Chapter 4

After enjoying that brief teatime, Elma eventually broke off the conversation smoothly and exited Juliana’s chamber. As it happened, Lucas and three others accompanied her.

It was a strange turn of events, they had rushed off to rescue the new maidservant who was sure to have made a mistake but had instead happened upon the scene of Elma serving perfect tea and pastries to Lady Juliane, and was then led back to the castle.

The four of them walked silently down the corridor leading to the main castle. This was because the circumstances were so unexpected that the three of them did not know how to bring up the subject.

Irene, who was walking the farthest behind, looked up as if she had thought of something, ran to Elma, and grabbed her arm.

“E… Elma!”

“What is it?”

Elma on the other hand had a deadpan expression.

Irene chokes on her words as the new maidservant stopped and stared back at her, then mumbles an apology.

“I’m sorry about that… today. I had underestimated you.”

“I suppose that’s only natural since we did not do anything to merit recognition.”

“What are you talking about? How many maidservants are there on this continent who can do the work of four people in half a day and make the perfect cup of tea to break the face of the former Consort? Those sweets and Karma were so good that my heart almost stopped.”

She was an intuitive person, and she was quick to attack anyone she doesn’t like, but the beauty of Irene was that she was able to reflect and honestly express her respect with the same swiftness.

She argued, her eyes watery as she increased the strength in the hand clenched on Elma’s arm.

“So you can… be the maid of honor on the same floor from now on, and you can get along… with him!”

However, it didn’t seem to work to the point where she was going to be bad at it. Irene looked away at the end, her face flushed like an apple.

When she tried to secure a friendship with this mysterious girl, leaving aside the Second Prince Lucas, whom she had admired the most, you can see how infatuated she was with Elma.

“Yeah, nice to meet you.”

In the end, Lucas raised one eyebrow and Gelda smiled at Erma, who easily accepted the offer with such a loose reply.

“Oh, and by the way, Elma. You’re very capable!”

Just as the conversation was winding down, Gelda said something like that and clasped her hands together.

“Your language skills and cooking skills are impressive, but what impressed me the most was your insight. It’s amazing how you could see what Lady Juliana liked on the first try.”

“No. I was just asking her directly about her tea and milk preferences.”

“What do you mean? Lady Juliana is a woman who demands cleanliness and decency from her Lady’s Attendants, intelligence from their conversations, and a story more than a taste for her meals. Without even asking, you presented it to her perfectly.”

As expected of a head maid, she seemed to have noticed Elma’s perceptiveness in that area as well as her superb skills.

Lucas listened to her and nodded inwardly “Indeed” he said.

Apparently, this Elma girl seemed to have a different vibe in front of Juliana than she did when he interviewed her.

Clean, gracious, intelligent – in other words, the ideal for Juliana.

‘Is it too much of a stretch to think that… she is manipulating impressions to suit the person or situation?’

For example, she could be disinterested and uncouth in front of a womanizing man, cheerful in front of a potential protector, and nonchalant in front of an honest colleague.

He glanced at the girl, whose thick glasses hid most of her true face, and she was speaking words of unassuming modesty.

Lucas studied her carefully, noticing for the first time that her facial structure was much more defined.

“Hey, don’t say that. I’m really impressed with it. How in the world did you find out what Lady Juliana liked?”

“I was just looking at her face and thinking about it.”

“Oh ho, how can you do that just by looking at her face?”

“That being said, I’d like to introduce you to…”

Curious about the source of Elma’s insight, Gelda persistently asked a series of questions. Then Elma, who had closed her mouth in bewilderment, suddenly remembered and searched in the pocket of her apron.

“Yes, my lady-in-waiting.”

“What do you mean?”

“This one is returned on behalf of Hans the gardener, the boy who works in the garden.”

And so Elma held out a brooch inlaid with an amber-colored gemstone, the same as Gerda’s eyes.

This morning, Gelda gave a compassionate gift to the boy Hans, who was crying because he had no money for his sick mother’s medicine.

“What…? Why are you doing this to yourself–”

“When talking to you, Hans the boy seemed to occupy more personal space than necessary. It’s to create a sense of intimacy. Also, he didn’t look away at all for five seconds as he explained about his mother’s illness, presumably to make sure you believed his lies. In fact, the moment you moistened your eyes, you could see his upper lip lift slightly as if it were being pulled against his cheek. This is a slight expression of contempt.”

A number of other minor signs were found, though, and Elma pushed up the bridge of her glasses.

“I am sure he was trying to swindle you. In the meantime, I have taken back the amount of damage done this morning, if I may be so presumptuous.”

What?

Huh?

What ……?

“You must pay. You must pay compensation.”

“What…?”

The casual prison slang escaped from Elma’s lips.

“What? I’m sure you’ll be able to find a way to make a good impression on me… No, wait, where the hell were you watching from?”

“Fourth floor of the ladies’ quarters.”

“What?”

“What kind of vision do you have?”

There were so many tweaks that Gelda’s eyes were black and white.

Lucas raised his eyebrows slightly in alarm as Irene also started to shout.

“Your depth of knowledge and insight, if you’re a Guru, is something you’d be proud of…”

He was about to say “guard” and then quickly changed it to “Guru”.

“You can’t tell Irene that you grew up in prison.”

It’s not like criminals were educated, but it would still make sense if they were taught by a good Guru, who would be in charge of the guards.

It was a question with that in mind, but Elma easily dismissed it.

“No. The Guru was just a flightless pig. The art of reading facial expressions was something I learned from my [Lazy] father.”

“… pigs? [Lazy] father?”

“No, I’m [Lazy]’s father.”

She seemed to be answering seriously, but he had no idea what she meant.

A bewildered Lucas was about to ask a series of questions when Elma tilted her head.

“– or should I say…”

Her glasses prevented others from seeing clearly, but she looked somewhat troubled herself.

“I’m sure I’m not the only one who can learn how to read facial expressions from an early age, though? If you’re a… prince, shouldn’t you be able to do that much?”

This question was not meant as ridicule, by any means. It was a genuine curiosity.

The three of them opened their mouths at the same time at the questionable tone of her voice.