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Chapter 8
“Once again, I look forward to working with you from now on.”
At the unexpectedly cheerful greeting, Julieta’s brows twisted sharply.
“Fine, do your best. I’m curious to see how long that flimsy resolve of yours will last.”
Even at the sarcastic remark, Janette’s smile did not falter.
After their first meeting, quiet like a brewing storm—
“Again.”
Tap. Julieta pushed away the teacup in front of her with the back of her hand.
“The temperature’s awful. It’s too hot to drink.”
“My apologies. I’ll prepare another one right away.”
Janette lowered her head at the criticism thrown her way.
Julieta’s eyes narrowed sharply.
‘She’s tougher than I thought?’
She had already rejected over ten cups of tea, nitpicking every little thing.
Yet the gentle smile on Janette’s lips—like she had a cube of sugar melting in her mouth—never disappeared.
“I’m terribly sorry, but we’ve run out of boiled water, so I’ll visit the kitchen for a moment.”
“Do as you like.”
“Yes. I’ll be back shortly, Young Lady.”
After Janette left the room—
One of the maids lingering nearby hurried over to Julieta.
“Are you alright, Young Lady? You don’t look well.”
“Sien.”
Sien was the maid who had served under Julieta the longest.
Because Julieta was sensitive by nature and hated keeping people close, the servants assigned to her detached residence changed frequently.
Among them, Sien was the one who had endured the longest.
Thanks to her relatively long service, Sien had been entrusted with attending to Julieta personally.
Kitchen work, laundry, gardening, cleaning—
Compared to the maids burdened with hard labor, it was practically a dream position.
“It’s because of the new maid, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Some strange thing rolled in here and keeps irritating me.”
“Oh dear, my poor lady. It pains me just watching you suffer like this.”
Julieta glanced at Sien, whose eyes drooped sympathetically, then waved a hand dismissively.
“Hmph. Forget it. Just watch. I’ll make that girl crawl out on her own eventually.”
My person?
A loyal servant?
Ridiculous.
How was she supposed to trust something like that?
Sure, Janette smiled obediently now, but who knew when she might suddenly change and start mocking her?
‘Besides, Janette is a noble lady.’
Though she came from some insignificant family named Graham that nobody had ever heard of—
‘She must’ve heard the rumors about me in high society.’
She could easily picture noble ladies gathered in elegant dresses, whispering malicious gossip about her.
Crunch.
Just imagining it made rage rise in her chest and her stomach churn.
‘I can’t stand being looked down on.’
Julieta hated being laughed at more than death itself.
The laughter ringing out behind her back.
The malicious glances cast her way.
The obvious ridicule hidden within them.
Just thinking about it made her feel sick.
In any case, one thing was certain: keeping that maid nearby was terrible for her mental health.
“In that case, Young Lady… how about I help you?”
“…Sien, you?”
“Yes, Young Lady!”
Sien nodded energetically.
Julieta tilted her head at the maid’s confident attitude.
“And how exactly do you plan to help?”
“Well, you see—”
Whisper whisper.
Lowering her voice, Sien murmured her plan into Julieta’s ear.
“You really think such a pathetic plan will work?”
“Of course. Just trust me, Young Lady. All you have to do is take my side.”
Take her side?
Julieta thought it sounded rather insolent, but another part of her didn’t really care.
If Sien could truly get rid of that irritating girl—
“Fine. Do whatever you want.”
“Yes, my lady! Leave it to me!”
The next day, and the day after that, things continued much the same.
“Again.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Having already been rejected three times, Janette began brewing a fourth pot of tea.
Hoo.
Letting out a deep breath, Janette wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Julieta narrowed her eyes as she secretly watched her.
Well? You must be reaching your limit soon, right?
But once again, a smile appeared on Janette’s lips.
Let’s try again.
That was what her eyes seemed to say.
Annoyed, Julieta sneered,
“Try doing it properly this time. Honestly, it shouldn’t be this difficult just to drink tea.”
“Yes. I’ll work harder.”
Answering cheerfully, Janette pulled a small notebook from her pocket.
While waiting for the hot water to cool, she stared intently at it.
Pretending disinterest, Julieta looked away—but her attention kept drifting back.
‘What is she looking at so seriously?’
Meanwhile, once the water had cooled enough, Janette began preparing the tea.
She placed the prepared rosehips into the teapot and tested the temperature with her hand.
As a fragrant aroma spread through the room, she emptied the warming water from the teacup, placed the tea strainer over it, and carefully poured the tea.
‘Her posture is much better than before?’
Julieta’s eyelashes fluttered faintly as she watched Janette from the corner of her eye.
“The tea is ready, Young Lady.”
“…Fine. Bring it here.”
The prepared tea was placed before Julieta.
It smelled pleasant.
There were no stray tea leaves floating in it, and even the color looked nearly perfect.
‘What?’
Why had she suddenly improved so much?
Still, the important thing was the taste. Even if it looked good—
“…What? It’s actually decent.”
“Ah, does it suit your taste?”
Gasp.
Realizing she had spoken without thinking, Julieta quickly shut her mouth.
“Ahem. I’m not saying it’s excellent. It’s merely drinkable. Don’t get carried away.”
“Yes. I’ll continue striving to improve. If there’s anything lacking, please feel free to tell me. I’ll correct it.”
With that, Janette pulled out the same notebook from earlier, scribbled something down, then swiftly tucked it back into her pocket.
‘That thing again?’
Julieta couldn’t hold back anymore.
That mysterious notebook bothered her endlessly.
“Bring that here.”
“Pardon?”
“That notebook. That one. Bring it here!”
Though startled, Janette obediently handed it over.
Gulp.
Julieta swallowed nervously.
What if she wrote things about me in here?
The thought that she wouldn’t—and the thought that she might—clashed chaotically in her mind.
The chronic anxiety that always lingered in her life crept back up from the tips of her toes.
Biting her lip, Julieta hurriedly flipped through the notebook.
Then—
“This is…”
Her long eyelashes trembled, and the anxiety clouding her eyes vanished.
Unable to continue speaking, she fell silent.
Janette awkwardly explained in her place.
“I was writing down the things you pointed out to me, Young Lady.”
“You wrote down every complaint—I mean, everything I said?”
“Yes.”
The notebook itself proved she was telling the truth.
Every criticism Julieta had made to torment Janette that day had been carefully recorded there.
The temperature of the tea water.
The timing for adding the tea.
How long to steep it.
And more.
“Thanks to your detailed guidance, I learned quickly. Thank you very much.”
“Because of… me?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, Young Lady.”
Julieta’s lips parted slightly, unable to respond.
‘I’ve heard enough flattery in my life to grow sick of it, but…’
Looking at the notebook packed full of notes, Julieta found herself overcome with a strange feeling.
After work—
The first thing Janette did upon returning to her room was undo the tightly tied-up hair atop her head.
“Phew. That feels better.”
Her tightly pulled scalp was finally free.
Lightly running her fingers through her hair, Janette changed clothes, washed up, and sat at her desk.
On top of it lay the notebook she had taken out while changing.
The notebook where she had written down all the things she lacked while attending to Julieta.
In her previous life, she had worked as a secretary for a parachute-appointed director at a small-to-medium-sized company.
Despite only being in his late thirties, he was full of old-fashioned, authoritarian tendencies.
“Young people these days, honestly… tch. Watching them tap away at their phones all day is unbearable.”
Because of him, Janette had developed the habit of taking notes by hand in a notebook while working.
‘I brought it along just in case, thinking back on those memories.’
Since the duties of a secretary and a maid were somewhat similar, she thought it might help.
Just as Janette expected, the notebook had indeed been very useful.
Though perhaps not quite in the way she anticipated.
Remembering how Julieta’s expression had softened, if only for a brief moment while reading it, Janette smiled faintly.
‘She actually has a surprisingly cute side to her, doesn’t she?’
