Leticiel woke up to faint sunlight streaming into her room.
Ahhh, I fell asleep without getting changed. Looking down, she saw that she was still in the clothes she wore around the manor.
As per her usual routine, she had started reading after taking a bath last night, but she must have fallen asleep at some point.
When she got up, her clothes were unsurprisingly wrinkled. Sighing, she cast a spell to smooth them out.
Now that she thought about it, unlike sorcery, magic wasn’t used much in everyday life. Do the servants do everything by hand? She wondered.
Just as she had gotten most of the wrinkles out, there was a knock on her door. Considering the time, it was likely Ruvik. Assuming it would be him, she thoughtlessly called out, “Come in.”
“E-Excuse me.” It wasn’t Ruvik at the door. Leticiel froze as she was in the middle of getting out of bed, surprised by the unexpected guest.
“Nicole?” In her room was the maid she had helped last night.
Nicole wasn’t Drossell’s personal maid. She had only learned about the girl yesterday and had no idea why she was here now.
Thankfully, Nicole explained everything. Apparently, Diane had reported yesterday’s events to the duke, and he had assigned the incompetent maid to his incompetent daughter as if to lump the unagreeables together and hide them away. Perhaps the duke and duchess meant it to be a form of harassment, essentially telling Nicole to look after their incompetent daughter since she wasn’t able to do anything else right. “And so,” she concluded, “I’ve been appointed as your personal maid, Miss Drossell.”
“I see…,” Leticiel said, to show that she had been paying attention. To be honest, she didn’t need a maid, but she wasn’t particularly against the thought of having one, either. If the duke and duchess had given her one, she wouldn’t refuse. Besides, unlike the other maids, Nicole didn’t dislike Drossell, so it wouldn’t be too bad to be under her care. “In that case, I’ll have you start today, Nicole.”
“Okay!”
After they exchanged a few more words, Leticiel began to get ready for the day. Though she now had a personal maid, Leticiel’s routine didn’t change much. She changed into her uniform in the dressing room and made herself look presentable. The only difference was that Nicole chose her clothes and did her hair for her.
“Miss, aren’t you going to wear the stockings that go with the uniform?” Nicole asked, holding up a pair of black pants. They were the strangely tiny pants Leticiel had discovered on her first day in her reincarnated life. At Leticiel’s questioning look, Nicole said, “These. They’re technically part of the uniform…”
Now that she thought about it, Mirandalette’s legs were always covered in something like black pants. So they were called “stockings,” huh?
“No, I won’t wear them. They’re too much trouble,” Leticiel responded, shaking her head after touching the stockings. They were clearly smaller than her legs. Though they were stretchy, it seemed like it’d be a pain to put them on. She recalled seeing some students with stockings and others without, so they didn’t seem to be mandatory.
“All right!” Nicole replied, not pushing the matter. So she had been correct in assuming that they were not necessary.
“By the way, Nicole, are there any reasons why you don’t want to be fired?” Leticiel asked as she sat in front of the vanity table in her dressing room, Nicole combing through her silvery white hair.
“Um, are you referring to yesterday’s conversation?” Nicole placed the comb on the vanity table, a sad smile reflecting on her face in the mirror. “Actually, my mother is sick. My father died when I was young, so I started working in the royal capital when I was twenty. I was hired here after doing a variety of jobs. Right now we’re both living off of my income, so if I were to be fired, I wouldn’t be able to pay for my mother’s living or medical expenses.”
“I’m sorry for asking such a rude question,” Leticiel apologized.
“No, no! It’s not your fault, miss! No one’s ever asked about my situation before, so I’m actually happy that you asked.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And I’ve avoided being fired for now, since I’m now your attendant. I’m honestly so grateful. And…done!”
Nicole finished doing Leticiel’s hair while she was talking. That was fast, Leticiel thought, until she glanced at her reflection in the mirror and found herself staring at unparalleled beauty that was both mature yet cute in an age-appropriate way.
Even compared to the rest of her family, Drossell had been a beautiful girl even before Leticiel reincarnated into her body. Now, a light layer of makeup further accentuated her natural beauty. Her pin-straight, shiny hair was braided in a half up style and adorned with a simple ribbon.
“Your hair and skin are so nice, Miss Drossell!” Nicole gushed. “I got a little carried away!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“O-Oh… Thank you,” Leticiel stuttered, even as she thought that she didn’t look half bad.
Leticiel hadn’t cared about fashion when living in a time of war. She didn’t have the time or means to dress up and make herself pretty. Even after becoming Drossell, she was too lazy to wear nice clothes or makeup, and she always left her hair down instead of styling it.
“Hair and makeup… Girls have to work hard in many ways,” Leticiel murmured, impressed.
“Errm, you’re a girl as well, Miss Drossell,” Nicole smiled wryly.
“Nicole, you have an excellent fashion sense.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. But I have worked at a barber shop before.”
“So that’s how you gained these skills… You really are talented.”
“Th-Thank you,” Nicole replied bashfully, happy to have been acknowledged by someone in the duke’s family for the first time
ever.
Ruvik arrived with a breakfast cart a little while later, while Leticiel and Nicole were chatting about trivial matters. His eyes widened slightly when he saw how different she looked, but he was quick to smile and say, “You look nice, my lady.”
After that, things were the same as usual. Leticiel read while eating breakfast and grabbed her bag before heading to school when it was time to go. After telling Ruvik what time she would be home, she cast a teleportation spell.
Lucrezia Academy was abuzz all day that day. Murmurs of admiration and astonishment filled the entry hall as the students arrived.
The subject of their gazes was a singular female student. In a stark contrast to the day before, the Ice Demon had her long, straight hair that fell down to her waist styled cutely. Her beauty was so overwhelming that all the students in the hall, both male and female, were entranced by her. Not even her light makeup, simple hairstyle, or simple commoner clothes could detract from her elegance or beauty. In fact, they made her look even more divine.
“Let’s see… Where should I go today?” The center of their attention paid no mind to the gazes of the students around her, murmuring casually to herself.
She could feel the weight of their gazes, but they weren’t particularly harmful or helpful, so she ignored them. That was how she felt about such things at the moment.
“Hmm… I went to the sword training hall yesterday morning, so perhaps I’ll go to the Great Library today.” The sight of her long eyelashes slightly lowered as she pondered was so beautiful that it drew sighs from students of both genders, who were frozen in awe.
Leticiel could see their reactions from the corner of her eye, but she didn’t want to get involved and had no interest in them, so she pretended to be a stranger.
Using her innate talent to ignore others, Leticiel began weaving her way through the students, who seemed to be frozen in place.