♛
In the second half, she was engaged to Marquis Eustoma and said, “If I can’t have him, I’d rather destroy him!”
Stella traps Ellex and Radiata.
There were many trials, but the main characters who solved them all ended up with a happy ending, loving each other passionately.
In order to teach them a lesson, the villain Marquis Eustoma was executed, and Stella was confined to the tower.
‘If I were you, I would forget about the married man and find someone new.’
Was it because of the desperate love that makes a person feel helpless to feel love for a certain person?
Since I’d never experienced such desperate love, I couldn’t understand her.
I sighed deeply in frustration. Unlike Nepenthes, even if I tried to recall the novel, I could not understand his dream. I pushed aside the unanswered question and reminded myself of another one.
‘The villains usually make their maids do bad things!’
A wicked woman with high status never moves directly when she tries to poison using black tea, sends a letter with a blade, or harasses the heroine with various methods.
Many maids would move on her behalf. And now that I’ve become Stella’s exclusive maid, I’ll be one of her pawns for that role.
‘It’s a mountain over a mountain…’
If I do what I was told to do, and later I would get caught by the main character and die and I don’t do what I’m told to do, I would die from the villain’s hand for not doing properly the task they’ve given me.
Either way, dying was the same. Couldn’t my fate of being an extra little villain be changed?
I thought I had gained freedom, but somehow I felt like I was back in hell.
I walked with heavy steps. I have no choice but to believe in the magic contract with my heart and hope Grandiel would protect me.
♛
It wasn’t that difficult to find the palace of the princess.
It was deeper inside than the main palace, but when I asked the maids passing by, they kindly informed me and I was able to get there quickly.
As I entered the palace after passing through the well-managed garden, I immediately saw the maid.
The chief maid gathered the maids together in the lobby and was giving instructions to them. When I opened the door and entered, all the eyes of the maids were focused on me.
In a burdensome gaze, I introduced myself by handing a recommendation letter to the maid-in-chief.
“I’m Mayerie Syringa.”
“Hmm…”
I could feel the gaze of the chief maid, looking up and down as if evaluating a product.
She seemed to not like what she was seeing. I guess so…
Since my family was unheard of and was also a viscount lower than that of the allowed standard by the Imperial, I who was nobody entered as an exclusive maid of the Princess. It would be seen as disregarding the princess’ status from the point of view of the chief maid. My face also wasn’t particularly pretty.
“Was it cold?”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
The lobby was so quiet that I could hear all the whispering of the maids behind the maid’s room.
The jumble became a little more intense, so stories such as ‘I have a normal face’ and ‘Doesn’t it have its mansion?’ spread.
But what can I do? Since it was a sad position to be dismissed from the start, I tried to make a good first impression on them with a good smile.
“Erica.”
“Yes, chief maid.”
Among the maids standing behind her, a woman with impressive orange hair like carrots came forward.
“Starting today, you are going to share a room with her. I’ll entrust you with educating this child from the Palace rules.”
“Okay.”
The maid-in-chief led her remaining maids to another place, and only me and Erica were left in the spacious lobby.
The other maids passed by me, showing unfavorable gazes. It felt like I had pushed the wrong button.
Until now, I only handed out a letter of recommendation and greeted them. I smiled and introduced myself again to Erica, who became my roommate to change the mood.
“It’s Mayerie Syringa. I look forward to your kind cooperation.”
However, Erica only looked at me with cold eyes, and there was no self-introduction or poignant greetings returned.
Erica frowned and said overbearingly whether she couldn’t stay in the quiet lobby any longer.
“Follow me.”
It’s not a feeling. It’s just being hated. I’m starting to worry if I could hold out and survive here well, even though I won’t be able to move without Grandiel’s orders.
♛
‘There’s no ribbon.’
I changed into the maid uniform I received, but there was no red ribbon symbolizing the exclusive maid.
Although it varies slightly depending on the family’s tradition, the maid typically wears a brooch given to them by their owners, and the exclusive maid was given a red ribbon.
This was basic common sense enough for me to know without a maid. I tried to tell Erica that I didn’t have a ribbon, but she wasn’t there after I finished changing.
‘Don’t you know?’
The chief maid didn’t tell her that I was an exclusive maid, and just told Erica to educate me. I thought about the red ribbon under the collar of her shirt.
Erica was also an exclusive maid. Now that she was entrusted with educating me, she’ll know I’m an exclusive maid.
‘Was it simple harassment?’
It felt like my blood was turning cold. Was it the problem that I got a job as easy as parachuting? Or was it a rite of passage for recruits?
Whatever the reason, I had to stay admitted or rejected by them.
‘Please don’t spray water or put a tack on my shoes while you pass by.’
However, they wouldn’t think of poisoning my food right? So I could still eat. I decided to think positively. I was exhausted from the first day, because of the difficult journey, but I couldn’t stay like this.
‘There’s nothing easy in the world.’
I know that life doesn’t change dynamically even if I think of my previous life overnight. However, thanks to that memory, it changed the worst future.
And my values have changed as well. A belief that my parents taught me in my past life.
They told me to always think positively because of good things and bad things depending on how I appreciate them.
I think it was thanks to those values, I was able to withstand difficult and painful things in my previous life.
‘My friends just teased me about rationalizing myself, but good things are good.’
I was curious about my death in my previous life, but now this is my reality here in this place. I knew that if I sat down because I was unhappy, nothing would change.
So let’s do what I can. I lightly slapped both of my cheeks and went out into the hallway to cheer up.
“How’s your job?”
Oh, that’s surprising… I was surprised by the voice that I heard without pretending to be unnoticed.
Grandiel, who burst out laughing when he saw me, was outside the window of the hallway on the first floor.
In the form of Nepenthes. He was dressed as a servant with shoulder-length hair tied in a single ponytail, and with long bangs roughly pulled over.
“Diel? Why are you here…”
“I’m here to make sure Miss Mayerie is doing well.”
‘You’ve been here since day one to watch if I’m working properly right? That’s scary.’
I looked at Grandiel with a creepy expression on my face. He had a languid smile with his chin on the window frame.
It was the first floor, but I was inside the building, and Grandiel was outside, so I looked down at him, who was taller than me.
‘It’s nice to look down at someone and feel like a head taller, even if it’s just the mood.’
As I was thinking about it, he whispered in a low voice.
“Was there anything difficult?”
I think it’s going to happen soon. My heart was heavy, but I couldn’t tell him something that didn’t happen yet. I tried to smile and shook my head.
“I just got here and changed into my uniform. I haven’t even seen the princess yet.”
“If anything happens, feel free to tell me.”
Does he worry about me because he’s my employer? It was a reassuring feeling to say that.
“It’s all right.”
The belief that he was on my side made me feel more comfortable. I approached Grandiel’s window with a smile on my face.
Then, almond-colored eyes stared all over my face for a long time. Suddenly I tried to bring out a joke in the quiet atmosphere, but Grandiel’s hand touched my cheek and I stiffened in place.
“Your cheeks are… bright.” (Red)
Grandiel looked up at me with drooping eyebrows, and then he stroked my cheek sadly. I paused for a moment at Grandiel’s sudden attack with his beauty, but soon I came to my senses with a cough.
“Oh, this, it’s because I hit it myself to cheer up.”
“…”
No, why do you look at me like that?
However, Grandiel didn’t respond, he just stared at me. His hand, which carefully stroked my cheek, began to fiddle with my cheeks as if kneading.
‘What. If you touch it because you’re worried, don’t rub it like this. Are you warning me that I have a lot of fat on my cheek? What? Do you want me to lose weight? Or you’re just a pervert…’
I was seriously contemplating why Grandiel touched my cheek, but before I could take any action, his hand fell.
So why did you touch my cheek?
I was in doubt, but when I saw Grandiel laughing, I didn’t think he would answer. I turned the subject around to refresh the atmosphere.
“By the way, was Diel your nickname?”
“…Yes.”
Grandiel, who was briefly lost in thought, replied one beat late.
“Was it okay if I called you that inside the palace? Wouldn’t anyone who knew the Crown Prince notice?”
“It doesn’t matter. No one in the Imperial Palace knows my nickname.”
It feels like I stepped on a landmine. He said it was fine, but the discomfort I felt did not disappear.
Grandiel’s past, which was not described in the novel, seemed far more lonely than I thought. Having been isolated from the imperial palace since his childhood, he must have lived in silence for a long time.
The emperor, who was not interested in his children, even recognized Grandiel as the crown prince just before he died.
‘Did you think about it for a second because you didn’t know your nickname? Maybe I’m the first person to call his nickname.’
I felt sorry for him. I had to reflect on myself as I thought his lonely life was just a plot to highlight the coolness of Ellex.
“Why are you sad?”
It was a strange expression. A face that I couldn’t understand.
It was understandable. From his point of view, a person who he has not met a few times sympathizes with him as if she knows everything, not only his past but also his background.
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