42. The Requirements of a Maid

“It’s all ready, my lady.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work. Starting from dinner tonight, Apple will return, so you can go back to your regular duties.”

I gave Apple a few days off. I was concerned about her because she had been crying during the Lady Ygret incident.

While Apple was resting, a maid named Cinnamon helped me, and she was really good at her job.

‘In terms of experience, Cinnamon has been working much longer, and Apple is a new maid.’

“My lady, I have something I’d like to say.”

“Yes?”

“How about keeping me as your personal maid? Instead of Apple.”

Oh, someone with good skills and awareness who’s also proactive in self-promotion.

“That’s bold. I like that attitude.”

Apple was assigned to me because she was a new maid who knew nothing.

The other maids didn’t volunteer to serve me because they wanted to look good in Lady Ygret’s eyes.

‘Seeing this makes me realize that Lady Ygret’s influence has truly collapsed.’

Is it time to replace them with my own people?

What a shame. When I first came to the castle and said through Apple that I was actively looking for maids to serve me in the future, no one volunteered. And now applicants are showing up.

“Help serve dinner tonight with Apple. Apple will return this evening. I’ll give you my answer then.”

“Yes.”

Cinnamon smiled confidently. Her face showed complete certainty that she would soon replace the lady’s personal maid.

Then came dinner time at Castle Inkheart. Apple returned from her vacation.

“Apple, did you rest well?”

“Thanks to the vacation the lady gave me, I rested very well.”

“Look at how your cheeks have thinned. If you need more time to recover, make sure to tell me. Understood?”

“It’s nothing. More importantly, Sister Cinnamon, thank you for taking care of the lady while I was gone.”

“Not at all. I only did what any castle maid should do.”

Apple innocently thanked the person who was after her position.

I just smiled. I could imagine how Cinnamon viewed Apple.

I headed to the dining room with both maids. Tonight’s dinner attendees were just Darius and me. Yet we sat at opposite ends of a twelve-person formal dining table.

“My lady, why are you sitting over there?”

“Well, I wanted to dine elegantly according to proper etiquette?”

“The food will get cold while going back and forth across this table.”

I snorted.

Just then, Apple clattered as she set down the tableware.

“Oh! I’m sorry!”

Heh.

Cinnamon, who was serving on my side, snickered and arranged the food very quietly, as if to demonstrate how a skilled maid should serve.

Unaware that her competitor was showing off her skills, Apple joined the conversation without reading the room.

“But I think the lady is being cold to the Grand Duke today. You weren’t like this before.”

“I heard him speaking ill of me. So I decided not to be nice to the Grand Duke either.”

“Oh my.”

Apple, who was distributing food to us, looked back and forth between Darius and me in disbelief.

“The Grand Duke?”

“Mmhmm. I left my hometown and came all the way to this distant north to marry, with eyes only for the Grand Duke. But behind my back, he told others that I was a suspicious woman and not to trust me.”

“My goodness, I didn’t know the Grand Duke would say such things!”

Apple quickly removed the croquettes she had placed on Darius’s plate and generously piled them onto mine.

Nice job, Apple!

“Right? That’s why I decided to close my heart. I feel like I’ll only get hurt.”

As someone preparing for divorce, I must hide my own faults and make the other party the guilty spouse! For a smooth division of property, I needed to imprint on those around us who the bad one was.

Sniff, sniff, I deliberately took out my handkerchief and pretended to wipe away tears. Everyone, I’m a poor wife who came all this way only to be mistreated by my husband.

“Lady Anette came all the way from the south with eyes only for the Grand Duke, how could you say such things to her?”

“You understand my feelings. As always, Apple, you’re the only one on my side.”

“I don’t think the Grand Duke deserves to dine with you, my lady. You’re not eating well, are you? I’ll prepare something separately for you later.”

Darius, who had been listening to our conversation with an incredulous expression, twitched his eyebrows and spoke.

“Apple, you should be helping me.”

“I’m Lady Anette’s maid, aren’t I? Of course I should follow Lady Anette’s wishes.”

“You were hired as a maid of Castle Inkheart. The person who pays your salary is me.”

“But I consider Lady Anette my mistress. I work at Castle Inkheart, but I receive my salary as Lady Anette’s employee.”

Satisfied with Apple’s answer, I chimed in.

“Are you threatening my loyal maid, my lord?”

“Of course not.”

“If you’re dissatisfied with this child taking my side, I’ll pay her salary from my dowry.”

I pretended to sniff as if asking if he had a problem with that too, and Darius smiled bitterly and raised both hands.

“I thought that when Apple returned, your mood would improve and I might be forgiven, but I was completely wrong.”

“Since it’s unfair to push one-sidedly, shall we ask the remaining person for fairness? Fortunately, there’s one more person here.”

Three pairs of eyes looked at Cinnamon.

“Cinnamon, the lord and I are saying different things about the same matter. Whose words do you think are correct?”

“W-well.”

“Hmm, if Cinnamon sides with me, would that make it 2 to 2? It’s a slim chance, but I’m hopeful.”

I could see Cinnamon’s body tense up, though she had been serving smoothly until now.

One was the lord, the other was the lord’s wife whom she wanted to serve.

“How could a mere maid intervene in the conversation between the master and mistress?”

Cinnamon chose to avoid answering.

“That’s what she says, Apple.”

“Really? I didn’t know. I still have mountains to learn.”

“I was happy that you joined the conversation, so it’s fine. It’s just us, so what does it matter?”

I comforted Apple, whose shoulders had slumped at the realization that she was an inadequate maid, and finished the meal.

* * *

After dinner, I called Cinnamon separately. Her expression was dark.

“You know my answer without me saying it, don’t you?”

Skill wasn’t the important factor. I saw loyalty in Apple, and I valued that highly.

“I don’t understand. Apple is so clumsy with her hands…!”

“Work skills can be taught. But some things cannot be taught. For example, innate character. That’s why it’s precious.”

Cinnamon objected.

“You decided too quickly. Others are still hesitating, wondering how they could face you now.”

“Though you pride yourself on being quite clever, don’t you really understand? What values I prioritize when judging people.”

She was a girl who had tried to curry favor with Lady Ygret. She must know what those in power truly value.

“……How could Apple answer like that? The master of this castle is the lord.”

There were plenty of skilled maids. But cases like Apple, with irreplaceable special qualities, were rare. That’s why I could overlook her other shortcomings.

I patted Cinnamon’s hand.

“If you realize what you’re asking now on your own, you could work by my side too.”

Cinnamon swallowed her frustration and bowed her head.

“Next time, I’ll serve you more perfectly than now.”

“Yes, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Knock, knock. There was a knock at the door, and Apple peeked in with her innocent face.

“Sister Cinnamon. Are you still talking with the lady?”

“We’re finished now.”

“Then let’s go to the maids’ quarters together.”

“Yes, both of you rest well.”

Apple, giggling, truly knew nothing. Cinnamon took a deep breath and said:

“Apple, you know what? You should have placed the cutlery quietly without clattering. You also mixed up the order of serving food earlier, didn’t you? You corrected it right away, but it was all noticeable.”

“Eek, y-yes?”

“Answer only once!”

“Yes!”

“Experience doesn’t matter. You’re Lady Anette’s maid. The most important servant in our castle. No one will cut you slack for being new. So be more careful when you work.”

Apple looked at me with eyes that said, ‘Why is Sister Cinnamon suddenly acting like this to me? Everything she says is right, though,’ but I pretended not to notice. This must be Cinnamon’s way of acknowledging Apple.

After saying “let’s go out together sometime” to appease Darius’s mood last time, he seemed to subtly want to go out.

But unfortunately, that couldn’t happen. I was too busy.

“Did you find the original ledger from last year? Looking at this, it’s clear someone tampered with the numbers.”

“We found the ledger from two years ago, so it must be here somewhere. It will turn up as we work through this mountain of documents.”

I thought becoming a Grand Duchess meant hosting parties every day and attending tea gatherings for power struggles, but why can’t I enjoy myself?

“Now that Lady Ygret is dead, this is the perfect time to catch those who falsified the books.”

Lady Ygret causes problems even after death.

Do you think the villains who worked hand in hand with her would say, “Oh, Lady Ygret, our reliable pillar who let us act boldly, is dead! Then as an apology, we’ll hand over all the books we cooked with Lady Ygret”? Finding those records is ultimately my job.

‘Well… not exactly my job, but the result of me volunteering.’

Sir Daniel dumped another pile of documents on the desk.

“Ah, sir. Please.”

I covered my face with my hands and sobbed at the seemingly endless task. That’s what accounting majors said. Calculations are for calculators. Yet here I am, a mere human, doing calculations.