6.
Daniel adjusted the ribbon that had shifted to the side as he answered.
“I have a scar, so I got permission to do this. The others are just copying me.”
“Ohhh… I see.”
Ellie was surprised but easily accepted the explanation. Her ready belief made Daniel rather uneasy. He hadn’t bothered to draw fake scars recently—perhaps he should be more thorough with his disguise for a while.
They had reached the basement. Daniel took Ellie to the servants’ hall. It was a spacious, clean, well-maintained area. Most of the female staff, except the kitchen staff, were already gathered there.
A maid in a bright purple dress waved at Daniel.
“Diana, good morning!”
Despite the friendly greeting, Daniel only nodded slightly without responding. But like the kitchen maids, she wasn’t bothered at all by his curt attitude.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah.”
Daniel lined up beside her. Ellie awkwardly stopped a step away.
Daniel pulled on Ellie’s sleeve—not her arm precisely, but her clothing. It was a very slight tug, but Ellie pretended to yield and stood next to him. Then she looked up at him with eyes that seemed to expect something.
Haah, Daniel let out a deep sigh and began speaking in a voice that conveyed his extreme annoyance.
“Say hello, this is Amanda.”
“He-hello…”
Ellie greeted her awkwardly. So he was serious about helping her adjust.
Daniel clicked his tongue briefly. For his part, he wanted Ellie to make friends with other maids quickly. That way she would bother him less.
“This is Ellie.”
“Ah, the new girl who arrived yesterday!”
Amanda clapped her hands together. At the sound, the maids clustered near the table all turned to look their way. Ellie could see some faces from the reception room yesterday. She lowered her eyes, feeling dejected. What had they been saying about her? She both wanted and didn’t want to know.
Amanda, unable to read the atmosphere, tilted her head. Having arrived at the mansion a few months before Daniel, she was still relatively unspoiled by the world. Her cheerful personality allowed her to get along with everyone without much friction. However, she had heard that her roommate was rather quiet, so they weren’t particularly compatible.
In many ways, she was the perfect person to pair with Ellie. True to form, she continued speaking vivaciously, swaying her body back and forth.
“I heard you two are sharing a room? That’s great, Diana. You’ve got a friend now.”
Daniel curled one corner of his mouth crookedly at her oblivious remark. Great? Thanks to that, he couldn’t sleep properly and was suffering from a headache.
Ellie only managed an awkward smile. After all, just yesterday she had been told to her face that they weren’t friends.
“Hey, ah!”
Just as Amanda was about to say more, the housekeeper, Mrs. Wise, entered the hall. Instantly, the room fell silent, and the maids who had been clustered randomly lined up in perfect formation.
“Is everyone here?”
“Yes.”
The response came from Sarah, the head maid, who stood at the front.
Mrs. Wise glanced at Ellie. Eek, being a temporary employee meant extra scrutiny. Ellie quickly folded her hands in front of her. Fortunately, the gaze shifted away quickly.
The housekeeper continued, scanning the lined-up maids.
“As you all know, the mansion has been receiving frequent visitors lately. Pay special attention to cleaning the central staircase and reception room.”
“Yes.”
Following this brief announcement, weekly schedules were distributed to each person.
Girls who aspire to become house maids often think cleaning is their only duty. Ellie had thought so at first too. But in reality, they had a wide variety of tasks.
It was no exaggeration to say that the mansion couldn’t function without them. Even just lighting a fire in the fireplace required someone to clear away the remaining ashes, wipe away the soot, and then refill it with coal.
The schedules were densely packed with tasks divided into morning, afternoon, and evening shifts. While some tasks were done together daily, others were assigned on a rotating basis. As soon as Ellie received hers, she immediately compared it with Daniel’s.
Daniel crumpled his paper and said curtly.
“What are you looking at?”
Amanda, who was standing nearby, burst out laughing. Ellie’s face turned as red as a carrot. Giggles could be heard from various directions. Daniel felt somehow uncomfortable.
He hadn’t intended to treat Ellie poorly. Having decided to accept her, he had no reason to. He simply wasn’t kind to anyone by nature. Nevertheless, the maids were consistently friendly toward him.
The exact reason was unclear. He had never thought to ask, but he had some idea. Probably due to his impressive letter of introduction and the resulting rumors.
In any case, contributing to the ostracism of a naive person didn’t feel particularly good. Daniel held out his crumpled paper to Ellie.
“Here, look.”
Ellie shook her head. Her tightly pressed lips suggested she was holding back tears. Daniel’s guilt deepened. He smoothed out the paper he had mercilessly crumpled and placed it in Ellie’s hand.
Ellie reluctantly took the schedule and rolled her eyes. Her light green eyes were as clear as spring buds. There was no sign that she was about to cry.
“Ha.”
Daniel, having been unexpectedly deceived, let out a hollow laugh. He wondered who exactly was calling whom naive.
Ellie checked the schedule, pouting her lips. Fortunately, most of their duties overlapped. Though pleased, she decided not to show it. She primly folded the paper in half and returned it to Daniel.
Daniel was beginning to wonder whether Ellie was a bear or a fox. Coming to his senses, he realized he was being thoroughly used. Fetching washing water, picking up clothes.
It felt unfair to just take it. Daniel decided that since things had come to this, he might as well use Ellie Brewer. Thinking about it, there were countless ways to utilize her. He could have her make lots of friends to gather information, or quickly teach her the job to use her as a shield.
Good, having reached this conclusion, he put the note in his pocket.
“Satisfied? Hurry up and follow me.”
“Okay.”
Ellie promptly nodded. Her spirited demeanor further exasperated Daniel. But there was no time for bickering. The house maids rushed out in a group. Each grabbed their necessary tools and hurried to their assigned areas.
The higher the status of the employer, the less they liked servants bustling about in their sight. Yet they still expected every part of the mansion to be constantly gleaming. Therefore, house maids had to diligently run around the entire house according to schedules designed to avoid the owners’ daily routines.
First, before the master’s family woke up, they had to sweep and clean the entrance—the face of the mansion—and the reception room and dining room where guests frequently visited, ensuring not a speck of dust remained visible. Additionally, they had to completely erase all traces from yesterday in the study where the Count might have stayed until late at night, which was the area assigned to the two of them this week.
“This way.”
Daniel led Ellie down the corridor opposite the kitchen. At the end of the corridor stood a magnificent door. Inside the wide-open door, maids who had arrived earlier had already begun cleaning.
As soon as the two stepped into the study, a red-haired maid who was emptying the fireplace whirled around. Upon seeing the late-arriving newcomer, she immediately raised her voice.
“You two!”
Unlike Ellie, who was startled by the shout, Daniel remained calm. The red-haired maid raised her chin and confidently issued a command.
“Go get some coal.”
Ellie was confused by her order. She and Daniel were clearly assigned to “clean the study.” As far as she knew, there must be someone specifically responsible for the fireplace. Probably the very person emptying it now.
Just as Ellie was about to object, Daniel snatched her wrist.
“Got it, let’s go.”
“Huh?”
Daniel practically dragged Ellie out of the study again. While walking ahead and still gripping her wrist, he continued.
“Try to avoid clashing with Betty as much as possible.”
“Was that girl’s name Betty?”
He suddenly stopped walking. Instead of answering, he tossed Ellie’s wrist into the air as if discarding it. Not satisfied with that, he vigorously rubbed his palm on his apron to clean it.
Why is he acting like that after grabbing me himself? Ellie was bewildered, but this wasn’t the time to question it. She hurried to catch up with Daniel, who had started walking ahead again, and asked once more.
“But why?”
“If you’re curious, go try confronting her yourself.”
Daniel, too lazy to explain in detail, responded half-heartedly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
