Chapter 5

 

 

“What? Where is she going?”

“The inn.”

Fabian Royce, the Duke, let out a sigh of disbelief.

He had spent the entire day handling reports about his territory and was now receiving a report from Edwin.

Edwin was a loyal knight whom the Duke trusted completely. He would never lie.

After sending Anette away, the Duke felt uneasy and ordered Edwin to protect her.

He thought she would wander around the mansion, then eventually beg for forgiveness at the front gate.

Anette had committed many wrongdoings, but this was the first time she had been thrown out of the house.

His daughter, Heine, had safely gone to another country, so he thought Anette might finally feel remorse.

But an inn?

She was the only child of the woman he had admired in his youth.

Even though her country had fallen and she was now just a commoner, she had once been a princess of noble blood.

The Duke had raised Anette as if she were still royalty, hoping she would change when she matured.

But instead, she had constantly tormented and envied Heine, his only daughter.

Eventually, she even tried to poison her.

Now, he could no longer forgive her.

“Is she still at the inn?”

“No. She left this morning.”

“Left? Where did she go? That foolish girl—where could she possibly go?”

The Duke’s son, Berndt Royce, stood beside him and watched Edwin closely.

It was Berndt who had grabbed Anette by the chin and spoken harshly before she was thrown out.

Berndt spoke coldly.

“You’re not going to tell me you don’t know where she went, are you?”

“The innkeeper who spoke with her said…”

Edwin hesitated. The Duke, impatient, urged him to continue.

“She went to the temple.”

“The temple?”

The Duke rubbed his temples and leaned back in his chair.

Berndt eyed Edwin suspiciously.

His father trusted Edwin completely, but Berndt was not convinced.

Edwin was unreadable. No matter how much of a knight he was now, Berndt never trusted mercenaries.

Mercenaries didn’t serve people—they served money.

“Did you confirm she entered the temple?”

“A knight guarding the entrance confirmed it.”

“Hah! The temple? What is she going to do there? Become a priest? A knight?”

The Duke scoffed in frustration.

It made no sense. 

Anette could neither be a priest nor a knight of the Hella Temple.

The priests and knights who served Hella had to be pure men.

Edwin bit his lip and looked at the two men.

They were the ones who had cast Anette out.

Of course, Edwin had planned to kill her, but that was a separate matter.

And there was still one more thing he hadn’t mentioned yet.

“She applied to be a maid at the temple.”

The Duke and Berndt’s eyes widened in shock.

For a moment, there was complete silence.

Then Edwin spoke again as if to make sure they had heard him correctly.

“…The temple was hiring maids.”

“A maid?”

Berndt couldn’t believe his ears.

A maid?

Anette hated doing anything with her hands. The only things she did willingly were eating and drinking tea.

But a maid?

Even the Duke was stunned.

“Did she hit her head or something?”

“She seemed fine when I last saw her.”

The Duke groaned and rubbed his head.

Berndt clenched his jaw.

What kind of trick was she trying to pull now?

Even he had assumed she would beg for forgiveness.

She had been thrown out of the house—surely, she would finally give in.

When he told her to return to her ruined homeland, it was only to hurt her.

He had wanted to see her suffer.

Anette still acted like she was royalty, treating him and Heine like servants.

She insulted him every time they met.

So this time, he had wanted to be the one to hurt her.

But Anette never seemed to get hurt.

Berndt turned to the Duke and said firmly,

“I’ll go to the temple tomorrow, Father.”

“Alright… If she shows any sign of remorse, bring her back.”

“…Yes.”

Remorse? Anette?

She would only pretend at best.

But if she could even pretend, then maybe…

Maybe he would forgive her.

Berndt glanced at Edwin.

To his father, Edwin was a loyal knight.

But to Berndt, he was just another mercenary—someone who could change masters at any moment.

Something didn’t feel right.

Anette lay down on her bed, exhausted.

She had washed up in the shared bathhouse for maids.

Since she had missed the scheduled time for warm water, she had to use cold water.

But surprisingly, it felt refreshing.

After a full day of working, it finally sank in that she was truly living a different life.

She needed to save money again.

“But this time, I’ll spend a little, too. I want to try sweet desserts and enjoy some entertainment.”

Maybe even date someone.

With those happy thoughts, she drifted off to sleep.

For the first time in a while, she felt safe.

Unlike the uneasy nights at the inn, the temple felt warm and peaceful.

For now, this was her home.

Anette woke up early the next morning.

She washed her face and put on her maid uniform neatly.

When she arrived at the kitchen, the head cook and male servants greeted her warmly.

The male servants handled jobs like chopping firewood and cleaning outside the temple, while the maids did laundry and indoor cleaning.

Since the temple only allowed pure young men to become priests or knights, male servants could not freely enter certain areas.

They mostly worked out of sight.

The male servants in the kitchen were fascinated by Anette’s beauty.

She was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen.

She looked like a noble or even a princess.

Some of them even dreamed of marrying her.

While Anette was helping in the kitchen, the head maid, Anna, walked in.

“Anette, did you deliver food to the First Knight Captain’s room yesterday?”

Anna looked uneasy.

Had Anette ignored her orders? Or had she just left the food at the door?

“Yes! I placed it on the table inside and even spoke to him!”

Anna was surprised.

“And? Did he say anything?”

“He’s… a bit picky, but he didn’t say much.”

In truth, he had been incredibly rude, but Anette just smiled.

Anna was her boss, after all.

She didn’t want to get fired.

Anna finally acknowledged her.

She had survived the First Knight Captain.

A rare, hardworking employee indeed.

Anna smiled warmly at her, and Anette, recalling her experience of pleasing bosses, acted even more diligent.

While the knights ate breakfast, the maids served and refilled their food.

But unlike the others, Anette remained in the kitchen.

She had already figured out the best way to move around efficiently.

“Anette, have you worked in a kitchen before?”

“Huh? No?”

Technically, she had been in a noble household until yesterday.

But in her past life, she had done almost every part-time job imaginable.

Most kitchens had similar layouts.

She had even worked at a franchise restaurant once, though she had never been able to afford their food.

“This time, I’ll use my earnings to eat well,” she thought.

“Really? You seem very experienced.”

“Haha.”

Anette laughed awkwardly, wanting to change the subject.

Luckily, a loud crash saved her.

A young male servant had dropped a plate.

“I’ll clean it up!”

She rushed over to help.

The boy, Leon, looked flustered.

“S-Sorry, Anette.”

“It’s okay. What’s your name again?”

“L-Leon.”

His face turned red.

He, like the others, had never seen such a beautiful woman before.

Anette casually cleaned up the broken pieces and told him to fetch a broom.

Afterward, she had breakfast with the other maids.

Bread again.

“Is there no good food in this world?”

Or was it just because this was a temple?

Most meals were just dry bread.

She missed rice.

As she cleaned up after breakfast, she noticed a small cut on her finger.

It must have happened when she picked up the broken plate.