Hearing Melissa's voice thick with fury, Mary clamped her mouth shut just as she was about to argue further.
"Strictly speaking, this warrants severe punishment, but given the effort you two have put into working in this mansion over the years, I will not dismiss you outright."
Mary and Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief at Melissa’s words, though she was not finished yet.
"However, as punishment for abandoning your duties without permission and lying about it, half of your wages will be deducted for three months."
"Madam Head Maid!"
Their frantic cries echoed throughout the break room.
"From now on, you will work on the first floor under my direct supervision. You are not even to set foot near the young master’s wing. I cannot leave people like you around him."
"Madam, no!"
"Please, just give us one more chance!"
"Be quiet! You ought to thank the heavens that I didn't fire you! I warn you, if this ever happens again, you will spend all day doing nothing but laundry!"
Melissa's tone was resolute.
Not a single maid in the estate possessed the sway to alter a decision she had handed down.
Knowing this better than anyone, Mary and Dorothy had no choice but to weep and leave the room.
I intended to slip away before they emerged, but I was one step too late.
"You…"
Mary and Dorothy's voices were laced with pure venom as their eyes locked onto me standing right outside the door.
Weren't you the ones who disappeared in the middle of your shift?
Shouldn't you be apologizing to me instead?
A tense silence hung in the air for a moment.
Neither of them spoke another word, but I could feel it.
An incomprehensible spite directed at me, heavy and suffocating…
Suddenly—
Thud.
Something slammed into my shoulder—a deliberate, unmistakable shove.
I staggered slightly from the sudden jolt.
Having deliberately shoved past me with all their might, Mary and Dorothy pushed right through and went on their way.
Good grief, really… Why take their anger out on me?
I rubbed my aching shoulder in bewilderment.
"People like that exist in every world, it seems."
I muttered under my breath, remembering those in my previous life who had treated me poorly for no reason at all.
It wasn't the pain in my shoulder that hurt the most, but rather the bitter realization of an unwelcome truth, all over again.
"…Last time, you were laughing to yourself in a disgusting way."
"Pardon?"
"And now, why do you keep sighing like that?"
Callius asked from within the darkness.
Since I had begun this job, this was the very first time he had spoken to me first.
For a fleeting moment, I wondered if he might actually be concerned about me…
However…
"I don't like hearing it. Get out and rest."
He said it coldly.
"Right."
Of course.
How could I have thought he was worried about me?
"…Ah."
"What now? Are you doing that on purpose?"
"It’s not that…"
Unable to speak candidly about what happened in the break room, I fumbled over my words.
Ever since that run-in with Mary and Dorothy, my mood had remained thoroughly sour.
Just the thought of having to keep working alongside people who harbored such hatred toward me was enough to make me sigh unconsciously.
"Then what is it?"
"It’s just… the work is a bit exhausting."
Under his persistent questioning, my true thoughts slipped out unawares.
"What?"
Callius asked flatly, and silence fell between us for a second.
Ah, right.
There was a clause in the contract forbidding employees from showing their feelings or grievances in front of their master!
I hurried to patch things up.
"I'm sorry. My thoughts are just a little tangled… Ah. Forgive me. That sigh slipped out on its own. I won't sigh anymore, Young Master."
Callius drew a deep breath, as though biting back his irritation.
"…So, why is the work exhausting?"
"It's nothing important, Young Master."
"Speak up quickly, or I'll shut your mouth so you never sigh again."
Why was he so dead set on knowing the reason?
And since when did he ever care about my business anyway?
When my attempts to evade him failed, his stubborn persistence seemed downright bizarre.
Yet I couldn't tell him the truth about Mary and Dorothy.
Confined to his dark room by his affliction, Callius might suffer a severe blow to his pride if he learned that even the remaining maids were disloyal.
"The thing is…"
"Get on with it."
There was no way out.
I would have to make something up.
"…A few male servants keep relentlessly pursuing me, even though I've shown no interest whatsoever…"
"What?"
He uttered the single word in pure bewilderment, followed once more by dead silence.
…Was that excuse a little too shameless?
I could practically picture the look on his face.
He had to look as if he were chewing on a hundred bugs all at once.
After a long, awkward hush…
"I thought it was something serious."
Huh?
Callius let out a quiet, incredulous scoff, followed by the rustle of him lying down on the bed.
Then came the sound of him pulling up the blanket, as if preparing to sleep.
Hm?
Even though I had only said it to brush him off, his reaction was oddly irritating.
"…Young Master, you were the one who asked first, so why go quiet now?"
"Aren't you flattering yourself?"
"What?"
Callius let out an exaggerated yawn before answering.
"I don't think you have any reason to worry. You're bound to be ugly."
What?!
Where did that come from out of nowhere?
Have you even seen my face?!
I ground my teeth together.
"…You haven't even seen my face."
"There's no need to see it. Don't you know the saying, 'a face reflects the heart behind it'?"
He spoke in a calm, measured voice that rang crystal clear in my ears.
"One with a gentle heart has a fair face, while one with a foul temper has an ugly one."
He added smoothly.
"And a maid like you, who argues with her master and indulges in vulgar thoughts during work, is bound to be hideous."
What did you say?
"I don't like boasting about myself, but…"
I forced out the words, desperately keeping my fury in check.
"Just a few days ago, another maid told me I was pretty."
I laid heavy emphasis on the word "pretty."
"That maid needs to see a doctor."
"Really! No one has ever called me ugly!"
"Well, there's no way to verify that."
Callius gave a light chuckle.
He was doing this on purpose.
Deliberately baiting me.
"…And why shouldn't there be a way? You can verify it yourself."
I patted around the bed until I found his hand, grabbed it, and pulled it right up to my face.
"Touch it yourself!"
"What are you doing?!"
Callius recoiled, violently shoving my hand away.
Yet I clamped onto his hand once more.
"I'm giving you a chance to check for yourself!"
"Are you mad?! Get off!"
All of a sudden, my face was squished flat like a stuffed bun.
Callius was shoving hard against my face with his open palm.
"Ah… I swear Tilda said so! My nose is straight and my lips are plump!"
"Get away!"
He pushed me away with full force, sending me tumbling under the bed in a grand, ignominious heap.
Ow! My butt!
I let out a groan as I rubbed the tender spot.
Callius yelled, breathing hard with rage.
"You! Don't you dare come near me again. Approaching me is forbidden! Understood?!"
Seriously…
I was being terribly wronged here.
I was merely trying to convey the honest truth about my face!
"Aren't you going to answer?!"
"Yes, sir."
What else could I do?
I was just a maid; I had no choice but to obey.
And so, the stain of slander left upon my face went uncleared to the very end.
Ow, my butt.
Quite a bit of time had passed, yet the dull ache lingered stubbornly.
'Could it have bruised? Or maybe even fractured a bone?'
I muttered silently to myself as I carried Callius's empty meal trays down toward the kitchen.
"Stop right there for a moment."
