Chapter 13
Anne barely finished the mountain of dishes, then grabbed a broom and tied on an apron with large pockets.
She walked down the corridor, past the now-dark party hall, sweeping up any trash she saw.
Above the party hall stretched an endless corridor lined with empty guest rooms.
Some of those rooms were surely occupied by resting guests.
Why did I come all the way here? Who do I think I am?
Anne found herself walking halfway down the dim hallway, only to shake her head and try to turn back.
Just then, a door creaked open. Matilda stepped out, tying up her loosened hair ribbon.
“Anne?”
“Oh… hi, Matilda.”
“You’ve been cleaning this whole time?”
“Yeah, I just finished.”
Anne brushed off her apron casually and shrugged. Matilda fell in step beside her.
“……”
Was this hallway always this long? In the deliberate dimness, even their footsteps echoed loudly.
“Do you think I’m disgusting too?”
“No?”
“You can read and write. Anne, you’re aiming for a lady-in-waiting position, aren’t you? You want to rise above being just a maid, right?”
What was she trying to say?
Matilda was the type who always tried to avoid work by making excuses.
Rather than argue, Anne often ended up silently doing the work of two people.
“No matter how kind and diligent you are, no matter how good you are at your job, you’ll never be head maid here. That position always goes to someone related to the butler. So what will you become?”
“Then I’ll just keep living as a maid.”
A literate maid—one who got paid a little better and was treated a bit more decently.
Anne was calm.
Matilda showed her teeth for a moment, then bit her lip hard.
“Want to come with me? Be my attendant at the Count’s side, then go to the remote fiefdom of Clayde with me? I can win the Count over. It’s hard to hire maids or servants out there anyway. I’ll make you head maid and your little brother the butler.”
Did the Count promise Matilda a wife’s place after just one night?
Anne clicked her tongue before she realized it. Matilda’s gaze sharpened immediately.
“Hmph! Anne, I was trying to help you, but you’re throwing away your luck? Just watch. I’ll win the Count’s heart and become his Countess. I won’t end my life scrubbing hallways that people trample through.”
A year from now, you might be torn apart by monsters, with not even a corpse left behind.
Anne, only twenty years old, stood facing a woman weighed down by the filth of the world.
If a half-noble like Gray’s life was precious, then even the life of a materialistic, crude woman who would do anything to get what she wanted was also precious.
“Sis.”
“Yeah? Changed your mind?”
Matilda’s face instantly brightened. Deep down, she was scared of heading off alone to the distant fiefdom. That’s why she had approached gentle, kind Anne with this offer.
“If you ever leave the fiefdom, make sure you go through the northern forest.”
The northern forest was known as the land of the witch—people avoided it like the plague. Rumors said you’d be cursed and die if you entered.
But Anne had read an article after becoming a duchess: someone had fled to that forest during a war and survived.
Most believed nine out of ten died, and that person was just lucky. Still, what mattered was that someone had lived.
“What are you talking about? Why would I leave? Are you hoping something bad happens to me?”
“I’m just saying, if you ever do want to leave—go through the northern forest. The witch might be a rumor, but there are monsters on the other routes. That part is real.”
“Anne! That’s so cruel! I was trying to be nice to you!”
Anne stared at her sincerely.
I tried my best for you.
She always did her best for those within her reach. The rest was up to them.
Ignoring the curses being shouted at her back, Anne turned and walked away.
The next morning, the sun rose, and guests began departing for their own lands. Count Clayde took Matilda with him in his carriage.
“Phew.”
Thank goodness. Though they grumbled, the maids still wished her well on her way out.
“She’ll do fine. She’ll wear nicer clothes, eat better food, and now she’ll be the one giving orders to maids.”
“Exactly. Let’s focus on our own work!”
The maids busied themselves once more.
With the guests gone, they cleaned and organized every corner of the vast, now-empty ducal mansion. Anne was among them.
She swept the attic on the highest floor of the estate.
When a cloud of dust rose, she turned her head away—and there, between the tiny windows, the outside world stretched out clearly before her.
The carriage carrying Matilda was heading down the road, growing smaller as it moved away.
Where would it go? To the Count’s homeland in the west? Or perhaps to their honeymoon destination?
Maybe it wouldn’t end in misfortune after all.
So then, when would she leave this place?
Watching the carriage disappear from view, Anne felt a sudden wave of anxiety.
“Anne!”
Cassie waved and shouted from the window.
“If you’re done cleaning, come down! How long are you going to stand there?”
She must have been staring out the window for a long time. Responding to Cassie’s call, Anne left the attic.
Yeah.
How long am I going to stay here?
It’s time to prepare to leave.
In just over a year, Gray Benton had grown tall and dashing.
He had inherited the striking looks of Duke Hans, who had married into a higher house despite being from a humble baron’s family.
And now, he had passed the entrance test for the Knight Academy. In three months, he would begin attending.
“Wow, he’s already that tall? He’s going to outgrow the young duke soon.”
“And have you seen his face? The butler said he’s even more handsome than the duke was in his youth.”
“His mom must’ve been a beauty too.”
“Well, if she could seduce the duke, she must’ve been stunning. Don’t you think?”
The maids whispered among themselves as they paused with the laundry, glancing toward the training grounds.
“What are you doing over there? Get back to work!”
The head maid’s shout scattered them like birds. Behind her stood Anne, who hadn’t so much as glanced at the training grounds.
“Anne.”
“Yes?”
“Go to the young master’s room. Collect laundry and anything needing repair.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
No matter how she tried to avoid it, the head maid insisted on giving Anne tasks related to Gray—perhaps precisely because Anne showed no interest in him.
One day, Anne had asked offhandedly why she was always assigned to Gray.
“Because you’re the only one not harboring feelings for him. Do you know how many maids are trying to seduce that innocent young master?”
Even in the corner of the servant’s hall, the head maid’s booming voice could fill the whole room.
“But what if he falls for her? He gave her flowers the other day! And Jamie, his attendant, is Anne’s brother too!”
More teasing than jealous, the maids laughed at the comment.
“That’s exactly why she’s trustworthy! Do you know how many maids I’ve seen fall head-over-heels for their masters?”
“Don’t rely on me. Just assign someone else. Whatever happens, it’s not like the young master will suffer for it.”
It didn’t matter whether a maid liked her noble master or not.
Because she had no say in anything.
But a noble who gave in to a moment’s temptation—he could always go back to his place. Even if the maid lost her head over it—literally.
“Anne.”
The head maid’s gaze grew even sharper.
“The madam is very pleased with you. But never show disrespect to a noble. Not even in your thoughts. Young Master Gray bears the Benton name. He is part of the family you must serve with loyalty.”
It was as if all her cynical thoughts had been read aloud.
Because Anne had been mocking and scorning Gray Benton in her heart.
You’ve returned to the same starting point. And again, you look at me with eyes full of affection, like a child wanting love.
Even though Anne was no longer kind or warm to him, Gray still liked her just the same.
But how long would that pure-hearted affection last?
Anne forced the thoughts of Gray out of her mind.
He would be leaving for the Knight Academy soon. She just had to leave this house before then.
Until then, she needed to behave, stay unnoticed, and not stir up trouble with the head maid.
Anne bowed deeply.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Four girls lay in their room, heads poking out from under blankets, chattering.
“Hey, Miena—remember her? She still writes apology letters to the head maid every week.”
“She left so dramatically, and now she’s groveling? Hilarious.”
This late-night chatter was when the juiciest gossip usually came out.
Meals were too public, but just before bed, secrets could be shared.
Sometimes, real news came through.
“Apparently, brokers who supply maids to noble houses are all over the place now.”
“All scammers, I hear.”
“Then what about Matilda?”
“Matilda?”
The conversation suddenly turned in an unexpected direction.
