Chapter 17
“By myself?”
Anne unintentionally repeated the words when she was told to clean the annex.
“Of course by yourself. Do you think we clean together? We all have our own sections to clean. Do maids in the capital just polish cups or something?”
At the end of every sentence, the head maid May added a jab about “the capital,” her gaze brimming with hostility toward Anne.
“…Whew.”
Anne, who rarely showed irritation no matter how hard the work, felt a vein throb on her forehead.
“Anne—let’s clean after lunch!”
Donna came in through the annex door.
Anne turned around and frowned unconsciously.
“I just cleaned that floor.”
“Sorry, Anne. Don’t take it so seriously. It’s not like anyone uses this place anyway.”
At those words, Anne tossed her rag to the floor.
Was this just the head maid picking on the newbie?
It hadn’t happened at the Benton Duke’s household, but she’d heard plenty of stories from other maids at other places. There were awful people everywhere.
When Anne entered the lounge connected to the servants’ quarters, all eyes turned to her.
Inside, a few maids and attendants were gathered in small groups, eating lunch.
“Oh, is this the young lady from the capital?”
“I heard she came with a recommendation from the Duchess of Benton.”
“Wow—hello!”
Some greeted her with exaggerated enthusiasm. Anne gave a polite bow and sat with Donna at a corner table.
“Very popular, aren’t you? Must be nice.”
“If she’s so amazing, why didn’t she just stay in the capital? Got kicked out for screwing up, maybe?”
The snickering and barbed comments from the other employees echoed loudly enough.
Those welcoming Anne were half-curious, while the rest eyed her with wariness and jealousy. Ignoring them, Anne quietly took a bite of her sandwich with Donna.
“You finish cleaning the villa?”
“Not yet.”
May had appeared at some point and slammed a hand on Anne’s table.
“You can eat with work still unfinished? Is this what they teach at the capital? At the Benton household?”
“I’ll go finish it now.”
Putting down her sandwich, Anne stood immediately.
“Head Maid, why are you being so harsh? The annex hasn’t been cleaned in over a year!”
“Quiet, Donna!”
“She’s just trying to discipline the newbie, Donna. Help her out.”
“That’s not what this is, Pell!”
“Or are you jealous she lived in the city? I am too! Head Maid May!”
“Hahaha—”
As Anne walked out through the back door, May, Donna, and the others carried on their conversation without a care.
So thoroughly alienated.
The capital, the city, the duke’s household.
To the staff born and raised in Tegenes, Anne was clearly not one of them.
It made sense that it would take time to get close in such a tight-knit, insular place.
Anne could understand May’s resentment and fear—that her position might be threatened. That was why she was enduring it for now.
But how much injustice could she bear? That remained to be seen.
She filled a bucket with fresh water and began scrubbing the dusty stone floor of the annex, one tile at a time.
Just then, the door burst open again, and someone ran in—muddy boots stomping all over the clean floor.
“Anne? Anne—there you are! Anne!”
“Matilda?”
This time, Matilda had a blue bruise around one eye.
She was wearing a loose maternity dress, and her already slender frame had grown thinner, making her belly appear even more prominent.
Matilda stretched out her thin arm and grabbed Anne with trembling hands.
“Please help me. Anne—”
“Huh?”
Before Anne could grasp the situation, someone else appeared at the annex door. Hair streaming, club in hand—it was none other than the young lady of the Clayde family.
“Are you really planning to give birth to that child? One bastard carrying the Clayde name is enough—it’s bad enough I was born! Do you know how miserable this life is? That child should not be born!”
Victoria Clayde, yelling at the top of her lungs, locked eyes with Anne. Matilda flinched and immediately hid behind Anne.
“Miss Victoria.”
“And who are you?”
“I’m Anne Ferro. I started working here as a maid yesterday.”
“A maid? Move. I need to talk to that woman.”
The club in her hand looked menacing.
“Anne—”
Matilda looked on the verge of tears. Such stress was dangerous for someone pregnant.
“How about putting that down so we can talk? I’ll set up the tea table in the garden.”
“What? You want to get hit too?”
“Miss Victoria, young ladies of noble birth do not shout when angry. Perhaps it’s time to find a new etiquette tutor?”
“How dare you run your mouth like that in front of me!”
It wasn’t hard to guess why Victoria Clayde remained unmarried despite being well past the usual age—or why, even after marriage, she was ridiculed as a wild horse.
The details Donna had shared the previous night were illuminating.
Despite the Clayde Count’s notorious affairs, he had only two legitimate children. That was because the late Countess had taken great care to prevent his mistresses from conceiving.
Victoria was lucky—her mother was the Count’s favorite for a time, so she was born while the Count was away in the West.
But once the child was born, the Count abandoned his mistress easily, and both she and Victoria were left behind at the lord’s manor.
Naturally, the Countess and her son, acting as stewards in the lord’s absence, were anything but kind.
So Victoria had grown up like a wild animal, neglected and untaught under everyone’s indifferent gaze.
“It’s hard to get even a single invitation to the social season, isn’t it?”
Anne’s direct hit turned Victoria’s face pale.
Victoria desperately wanted to marry well and leave this miserable city—but she couldn’t even get invited to a single noble gathering.
She lived off the family name, served by staff and commoners alike, but the truth was, the family had given her nothing.
No proper etiquette tutor, no governess, not even a decent nanny.
An overgrown child who had never learned emotional control—who only knew how to shout when angry.
“You… youuu—”
Steam practically poured from Victoria’s ears. A reaction that might’ve been endearing in a 12-year-old was far from charming in a 20-year-old.
Anne couldn’t help but feel pity.
In Tegenes—the largest city in the region—and even in the small border towns of the West, balls and parties were frequently held, with active noble social circles.
Yet Victoria had reportedly never received a single invitation.
She’d had a grand debutante ball at sixteen, but all attention had gone to her half-brother Hannibal Clayde, not to her.
Failing to show off her beauty or charm, no young man had taken notice. And with her violent temper, even the noble ladies had likely avoided her.
“Insufferable girl!”
Victoria raised her club and swung.
Anne quickly lifted her bucket to block it.
Clang!
The club struck the bucket, water splashing everywhere.
“My clothes! You got them all wet! I’ll have you fired! Get out!”
Victoria had no such authority, but she screamed regardless.
Anne stood firmly in front of the trembling, pregnant Matilda, unmoving. The sight made Victoria even more furious.
Too pathetic to be a beast—just pitiful, really.
Anne couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.
“Young ladies of noble houses don’t shout in anger. They raise a teacup, or unfold a fan to cover their distorted faces.”
“What?”
“Your beautiful face is ruined by your expression. If you’ve ever acted this way in social circles, no gentleman would dare approach you. And ladies looking for friends would’ve been just as put off.”
“…How do you know? You’re just a maid!”
“I was raised from age seven by an aunt who worked as a tutor for nobles. Later, I became a maid for the Duke of Benton and was treated as a lady’s attendant. That was thanks in large part to the etiquette I learned from my aunt.”
In truth, everything she knew was learned while living as the duchess of the Benton family.
Her aunt, an illegitimate daughter of a baron, was only half-noble, and had never been much help in Anne’s life.
Anne prayed Victoria would fall for it. Seeing the hand holding the club slowly lower, it seemed her story had worked.
“Really?”
“Yes. If you learn etiquette and sit gracefully, gentlemen will approach you. And so will the ladies. If you’d just smiled first, I’m sure you’d already have a dozen tea party invitations. Is there even a family in the West that dares to look down on the Claydes?”
Capital nobles might have scoffed at the Claydes as barbaric, but in the West, their influence was overwhelming.
Before the empire was even founded, the West belonged to the Claydes.
For over five hundred years, the Claydes ruled this land. No wonder the Emperor viewed them as a thorn in his side, and other nobles tried to undermine them.
“That’s right. I am a Clayde.”
Victoria’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Matilda’s belly, clenching her hand.
“Is that thing a Clayde too?”
“Eek—”
Matilda clutched Anne’s collar tightly. Anne swallowed and spoke with a dry mouth.
“I’ll teach you.”
“…What?”
“I’ll teach you etiquette so you can make a successful debut in society. But in exchange, promise me you’ll never bully Matilda again.”
