Chapter 58

Regarding the decorative glasses, I was surprised, but it won’t affect my work in any way.

It’s just that there will be more girls wearing glasses around. I convinced myself of this and walked down the corridor as night fell, bowing to the patrolling guard knight.

I returned to my room as usual, only to find the lights off, and I couldn’t help but flinch and almost closed the door.

Because there stood the head maid of the Inner Palace, holding a lantern, looking dazed. Of course, I was scared, right?!

I should be praised for not screaming. But then again, if there was an intruder, maybe I should have screamed?

Well, the head maid of the Inner Palace is a very slender person who is approaching old age... honestly, she’s as scary as a wax figure in a haunted house!!

“H-Head Maid of the Inner Palace... Did you come all the way here at this hour? It would have been better if you had left the lights on.”

“No, I just arrived... Thank you for your hard work. Is the princess well?”

“Yes, she is fine. ...About the incident today?”

“I am truly sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll make some tea now.”

The head maid of the Inner Palace is a senior and higher-ranking maid than me. However, since we are both head maids, we use polite language as if she were a senior and older woman.

I understand that she came to apologize for Miss Scarlett, but isn’t this too quick? Isn’t she too accustomed to it?

Well, I can imagine because the response of the elderly maid who was supposed to be her supervisor was as smooth as if she had done it many times.

Usually, she would talk about the head maid of the Outer Palace whenever we met, but today she was unusually meek.

“My maid was extremely rude.”

The way she apologized properly shows that she is indeed a capable person.

If I were to complain about the number of people or the fact that the head maid of the princess’s palace is young, I wouldn’t be able to get away with it. Regardless of what I think inside, it’s important to know where to apologize.

However, even if I think that the sooner the better, coming in the middle of the night is not normal, and I’m sure she understands how I feel.

And what she told me was this.

Miss Scarlett returned and was scolded by the head maid of the Inner Palace, who had received a report from the elderly maid.

During the scolding, Miss Scarlett argued that if she, as a marquess’s daughter, had been helped when the Baum family became a branch of the marquess’s family, her father, Marquess Pigeot, would surely notice her, and she should be grateful for that. The head maid of the Inner Palace almost fainted. Well, I can understand that!

Although she had many troublesome traits, it turned out that the head maid of the Inner Palace was a relative of the Pigeot family and had been asked by the lady of the house to watch over the young ladies of the main family. So, she tried to keep Miss Scarlett within her sight as much as possible, but her attempts at correction were ineffective, and she was even looked down upon as an elderly relative.

With this latest incident, she was completely exhausted.

“I might have to resign and take full responsibility at the autumn garden party.”

“Don’t say that. Lord Aldar Saul has no intention of reprimanding you personally, so perhaps you should take advantage of his words...?”

“That’s very kind of him. However, if things continue like this, that girl will surely cause trouble at the autumn garden party. Yes, absolutely. There’s no doubt about it.”

“You don’t have to be so forceful about it!”

Her absolute certainty made me flinch!!

Well, even I, who don’t have much contact with her, can tell that she will cause trouble.

After spilling out some complaints and apologizing several times, the head maid of the Inner Palace, who had finished her tea, looked as if she had suddenly aged.

It seems that Miss Scarlett, being the youngest and with her beautiful appearance, was doted on by her parents, older brothers, and sisters. With such beauty, she wouldn’t have trouble getting married, and if she learned proper manners, some noble family would surely accept her. They were optimistic about it.

Being the youngest, she was taught the general manners of a noble, but her parents didn’t use her for any particular purpose, and even if she married a noble, it wouldn’t be to a prominent family. They raised her with the idea that being happy was fine, even if she married a commoner.

However, Miss Scarlett was different.

The Pigeot family is known for having many children, and it seems that a few outstanding individuals are born every few generations. Well, if you have 5-7 children per generation, it’s not surprising that one of them might stand out after a few generations. Still, I think it’s on the high side... Anyway, Miss Scarlett believed that she was one of those outstanding individuals who would leave a mark.

But she wasn’t particularly good at studies from a young age, didn’t have strong magical power, lacked talent in cooking and sewing, was bad at sports, and was just average at dancing. In short, she was ordinary except for her appearance.

She kept insisting that her talent would bloom someday, and the people around her, thinking she would eventually see reality, ignored her, which led to her becoming the problem child she is now.

In other words, she became a problem child for a reason.

She was taught only the minimum noble etiquette because they thought she wouldn’t use much of it, and she didn’t know how to be considerate of others socially. She only had the pride of being from a marquess’s family.

She mistakenly believed that her assertive behavior was suitable for a high-ranking person and, although she realized it was wrong, she couldn’t change it now. She was an awkward and misguided girl.

Yeah, isn’t that problematic?

“However, I never thought that after serving as a maid for a few years, she would be so foolish as not to know the position of the Baum family. I can no longer protect her... This incident will be a disgrace to the Inner Palace, and I intend to discuss it with the chief maid and put her under probation for the autumn garden party.”

“Did you tell her about the Baum family?”

“Yes, that they are a palace baron. To not consider why such an ancient and loyal family remains a baron and to behave in such a manner... I have reported this to the marquess’s family as well. Even if Lord Aldar Saul has no intention of reprimanding her, what she did in the public square, both as a lady and as a servant, is unforgivable.”

I wondered if she even understood what a palace baron was.

I couldn’t help but think about such fundamental things, but I also thought it wasn’t my place to say anything, so I drank my tea to cover it up.

Hmm, is this reasonable? I’ve accepted and sent off several maid apprentices before (those who retired early, those who decided to work elsewhere after gaining experience as a maid, etc.), but I’ve never had such a troublesome one. But considering how much trouble she causes, maybe it’s inevitable.

“How much does the chief maid know?”

“Most likely, she knows almost everything. That I was protecting her, that I was using my position as head maid to cover for her. I am also not excused.”

“...Why are you telling me all this?”

Well, I was curious, so I learned a lot about Miss Scarlett.

It was just a matter of saying, “My maid was rude, I’m sorry,” and that would have been it.

If I were angry about how she was raised, that would be one thing, but if I accepted the apology, that would be the end of it.

Maybe she just wanted to complain, and I was at fault for drinking tea with her so casually.

She clearly intended to involve me.

“Can you come with me as a witness to the chief maid’s office?”

“Do you intend to trouble the busy chief maid during the autumn garden party?”

Yes, yes, here it comes!

I tried to say indirectly, “That old lady is scary, I don’t want to go,” but it seems the head maid of the Inner Palace has no intention of backing down. If I were to push back, I would remember that this person has helped me a lot in the past...

Yes, I was an apprentice, and she was a maid even then, not yet a head maid, but she was involved in training juniors, and I learned etiquette from her. I didn’t work in the Inner Palace for very long, though.

After the incident with Lady Primera, I worked in the Inner Palace for a while, then moved to the Harem, and finally to the Princess’s Palace... Ah, thinking about it, my career is quite impressive!

“...I have no choice. I was helped a lot when I was an apprentice.”

“I’m relieved to hear that. ...Time flies, it’s been more than ten years since you came to the castle as a noble apprentice.”

“Yes, it really does.”

I’ve been working at the castle, and Lady Primera was born.

We’ve been working together ever since. Well, saying we’ve been working together might be a bit misleading.

But as a maid, I’ve been there for her like a sister or a mother!

Lady Primera thinks of me that way too, calling me “Mother Yuria” so cutely!!

She’s still a naive child now, but Lady Primera will go through adolescence and the rebellious phase.

Oh, what will I do if that happens?

No, I don’t have time to worry about that. Adolescence is bound to come!

I will overcome it, because I am Lady Primera’s maid!!

But before that,

I have to go to the scary, terrifying chief maid’s office...

Really, I’m already dreading the autumn garden party!

It’s not my fault, but I feel like I’m going to be scolded by a teacher... No, it’s exactly that!

“...Do I really have to go to the Inner Palace...?”

“I’m scared to go alone too! Please come with me!”

“...I guess so...”

I already feel like crying!