“My lady, I’ve finished copying the history book you mentioned.”
“So soon?”
“Yes, my lady.”
At Janette’s bright smile, Julieta accepted the copied manuscript with slight disbelief.
Flip.
As she casually turned the pages, she saw them packed tightly with writing.
‘…Her handwriting has become much more presentable?’
At first, it had been as crooked and messy as a child’s scribbles, but after Julieta pointed it out a few times, Janette had corrected it quickly.
Perhaps she was still practicing, because with every new copied manuscript, her penmanship became neater and more refined.
Julieta narrowed her eyes and stared intently at one especially elegant line of text before giving a perfunctory nod.
“Fine. Then next time…”
…Sigh. What should I make her copy next?
With the imperial history book finished, Julieta had run out of “reasonable” books she knew of.
As she pondered for a moment, the row of flowerpots by the window caught her eye.
“…A botanical encyclopedia.”
“Yes?”
“Next time, copy a botanical encyclopedia. If you’re my maid, then you ought to know all about poisonous herbs, medicinal plants, and even plants used for tea leaves, shouldn’t you?”
Just as Julieta began to feel embarrassed by how absurd her own reasoning sounded—
“Indeed, Your Ladyship is absolutely right. Knowing poisonous herbs, medicinal plants, and tea leaves is naturally an essential virtue for a maid.”
“…Exactly. That’s what I meant.”
“Then next time, I’ll copy a botanical encyclopedia. However, I’m not sure which book exactly I should choose…”
“That’s something you should figure out yourself! How long do you expect me to pick out books for you too?”
Well, she did have a point.
‘Then I should focus on botanical encyclopedias related to poisonous herbs, medicinal herbs, and tea leaves. I’ll stop by the library later.’
With that thought, Janette nodded vigorously.
“Yes, understood. I’ll do my best to choose books that would be helpful to you, my lady.”
“Wait. And!”
“Yes?”
Seeing that Janette appeared completely unaffected, Julieta hurriedly added—
“Tomorrow… no, the day after tomorrow!”
“Yes?”
“That’s the deadline. I won’t wait any longer, so keep that in mind. Understood?”
By the day after tomorrow?
Janette quickly calculated the schedule in her head. She didn’t know how thick the botanical encyclopedia would be, but from experience, encyclopedia-type books usually contained an enormous amount of text.
If that was the case…
‘I might have to stay up all night.’
Well, that was fine.
Ever since childhood, she had always been confident in her stamina. Back when she managed that enormous mansion all by herself every single day, she’d slept only three hours a night, yet she had never even caught a common cold.
‘And since coming here, I’ve been sleeping soundly every day.’
Pulling one or two all-nighters 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 silently let out a small laugh.
After work.
Janette headed toward the eastern library.
There were a total of three libraries in Ludwig. One reserved exclusively for the direct members of the Ludwig family, another for servants—
And one that could be used by nobles and guests of Ludwig alike.
The eastern library was the one for nobles.
Although Janette worked at Ludwig as a maid, she was still a noble by status, which granted her access to the eastern library.
“You’ve come again, Miss Maid.”
The one who greeted Janette warmly was a middle-aged librarian with a kind face.
Over the past few days, Janette had visited repeatedly in search of books she needed for copying, and somewhere along the way, the two had become quite close.
“Good evening, Librarian.”
“Oh my, how disappointing. Didn’t we agree you’d call me Mrs. Sinclair?”
“Ah, I forgot for a moment. I’m sorry, Mrs. Sinclair.”
At Janette’s correction, Mrs. Sinclair’s eyes curved pleasantly.
“So, 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. Over there, Section 13.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Sinclair.”
After politely bowing, Janette headed toward Section 13.
“Let’s see. Medicinal herbs first…”
Even though botanical encyclopedias hardly seemed like popular reading material, Section 13 was packed full of plant-related books.
She was deeply focused on searching for the books she wanted when—
Thud.
Janette accidentally bumped into the person beside her and widened her eyes.
“…!”
Suppressing a gasp, she hurriedly bowed.
Since only nobles frequented the eastern library, bumping into someone like this counted as quite a serious breach of etiquette.
“I apologize. I was so focused on looking for books that I failed to notice someone beside me.”
“Hoho. It’s quite alright. These 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 beneath a black tuxedo, complete with a black bow tie around his neck.
That attire was definitely…
“Thank you for your understanding, Head Butler.”
Upon hearing her correct guess, Head Butler William offered her a gentle smile.
“This works out nicely. I had actually wanted to meet you.”
“Pardon? Me?”
“Miss Graham is Lady Julieta’s first maid, after all.”
At the butler’s words, Janette blinked in surprise.
‘Well, that makes sense. The head butler oversees all of Ludwig.’
The head butler’s position stood far above even the chief head maid. Aside from the Grand Duchess herself, he was the person most deeply involved in managing the mansion’s affairs.
And Julieta Ludwig, Janette’s mistress, was publicly known as Ludwig’s resident troublemaker.
As head butler, he likely had many concerns regarding her.
“How is maid work treating you?”
“Since it’s my first time working as a maid, there are naturally many areas where I’m lacking. I’m doing my best not to cause trouble for my lady.”
At Janette’s answer, the butler blinked.
Only briefly, however.
Soon, he burst into hearty laughter.
When he had asked the question, he’d secretly wondered whether Janette might complain about Lady Julieta to him.
As someone devoted to Ludwig, he knew the rumors surrounding Lady Julieta were somewhat exaggerated, but—
‘Even so, she certainly isn’t the easiest person.’
He had worried whether the young new maid was adjusting well.
Yet to think she would respond with such humility and loyalty.
“Head Butler!”
It was only after hearing Mrs. Sinclair’s firm reprimand from afar that he stopped laughing.
Startled, Janette looked back and forth between them.
‘Are the two of them close?’
The butler awkwardly cleared his throat after suppressing his laughter.
“I’ve shown you an embarrassing side of myself. Haha.”
“Not at all. I get scolded often myself. And please, speak comfortably with me, Head Butler. I’m sure there will be many things I’ll need to learn in the future, so I’d appreciate it if you treated me at ease.”
Oh ho?
Head Butler William had to suppress another laugh.
Among the many nobles working within Ludwig, this was the first time anyone had directly told him, “Please speak comfortably with me. I wish to learn from you.”
Given his position within Ludwig, most people naturally felt intimidated by him.
As such, this was the first young person to approach him so warmly.
‘She reminds me so much 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 his daughter.
He was always filled with guilt over it, but kind-hearted Bianca had always told him it was alright and understood his circumstances.
Bianca was around Janette’s age as well.
Thinking of his daughter, he replied warmly,
“Very well. Then I shall speak comfortably.”
“Thank you, Head Butler.”
In the warm atmosphere, the butler glanced at the books in her hands.
“Are you looking for a botanical encyclopedia?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Janette hesitated briefly before adding with a smile,
“I thought studying poisonous herbs, medicinal plants, and tea leaves might help me serve my lady better.”
“Hoho. What a commendable thought.”
Having devoted his entire life to Ludwig, he naturally found himself favorably inclined toward Janette, who was striving her best for Ludwig’s direct bloodline.
Of course, Janette had intentionally answered that way for precisely that reason.
‘Since I’ve already given up on earning Chief Head Maid Nova’s favor.’
She needed to gain favor from someone else, at least. If she wanted to survive long-term in a workplace, it was advantageous to leave a good impression on one’s superiors.
“In that case, how about borrowing one of my books?”
“Your books, Head Butler?”
“Indeed. As it happens, I own several excellent books related to those subjects. If you’d like, come visit my personal office tomorrow.”
Tomorrow, huh…
‘But my lady told me to finish copying everything by the day after tomorrow.’
If she borrowed the book tomorrow, she worried whether she would still be able to finish the copying on time.
But she couldn’t afford to miss such a good opportunity either.
“Though I feel undeserving, I’ll gratefully visit. Thank you very much for the invitation, Head Butler.”
Janette replied brightly and courteously.