Mary seemed to have set a goal for herself—to cheer up the young lady, who had overheard gossip about herself up close. So, she stuck to Angela like glue all day, showering her with endless praise.
This continued into the night, forcing Angela to endure Mary’s embarrassing words even as she soaked in the bathtub, completely naked.
“How is your skin so flawless, my lady? It’s so soft that the towel just slides right off.”
As expected of someone well-versed in flattery, her expression of awe was impeccable. Angela had already told her to stop at least three or four times, but Mary would only respond with an obedient, “Yes, my lady!”—only to start talking again in less than half an hour. At this point, Angela was beginning to wonder just how audacious Mary truly was. Perhaps her guts were so large that they had spilled outside her body.
“If you bathe with expensive aromatic oils, anyone’s skin would turn out like this.”
Angela responded in a tone of resignation.
Mary, who had been rubbing Angela’s slender shoulders with a towel, smiled and said, “Then my hands should become soft too.”
At that moment, Angela turned her head to look at Mary and suddenly lifted one corner of her lips. It wasn’t her usual sneer that she directed at just anyone—it was an unmistakably mischievous expression.
“Do you want to come in?”
“…Pardon?”
“Take off your clothes and get in.”
There were levels to how absurd a statement could be. Mary was so dumbfounded by what she had just heard that she dropped the towel she was holding. The towel floated on the water’s surface, drifting among the rose petals scattered in the bathtub. Mary stared at it in a daze before frantically waving her hands.
“No, no! How could I possibly share the same bath as you, my lady? Absolutely not! I’m dirty!”
It was a desperate refusal. But Angela would never allow things to unfold against her wishes.
“If you don’t get in right now, I’ll whip you for the first time. And then you might just find yourself wanting to join those maids from earlier in badmouthing me.”
Mary, who had been shaking her head and arms in frantic protest, ultimately couldn’t win against Angela. Hesitating anxiously, she eventually undressed under Angela’s urging, her face contorted with distress as she stepped into the tub.
The bathtub was so large that Mary’s presence made no real difference to its spaciousness. But she still shrank into one corner, curling up and making herself as small as possible. Her body had gone stiff, and she had no idea what to do with herself.
Angela, watching in silence, clicked her fingers, splashing water into Mary’s face as if to tell her to stop acting so ridiculous. The sudden attack made Mary scrunch up her face, pulling her eyes, nose, and mouth inward.
As she wiped the water from her face with her palm, she noticed a flower petal stuck to her cheek—and suddenly, she let out a giggle. Little by little, the stiffness in her body eased, and her movements became more natural.
“How does it feel? Don’t you think your skin will get softer too?”
Angela asked as she watched Mary scoop up a handful of petals. The response came in the form of an enthusiastic nod.
“Yes, yes! It feels amazing, my lady! The petals are so soft, and the water… it doesn’t feel like ordinary water! It’s like bathing in clouds!”
Watching Mary chatter excitedly, Angela was suddenly reminded of Kalian. Not the Kalian of today, but the one from the past—the boy who had once followed her around everywhere, knowing nothing of the world.
There had been a time when Kalian, much like Mary, was delighted by even the smallest things Angela did for him.
He especially loved their reading lessons. The first time he managed to read a book by himself, he had been so moved that tears welled in his eyes. He had even kissed the back of Angela’s hand.
“Angela, I will become a great man. A man so outstanding that no one will ever find it strange for me to be by your side.”
And just as he had vowed, Kalian had become a remarkable man. A man so distinguished that standing beside Angela no longer seemed odd.
But the sentiment of that day… it no longer remained. Not a single trace of it was left.
Where had it gone?
Angela was lost in thoughts of longing for something she could never reclaim when—
“My lady, you are truly kind.”
A voice as gentle as could be pulled Angela back to reality. She silently stared at Mary before speaking in a cold tone.
“Mary, as I’ve told you before, you can stop with the flattery.”
Hearing those words, Mary’s face overlapped with the memory of Kalian—Kalian, who had once called Angela a ‘good person.’ That unpleasant recollection dampened Angela’s mood. She felt as if she were submerged not in bathwater, but in the wreckage of her past.
Yet Mary, oblivious to it all, remained ever-cheerful.
“It’s not flattery—it’s the truth…!”
“I said I don’t want to hear it.”
Angela’s voice cut through Mary’s words like scissors, sinking into a sharp, flat tone. Sensing the sudden shift, Mary finally seemed to grow nervous. She pressed her lips together, her round eyes looking up at Angela in uncertainty.
“…Ha.”
Angela let out a chilling chuckle.
Now she realized—this little maid always met her gaze head-on.
There had only ever been one person who did that before. Kalian.
Angela clenched her teeth, fixing a frosty stare on Mary’s frail shoulders before speaking.
“You might find this unfortunate, but I am an incredibly fickle person. One of these days, when my mood turns sour, I might just strip you bare and throw you out of the mansion. Do you understand?”
“B-But—!”
“Enough. If you don’t want today to be that day, you’d best keep your mouth shut.”
Disappointing others and shattering their expectations—it was far too easy for Angela.
“I thought you were a good person.”
“Because you were kind even to someone insignificant like me… Because it felt like a dream, like a miracle… I truly believed you were a good person…”
“I never really knew you at all, Angela.”
She had done it once with Kalian. Doing the same to Mary would be even easier.
For some reason, the young maid before her was becoming increasingly uncomfortable to be around.
—
In the Bilton mansion, the live-in maids were assigned rooms in pairs. Mary shared a room with a maid named Rita, who was exactly ten years older than her.
However, Mary didn’t have a particularly good impression of Rita.
Rita had been one of the maids who had spoken ill of Angela before. Though Angela had chosen to let it slide, Mary had no intention of ever bringing it up again.
Even so, she didn’t want to get close to Rita. Mary, who found joy in almost everything, couldn’t stand someone who had once said she wished their mistress would fall terminally ill.
Today, for some reason, Rita’s gaze lingered on Mary more than usual. It was an unsettling, scrutinizing stare—one that felt as slimy as the leers of a drunken man.
Mary, who had been sitting at the vanity brushing her hair, turned her back on Rita completely, expecting her to give up.
But instead, Rita abruptly stood up, strode over, and sniffed at Mary.
Mary recoiled in shock.
“What are you doing?”
Rita smirked, curling one corner of her lips. She then playfully flicked Mary’s forehead with a finger.
“You’ve been secretly using Lady Angela’s bath, haven’t you?”
Mary hastily swatted Rita’s hand away and covered her forehead with both hands, vehemently shaking her head in denial.
“No, it’s not true!”
“Hah, not true, you say? I’ve been noticing it for a while now. This smell on you—it’s the same scent of the bath oils that Lady Angela uses.”
As Rita leaned in again, trying to sniff her, Mary quickly stood up from her chair, stepping back as she hurriedly explained herself.
“I didn’t use it secretly! Lady Angela gave me permission to use her bath!”
Though they hadn’t bathed together since the first night, Angela, upon hearing that the maids shared a communal shower, had ordered Mary to use her private bathroom instead.
“Don’t come back smelling filthy from that place. Use my bath. I can’t stand the stench of cheap soap.”
The words were harsh, each one sharp as a blade, but they were also incredibly generous. Mary had wanted to express her gratitude, thinking once again how kind her lady was, but she held back, knowing Angela would dislike it.
Rita, unaware of the truth, snorted in disbelief.
“Do you really think someone like Lady Angela would let a maid use her personal bath? There’s no way.”
“It’s true! My lady is incredibly kind!”
Mary shouted, unable to stand hearing Angela spoken of so unfairly.
“Ha! Kind? Lady Angela? Don’t talk nonsense, you liar!”
Rita, who was much bigger than Mary, shoved her hard. Mary practically flew backward, landing flat on her bottom with a loud thud.
At that, Mary’s temper flared to its peak. She leaped up, huffing, her nostrils flaring as she glared at Rita.
“What the hell! Why did you hit me?!”
“Because you’re lying!”
“I’m not lying!”
As Mary screamed back, Rita raised her hand, ready to strike her again. But Mary was quicker. She lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of Rita’s hair, yanking with all her strength.
Though Mary was much smaller, Rita’s long hair made it possible for her to get a firm grip. Rita’s head jerked backward as she let out a piercing scream.
“Ahhh! You little brat, let go!”
Rita wasn’t one to back down either—she grabbed Mary’s hair in retaliation, and this time it was Mary’s turn to scream.
“Ahhh! Let go of me!”
“Confess already!”
“Confess to what?! I told you I didn’t steal anything!”
Neither of them was willing to back down. As Rita tightened her grip, Mary twisted Rita’s long hair around her wrist, pulling even harder. The two girls wrestled, rolling around the room, shrieking and yanking at each other’s hair as if they wouldn’t stop until one of them was bald.
Then, suddenly, the door burst open.
“What on earth do you think you’re doing?!”
The furious voice of the head maid, Marsha, thundered through the room.
With a terrifying expression, she glared down at the two maids entangled on the floor. Her sharp voice cut through the air like a whip.
“Get off each other this instant!”
Neither girl needed to be told twice. They instantly released their grips and scrambled away from each other.
Even after letting go, they were still fuming, breathing heavily as they glared at one another. But just as Mary was about to lower her head and apologize for causing a commotion—
“Head maid!”
Rita suddenly pointed at Mary and tattled before she could say a word.
“Mary has been secretly using Lady Angela’s bath! Every day, she reeks of expensive bath oils! Even right now!”
Rita’s eyes gleamed triumphantly as she spoke.
Mary shot her a glare before shaking her head frantically, turning to Marsha.
“No, that’s not true! My lady gave me permission! You can ask her yourself!”
“There’s no need to ask. Everyone in this mansion knows Lady Angela would never allow a mere maid to use her bath. Even you, Head Maid, must be well aware of that!”
“That’s only because you don’t know my lady well enough!”
“I don’t know her? I’ve been in this mansion longer than you, you little brat!”
The two locked eyes, looking as if they were about to start pulling each other’s hair again.
“Both of you, shut up!”
Marsha refused to take either side.
—
Though it was an injustice to Mary, Marsha had no intention of verifying the truth with Angela. Whether Mary had used the bath without permission or whether Rita was mistaken, Angela would not overlook such a matter.
One of them was bound to be punished severely, and as the head maid, Marsha would end up dealing with the consequences either way.
Thus, the next day, both Mary and Rita were given cleaning duty as punishment. They were assigned to clean the long corridors of the mansion’s first and second floors—just the two of them.
Rita, annoyed beyond measure, grumbled all the way as she carried a bucket of steaming hot water for the cleaning.
“Damn it, this is ridiculous.”
“…….”
“This is so annoying.”
“…….”
“Why do I have to suffer because of you—?”
“How is this my fault?”
Unable to tolerate Rita’s complaints any longer, Mary snapped back.
“You’re the one who accused me without any proof, and now look where we are!”
“It wasn’t an accusation, it was a fact! And you—Lady Angela won’t let you off for this.”
“If you’re so sure, then why don’t you ask my lady yourself? Be honest—you’re just jealous, aren’t you?”
“What?! Why the hell would I be jealous of you?”
“You cried about not wanting to be Lady Angela’s personal maid, but now you’re bitter because she’s being kind to me, aren’t you? I know exactly what’s going on here!”
“You little—!”
Rita’s eyes flared with anger as she shoved Mary’s shoulder hard.
“Ahh!”
But the scream that rang out did not come from Mary.
Because of Rita’s push, Mary lost her balance and accidentally collided with someone passing by in the corridor.
“I’m so sorry! I’m so, so sorry! Are you alright?”
Quickly setting down the bucket, Mary bent at the waist, bowing repeatedly in apology.
Then she looked up— Standing before her, frowning at her hand, was none other than the second daughter of the house—Beatrice.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
