Since It's My First Time Being a Lady, I'll Cause Some Trouble - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Novice Lady Causes Trouble – Episode 2
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“Ugh, my stomach….”
I eased myself out of bed, nursing a persistent queasiness. My body felt heavy and my joints ached—a poor way to start the morning indeed.
“What a ridiculous dream that was….”
Whatever I’d drunk in that dream, it clearly wasn’t black tea.
Otherwise, I couldn’t explain the alcohol on my breath or the hangover creeping up my spine, given that I’d never touched a drop.
And to make matters worse, I’d woken not in my own room, but in a lady’s lavishly appointed chamber.
‘I need to wash and change quickly. If anyone finds out I spent the night here, there’ll be hell to pay.’
Just as I reached for the door handle, it swung open—Bessy, the maid who shared this room, stepped inside.
Oh no. It’s already past six.
The servants of House Netzer rose at five to sweep, dust, and polish before preparing breakfast for the family.
Bessy’s appearance meant it was time to wake the young lady, and here I stood—utterly neglectful of my duties.
“My goodness, Miss. You’re up early today?”
I felt a flash of irritation at what seemed like mockery, but her face held no hint of reproach.
Bessy smiled brightly and set a basin of water and a towel before me.
“Aida left us, so I’ll be attending to you from now on.”
“Left? What do you mean I—”
My eyes drifted down to the basin, and I froze. The clear water reflected not my face, but that of a young lady.
Wait—that wasn’t a dream?
“Miss, where are you going?”
I bolted past Bessy’s startled protests and tore down the corridor.
I nearly collided with servants several times, but I didn’t slow down.
“My Lord!”
I burst into the Count’s bedchamber and shouted. Count Netzer and the Countess both sat up in bed, their faces darkening with displeasure.
“Ulfina, you’re old enough to know better—”
“That’s not the problem! I drank the black tea you gave me last night, and when I woke up, I was the young lady!”
……
The Count’s expression shifted to one of bewilderment, as if wondering what nonsense I was spouting now.
“…Have you been drinking?”
“I did drink, but it wasn’t me—it was the young lady who drank!”
“You…!”
“Dear, please. Let’s discuss punishment after she’s sobered up.”
Frustrated by their assumption that I was simply a drunken girl rambling, I abandoned all pretense of deference and shouted again.
“I’m Aida! I’m Aida Silenen, Miss Ulfina’s personal maid! I drank the black tea you gave me yesterday, and after that, Miss and I switched bodies!”
“That’s impossible…wait, surely not—!”
At my shocking confession, the Count’s face went ashen and he bolted from the bed.
He shoved aside the wardrobe, revealing a hidden safe in the wall behind it.
With trembling hands, he unlocked it and peered inside, then let out a strangled cry.
“It’s gone! It’s gone!”
“What is it, dear?”
Curiosity overtook my alarm, and I peered over the Count’s shoulder into the safe.
‘A bottle?’
Inside lay only a single empty glass bottle.
“The Divine Liquid is gone!”
“What did you say?”
The Countess pushed past her husband and pulled the bottle from the safe.
She shook it up and down, turned it upside down, but the emptiness within did not magically fill.
“This can’t be….”
The Countess sank to the floor on trembling legs.
“I… I do wish someone would explain what’s happening here.”
The moment I spoke, both their gazes pierced toward me like daggers.
“You!”
The Count turned on me, his face flushed with anger.
His lips moved as if to hurl harsh words, but he restrained himself and explained instead.
“The Divine Liquid in this safe was called the Sacred Spring Water of Wisdom.”
The Sacred Spring Water of Wisdom.
According to the Count, it was a Divine Liquid passed down through generations of House Netzer, and legend held that when two people drank from it together, their souls would be exchanged.
The only way to reverse it was for those same two people to drink from it again.
There was even a tale that the founding emperor of the Rodia Empire, Rocan, had used this Divine Liquid to save his life.
‘Using such precious Sacred Water to brew Black Tea? Just to swap bodies with a maid?’
I was staggered by the thoughtless young lady’s recklessness, but there was no time to sit idle and blame her.
“There might still be a chance.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Black Tea brewed with Sacred Water wasn’t completely finished, so if we find the young lady and have her drink it, it should work!”
At my words, the Count turned urgent, issuing orders to the servants waiting outside.
“Bring Aida here at once. And fetch the remaining Black Tea from Ulfina’s room!”
But fate was not on our side.
“The Black Tea has already been discarded, I’m afraid…….”
Hearing that the Sacred Water had flowed down the drain, the Count collapsed to the floor like a tragic heroine and wept.
Watching him, my eyes narrowed of their own accord.
‘I’m the one who should be crying. Why is he the one falling apart?’
He’d made a complete mess of raising his daughter, so why should I suffer the consequences?
“And Aida boarded a ship leaving the Empire last night after receiving her severance pay, it seems.”
“Ahhhhh!”
My severance! My blood-earned money!
I was the one who worked my hands to the bone, so why did the young lady get to take the severance with her?!
“Both of you, stop this and stand up. It’s spilled milk now.”
The Countess, having dismissed the servants, scolded us for our despair, but it was futile.
“Ulfina, you wretched creature…….”
“Waahhhhh! My money! My body! You’re responsible! You’re responsible!”
Seeing the Count and me completely ignoring her words, she struck the wall hard with her fist.
“Get up.”
Under her piercing gaze, sharp enough to pierce skin, we stumbled to our feet. The Countess spoke as though commanding us.
“Much as it grieves me, we must let go of the Sacred Water and Ulfina both. Rather than waste effort on the impossible, we must first manage the crisis at hand.”
“But my dear…….”
“Have you forgotten? Count Rosetti’s house is holding a ball in a week.”
At her words, the Count’s face fell with realization.
“And you.”
The Countess’s stern gaze turned toward me.
“From now on, you are Ulfina Netzer.”
“……I beg your pardon?”
Me?
“But…….”
“What else can you do if you’re not Ulfina? Will you work as a maid with that face? Should we advertise to the entire Empire that House Netzer had the Sacred Water in the first place?”
I wanted to protest and rage, but she was right.
Drawing my future so unilaterally, the Countess seized me that very day and began an intensive crash course.
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Becoming a noble daughter was not easy.
The hardest part was memorizing the House Netzer family tree.
“Who is this person?”
The Countess pointed at a young man and asked.
“Um…… a cousin?”
“He’s your great-uncle’s husband!”
“Oh!”
Great-Aunt, just how much younger is the man you married?
“Ahem…… then who is this person?”
“A great-aunt by marriage?”
“She’s your first cousin once removed!”
“How is that even possible!”
What a nonsensical family tree this is.
A man in his twenties is the husband of a great-grandmother, and a woman in her fifties is a first cousin once removed.
At least the older generations had married so often among cousins that the tree was simpler, making it easier to learn.
The real problem was the living family members I needed to memorize right now.
And after memorizing the family tree, I also had to learn the names of famous people who appeared in the social register!
Grunting in frustration as I recited the family tree again, a warm and sticky liquid began to trickle from my nose.
‘I haven’t caught a cold. Did the young lady have chronic sinusitis?’
As I sniffled and continued reciting the family tree, the Countess plugged my nose with a lace handkerchief.
“Keep it blocked like that. It’s a nosebleed, not a runny nose.”
With my nose plugged and my feverish head cooling, the Countess quietly opened her mouth.
“Ulfina, do you know why I’m pushing you this hard?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Count Rosetti is my first cousin once removed. And his soirées are famous for drawing nearly every major figure in High Society.”
Which meant that guests invited to such gatherings represented no small standing—and a single misstep in etiquette would tarnish the honor of House Netzer itself.
“I won’t have you embarrassed or looked down upon by that insufferable Mirinda at such an affair!”
“……Huh?”
If my studies were correct, Mirinda was the Countess’s cousin.
“The way she struts about, boasting that her daughter is engaged to a marquis!”
So it was her all along!
“Do you understand? Work hard and show that arrogant girl her place!”
After delivering her tirade, she seized my shoulder with a fierce grip.
“Has your nosebleed stopped? Then let’s study again.”
Someone save me.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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