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Chapter 10
“Your transcription of the history book is finished, Lady Julieta.”
“Yes, my lady.”
At Janette’s bright smile, Julieta accepted the copied manuscript with slight suspicion.
Flip.
As she roughly flipped through the notebook, she saw pages densely filled with writing.
‘…Her handwriting has become much more presentable?’
At first, it had been crooked like a child’s scribbles, but after Julieta pointed it out a few times, Janette corrected it quickly.
Perhaps she was still practicing, because each new manuscript looked neater than the last.
Julieta narrowed her eyes and stared intently at one particularly elegant line of text before giving a careless nod.
“Fine. Then next time…”
…Sigh. What should I make her copy next?
With the imperial history books completed, Julieta had run out of “reasonable” books she knew about.
As she hesitated for a moment, the row of flowerpots by the window caught her eye.
“…A botanical encyclopedia.”
“Yes?”
“Next, copy a botanical encyclopedia. If you’re my maid, then you should know all about poisonous herbs, medicinal plants, and plants used for tea leaves, shouldn’t you?”
Just as Julieta began to feel embarrassed by the ridiculous excuse she had come up with—
“Indeed, you are absolutely right. Knowing poisonous herbs, medicinal plants, and tea leaves is naturally an important virtue for a maid.”
“…Exactly. That’s what I mean.”
“Then I’ll copy a botanical encyclopedia next time. But… what specific book should I choose?”
“You should figure that out yourself! How long do you expect me to choose books for you too?”
Well, she did have a point.
‘Then I should focus on botanical books related to poisonous herbs, medicinal herbs, and tea leaves. I’ll stop by the library later.’
With that thought, Janette nodded energetically.
“Yes, understood. I’ll choose something that will be useful for you, my lady.”
“Wait. And!”
“Yes?”
Her response sounded completely unfazed, which made Julieta hastily add:
“Tomorrow… no, the day after tomorrow!”
“Yes?”
“The deadline is the day after tomorrow. I won’t wait any longer, so keep that in mind. Understood?”
By the day after tomorrow?
Janette briefly calculated the schedule. She didn’t know how thick the botanical encyclopedia would be, but from experience, reference books usually contained an enormous amount of text.
If so…
‘…I might have to stay up all night.’
Well, that was fine.
Ever since she was young, she had always been confident in her stamina. Back when she managed that huge estate alone every day, she had slept only three hours a night, yet she had never even caught a common cold.
‘And ever since coming here, I’ve been sleeping comfortably every day.’
Staying up for a night or two wouldn’t affect her at all.
“Yes. Then I’ll finish it by the day after tomorrow.”
“Good. See that you do.”
Hmph.
Turning her head away, Julieta leaned back against the sofa as she answered.
She looked exactly like an elegant cat, and Janette quietly smiled to herself.
***
After work—
Janette headed toward the eastern library.
There were three libraries in Ludwig in total: one reserved for the direct members of the Ludwig family, one for servants, and one accessible to nobles and guests of Ludwig alike.
The eastern library was the one intended for nobles.
Although Janette worked at Ludwig as a maid, she was still a noble by status, which allowed her access to the eastern library.
“You’ve come again, Miss Maid.”
The one who greeted Janette warmly was a pleasant-looking middle-aged librarian.
Over the past few days, Janette had visited frequently in search of books for transcription, and somehow the two had become quite close.
“Good evening, Librarian.”
“Oh my, how disappointing. Weren’t you going to call me Mrs. Sinclair?”
“Ah, I forgot for a moment. I’m sorry, Mrs. Sinclair.”
At Janette’s correction, Mrs. Sinclair smiled cheerfully.
“What kind of book are you looking for today?”
“A botanical encyclopedia.”
“A botanical encyclopedia?”
“Yes. I’m looking for books related to medicinal herbs, poisonous plants, and tea leaves… Would you happen to know where they are?”
“Of course. Head over to Section 13.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Sinclair.”
After politely bowing, Janette headed toward Section 13.
“Let’s see. I’ll start with medicinal herbs…”
Even though botanical encyclopedias didn’t seem like something many people would read, Section 13 was packed tightly with books related to plants.
She was concentrating hard on finding the books she wanted when—
Thud.
Janette accidentally bumped into the person beside her and widened her eyes.
“…!”
Suppressing a gasp, she quickly bowed.
Since the eastern library was frequented only by nobles, bumping into someone was considered quite rude.
“I’m terribly sorry. I was so focused on searching for books that I didn’t notice you beside me.”
“Haha. It’s quite all right. Such things happen.”
Relieved by the other person’s generous response, Janette straightened up.
The person she had bumped into was a tall elderly gentleman. He wore a white shirt and black tuxedo, complete with a black bow tie around his neck.
That outfit was definitely…
“Thank you for your understanding, Head Butler.”
Having guessed correctly, Janette was rewarded with a gentle smile from Head Butler William.
“It’s fortunate. I’d been wanting to meet you anyway.”
“Pardon? Me?”
“Young Lady Graham is Miss Julieta’s first maid, after all.”
Janette blinked in surprise at his words.
‘Well, that makes sense. The head butler is effectively the chief administrator of Ludwig.’
The head butler ranked even higher than the head maid. After the Grand Duchess, he was the person most deeply involved in the estate’s internal affairs.
And Janette’s mistress, Julieta Ludwig, was publicly known as the troublemaker of the Ludwig family.
Naturally, there must have been many things worrying him as the head butler.
“How is your work as a maid?”
“Well… since this is my first time working as a maid, there are many things I still lack. I’m doing my best not to cause trouble for my lady.”
At Janette’s answer, the butler blinked.
Only for a moment.
Soon, he burst into hearty laughter.
He had asked the question because he wondered whether Janette might complain to him about the young lady.
As a butler devoted to Ludwig, he also knew that many of the rumors surrounding Lady Julieta were somewhat exaggerated.
‘Still, she certainly isn’t the easiest person to deal with.’
He had worried whether the newly arrived young maid would adapt well.
Yet to think she would answer with such humility and loyalty.
“Head Butler!”
Only after hearing Mrs. Sinclair’s firm reprimand from afar did he stop laughing.
Janette looked back and forth between them in surprise.
‘Are the two of them close?’
Stopping his laughter, the head butler cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I seem to have embarrassed myself. Haha.”
“Not at all. I get scolded often too. And please, speak comfortably with me, Head Butler. I think I’ll have many things to learn from you in the future, so I’d appreciate it if you treated me at ease.”
Oh?
Head Butler William nearly laughed again.
Among the many nobles working within Ludwig, Janette was the first to directly say to him, “Please speak comfortably with me. I wish to learn from you.”
Given his rank within Ludwig, most people naturally felt intimidated by him.
As such, this was the first time a young person had approached him so warmly.
‘She reminds me of Bianca.’
Bianca was his daughter.
Because he had spent his life endlessly busy as Ludwig’s head butler, he had very few memories with her.
He had always felt sorry about it, but kind-hearted Bianca would always tell him it was okay and understand his situation.
Bianca was around Janette’s age as well.
Thinking of his daughter, he answered with affection.
“Very well. Then I shall.”
“Thank you, Head Butler.”
In the warm atmosphere, the butler glanced at the books in her hands.
“Are you looking for botanical encyclopedias?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
After hesitating briefly, Janette added with a smile:
“I thought studying poisonous herbs, medicinal herbs, and tea leaves would help me better serve my lady.”
“Haha. What a commendable thought.”
As someone who had devoted his entire life to Ludwig, he naturally viewed Janette favorably for trying her best for the direct bloodline of Ludwig.
Of course, Janette had intentionally answered that way.
‘Since I already gave up on earning Head Maid Nova’s favor.’
She needed to gain favor from someone else instead. After all, if you wanted to survive long at work, it was best to leave a good impression on your superiors.
“In that case, how about borrowing my books?”
“Your books, Head Butler?”
“Yes. As it happens, I own some excellent books related to those subjects. If you don’t mind, come to my personal office tomorrow.”
Tomorrow…
‘Lady Julieta told me to finish the transcription by the day after tomorrow.’
If she borrowed the books tomorrow, she worried whether she could finish copying them in time.
Still, she couldn’t let such a good opportunity slip away.
“I would be honored to visit despite my shamelessness. Thank you very much for the invitation, Head Butler.”
Janette answered politely and cheerfully.
