TCNS 11

Chapter 11: The Maid, Catherine (1)

“Well, isn’t that something a nanny should be able to handle?”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure exactly where the nanny stood in terms of hierarchy. But if she was the nanny to a prince, I assumed she should have that much authority.

‘Judging by her reaction, I wasn’t wrong.’

The head maid glared at me, her face flushed red.

“You’ve been in the Imperial Palace for less than a month.”

Her voice was sharp and full of annoyance.

“We can’t entrust the prince’s care to someone who hasn’t even been fully vetted yet. Do you understand?”

“Well, that’s strange. It seems to me that it’s not I who need vetting, but rather the maids attending to His Highness.”

“What did you say?”

“It’s not as if you ordered cold water to be brought for His Highness, did you, Head Maid?”

The head maid closed her mouth, speechless. She stared daggers at me for a long while before curling her lips into a scowl.

“Hah, now I see. It makes sense why a nobody like you, an adopted daughter of a count, managed to get in here with Madam Conrad’s recommendation.”

Why she bothered to mutter such things loudly enough for me to hear, I couldn’t tell.

The real ‘Rachel Brown’ had apparently been adopted into a count’s family?

‘The fact that there’s a count’s family I don’t know about is even more shocking.’

Of course, it could be a family that had been newly awarded the title while I was… dead.

“It’s quite unfortunate if what you say is true, Lady Brown.”

The head maid had already regained her composure, her expression indifferent as if nothing had happened. Her ability to mask her emotions was truly impressive.

“Very well. How about this then?”

She narrowed her eyes as she added, “From now on, all matters concerning His Highness will be entrusted entirely to you, the nanny. Is that satisfactory?”

It seemed she had no intention of apologizing, not even in death.

The head maid snorted, her expression one of exasperation, and left.

At the time, I thought this might actually be a good outcome.

Until I learned the true weight of the head maid’s words in this place.

***

“What do you mean by that?”

The very next day.

I found out, quite vividly, what the head maid’s final words meant. And it happened quite early in the morning.

“The head maid said that you, Nanny, would handle everything related to His Highness.”

The maid standing in front of me wore an awkward expression.

“I’m sorry. I’m just following the head maid’s orders…”

No maids had come in at the prince’s wake-up time, nor for his meal preparations. And what awaited me when I came to see what was going on was news as shocking as a thunderbolt on a clear day.

“So, you mean I have to prepare His Highness’s meals myself?”

The maid looked flustered at my question. “Uh, well, I have other work to do, so if you’ll excuse me!”

She mumbled an answer and vanished before I could even think of stopping her.

“Ha, this is troublesome.”

I ran my hand through my hair in irritation.

‘That woman, she planned this from the start.’

Seeing the maids tiptoeing around me, I couldn’t help but scoff. It seemed there wasn’t much difference between the noble Imperial Palace and the filthy back alleys.

‘To these maids, I’m just an outsider who insulted their leader.’

Though I’d only been in this body for two days, I had already learned one thing. I had no allies here—not among the prince and princess, nor anyone for Rachel Brown.

***

‘What should I do?’

No matter how bad things were, I couldn’t let the prince starve.

‘But I also can’t feed him anything I cook.’

The only time I ever cooked was to poison someone.

Just as I was about to go grab some of the black bread the servants ate, I heard voices. They were coming from outside an open window.

‘Quite noisy. Are they fighting?’

Of all kinds of entertainment, nothing beats a good fight. I poked my head out the window to see. Several maids were surrounding someone below.

“Didn’t I tell you to have the curtains washed by this morning?”

“Why should I do your chores for you every time? I’m not your maid!”

“What did you just say? How dare you speak like that, you insolent—!”

Smack—

There was a sharp sound of a slap, and one of the maids fell to the ground.

The fallen maid had ivory hair and light hazel eyes. Her skinny, lanky frame made her look almost like a pretty scarecrow.

“An impostor noble like you dares to talk back to a count’s daughter?”

The maid who called herself the daughter of a count raised her head high and yelled. She stomped on the scarecrow maid’s skirt with her heel.

“Madam Conrad’s been spoiling things around here! Maids from the annex have gotten so uppity!”

She continued in a displeased voice, “And bringing in some girl from God-knows-where to be a nanny—!”

Hmm, there was only one nanny in the Third Prince’s Palace. Was she referring to me as some girl from God-knows-where? What an astute maid.

‘Still, no matter how much of a nobody I am, it wouldn’t do to be looked down on by a mere maid, would it?’

Respect towards the nanny was respect towards the prince.

‘Besides, since I’ll be staying here for a while, I might as well maintain some semblance of order.’

After a brief moment of contemplation, I decided to intervene.

I swear it had nothing to do with their insults about me or the fact that they were the head maid’s lackeys. It was purely for the sake of maintaining order in the prince’s palace—an unusually noble thought on my part.

“Are you talking about me?”

Leaning my elbows on the windowsill, I spoke up.

All the maids turned their heads toward me at once. Their faces instantly went pale.

“N-Nanny?”

“If you’re talking about me, let me join in.”

“Uh, um…”

The maids froze in place at the sight of me.

Perhaps it was because the person they were gossiping about had appeared suddenly, or maybe because that person had jumped over the high windowsill to approach them.

Or perhaps word had already spread of me pouring cold water over a maid.

Whatever the reason, I couldn’t say.

“You all seem to have quite a bit of free time on your hands, gathering here to chat,” I said mockingly, watching as their faces grew stiffer.

“So, what now? Do you intend to accuse us of something?”

But the maid in the center spoke up confidently, her face unchanged.

“Do you really think you have the authority to do that, Nanny?”

“Of course not. Who am I to judge your actions?”

At my words, the maids exchanged triumphant glances with each other.

“But I do have the right to call out the slander against me while I wasn’t even present.”

As I continued, my face turned cold, and the maids flinched.

“Why the long faces? Don’t like hearing from a girl from God-knows-where?”

“N-No, that’s not it…”

Strictly by rank, I was above the maids, as the prince’s nanny. They knew it as well, which was why none dared openly argue.

But I had underestimated their shamelessness and misplaced pride. The maid who claimed to be from a count’s family smirked and stepped forward.

“Oh, please. This is why you shouldn’t treat lowborns well. Give them an inch, and they think they’re important.”

Poke—

“Who do you think you are?”

She poked me in the forehead with her finger.

“Huh? Who do you think you are? You’re nothing but an orphan, lucky to have been adopted by a count. Who do you think you are, bossing us around?”

I grabbed her wrist and twisted it behind her back.

“Aaaagh—!”

The count’s daughter let out a high-pitched scream. I applied more pressure, and her face went from red to pale.

“Did they not teach you at your count’s estate that pointing fingers at people is rude?”

“W-What are you saying?”

I leaned in close and whispered in her ear. Just loud enough for only her to hear. “Lady, you should be thankful I don’t know your family’s name.”

“W-What?”

I spoke softly, like a mischievous fairy playing a cruel joke, “If I did, perhaps your entire family, including all your servants, might have been poisoned tonight.”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous! You think I’d fall for such nonsense threats…?”

“Lady, it’s best not to carelessly insult someone from God-knows-where.”

“L-Let go of me! Let go and say that!”

“Who knows?” I whispered in her ear, a cold chuckle escaping my lips, “I might be from somewhere far more dangerous than you could ever imagine.”

The maid trembled violently, struggling in vain. Her face had turned completely pale, and she staggered as if she might faint.

Perhaps I had gone too far teasing a young noblewoman? Relaxing my grip, I gave her a bright smile.

“If I catch you gossiping about ‘irrelevant matters’ again, it will be quite troublesome. Understand?”

This time, I spoke loudly enough for the other maids to hear. The maids quickly nodded in understanding.

As soon as I let go, the count’s daughter ran off, and the other two maids hurriedly followed.

Why do such insignificant people always make a fuss?

After watching them disappear, I turned my gaze. The maid who had been slapped earlier was still sitting on the ground, staring at me blankly.