Chapter 16
“Miss! Please stop—! Miss!”
“Get out! Get lost! How dare someone like you shamelessly cling to our family!”
Startled, Anne rushed upstairs. There, a woman with a flushed face, clearly drunk, was yanking the hair of a familiar figure.
It was Matilda, the woman who had left the capital at the end of last summer.
Even as the woman cursed at her, Matilda clutched her belly and shouted back with all her might.
“I’m carrying the Count’s child! If anything happens to me, you won’t be safe either!”
“How do we know it’s my father’s? They say in the capital there’s not a single virgin over fifteen! Even if you die, my father won’t bat an eye. Do you know what it means that he left you here?”
Did Count Clayde have a daughter?
Anne dug through her hazy memory and recalled that after the Count died and the young Count succeeded him, there was a young lady who finally got married.
She’d married into a humble southern noble family, yet her nickname, “wild horse,” had traveled all the way to the capital’s social circles and become a subject of ridicule.
It had to be her—Victoria Clayde.
The silver-haired woman now thrashing wildly in front of her must be none other than that Victoria.
“So I can! Beat! You! To death!”
Laughing maniacally, Victoria grabbed Matilda’s hair and shook her back and forth.
The Clayde family’s infamous reputation was clearly upheld by both the Count’s promiscuity and his daughter’s violent antics.
When Victoria raised a wine bottle high in one hand, Matilda shut her eyes tightly in fear, and Anne quickly intervened.
“Miss! Please calm down!”
“And who are you?”
“I’m Anne Ferro, a maid here by recommendation of the Duke of Benton.”
“Anne?”
Victoria’s eyes, glassy with alcohol, turned toward her. Her flushed face was full of heat and irritation.
But Anne had experience dealing with the drunken Gray. She naturally lowered herself and gently took the wine bottle from Victoria’s hand.
“The wine’s all gone. Are you feeling all right?”
She spoke as kindly and submissively as possible.
Victoria flinched at Anne’s polite and modest demeanor, then staggered, unable to keep her balance.
“Anne?”
Matilda called her name softly. Anne glanced back and gave her a subtle signal, then practically carried Victoria away.
“Miss Victoria, where is your room?”
“You… you said you’re from the capital?”
Suddenly, Victoria regained some energy and tried to press down on Anne, but Anne calmly supported her swaying shoulders without complaint.
“I’m a maid serving the Clayde family. Please call me Anne.”
“Hmph. Pretending to be sweet. The capital’s full of conniving foxes.”
“Where is your bedroom?”
Half drunk and half falling asleep, Victoria continued to grumble and lash out, but Anne remained composed. She decided to find an empty room if needed and let Victoria rest there for now.
“Third floor, room at the end on the right.”
A maid suddenly appeared, gave directions, and walked off.
“Thanks for the help!” Anne called after her retreating back.
Struggling with Victoria’s limp body, she finally managed to bring her to the third floor and lay her on a soft bed. Only then did Anne let out a weary sigh.
After making sure Victoria was breathing evenly, Anne helped position her properly on the bed and loosened her tightly cinched corset.
Changing her into nightwear seemed too much, so Anne simply covered her snugly with a blanket and left the room.
“You said you’re from the capital?”
As she exited, a middle-aged woman with a white apron and matching headband stared at her.
Beside her stood an elderly gentleman who bowed courteously.
“I am Patrick, the butler. Pleased to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Anne Ferro. Miss Victoria has just fallen asleep. May we speak elsewhere?”
Patrick nodded with a satisfied look, while the middle-aged woman snorted loudly.
“Putting on airs.”
She didn’t bother hiding her sneer as she spat the words at Anne’s back. Without showing any reaction, Anne silently followed the butler.
“We always need more maids, but rarely do they show up unannounced like this.”
Anne took out her letter of recommendation.
“I assumed advance notice had already been given. I apologize if there was any disruption.”
The middle-aged woman beside her glared at her intensely.
A mere maid acting all prim just because she was from the capital—it disgusted her.
May didn’t like Anne Ferro’s pretty, youthful face one bit.
“A head maid?”
But when the butler read the letter aloud, May’s eyes widened.
A head maid? This young girl?
May was born and raised in Teganes. Her family had worked as maids for generations, and she was the first to rise to head maid.
Though she couldn’t read, it hadn’t been a problem—there weren’t many tasks that required her to.
The estate was efficiently run by the young Count and his aides, and May had long managed the household affairs.
Now she was to be replaced as head maid overnight?
“A recommendation from the Duchess?”
“What about the current head maid?”
Looking troubled, the butler glanced at Anne, who answered sweetly.
“I’m happy to start with regular maid duties. I know I lack experience, and being head maid is a heavy responsibility.”
“You can read?”
“Yes. At the duke’s estate, even maids could access the library, so I studied whenever I had time.”
So humble, yet showing off!
Behind the butler, May glared daggers at Anne.
“The Count is away on an extended trip, and the young lord is out on a monster hunt. They won’t return for at least two weeks. Consider this time as a trial period as a maid. We’ll inform you about the position later.”
“Yes, thank you very much.”
Anne politely thanked both Patrick and May, and returned to the servant quarters to share a room with another maid.
May clucked her tongue and muttered at Anne’s retreating figure.
“Are you really going to let that fresh-faced girl be head maid?”
“How could I ignore a recommendation from the Duchess?”
“You could just pretend you didn’t receive it. The nobles in the distant capital won’t care what happens here. There’s no need for the young lord to be bothered with maid matters.”
“I’d love to, but ignoring the Duke of Benton could backfire badly. Besides, Miss Victoria isn’t even married yet. If we offend the duchy now? Unthinkable. Even if Anne becomes head maid, I’ll make sure your salary remains unaffected.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh come now. You should know better. Anne can read, and the Duchess even stamped her family seal on the letter recommending her for the head maid position.”
“If she’s that favored, why didn’t they keep her at the duchy?”
Watching May grumble, Patrick said sternly,
“If a scandal breaks out here and the Duchess hears of it, do you think the Count will be allowed to continue traveling freely? You don’t want the Count living here permanently, do you?”
If the Duke of Benton cut off invitations to the Count, he might return for good. A horrifying thought.
How a disgrace like him was born in a place like Teganes, famous for its military heroes, was beyond understanding.
Shaking her head, May bit her lip.
“But the maids are my responsibility. Don’t interfere. Understood?”
May turned her back and snapped sharply.
She wasn’t about to let this newcomer push her out so easily.
She bit down on her lip in frustration.
* * *
The Teganes estate was, overall, spacious and comfortable.
It wasn’t as meticulously polished as the Duke of Benton’s estate, but it had few residents and ample space.
Even the servant quarters were decent—two people per room, the same size as Anne’s previous room at the duke’s.
“You said you’re nineteen? Me too. Since we’re the same age, can we drop the formalities?”
A girl who introduced herself as Dona approached her cheerfully.
Since she was the one who had guided Anne to Victoria’s room earlier, Anne quickly warmed up to her. She seemed kind and gentle.
“Sure.”
As soon as Anne agreed, the questions came flying.
“Anne! What’s the capital like? Isn’t it amazing and dazzling? I heard parties are held daily, and even at night the markets are as bright as day. Have you ever seen His Majesty the Emperor? Is he as grand and handsome as they say?”
“I’ve seen the princes from afar. But how many maids are there here?”
One answer, one question. Though tired, Anne still managed to gather quite a bit of information from Dona before falling asleep late.
The size of the estate was about the same as the duke’s, maybe a bit larger, but it operated with just over half the staff.
And with the monster hunt and other events, even that number dropped by half. Parties were almost nonexistent—maybe once a year, if at all.
Usually, only when Count Arthur returned would such events occur.
The frugal and pragmatic young Count had even canceled his own birthday party, saying it wasn’t necessary. Naturally, he didn’t celebrate anyone else’s special day either.
At the Duke of Benton’s, decorations, furniture, and the entire interior would change with every party and season.
In contrast, the Clayde family’s servants spent their year dusting the same tapestries hanging on the walls.
No matter how much they scrubbed and polished, the estate would never shine.
