Special Side Story 1: Extra. Marie’s Diary (1)
Imperial Calendar XXX Year, XX Month, XX Day – Weather: Ordinary
My name is Marie.
Starting today, I have become a maid in the Elient family.
This is my first time doing maid work, but I’m lucky.
The senior maids said that compared to other noble families, the Elients pay well and have decent benefits.
However, both the lady of the house and the young mistress are sensitive, so I need to be careful.
Would a lowly maid like me even have a chance to meet the lady or the young mistress?
More than that, I heard that if I fall out of favor with the head maid, I won’t even get a recommendation letter and could be dismissed—just thinking about it makes me nervous.
I hope I can stay in the head maid’s good graces and work here for a long time.
P.S. I saw the young mistress from afar, and she’s incredibly beautiful. I’ve never seen anyone so pretty. How can someone be so white and sparkling?
I guess nobles really are different from people like us.
Imperial Calendar XXX Year, XX Month, XX Day – Weather: Can’t remember
The lady of the house passed away.
My heart is still pounding.
Today was strange from the morning.
As I was cleaning the hall as usual, the head maid was keeping watch over the young mistress. She hurried into the lady’s room, saying to prepare water when she wakes.
The maid who usually stays close to the young mistress isn’t a lowly maid like me, so maybe the head maid got confused.
I’ve never seen the young mistress up close, but I know she’s terrifying. Many people have been dismissed for just one word from her.
The young mistress is scary, but the head maid is also scary, and I couldn’t help but shed a few tears.
Dragging my heavy feet, I went to the young mistress’s room, only to find she was already awake.
Her green eyes looked at me, and I thought my heart would sink right out of my chest.
After that… I don’t remember anything. I don’t even know when I started hiccuping.
When I came to, the other maids were entering the young mistress’s room.
I was trembling, thinking I might be dismissed, when I was told the lady had passed away.
Even now, while writing this diary, my hands and feet are shaking.
I’m so, so scared. What’s going to happen now?
P.S. I think the young mistress told me to do something about my hiccups, but I can’t remember.
Will she tell me if I ask next time?
I’m scared, but also curious.
Imperial Calendar XXX Year, XX Month, XX Day – Weather: Sparkling yet somehow sad clear skies
The lady’s funeral was held.
I was running around all day and didn’t have a moment to myself.
I overheard people whispering at the funeral.
“She’s still so young…”
How cruel.
P.S. I secretly kicked the wheel of the carriage of the noble who said the worst things. It felt good to release my frustration a little.
I hope they didn’t notice.
I’m a little worried.
Imperial Calendar XXX Year, XX Month, XX Day – Weather: Cloudy then clear
The head maid was fired!
She had been tormenting Master Lant. Unbelievable!
The young mistress was furious.
Not only the head maid, but also the maids and servants who had been helping her torment Master Lant were all dismissed.
The mansion suddenly felt empty.
Everyone was trembling, thinking we might be dismissed too, but the young mistress called all the household staff together and said that as long as we hadn’t tormented Master Lant, she would overlook it this one time.
I had never tormented Master Lant, but with the tense atmosphere in the mansion, I was a little worried. I’m so relieved.
She even gave the remaining staff a monetary reward for all our hard work and asked us to continue taking care of her!
Wow… this is the legendary “gold envelope”!
Long live the young mistress!
P.S. The senior maids said, “She’s not the head maid anymore. She’s just ‘that lady’ now!”
The wicked woman, as she was dismissed, hurled curses at our young mistress.
She didn’t just torment the young master—she cursed the young mistress too!
I hope she stubbed her little toe on a rock while walking.
Imperial Calendar XXX Year, XX Month, XX Day – Weather: Completely clear
I am a maid of the Elient family. Heeheeheehee.
I was originally a lowly maid doing menial work, but now I am a proud maid serving the Elients. (Ahem!)
Four years ago, many maids were dismissed all at once. Thanks to that, I was promoted to a maid serving the young mistress. (Ah, I can’t believe I’m using such fancy words!)
Some people say our young mistress is difficult, but absolutely not!
Our Biyonne-sama is the epitome of a noble young lady! She’s beautiful and never mistreats the household servants, even lowly ones like me.
Of course, she scolds us thoroughly when we do something wrong, but unlike other noble young ladies, she doesn’t yell or hit anyone. She’s an exemplary young lady.
From what I hear from friends working in other noble houses, many noblewomen beat and mistreat their maids. Countless maids have ruined their lives working in such households.
A newly arrived maid told me that in her previous house, the mistress would lash out at the staff whenever she was in a bad mood, and the servants had such bad habits that she couldn’t endure it any longer and left.
She was lucky to come to the Elients through someone’s introduction and is extremely happy.
The Elients are wonderful—not just the young mistress, but the master of the house and the young master too.
I feel really lucky.
P.S. The young mistress ordered new shoes. Usually, she hates high heels, but today she insisted the heels be extremely high and the toes pointed. She’s acting strange today.
Imperial Calendar XXX Year, XX Month, XX Day – Weather: Sunny
Master Lant’s cheeks are red again today.
Pulling on Master Lant’s cheeks is one of our young mistress’s hobbies. She finds all kinds of reasons to pinch his cheeks every day.
According to her, it’s because Master Lant speaks in a “swallow-like tone.” I asked what a swallow is, and she said it’s a bad man who charms rich women and steals their money.
How can such men exist in the world!
Fortunately, swallows don’t exist in the Empire.
Our young mistress is the smartest person in the world. She knows things that don’t even exist in the Empire. Even the scholars who teach Master Lant admired her extensive knowledge (I just learned that word today—I had to use it! Heehee!). I felt proud as if I had been praised myself.
P.S. I still don’t know why the word “older sister” sounds like a swallow’s tone. Other nobles use it too. The young mistress must be clever and know some other meaning I don’t.
(Actually, sometimes I secretly want to pinch Master Lant’s cheeks myself. This is a forbidden thought, but it’s a secret!)
Imperial Calendar XXX Year, XX Month, XX Day – Weather: Sweet
Once again, flowers came from the Imperial Palace to the young mistress today. Precious Leisha flowers.
Leisha flowers are so rare that commoners like me might never even see them in our entire lives. Thanks to the young mistress, I get to see, touch, and smell their sweet fragrance every day.
Not only that, but I’m currently eating jam made from these rare flowers!
Even though they’re precious, a bunch arrives every day, so decorating her room has its limits. We can’t just throw away flowers from the palace when they start to wilt. When the maids were troubled, the young mistress said to make jam out of them.
Leisha flowers are edible, rich in nectar, delicious, and excellent for skin beauty. They’re especially good for women, she said.
But Leisha flowers symbolize the Crown Princess. It’s rare for maids like us to touch them, let alone make jam!
When we hesitated, the young mistress said she had the Emperor’s permission, so we could make jam without worry.
Our young mistress is truly amazing!!!
P.S. For the past few days, huge carriages from the Imperial Palace have been delivering tons of flowers—pansies, roses, chrysanthemums, and more—all edible. The Emperor really is different from commoners like us.
Imperial Calendar XXX Year, XX Month, XX Day – Weather: Cloudy
I feel gloomy.
I haven’t been able to attend the young mistress for a week already.
Our young mistress doesn’t have a dedicated maid. Instead, the maids of the house take turns attending her.
Unless the young mistress designates someone, the maid who will serve her is decided every morning by drawing lots. This rule was made after maids fought to serve her and got scolded by the steward.
For a week, I’ve had nothing but bad luck. Why am I so unlucky?
Today, I also lost the lottery for serving Master Lant. I feel like crying.
I hope tomorrow I can finally serve the young mistress.
P.S. Moon, please let me succeed in tomorrow’s lottery! Please!
