It had already been four days since I started working as Cecilia’s attendant maid.
From what I’d experienced so far, Cecilia was actually a fairly easy young lady to serve.
She might be prickly, but it wasn’t as though she were truly cruel.
You could tell just from the fact that she didn’t restrict my freedom much.
Honestly, if she really wanted to completely silence me, the most effective thing would’ve been to keep me glued to her side at all times.
“You live alone with your mother?”
“Yes. I feel uneasy leaving her by herself…”
“I suppose it can’t be helped. Fine.”
Cecilia had readily allowed me to commute from home.
To be honest, life in the annex was much easier.
Back in the main mansion, I’d been trapped in an endless hell of cleaning forever.
Now all I had to do was quietly stay by Cecilia’s side and occasionally run small errands.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen the ducal family even once.’
At first I’d worried about what would happen if I ran into them.
But over these past four days, neither the duke and duchess nor the young duke had shown even the tip of their noses.
I hadn’t even seen any messages sent to Cecilia.
‘Well, that’s fortunate for me.’
It was better not to encounter the ducal family if possible.
And honestly speaking, even if I did meet them, it probably wouldn’t become a huge problem.
Sure, I had the blonde hair and green eyes that supposedly marked the real daughter.
‘But would they really believe I’m their actual daughter just from that?’
There was a reason I was so confident about this.
Very rarely, children born into House Lucerte awakened a special supernatural ability.
The reason the original Milena had immediately been accepted as the real daughter was because she awakened that power.
Which meant—
‘If I haven’t awakened the ability, there’s no way they’d ever recognize me.’
And currently, there wasn’t even the slightest sign of me awakening any supernatural powers.
So realistically, there was nothing to worry about at all.
All I had to do was endure a few more days like this and safely part ways with the Lucerte family…
‘Seriously, why do I keep worrying about Cecilia?’
I stopped arranging the flowers in the vase and turned my head.
In the distance, Cecilia sat all alone.
Her turquoise eyes stared absentmindedly out the window.
‘She’s probably waiting for her family.’
Every day, Cecilia would glance toward the closed door as though checking whether someone might come.
And every morning, she’d ask me, “Any news today?”
But there was never any news.
Nor anyone searching for her.
“Miss.”
Unable to watch anymore, I spoke up.
“How about going for a short walk?”
“A walk?”
“Yes. Getting some fresh air will make you feel much better.”
I spoke brightly.
Cecilia still looked somewhat reluctant, but she didn’t reject my suggestion.
“It’s still chilly out. Please wear a shawl.”
I draped a large wool shawl around Cecilia’s shoulders.
After wrapping it snugly around her neck so the cold wind couldn’t reach her—
I smiled warmly.
“Let’s go.”
Cecilia lowered her gaze slightly to the shawl I’d wrapped around her.
For the first time, a faint smile spread across her usually expressionless pretty face.
“...Alright. Let’s go.”
Although it was still chilly since it was early spring,
the flowers had begun blooming one by one.
Cecilia and I walked along the quiet trail, sometimes ahead of each other, sometimes behind.
‘Mm, it really was a good idea to come out.’
Watching Cecilia’s expression from the corner of my eye, I nodded in satisfaction.
The stiffness around her lips had softened noticeably.
See? People need to walk around and breathe fresh air every now and then.
“Milena.”
“Yes, Miss?”
Fixing her gaze on the bright yellow forsythia bushes, Cecilia asked quietly,
“You said you live alone with your mother, right? Isn’t it difficult?”
“Hmm? Not really?”
I tilted my head.
Her turquoise eyes flicked toward me.
“But you’re still working this hard even now.”
A dark shadow crossed her pale face.
“I know. I…”
Cecilia trailed off for a moment before finishing in a sigh-like voice.
“...I’m not exactly an easy person to serve.”
Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?
Carefully reading the mood, I answered cautiously.
“I think you might be misunderstanding something. Serving you is much easier for me, Miss.”
“Easier?”
Cecilia stared at me with wide rabbit-like eyes.
What? Why is she so shocked?
I became a little bewildered.
“Of course. I don’t have to scrub staircases or mop floors anymore, right? Mostly I just stay by your side and chat with you occasionally.”
“B-But my personality…”
“What’s wrong with your personality? I think you’re already very gentle.”
I wasn’t just flattering her.
Honestly, I really did find Cecilia easy to be around.
Why did she think so negatively about herself?
Meanwhile, after hearing my answer, Cecilia suddenly turned her head away with a huffy expression.
“Forget it. Just continue what you were saying earlier.”
She really does get embarrassed easily. Kind of cute.
I forcibly held back the laughter threatening to escape.
“You asked whether things were hard for me, right? Not at all. Honestly, I just want to repay my mother’s kindness.”
“Kindness?”
“Yes. My mother went through so much hardship raising me even though I’m not her biological daughter.”
At that, Cecilia perked up immediately.
“Hm? She’s not your real mother?”
Well, it wasn’t exactly a secret.
Everyone around town already knew.
I shrugged and answered casually.
“Yep. Apparently she found me abandoned in the mountains by chance.”
“I see…”
Cecilia fell into deep thought.
And then—
“Miss.”
A cold voice called out to Cecilia.
At the same time, Cecilia’s shoulders stiffened sharply as though she’d been struck by a whip.
‘Who?’
I turned toward the voice.
A middle-aged noblewoman stood there with perfectly straight posture, staring this way.
Her brown hair, streaked lightly with gray, was pinned up so meticulously that not a single strand had escaped.
And her expressionless face gave off a strict, severe impression.
Cecilia called out shakily,
“N-Nanny.”
…That person is Cecilia’s nanny?
Instantly, my head went cold as though doused in ice water.
The nanny who had raised the Lucerte siblings since childhood.
Madam Howard.
The very person responsible for abusing Cecilia in the original story.
“Always remember the grace the ducal family has bestowed upon you.”
“How long do you intend to continue disappointing your family?”
“If you were the true young lady, you would’ve shown a far more perfect image.”
While constantly berating Cecilia like that, she had doted solely on Young Duke Elias.
Then, once the real daughter Milena appeared, Madam Howard discarded Cecilia like a worn-out shoe.
Afterward, she treasured only Milena instead.
“Were you out for a walk, Miss?”
Madam Howard strode toward Cecilia.
I could see Cecilia—who always held herself upright—shrink reflexively.
“Ah, well… I was feeling a bit stifled…”
“So in other words, you were simply wasting time?”
Madam Howard looked Cecilia up and down with disapproval before speaking coldly.
“Well. That hardly seems like appropriate behavior for a dignified young lady.”
Excuse me, what nonsense is she talking about?
I stared in disbelief.
The whole reason the Lucerte family came here was supposedly for a vacation in the first place!
‘Wow, I really can’t control my expression right now.’
Whenever scenes like this appeared in the original novel, I’d felt so frustrated it was like swallowing a million sweet potatoes whole.
But hearing this manipulative garbage in person…
It’s seriously infuriating?!
Meanwhile, sensing my gaze, Madam Howard turned toward me.
And just as her eyes narrowed—
“Um, what about Mother and Father?”
Cecilia gathered her courage and asked.
At that, Madam Howard clicked her tongue softly.
That was definitely a tongue click, wasn’t it? Right?!