The Villainess's Exclusive Maid Is Too Good at Her Job - Chapter 69

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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 69

“This one, this one, and this one. Remove the floral ornament on the right shoulder, and can we redesign the neckline to show more skin?”
“Yes, of course, Miss Rosina.”
“The color should be a lighter shade than this, I think.”
“Understood.”
Rosina’s decisive selections continued without hesitation.
The shop attendant, notebook in hand, listened intently to her every word. She was, after all, one of the most renowned figures in High Society.
A single word from such a person wielded tremendous influence over High Society’s dress trends.
“It seems the young lady’s dress should be this one. As for what’s left….”
Having swiftly selected three dresses, Rosina trailed off and turned to face Julietta Ludwig.
“What will you do, Julietta? Shall I choose your dress for you as well?”
Ugh, how infuriating.
Ugh! So utterly infuriating!
Julietta Ludwig found Rosina absolutely insufferable.
Yet, infuriating as she was, Julietta couldn’t deny that Rosina possessed impeccable taste.
And.
‘She said I looked like a clown in my clothes?’
She also had to admit that her own sense of style was abysmal.
Then perhaps—was that why people whispered about her every time she attended a social gathering?
‘That must be it.’
Surely not everyone had been talking about her “dress,” but she suspected the majority certainly had been.
As this realization crashed down upon her, Julietta Ludwig quickly surrendered Janet’s dress selection to Rosina.
She couldn’t very well bring Janet, attending her first social gathering, looking like a fool.
“You need to answer me, Julietta. Unlike others, I happen to be quite busy.”
Ugh.
Julietta Ludwig let out a reluctant groan and glanced sideways at Rosina. Then, shortly after.
“…Please, Rosina.”
At Julietta Ludwig’s white flag of surrender, Rosina’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.

***

“Nobles all wear masks, but I doubt anyone has a thicker one than Rosina.”
Julietta Ludwig trembled slightly as she recalled Rosina’s scathing critique.
“Still, thanks to Rosina, I was able to choose such beautiful dresses.”
“That’s true. If it weren’t for Rosina, I wouldn’t have realized my taste was that terrible.”
“I liked the dresses you chose too, Julietta.”
“…Janet. No is no. You don’t need to take sides in everything.”
At words that seemed to contain some universal truth, Janet let out a small laugh.
“Looks like we’ve arrived.”
In the meantime, the carriage carrying the two women came to a slow stop.
The place they had arrived at was the most famous Cake Shop in the Capital City.
“This way, please.”
The reserved table was by the window.
Though the day was slightly warm, it was bearable heat if one simply sat still.
After ordering cake, pudding, and black tea with practiced efficiency, the two women chatted about this and that.
“How are the preparations for the Academic Festival coming along, Janet?”
“Well. The sparring is still unfamiliar, but it seems I’m getting used to it gradually.”
Janet glanced down at her right hand.
Firm calluses had formed where she gripped the sword.
In the past, the only calluses on her hands came from managing all of Graham’s household affairs alone.
These were the fruits and results of learning.
At the sight of Julietta Ludwig examining the calluses with a satisfied expression, she tilted her head curiously.
“But it’s really strange, you know.”
“What is?”
“You seemed like you had absolutely nothing to do with swordsmanship.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
After all, Janet was Julietta Ludwig’s maid.
Since her main duties involved brewing tea, assisting with grooming, and supporting social obligations, she couldn’t imagine Janet wielding and swinging a sword no matter how hard she tried.
Yet the Swordsmanship Club suited her aptitude.
It was nothing short of surprising.
“I’ll come watch on the day of the Academic Festival.”
“What about the Theology Department event?”
“I told you. The Theology Department just says a prayer in front of people and that’s it.”
“That was really it?”
“Yes. Well, they’re organizing people to volunteer as guides for the Academic Festival, but I have no intention of doing it.”
Not long after, the dishes they had ordered arrived.
Enjoying the warm tea and sweet desserts, their moods naturally lifted.
Clink. Julietta Ludwig set down her teacup as quietly as possible and looked around with a refreshed expression as she spoke.
“Sometimes coming out like this together for a change of pace… oh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Over there. I recognized someone.”
Recognized someone?
Julietta Ludwig pointed toward the street sidewalk below the terrace instead of answering.
As befitted a fine holiday, the city street was bustling with people.
Yet even among that vast throng, certain figures stood out unmistakably.
‘Well, with a height like that, it would be strange not to notice him.’
Richard Ortea.
He was not only exceptionally tall but possessed a devastatingly handsome face as well.
True to form, passersby turned their heads as they walked, stealing glances at Richard.
Some even blinked in disbelief, as though his very existence seemed impossible, their expressions dazed.
“But who is that woman walking beside Richard?”
A woman?
Just as Julietta Ludwig said, there was indeed a woman walking alongside Richard.
I recognized her face as well.
“Luna.”
“Luna? Ah, the one in the Swordsmanship Club with you?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm.”
Julietta Ludwig, who had been staring at Luna with a hint of jealousy, tilted her head.
“Are those two dating?”
“Who? Richard and Luna?”
“Yes. They seem to have such good chemistry.”
“They’re not dating. I heard they’re more like siblings.”
“Like siblings?”
“Apparently Richard treats Luna like a younger sister.”
Richard?
That man who never showed emotion and rarely responded to others?
“Hmm. That’s quite strange… Wait, who are those people?”
A middle-aged couple appeared in front of Luna and Richard as they walked together.
The couple took turns embracing Luna, then bowed respectfully to Richard.
After that, all four of them began walking together toward somewhere.
“What kind of combination is that? A junior female student he treats like a sister and a middle-aged couple.”
It certainly didn’t look like a couple’s date.
While Julietta Ludwig entertained absurd thoughts, I recalled the story about Luna I’d heard at the Training Ground.
That fairytale-like tale of a child swept down the river, rescued and raised with love.
So perhaps those people were…
“Luna’s parents?”
So he was introducing even her family, treating her like a sibling.
‘He must genuinely care for Luna.’
To willingly introduce her to his family spoke volumes.

***

Just as Janet had suspected, the people Lishar met were Luna’s parents.
“That’s right. We fished her out of the river when she was three years old, drifting alone. We raised her from there.”
“In truth, we were traveling at the time. So once we finished treating the child’s injuries, we returned to the Eastern Region where we’d been living.”
“The clothes she was wearing… ah, it was a pink one-piece dress. She had a rabbit-shaped hair clip in her hair as well.”
“We thought we should search for her family, but as we spent time caring for her, affection took root, and we couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. We wanted to pretend we didn’t know and raise her as our own. My wife and I had been unable to have children for so long, and we desperately needed a child.”
The kind-faced middle-aged couple hung their heads like criminals the entire time they spoke.
By the end, tears streamed down their faces as they said they had committed a sin.
Luna threw her arms around both of them, crying out that it wasn’t true.
As the three of them tangled together, weeping openly, Lishar watched with a dazed expression.
Once the conversation ended, the three of them left together.
Lishar remained alone in the Cafeteria.
‘A pink one-piece dress. A rabbit hair clip.’
It all matched Genia perfectly.
There was no doubt—Luna was Genia.
The dazed Lishar buried his face in his large hands. Joy at finding his lost sister flooded through him like a tidal wave.
But it was short-lived.
The joy drained away like an ebbing tide, leaving behind a gritty unease that glimmered like sand.

***

“Mother, Father.”
“Yes, our daughter.”
“Our precious Luna.”
Luna and her parents walked hand in hand, their faces wet with tears yet graced with tender smiles as they gazed at one another.
But the moment they stepped beyond the City Street into a sparsely populated area.
All three of them released the hands they had been holding, as if by prior arrangement.
The smiles directed at each other vanished without a trace.

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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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