Chapter 13
"Here you are. It’s the manuscript you asked for."
Julietta’s face flushed with bewilderment as she faced the notebook Janet held out.
"You actually finished all of this? In just two days?"
"Pardon? Yes. I’ve finished it. You told me to have it ready by today, so I prepared it... Is there perhaps a problem?"
There was.
A very big one!
'I thought she would fail for sure!'
Was the time she mentioned too tight?
'It wasn't even two days... she only had a day and a half, didn't she?'
She had even intentionally kept her busy with errands yesterday. So that she wouldn't be able to transcribe during work hours like usual.
So, naturally, she had expected her to fail and had even thought about how she would nag her...
'What on earth is she?'
Julietta stared at Janet with a gaze full of shock.
But only for a moment.
"Wait. You, by any chance..."
Julietta, who had been continuing her sentence, pressed her lips shut.
"Yes, My Lady?"
"...No. It’s nothing."
Julietta answered primly and pretended to roughly scan the notebook where Janet had transcribed the botanical encyclopedia.
However, not a single word registered in her mind. Her gaze kept drifting toward Janet’s rough skin.
The way her eyes looked strangely hollow, her skin coarser than usual, and her complexion exceptionally pale.
'Did she pull an all-nighter?'
Both nights?
Julietta chewed on her lip.
'Why is she being so foolish? Why won't she just give up?'
It was strange.
At this point, shouldn't she be starting to show her true colors?
...Just like most of the people who had been by her side.
"Did you see that dress earlier? Where on earth does she buy such gaudy dresses?"
"If it weren't for the name Ludwig, I would have thought she was an actress from some traveling troupe."
"Just like her mother, right?"
"Oh my, shh! If you say things like that outside and it reaches the Grand Duke's ears, we'll be in big trouble!"
Ahahaha!
The shrill laughter was still vivid in her ears.
They were laughing with faces completely different from the ones they wore in front of her.
And it wasn't just them.
"Teaching you is truly a grueling task, My Lady. You have no talent for study."
"I would be better off trying to teach a tree."
"I say this for your own sake, My Lady, but you would be better off giving up on your studies. You should put more effort into your appearance instead."
Countless tutors who taught the young Julietta would say things like this and quit.
Even when young Julietta cried and apologized, they would leave with faces of pure disgust.
"Julietta."
"It's because of you. You took everything away."
"Wait, Julietta. Just calm down—."
"Why! Why do you have to take everything?! We were born together, so why are you the only one who received blessings while I received nothing?!"
"...No. That's not it."
"No? It's you. You took it! My life is like this because of you! Because of you... I am this miserable!"
"..."
"I wish you would disappear. I wish you didn't exist. I... really hate you."
Just like Julietta herself.
Everyone is bound to hide their filthy true colors.
It was natural for them to pretend to be well-hidden, only for it to eventually burst out and claw at the other person.
'But why?'
She had endlessly scorned her, humiliated her, and pointed out her shortcomings.
She had embarrassed and mocked her in front of the maid, Sien.
She hadn't acknowledged a single thing she did properly, and had even denied her by saying, "You are wrong."
'Shouldn't she be feeling terrible, pained, and resentful?'
Shouldn't she be looking for someone to blame and pouring her anger out on them?
The momentary chaos brought on a wave of nausea.
Her heart pounded, and her hands and feet ached. A nervous anxiety that clouded her head began to creep in.
Sometimes, things like this happened.
Moments when her emotions would burst out over nothing.
"Ugh."
Julietta, clutching her dizzy head, let out a faint groan. A startled Janet ran over to check her complexion.
"What’s wrong, My Lady? Are you in pain?"
"...Get, away!"
A slender arm pushed Janet away irritably.
"My Lady?"
"Take this and go for today."
Janet accepted the notebook, looking bewildered.
Her gaze remained fixed on Julietta’s deathly pale face.
"But you, My Lady..."
"I said that's enough, so just go! I'm going to sleep now, so don't wake me."
Julietta, clutching her head, stumbled toward the bed.
Janet held back the urge to support her immediately. She was worried that if she touched her now, her condition might worsen for no reason.
However.
"My Lady. I will be right outside the door."
"..."
"I won't be a bother. I'll be quiet. I'll stay quiet, and if you need me, I will return."
"..."
"Then, please rest."
With a whisper-like greeting, Janet quietly left the room.
*Click.*
Even the small sound of the door closing was filled with consideration.
Julietta lay on the bed and squeezed her eyes shut. She probably wouldn't be able to sleep.
The insomnia she had suffered from for a long time had worsened recently.
'...Should I go see Nova.'
Nova Morgan was one of the few people she could lean on.
She had been her nanny when she was young and had taught her many things.
"Everyone is like that, My Lady. They only want your money, your family, and your environment. So, do not trust their goodwill, and do not show them your sincerity."
"If you don't want to be ignored, you just have to make sure you don't look weak. You must be the one to make them kneel first. You must make it so they dare not look down on you."
"My poor, dear My Lady. Everything I say is for your own good. You only have me. Isn't that right?"
How to live in the world, how not to be ignored, how not to get hurt.
Nova was the one who taught her all of that. Whenever she was having a hard time, it was always she who came to offer words of comfort.
Even though she had suffered from insomnia for a long time, she could always sleep soundly on the days she met Nova.
"It seems you feel at ease and sleep well because I am someone you can lean on, My Lady."
She was right.
However.
'She hasn't come to see me lately...'
Since she was promoted to Head Maid a year ago, her visits had stopped completely.
She had tried visiting a few times, but after seeing her look troubled and claim she was busy, she had refrained from visiting.
'...Still, I was doing okay for a while.'
She had even forgotten that she hadn't met Nova for about two weeks because her attention had been focused on Janet.
But left alone, longing rushed in along with the loneliness.
At that moment.
*Thud, creak.*
A small noise came from outside the door.
The sound of someone sitting down, leaning against the door.
Soon after.
"Oh my, why are you sitting here like a beggar? Were you kicked out—."
"Shh. The Lady is sleeping. Keep your voice down."
Sien’s loud voice and Janet’s low voice followed.
"...What? The Lady is taking a nap? That can't be."
"If you have business, tell me."
"No. I'll tell the Lady separately later."
With a sullen reply, the sound of someone walking away was heard.
It was the sound of one person, not two. If so, the other person must still be sitting there, leaning against the door.
Julietta slowly blinked and stared at the tightly closed door.
She couldn't sleep.
Her stomach was churning.
But the unpleasantness that had been lapping at her toes had vanished.
'It's like... dreaming while wide awake.'
The fortunate thing was that it wasn't a nightmare.
***
That night, Janet quietly visited Julietta’s room.
She debated whether to knock, but after making a small sound to announce her presence, she slipped into the room quietly.
Entering a master's room without permission was not something one should do, but today was a special situation where Julietta’s condition looked quite poor.
Being able to enter a room without permission during a master's special situation was one of the privileges of a maid.
'Thankfully, she doesn't look sick.'
Janet, having checked Julietta’s complexion, left the room with a sigh of relief.
*Creak, click.*
After the door closed carefully, the eyelids that had been closed opened slowly and then closed again.
"...You fool."
A pleasant murmur echoed softly in the quiet room.
#Chapter. How to Open a Heart
The next day.
Janet was a bit taken aback.
"Good morning, My Lady."
It was because a completely different response than usual returned to her greeting, which she had delivered as she started her shift.
"Well, good morning."
My goodness.
She thought she was fine, but was she not?
At the first positive greeting she had heard since she started working, Janet had to feel worry before joy.
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