Chapter 026. Chambermaid
“What’s that? Who’s the one they’re saying they’ll let slide just this once?”
“Well.”
“But earlier, didn’t Lady Charlotte say something while looking at the wall clock?”
After the stifling roll call ended, noisy voices echoed among the maids leaving the hall.
Everyone was frantic, trying to figure out who the mysterious ‘night cat’ was that Lady Charlotte had kept secret until the end.
“Right? I definitely felt that too.”
“Then… could it be Rachel?”
“Rachel?”
As a specific name came up, everyone’s attention began to focus.
Deborah, who had unintentionally overheard the conversation, quietly recalled the red-haired maid standing right in front of her.
“Yeah, you know, that one.”
The speaker suddenly glanced around secretively, and the maids surrounding her swallowed hard.
“They say Rachel’s mother had a bit of a bad reputation before she got married.”
“A bad reputation…?”
“You were there when we heard it, weren’t you?”
At the scolding tone for pretending otherwise, the maid on the opposite side let out a short, “Ah,” as if she’d just remembered.
“Right, they definitely said… her relationships with men were complicated, so no one actually knows who Rachel’s father is.”
“Exactly!”
The maid who shouted in agreement lowered her head again and whispered secretively.
“Rachel’s a bit like that too, isn’t she? The way she subtly flaunts herself.”
The group, passionately agreeing, continued talking, but that was all Deborah heard.
She started walking ahead, overtaking the group that had now stopped to gossip
She didn’t want to listen any longer to unverified rumors being maliciously spread about someone who wasn’t even present.
-They say Rachel’s mother had a bit of a bad reputation before she got married.
“……”
Those whispered words kept clinging to her ears, lingering.
Not everyone chooses their parents, so how could they say something like that?
Did they know how much those words could hurt the person they were talking about?
Even though it wasn’t about her, the wounds that had piled up over time made her chest burn without her realizing it.
Thump, thump, her footsteps quickened.
“Deborah!”
Startled by a voice ringing loudly down the corridor, Deborah’s steps finally stopped.
When she turned toward the voice calling her, she saw a familiar face.
“Phew, why are you walking so…”
Seeing Celine panting heavily, Deborah blinked in surprise.
A moment later, as Celine caught her breath and straightened up, she looked at Deborah.
“Lady Charlotte wants to see you for a moment.”
“…Me?”
Celine nodded at the question.
“Yeah, you’d better go quickly. She seems in a bad mood because of that matter…”
Is something wrong? Deborah, who had been staring at Celine’s cautious face, shook her head lightly.
What could this be about…
Deborah’s heart began to pound with unease.
* * *
“Sit there.”
Lady Charlotte stared intently at Deborah, who entered with a tense expression.
When the silence became unbearable, Lady Charlotte gestured with her eyes toward the sofa across from her.
Deborah nodded slightly and walked toward the sofa as instructed.
Celine was right.
Even though Lady Charlotte usually had a stern, expressionless face, the atmosphere today felt distinctly different.
It was as if the already cold and cynical mood had intensified even further…
‘What… could she want with me?’
As she mulled over the same thoughts she’d had on her way here, Lady Charlotte finally walked toward the sofa.
Deborah’s mouth went dry with tension, and she swallowed hard.
“I called you here because-”
A low, resonant voice.
But strangely, unlike the heavy atmosphere she’d started with, Lady Charlotte’s mouth closed again soon after.
That strange silence only fueled Deborah’s anxiety, but all she could do was fidget with her fingers on her lap.
After a moment, with a faint sigh, Lady Charlotte resumed speaking.
“It’s about your duties.”
Duties? At the unexpected word from her mouth, Deborah blinked rapidly.
“My… duties?”
“Yes.”
Lady Charlotte nodded at Deborah’s wide-eyed question.
“Actually, regarding what happened before-”
It seemed like she was about to continue, but her words cut off again.
What was she trying to say with all this hesitation? The anxiety only grew.
‘Could it be… she’s going to fire me?’
In this situation, the thing Deborah feared most was being sacked.
Perhaps that’s why Lady Charlotte was hesitating to bring it up.
As her thoughts leaned more in that direction, her anxious emotions must have shown clearly on her face.
Seeing her stiffened expression, another low sigh escaped Lady Charlotte’s lips.
“Yes, these kinds of conversations often lead to misunderstandings when dragged out.”
“……”
As if resolving herself, Lady Charlotte’s expression felt even more resolute.
“Starting today, you’ll be removed from parlor maid duties and take on chambermaid duties.”
Chambermaid.
A lower-ranking maid in the household, primarily responsible for cleaning bedrooms or guest rooms in a grand estate.
It was considered better than a scullery maid doing all sorts of kitchen chores or a laundry maid handling grueling washing tasks, but in truth, it was one of the duties most maids avoided.
Honestly, as long as it wasn’t being fired, Deborah didn’t mind any task.
She had been pushed into being a parlor maid due to special circumstances, but serving guests directly wasn’t suited to her personality, so she didn’t feel particularly attached to it.
However, the reason for her current shock was the sudden shift from parlor maid to chambermaid.
Why had her duties changed so abruptly overnight.
After hesitating for a while, Deborah finally parted her lips.
“May I… ask why?”
She asked in as calm a voice as possible, hoping it wouldn’t sound like she was challenging the decision.
Fortunately, her intent seemed to have been conveyed, as Lady Charlotte continued in a matter-of-fact tone.
“It’s the Duke’s orders.”
At the firm statement, Deborah’s body trembled slightly.
As if hearing something unexpected, her golden eyes wavered, unable to focus.
“The Duke’s… orders?”
She could feel her voice trembling as she barely managed to speak, and there was no way the person sitting right in front of her wouldn’t notice.
Raymond von Chester, the head of the Chester family and a noble of high status.
It was true that he held absolute authority over everything in Elfengrin, but the idea that he would personally order a change in a mere maid’s duties sounded utterly bizarre.
Lady Charlotte nodded slightly with a complicated expression.
“In fact, when that incident happened last time, the order to fire you wasn’t completely withdrawn.”
“Then…”
That day, she had clearly heard him say to call the doctor and retract the dismissal order.
What was this about? Her mind was in complete turmoil.
“He said he’d hold off on the decision. But since there were no further instructions, I thought it might just be overlooked…”
Lady Charlotte’s eyes began to drift slowly, as if recalling past events.
After a long moment of deep thought with a serious expression, her gaze returned to the front, an unreadable suspicion now evident on her face.
“You, perhaps…”
Her cautious words were cut off again.
No, never mind. Lady Charlotte shook her head and murmured softly.
“It’ll be tough work, but you’ve avoided being fired, so consider it fortunate.”
“……”
“It’s better to think of it that way for your peace of mind.”
Perhaps mistaking Deborah’s silence for dissatisfaction with the new duties, Lady Charlotte quickly added comforting words.
But Deborah couldn’t bring herself to say it was a misunderstanding, that it wasn’t about that.
Even she couldn’t fully understand the emotions welling up in this moment, so how could she explain it?
After sitting quietly for a while, Deborah finally nodded slightly.
“…Yes.”
Resignation and compliance.
That was the behavior she needed to show now, and it was something Deborah had learned to do best in her life.
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By Anna 💓
