The next day.
A baggage wagon piled high with cargo came to a stop in front of Julieta’s annex.
“These items have arrived for Miss Janette Graham.”
At the coachman and porters’ words, the servants of the annex looked troubled.
“What should we do? The lady’s maid stepped out for a moment.”
“Should we… report it to the young duchess?”
“Well… these are personal deliveries, so reporting them feels a bit…”
Ordinarily, there was no need to report a servant’s personal belongings to their master.
But this was the first time the quantity had been this enormous.
Moreover, most of the things loaded onto the wagon were rare accessories, jewels, and dresses.
The servants and maids stood there awkwardly, hesitant even to touch the cargo, when—
“What’s going on? Why are you all gathered here?”
“S-Sien.”
The one who appeared with imposing confidence was Sien.
Crossing her arms haughtily as if showing off, she gaped at the wagon full of valuables.
“What is all this?”
“These are all items delivered for Miss Janette Graham. Where should we move them?”
“What? Those things are for that wom—, I mean, for the maid?”
No way.
Expensive things like these had arrived for that shabby, foolish maid?
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t believe it.
‘Something’s strange.’
Sien stared intently at the wagon before letting out a short sigh.
“I get it now. These aren’t for Maid Janette. They must be gifts meant for the young duchess.”
“Pardon? But it clearly says Janette Graham—”
“Trust me! Janette serves Young Duchess Julieta, right? I’ve heard that sometimes, for the sake of anonymity, people put the maid’s name in place of the actual recipient.”
“But still…”
“I’m telling you, I’m right.”
Otherwise, there was no explanation.
“I’ll personally ask the young duchess to inspect them later, so for now, please move everything into the room at the back of the first floor.”
Sien’s confident attitude made the coachman and porters hesitate.
The name written on the recipient line was clearly “Janette Graham,” but faced with someone insisting so boldly, they began to doubt themselves.
Besides, the other servants were merely nodding along to Sien’s words without objecting…
In truth, this was the result of Sien constantly throwing her weight around whenever she was among the servants.
“You know, that new maid is nothing special. The young duchess doesn’t even like her, so she might get kicked out any day now.”
“I’m more of a real maid than she is. The young duchess cherishes me more!”
“You don’t have to treat her like she’s important. Just because she’s a noble doesn’t mean all nobles are the same.”
Even before the new maid arrived, Sien had been the maid kept closest to the young duchess.
Since the words came from her, no one could easily dismiss them.
“Come on now, hurry and move everything into the inner room. I’ll check things briefly and then inform the young duchess.”
After agonizing over it again and again, the coachman and porters finally decided to follow Sien’s instructions.
After all, they couldn’t stand blocking the entrance forever.
And so, once all the luggage had been moved into the inner room on the first floor—
“Wasn’t there a separate inventory list?”
“No. There wasn’t anything like that.”
Hmm.
Sien let out a small hum, her eyes gleaming.
‘So there’s no inventory list?’
“You all worked hard. I’ll explain things properly to the young duchess, so you may leave now.”
“Yes. Then we’ll leave it in your hands.”
“Of course. You can trust me. I’m the person the young duchess cherishes most.”
Once the porters and all the workers had left the room—
Sien slowly surveyed the room piled high with goods.
“Now then.”
Muttering to herself, she approached a jewelry case, and a sparkling yellow gem caught her eye.
‘What’s this?’
Whatever it was, it certainly looked expensive. After glancing around cautiously, Sien slowly reached out toward the jewel.
‘There’s so much here. Who’d notice if just one disappeared?’
Sien already knew the answer. While serving as Julieta’s maid, she had gradually siphoned things away here and there, earning herself quite a tidy sum.
There had been moments when she almost got caught, but she always managed to handle things cleverly on her own.
In the end, as long as the young duchess never found out, that was all that mattered.
Letting out a quiet laugh, Sien slipped the gem into her pocket and left the room.
At the same time—
Unaware of the identity of the gifts that had arrived for her, Janette headed toward the main mansion. She was keeping the promise she had made yesterday with the head butler.
“Thank you for inviting me, Head Butler.”
“Hoho. No, thank you for accepting the invitation, Lady Graham. Come, have a seat over here.”
Janette sat in the chair William indicated and lightly glanced around.
His office resembled William himself. The mahogany desk and camel-colored curtains.
Even the flowerpots placed here and there.
“It’s a lovely place.”
“I’m glad you think so. I’m quite fond of it myself.”
With a voice tinged with pride, he brought over a teapot.
Startled, Janette quickly rose from her seat to take the teapot from him, but William stopped her with a gesture.
“I’m the host here, and you’re the guest, aren’t you? Serving tea is my role.”
At his firm words, Janette merely nodded and sat back down instead of arguing.
“Besides, to be honest, I quite enjoy serving tea to guests.”
Unfortunately, there are hardly any guests who visit.
At the playful addition, Janette smiled.
“Then I’ll come visit from time to time.”
“Hoho. Then I’d be delighted. Later, you should visit my estate as well. I’ll introduce you to my daughter. I’m sure she’ll like you very much.”
“Your daughter… Miss Bianca Vanelotti?”
“My, I didn’t expect you to know my daughter’s name.”
“Some time ago, the young duchess told me to memori—, to familiarize myself with the roster of western nobles. That’s when I saw it.”
“Young Duchess Julieta did?”
Oh? Now that’s unexpected.
‘To think the young duchess has been making efforts in secret.’
Ludwig was the most powerful noble house in the western region.
Its influence was second only to the imperial family itself, to the point that one could practically say the entire western social circle revolved around House Ludwig.
That was also why the current grand duchess wielded such tremendous power in high society.
As a direct member of such a family, being familiar with the western nobles was considered one of the essential accomplishments.
But Lady Julieta—
“Why do I need to know any of that? Aren’t they all people who should be bowing to me anyway?”
That had been her response, and she had never shown the slightest interest in learning about other noble families.
‘And yet, for that same young duchess to tell her maid to study the noble roster.’
There was no doubt that gaining a maid had somehow become a positive influence on her.
“It truly is fortunate that Lady Graham became the young duchess’s maid.”
“Th-thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
Caught off guard by the sudden praise, Janette answered awkwardly.
Being praised was completely unfamiliar to her. Praise from an elder like the head butler was even more so.
Perhaps this, too, stemmed from her memories of the Graham family.
“You useless thing! All you do is waste food!”
“We should never have brought someone like you here.”
Those were the only kinds of words she had ever heard from adults.
“Now then, have a drink.”
A fragrant aroma drifted over those bitter memories.
The tea in the delicate teacup was, surprisingly, a pale sky-blue color.
“The color is fascinating.”
“Isn’t it? The tea leaves came from the North, so they’re not something you can easily find in the West.”
Tea leaves from the North?
Janette’s eyes sparkled as she picked up the teacup.
“So they have tea like this in the North? Even when I lived near there, I don’t think I ever tried it.”
“Near the North, you say…”
William trailed off there. He had recalled the period when Janette lived near the northern region.
‘The Ashlaid War.’
He was well aware that Janette was a war orphan born from that conflict.
After all, investigating the backgrounds of those who worked for House Ludwig was only natural.
Ashlaid had been a territory in the northwestern part of the Empire, closer to the North than anywhere else.
Because of that, the northern regions had suffered the greatest damage. Janette was one of those victims.
Glancing sideways at the speechless William, Janette did not offer him a reassuring “It’s all right.” Instead, she quietly took a sip of tea.
A warm, comforting fragrance seeped deep into her body.
It was a scent that felt strangely nostalgic.
“It’s really delicious. Thank you for introducing me to such wonderful tea.”
Reading the thoughtfulness behind Janette’s consideration, William smiled and nodded.