SO, Cesia was working as Juliette’s maid. One thing that still bothered her was the targets of their investigation, which Marcus, Layne, and Keith had chosen beforehand. There were few enforcers, so one person each had been dispatched to cover the most suspicious visitors, and Cesia had been sent to investigate Juliette.
Does that mean that Marcus is suspicious of Juliette? At any rate, her nastiness is something to behold. Cesia remembered feeling goosebumps on her arms while standing behind Juliette as she met with other important figures and guests, so flawless was the princess’s innocent act. Even if Juliette wasn’t associated with the criminal syndicate, and even if it wasn’t Marcus to whom she was getting married, Cesia was frightened for the future when she became a member of Emeroade’s royal family.
What was also scary was how Juliette made no effort to hide her rudeness around servants. They couldn’t admonish Juliette and couldn’t ask for help from anyone with authority, either, but servants talked, and rumors traveled quickly.
Does she not even consider that her innocent act might be exposed once rumors reach other high-ranking nobles?
“I wonder if Prince Marcus knows,” Cesia muttered, then frowned. Saying it out loud sounded pathetic, almost as if she was jealous. No matter how disagreeable Juliette was, she had the proper position and right to marry Marcus. Cesia remembered saying that she wished she had the authority to hit Marcus. She hadn’t been aware of it then, but thinking back on it, she had said something quite embarrassingly suggestive: she had basically admitted that she wanted to be equal in status with him.
Cesia had felt herself growing weaker ever since she realized she loved Marcus. She used to think she only had to protect herself, which still should’ve been the case, but she still felt softer somehow.
Still frowning, she continued cleaning the room Juliette had assigned her. In addition to flower vases here and there, cushions and other furnishings had been scattered around after one of the princess’s fits of rage. Cesia would’ve much preferred to keep cleaning forever, but it was her duty to keep watch on Juliette. She had to finish quickly and return to her mistress, no matter how much Juliette ostracized her.
Unfortunately, Cesia finally finished cleaning the room. Unwilling to leave, she searched for a corner that still needed tidying up. Just then, the door to the corridor opened, and a lady’s maid entered the room.
It was Cesia’s classmate from when she had attended the Academy as Selene, Rosary Hilton, the daughter of a count. She had also been temporarily assigned to work as Juliette’s lady’s maid. Apparently, she had previously worked as the first princess’s lady’s maid, meaning Emeroade was assigning fairly high-ranking, skilled attendants to their guests. Still, as if to say her service was unsatisfactory, Juliette treated even Rosary with contempt despite the lady’s maid’s lack of deficiency.
Rosary noticed Cesia, too, and awkwardly averted her eyes.
She definitely suspects that I was Selene, Cesia thought. She didn’t know what happened between Rosary and the real Selene in the brief moment that the two had met, but every time Cesia and Rosary came across each other in the castle, the lady’s maid always looked as if she wanted to say something. However, Cesia had no intention of telling Rosary the truth. If it became known that she had attended the Academy as Selene, the blowback might even reach Marcus, who had served as her guardian for her second time through.
After their improprieties had been exposed, the Diane family had withdrawn to their estate in the country. Selene has been away from the capital for three years, and nobody talks about the scandal anymore. Although, maybe that’d be different if she showed up again.
Cesia had heard through the grapevine that Selene rejected a return to the capital, not wanting to be the focus of rumors again. Instead, she married a noble in the provinces, where she still acted like a pompous bully.
Rosary spotted a book Juliette had been reading on a table and took it. Juliette must’ve told her to get it. But a simple chore like that isn’t something you would ask the daughter of a count like Rosary to perform.
Rosary was the same age as Cesia, making her nineteen, too. She was a shade past the ideal marriageable age for a young noblewoman, but when one took into account Rosary’s family and her talents, it was unlikely that she was wanting in potential partners. Rosary probably continued to serve the first princess because she wanted to. Juliette frivolously ordering around the devoted Rosary, then, was another example of the princess’s impeccable personality.
Rosary glanced at Cesia again but left the room without saying a word. Cesia wanted to head back to watch Juliette, but if she left now, it would look like she was following Rosary. She decided to stay back for a moment before going.
Until several years ago, hardly anyone had been aware of Cesia. Even at the Diane estate, her only presence had been that of a lowly maid. She had gone from that to a foreign princess bullying her and the daughter of a countess being conscious of her. She didn’t know whether that was a good or bad thing, but her circumstances had certainly changed. After meeting Maria and then Marcus, her world opened up, and it continued to expand further.
Waiting for Rosary to go ahead, Cesia counted for around half a minute in her head, then quietly left the room. She looked around the corridor, and seeing no sign of Rosary, she began walking. Juliette had gone to the drawing room, so Rosary must’ve followed her.
Cesia had spent too much time away from Juliette and wanted to rejoin her quickly. Marcus and Layne ordered me to monitor Juliette as her maid, but wouldn’t I normally watch the guards and servants she brought over from Gwyllt rather than the princess?
Juliette was the representative from the kingdom of Gwyllt, but there were also male noble diplomats within the country’s delegation. Nevertheless, no one was watching them. The other enforcers were attached to diplomats and high-ranking representatives from countries besides Gwyllt, so it was possible that Juliette was an unlikely candidate and Cesia was just assigned to her because, as a woman, she could watch her. It was also possible that Marcus’s prediction had been off, and the syndicate’s ringleader wasn’t in the country or coming to meet their spy in the castle.
However, Cesia had never seen one of Marcus’s predictions turn out wrong. Next to his unpleasant ability to always know a good chance when he saw one, he was also highly adept at sketching the mental state of the criminals he was tracking. At the same time, it was also true that it would be risky for their targets to attempt to contact a spy while under heavy guard. Then again, the accumulation of unfounded worries ended up protecting the country when it needed it.
“Of course, it’d be best if nothing happened,” Cesia muttered. Heard by nobody, her words melted away into the air.
There was no sign of life in the early afternoon corridor, and the only sound was the faint chirping of distant birds. Cesia was hurrying as quickly as possible while remaining quiet when she saw a woman she knew walking down the corridor toward her.
“Anita,” Cesia greeted her.
Anita’s eyes widened in surprise. “Cesia? What are you doing in that outfit?”
“They were short on workers, so I’m working as a maid temporarily,” Cesia explained with a sour look, pulling on the skirt of her uniform.
Anita laughed elegantly. “I sent two of Princess Mavis’s maids, too. But, I didn’t know that we were so busy that even a civil servant like you was dragged into it. It must be hard.”
“Indeed, it is… I was worried I wouldn’t be fit to be a lady’s maid, so I’m working as a maid instead, but there are so many chores…” Cesia hung her head in exhaustion.
Anita frowned with worry. “Then, you won’t be able to come to Princess Mavis’s lady’s maid training… I’m sure Her Royal Highness will be lonely, too.”
Mavis was cheeky and selfish, using Cesia as a dress-up doll and leaving the castle incognito, but she was an angel compared to Juliette. Wishing she could see her, Cesia nodded sadly.
“Please let Her Royal Highness know I won’t be available…”
“Haha, I will. It really must be difficult. Who are you working for right now?”
“Princess Juliette from Gwyllt…” Cesia said in a quiet voice.
“She’s certainly tougher to work for than most.” Anita gave an understanding nod. “I feel for you, Cesia.”
Oh? Cesia thought, momentarily discomforted by the knowing look on Anita’s face. Legends of Juliette’s temper must already be spreading among the castle’s servants. That, or Anita is just well-informed. Cesia remembered that once, Mavis had boasted of Anita’s abilities. Her mother was from another country. Partly thanks to that, Anita was gifted in foreign languages and skilled at gathering information. She was Mavis’s head maid but also acted as her source of information.
Could Anita have enough sway with people in power to get them to tell off Juliette for her behavior? Cesia wondered. However, she couldn’t think of a person who could do it. The common servants would just have to bear with Juliette’s excesses, being told something like, “The more important a person is, the more likely a disagreement will cause an international incident.” Cesia erased the thought of asking Anita for help.
“Cesia?” Anita asked.
“Ah, it’s nothing. Sorry for stopping you, Anita. I’ll get scolded again, so I’ll be going.”
“All right. Hang in there!”
Cesia made a perfect servant’s bow, just as Anita had taught her when she had first begun training to be a lady’s maid under her.
“Well done,” Anita said.
“Thank you!” Cesia replied.
The two smiled.