“I have heard rumors of your wickedness through my subordinates... but now that I think about it, it seems strange. When I asked who they heard it from, they all said they heard it from Lady Odette’s maids. If Count Albrecht loves Lady Odette so much, why doesn’t he fire those maids?”
Other ladies agreed.
“I understand what you are saying. Besides, even if that maid, Dolly, was only a low-ranking maid, her actions just now were still rude. And she was the head maid, too. Who would have thought she would openly try to embarrass her master in a place like this?”
Then the ladies and gentlemen at the tea table began to gossip.
“Come to think of it, I also heard rumors about Lady Odette from the Albrecht family’s maid.”
“...Me too.”
Odette spoke to Dolly as if she had not heard such words.
“Dolly, can you pour me another cup of tea? And some milk too.”
Dolly, who had been feeling oppressed by the muttering, seemed to have come to her senses and came over to Odette, picking up the teapot that was on the table.
Dolly seemed to regard her as a savior, but she misjudged. Odette planned to use this opportunity to properly humiliate Dolly.
'That kid has a bad habit that won't be fixed.'
Dolly, as always, hooked her fingers into the teacup and turned the handle, regardless of whether the handle was placed in the nine o'clock position relative to Odette.
Because what was comfortable for her to follow always took priority.
“...”
Because of the topic of conversation, everyone in the room was watching Dolly's actions closely. They frowned and looked at her as if they were at a loss for words.
But Dolly, who was concentrating on pouring tea, didn't notice the gaze and poured the milk first. And when she started pouring tea over the milk, one of the ladies at the table sighed.
“This is such a mess. Seriously, she doesn’t even know where to start.”
“The reason why they bring in an experienced maid for a position like this is so that she doesn’t embarrass her master. Oh my! How can the head maid, who gets paid twice as much as the other maids, do this?”
It is polite to place the teacup at the 3 o'clock position relative to the person drinking it.
It would not make sense for the maid to arbitrarily turn it to the 9 o'clock position for ease of following and putting a finger in the teacup was taboo.
“Pouring the milk first and then the tea is a mistake even the lowest maid wouldn’t make.”
“And as she continued pouring, the teacups and saucers clanked and made so much noise!”
In that small movement of turning, Dolly had already broken four rules of etiquette. They were all considered the most basic of etiquette.
Even though they knew it was impolite to reprimand another man's maid in public, they couldn't help but say something.
“That, that-.”
Dolly's hands were trembling.
It seemed that she had finally realized that everyone was concentrating on their own manners and that she was breaking them all.
Odette continued speaking calmly.
“Would you like some jam and cream on the scones too?”
Again, all the noblewomen and ladies turned their gaze to Dolly's fingertips.
Dolly took a deep breath. As she closed her eyes for a moment, it seemed as if she was trying to remember the order in which she had applied the medicine at the palace and the mansion.
'I'll come to a conclusion. They'll say that somewhere, the cream was applied first.'
Dolly started by scooping up the cream with a knife and applying it.
But it was a miscalculation. In Athena, the order of applying jam and cream was reversed from that in the capital. You always had to apply jam first, then cream.
The island of Athena had many mountainous areas, and because of that, dairy farming was developed. Among them, the specialty product was cream, and the islanders were very proud of the cream. As such, they hated covering cream with jam. It was almost taboo.
All the inhabitants here spread the jam first and then covered it with the cream, and even the Emperor here changed the order of eating.
“Pfft.”
When a young lady burst into laughter, Dolly was so startled that she dropped the knife she had just used to scoop out the jam. As a result, the cream and jam on the knife fell onto Odette's clothes.
Hahaha! Several of the youngest ladies sitting at the table burst into laughter. Dolly's face turned bright red.
'Dolly can't stand this kind of insult. She's sensitive to rumors about herself.'
The way bullies use rumors is a reflection of the person's identity. Bullying others with rumors meant that Dolly herself was very conscious of her reputation.
“Oh no. There’s jam on my dress. I need to change into my evening dress a little quicker.”
Odette said this and got up.
“It was a pretty dress, but I feel bad for it. It really was like a fairy...”
Odette wasn't too disappointed. The dress she was going to change into was pretty, and it would suit the upcoming event better.
It was the moment when Dolly stood up to follow Odette.
“I’ll go with Mrs. Becker. Dolly, you have to pick up the spoon and the marks on the floor.”
“I, I’ll go with you. Mrs. Becker can stay here-”
There were tears in Dolly's eyes.
It seemed that while she enjoyed tarnishing Odette's reputation so much, she couldn't stand being laughed at herself.
'But it won't work out the way you want, right?'
Even as she thought that Odette said something she didn't mean.
“Would you like that? Then Mrs. Becker-”
“No. I’ll go, so Dolly, you stay.”
As expected, Mrs. Becker tried to dissuade Odette, because she was scared too.
The honored guests here have already noticed something strange with Odette's subordinates. After Dolly and Odette leave, it's obvious who will be next in line for attention, right?
“Hey, Mrs. Becker.”
“You dropped it, so it’s your job to pick it up, right?”
Mrs. Becker said firmly.
“...Oh, I understand.”
Even though Dolly wanted to leave this place, she had no choice but to follow Mrs. Becker's words. These days, she was no longer a simple maid, but a powerful figure in the mansion.
As a result, Mrs. Becker ended up stopping Dolly, so Dolly probably couldn't have imagined that Odette had created this situation.
Odette thought as she left the greenhouse garden.
'Enjoy the laughter, Dolly. It'll be a lot of fun.'
Mrs. Becker sighed in relief as soon as she left the greenhouse garden. Odette gave her an order.
“Mrs. Becker, go to the guest room I’m using first.”
“Just me? Miss, you didn’t just do that on purpose-”
“I don't think I ever gave you permission to ask questions. You just have to be in tune with me, just like you've always been.”
Other ladies agreed.
“I understand what you are saying. Besides, even if that maid, Dolly, was only a low-ranking maid, her actions just now were still rude. And she was the head maid, too. Who would have thought she would openly try to embarrass her master in a place like this?”
Then the ladies and gentlemen at the tea table began to gossip.
“Come to think of it, I also heard rumors about Lady Odette from the Albrecht family’s maid.”
“...Me too.”
Odette spoke to Dolly as if she had not heard such words.
“Dolly, can you pour me another cup of tea? And some milk too.”
Dolly, who had been feeling oppressed by the muttering, seemed to have come to her senses and came over to Odette, picking up the teapot that was on the table.
Dolly seemed to regard her as a savior, but she misjudged. Odette planned to use this opportunity to properly humiliate Dolly.
'That kid has a bad habit that won't be fixed.'
Dolly, as always, hooked her fingers into the teacup and turned the handle, regardless of whether the handle was placed in the nine o'clock position relative to Odette.
Because what was comfortable for her to follow always took priority.
“...”
Because of the topic of conversation, everyone in the room was watching Dolly's actions closely. They frowned and looked at her as if they were at a loss for words.
But Dolly, who was concentrating on pouring tea, didn't notice the gaze and poured the milk first. And when she started pouring tea over the milk, one of the ladies at the table sighed.
“This is such a mess. Seriously, she doesn’t even know where to start.”
“The reason why they bring in an experienced maid for a position like this is so that she doesn’t embarrass her master. Oh my! How can the head maid, who gets paid twice as much as the other maids, do this?”
It is polite to place the teacup at the 3 o'clock position relative to the person drinking it.
It would not make sense for the maid to arbitrarily turn it to the 9 o'clock position for ease of following and putting a finger in the teacup was taboo.
“Pouring the milk first and then the tea is a mistake even the lowest maid wouldn’t make.”
“And as she continued pouring, the teacups and saucers clanked and made so much noise!”
In that small movement of turning, Dolly had already broken four rules of etiquette. They were all considered the most basic of etiquette.
Even though they knew it was impolite to reprimand another man's maid in public, they couldn't help but say something.
“That, that-.”
Dolly's hands were trembling.
It seemed that she had finally realized that everyone was concentrating on their own manners and that she was breaking them all.
Odette continued speaking calmly.
“Would you like some jam and cream on the scones too?”
Again, all the noblewomen and ladies turned their gaze to Dolly's fingertips.
Dolly took a deep breath. As she closed her eyes for a moment, it seemed as if she was trying to remember the order in which she had applied the medicine at the palace and the mansion.
'I'll come to a conclusion. They'll say that somewhere, the cream was applied first.'
Dolly started by scooping up the cream with a knife and applying it.
But it was a miscalculation. In Athena, the order of applying jam and cream was reversed from that in the capital. You always had to apply jam first, then cream.
The island of Athena had many mountainous areas, and because of that, dairy farming was developed. Among them, the specialty product was cream, and the islanders were very proud of the cream. As such, they hated covering cream with jam. It was almost taboo.
All the inhabitants here spread the jam first and then covered it with the cream, and even the Emperor here changed the order of eating.
“Pfft.”
When a young lady burst into laughter, Dolly was so startled that she dropped the knife she had just used to scoop out the jam. As a result, the cream and jam on the knife fell onto Odette's clothes.
Hahaha! Several of the youngest ladies sitting at the table burst into laughter. Dolly's face turned bright red.
'Dolly can't stand this kind of insult. She's sensitive to rumors about herself.'
The way bullies use rumors is a reflection of the person's identity. Bullying others with rumors meant that Dolly herself was very conscious of her reputation.
“Oh no. There’s jam on my dress. I need to change into my evening dress a little quicker.”
Odette said this and got up.
“It was a pretty dress, but I feel bad for it. It really was like a fairy...”
Odette wasn't too disappointed. The dress she was going to change into was pretty, and it would suit the upcoming event better.
It was the moment when Dolly stood up to follow Odette.
“I’ll go with Mrs. Becker. Dolly, you have to pick up the spoon and the marks on the floor.”
“I, I’ll go with you. Mrs. Becker can stay here-”
There were tears in Dolly's eyes.
It seemed that while she enjoyed tarnishing Odette's reputation so much, she couldn't stand being laughed at herself.
'But it won't work out the way you want, right?'
Even as she thought that Odette said something she didn't mean.
“Would you like that? Then Mrs. Becker-”
“No. I’ll go, so Dolly, you stay.”
As expected, Mrs. Becker tried to dissuade Odette, because she was scared too.
The honored guests here have already noticed something strange with Odette's subordinates. After Dolly and Odette leave, it's obvious who will be next in line for attention, right?
“Hey, Mrs. Becker.”
“You dropped it, so it’s your job to pick it up, right?”
Mrs. Becker said firmly.
“...Oh, I understand.”
Even though Dolly wanted to leave this place, she had no choice but to follow Mrs. Becker's words. These days, she was no longer a simple maid, but a powerful figure in the mansion.
As a result, Mrs. Becker ended up stopping Dolly, so Dolly probably couldn't have imagined that Odette had created this situation.
Odette thought as she left the greenhouse garden.
'Enjoy the laughter, Dolly. It'll be a lot of fun.'
Mrs. Becker sighed in relief as soon as she left the greenhouse garden. Odette gave her an order.
“Mrs. Becker, go to the guest room I’m using first.”
“Just me? Miss, you didn’t just do that on purpose-”
“I don't think I ever gave you permission to ask questions. You just have to be in tune with me, just like you've always been.”
“...”
“So, go to the guest room first. So that no one else can see you.”
Mrs. Becker looked insulted.
It seemed that she had only just realized that what had just happened was a plot set up by Odette to get Dolly to leave her alone. She had also realized that she had been used for Odette's own good.
But it's too late. She'll have to follow Odette's orders like she always did for the next two weeks.
***
Where Odette was headed was inside the hunting grounds. Using an inconspicuous side road, she headed straight towards the wooded forest.
A stream where few people have set foot. As promised, there was a horse tied by Damien.
“Anyway... Damian is really good at his job.”
With that in mind, Odette grabbed her hunting clothes that had been tied to her horse. Then she hid behind a large tree and changed into them.
From tailored black hunting pants and tweed jackets to checked shirts and hunting shoes for women.
Untie the dark green ribbon attached to the dress and tie her hair up in a high ponytail, creating an outfit that's easy to move around in the forest.
It was the moment when the horse's rope that had been tied was untied from the tree.
“Ugh!”
The Emperor's scream was heard.
'It looks like assassins have appeared. The Emperor has probably been shot with a poisoned arrow.'
Odette checked her watch. It was the exact same time the assassin had appeared in her last life.
'Then the place will be the same as in the past life.'
She grabbed the reins and mounted the horse, slung the long hunting rifle that was hanging next to the saddle under her arm.
And...
“Here!”
Odette kicked the horse's flank with a noise, to head deeper into the mountains where the Emperor's screams had been heard.
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