The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 5

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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 5

Partner. Comrade.
The words were direct, yet oddly assembled.
“As I mentioned before, I’ve become your backing now, Janet.”
“But if that’s the case, Vice-Commander, you’d be at too much of a disadvantage….”
The man cut off Janet’s hesitation with a firm reply.
“Of course, you’ll need to do your best to fulfill the contract as well.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m confident in giving my all.”
Theo let out a soft chuckle at Janet’s spirited answer.
“This is your letter of recommendation.”
“A letter of recommendation for me?”
Curiosity flickered in her dark eyes.
“May I open it?”
“Of course.”
Janet carefully unfolded the letter of recommendation. The first name that caught her eye was ‘Liam Ortea’.
That name was certainly….
“Isn’t that the Marquis of the Northern Border?”
“That’s correct. So you’re familiar with the Marquis?”
At Theo’s seemingly surprised question, Janet blinked.
“Ah, well….”
…Right. How did I know that?
I had always kept my distance from high society. After all, I was adopted as a replacement servant, so it was only natural.
So there was no reason I should have come across information about the Marquis.
‘Unless, perhaps….’
I swallowed lightly, my gaze slowly sinking.
‘Could it be a name I heard during the time I lost my memories?’
In truth, I had no memories before the age of fifteen.
Fifteen years old.
I was already suffering from amnesia when I was adopted into Earl Graham’s Residence as a war orphan.
I could barely recall my own name and age, but I had no other memories whatsoever.
Where I was born, who my parents were, how I became separated from my family—nothing.
‘The memories probably scattered due to the aftermath of war.’
The Earl and Countess actually favored that aspect of me.
They said it was good that I had no sordid past memories.
Well, I did try to recover my lost memories at first.
‘But gradually, I stopped caring.’
I didn’t hold hope that my parents were still alive, nor did I believe my past memories would be purely happy.
‘What does it matter if I never find those memories? What’s important is the present and the future.’
And right now, I’m moving forward to protect that important future.
“I just picked it up here and there, that’s all. But more importantly—”
Janet answered naturally, tilting her head as she asked.
“Count Ortea wrote me a letter of recommendation? Could it be that Count Ortea is also one of Ilinia’s people?”
Theo responded with silence and a smile.
‘So it’s a secret.’
Janet wisely held her tongue.
She wasn’t so tactless as to pry into another’s secrets.
“If anyone asks about your relationship with Count Ortea, simply answer according to what’s written on the inner note.”
“You’ve prepared even this?”
“We must avoid raising any unnecessary suspicions. It would be wise to memorize the note’s contents beforehand, just in case.”
“I will.”
The conversation wound down there.
Taking advantage of a brief silence, Janet began committing the note to memory.
It would be better to have it memorized before arriving at the Ludwig Grand Duchy’s mansion.
Theo quietly rested his head against the window, observing Janet.
‘I wonder if she’s feeling any motion sickness?’
Fortunately, she showed no signs of it. Her cheeks did appear slightly pale, but they’d looked that way from the moment he first saw her.
Theo, who had been staring at Janet, suddenly opened his mouth.
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
“…Pardon?”
“You’ve been glancing at me repeatedly. There’s something you want to say, isn’t there?”
Janet’s cheeks flushed slightly, caught red-handed.
‘Oh no. Did I really do that?’
But her embarrassed self-reproach was short-lived.
“Actually, I am curious about something.”
Janet decided not to miss the opportunity to satisfy her curiosity.
“Why did you suddenly start speaking formally to me?”
Hm?
The unexpected question caught Theo completely off guard, his eyes widening. At his rare moment of surprise, Janet’s eyes widened in turn.
It was Theo who laughed first, a genuine chuckle.
“As I mentioned before, we’re partners now.”
“So it’s a matter of respect for your partner?”
“Precisely.”
Oh. So that was really it?
Janet nodded with admiration, murmuring in astonishment.
“Vice-Commander Theo, you seem to be far more considerate than I expected.”
Considerate?
Theo let out an incredulous laugh at hearing such a thing for the first time.
If those around him heard this, they would surely protest vehemently.
Meanwhile, the carriage slowly came to a halt. Peering out the window, I could see tall trees rising into view.
“I suppose it’s time for the uninvited guest to make his exit.”
“Are you getting out here?”
“If I leave now, no one will see me.”
Click.
The carriage door swung open.
Fresh morning air rushed in. The dim dawn light from our departure had vanished entirely—the world was now bathed in brilliant daylight.
“Should you need anything or have questions, contact Ilinia anytime. Or feel free to visit in person.”
“Yes, I will.”
“And.”
“…?”
The man who had added this remark stepped down from the carriage with long strides.
The morning sun caught his profile, and it was as flawless as a masterpiece painting.
“From now on, you can simply call me Theo. No need for formality.”
I dislike appearing cold and distant, you see.
With a playful smirk, he added this with a teasing lilt.
Before Janet could find her response, the carriage door closed.
‘Oh.’
Only after the carriage resumed its journey did Janet come to her senses.
Flustered, she hastily opened the carriage window and leaned her head out.
But.
‘He’s gone?’
Theo was nowhere to be seen. Janet’s eyes darted frantically in search of him, and she drew in a sharp breath.
And.
“I understand! I’ll call you Theo from now on! I don’t like looking cold and distant either!”
Behind her spirited shout, she could have sworn she heard the echo of a man’s laughter from somewhere.

***

“The young lady of Earl Graham’s Residence certainly has a more commanding voice than I expected.”
Behind the departing carriage.
Hobbs murmured beside Kendrick, who had concealed himself among the dense brush.
“Indeed. It’s good to see her so spirited.”
“You seem rather pleased, sir?”
“Hobbs.”
“Yes?”
“Your problem is that you talk far too much.”
With a faint, refreshing smile, Kendrick delivered his cutting remark, leaving Hobbs wearing an expression of utter bewilderment.
“I’ve never heard such a thing in my life!”
Never in his life.
Kendrick added to those words with a playful tone.
“Janet said something similar to me. She called me a thoughtful person.”
“…I’ve never heard that one either.”
That doesn’t make sense. How could she think such a thing?
At Hobbs’s deflated murmur, Kendrick shrugged his shoulders.
His penetrating gaze fixed upon the place where the carriage had departed.
“Hobbs.”
“Yes, Vice-Commander.”
“Send clothing and accessories to Janet.”
He recalled Janet’s small travel bag.
It was almost impossibly modest in size for someone relocating elsewhere.
The dress Janet wore presented a similar situation.
The sleeves and hem were noticeably shorter than her frame.
Though meticulously cleaned, signs of wear were unavoidable in places.
She had likely been given those clothes around age fifteen when brought to the residence, and no proper new dress had been purchased since.
“She’s my partner and my sister’s only lady’s maid. I won’t have her disrespected anywhere.”
The moment she became Julietta’s maid, attention would naturally fall upon her.
A carefully cultivated appearance was one of the finest weapons for deceiving people.
“On the battlefield, weapons matter.”

***

Janet arrived at Ludwig Grand Duke’s Mansion well past noon.
As the coachman announced their imminent arrival, Janet leaned toward the window to peer outside.
“Wow.”
An involuntary gasp of wonder escaped her lips.
The gates of Ludwig Grand Duke’s Mansion soared impossibly high into the sky.
To think they could construct gates of such towering proportions.
Yet the breathtaking spectacle was only beginning.
As the colossal gates swung open with deliberate slowness, the vast Ludwig estate revealed itself in its entirety.
Gardens stretched endlessly before her, bisected by a long magical pathway.
In the distance loomed an enormous mansion, with countless buildings scattered around it in all directions.
‘Could that forest be part of the Ludwig grounds as well?’
The estate was so expansive that she couldn’t discern where the family’s domain began or ended.
“We have arrived, Janet.”

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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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