Looking at the two of them, Jeanette straightened her back and vigorously responded, “No, it’s all right!”
The two women’s eyes widened at this unexpected reply. “What...?”
Jeanette continued smiling brightly without batting an eye. “I’ll leave this house, just as you suggested. I wish you both the best!” she exclaimed resolutely.
This is their reward for me, after all! she thought, beaming.
On one side stood the brightly smiling Jeanette, and on the other the openly flustered Leila and Ariel.
“Wh-What are you talking about?” Leila demanded. “You’re obviously not going to make it on your own!”
“Exactly!” Ariel joined in. “Have you finally lost your mind, Jeanette? Do you want to die on the streets?!”
The two women badgered Jeanette, seeming a lot more anxious about her decision than she did. Hee hee... They really are worried for me! Jeanette thought. True, for an ordinary lady, this might be too much, but... She fixed her gaze upon the other two.
Indeed, it would’ve been terrible if a girl like her, who’d grown up sheltered at home all her life, were forced to leave. She might fall into poverty and live a miserable life, or she might be abducted and sold off to a brothel. Someone brought up as an aristocrat couldn’t possibly endure the hardships of reality.
But there was something different about Jeanette.
In his lifetime, her father had been a successful merchant, and had bought peerage with his hard-earned wealth, making him a nouveau riche. Following this, he had ensured that Jeanette was educated not as a noble lady, but as an upstart.
While the other young ladies took their first dancing lessons, Jeanette received training on how to keep a ledger. While the ladies’ love towards the noble sons flourished during evening parties, Jeanette joined flourishing business negotiations with tradesmen instead. While the ladies gazed longingly at jewel-embroidered hair ornaments, Jeanette ascertained the worth of those jewels with a sparkle in her eyes.
That was why Jeanette knew how to survive without relying on her family and how to make a living for herself. Her father had raised her so that if anything were to happen, she’d be able to live as a single woman. He’d even made sure to give Jeanette practical experience through serving customers in the store, and developing and selling goods.
Unfortunately for them, her stepmother and stepsister were not aware of any of that.
In fact, Jeanette’s father had tried to raise Ariel in the same way, but she had loathed the idea. She preferred dancing to accounting, she liked the handsome noble boys better than the old merchants, and she chose to gaze admiringly at the jewels rather than determine their worth. This was normal for girls her age, so the baron hadn’t tried to push her. As a result, the things Jeanette studied daily were strange and incomprehensible to Ariel.
Having recalled all of this, Jeanette smiled cheerfully at the other two women. “Thank you for your concern, but I think I’ll be fine!” With that, she turned on her heel to walk away. She heard her stepmother calling out and asking her to stop, but Jeanette already made up her mind and rushed recklessly forward.
I’ve always wanted to try making a living on my own! And to think I can even decide where to go next all by myself! I’m so pumped! Jeanette had a skip in her step as she walked down the hallway, and she was on the verge of humming a song as she went.
All right! Time to get everything ready!
On the days her stepmother had withheld food from her, Jeanette had secretly sneaked into the kitchens herself. Because she gave the servants money as thanks each time, her meals often ended up being even more extravagant than the ones the other two women dined upon.
On the days when they’d left her behind to attend social events, Jeanette had disguised herself as a normal town girl and roamed the shop-lined streets. She’d infiltrated fashionable boutiques and the stores of her rivals, watching and learning from their techniques.
And whenever they’d forced her to do the housework, she’d asked the servants for advice and learned thorough methods of cleaning from them. Whenever Jeanette developed some new tool to help get the cleaning done more efficiently, they were highly grateful to her, and she’d even managed to sell the products for a great profit.
There were many other such instances, and each time Jeanette’s stepmother and stepsister imposed on her and made unreasonable demands of her, Jeanette uncovered a way to find new clients and connections. And she became so used to their insults and verbal abuse that the rumors spreading in high society were little more than a gentle breeze to her.
Nothing except for the theft of my things has been a real nuisance, but...maybe that was for the best too! As she reflected upon everything, Jeanette entered her room.
A certain device was installed and hidden against one of the walls, and when she input a certain sequence, a hidden shelf opened with a click. Inside were the truly important things she didn’t want stolen from her—an assortment of gemstones and one small key.
Her father hadn’t wanted to make Jeanette work without pay, even if she was his daughter, so he’d always made sure to pay her properly. Thanks to that, Jeanette had a large sum of gold resting safely in the bank under her name. The key on the shelf was the very thing that would open the vault.
With a satisfied smile, Jeanette picked it up. I’m so glad I’ve been hiding all of my money! she thought as she pulled out a travel bag from underneath her bed and hurriedly began packing her belongings. Where should I go first? I bet it’s going to be so much fun to go inn-hopping!
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. The person who entered was Sara, whose tawny, braided hair swayed as she shot into the room. She was Jeanette’s personal attendant—the two of them had grown up together like sisters.
Sara made no attempt to conceal her hatred of Leila and Ariel as she addressed Jeanette. “What kind of absurdities did they say this time, my lady? Are they asking for some obscure fruit from the southern lands? Or maybe they’d like to obtain some rare, popular gemstones?” she inquired, thinking that the women had been making unreasonable demands of Jeanette again.
“No, I don’t have to buy them anything this time. Actually, they told me I can leave this house!”
The moment Jeanette said as much, Sara’s expression turned grim. “What? What’s that supposed to mean?! Is that woman up to no good again?! I’ve been putting up with it until now, but I’ve had enough! I’m going to slap that bitch right this second!” Sara declared, rolling up her sleeves while exhaling heavily through her nose.
As her maid tried to storm off, Jeanette hurried to stop her. When it came to Jeanette, Sara had always been a little—no, very intense on certain matters, but physically assaulting the head of the household would be going a bit too far. “Hold on, Sara!” Jeanette appealed. “This is just my mother’s expression of tough love... In other words, it’s a new way to reward me!”
“I really don’t think that’s even slightly true,” responded Sara.