A Maid's Innocent Confusion
“Idel-nim?”
Diane tilted her head in surprise. That question was far too plain after days of following her around and probing. It didn’t match the harsh tone she was used to at all.
“Idel-nim isn’t much different from usual…?”
“…Really? You’re not particularly upset?”
“Um, yes.”
Diane carefully reviewed her memories just in case she had missed something. And it was exactly the same.
Idel-nim was as mischievous and demanding as ever.
‘Come to think of it, the servants’ interest in Idel-nim has been growing lately.’
The servants who asked her to do things would suddenly inquire, while she wasn’t looking, whether Idel-nim was being petty or picking on her.
Diane recalled the words some servants had spoken when Idel-nim was ill. They were a bit unsettling, so she kept them to herself.
‘Maybe it’s best to stop here.’
Feeling her stomach tighten again, Diane quietly placed a hand on her abdomen.
At that moment, Jayana let out a soft groan and lowered her eyelids.
“There’s nothing particularly upsetting. So… you were actually angry with me?”
“Excuse me?”
“Idel hasn’t said a single word to me. Until now, she would scold me for being stupid or an idiot. But she doesn’t anymore. We were really close.”
“……Eek?”
“It must be because of the apartment incident, right? If only she’d listen to me just once…”
Diane stared blankly, her lips moving without sound. She didn’t fully understand Jayana’s words.
Since she had been serving Idel closely, Diane knew what “scolding” meant. But…
“U-um, Lady Jayana, I don’t think people usually call their close friends ‘stupid’ or ‘idiot.’ It would be better not to say anything at all, wouldn’t it?”
“What?”
Jayana’s eyes widened in disbelief at Diane’s careful words.
After blinking a few times, she burst into laughter and shook her head.
“No way! Idel is like that from the start!”
“…Eek? S-sorry, I don’t quite understand…”
“Well, it’s because of the way I speak. Idel is actually really kind! Honestly, it’s because she’s shy.”
“A-ah, I see…”
“It’s true! Just watch her secretly later. Whenever I say ‘I don’t need it,’ you’ll see her sneak a worried glance.”
If you focused on actions and expressions rather than the words, you could tell exactly what kind of person she was.
Jayana’s blue eyes sparkled with certainty.
That intense sparkle made Diane unconsciously replay Idel’s actions in her mind.
‘…Actions?’
Suddenly, the ointment jar in her pocket brushed against her fingers.
Idel always carried it around in case she needed to check it later.
Diane rubbed the surface of the slightly heavy jar with a small smile.
‘No way.’
Even if it was Jayana, there was no way Idel-nim was treating her warmly. She always complained, as if Diane and her old cat were the same.
Diane shook her head and quickly erased the possibility that had just flashed through her mind.
‘No way. That’s impossible.’
…Impossible?
Actions and words that she would have ignored if not for Jayana’s words kept flashing before her eyes.
“Hey, that mark on your forehead… are you sweating?”
“Hah, seriously, it’s gross! Don’t follow me. Just stay in my room. By the way, I’ll be back slowly in an hour. Got it? An hour.”
These were words Diane had heard while serving when the sun was unbearably hot and she was wiping sweat.
“Don’t stand like that next to someone eating snacks. I said look at me! No, don’t answer. Take this and brew me some tea. Oh, and since I want to be alone for a bit, don’t come back until you’ve eaten all the cookies I gave you.”
Although they were harsh words, the hands that had gently handed over the high-end dessert…
Of course, the dessert hadn’t been served delicately. It had been shoved into her arms roughly…
‘This can’t be true.’
Idel-nim was just honest, right? In truth, she was treating Diane kindly? That couldn’t be real. It was impossible.
Diane was about to brush aside Jayana’s words when Idel spoke to her.
“Daisy, I heard you’re close to Jayana?”
Diane’s body jolted at Idel’s question. She had been lost in thought, and the suddenness startled her.
Quickly wiping out her internal thoughts, she answered Idel at once.
“Y-yes, we are close. No, we’re not. She just asked me about something…”
“She asked you? That’s strange.”
Diane was about to shrink under the mocking tone.
She glanced at Idel with a tiny, almost invisible movement.
‘Don’t look at the tone. Look at the actions.’
Actions… Idel-nim’s actions…
As Diane carefully studied Idel’s behavior following Jayana’s words, her eyes widened in shock.
‘Idel-nim, you’re holding the book upside down?’
Of course, Idel was holding the book upside down to match the map with her current position. But Diane had no way of knowing her true intention.
To Diane, Idel looked like a strange child holding the book upside down, rolling her eyes, and pouting.
Diane’s lips moved unconsciously at Idel’s mysterious appearance.
“Um, Lady Idel. My name is Daisy, not Diane…”
“What?”
“Ah, I was worried that calling you by that name might cause you discomfort…”
“Hah! Discomfort?”
Diane came back to her senses at Idel’s reply and clasped her hands tightly.
‘Is she out of her mind, scolding the young miss like this!’
Her mind went completely blank, and her heart pounded.
‘If it’s all a misunderstanding, including what Jayana said and what I thought I saw…’
Then she had committed an unforgivable act.
Just thinking about it made Diane bite her lower lip tightly.
On the other hand, Idel didn’t notice Diane’s trembling.
Having seen Diane appear several times in the paper and ointment incidents, she assumed the same here.
So Idel replied in her usual blunt, unpleasant tone, but not harshly enough to wound her deeply. She added a smug expression for good measure.
“Daisy or Diane. You’re bad because your name is similar?”
“……”
“Hmph, so you’re friends with Jayana? Then go tell her. I have no intention of meeting a liar, so don’t come looking for me often, and don’t send me letters. Oh, and tell her I know that the cake she likes most is fruit cream cake. Since I prefer cheese cake, let’s never sit at the same table again. Understood?”
“Ah…”
“What? Why don’t you answer properly and keep glancing at me? Am I funny?”
“N-no, sorry!”
Idel slammed the book shut loudly, let out a puff of air through her nose, and continued.
“I don’t want to hear it. Just deliver the message properly. Don’t come at all because it’s annoying.”
“Y-yes, I understand. I’ll make sure to tell her.”
Diane bowed her head reflexively and bit her lower lip with a strange expression.
It was wrong. From now on, she couldn’t take Idel’s words at face value.
‘The words you just said sound exactly like… “I read the letter carefully, and I know you like fruit cream cake. I’m a cheese cake person. Let’s have a wonderful cake party sometime.” Right?’
Diane tried to interpret Idel’s words with wavering eyes and forcibly looked away.
No, no. It had to be a misunderstanding. What Jayana said, Idel’s hidden meaning, and everything else— all of it.
‘Remember, Diane! It’s easier to live if you let go of worries!’
Diane made up her mind to erase all thoughts for a peaceful maid life and was about to leave the room politely.
“Hey, wait right there.”
“Yes?”
Diane turned around at Idel’s command and habitually checked her expression.
The raised eyebrow, the pursed lips, and the frowning eyes showed displeasure.
Normally, seeing that face would have made her close her eyes tightly and prepare for a scolding. But today, she didn’t feel like it.
Diane was anxiously waiting for her next words when…
“Thinking about it, you’re so dumb that even if I don’t call you properly, you wouldn’t realize I was calling you. I guess your actions are sluggish.”
“……”
“Fine. As you wish, I’ll call you Diane. From now on, don’t be so dumb.”
Idel dug her own grave without noticing Diane’s wavering heart.