her instead.
“Please be careful, my lady.”
The footman extended his arm toward her.
For a moment, Janette was flustered by such attentive treatment for the very first time.
“Thank you.”
Pretending to be accustomed to it, Janette lightly took the footman’s arm and stepped down from the carriage. As soon as her feet touched the ground, the footman hurried away.
Janette tried not to look around too much.
But even keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead was difficult enough.
The oppressive atmosphere pressing down on her was immense. Today was the first time she realized a space itself could feel intimidating.
‘Right. So this is Ludwig.’
It struck her anew exactly where she had stepped into.
The empire’s one and only Grand Duchy family, headed by the current emperor’s elder brother.
The king of western high society and the wealthiest among all noble families in the empire.
Janette straightened her back as much as possible and took another step forward.
“Good. The documents are in order.”
Nova Morgan.
The head maid overseeing all of Ludwig.
Her family, the Count Morgan household, was one of the distinguished families that had pledged loyalty to the emperor for generations.
Born as the eldest daughter of the Morgan family, she became a maid to the current Grand Duke back when he was still a prince. After moving to Ludwig, she had also briefly worked as the nanny of the second young master and the third princess.
Backed by years of carefully built experience and the Grand Duke’s trust, Nova had finally succeeded in obtaining the position of head maid.
There had been some value, after all, in dedicating her entire life to Ludwig without ever marrying.
Though it had only been a little over a year since she became head maid, Nova already wielded considerable authority within Ludwig.
‘—That’s what Theo’s notebook said.’
The information Janette remembered from the original story was only a tiny fraction.
Meaning there was almost nothing useful in it for actually working as a maid.
Compared to that—
‘This notebook is incredibly useful. Reading it beforehand was definitely worth it.’
The notebook Theo had given her was proving extremely valuable.
Thud.
Nova stamped Janette’s documents with the official seal used exclusively by the head maid.
“Janette Graham.”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
“From now on, you will serve as the personal maid of Princess Julieta Ludwig. You are aware of that, correct?”
“Yes. I am aware, Head Maid.”
The notebook had also mentioned that Nova liked people who were extremely respectful.
It even specified that she preferred being called “Head Maid” rather than simply “maid.”
“Your quarters are prepared in Princess Julieta’s annex. Unlike other servants, maids stay together with their masters in the same residence. Do you know why?”
“I believe it is so we may attend to the princess from the closest possible distance.”
“Correct.”
Nova answered elegantly.
“Your working hours are from eight in the morning until seven in the evening. However, if the princess calls for you, you are expected to come running even outside of working hours.”
In other words, she might have to work day and night.
But Janette didn’t mind.
Back when she lived with the Graham family, she had pulled all-nighters often enough to grow sick of them.
“For today, unpack your belongings and remain on standby. If the princess summons you, go greet her. If she does not, don’t go seeking her out unnecessarily.”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
“Your official duties begin tomorrow. As a proud maid of Ludwig, do your utmost in serving the princess.”
At Nova’s stern warning, Janette bowed deeply.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Nova stared fixedly at the top of Janette’s bowed head, one corner of her lips curling upward.
“And.”
The sharp tone she had maintained all along suddenly softened.
“If any problems arise during your work, you may come to me. Despite appearances, I do take good care of my subordinates.”
“Yes. Thank you for your concern, Head Maid.”
At Janette’s polite response, Nova smiled kindly and nodded.
This was normally the moment when she would dismiss her.
But instead of telling her to leave, Nova suddenly began touching her own neck.
“My, my neck feels particularly bare today.”
As she deliberately rubbed at her neck, Nova watched Janette’s reaction.
But Janette simply—
“Hm?”
—blinked her large eyes and tilted her head in confusion.
Her innocent expression practically screamed, Why does her neck feel bare?
‘Good grief. We’ve got an idiot with no sense at all.’
Most people would have taken the hint by now and removed a piece of jewelry to offer her.
Or at the very least, they would have implied something like, I’ll repay your kindness.
Sigh.
Nova let out a faint sigh, one eyebrow twitching irritably.
‘And now that I look at her, she seems poor too.’
She had expected someone from a wealthy family since Janette carried a recommendation letter from a border count, but her appearance was pitifully shabby.
“Tch.”
Clicking her tongue, Nova widened her eyes and spoke sharply.
“Why are you still standing there? We’re finished here, so you may leave.”
“Ah—yes! Then I’ll take my leave. I look forward to working with you, Head Maid.”
With both hands folded neatly over her stomach, Janette bowed politely before exiting the room.
Bang.
As soon as the door closed, Nova’s expression twisted with irritation.
Leaning back against her chair, she idly stroked her carefully manicured nails and muttered,
“So she’s dull, stupid, and broke? Honestly, the maid suits the princess perfectly.”
No matter how she looked at it, the girl didn’t seem like she had a single coin to spare.
Tap. Tap.
As Nova flicked her nails, a sly smile spread across her lips.
‘But that doesn’t matter.’
After all, Janette’s master was none other than Julieta Ludwig.
That temperamental villainess!
Sooner or later, enduring that difficult personality would make the girl desperate enough to seek help.
And even if she didn’t—
“There are plenty of ways to make someone miserable.”
It was both Nova’s hobby and specialty to drain the purses of naïve young servants who entered the Grand Duchy of Ludwig filled with dreams.
She would torment them relentlessly until they came begging for help themselves.
Of course, she never helped anyone who came empty-handed.
Nothing in this world was free.
Maids, servants.
Attendants and ladies-in-waiting.
Even children who looked penniless somehow managed to scrape money together once desperation set in.
“Hehe.”
A pleased hum escaped from behind her crooked smile.
「Nova Morgan — Greedy for bribes」
Mm, so that really was true too?
After leaving Nova’s room, Janette once again marveled at the notebook’s accuracy.
‘Still, I didn’t expect her to demand it that openly.’
The notebook had only briefly stated, “Greedy for bribes,” so Janette hadn’t known how Nova solicited them.
Seeing her openly mutter, “My neck feels bare,” had nearly made Janette lose control of her expression.
So what should she do now?
Normally, giving Nova a bribe wouldn’t have been a terrible idea. There was nothing bad about getting into the head maid’s good graces.
But Janette found the idea thoroughly unappealing.
‘Bribery is wrong!’
—it wasn’t because she was that naïve.
Of course, she did feel uncomfortable about the act of bribery itself, but there was another reason that mattered more.
Namely—
‘She’s so shameless she reminds me of the Grahams.’
Viscount and Viscountess Graham, along with Simon Graham.
The way they sought to satisfy their greed by taking money from the weak while doing nothing themselves—it was exactly the same.
Not that Janette suddenly felt some grand, righteous determination to get rid of Nova or anything.
‘But I don’t want to hand over a bribe obediently either.’
Hmm.
After pondering briefly, Janette quickly reached a conclusion.
Don’t give her anything.
Now that her employment had already been finalized, dismissing a maid was fundamentally up to the individual master she served.
And dismissals during an active contract were uncommon to begin with.
Which meant the chances of her being fired were practically nonexistent.
As long as she wasn’t fired, there wasn’t much to worry about.
