Chapter 64
The Count's Secret Maid - Chapter 64
Translation: godsn
Audrey gave us a meaningful look.
"Greet her properly."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
I bowed at the waist. Fortunately, this time Alicia had the sense to follow my lead and bowed as well. The man who had been facing away hastily turned around and bowed too. But he still couldn't bring himself to properly look at Joelli.
The moment the man finished his greeting and turned away again, Joelli immediately fixed her gaze on the male servant. The corners of her eyes curved even more.
"What's the cute one's name?"
"Lady Joelli, perhaps you should wash and dress first."
"Honestly, Audrey. You have no sense of timing."
"If you continue like this, you'll catch a chill."
"Fine, fine."
Joelli waved her hand dismissively as she rose from the bed, her eyes sweeping over me and Alicia.
"I do like pretty girls."
"Pardon?"
With a sly smile, her fingertips reached toward Alicia. I looked on in bewilderment as Audrey pushed Alicia forward toward Joelli. Alicia turned to me in panic. I was equally flustered. But there was nothing I could do. Audrey ushered me and the male servant out the door.
Only after stepping outside did I realize - Joelli had chosen Alicia as her personal attendant. While it made sense for the man to be dismissed, I'd essentially been kicked out too.
Who would have thought I'd face discrimination based on appearance even here. I secretly sighed while staring at the closed door.
"The two of you, wait here for a moment."
With those words, Audrey excused herself, saying she had other matters to attend to. That left just me and the man alone in the hallway.
After blankly staring at the door for a while, I stole a glance at the man. For some reason, he looked dazed. The recent events must have been quite shocking for him.
"You seem quite startled."
"Yeah. A little. A-actually, a lot......"
Seeing him stammer made it clear how truly bewildering the situation had been. The extent of his shock was plainly visible on his face - his slightly flushed complexion had turned a blazing red as if about to combust.
"Your face is—"
"N-no! I wasn't thinking anything!"
What exactly had he been thinking about? I was just going to say his face was so red it looked ready to explode, but he panicked and vehemently denied it, even flailing his hands about. His overreaction was somehow hilarious.
"B-besides, why are you being so formal with me?"
"I'm always proper with my manners."
"No, why do you keep talking like that? It's awkward."
"What do you mean?"
At this, his red face twisted in frustration.
"Don't you know who I am?"
"Who are you?"
"Hey, it's me! Johnny!"
What?
"Johnny... the one who asked me to introduce Alicia...?"
"Yeah! That's me!"
My jaw dropped. Johnny? That grubby-looking man?
I quickly looked him up and down. The neatly dressed man appeared completely presentable. His face, devoid of any dark stains or dirt, was impeccably clean.
"My god! You're really Johnny?"
"Right! It's me!"
"You're really that grubby Johnny from before?"
"Yeah, I'm that grubby— wait. Hold on."
Johnny, who had been responding cheerfully, suddenly froze.
"Grubby?"
"......"
I immediately shut my mouth and turned away. Though I pretended I hadn't said anything, words once spoken couldn't be taken back.
"That's too much! How can you call someone grubby! Was I really that filthy?"
"Well...... a little?"
To be honest, he'd been quite grubby. At my answer, Johnny's expression soured. Despite his reaction, I didn't take back my words. After all, facts were facts.
"You haven't changed a bit, even here."
"You've changed a lot. I didn't recognize you."
"That much?"
"Yeah. Like a different person."
Johnny touched his own face as if asking if the change was really that dramatic. I nodded firmly. When he'd been dirty, I hadn't noticed, but seeing his neatly groomed hair and clean face now, he looked remarkably handsome. I might have believed he was someone else entirely.
I scrutinized Johnny's face once more. With that kind of appearance, maybe he actually stood a chance at succeeding in his crush?
"How did you end up here? Did you get an offer too?"
"No, someone else got the offer, but I asked to come along. They said they'd pay well. Did you get invited?"
"Not me—my sister did."
"Ah, figures." What did he mean by'figures'? His reaction rubbed me the wrong way, but it was also strangely familiar.
"They said they'd pay well, after all."
I shrugged and stared blankly at the closed door. Johnny nudged me with a "Right?" and quickly regained his cheerfulness.
"By the way, you got your hair cut. It's shorter."
He pointed at my bangs. That made me wonder.
"How did you even recognize me?"
"Huh?"
"I always covered my face with my bangs. Most people don't recognize me."
"You don't remember sweating buckets while shoveling charcoal? Your bangs were all split and stuck to your face then. I've seen your face thousands of times."
Oh. So that's how. I thought I'd covered myself pretty thoroughly, but I guess sweat was my undoing. I gave an awkward laugh and turned my head away. Johnny, delighted, started thumping my back. I scowled and kicked him in the shin. He yelped and grabbed his leg.
"That hurts!"
"Me too. Stop hitting me."
Just then—
The door suddenly swung open, and Alicia came tumbling out, collapsing onto the floor. Johnny and I hurried over to her.
With Johnny's help, Alicia sat up and glared straight ahead. There stood Joelli, wearing nothing but her undergarments.
"You're the worst."
"......"
Joelli swept her golden hair back with an irritated expression. Even the motion of her hand radiated annoyance.
What on earth had she done wrong? When I looked at Alicia, she was still glaring at Joelli with fierce eyes. For a moment, a strange tension crackled between the two women. Flustered, I glanced at Johnny. His face had turned beet red as he hastily spun around. In all this chaos, he was the most pitiable victim.
Then, a pale arm suddenly shot out from behind Johnny and wrapped around him. Joelli pressed her face right against his back.
"Fancy seeing you again?"
"Ghk!"
Johnny looked like his heart had stopped. Joelli giggled at his reaction, then raised a hand to gently stroke his hair.
"What's your name?"
"Uh, uh, uh, uh—"
"Is your name Uhhuhhuh?"
"N-no! No, ma'am. No."
Johnny flailed in panic.
"Then what is it?"
"J-J-J-Johnny. It's Johnny."
"I see. Johnny. Nice to meet you. Want to come to my room tonight?"
"Huh?"
"Fufu. Your shocked face is cute too."
Joelli tapped Johnny's flustered cheek with her finger. At her touch, he stiffened like a board. Then she blew softly against his ear. Johnny snapped out of it with a shriek, instantly breaking free from her embrace and darting to the opposite side.
He moved so fast that no one could stop him. I watched his retreating back with pity as he shrank into the distance.
"He's exactly my type."
Joelli's voice dripped with delight. It was like watching an innocent village boy catch the eye of a capricious noble lady. Silently, I sent him words of comfort for the unfortunate situations that surely awaited him.
After staring at where Johnny had vanished for a while, Joelli turned her gaze to me this time.
"You—come with me."
She pointed at me and turned away. Stunned by the sudden order, I quickly collected myself and followed her.
Joelli, walking ahead, abruptly stopped and looked at Alicia.
"You, scram."
Then she slipped back into her room.
I helped Alicia up and brushed the wrinkles from her clothes. As I did, I stole a glance at her face—still glaring daggers at Joelli. Her eyes might pop out at this rate. Seeing how tightly her lips were pressed, something must have happened.
I let out a sigh and followed her into the room. As I closed the door, Alicia's gaze finally disappeared. How dare a mere servant stare so boldly at her superior? I'd have to warn her later not to do that again.
When I turned around, Joelli was fastening a robe around herself. Tying the sash at her waist, she headed toward the wardrobe. I blankly stared at her retreating figure.
Joelli, was it? Was she the mistress of this mansion? Or perhaps the Countess? My instincts leaned toward the latter. Even in her simple gait and every small movement, an air of nobility was evident. She seemed like a well-educated noble young lady.
When she stopped before the wardrobe and turned to look at me, I quickly hurried to her side and opened the wardrobe doors.
"Pick one."
"Me?"
"Yes. Something bright."
Something bright...? At this perplexing command, I hesitated briefly. The wardrobe was lined with quite a number of dresses—varying in color and design. It was as if every dress in the world was stored inside.
I examined each one carefully, pondering my choice with great deliberation. If she wanted something bright, then perhaps a light color would do. So I selected a pale blue dress. Even after choosing, I wasn't confident. Sneaking a glance at Joelli, I saw her lips curl into a smile before she shook her head. It meant she didn't like it.
I put it back and took out the white dress hanging beside it. But Joelli shook her head again.
After that, I picked out several more dresses and presented them. Yet each was rejected. When I pulled out a yellow dress after yet another refusal—this time for a pink one—Joelli waved her hand dismissively, as if bored, and went to sit on a chair behind her.
Flustered, I turned back to scrutinize the wardrobe. With every offering rejected, I had no idea what to pick next.
"What's your name?"
"Po— Ann."
"Alright, Ann."
Her voice carried a hint of amusement. I could feel her gaze on me, but I kept my eyes fixed on the dresses inside the wardrobe.
"Where are you from?"
"A small village. So small it doesn't even have a name."
"Is that your hometown?"
"No. My hometown is elsewhere."
"Pilton?"
At Joelli's question, I stopped rifling through the dresses and turned to face her.
"How did you know?"
"The girl who was in my room earlier told me. Said you two were sisters?"
Ah. I nodded and resumed sifting through the dresses. She must have asked Alicia the same questions she was now asking me. Lost in thought, I diligently searched through the dresses. The repeated rejections made me even more cautious in my selections. Perhaps growing bored of waiting, Joelli continued questioning me.
"Is this your first time doing this kind of work?"
"Not my first time."
"Hmm. So you've done it elsewhere?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Nowhere worth mentioning."
Preoccupied with choosing a dress, I answered absentmindedly, barely aware of my own words. But when the occasional probing question came, I did weigh my responses carefully. All the while, my eyes rapidly scanned the dresses. This one? That one? After what felt like ages of agonizing over countless dresses, I finally settled on one.
A form-fitting white dress. Though it lacked eye-catching patterns, delicate floral embroidery adorned the hem, keeping it from being too plain. It seemed like something elegant and easy to wear.
Alright, decision made!
"How about this one?"
I turned around with a bright smile, presenting the carefully chosen dress to Joelli. If she rejected this one too, I'd have to ask if she wanted to pick for herself. Thinking this, I looked at her—only to find her gaze wasn't on the dress, but fixed intently on my face.
And that gaze was sharp. So piercing that the smile faded from my face. Strange. She was clearly smiling, yet why did it feel like I was being scrutinized?
"...... Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ann, you're quite petite and delicate, aren't you?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. I am a bit small."
"Mm. You must be the smallest among the servants here."
Her eyes swept over me from head to toe.