The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 35

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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 35

Jeron, who had been lying listlessly on the bed, opened his eyes wide upon seeing Janet and Julietta.
“Well, well. You look better than I expected, little one.”
“I was worried, so I came to check on you. How are you feeling, Jeron?”
“Uh, uh…!”
Jeron stirred slightly, his lips quivering as he murmured softly.
The child’s eyes sparkled as he carefully chose his words, then spoke his first greeting with hesitation.
“Ah, hello….”
It was a greeting befitting Jeron.
Janet smiled warmly and approached the child’s side with care. Julietta followed leisurely behind her.
“It seems Jeron is quite fond of you both. He’s certainly delighted to see you. Isn’t that right, Joanna?”
“…Yes. It appears so.”
Oscar, standing at a distance while observing the three of them, let out a short laugh.
“Joanna.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Excessive worry can be poison too. I have no intention of keeping anyone in this household who becomes a poison. Do you understand?”
“…Yes. I will keep that in mind.”
Joanna answered in a strained voice, her head bowed deeply.
‘I hope this incident teaches her something.’
Oscar’s gaze, while maintaining a pleasant smile, turned toward Janet’s back.
He had heard that Julietta had taken on a lady’s maid, but he never expected it would be such an entertaining child.
‘Julietta certainly needed someone with that kind of backbone by her side.’
Though they did not share the same mother, Oscar did not harbor hatred for his half-siblings.
Much less for Zephyr, the second prince who was even counted among the most likely rival heirs.
The fault lay solely with their father; what sin could the women and children connected to him possibly bear?
“How’s your stomach, little one? Are you taking your medicine properly?”
“Mm-hmm….”
“They say that children who are often ill when young tend to become healthier as adults. So please don’t worry too much and rest comfortably. Understood?”
“…Really?”
“Of course. You will surely grow into a strong and healthy adult. Like a hero.”
At the word “hero,” color bloomed across Jeron’s face.
“On the way here, I noticed the invitation has disappeared.”
“…?!”
At Julietta’s words, the child’s eyes went wide as saucers, and his body trembled.
Joanna, witnessing this from a distance, was startled.
His body trembled—was something hurting him?
She had been right to worry about letting that woman called the villainess and her maid into the room!
“Young Master…!”
“Wait.”
It was Oscar who caught Joanna as she rushed forward in alarm.
Held fast in his unyielding grip, Joanna looked up at him with resentful eyes.
“Even if you are Oscar, this is…!”
Oscar met Joanna’s furrowed gaze and slowly shook his head.
“Calm yourself. Look carefully, Joanna.”
Look carefully at what?
At what?
Joanna bit her lip and turned her worried gaze toward Jeron.
And then.
“Oh.”
A short gasp escaped her lips.
“How is it? Don’t I look happy?”
Jeron was smiling broadly.
More brightly than ever before.
“Sometimes children tremble when they’re too excited. You know, there’s even a saying like ‘trembling with joy.'”
Or is there? Perhaps not?
With Oscar tilting his head in uncertainty beside her, Joanna simply stared blankly at the three of them.

Time passed in this manner.
Before evening fell, Janet and Julietta rose from their seats.
“Then, rest well. Little one.”
A nod.
“You should answer adults properly, not just nod your head like that.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected rebuke, Jeron clutched the blanket tightly in both hands and replied.
“Y-yes, take care. S-sister….”
“…Sister? Did he just call me sister?”
“Yes. He certainly called you sister.”
At Janet’s affirmation, Julietta’s brow furrowed.
…Good heavens. Sister, of all things.
Within the Ludwig Family, Julietta had always been an oddity.
The other siblings bickered amongst themselves, but when they met in public, they managed a passable imitation of well-meaning siblings with their laughter and cheer.
Julietta, however, had never even had the opportunity to play at being a sibling.
She had always found social gatherings abhorrent, after all. Despising crowds—or rather, people in general—she avoided every event she possibly could.
In any case, the conclusion was this.
“I’ve never heard myself called sister before…?”
Julietta murmured without thinking, then belatedly pressed her lips shut.
Round and golden, eyes identical to her own gazed at her with hopeful anticipation.
“Well. What sort of reaction are you hoping I’ll give you, little one?”
I was startled to hear her call me “older sister” for the first time, but I couldn’t help wondering what she expected me to do about it.
Did she hope I would respond with “Yes, little sister”?
However, what Jeron truly desired was far more modest than that.
“S-sister… can I… call you that…?”
The words tumbled out in a soft murmur.
Her flushed face, unable to bear the weight of shyness, turned downward. Julietta, who had been watching the child intently, let out a sharp exhale—whether a sigh or an exclamation, I couldn’t quite tell.
It was strange.
The only resemblance between them was in the color of their eyes, yet whenever I looked at this child, I found myself reflected in her somehow.
Feeling a tightness in her chest, Julietta gently cupped the child’s soft cheek in one hand.
“Oh…!”
The startled child’s cheek compressed as she lifted her head abruptly.
“Speak clearly to the end, little one. Even if you call me sister, so what.”
“…”
Jeron, who had initially seemed frightened and flustered, soon gripped the blanket tightly in her small hands and moved her tiny lips.
“Can I… call you… sister…?”
“What is this. So you can speak in longer sentences after all?”
Despite her grumbling, there was no force in the hand holding her cheek.
Julietta gazed gently at the soft cheek she held, then gave a light nod.
“Do as you wish.”
“…!”
The child’s face bloomed with radiance. With a brilliant smile, Jeron looked toward Janet.
“…I… called you that.”
In truth, just moments before.
While Julietta was distracted, the two of them had whispered together in conspiracy.
“Lord Jeron. You’re not afraid of the Young Lady anymore, are you?”
“…Mm-hmm.”
“That’s wonderful. Our Young Lady is kinder than one might think. So I do hope you’ll come to like her as well.”
At the voice tickling her ear, Jeron broke into a bashful smile.
And just as Janet had done, Jeron placed her hand near Janet’s ear and whispered.
“S-sister…”
“Sister…? Ah, you wish to call the Young Lady your sister?”
Nod, nod.
The child gave a small nod and added timidly.
“Is that… all right…?”
“Of course it is. More than all right.”
And so we arrived at this moment.
The child stretched out both arms, grasping Janet’s hand in one and Julietta’s in the other. Then, trembling with joy, she quivered once more.

***

“Anyway, that little one has a funny side to her, doesn’t she? When did she ever look like she’d faint from being startled by me? Now she’s asking if she can call me older sister.”
“That’s right? I also think Jeron is quite adorable.”
“No. It’s not adorable, it’s funny, I’m telling you?”
“Yes. I’m saying he’s adorable.”
In the exchange that followed, it was Julietta who raised the white flag first this time.
“Let’s stop talking about this.”
Hah. Janet smiled brightly.
That was when it happened.
“Over here…!”
At the call from behind, both women stopped in their tracks and turned around.
“Ha!”
Upon recognizing who it was, Julietta’s brow furrowed sharply. Instead of her turning away as if she didn’t even want to speak, Janet stepped forward and addressed the newcomer.
“What brings you here, Joanna?”
At Janet’s cold tone, Joanna flinched.
‘What is this? Why does she look so dispirited?’
She was always so full of vigor when chasing people away.
She hadn’t even looked this deflated when facing Oscar.
“I apologize for stopping you on your way. However.”
However?
“I came to offer my sincere apologies, truly from the bottom of my heart.”
Joanna fell silent and bowed deeply before the two women.
Even Julietta, who had turned away irritably, looked down at Joanna’s back with eyes that seemed to ask, ‘What is this? Why is she like this?’
“Truly, I think I lost my senses because I was so worried about Jeron. Even knowing it wasn’t your fault, I kept worrying as his condition worsened, and I suppose I wanted to blame you both for it. It was petty, shameless, and cowardly. I am truly sorry. I swear by the divine, I apologize sincerely from my heart.”
It was a longer apology than expected.
She had even invoked an oath by the divine. For the people of the Empire, who held the divine sacred, swearing by the divine was something one could only do when speaking with absolute honesty and sincerity.
Faced with this unexpected situation, Janet and Julietta exchanged bewildered glances.

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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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