Chapter 07
At Graham, Janette’s room was in the attic. There were no proper stairs; she had to climb up a wooden ladder of sorts.
The skylight that let her see the sky was nice, but every other aspect was terribly poor.
*’Well, it was originally used as a storage room, after all.’*
To them, Janette was exactly that kind of purpose and meaning. Someone worth storing away in a warehouse, like a useless object.
Now, at last, Janette had a room where she could comfortably lie down and rest.
“Let’s do this.”
Steeling her resolve, she moved quickly.
After washing up, she neatly tied up her long, flowing hair. She also took out and put on the clothes she had prepared the night before.
They were a little worn, but they were the neatest clothes Janette had brought with her.
*’I’ll have to buy clothes first once I earn some money.’*
Or maybe she should ask the payroll officer if an advance was possible.
Since the estate was so vast and had so many employees, Ludwig had separate departments in charge of each task.
That was fortunate.
Now that she’d decided not to give Nova what she wanted, it was obvious she’d become a nuisance.
Being able to speak directly with the payroll officer, without having to go through the Head Housekeeper, was a big advantage.
*’I’ll go see them sometime tomorrow or the day after.’*
Putting her thoughts aside, Janette smoothed down her clothes one more time.
After confirming her neat appearance in the full-length mirror, she curled the corners of her mouth upwards.
“Good.”
This is about perfect… well, maybe not perfect, but it should be decent enough.
It was finally time to go meet the master she would be serving from now on.
The empire’s famously wicked woman.
Julieta Ludwig.
*’Ah, but before that…’*
—
**”The empire’s foremost noble family, the Grand Ducal House of Ludwig.**
**The history of the Grand Ducal House of Ludwig is not very deep. That’s only natural, as the current Grand Duke is its very first head.**
**Maverick Ludwig.**
**Originally a First Prince, he was a crown prince candidate that everyone had their eyes on.**
**The current Emperor, the Second Prince, was also exceptionally capable as a prince, so not a few expected a bloody battle over the throne.**
**However, Maverick chose peace over warring with his brother for the throne.**
**He declared he had no interest in the throne, and instead petitioned to be allowed to establish his own independent house.**
**And so the Grand Ducal House of Ludwig was founded.**
**Of course, it was solely Maverick’s power that elevated the house to its current prestige.**
**But this seemingly capable man had one fatal flaw.**
**Namely, his excessive fondness for women.**
**The Grand Duke had a total of six children, of which only two shared the same mother.**
**The first son, Oscar, child of the late Grand Duchess.**
**The second son, Zephyr, child of the current Grand Duchess.**
**The first daughter, Rosina, born to the illegitimate daughter of the Count of Helden.**
**The twins born to a famous actress of a traveling troupe: the third son, Kendrick, and the second daughter, Julieta.**
**And lastly, the youngest son, Geron, born to a young widow.**
**The fortunate part was that with the youngest, now six years old, there would be no more children added.**
**The Emperor’s patience, which had been tolerating his brother’s debauchery—after he had peacefully handed over the throne and even went off to fight wars on the frontier—finally hit its limit.**
**Moreover, the late Grand Duchess was the current Empress’s cousin. No matter that she had passed away, how would she feel knowing the man who was her husband had been siring bastards one after another?**
**The Emperor ultimately issued an imperial decree.**
**Effectively saying, ‘That’s enough, brother!’**
**Fortunately, the Grand Duke accepted his brother’s imperial decree without much resistance.**
**But even if there would be no more children, the existing ones weren’t going to disappear.**
**The Grand Duke’s children were awkward with each other. If anything, it was closer to being strained.**
**Given that they each had different mothers and grew up under a Grand Duke who showed absolutely no interest in his children, it was only natural.**
**This was also why each of them lived in their own separate annex.**
**Anyway, to get to the point, this was the conclusion:**
**The Ludwig household was a crumbling house of cards, impressive only on the outside.”**
—
Just before she went to see Julieta in earnest.
*’…Reading this, it really sounds like someone who holds a grudge against Ludwig wrote it, doesn’t it?’*
Janette tilted her head after reviewing the information related to Ludwig once more.
Did Ilinia perhaps dislike Ludwig?
Or maybe Theo?
*’Perhaps this might be related to the contract to protect Lady Julieta.’*
…No.
She decided not to dig into unnecessary things.
With a snap, she closed the notebook and hid it deep in the desk drawer before leaving the room.
—
—
“I am here to see you, my Lady.”
The first time she faced Julieta, Janette managed to suppress her agitation.
It was because Julieta’s beauty was overwhelmingly stunning.
Her complexion was as white as flour, without a single blemish. Her jawline traced a soft curve, and her prominently straight nose was well-proportioned.
Her moderately full lips turned upward even when she wasn’t smiling, and her similarly upturned eyes, combined with their large size, gave her a haughty, cat-like aura.
*’I’d heard she was a beautiful person.’*
After all, rumors about Julieta’s misdeeds were always accompanied by the epithet ‘a woman more beautiful than a rose.’
She wondered just how pretty someone had to be for beauty to be mentioned even alongside bad rumors…
Julieta was truly an incredible beauty, beyond imagination. Just facing her made her heart pound.
At this point, a doubt arose.
Maybe people mistook the pounding of their hearts from being awestruck by Julieta’s beauty for being afraid?
Just as Janette was silently composing praises for Julieta’s beauty…
“So. You’re to be my maid?”
“Yes. My name is Janette Graham, and I will be serving you from now on. I look forward to working with you.”
Janette snapped back to reality with a start and finished her introduction with a smile.
“Hmm.”
Julieta, half-sprawled on the sofa, lazily scanned Janette. The indoor slippers at her wiggling toes swayed precariously.
Then, finally.
“I’ve never even heard of a Graham family. Well, I suppose you must have come up from some rural backwater?”
A sneer flickered at the corners of her mouth before dropping flat.
“You’re not to my liking. Someone like you is to be my maid?”
Tsk, clicking her tongue, Julieta closed her eyes.
“Just by looking at you, you don’t seem like you’d know how to do anything properly. I wonder if you have any useful qualities at all.”
“…”
At the lack of response, Julieta scoffed inwardly.
*’Looks like she’s scared.’*
Just from this much.
Julieta absolutely detested having a maid. If she could, she wouldn’t have one for life.
But.
*’Still, I can’t just dismiss her myself.’*
Having a maid was her father’s will. So arbitrarily firing her could be seen as defying his wishes.
So, it couldn’t be helped.
She’d just have to make her leave on her own.
*’Judging by her reaction, it shouldn’t take long.’*
Just a few harsh words and she’s already frozen stiff, unable to answer.
However, that was all Julieta’s misunderstanding. Janette’s silence meant something entirely different from what she expected.
*’She’s quick-witted, isn’t she?’*
Finding so many faults in such a short time is a talent in itself.
Or perhaps it was a prepared script? If so, her preparation was thorough.
*’I was braced for worse, so I’m relieved the intensity is weaker than I thought.’*
Julieta’s words couldn’t scratch Janette at all.
For three years, she had grown up hearing verbal abuse from the Graham family daily.
Unlike Julieta’s sharp remarks, which lacked crude curses, their abuse often contained language unfit for nobles.
Janette had endured and tolerated even that without flinching.
The life she had endured was far too harsh for her to be wounded by anyone’s harsh words now.
“As you say, I still lack many things. However, I will do my best to learn and practice so that I may serve you comfortably, my Lady.”
“Huh?!”
Julieta, who had snapped her eyes open, stared at Janette with an incredulous look.
