The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 22

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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 22

Julietta’s index finger pointed toward Kendrick’s Separate Residence, which loomed gray and dreary.
“So, what were you sneaking around looking at, you little runt? What could you possibly hope to find in that haunted house?”
“….”
The child, struck by her words, couldn’t muster a response and only blinked rapidly.
In that moment.
A white envelope tumbled from Jeron’s trouser pocket with a soft thud.
“Young master. Here—.”
“Ugh!”
As Janet reached down to pick up the letter, the boy moved faster, retrieving his possession first.
“Hmm….”
He gazed at the soil clinging to the white envelope with a somewhat disgruntled expression, then carefully folded it and stuffed it back into his pocket.
Janet observed his actions intently.
‘Did he come here because of that?’
To leave that letter at Kendrick’s house?
Yet her thoughts could not continue further.
A pair of round golden eyes gazed up at her, brimming with betrayal.
“But you said you weren’t scared….”
Oh, dear.
“I’m not scared, miss.”
“…You’re… you’re lying….”
The child’s lower lip jutted out stubbornly.
Though they were half-siblings, his expression bore a striking resemblance to Julietta’s.
“You’ve got quite the tongue for my handmaiden, don’t you, little one?”
“Miss.”
“What. Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
At Janet’s remonstrance, Julietta turned her head away with a huff.
Yes, now they looked absolutely identical. You could tell they were siblings from a distance.
A smile leaked from the corners of my lips.
“Jeron! Jeron, where are you?!”
A distant voice calling for the child echoed through the air.
The child, who had been pouting with his lip thrust out, suddenly lifted his head and scrambled to his feet.
Anxiously bouncing on his feet, he spun around and bolted away.
And then, he tumbled forward.
“Ow!”
The boy, who had pitched forward with a heavy thud, let out a small cry. Janet, startled, rushed over and helped him to his feet.
“Are you alright?”
“…Ugh….”
Instead of answering, the child shed tears like drops of chicken droppings.
Janet patted his back gently, brushing away the dirt clinging to his scraped knees.
“At least it didn’t tear the skin.”
“Ow, it hurts….”
“That’s what happens when you fall.”
The child blinked at her firm reply delivered in such a tender tone.
“You have a surprisingly cold side to you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
Julietta Ludwig answered curtly and pulled out a handkerchief, offering it to Janet.
“Use this to wipe it, or don’t.”
Janet let out a hearty laugh at her clumsy manner of speaking.
So she wasn’t a frightening person after all.
By the time Janet had wiped away all the dirt from the child’s knees with the soft handkerchief—
“Young master!”
A shrill cry pierced the air as someone rushed over and shoved Janet aside.
Oh my.
Fortunately, Janet’s sense of balance was good enough that she didn’t stumble backward.
She merely dropped the handkerchief Julietta Ludwig had given her.
However—
“You…!”
Instead of apologizing, the woman held Jeron tightly and glared at Janet sharply.
Then her gaze shifted to behind Janet, toward where Julietta Ludwig stood.
“What have you done, Miss Julietta?!”
What had she done?
I wanted to ask the same question. What exactly was happening here?
Could she possibly think Julietta Ludwig had done something?
Swallowing a sigh, I stepped between the two of them and spoke.
“The young master fell—”
“He fell, young master?!”
The middle-aged woman shrieked and examined Jeron’s body thoroughly, only to gasp in horror when she discovered his scraped knees.
“Heavens! These precious knees!”
She certainly had a powerful voice.
Still quite vigorous, it seemed.
‘Is this woman Jeron’s nursemaid?’
That was likely the case.
She was probably raising him in place of his mother, who was away convalescing.
‘Though her temperament does seem rather excessive.’
Cradled in the loud-voiced nursemaid’s arms, Jeron could only roll his eyes helplessly.
I could see his hands trembling anxiously as they gripped her collar.
‘Is that why the child is so timid?’
I’d heard somewhere that children raised by unusually anxious parents tend to develop high anxiety themselves.
When anxiety runs high, they either become timid and withdrawn—
“How amusing. Anyone watching would think we pushed him over.”
Or they grow up like a hunting dog with heightened defensive instincts.
“…!”
At my sarcastic tone, the nursemaid’s eyes flashed with fury as she glared at Julietta Ludwig.
But it was only momentary.
“U-ugh….”
“Oh my! Yes! Our young master! Your nursemaid is here! You must have been so frightened, weren’t you? Don’t worry now. I’m right beside you!”
At Jeron’s whimper, the nursemaid swept him into her arms.
She wrapped her arms around him tightly, as if to shield him from the world, then cast one more sharp glare in my direction.
“Please be more careful next time.”
“Careful? I’ve already said everything—!”
Janet shook her head at Julietta Ludwig, who was about to respond angrily.
Julietta Ludwig’s lips trembled as if to protest further, but she huffed and turned her head away sharply.
Yet her displeasure was unmistakably evident. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and being misunderstood seemed to wound and infuriate her deeply.
Of course—
“Joanna.”
I was equally furious.
I had deliberately stopped Julietta Ludwig precisely because I didn’t want her to suffer further in this situation.
‘If she loses her temper now in front of everyone, this will truly become her doing.’
Malicious rumors could spread that she had deliberately pushed the youngest son over.
It was an excessive assumption, perhaps, but wasn’t it a lady’s maid’s duty to prepare even for such excessive possibilities?
I straightened my posture and fixed Joanna with a steady gaze.
“You owe the young lady an apology.”
At my firm words, Joanna’s eyebrows shot upward.
“Why should I apologize?”
“Isn’t it the nursemaid’s responsibility to ensure the young master’s safety?”
“Are you lecturing me now?”
“No. As the young lady’s maid, I’m simply saying what needs to be said.”
I shook my head and continued deliberately.
“Just as it’s your duty to protect the young master from wandering alone, it’s my duty to address my mistress’s grievance.”
My tone was exceedingly respectful.
Yet my eyes meeting hers were sharp as a blade.
“You cannot shift the responsibility for failing to protect the young master onto others, can you?”
“…!”
“The young lady and I simply discovered Jeron and protected him. In the process, he was startled by your voice and fell, injuring his knee—which we were treating when you arrived.”
“How can you expect me to believe—!”
“If you don’t believe me, ask Jeron directly.”
At my words, Joanna’s lips pressed into a thin line. Her anxious gaze drifted toward the child’s round head.
“…Is what that maid said truly so, young master?”
At the cautious question, the child nodded.
“Yes….”
The boy’s finger, mumbling his response, pointed to the handkerchief that had fallen to the floor.
“…Because you wiped it with that….”
At Jeron’s voice, which emerged as though crawling forth, Joanna caught her breath sharply.
Joanna, who had been staring down at him with an enigmatic gaze, slowly nodded.
“…I see. So that’s what happened.”
Janet, who had not missed even the smallest murmur, spoke again with renewed emphasis.
“Has the misunderstanding been cleared now?”
Julietta Ludwig, who had been watching the situation in hushed silence, quietly moved to stand behind Janet.
Ahem.
She tilted her chin upward, sending a wordless gaze.
‘Apologize already! You were the one who misunderstood!’
Her wide-open eyes seemed to cry out thus.
Joanna glanced once at Jeron in her arms, then exhaled a long sigh.
And then.
“I apologize for the misunderstanding. I was reckless.”
She bowed her waist willingly, offering a sincere apology.
Her shadowed face bore no anger or shame—it was nothing but a genuine apology.
“Startled by the young master’s disappearance, I became overly agitated. I beg your forgiveness for my rudeness.”
Julietta Ludwig regarded Joanna with bewilderment.
‘What? Why is this so easy?’
The situation had ended without conflict… or rather, was that even a conflict to begin with?
In any case.
It was strange how the misunderstanding had been resolved so peacefully.
Without her having to force submission through strength, the other party had apologized.
“…Miss Julietta Ludwig?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
At Janet’s call, Julietta Ludwig regained her scattered senses.
Julietta Ludwig, crossing her arms haughtily, tilted her slightly inclined head with a subtle nod.
“I’ll let it pass this once. But henceforth, exercise caution.”

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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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