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CHAPTER 59
It was a scene where a government official was walking by, and a maid called another maid over and slapped her.
And that maid was me.
Ah, great.
Should I ask Derek to come in with me?
I thought about it and looked back, but he was nowhere to be seen.
The path from this side entrance to the lobby happened to be a single narrow hallway.
If I stay away from that official, that maid will go somewhere else too, and then nothing will happen, right?
A future like this could be changed depending on how I acted.
So, I stepped back outside. Then, through the small window on the door, I waited until that official completely disappeared from sight.
As more time passed, I started to get a little anxious.
Vincent never told me exactly what time to come in, but going to work this late in the afternoon made me feel a bit guilty.
Besides, I was getting paid.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t even asked whether it was a yearly salary, monthly wage, daily, or hourly pay.
I should probably start by negotiating my pay when I get there. But… how much would be reasonable?
While I was thinking about that very important question, the official finally disappeared completely from view.
I figured it was safe now, so I stepped back inside.
But I hadn’t walked far when a maid coming from ahead suddenly shouted sharply at me.
“Hey, you! What are you wearing?”
Ah, great.
Was this something that would’ve happened no matter what? I was thinking that when the official I’d been avoiding appeared again, walking down the corner hallway.
I’m doomed.
I’d miscalculated the timing and position.
“Are you ignoring me right now?”
There must be a hierarchy even among maids, and judging by how she started talking down to me right away, this one was pretty high up.
She looked me up and down with an angry expression.
“You’ve lost your mind, haven’t you? What kind of outfit is that? Don’t you know the head maid’s in a bad mood today?”
“Hold on. Listen to me.”
“Listen to you?”
That was my cue. The moment the official disappeared from sight, her hand came flying toward me.
Smack.
“Phew…”
I barely managed to grab her wrist in time to block it. I’d messed up the timing earlier and ran into this maid, but at least this time, I got it right.
Honestly, I was kind of proud of myself.
“You, you—!”
“Look closely. Do you know who I am?”
“What?”
“Amelia Wentworth. You’ve heard of me, right? I’m dressed like this for a reason, but I’m not a maid.”
The maid’s confusion was written all over her face. She seemed to be trying to figure out if I was telling the truth.
Once she seemed to calm down a little, I released her wrist. She quickly stepped back and looked me over more carefully.
“If you’re Lady Amelia Wentworth, shouldn’t you be in the west wing? Why are you walking around in a maid’s uniform?”
“I told you, I have my reasons. I don’t need to explain everything in detail, do I?”
“Where did you get those clothes?”
“From Vivian.”
“Vivian… oh, that kid.”
The way she said that kid didn’t sound particularly nice, but I wasn’t in a position to correct her.
Well, it’s my fault anyway.
I thought I’d chosen something distinct enough, but apparently, to them, it all looked the same. I figured I should find a different outfit soon.
But even after I explained who I was, the maid didn’t step aside. She still looked doubtful.
It was strange that there were maids who didn’t recognize Amelia, even though she came and went here all the time.
Not having an ID is really inconvenient.
Just as I was wondering what to do, a savior appeared.
“Lady Amelia?”
From behind me, Viscount Oscar Cobran called out as he approached. When I turned around, Oscar recognized me immediately.
“So it is you, my lady. I saw the purple hair and thought it might be. But… your outfit today is, uh, a new concept, I see.”
He seemed to be choosing his words carefully so as not to offend me. After he’d once yelled at me and later apologized, he’d been quite cautious around me.
The maid who had just tried to slap me was now visibly nervous and fidgeting.
“You can go.”
As soon as I said it, she ran off without even offering an apology. Not very satisfying, but oh well.
So, they really do resort to hitting each other, huh?
Her swing had been way too natural.
Oscar, who had been watching her scurry away, glanced back and forth between her and me.
“Was there some sort of problem?”
“No, nothing. Let’s go.”
“Yes, my lady.”
As we walked together, I asked,
“Did you hear I was coming?”
“Yes, this morning. But you arrived earlier than expected.”
“Earlier? The sun’s already high.”
“Well, for nobles, the day starts at noon.”
Hmm. Now that he mentioned it, Amelia had been like that too. At the Wentworth estate, no one even came out until around noon for their first meal.
Nobles really did treat laziness as a virtue.
Which made me wonder.
“But you come out early, don’t you, Oscar? You even work late.”
“Ha, well, I’m the Crown Prince’s aide. And nobles without their own lands have to work hard to make a living.”
“Ah, right.”
It was true—there were nobles with titles but no territory. There were just too many to give each one their own estate.
But I remembered Vincent saying he’d talk to Oscar about my position.
“So, how much am I getting paid? Weekly? Monthly?”
“Uh, well…”
Oscar looked flustered, which made it all the more fun to keep pressing him.
Before I knew it, we’d arrived in front of the Crown Prince’s office.
Sure enough, walking beside Oscar meant no one dared question my maid uniform.
Once we stepped inside, Oscar finally gave me his answer, after some obvious thought.
“Your position is technically an aide to the aide. Meaning, you’re below me.”
“Ohhh—”
“Ah, I mean that only in terms of job hierarchy, of course.
So if we go by standard junior official pay, it would be about this much.
Add in the noble allowance and…”
He wrote down the number 5 and showed it to me. I tilted my head.
“Is that daily pay? Weekly?”
“No, it’s paid monthly.”
“And that 5 means…?”
“Five gold.
You’ll receive five gold per month.
Normally, during a probation period it would be less, but we’re treating you as a regular official from the start.”
“……”
Five gold?
I couldn’t say I completely understood the value of money in this world.
The original Amelia had rarely paid for anything herself, and even in her memories, that hadn’t changed.
Still, I knew this much—
Even if I saved five gold a month for ten months, I’d only have fifty gold. That wasn’t even enough to buy a cheap dress.
The simple dress I’d bought earlier at the Laura Boutique had cost around three hundred gold.
I looked down at the maid’s uniform I was wearing.
Guess I’ll be wearing this for a few months… or years.
Not that I planned on staying in the Crown Prince’s palace that long anyway.
I could feel Oscar looking at me with a curious expression, like he could see my thoughts.
“Why are you staring?”
“Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. You’re thinking how I’ve just realized how spoiled I’ve been, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say that… I just thought you might be realizing how hard life is for commoners like us.”
“That’s basically the same thing.”
“Still, if you wanted, you could spend more. The Wentworth family’s wealth rivals even the royal family’s.”
Then he seemed to realize his mistake and quickly covered his mouth. He’d clearly forgotten that Amelia was rumored to be an illegitimate daughter.
Seeing his awkward guilt made me chuckle.
“Don’t worry. They still gave me an allowance and made sure I never starved.”
“Ah, y-yes. That’s good to hear.”
That might’ve been all they did, but it wasn’t the kind of thing to discuss with Oscar.
