The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 43

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

Chapter 43

“That’s impossible, Miss Julietta! I think you’re misunderstanding something. I’ve always done my best for you!”
Thud.
Nova lurched to her feet, her breathing ragged and labored.
‘Why? Why has she changed like this?’
The Julietta I knew was nothing like this.
Foolish, stupid, oversensitive.
A girl with such a narrow view of the world around her!
‘I made her that way. Me!’
Yet the Julietta before me now was far removed from that helpless child.
‘How? Why?’
At the edge of Nova’s trembling vision, Janet sat calmly, observing the scene unfold.
“It’s her, isn’t it, Miss Julietta?”
“What?”
“She’s the one who’s ruined you like this, isn’t she?!”
Julietta’s brow furrowed as she realized Nova was referring to Janet as ‘her’.
“Don’t call my maid ‘that.'”
“Ha, ha! I knew it. She’s the one who’s bewitched you like this.”
Sob, sob. Nova glared at Janet while feigning anguish.
‘I never liked her from the start.’
When I thought about it, everything traced back to her.
The reason Sien was taken away—her.
The owner of the evidence that cornered me—her.
I heard it was also her who discovered the drugs in Julietta’s Annex and reported them.
“Come to your senses, Miss Julietta. Our bond spans over ten years! And yet you abandon me for someone you’ve known mere months? Do you truly think that’s right?!”
Nova struck her chest and burst out in fury.
Seething rage leaked through her voice in trembling waves.
“Don’t be foolish, Miss Julietta. Come to your senses. Whatever that serpent has told you, you’ll eventually realize that everything I’ve said is true.”
“Nova. I told you not to insult my maid.”
“Then let me serve you again, Miss Julietta! I’ll slowly restore you, now that you’ve grown so weak…!”
“There’s no point talking to you.”
Sigh.
Julietta exhaled in exasperation and rose from her seat.
“M-Miss Julietta?”
“I’ve said all there is to say. I should be going now.”
“Wait, Miss Julietta! You’re really leaving like this? Without hearing more from me?”
Without hearing more?
Julietta fixed her with a cold, piercing gaze. Then she pulled one corner of her mouth into a crooked smile.
It was a smile she had learned from Nova herself.
She said one must look down on others before they look down on you.
“You were the one who said it. That everything coming out of people’s mouths is worthless, so don’t listen to them.”
Rather than offer further explanation, Julietta Ludwig deepened her smile and turned away.
Janet rose quietly and followed her.

***

When Julietta Ludwig returned to Julietta’s Annex, Janet brought her a warm cup of tea.
Tears began streaming down Julietta’s face as she held the warm cup in both hands.
Janet handed her a handkerchief without any sign of disturbance.
“You’ve been through so much, Miss Julietta. You were truly magnificent.”
“Hic, hic…”
The gentle encouragement opened the floodgates of her tears.
“It’s true. Nova Morgan really never cared for me with genuine affection.”
Julietta buried her eyes in the handkerchief.
“I didn’t even realize it. I thought Nova Morgan was the only one who cared for me…”
“Nova Morgan has been subtly manipulating situations to shake you since childhood. No one could remain unmoved in such circumstances.”
What they call gaslighting, in other words.
‘It must have been an environment even adults would struggle to endure.’
How much more so for young Julietta? Whatever her primary caregiver Nova Morgan said would naturally have seemed like truth to her.
“Being deceived by Nova Morgan is not your fault, Miss Julietta. So please don’t speak as though you’re blaming yourself.”
“But…”
Julietta swallowed hard, her shoulders trembling as she spoke.
“Do you think Kendrick would see it that way?”
“The Third Young Master?”
“…Yes. My twin brother.”
The moment she uttered the words “twin brother,” tears poured down Julietta’s face anew.
“Everything that went wrong between us was my fault. I was so cruel to him.”
I hadn’t intended to say so much.
Once spoken, every word felt sharp as a blade.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine how deeply those words must have wounded young Kendrick’s heart.
“Do you wish to reconcile with Kendrick?”
At Janet’s question, Julietta bit her lip.
“…Yes. I want to reconcile.”
Over more than a decade, the distance between them had become not a river but an ocean. For so long I’d wanted to cross it, but in my hesitation, it had grown too vast and too deep to bear.
And yet.
“I want to be close to Kendrick again. He is…”
Yes, Kendrick is.
“The only family I have.”
At her heartfelt confession, Janet smiled gently.
Janet reached out and gently grasped Julietta’s hand, which had grown cold.
“Lady Julietta, do you remember when you apologized to me before?”
“…I remember. How could I forget?”
After Julietta had been scalded with hot water.
She had sought Janet’s forgiveness for everything that had transpired. Janet had accepted her apology graciously and said,

“You’ve already apologized, and you don’t wish to drive me away. So our relationship can simply begin anew from here.”

This situation was much the same as that one.
“Apologize sincerely, convey your true feelings. And then begin again from there.”
“…Do you really think so?”
“Yes. We’ve already practiced this together, after all.”
Janet nodded firmly, then offered a gentle smile.
“Acknowledging one’s mistakes and offering an apology requires tremendous courage. You’ve already done all of that, so you’ll surely manage it this time as well.”
“…It’s really strange.”
At Julietta’s murmur, Janet tilted her head curiously.
“What is?”
“You. When I talk with you, it truly feels as though everything will work out.”
Even complicated matters seem as though they could be resolved simply.
And frightening things feel like they’re nothing at all.
The tears that had been flowing had stopped at some point.
Feeling the tightness in my chest ease, I exhaled deeply.
“I’ll do as you say. I’ll seek forgiveness and ask for reconciliation. I’ll begin again from there.”
“Yes, Lady Julietta. You’ll manage it wonderfully.”
Janet nodded with conviction.
It was genuine comfort, not mere platitudes.
There was a sense that Julietta would surely succeed.
“But how will I meet with Kendrick and speak with him?”
“Why not simply visit him? He’s quite nearby, after all.”
“I don’t know.”
Julietta responded with hesitation, pressing a handkerchief against her damp eyes as she spoke.
“Since Kendrick began his seclusion, people have often visited the Separate Residence hoping to see him. But he hasn’t met with anyone.”
Ah, so that had happened.
But.
The words ‘Wouldn’t he see you, Lady Julietta?’ rose to the tip of my tongue, yet I held them back.
If I said something like that and Lady Julietta were turned away at the door, it would be terrible.
I didn’t want her courageous attempt, made with such effort, to be blocked at the threshold.
‘Should I ask Theo?’
I was pondering whether there might be another way to meet with Kendrick, or if I should entrust him with a request.
In the distance, the sound of Jeron’s birthday ball music drifted through the air.
The banquet was the day after tomorrow, so it seemed they were doing a rehearsal in advance.
‘Wait. What if…?’
Janet’s eyes sparkled as she lifted her gaze from the performance she’d been listening to absently.
“Miss Julietta. What if Kendrick might attend Jeron’s birthday ball?”
“What? Kendrick at the brat’s birthday party?”
“Yes. He did receive a birthday invitation, after all.”
Moreover, hadn’t the ball’s theme been changed to a masquerade?
Even without appearing boldly as a direct member of the Ludwig Family, there was a possibility he could attend masked and mingled among the crowd.
“Would he really come to such a crowded place, even with his face hidden?”
“If he doesn’t come, then we’ll just have to figure out another approach when the time comes.”
“…You have a point.”
Julietta nodded lightly in agreement.
“If I spot Kendrick, I’ll make sure to corner him.”
“But Janet.”
“Yes, Miss Julietta.”
“How exactly will you recognize Kendrick?”
“…Huh?”
Oh no. I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

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