The room, with bluish high-end wallpaper and a pink carpet, was filled with charming dolls and ornaments. Judith’s room, with a sky-blue bed draped in turquoise curtains at its center, looked just like a princess’s room from a fairy tale.

But what happened inside the room was anything but a fairy tale. Judith’s personal maids, Sheila and Molly, were tense once again today.

“I’ll do it.”

With a determined tone, Sheila volunteered, and Molly looked apologetic.

Passing the tray with cocoa to Molly, Sheila hung a basin filled with warm water on the stand. Then she cautiously bent over toward the sleeping Judith.

“Miss, wake up. It’s morning.”

She whispered into her ear, but Judith didn’t stir. As if water were starting to boil, Sheila gradually raised her voice to wake Judith again.

“Miss, you have an appointment today. Miss Judith.”

Perhaps the sound of being woken up felt like a lullaby to her, Judith began to snore. It was utterly frustrating. But if she were to wake her recklessly, it would make for a tiresome day. Sheila raised her voice just a little more than before.

“If you don’t want to be late for your appointment, you should get up now and begin dressing—”

“Ugh, seriously!”

Irritated by the constant attempts to wake her, Judith furrowed her brows and waved her arms wildly as if swatting away a fly. Sheila quickly leaned back to avoid being hit. But that didn’t mean she could back down here.

“Miss, please get up. Your betrothed is coming today—”

The word “betrothed” was barely out before Judith shot up.

Then, without warning, she slapped Sheila across the face.

Ha… damn. That hurt like hell.

Though she could have dodged it, Sheila willingly offered her cheek. Random swings could be avoided with skill, but deliberate slaps had to be taken.

Serving a noble was like that. It was possible to tactfully avoid certain things, but one must never openly defy them.

“Who said I was getting engaged? I’m not! I said no!”

Judith, now thirteen years old, flopped back onto her princess-style bed and threw a tantrum.

Damn it… Judging from that reaction to the word “betrothed,” I’ll have to avoid that term from now on.

Sheila pressed her stinging cheek with her hand, then let it go and began coaxing Judith again. Judith hadn’t changed much since the time Sheila first became her maid when she was nine.

Still, even a girl like Judith was now getting marriage proposals.

Not long ago, at a family meal, the news was brought up, and Allen, the third son of the Calley family, openly mocked her.

“You? Getting engaged before our older brothers…?”

Indeed, it was laughable that the childish Judith would be the first to get engaged, ahead of her adult brothers.

Of course, women did marry earlier than men, but in the capital, even that was starting to change. Still, among noble families that valued alliances, talks of engagement for young daughters remained common.

But regardless of age, who would want to marry such a brat…?

“It’s not the engagement ceremony today. Come now, let’s get you dressed nicely and go meet Lord Soreth. If you keep sleeping, your face will swell.”

Apparently disliking the idea of a swollen face, Judith reluctantly sat up. Sheila met Judith’s gaze with a smiling face.

“Let’s get you ready, my lady. Would you like a sweet cup of cocoa?”

At Sheila’s subtle eye signal, Molly quickly lowered her posture and approached, holding a cup of cocoa up to Judith. It was cocoa made with fresh milk received at dawn, with plenty of cocoa powder and sugar. The sweet aroma relaxed the scowl on Judith’s brow.

This was a successful wake-up.

Sheila and Molly sighed in relief.

***

The luncheon with the Baron Soreth family took place privately, without lower maids present. Sheila and Molly waited outside the dining room and followed Judith back to her room once the meal was over. The Count and Countess of Calley seemed to be engaged in a long conversation with their future in-laws, the Soreth baronial family.

Whether she hadn’t eaten enough or not, Judith, after returning to her room, had a slice of strawberry cake for dessert and then fell into a nap.

Once they confirmed their young mistress was asleep, Sheila and Molly quietly left the room.

As soon as they stepped out, Molly grabbed Sheila’s chin and examined her face.

“Sheila, that must’ve hurt a lot, right? I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

While Sheila responded calmly, Molly’s face was already on the verge of tears.

“Of course I do. Just look at how swollen it still is. Your skin’s already delicate…”

Though Sheila tried to push Molly’s hand away, insisting she was fine, Molly wouldn’t let go and kept looking closely.

Waking Judith each morning was a daily battle. Judith would slap their cheeks and pull their hair every morning. She had improved a lot since her more reckless childhood days, but when half-asleep, she was still impossible to manage.

Thus, the two personal maids had taken turns waking her.

But recently, a small problem had arisen. Molly’s wedding was just two weeks away. Her fiancé was a traveling supplier who came and went from the estate.

Given her humble circumstances, Molly couldn’t afford a generous wedding gift, so Sheila decided to wake Judith on her behalf until the wedding. Even if she wasn’t a noble, no bride wanted to walk down the aisle with a bruised face.

“It just looks bad, that’s all. You know that.”

Sheila tried to reassure Molly again. But Molly, who had worked with Sheila for so long, knew her too well.

“Looks bad? There’s no way that doesn’t hurt when it’s this swollen.”

Sheila’s skin was needlessly delicate and translucent for someone of the lower class. It wasn’t enough to hinder daily life, but even shocks others would easily brush off often left her skin chafed or wounded. She sometimes envied the darker, healthier skin of other maids.

“Hold still. I’ll bring a cold towel.”

No matter how much Sheila said she was fine, Molly wouldn’t back down. She seemed determined to apply a cold compress to bring down the swelling.

“I’m really—”

Before Sheila could finish muttering, Molly was already heading downstairs.

Thinking Molly was worrying too much, Sheila started to follow her down. Just then, the Count and Countess of Calley and the Baron Soreth family were exiting the dining room. Sheila halted her steps.

“To leave already? You should have stayed a bit longer.”

Regret dripped from Count Bernard’s voice.

“No, we have a long journey ahead.”

In contrast, Baron Soreth’s voice was oddly cold.

Did something happen during the meal? Judith hadn’t shown any signs of noticing anything…

As Baron Soreth turned, the baroness and their son followed. Even their retreating backs felt cold.

It was chilling.

Sheila’s instincts, honed over four years of maid service, were telling her something was about to happen.

***

In any case, nothing happened immediately.

But Judith was exhausting enough even on uneventful days.

The most difficult among the Count and Countess’s three sons and one daughter.

Sheila, who had worked at a general store before getting lucky with a letter of recommendation into the count’s household, must have used up a lifetime’s worth of good fortune. She had been assigned to Judith from the very beginning and had served only her for four years now.

That didn’t mean she wanted to get too close and act like a loyal tongue in the mouth. Countless maids had tried to cozy up to Judith, only to be dismissed for trivial reasons. Most were sent away suddenly, without even a letter of recommendation.

The reason Sheila had remained by Judith’s side for so long was her strategy of catering to Judith’s moods while maintaining just the right distance. Molly, who had served Judith alongside her for over two years, followed the same approach.

After finishing her daily tasks, Sheila went to collect laundry from the first and second floor maids’ quarters, just as she’d arranged with Paula.

“Six leras.”

As always, she didn’t forget to collect the laundry fee in advance.

No one wanted to pay, but they all handed over their maid uniforms. Laundry-duty maids especially liked using her service. After endlessly washing the mansion’s laundry, they found doing their own maid uniforms tiresome.

“I use you every time. Can’t you do it for five leras, just this once?”

Ignoring the absurd request, Sheila checked the garments. “There’s a tear here. Look.”

“Oh, you’re right? When did that happen?”

“You know I charge extra for repairs, right? I’ll do it for free just this once.”

“Ugh, fine.”

The maid grumbled as she handed over six leras. Thinking to herself, Why is that girl so obsessed with money, acting all dainty when she’s just a maid…

Though life was tough for all lower-class maids, Sheila had the image of someone who’d been raised gently. Her fair and delicate skin and pretty face played a big part in that.

Most other maids had sick family members or younger siblings to support, but no one had ever heard Sheila mention such things. The most she ever said was that she grew up as the youngest in a harmonious family.

Like other maids, she sent money home each month, and even her only sister was already married. That meant she had fewer family obligations than most.

Still, Sheila was very earnest about money.

Well… some people just genuinely like money.

That must be how she managed to endure Judith’s horrible temper all this time. The maid handing over her laundry clicked her tongue inwardly as she looked at Sheila’s swollen cheek.

In the end, money made the world go round. Even she herself was dumping her laundry on Sheila for a few coins. In a world where people joked that money could even buy murder, laundry was hardly worth mentioning.

Sheila checked that the coin’s edges weren’t worn as she accepted the payment.

Whoever came up with it, the nickname Donmisae suited her perfectly.

As the maid admired her from behind, Sheila was already thinking about raising the laundry fee to seven leras soon.

There was only so much she could do on her day off, and demand for her services was growing.

Just as Sheila gathered the last of the laundry and was about to go back upstairs, a crisp voice rang out in the hallway.

“Hey there, pretty.”