The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 12

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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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Chapter 12

#Chapter. Gifts and Bait

The next day.
A cargo wagon laden with packages came to a halt before Julietta Ludwig’s Separate Residence.
“Delivery for Miss Janet Graham.”
At the coachman and porters’ words, the servants of the Separate Residence exchanged uncomfortable glances.
“What should we do? The Maidservant stepped away for a moment.”
“Should we perhaps report this to the young lady?”
“I’m not sure. It’s a personal delivery for a servant—it feels awkward to report it up the chain.”
Ordinarily, there would be no need to report a servant’s personal items to their master.
But never had such a quantity arrived before.
Moreover, the items loaded onto the wagon were mostly rare ornaments, jewels, and dresses.
The servants and maids hesitated, almost afraid to touch them.
“What is this? Why are you all gathered here?”
“S-Sien.”
It was Sien who had appeared with such commanding presence.
With her arms crossed in haughty pride, she caught sight of the wagon brimming with valuables and her mouth fell open.
“What is all this?”
“These are all items that have arrived for Miss Janet Graham. Where should we move them?”
“What? These things arrived for that woman—no, the Maidservant?”
A lie.
Such expensive items arriving for that shabby, foolish maidservant?
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t believe it.
‘Something’s not right here.’
Sien, who had been staring intently at the wagon, let out a short sigh.
“Now I understand. These items must have arrived for the young lady, not for Maidservant Janet.”
“What? But the receipt clearly states Janet Graham—”
“Trust me! Janet is Maidservant to Young Lady Julietta Ludwig. I’ve heard that sometimes, for the sake of anonymity, the sender writes the maidservant’s name instead. It must be that.”
“Still…”
“I’m telling you, I’m right about this.”
There was no other explanation that made sense.
“I’ll speak with the young lady separately about this. For now, please move the packages to the inner room on the first floor.”
The coachman and porters hesitated at Sien’s confident tone.
The name on the receipt was clearly ‘Janet Graham,’ yet facing someone who asserted it so boldly left them uncertain.
Besides, the other servants simply nodded along without objecting to Sien’s words.
In truth, this was the result of Sien’s habit of putting on airs whenever she gathered with the other servants.

“The new maidservant is nothing special. The young lady dislikes her, so who knows when she’ll be cast out.”
“I’m far more suited to being a real maidservant than she is. The young lady cherishes me more!”
“You needn’t worry yourselves. Not all nobles are the same, are they?”

Even before the new maidservant arrived, Sien had been the one closest to the young lady.
Coming from her lips, such words carried considerable weight.
“Come now, please move everything to the inner room. I’ll conduct a quick inspection and report to the young lady.”
The coachman and porters, after much deliberation, ultimately decided to follow Sien’s instructions.
They couldn’t very well stand at the entrance indefinitely.
Once all the luggage had been moved to the inner room on the first floor.
“Was there no separate inventory list?”
“No, there wasn’t anything like that.”
Hmm.
Sien’s eyes gleamed as she released a soft breath through her nose.
‘So there’s no separate inventory list?’
“You’ve all worked hard. I’ll speak well of you to the young lady, so feel free to take your leave.”
“Thank you. We appreciate it.”
“Of course. Trust me. I’m the person the young lady cherishes most, after all.”
Once all the workers, including the porters, had left the room.
Sien slowly surveyed the space piled high with belongings.
“Let’s see what we have here.”
As she murmured to herself, a glimmering yellow jewel caught her eye near a jewelry box.
‘What’s this?’
Regardless of what it was, it clearly held value. After glancing around cautiously, Sien reached toward the jewel.
‘With so many pieces here, who would notice if one went missing?’
Sien already knew the answer. During her time as Julietta’s maidservant, she had quietly pilfered items and accumulated a tidy sum.
There had been close calls with discovery, but she had always managed to extricate herself cleverly.
In the end, since the young lady never found out, all was well.
With a quiet laugh, Sien pocketed the jewel and left the room.

***

At that same moment.
Janet had no idea what gift was arriving for her and headed to the Study instead. It was to keep the promise she’d made with the butler yesterday.
“Thank you for the invitation, Mr. William.”
“Heh heh. I’m grateful you accepted, Miss Graham. Now, do sit in this chair.”
Janet settled into the chair William indicated and casually surveyed her surroundings.
His Study resembled William himself. A mahogany desk and camel-colored curtains.
Even the potted plants scattered about.
“It’s a lovely place.”
“I’m delighted to hear it. I’m quite fond of it myself.”
With that satisfied reply, he brought out the teapot.
Janet, startled, rose from her seat to take the teapot from him, but William stopped her with a gesture.
“I am the master here, and you are my guest, are you not? It is my role to serve the tea.”
Rather than protest, Janet simply nodded and returned to her seat.
“Besides, I quite enjoy serving tea to my guests.”
Though regrettably, few visitors ever call.
Janet laughed at his playful addition.
“Then I shall visit you often.”
“Heh heh. That would please me greatly. Later, do come visit my residence. I’ll introduce you to my daughter. I’m sure she’ll take quite a liking to you.”
“Your daughter—would that be Miss Bianca Vaneloti?”
“My, I didn’t expect you to know my daughter’s name.”
“Previously, the Duchess instructed me to familiarize myself with the roster of Western nobility. I confirmed it then.”
“The Duchess Julietta Ludwig?”
How intriguing. That was quite unexpected.
‘So the Duchess has been making such efforts in secret.’
The Ludwig Family was the most powerful among the Western nobility.
With influence second only to the Imperial Family itself, one could say the Western High Society of the Empire revolved around the Ludwig Family entirely.
The current Grand Duchess wielded considerable power in High Society for precisely this reason.
As a direct blood relative of such a Family, knowing the Western nobility was an essential accomplishment.
However, the Duchess Julietta was—.

“Why should I need to know such things? After all, they’re people who ought to fawn over me, aren’t they?”

and showed no interest in learning about other families.
‘Yet this young lady has asked me to familiarize myself with the nobility registry.’
There was no doubt that acquiring a maidservant had provided her with some positive stimulus.
“It’s truly fortunate that the Graham Family’s young lady has become the young lady’s maidservant.”
“Th-thank you for viewing it so favorably.”
Janet answered awkwardly to the sudden praise.
She was entirely unaccustomed to receiving compliments. Especially not from an adult like the head steward.
Perhaps this too stemmed from her memories at the Graham Family Home.

“You useless thing! All you do is waste food!”
“We never should have brought someone like you here.”

All the words she had ever heard from adults were of this nature.
“Here, try some.”
The fragrant aroma of tea overlaid those bitter memories.
The tea in the delicate cup possessed a remarkably pale sky-blue hue.
“The color is fascinating.”
“Isn’t it? The tea leaves are brought from the Northern Region, so you won’t easily find them in the Western Region.”
Tea leaves from the Northern Region?
Janet’s eyes sparkled as she grasped the teacup.
“Such tea comes from the Northern Region? I don’t recall ever drinking it during the time I lived near the Northern Region.”
“Near the Northern Region, you say….”
William trailed off. He had recalled the period when Janet lived near the Northern Region.
‘The Ashleyde War.’
He was well aware that Janet was a war orphan born from that conflict.
After all, investigating the backgrounds of those employed by the Ludwig Family was standard procedure.
Ashleyde was located in the northwestern part of the Empire, leaning more toward the Northern Region.
Because of this, people from the Northern Region suffered the greatest losses. Janet was among them.
Noticing William’s silence, Janet took a sip of tea instead of offering him words of reassurance.
A warm and comforting fragrance seemed to seep deep into her very being.
It was a scent that stirred something nostalgic within her.
“It’s truly delicious. Thank you for introducing me to such wonderful tea.”
William, perceiving Janet’s thoughtful consideration, nodded with a gentle smile.

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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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