YSGD 6

Chapter 6

“Oh my~”

“What on earth is going on?”

“They say the Duchess Consort has finally met that maid!”

Before anyone realized it, a crowd of servants had gathered around Renée and Katarina, watching the scene unfold.

Irritation surged up inside her. When Katarina snapped her head to the side, a maid who met her gaze flinched and hurriedly lowered her eyes.

Amid the murmuring that stabbed at her ears, a sneer flickered across the lips of a servant standing opposite her.

The enemy of my enemy is my ally, they said.

Because Katarina had behaved so atrociously for so long, the servants of the ducal estate held little affection for her.

Subtly, they had sided with Renée and were openly mocking Katarina—

With unmistakable relish.

Despicable wretches! They wouldn’t dare make a sound to my face, yet now they have the nerve!

Burning with humiliation, Katarina opened her mouth again.

Suppressing the rage boiling inside her, she spoke in a deliberately sweet, affected tone.

“Are you upset because I failed to visit you sooner? I’m sorry. As a maid, I should have sought out my mistress first…”

“Is that so? I wasn’t particularly bothered,” Renée replied calmly. “I wouldn’t mind having someone to talk to. But it would be difficult for you to visit the annex wearing that dress.”

“……”

This time, Katarina couldn’t even retort.

She clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached, fine tremors running through it.

Ignoring her reaction entirely, Renée continued,

“When you come to talk with me, it would be better to wear something more comfortable.”

Renée spoke gently, meeting Katarina’s eyes without wavering.

She looked perfectly kind.

But Katarina knew well the icy blade hidden within those words.

Is she saying I’m dressed above my station?

It wasn’t just a stab—

She was being neatly carved up in front of everyone.

“…Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“When you come, let my maid Betty know beforehand. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”

Just as quietly as she had appeared, Renée departed with an unhurried grace.

Left behind in the lobby were Katarina, trembling in place, and the servants, still whispering as if savoring an excellent spectacle.

Swallowed by humiliation, Katarina stood rooted to the floor, replaying Renée’s words again and again.

My maid? I outrank her. And yet she calls another maid her own!

Then—

“Pfft!”

Clutching only the hem of her dress, Katarina fluttered her long lashes and swallowed dryly.

As she always did, she then shrieked in a sharp, shrill voice.

“Who was that?! Who laughed just now—how dare you!”

At her scream-like cry, the servants who had been exchanging glances quickly scattered, returning to their duties.

But it was clear that from that day on, Katarina’s fearsome standing among the servants had been deeply shaken.

It was after we passed through the lobby, which for some reason had been crowded with people, and reached a quiet corridor in the corner of the first floor.

Betty, who had pretended nothing happened and returned to being her taciturn self, suddenly spoke to me.

“Your Grace, you’re really something else.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t sure before, but now that things have come to this, I’ll just ask outright. Do you truly not know? Or are you pretending not to know?”

“…I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Betty shook her head.

Then, all of a sudden, she burst out laughing.

“Even if you didn’t mean it, that was incredibly satisfying! She’s just a maid herself, yet she bullied the servants endlessly. You have no idea how many maids cried every day because of her!”

She must have been talking about what just happened.

I pondered the woman named Katarina, who had introduced herself as my maid.

My first impression was—

She’s incredibly pretty!

As someone hopelessly weak to good looks, her beauty had definitely struck a chord with me.

Her vivid blue eyes, in particular, were captivating enough to draw anyone’s gaze.

Even the clothes she wore fit her as if they’d been tailored just for her.

Pretty people. I like them.

As a self-proclaimed aesthete, I found it rather pleasing that my maid was so beautiful.

“And she spends half the day dressing herself up like a peacock! Everyone has to help her primp until she’s satisfied, to the point that no other work gets done.”

“A peacock? That’s kind of cute. She does look a bit like one. She was a very flashy beauty.”

“What’s the use of being pretty when her personality’s trash?”

“I don’t really know. She spoke very kindly. She even said she’d like it if I came to visit in comfortable clothes. It’d be a shame if such a pretty outfit got ruined on a dirt path.”

When I tilted my head, Betty let out an extremely deep sigh.

“Well… that way of yours seems to work on her too. Maybe it’s not a bad idea for you to just stay exactly as you are.”

“…? Uh. Thanks… I guess?”

“We’re almost there.”

Still dazed by her blunt evaluation, I followed Betty around the corner.

A massive door adorned with ornate patterns came into view.

Judging by its sheer size, the library must be enormous.

“This is it.”

“Ooh…”

But—

What must once have been gleaming brass was now tinged blue-green with corrosion, bearing the marks of time.

One glance was enough to tell how long this place had been neglected.

“The door… it does open, right?”

“Who knows. I’ve worked at the ducal estate for over ten years, but I’ve never once been inside here.”

That bad?

So this door hadn’t been opened for at least a decade?

Gulp. I swallowed unconsciously, tension creeping in.

“I see. Well, it’s fine. I’ll give it a try. Thanks for guiding me even though you’re busy, Betty. You can go now.”

I’d only asked her to show me the way—what came next was my job.

All right. Let’s do this.

As I resolutely rolled up my sleeves, Betty lingered nearby, fidgeting for some reason.

Huh. That expression again—the same one she’d had when I picked up an axe!

Unable to hold back, Betty suddenly pointed at the heavily rusted door and rattled off in a rush.

“Do you really think you can open that, ma’am? With that delicate body, you’ll only hurt yourself! Look at all that rust! What if you get a cut and catch tetanus?!”

“……”

She was clearly misunderstanding something—badly.

I corrected her in a rather firm voice.

“Betty, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. You seem to think I’m some kind of newborn chick.”

“A baby chick? I thought more like a baby rabbit… but a chick suits you too. All fluffy, like—”

“Betty!”

“Haha! Just kidding. You may look like a baby rabbit or chick, ma’am, but your heart seems quite strong.”

…That was a compliment, right?

Unsure, I narrowed my eyes at her, but instead, Betty smiled as if she found me adorable.

Then, in a somewhat bitter tone, she continued.

“I’ll be honest with you. The truth is, even though the ducal estate is large and everyone’s busy, it’s not that we don’t have enough people to clean the library for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Didn’t you see how many people were crowding around earlier?”

“I thought there were a lot, but the estate is huge.”

“Honestly, ma’am… anyway, I think I misunderstood you too. I was wary of you. But…”

Her eyes were filled with apology.

I smiled gently.

“It’s fine. I didn’t know at all.”

“Even so, judging you and acting on my own like that was a grave mistake as a maid. I’m truly sorry…”

“Most people do that. I probably have my own biases too. So don’t feel too guilty. I’m actually grateful you apologized.”

“…To think I doubted someone so angelic. I’m such a fool! I’ll atone with my life!”

I’d been thinking this for a while, but Betty was surprisingly extreme at times…

Shaking my head, I patted her shoulder.