Only after passing through the main gate and riding for quite a while did the carriage finally come to a stop.
Before Janette could even open the door herself, a footman came hurrying over from somewhere and opened it for her instead.
“Please be careful, my lady.”
The footman extended an arm toward her.
Caught off guard by such attentive treatment for the first time in her life, Janette hesitated for only a moment.
“Thank you.”
Pretending to be used to it, she lightly took the footman’s arm and stepped down from the carriage. The moment her feet touched the ground, the footman quickly scurried away.
Janette tried her best not to dart her eyes around too obviously.
But even keeping her gaze fixed straight ahead was difficult enough.
The oppressive pressure she felt down her spine was overwhelming. Today was the first time she realized a space itself could feel imposing.
‘Right. This is Ludwig.’
Only then did it truly sink in where she had stepped into.
The only grand ducal house in the Empire, headed by the current emperor’s older brother.
The king of western high society, and the wealthiest among all noble families in the Empire.
Janette straightened her back as much as possible and took a step forward.
“Good. The documents are in order.”
Nova Morgan.
The head maid of Ludwig.
Her family, the Morgan County, had for generations been one of the distinguished houses sworn in loyalty to the imperial family.
Born the eldest daughter of the Morgan family, she had become a maid to the current grand duke back when he was still a prince. After moving to Ludwig, she had even briefly served as nanny to the second prince and third princess.
Backed by years of carefully accumulated experience and the grand duke’s trust, Nova had finally succeeded in securing the position of head maid.
It had been worth dedicating her entire life to Ludwig without ever marrying.
Though it had only been a little over a year since she became head maid, her authority within Ludwig was already considerable.
‘That’s what Theo’s notebook said, anyway.’
The information Janette remembered from the original novel was extremely limited.
Meaning there was barely anything useful for her actual work as a maid.
Compared to that—
‘This is seriously useful. I’m glad I read it beforehand.’
The notebook Theo gave her was incredibly helpful.
Thunk.
Nova stamped the documents Janette had brought with the official seal reserved for the head maid.
“Janette Graham.”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
“From today onward, you will serve as the personal maid of Lady Julieta Ludwig. You are aware of that, correct?”
“Yes. I am aware, Head Maid.”
The notebook had also mentioned that Nova preferred respectful people.
It had even specified that she preferred being called “Head Maid” rather than simply “Maid.”
“Your quarters have been prepared in Lady Julieta’s annex. Unlike the other servants, maids stay together with their masters in the annex. Do you know why?”
“I believe it is so we may attend to the lady from the closest possible distance.”
“Correct.”
Nova answered elegantly.
“Your working hours are from eight in the morning until seven in the evening. However, if the young lady calls for you, you are expected to go to her even outside those hours.”
In other words, she might end up working day and night—but Janette didn’t mind.
Back when she lived with the Graham family, she had pulled all-nighters so often she was sick of them.
“For today, unpack your things and wait in your room. If the young lady summons you, go introduce yourself. If she does not, do not go seeking her out unnecessarily.”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
“Your official duties begin tomorrow. As one of Ludwig’s proud maids, do your utmost to serve the young lady faithfully.”
At Nova’s stern warning, Janette bowed deeply.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Nova stared fixedly at the crown of Janette’s bowed head, and one corner of her lips slowly curled upward.
“And.”
The sharpness in her voice suddenly softened.
“If any problems arise during your work, you may come to me. Despite appearances, I take good care of those beneath me.”
“Yes. Thank you for your consideration, Head Maid.”
At Janette’s polite response, Nova smiled kindly and nodded.
This was normally the moment she would dismiss her.
But instead of telling her to leave, Nova abruptly began touching her own neck.
“My, my. My neck feels strangely bare today.”
As she deliberately brushed her fingers along her neck, Nova checked Janette’s expression.
But Janette merely—
“Hm?”
—blinked her large eyes and tilted her head.
Her innocent expression practically screamed, “Why does your neck feel bare?”
‘Good grief. They sent me an idiot with no sense.’
Most people would have gotten the hint by now and offered at least one piece of jewelry they were wearing.
Or, if not that, at least given some sort of signal like “I’ll repay your kindness.”
Hoo.
Nova let out a faint sigh, one eyebrow twitching irritably.
‘Now that I look at her, she doesn’t even seem to have any money.’
She had expected the child of some wealthy household after seeing the recommendation letter from a frontier count, but Janette’s appearance was utterly shabby.
“Tch.”
Clicking her tongue, Nova widened her eyes sharply.
“Why are you still standing there? We’re finished here, so you may leave.”
“Ah, yes! Then I’ll excuse myself. I look forward to working under you, Head Maid.”
Standing with both hands folded neatly over her abdomen, Janette gave another polite bow before leaving the room.
Bang.
As soon as the door shut, Nova’s face twisted in irritation.
Leaning heavily against the backrest, she idly examined her perfectly manicured nails and muttered,
“Dimwitted, poor, and clueless? Really, that maid suits that princess perfectly.”
No matter how she looked at it, the girl didn’t seem like she had a single coin to squeeze out.
Click, click.
As Nova flicked her nails together, a crooked smile spread across her lips.
‘But it doesn’t matter.’
After all, Janette’s master was none other than Julieta Ludwig.
That ill-tempered villainess!
Once Janette suffered enough under the princess’s difficult personality, the day would surely come when she’d want to beg for help.
And even if it didn’t—
“There are plenty of ways to make someone miserable.”
One of her hobbies—and specialties—was emptying the purses of naïve young girls who entered the Ludwig Grand Ducal House full of dreams and illusions.
She tormented them so thoroughly that eventually they would come seeking help of their own accord.
Of course, she never granted favors to those who came empty-handed.
Nothing in this world was free.
Maids, servants.
Valets and attendants.
No matter how poor a child seemed, desperation always drove people to find money somewhere.
Hmhm.
A pleased little hum escaped through Nova’s twisted smile.
「Nova Morgan – Obsessed with bribes」
Mm. So that part was true too?
After leaving Nova’s room, Janette once again marveled at the notebook’s accuracy.
‘Still, I never expected her to ask for it that blatantly.’
The notebook had only briefly stated, “Obsessed with bribes,” so there was no way to know how openly she would demand them.
Seeing her mutter, “My neck feels so bare,” so shamelessly had made it surprisingly difficult for Janette to keep a straight face.
So what now?
Ordinarily, giving Nova a bribe might not have been a bad idea. There was nothing to lose by getting on the head maid’s good side.
But Janette simply didn’t like the idea.
‘Bribery is bad!’
—It wasn’t because she was that naïve.
Of course, the act itself left a bitter taste in her mouth, but there was another reason that bothered her even more.
Namely—
‘She’s so shameless, she reminds me of the Grahams.’
Baron Graham and his wife. And Simon Graham.
Trying to satisfy their greed by taking money from the weak without lifting a finger themselves—it was exactly like them.
Not that Janette felt any grand, righteous urge to get rid of Nova or anything.
‘But I don’t want to obediently hand over a bribe either.’
Hmm.
After a brief moment of thought, Janette quickly reached her conclusion.
She wouldn’t give one.
Her employment had already been finalized, and dismissing a maid was fundamentally the responsibility of the individual master.
Being fired in the middle of a contract was also uncommon, which meant there was little risk of her actually losing her position.
As long as she wasn’t fired, there wasn’t much to worry about.
The next morning.
The moment dawn broke, Janette sat upright in bed.
She had worried she might not be able to sleep from nervousness over her first day of work, but the soft bed and warm blankets had eased those fears completely.
Honestly, she could count on one hand the number of times she had ever slept this comfortably in her life.
Mmm.
Stretching lazily, Janette stared blankly around the room.
Clean wallpaper and curtains, a fairly large personal wardrobe, and even a sturdy desk and chair.
On top of that, the room itself wasn’t small either.
It took a full eight steps just to walk from the bed to the desk.
“...I can’t believe a room this nice is actually mine.”