The novel, ‘The Grand Ducal Household’s Hidden Affairs,’ chronicled the love between a commoner heroine and a Duke male lead.
Luen Krosiss appeared as the main villainess in this story.
In the novel, she embodied jealousy itself, as if the emotion had descended into the mortal world in human form.
Under the guise of love, she obsessed over the Duke, cruelly tormenting the heroine he cherished.
Her methods were so vicious that she once attempted to destroy the entire carriage carrying the heroine.
Fortunately, the Duke, having foreseen her plan, intervened and stopped her.
[Why do you stop me?]
[I love you so dearly, yet why do you always try to distance yourself from me?]
[Why, why!]
Shamelessly, she would turn her anger on him.
Not only that, but she would also kidnap and imprison the male lead, even forcing him to consume love potions.
Yet, she ultimately failed to thwart the love between the male and female leads.
After the two exchanged vows, she learned a terrifying magic that should never have been mastered: dark magic.
Consumed by its power, she went berserk and ultimately met her end at the hands of the heroine, who had awakened her divine power.
Such was the life of Luen Krosiss.
And yet….
‘I’ve become the exclusive maid for that mad villainess?’
Of course, nothing was certain yet.
She couldn’t be sure until she saw the crimson hair, a symbol synonymous with Luen Krosiss.
However.
“The young lady is bothered by even the slightest footsteps, so try to walk without a sound if possible.”
“Without a sound?”
Being told that even footsteps were bothersome.
“The young lady is bothered by even breathing, so when you visit her, try not to breathe as much as possible.”
This deranged, obsessive individual, who found even breathing irritating, could only be the villainess Luen Krosiss, no matter how much Ariel pondered it.
After working herself to the bone for a month, just when she thought she had finally found a glimmer of hope, the new place turned out to be a perilous assignment.
“The young lady is extremely sensitive to even the smallest things, so you must be careful from now on.”
“……”
Ariel felt like weeping.
But it was already spilled milk.
All she could do now was pray that this Luen was not the one she knew from the novel.
Thus, two anxious days swiftly passed.
****
Over those two days, Ariel diligently familiarized herself with the code of conduct for a maid.
Thankfully, being quick-witted at work, she quickly mastered them.
Even the notoriously vile head maid couldn’t help but praise her as a genius maid.
She possessed a natural talent for maid duties.
Ariel, however, was not particularly pleased by this.
Indeed, nothing would be pleasing if it meant entering a room presumed to house a mad person.
She heaved a deep sigh, then knocked on the door.
No answer came from inside the room.
However, the head maid had instructed her to always greet the young lady, no matter what, so Ariel could not retreat.
Ariel swallowed her anxiety and opened the door.
It was the middle of summer, yet.
The temperature inside the room was so cold that her breath might fog.
Adding to that, an ominous aura, as if a ghost might emerge, swirled throughout the entire room.
‘This is insane.’
Was this how an adventurer exploring an ancient dungeon felt?
Ariel held her breath and slowly took a step forward.
Just then.
-Rustle.
A faint sound reached her ears.
Ariel was startled, but thanks to two days of training, she managed to suppress a scream.
Calming her racing heart, she turned her head toward the source of the sound.
A bulging blanket immediately caught her eye.
It seemed to be the leg part, but….
Ariel slowly raised her gaze.
And she flinched in surprise.
Rough, crimson hair.
Tightly closed eyelids.
She was indeed Luen Krosiss from the novel.
Though she looked much younger than depicted in the illustrations, she could not deceive Ariel’s eyes, having thoroughly read ‘The Grand Ducal Household’s Hidden Affairs.’
The problem was.
‘Luen Krosiss is this pathetic?’
Her pale skin, looking as if she might die at any moment, and her sunken cheeks.
Her appearance bore no resemblance to the title of the Empire’s greatest magic swordsman.
This was a patient, not a magic swordsman!
Just then, Luen’s eyelids trembled.
Awakening from her sleep, she looked around with blurry eyes.
Soon, she fixed her gaze on Ariel, frowned, and spoke.
“…What is it?”
Ariel quickly responded.
“Ah, hello. I’m Ariel, your newly assigned maid.”
“Get out.”
“If you need anything, there’s a bell by the bed—.”
“I said, get out.”
“……Then, I’ll see you later.”
Ariel bowed her head and swiftly exited the room.
She thought she heard Luen say she’d kill her if she returned, but she deliberately ignored it.
-Thump.
The door closed.
At the same moment, all the strength drained from her body.
She stumbled, walked to the wall, and slid to the floor.
‘It really is the world of the novel.’
No, more importantly.
Why was Luen in such a state?
Her rudeness was identical to the novel, but her health was vastly different from what was described.
‘Now that I think about it.’
‘The Grand Ducal Household’s Hidden Affairs’ offered no explanation about her past.
Nor did it describe why she became so obsessed with love.
‘It seems no one was there to care for her.’
In her previous life, Ariel had been an orphan.
She knew firsthand how lonely and sorrowful it was to have no one by your side when you were sick.
Perhaps Luen, too, had succumbed to that unbearable loneliness and turned dark.
If so, what if Ariel could fill that void in her heart?
‘Wouldn’t the future change?’
If her plan succeeded, Luen wouldn’t turn dark.
Ariel could earn money in a comfortable job and save for her retirement.
Then, at an opportune moment, she would quit her maid position and buy a farm.
‘Since it’s a medieval European setting.’
She would surely be able to own a wide and beautiful meadow.
‘Oh my goodness.’
Ariel’s heart pounded.
Just then, the temple bell in the territory chimed twelve times.
Noon.
It was lunchtime.
An opportunity arose to visit Luen’s room again.
‘I’ll try to reform this troublesome young lady.’
Ariel clenched her fists and headed for the dining hall.
****
“What? There’s no such thing!”
“Who are you to talk back, you rookie? Do you know our situation?”
“But!”
“There’s no food right now. Understand?!”
Ariel clenched her fists tightly.
When she was a man, she was over 180 centimeters tall.
Now, she was shorter than the stout cook.
Biting her lip in frustration, Ariel reluctantly turned away.
‘So this is why she fell into depravity.’
For some reason, questions about the Grand Duke (TL Note: referring to the female Grand Duke) were hushed, but the maids were openly discriminating against Luen.
When Ariel asked for Luen’s share of food, the cook shamelessly turned red and claimed there was none.
‘Why are they doing this?’
Luen might have a terrible personality, but in her current condition, she couldn’t possibly be doing anything malicious.
Regardless, her plan to meet Luen under the pretense of lunch had hit a major snag.
Infuriated, Ariel stomped her feet as she stormed out of the dining hall.
Just then.
“Oh?”
A familiar figure approached from afar.
It was none other than the talkative maid.
“Ariel! I heard you’re the young lady’s exclusive maid now?”
“Yes. It seems so.”
“That’s a relief. I didn’t apply because I thought it would be too hard… Oh, by the way, want to have lunch together?”
“I have work to do… No. Yes, that sounds good. Let’s eat together.”
Ariel, suddenly struck by a good idea, nodded.
Then, she followed the talkative maid back into the dining hall.
“Why are you back again?”
The cook scowled and shouted.
Ariel met his gaze unflinchingly and replied.
“To eat.”
“Oh, really? I’m sorry, but there’s no meat left for your portion.”
With that, the cook scooped bread and vegetables onto Ariel’s plate.
His attitude was utterly brazen, especially with a generous pile of meat clearly visible.
‘What on earth happened to make them act this way?’
Why were they doing this even to her, the exclusive maid?
They had been so kind and helpful before she became the exclusive maid.
Ariel stared at the cook for a moment, then turned away.
The talkative maid, who was already seated, gestured to her.
As Ariel sat across from her, the talkative maid spoke.
“The cook has become very cold, hasn’t he? The maids here dislike anyone who gets close to the young lady.”
“Dislike her…?”
When Ariel looked at her with a questioning expression, the talkative maid continued.
“You’re new, so you wouldn’t know, but most of the maids are loyal to the new Grand Duchess.”
“The new Grand Duchess, you mean….”
“The previous Grand Duchess passed away giving birth to the young lady. Anyway, the new Grand Duchess wishes for her son to inherit the Grand Duke’s title.”
“So they’re isolating the young lady.”
“Exactly.”
The talkative maid nodded.
But there was something puzzling.
It was clearly the talkative maid who had recommended her for the exclusive maid position.
Knowing all this, why would she recommend it to Ariel?
Ariel’s eyes narrowed, when suddenly, two other maids appeared.
They stood side-by-side, sandwiching the talkative maid between them.
Then, with voices that grated on Ariel’s nerves, one of them said.
“Rachel, stop talking to such an ugly girl and come eat with us at our table.”
“Oh, should I?”
The talkative maid’s name was Rachel.
At the interrupting maid’s words, Rachel casually got up.
Then, smirking at a stunned Ariel, she said.
“Sorry. As I said before, if I’m with you, I’ll suffer too. From now on, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to me. Let’s not even greet each other if we meet. Got it?”
“Pffft. She’s going to cry. Let’s go, Rachel.”
“Alright.”
Rachel smiled sweetly and turned away.
“Wait.”
Ariel stopped her.
Struggling to control her trembling voice, she spoke with difficulty.
“Was this your intention from the start, approaching me like this?”
At her words, Rachel turned back.
Then, looking at Ariel’s face, contorted with rage, she whispered softly.
“Of course. Why would I help someone like you? You idiot. It seems all you have is your face, so why don’t you use that? Who knows? If you spread your legs for the knights, maybe they’ll help. If you bark like a dog, they might throw you some scraps. Pfft.”
“Goodness. Why are you saying such indecent things in front of everyone? Well, it’s not wrong, though!”
Cackles of laughter escaped the two maids.
Ariel felt her entire body flush with burning shame and humiliation.
After a long burst of laughter, Rachel spoke.
“Nothing more to say, right? Then, enjoy your meal.”
With that, she tossed her brown hair and headed to the table across the room.
Ariel stared blankly at Rachel’s retreating figure.
Then, she reached out and snatched a tomato from her plate.
Under her rough grip, the ripe, luscious tomato crumpled as if it might burst at any moment.
It mirrored her own heart, filled with rage and sorrow.
She had thought they were friends.
Ariel let out a bitter laugh and quietly said.
“Rachel.”
“Ha, still have something to say?”
‘How pathetic.’
Rachel muttered to herself, then turned her head.
At the same moment.
-Thwack!
A dull thud.
The bustling dining hall fell silent for an instant.
Their gazes turned to the source of the sound.
And everyone gasped in shock.
A tomato had exploded on Rachel’s face.
The bright red pulp splattered all over her face, hair, and clothes.
She looked as if she had fallen headfirst into a garbage can.
“What….”
Someone mumbled.
Just then, a beautiful voice, like the chirping of a lark, echoed through the dining hall.
“You enjoy your meal too. That’s my favorite tomato.”
“H-H-Hee…”
Wah!
Rachel burst into tears.
Well, Ariel couldn’t care less.
Feeling a sense of relief, she dusted off her hands and stood up.
She packed the remaining food tightly into her pocket and headed towards Luen’s room.
